Links
Archives
Harry Potter sixth year
Tuesday, March 30, 2004
It had started out as an ordinary Tuesday, with Harry having Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, and Occlumency. Harry, Ron, and Hermione enjoyed another one of Bill's lessons.
"Does anyone know the properties of burdock?" Bill asked.
"It is known to ward negativity, purify, and protect and can be used when washing floors or worn strung on red thread."
"Good, Hermione," said Bill. "Ten points to Gryffindor." The class spent the remainder of the time taking notes on burdock. Harry wondered whether the similarity of the name burdock to the former minister Burdock Muldoon was merely a coincidence, but he quickly forgot about the idea.
In Care of Magical Creatures, Hagrid had a new creature to show everyone.
"Now today you're in for a trea'. I go' a special type of creature for my birthday. They are called Clabberts. Does anyone know what they are? Yes, Hermione?"
"They resemble a cross between a monkey and a frog," she answered.
"Fifteen points to Gryffindor. As you can see, its smooth skin is mottled green. The Clabber' has shor' horns and a wide grinning mouth. Its long arms, webbed hands and webbed fee' allow it to move gracefully across the forest, through the trees. On the Clabbert's forehead is a large pestule which flashes red when a Clabbert senses the approach of danger, including Muggles."
It was another fun class. Harry, Ron, and Hermione spent the class watching the Clabberts move and recording their actions.
But the next class after lunch was Occlumency. Harry knew that it was time for Snape to open his mind again. Once again, Harry wondered whether he would have another important vision.
"But next week I believe it will be Miss Granger's turn to have a go at this. One, two, three, Legilimens!" Snape yelled at Harry. For the past few weeks, Harry had successfully blocked his mind. But Harry stopped trying once an image of the Green Flame Torch appeared.
He saw Marla Hedwig wield the Torch. She had obviously just used it against some other victim. Marla was laughing evilly, "Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Then she transformed back into an owl, and Harry could at last see the body of her latest victim.
It was none other than Albus Dumbledore! Some other people, most likely Muggles, had gathered around the body, completely at a loss as to what had just happened.
Harry woke up, his scar in pain as usual. But for once, Snape didn't start sarcastically asking Malfoy or the other Slytherins how Harry had failed to block his mind or taking points from Gryffindor.
"I must go," said Snape, and he immediately left the room. The students began to murmur amongst themselves.
"Oh no," said Ron, completely in shock. "Dumbledore has fallen!"
"Well," said Hermione, thinking about it for a while, "the fact that Harry had a vision through his scar proves that Death Eaters were responsible."
"But that makes no sense," said Harry. "If Voldemort was responsible, then why did Marla still have the Torch. Even if she is a Death Eater, why would Voldemort trust her with the Torch? I heard back on Christmas that Voldemort wanted the Torch for himself, not for someone else to wield it. Mark Evans had implied that Voldemort was still looking for the Torch."
"And another thing," Ron added. "In your vision, Dumbledore was surrounded by many Muggles. Why would Dumbledore, or for that matter Harry's owl, be in an area inhabited by Muggles, anyway?"
"For some reason, that area looked familiar," said Hermione, "but I couldn't see where it was from a good perspective."
"Well, I don't think it was Privet Drive," said Harry. But then again, as Harry's mind continued to race, he had been in Little Whinging when Mark Evans was discussing the Torch. Somehow, Harry realized, Mark was the key.
But Marla had the Torch before he had overheard Mark discuss it. And now she still had the Torch. So what was different now that caused him to have visions about the Torch now when he had never had such visions before? The one thing he did know was that he needed to confront Mark yet again.
"Let's find Mark Evans," Harry told Ron and Hermione.
"Fat chance, Potter," said Malfoy, who had overheard them. "He left earlier today since he got permission to leave for Easter vacation a few days early."
"As if you and your Death Eater mates aren't responsible for Torching the headmaster," Ron retorted.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the other Gryffindors returned to their tower. Everyone talked about the loss of Dumbledore the entire evening.
"Does anyone know the properties of burdock?" Bill asked.
"It is known to ward negativity, purify, and protect and can be used when washing floors or worn strung on red thread."
"Good, Hermione," said Bill. "Ten points to Gryffindor." The class spent the remainder of the time taking notes on burdock. Harry wondered whether the similarity of the name burdock to the former minister Burdock Muldoon was merely a coincidence, but he quickly forgot about the idea.
In Care of Magical Creatures, Hagrid had a new creature to show everyone.
"Now today you're in for a trea'. I go' a special type of creature for my birthday. They are called Clabberts. Does anyone know what they are? Yes, Hermione?"
"They resemble a cross between a monkey and a frog," she answered.
"Fifteen points to Gryffindor. As you can see, its smooth skin is mottled green. The Clabber' has shor' horns and a wide grinning mouth. Its long arms, webbed hands and webbed fee' allow it to move gracefully across the forest, through the trees. On the Clabbert's forehead is a large pestule which flashes red when a Clabbert senses the approach of danger, including Muggles."
It was another fun class. Harry, Ron, and Hermione spent the class watching the Clabberts move and recording their actions.
But the next class after lunch was Occlumency. Harry knew that it was time for Snape to open his mind again. Once again, Harry wondered whether he would have another important vision.
"But next week I believe it will be Miss Granger's turn to have a go at this. One, two, three, Legilimens!" Snape yelled at Harry. For the past few weeks, Harry had successfully blocked his mind. But Harry stopped trying once an image of the Green Flame Torch appeared.
He saw Marla Hedwig wield the Torch. She had obviously just used it against some other victim. Marla was laughing evilly, "Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Then she transformed back into an owl, and Harry could at last see the body of her latest victim.
It was none other than Albus Dumbledore! Some other people, most likely Muggles, had gathered around the body, completely at a loss as to what had just happened.
Harry woke up, his scar in pain as usual. But for once, Snape didn't start sarcastically asking Malfoy or the other Slytherins how Harry had failed to block his mind or taking points from Gryffindor.
"I must go," said Snape, and he immediately left the room. The students began to murmur amongst themselves.
"Oh no," said Ron, completely in shock. "Dumbledore has fallen!"
"Well," said Hermione, thinking about it for a while, "the fact that Harry had a vision through his scar proves that Death Eaters were responsible."
"But that makes no sense," said Harry. "If Voldemort was responsible, then why did Marla still have the Torch. Even if she is a Death Eater, why would Voldemort trust her with the Torch? I heard back on Christmas that Voldemort wanted the Torch for himself, not for someone else to wield it. Mark Evans had implied that Voldemort was still looking for the Torch."
"And another thing," Ron added. "In your vision, Dumbledore was surrounded by many Muggles. Why would Dumbledore, or for that matter Harry's owl, be in an area inhabited by Muggles, anyway?"
"For some reason, that area looked familiar," said Hermione, "but I couldn't see where it was from a good perspective."
"Well, I don't think it was Privet Drive," said Harry. But then again, as Harry's mind continued to race, he had been in Little Whinging when Mark Evans was discussing the Torch. Somehow, Harry realized, Mark was the key.
But Marla had the Torch before he had overheard Mark discuss it. And now she still had the Torch. So what was different now that caused him to have visions about the Torch now when he had never had such visions before? The one thing he did know was that he needed to confront Mark yet again.
"Let's find Mark Evans," Harry told Ron and Hermione.
"Fat chance, Potter," said Malfoy, who had overheard them. "He left earlier today since he got permission to leave for Easter vacation a few days early."
"As if you and your Death Eater mates aren't responsible for Torching the headmaster," Ron retorted.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the other Gryffindors returned to their tower. Everyone talked about the loss of Dumbledore the entire evening.
Monday, March 22, 2004
The next day, Harry woke up to find Neville missing from the dorm room.
"Wake up," he said to Ron. "Neville's not here."
"We haven't seen him all day yesterday," said Seamus.
"You don't reckon Voldemort has him, do you?" Ron asked.
"If he did, I'd have seen him through my scar," said Harry. But he himself wasn't completely sure. Could Draco Malfoy have delivered Neville to Voldemort? Would Bellatrix Lestrange do to Neville what she had done to his parents?
There was nothing about Neville, Voldemort, or the Death Eaters in the Daily Prophet that morning. Still, Harry planned to confront Malfoy in Defense Against the Dark Arts later on.
Harry and Hermione headed for History of Magic while Ron attended Divination. As Harry feared, Neville was missing. Even though Tonks had another amusing lecture about the Goblin Rebellions, Harry was thinking only about Neville. He thought about the Prophecy and how "the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord" could have easily been Neville.
In fact, he suddenly realized, it could still be Neville. What if Voldemort had somehow believed that Neville was the one who could defeat him? What if that was the reason the Death Eaters had captured Neville? And Neville was none the wiser, since he'd had no idea that he was the one mentioned in the Prophecy. Harry suddenly became upset at himself for not having told Neville the Prophecy.
When class had ended, Harry said to Hermione, "I am worried about Neville."
"Yes," she said, "but we still don't know if the Death Eaters even have Neville. Come on, let's meet up with Ron at Divination Tower before we eat lunch."
Of course, Hermione had never been interested in meeting Ron for lunch until they became a couple, Harry realized. They ended up meeting Ron halfway there, near the Room of Requirement.
"Look at this," said Ron, "you'll never believe this."
Ron opened the tapestry door to the Room of Requirement, where Harry and Hermione saw Neville, much to their surprise, snogging with Katie Bell. Harry had known since Valentine's Day that Neville and Katie were dating, but he didn't think that their relationship would become this serious.
"So that's why you weren't in class, Neville!" said Hermione. "I'm ashamed of you. Five points from Gryffindor."
"For once, I agree," said Ron. "So you weren't really studying for the NEWTS, Katie, but you were spending all this time snogging Neville! That probably contributed to our loss to Ravenclaw! Another five points from Gryffindor!" It was the first time Ron had ever taken points from Gryffindor as a sixth-year prefect.
"As your Captain, I'd like a word with you," said Katie, and she grabbed Ron and headed toward the pitch.
"I'd better see what this is about, and make sure Ron controls his temper," said Hermione, and she followed her boyfriend.
This left Harry alone with Neville in the room. Harry took a deep breath, and said, "There's something I want to tell you. It's about the prophecy that broke."
Neville winced at the memory, but did not stop him.
"Dumbledore heard it.... I mean he was the first one who heard it. The thing is... the prophecy could have meant either you or me. Dumbledore is sure it's not you now, but it could have been. Voldemort didn't hear the whole thing and... well, he went after one of us.... I just thought you might like to know...."
"Thanks Harry," Neville said. "But is there anything I can do?"
Harry thought for a moment, then said, "You can join us at Order meetings. Then you can help us find a way to defeat Voldemort."
"I'm just surprised you want me to come," Neville shrugged.
"Well, you didn't die last year and you practically forced me to let you go... so you're not afraid to do the right thing...."
Ginny and Hermione walked through the tapestry giggling about something.
"Neville's going to join us for Order meetings," Harry said.
"That's wonderful!" Hermione practically squealed.
By this time lunch was over and it was time for Quidditch practice. Harry and Ginny walked out to the Pitch.
"And maybe I'll come and watch, but after I set up here for today's SPEW meeting," Hermione told Harry. Ginny giggled again, knowing that Hermione had suddenly become more interested in Quidditch when she and Ron had become a couple.
When Harry and Ginny arrived, they saw Katie and Ron already there, having some sort of argument as Hermione had feared. Then Ron stormed off, flying on his broom back towards the castle.
"I have an announcement to make," Katie said to the team. "Ron Weasley is now off the team."
Then it dawned on Harry what had just occurred. Ron had taken points from Katie for snogging with Neville rather than preparing for the Quidditch match. So Katie had retaliated by kicking Ron off the team, probably citing his recent dismal performance in the Quidditch match. In short, Katie and Ron blamed each other for the loss, but since Katie was the Captain, she had the power to kick Ron off the team.
Of course, Harry thought, he himself was truly to blame for the loss. He had been paying more attention to Ginny than to the Snitch. Ginny had been on his mind too much and he needed to pay more attention to the world around him, since Ginny obviously did not return his feelings.
"Now fortunately," Katie continued, "we have a reserve, Tarra Rath. But her natural position is Chaser, and we need a Keeper. So we have two options. We can either train Tarra to be Keeper, or we can train Harry."
"Why me?" asked Harry, bewildered.
"Because then we can move Ginny to Seeker, and then let Tarra be Chaser. So we'll train both Harry and Tarra to be Keeper, and we'll see whose better in time for our consolation Third Place game against Hufflepuff in one month. Luckily Oliver Wood, the best Keeper ever for Gryffindor, has several months until he needs to train for Puddlemere and would be happy to take on the job of training you two."
So Oliver, who was still at Hogwarts, began to train Harry and the second-year girl named Tarra. Harry's mind still wandered to Ginny, who was now practing Seeking, and so Harry ended up letting several goals in.
"Focus, Harry, focus!" Oliver bid him.
When practice ended, Harry and Ginny headed back to the Room of Requirement for the SPEW meeting, but to their surprise, Oliver had followed them.
"Thank you for coming, Oliver," said Hermione. "We can always use new adult members in SPEW. Meanwhile for today's meeting we have a guest, Dobby, who will talk about how good it is to be a free house-elf. Harry, as secretary, will take notes on what Dobby says, and then will give the notes to Luna, whose father has promised to publish an article about SPEW in the next Quibbler."
"Thank you," the house-elf began, "for Dobby is grateful that Harry Potter and his friend 'Mione have allowed me to talk about being a free elf."
But no one except Hermione was paying any attention to Dobby. Oliver Wood was a fairly attractive young man, and so every girl except for Hermione was staring at Oliver the same way boys often stared at a veela. Their boyfriends, meanwhile, were trying to steer their attention away from Oliver. Wayne Hopkins, in particular, was jumping in front of Megan Jones, trying to make her pay more attention to him than to Oliver Wood.
Harry meanwhile, scowled when he saw Ginny staring at his former Captain. But then he just sighed, realizing that Ginny must have feelings for Oliver, not himself. Yet he still continued to look at Ginny rather than perform his secretarial duties.
Hermione, meanwhile, was completely oblivious to the fact that no one was paying attention to herself or Dobby. After an hour Harry could no longer stand watching Ginny staring at Oliver that he just left the meeting, Hermione none the wiser.
He returned to the Gryffindor common room where he saw Ron, who had been so upset at being kicked off the team that he hadn't even attended the meeting.
"Ron, about being kicked off the team --" Harry began.
"Katie's right, I just suck at Quidditch," Ron said sadly. "And how much I wanted to impress Hermione. It was the first match she had watched all season."
"Don't say that," Harry reprimanded him. "You won us the Cup last year against Ravenclaw, and you notched a shutout against Hufflepuff this year."
Then Harry suddenly put two and two together. "You only got nervous because Hermione was there."
"Huh?" Ron asked.
"I mean, the two matches in which you excelled were exactly the two matches Hermione didn't watch. She was with Hagrid and me last year against Ravenclaw, and she was studying this year against Hufflepuff."
"You're right," said Ron. Harry knew, of course, that Ron's distraction by Hermione was similar to his own distraction by Ginny. "But I'll never be able to convince Katie."
Then Neville entered the room and headed for the dormitory.
"Hello, Neville," said Harry.
Ron was still clearly upset at both Katie and Neville and said nothing to him.
"Wake up," he said to Ron. "Neville's not here."
"We haven't seen him all day yesterday," said Seamus.
"You don't reckon Voldemort has him, do you?" Ron asked.
"If he did, I'd have seen him through my scar," said Harry. But he himself wasn't completely sure. Could Draco Malfoy have delivered Neville to Voldemort? Would Bellatrix Lestrange do to Neville what she had done to his parents?
There was nothing about Neville, Voldemort, or the Death Eaters in the Daily Prophet that morning. Still, Harry planned to confront Malfoy in Defense Against the Dark Arts later on.
Harry and Hermione headed for History of Magic while Ron attended Divination. As Harry feared, Neville was missing. Even though Tonks had another amusing lecture about the Goblin Rebellions, Harry was thinking only about Neville. He thought about the Prophecy and how "the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord" could have easily been Neville.
In fact, he suddenly realized, it could still be Neville. What if Voldemort had somehow believed that Neville was the one who could defeat him? What if that was the reason the Death Eaters had captured Neville? And Neville was none the wiser, since he'd had no idea that he was the one mentioned in the Prophecy. Harry suddenly became upset at himself for not having told Neville the Prophecy.
When class had ended, Harry said to Hermione, "I am worried about Neville."
"Yes," she said, "but we still don't know if the Death Eaters even have Neville. Come on, let's meet up with Ron at Divination Tower before we eat lunch."
Of course, Hermione had never been interested in meeting Ron for lunch until they became a couple, Harry realized. They ended up meeting Ron halfway there, near the Room of Requirement.
"Look at this," said Ron, "you'll never believe this."
Ron opened the tapestry door to the Room of Requirement, where Harry and Hermione saw Neville, much to their surprise, snogging with Katie Bell. Harry had known since Valentine's Day that Neville and Katie were dating, but he didn't think that their relationship would become this serious.
"So that's why you weren't in class, Neville!" said Hermione. "I'm ashamed of you. Five points from Gryffindor."
"For once, I agree," said Ron. "So you weren't really studying for the NEWTS, Katie, but you were spending all this time snogging Neville! That probably contributed to our loss to Ravenclaw! Another five points from Gryffindor!" It was the first time Ron had ever taken points from Gryffindor as a sixth-year prefect.
"As your Captain, I'd like a word with you," said Katie, and she grabbed Ron and headed toward the pitch.
"I'd better see what this is about, and make sure Ron controls his temper," said Hermione, and she followed her boyfriend.
This left Harry alone with Neville in the room. Harry took a deep breath, and said, "There's something I want to tell you. It's about the prophecy that broke."
Neville winced at the memory, but did not stop him.
"Dumbledore heard it.... I mean he was the first one who heard it. The thing is... the prophecy could have meant either you or me. Dumbledore is sure it's not you now, but it could have been. Voldemort didn't hear the whole thing and... well, he went after one of us.... I just thought you might like to know...."
"Thanks Harry," Neville said. "But is there anything I can do?"
Harry thought for a moment, then said, "You can join us at Order meetings. Then you can help us find a way to defeat Voldemort."
"I'm just surprised you want me to come," Neville shrugged.
"Well, you didn't die last year and you practically forced me to let you go... so you're not afraid to do the right thing...."
Ginny and Hermione walked through the tapestry giggling about something.
"Neville's going to join us for Order meetings," Harry said.
"That's wonderful!" Hermione practically squealed.
By this time lunch was over and it was time for Quidditch practice. Harry and Ginny walked out to the Pitch.
"And maybe I'll come and watch, but after I set up here for today's SPEW meeting," Hermione told Harry. Ginny giggled again, knowing that Hermione had suddenly become more interested in Quidditch when she and Ron had become a couple.
When Harry and Ginny arrived, they saw Katie and Ron already there, having some sort of argument as Hermione had feared. Then Ron stormed off, flying on his broom back towards the castle.
"I have an announcement to make," Katie said to the team. "Ron Weasley is now off the team."
Then it dawned on Harry what had just occurred. Ron had taken points from Katie for snogging with Neville rather than preparing for the Quidditch match. So Katie had retaliated by kicking Ron off the team, probably citing his recent dismal performance in the Quidditch match. In short, Katie and Ron blamed each other for the loss, but since Katie was the Captain, she had the power to kick Ron off the team.
Of course, Harry thought, he himself was truly to blame for the loss. He had been paying more attention to Ginny than to the Snitch. Ginny had been on his mind too much and he needed to pay more attention to the world around him, since Ginny obviously did not return his feelings.
"Now fortunately," Katie continued, "we have a reserve, Tarra Rath. But her natural position is Chaser, and we need a Keeper. So we have two options. We can either train Tarra to be Keeper, or we can train Harry."
"Why me?" asked Harry, bewildered.
"Because then we can move Ginny to Seeker, and then let Tarra be Chaser. So we'll train both Harry and Tarra to be Keeper, and we'll see whose better in time for our consolation Third Place game against Hufflepuff in one month. Luckily Oliver Wood, the best Keeper ever for Gryffindor, has several months until he needs to train for Puddlemere and would be happy to take on the job of training you two."
So Oliver, who was still at Hogwarts, began to train Harry and the second-year girl named Tarra. Harry's mind still wandered to Ginny, who was now practing Seeking, and so Harry ended up letting several goals in.
"Focus, Harry, focus!" Oliver bid him.
When practice ended, Harry and Ginny headed back to the Room of Requirement for the SPEW meeting, but to their surprise, Oliver had followed them.
"Thank you for coming, Oliver," said Hermione. "We can always use new adult members in SPEW. Meanwhile for today's meeting we have a guest, Dobby, who will talk about how good it is to be a free house-elf. Harry, as secretary, will take notes on what Dobby says, and then will give the notes to Luna, whose father has promised to publish an article about SPEW in the next Quibbler."
"Thank you," the house-elf began, "for Dobby is grateful that Harry Potter and his friend 'Mione have allowed me to talk about being a free elf."
But no one except Hermione was paying any attention to Dobby. Oliver Wood was a fairly attractive young man, and so every girl except for Hermione was staring at Oliver the same way boys often stared at a veela. Their boyfriends, meanwhile, were trying to steer their attention away from Oliver. Wayne Hopkins, in particular, was jumping in front of Megan Jones, trying to make her pay more attention to him than to Oliver Wood.
Harry meanwhile, scowled when he saw Ginny staring at his former Captain. But then he just sighed, realizing that Ginny must have feelings for Oliver, not himself. Yet he still continued to look at Ginny rather than perform his secretarial duties.
Hermione, meanwhile, was completely oblivious to the fact that no one was paying attention to herself or Dobby. After an hour Harry could no longer stand watching Ginny staring at Oliver that he just left the meeting, Hermione none the wiser.
He returned to the Gryffindor common room where he saw Ron, who had been so upset at being kicked off the team that he hadn't even attended the meeting.
"Ron, about being kicked off the team --" Harry began.
"Katie's right, I just suck at Quidditch," Ron said sadly. "And how much I wanted to impress Hermione. It was the first match she had watched all season."
"Don't say that," Harry reprimanded him. "You won us the Cup last year against Ravenclaw, and you notched a shutout against Hufflepuff this year."
Then Harry suddenly put two and two together. "You only got nervous because Hermione was there."
"Huh?" Ron asked.
"I mean, the two matches in which you excelled were exactly the two matches Hermione didn't watch. She was with Hagrid and me last year against Ravenclaw, and she was studying this year against Hufflepuff."
"You're right," said Ron. Harry knew, of course, that Ron's distraction by Hermione was similar to his own distraction by Ginny. "But I'll never be able to convince Katie."
Then Neville entered the room and headed for the dormitory.
"Hello, Neville," said Harry.
Ron was still clearly upset at both Katie and Neville and said nothing to him.
Sunday, March 21, 2004
Harry slept in, and so once again he found that McGonagall had transformed his beds into the breakfast table. Remus Lupin was in the middle of telling a story. He showed the others his old briefcase, the one with the "Professor R.J. Lupin sticker."
"So you want to know how I came to have this Professor sticker on my briefcase, even before I became a professor, Hermione? Well, I had received it for my 18th birthday, as a present from Sirius. The next day I gave Sirius a motorbike. After all, he was born one day after I was."
So today was his godfather's birthday, Harry realized. Of course, Harry wanted to give Sirius the greatest gift of all, the Green Flame Torch. But Remus had mentioned the motorbike, as did Sirius in his dream the previous week. And Sirius had implied that there was a major clue behind the bike.
"Tell me more about the flying motorbike, please," said Harry.
"It wasn't a flying bike when I first bought it for him," Remus answered. "It had taken years for us to learn how to charm it, and even on the day Voldemort fell, we still hadn't finished the task. Now, I know how much it pains you to hear me talk about Sirius, but it pains me even more to talk about him."
When Ginny had recovered, she was sent to Order headquarters.
"Please sit down, Miss Weasley," Dumbledore instructed. "I have some questions to ask you that may be of some importance to the Order. When you fell off your broom, were you, or were you not under the influence of a spell of some kind?"
To Harry's surprise, Ginny replied in the affirmative.
"That is exactly what I thought," said Dumbledore. "So tell me then, do you know about the nature of the spell."
"It was the Love Potion," Ginny explained. "Malfoy had tricked me into taking some, in order to manipulate me for You-Know-Who's benefit again."
"I knew it!" Ron broke in. "Malfoy doesn't really love my sister after all."
"Miss Weasley," said Dumbledore, ignoring Ron's last comment, "what information did you give Malfoy while you were under the influence of the potion?"
"Only the location of Order headquarters."
"You see," said the headmaster as he turned towards the others, "Miss Weasley, when under the influence of the Love Potion, was not aware that she was telling Malfoy confidential information. Not until the spell was broken was she fully aware of her past actions and consequences."
"But how was the spell broken, anyway?" asked Molly with concern.
"I believe that the only one who knows the answer to that is Harry." Dumbledore then turned to Harry and asked, "When you had fallen off your broom, did you have a vision of some sort?"
"Yes," Harry replied, and he thought back to the dream.
"Could you please describe it for us," asked the headmaster.
"There were these Death Eaters, including Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange, and they used Crucio on Ginny, then Avada Kedavra. But obviously the dream was false."
"The dream you had was some sort of premonition," Dumbledore explained. "Had the spell remained in effect, that scene would have come to fruition. It is fortunate that Miss Weasley was strong enough to block off the spell for a while. Go on, Harry."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, what happened after you woke up from the dream. What did you say?"
Harry thought for a moment, then said, "'Yet I was powerless as I was forced to watch the only girl I ever truly loved be killed, when even if I did have the Green Flame Torch to bring her back to life, I don't even know from the dream where her body rests?' But that's when I thought she was dead."
"Yes," said Dumbledore, "but then you admitted that you loved Miss Weasley. That was how the spell was broken."
"What?" Harry asked, bewildered. "You mean that all you have to do to overcome the Love Potion is to have someone say they love them?"
"That is not quite enough," said Dumbledore. "You must prove that you truly love the potion victim. And that you did by saving Miss Weasley and preventing her from having a more serious injury at the expense of the Quidditch match. You had your priorities straight, Harry, and put the girl's safety over your own happiness. That is what ended the spell."
Harry paused to think about what Dumbledore had just said. The headmaster now addressed the Order.
"We still do not know Voldemort's whereabouts, since he was not present in Harry's dream at all. But by now he would have learned of ours. Therefore we must relocate to a new location yet again. The meeting is now adjourned. Harry and the other students are to return to Hogwarts immediately."
And so Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny walked back to the school. Harry was now fully aware of his own feelings for Ginny. He now realized what had caused him to ask her out that fine December afternoon, and why he had been almost as upset as Ron when she was apparently dating Malfoy. His dating Cho and, for a short while, Susan, had merely been ways of coping with not being able to date Ginny.
But he wondered, were his feelings for Ginny mutual? He knew, of course, that Ginny did not, and never did, fancy Malfoy. Indeed, it was possible that Ginny still fancied Dean, since he had no idea how long ago Malfoy had first given her the potion, or even how he was able to convince her to drink it, although he'd had several opportunities in Potions class. Indeed, Ginny's reasons for taking a sixth-year class a year early now sounded rather suspicious.
And so, as Ron and Hermione walked hand-in-hand towards Hogwarts, with Harry next to Ron and Ginny next to Hermione, Harry realized that his feelings were most likely unrequited.
"Fire and Ice!" said Hermione, and the Fat Lady swung open. It was getting late, and so the quartet decided to head to bed. She embraced her boyfriend.
"Good night, mates," said Harry, but Ron and Hermione were not paying attention to him at all. But one person was.
"Thank you, Harry, said Ginny quietly.
"So you want to know how I came to have this Professor sticker on my briefcase, even before I became a professor, Hermione? Well, I had received it for my 18th birthday, as a present from Sirius. The next day I gave Sirius a motorbike. After all, he was born one day after I was."
So today was his godfather's birthday, Harry realized. Of course, Harry wanted to give Sirius the greatest gift of all, the Green Flame Torch. But Remus had mentioned the motorbike, as did Sirius in his dream the previous week. And Sirius had implied that there was a major clue behind the bike.
"Tell me more about the flying motorbike, please," said Harry.
"It wasn't a flying bike when I first bought it for him," Remus answered. "It had taken years for us to learn how to charm it, and even on the day Voldemort fell, we still hadn't finished the task. Now, I know how much it pains you to hear me talk about Sirius, but it pains me even more to talk about him."
When Ginny had recovered, she was sent to Order headquarters.
"Please sit down, Miss Weasley," Dumbledore instructed. "I have some questions to ask you that may be of some importance to the Order. When you fell off your broom, were you, or were you not under the influence of a spell of some kind?"
To Harry's surprise, Ginny replied in the affirmative.
"That is exactly what I thought," said Dumbledore. "So tell me then, do you know about the nature of the spell."
"It was the Love Potion," Ginny explained. "Malfoy had tricked me into taking some, in order to manipulate me for You-Know-Who's benefit again."
"I knew it!" Ron broke in. "Malfoy doesn't really love my sister after all."
"Miss Weasley," said Dumbledore, ignoring Ron's last comment, "what information did you give Malfoy while you were under the influence of the potion?"
"Only the location of Order headquarters."
"You see," said the headmaster as he turned towards the others, "Miss Weasley, when under the influence of the Love Potion, was not aware that she was telling Malfoy confidential information. Not until the spell was broken was she fully aware of her past actions and consequences."
"But how was the spell broken, anyway?" asked Molly with concern.
"I believe that the only one who knows the answer to that is Harry." Dumbledore then turned to Harry and asked, "When you had fallen off your broom, did you have a vision of some sort?"
"Yes," Harry replied, and he thought back to the dream.
"Could you please describe it for us," asked the headmaster.
"There were these Death Eaters, including Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange, and they used Crucio on Ginny, then Avada Kedavra. But obviously the dream was false."
"The dream you had was some sort of premonition," Dumbledore explained. "Had the spell remained in effect, that scene would have come to fruition. It is fortunate that Miss Weasley was strong enough to block off the spell for a while. Go on, Harry."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, what happened after you woke up from the dream. What did you say?"
Harry thought for a moment, then said, "'Yet I was powerless as I was forced to watch the only girl I ever truly loved be killed, when even if I did have the Green Flame Torch to bring her back to life, I don't even know from the dream where her body rests?' But that's when I thought she was dead."
"Yes," said Dumbledore, "but then you admitted that you loved Miss Weasley. That was how the spell was broken."
"What?" Harry asked, bewildered. "You mean that all you have to do to overcome the Love Potion is to have someone say they love them?"
"That is not quite enough," said Dumbledore. "You must prove that you truly love the potion victim. And that you did by saving Miss Weasley and preventing her from having a more serious injury at the expense of the Quidditch match. You had your priorities straight, Harry, and put the girl's safety over your own happiness. That is what ended the spell."
Harry paused to think about what Dumbledore had just said. The headmaster now addressed the Order.
"We still do not know Voldemort's whereabouts, since he was not present in Harry's dream at all. But by now he would have learned of ours. Therefore we must relocate to a new location yet again. The meeting is now adjourned. Harry and the other students are to return to Hogwarts immediately."
And so Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny walked back to the school. Harry was now fully aware of his own feelings for Ginny. He now realized what had caused him to ask her out that fine December afternoon, and why he had been almost as upset as Ron when she was apparently dating Malfoy. His dating Cho and, for a short while, Susan, had merely been ways of coping with not being able to date Ginny.
But he wondered, were his feelings for Ginny mutual? He knew, of course, that Ginny did not, and never did, fancy Malfoy. Indeed, it was possible that Ginny still fancied Dean, since he had no idea how long ago Malfoy had first given her the potion, or even how he was able to convince her to drink it, although he'd had several opportunities in Potions class. Indeed, Ginny's reasons for taking a sixth-year class a year early now sounded rather suspicious.
And so, as Ron and Hermione walked hand-in-hand towards Hogwarts, with Harry next to Ron and Ginny next to Hermione, Harry realized that his feelings were most likely unrequited.
"Fire and Ice!" said Hermione, and the Fat Lady swung open. It was getting late, and so the quartet decided to head to bed. She embraced her boyfriend.
"Good night, mates," said Harry, but Ron and Hermione were not paying attention to him at all. But one person was.
"Thank you, Harry, said Ginny quietly.
Saturday, March 20, 2004
Harry and Ron woke up early and dressed themselves. When they reached the common room, they almost ran into Remus Lupin.
"Not today," said Ron. "We can't have Apparition lessons today because it's the Quidditch match against Ravenclaw."
"I'm aware of that," said Remus. "In fact, I've changed my plans this weekend. After the match we'll have the lessons. And I want you to come too, Harry. After all, you'll be 17 soon and I want you to at least watch one lesson. Now let's all go out to the Quidditch Pitch."
They exited. Even though it was the first day of spring, there was still snow on the ground, it was chilly, and the wind was rather nippy. But when Harry and Ron arrived at their locker room, all the other team members were present, except Captain Katie.
"A real Captain is never late for a match," said Oliver Wood, who had spent the entire week helping the Quidditch team train for this match. "I was never late."
"Hey," said Tarra Rath, grinning, "maybe since I'm the backup Chaser, I'll get to play in the game."
Then Katie finally arrived, saying. "I, uh, overslept. Stayed up all night studying for the upcoming NEWT exams."
Oliver turned to the team. "Unlike your current Captain, I know the importance of today's game. If we win, we'll get to play Slytherin for the Quidditch Cup. Lose and we'll be out of the running."
The Quidditch Pitch was packed to the limit with energetic spectators when the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw teams exited their respective locker rooms and marched to the center of the field, where Madam Hooch stood with the rectangular box of balls at her feet.
Dean cleared his throat and spoke into the magical microphone. "Welcome back to the Pitch on this fine, March day! It's time for Quidditch!"
Cheers thundered throughout the stands, while the preliminaries between the team captains and Madam Hooch took place down below.
"Today's match is between Gryffindor," he paused to allow for cheers and applause, "and Ravenclaw!" He paused again, smiling.
"Let's meet our players! For Gryffindor: Keeper, Ron Weasley! Beaters, Andrew Kirke and Jack Sloper! Chasers, Katie Bell, Michelle Thompson and Ginny Weasley! And Seeker, Harry Potter!"
Katie and Roger Davies shook hands and then mounted their brooms, soaring into the sky with their teammates.
"For Ravenclaw," Dean continued, "Keeper, Terry Boot! Beaters, Sarah Fawcett and Su Li! Chasers, Benjamin Bradley, Kimberly Brittain and Roger Davies! And Seeker, Cho Chang!"
Madam Hooch kicked open the trunk and released the bludgers, snitch and quaffle. In a blink of an eye, Ginny reached for the quaffle and snatched it from the sky starting the race to the three goal hoops guarded by Terry Boot.
"Gryffindor in possession!" shouted Dean happily.
Hermione, Remus Lupin, and Oliver Wood sat in the stands with their fellow Gryffindors, cheering on Harry, Ron and the rest of the team to victory. Things seemed off to an excellent start; Ginny had possession of the quaffle and she was moving towards the opposing goal hoops with remarkable speed.
Ginny grinned as she was the first one to touch the quaffle at the start. She zipped across the pitch, keeping an eye out for players and bludgers. She quickly got nearer to the goal hoops and threw the quaffle towards the left hoop. She watched as the quaffle got nearer to the hoop... and then was caught by Terry Boot. Letting out a breath to relax her a little bit, Ginny followed the ball and tried to gain possession of it once more.
Benjamin Bradley was streaking across his side of the pitch watching for the right time to get the quaffle and score. He hardly noticed the two people on his side. Terry threw the quaffle to Ben; he caught it and sped across the pitch.
He was about to pass to Roger Davies when a bludger streaked by his head. He turned to see Andrew Kirke grinning at him and then he looked past Ben. Ben turned
in time to see Jack Sloper hit the bludger back at Ben. He dodged it but only by dropping the quaffle.
Jack and Andy zoomed off to help their teammates fend off the other bludger, which was being occupied by the Ravenclaw beaters. Ben sped off to help his teammates.
As Katie Bell raced around the pitch trying to catch the quaffle, she saw one of the bludgers hit Andy. The Ravenclaw beater who hit it at him uttered something under his breath.
Just as it appeared the Ravenclaw team was going to score, Kimberly Brittain dropped the quaffle as Jack smacked the bludger at him. Seeing her opportunity, Katie dived for the ball grabbing it inches before one of the Ravenclaw chasers could grasp it.
She tucked the ball under her arm and darted off toward the opposite end. As she neared the hoops, Terry took his stand in the center of the three. She wound up her arm and made as if she were going to throw to left hoop. But just as he went to move towards it, she released the ball to the center hoop. She squeezed her eyes tight and hoped that Terry didn't block it.
"Score! Katie Bell takes the first points of the game. Gryffindor leads 10-nil."
Cho soared above the players for the match. Contentedly, she focused in on the game, looking more for the snitch than the other players.
Getting dangerously close to the fray, she zipped to the side to dodge a bludger, only to run into a Hufflepuff. Cho apologized quickly, flying back up above, sheepish for a few moments. Meanwhile, Su Li had been after that bludger, only to be beaten to it by an opposing beater.
Ginny raced after the other chasers, intent on getting the ball. Roger passed the ball to Kimberly who shot at the hoops. Ron was right there and caught the ball, then passed it to Michelle Thompson. All of them then raced back towards the other side of the pitch.
Roger was closing in on Michelle and she made a quick pass to Ginny. Ginny went to catch the quaffle but lost it at the last second to Ben as she is almost knocked off her seat by a bludger. Jack was right there and sent the bludger racing. Ginny quickly found her seat again and flew after the quaffle once again. This wasn't looking like her best game.
"It's Thompson in possession," Dean shouted, following the path of the quaffle with his eyes as it traveled from Chaser to Chaser at incredible speed. "She passes to my lovely ex," he said sarcastically, much to McGonagall's contempt, "and it's intercepted by Bradley!"
Roars of approval and delight ripped through the Ravenclaw portion. Meanwhile, Ben tossed the ball to Kimberly, who shot below the hovering clouds with the quaffle clutched tightly in one strong hand. She kept changing the position of the ball on her body, especially as the Gryffindor chasers drew nearer. They were quite intent on bumping the ball away from her grasp. Suddenly, a bludger came spiraling. Kim rolled her shoulder enough to the point that the fierce ball merely grazed her cheek. She breathed a deep sigh of relief and continued on the path to the goals. Again, a bludger came at her and Kim jerked her broom suddenly towards the ground to avoid collision with it.
Instead, she collided hard into Thompson. After the two second-years crashed, Madam Hooch blew on her whistle and called foul, and Kim was forced to give up the quaffle for Michelle's penalty shot. She maneuvered herself in front of Terry but "Boot blocks the shot! No Goal! The score remains, Gryffindor 10-nil," Dean announced.
Harry split his time between watching the action going on around him and keeping an eye out for the snitch. He pumped one fist in the air as Michelle took the quaffle and started speeding down the pitch. Harry saw Sarah Fawcett aiming a bludger at his teammate and yelled for her to watch out. Michelle was able to keep herself from being hit but the bludger caught enough of the quaffle that Michelle lost her grip.
Harry wheeled his broom around to continue his snitch hunt but didn't see the grinning Su Li until the bludger she hit is almost upon him. It smacked him square in the chest, the force painfully emptying his lungs. Fighting for breath as darkness threatened his vision, Harry tightly gripped his broom as the momentum from the bludger put it in a sidespin.
Suddenly he saw Lucius Malfoy, along with Nott and Crabbe, laugh as Bellatrix Lestrange came happily bounding out of a cell where a prisoner was being held. The young woman giggled as she fairly skipped over to join the others, "That was FUN! I cannot wait until I can do that again!"
Seconds later, MacNair emerged from the cell, a grin on his face. Lestrange sprang over to him and gave MacNair a quick hug while exclaiming, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
MacNair chuckled at her exuberance, "Was a pleasure, Bellatrix."
The man then turned to Lucius. "Wasn't squeamish in the slightest. Wish we had more like her."
Lucius, who more or less considered Bellatrix to be his protégé since he and his wife were the ones who brought her into the fold, experienced a sense of pride at hearing Lestrange praised. He gave one of his smug smiles. "Glad to hear it. Didn't doubt her for a minute."
Lucius inclined his head toward the cell. "What's the status?"
"We've gotten everything out of her we're going to get so whenever you're ready for the next stage, we're good to go."
Lucius nodded. "There's no time like the present. Why don't you bring our guest?"
As MacNair once again entered the cell, Lucius gazed around the room. Not all the Death Eaters were here. He gestured to Lestrange to come stand by his side.
"Bellatrix, my dear, it seems you don't have to wait long for more fun," Lucius said with a merry twinkle in his eye. "Everyone, gather together. It's time to give the Weasley girl one last tribute."
Harry couldn't believe his ears. The Death Eaters somehow had captured Ginny?
The Death Eaters present formed a circle around the spot where MacNair was forcing Ginny to stand. MacNair moved to join his fellow Death Eaters as Lucius addresses the shaking girl in the center of the ring.
"Weasley, do you have anything you'd like to say before we let you go?"
Her teeth chattering, Ginny sounded surprised. "Nnnno. Nnnnnothing. Mmmmaaaay IIII gggggo nnnnnow?"
"Why of course, Weasley. MacNair, will you do the honors?"
"My pleasure, Malfoy."
With that, MacNair pointed his wand at Ginny and with a malicious smile on his face clearly stated, "Crucio..."
The exact moment MacNair stopped, the person to his right pointed a wand and cast the Cruciatus Curse just as MacNair did. And so it went round and round the circle until at long last, Ginny lay in a tightly circled ball, her eyes open, fixed, and glazed.
Lucius walked over to the body and gave it a kick while chuckling, "Oh, dear me. I forgot to mention that we are killing you. Avada --"
Harry woke up from his dream. He was now lying on the cold, icy ground of the Quidditch pitch. But of all his dreams, this one was by far the worst.
"I can't believe it," Harry mumbled quietly. "I've just seen the Death Eaters use Avada Kedavra against Ginny. Have I saved her from the Chamber of Secrets just for her to be murdered by Death Eaters? Yet I was powerless as I was forced to watch the only girl I ever truly loved be killed, when even if I did have the Green Flame Torch to bring her back to life, I don't even know from the dream where her body rests?"
"Harry? Are you all right?" a soft, female voice spoke. Harry looked up and saw that the voice was none other than Ginny herself! Relief flooded his veins as he realized that the dream was false and that Ginny was still alive. He reprimanded himself, for surely he should have known that there was no way for her to get from Hogwarts to whatever that strange place where the Death Eaters had been so quickly. Indeed, it had been because of such a senseless dream that Sirius lay beyond the veil.
Harry was so grateful Ginny was still alive that he no longer felt the pain radiating from his scar and center, the latter caused by the fall from the broom. He gave a wave to show he was all right. He got his broom back on course.
Ginny muttered to herself, "One thing's for sure, I'm going to personally see that Harry visits Madam Pomfrey after this is over."
Meanwhile, in the match, Roger narrowly dodged a bludger as he flew towards the goal. Of course that dodge put him in the perfect spot to catch the quaffle. Taking a shot, the Ravenclaw Chaser was rather disappointed when it was blocked.
"Weasley for the block!" Dean shouted gleefully. Ron threw the quaffle to one of the Gryffindor Chasers, and the rapid hand to hand exchange immediately began. During the mad flight to the opposing goal hoops, Kim caught the ball and 180ed. She started the quick dash to the other end of the Pitch with her fellow chasers and those of Gryffindor hot on her heels.
Meanwhile, Su Li of Ravenclaw spotted a bludger spiraling dangerously close to Cho and moved in to swat it out of the way, but Jack Sloper got to it first. He missed.
"Close one!" Dean yelled, and when Su moved in to meet another bludger, she hit it with such force that splinters exploded from the bat in her hand. That bludger careened wildly towards the cluster of chasers, but it hit no one.
Kim entered the scoring area and with one solid toss sent the quaffle soaring through the center hoop. Ron's fingertips barely grazed the ball as it passed by him.
"Brittain scores for Ravenclaw!" cried out Dean, and he pressed one mittened finger down on the scoreboard, which now read: Gryffindor 10, Ravenclaw 10.
Thunderous applause escalated throughout the stadium and the Ravenclaws started to chant enthusiastically. "Go, Go, Ravenclaw! Go, Go, Ravenclaw!"
It was the first of several goals Ron would let in. Ravenclaw had scored five more times to take a 60-10 lead.
Suddenly, Harry darted across the sky. Cho seemed to take notice and followed, gaining bursts of speed every few seconds. He was nearly alongside her when Dean shouted, "Harry has seen the snitch!"
Well, what a game this was turning out to be. Katie had scored and given the Gryffindor team the lead early in the game. Now not really caring about what the score is, and just hoping his sister and the other Chasers can score a few more goals, Ron flew around the pitch protecting his goals.
Ron flew back to watch his sister work her magic on the pitch for a few moments. But just out of the corner of his eye as he turns his head to watch Ginny, a bludger came flying right at her.
With the bloody bludger coming right at her, she had literally no where to go. "This is bloody going to hurt," she said to herself a mere second before the bludger hit her and she fell from her broom.
Thanks to Harry's fast flying after seeing Ginny hit in the chest, she was lying on the ground unconscious and bruised, instead of unconscious and broken. The slight lead Harry had over Cho had been enough for her to get to it first, but he lost it because of the distraction. Cho's right hand enclosed over the fluttering, golden orb and triumphantly, she pumped her fist into the air as Dean cried out, "Chang catches the Golden Snitch! Ravenclaw win! Final score Ravenclaw 210, Gryffindor 10!"
Harry looked at the unconscious Chaser. "Ginny's dead, just like in my dream! But as soon as I find the Torch --"
"She is still alive," Remus reassured him. "We are taking her to the hospital wing, which is where you should go, since you suffered some injuries yourself."
So Remus used "Wingardium Leviosa" to transport Ginny, while Harry was fine enough to walk unaided. Harry was only mildly injured and a quick charm healed him completely, but Madam Pomfrey said that Ginny's bruises would require one night in the Hospital Wing to recover.
"Come on," said Remus. "It is time to go to Order headquarters. Ron and Hermione are already there waiting for you."
So Harry and Remus walked through Hogsmeade to McGonagall's house. Remus was surprised to see the house decked with banners reading "Happy Birthday, Remus!"
"I can't believe you remembered my birthday!" said Remus.
The Phoenix headquarters was abuzz with excitement. Mrs. Weasley was making a cake while Ron and Hermione were wrapping their presents. Remus was over in the kitchen licking the batter of the cake out of a bowl. Many Order members were seated around a party table, including Hagrid, who could barely fit inside the house. There was plenty to eat, with Hagrid helping himself to an entire side of beef and a couple of dozen Yorkshire puddings, too.
And so Harry went to bed, putting the unpleasant events of the day out of mind.
"Not today," said Ron. "We can't have Apparition lessons today because it's the Quidditch match against Ravenclaw."
"I'm aware of that," said Remus. "In fact, I've changed my plans this weekend. After the match we'll have the lessons. And I want you to come too, Harry. After all, you'll be 17 soon and I want you to at least watch one lesson. Now let's all go out to the Quidditch Pitch."
They exited. Even though it was the first day of spring, there was still snow on the ground, it was chilly, and the wind was rather nippy. But when Harry and Ron arrived at their locker room, all the other team members were present, except Captain Katie.
"A real Captain is never late for a match," said Oliver Wood, who had spent the entire week helping the Quidditch team train for this match. "I was never late."
"Hey," said Tarra Rath, grinning, "maybe since I'm the backup Chaser, I'll get to play in the game."
Then Katie finally arrived, saying. "I, uh, overslept. Stayed up all night studying for the upcoming NEWT exams."
Oliver turned to the team. "Unlike your current Captain, I know the importance of today's game. If we win, we'll get to play Slytherin for the Quidditch Cup. Lose and we'll be out of the running."
The Quidditch Pitch was packed to the limit with energetic spectators when the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw teams exited their respective locker rooms and marched to the center of the field, where Madam Hooch stood with the rectangular box of balls at her feet.
Dean cleared his throat and spoke into the magical microphone. "Welcome back to the Pitch on this fine, March day! It's time for Quidditch!"
Cheers thundered throughout the stands, while the preliminaries between the team captains and Madam Hooch took place down below.
"Today's match is between Gryffindor," he paused to allow for cheers and applause, "and Ravenclaw!" He paused again, smiling.
"Let's meet our players! For Gryffindor: Keeper, Ron Weasley! Beaters, Andrew Kirke and Jack Sloper! Chasers, Katie Bell, Michelle Thompson and Ginny Weasley! And Seeker, Harry Potter!"
Katie and Roger Davies shook hands and then mounted their brooms, soaring into the sky with their teammates.
"For Ravenclaw," Dean continued, "Keeper, Terry Boot! Beaters, Sarah Fawcett and Su Li! Chasers, Benjamin Bradley, Kimberly Brittain and Roger Davies! And Seeker, Cho Chang!"
Madam Hooch kicked open the trunk and released the bludgers, snitch and quaffle. In a blink of an eye, Ginny reached for the quaffle and snatched it from the sky starting the race to the three goal hoops guarded by Terry Boot.
"Gryffindor in possession!" shouted Dean happily.
Hermione, Remus Lupin, and Oliver Wood sat in the stands with their fellow Gryffindors, cheering on Harry, Ron and the rest of the team to victory. Things seemed off to an excellent start; Ginny had possession of the quaffle and she was moving towards the opposing goal hoops with remarkable speed.
Ginny grinned as she was the first one to touch the quaffle at the start. She zipped across the pitch, keeping an eye out for players and bludgers. She quickly got nearer to the goal hoops and threw the quaffle towards the left hoop. She watched as the quaffle got nearer to the hoop... and then was caught by Terry Boot. Letting out a breath to relax her a little bit, Ginny followed the ball and tried to gain possession of it once more.
Benjamin Bradley was streaking across his side of the pitch watching for the right time to get the quaffle and score. He hardly noticed the two people on his side. Terry threw the quaffle to Ben; he caught it and sped across the pitch.
He was about to pass to Roger Davies when a bludger streaked by his head. He turned to see Andrew Kirke grinning at him and then he looked past Ben. Ben turned
in time to see Jack Sloper hit the bludger back at Ben. He dodged it but only by dropping the quaffle.
Jack and Andy zoomed off to help their teammates fend off the other bludger, which was being occupied by the Ravenclaw beaters. Ben sped off to help his teammates.
As Katie Bell raced around the pitch trying to catch the quaffle, she saw one of the bludgers hit Andy. The Ravenclaw beater who hit it at him uttered something under his breath.
Just as it appeared the Ravenclaw team was going to score, Kimberly Brittain dropped the quaffle as Jack smacked the bludger at him. Seeing her opportunity, Katie dived for the ball grabbing it inches before one of the Ravenclaw chasers could grasp it.
She tucked the ball under her arm and darted off toward the opposite end. As she neared the hoops, Terry took his stand in the center of the three. She wound up her arm and made as if she were going to throw to left hoop. But just as he went to move towards it, she released the ball to the center hoop. She squeezed her eyes tight and hoped that Terry didn't block it.
"Score! Katie Bell takes the first points of the game. Gryffindor leads 10-nil."
Cho soared above the players for the match. Contentedly, she focused in on the game, looking more for the snitch than the other players.
Getting dangerously close to the fray, she zipped to the side to dodge a bludger, only to run into a Hufflepuff. Cho apologized quickly, flying back up above, sheepish for a few moments. Meanwhile, Su Li had been after that bludger, only to be beaten to it by an opposing beater.
Ginny raced after the other chasers, intent on getting the ball. Roger passed the ball to Kimberly who shot at the hoops. Ron was right there and caught the ball, then passed it to Michelle Thompson. All of them then raced back towards the other side of the pitch.
Roger was closing in on Michelle and she made a quick pass to Ginny. Ginny went to catch the quaffle but lost it at the last second to Ben as she is almost knocked off her seat by a bludger. Jack was right there and sent the bludger racing. Ginny quickly found her seat again and flew after the quaffle once again. This wasn't looking like her best game.
"It's Thompson in possession," Dean shouted, following the path of the quaffle with his eyes as it traveled from Chaser to Chaser at incredible speed. "She passes to my lovely ex," he said sarcastically, much to McGonagall's contempt, "and it's intercepted by Bradley!"
Roars of approval and delight ripped through the Ravenclaw portion. Meanwhile, Ben tossed the ball to Kimberly, who shot below the hovering clouds with the quaffle clutched tightly in one strong hand. She kept changing the position of the ball on her body, especially as the Gryffindor chasers drew nearer. They were quite intent on bumping the ball away from her grasp. Suddenly, a bludger came spiraling. Kim rolled her shoulder enough to the point that the fierce ball merely grazed her cheek. She breathed a deep sigh of relief and continued on the path to the goals. Again, a bludger came at her and Kim jerked her broom suddenly towards the ground to avoid collision with it.
Instead, she collided hard into Thompson. After the two second-years crashed, Madam Hooch blew on her whistle and called foul, and Kim was forced to give up the quaffle for Michelle's penalty shot. She maneuvered herself in front of Terry but "Boot blocks the shot! No Goal! The score remains, Gryffindor 10-nil," Dean announced.
Harry split his time between watching the action going on around him and keeping an eye out for the snitch. He pumped one fist in the air as Michelle took the quaffle and started speeding down the pitch. Harry saw Sarah Fawcett aiming a bludger at his teammate and yelled for her to watch out. Michelle was able to keep herself from being hit but the bludger caught enough of the quaffle that Michelle lost her grip.
Harry wheeled his broom around to continue his snitch hunt but didn't see the grinning Su Li until the bludger she hit is almost upon him. It smacked him square in the chest, the force painfully emptying his lungs. Fighting for breath as darkness threatened his vision, Harry tightly gripped his broom as the momentum from the bludger put it in a sidespin.
Suddenly he saw Lucius Malfoy, along with Nott and Crabbe, laugh as Bellatrix Lestrange came happily bounding out of a cell where a prisoner was being held. The young woman giggled as she fairly skipped over to join the others, "That was FUN! I cannot wait until I can do that again!"
Seconds later, MacNair emerged from the cell, a grin on his face. Lestrange sprang over to him and gave MacNair a quick hug while exclaiming, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
MacNair chuckled at her exuberance, "Was a pleasure, Bellatrix."
The man then turned to Lucius. "Wasn't squeamish in the slightest. Wish we had more like her."
Lucius, who more or less considered Bellatrix to be his protégé since he and his wife were the ones who brought her into the fold, experienced a sense of pride at hearing Lestrange praised. He gave one of his smug smiles. "Glad to hear it. Didn't doubt her for a minute."
Lucius inclined his head toward the cell. "What's the status?"
"We've gotten everything out of her we're going to get so whenever you're ready for the next stage, we're good to go."
Lucius nodded. "There's no time like the present. Why don't you bring our guest?"
As MacNair once again entered the cell, Lucius gazed around the room. Not all the Death Eaters were here. He gestured to Lestrange to come stand by his side.
"Bellatrix, my dear, it seems you don't have to wait long for more fun," Lucius said with a merry twinkle in his eye. "Everyone, gather together. It's time to give the Weasley girl one last tribute."
Harry couldn't believe his ears. The Death Eaters somehow had captured Ginny?
The Death Eaters present formed a circle around the spot where MacNair was forcing Ginny to stand. MacNair moved to join his fellow Death Eaters as Lucius addresses the shaking girl in the center of the ring.
"Weasley, do you have anything you'd like to say before we let you go?"
Her teeth chattering, Ginny sounded surprised. "Nnnno. Nnnnnothing. Mmmmaaaay IIII gggggo nnnnnow?"
"Why of course, Weasley. MacNair, will you do the honors?"
"My pleasure, Malfoy."
With that, MacNair pointed his wand at Ginny and with a malicious smile on his face clearly stated, "Crucio..."
The exact moment MacNair stopped, the person to his right pointed a wand and cast the Cruciatus Curse just as MacNair did. And so it went round and round the circle until at long last, Ginny lay in a tightly circled ball, her eyes open, fixed, and glazed.
Lucius walked over to the body and gave it a kick while chuckling, "Oh, dear me. I forgot to mention that we are killing you. Avada --"
Harry woke up from his dream. He was now lying on the cold, icy ground of the Quidditch pitch. But of all his dreams, this one was by far the worst.
"I can't believe it," Harry mumbled quietly. "I've just seen the Death Eaters use Avada Kedavra against Ginny. Have I saved her from the Chamber of Secrets just for her to be murdered by Death Eaters? Yet I was powerless as I was forced to watch the only girl I ever truly loved be killed, when even if I did have the Green Flame Torch to bring her back to life, I don't even know from the dream where her body rests?"
"Harry? Are you all right?" a soft, female voice spoke. Harry looked up and saw that the voice was none other than Ginny herself! Relief flooded his veins as he realized that the dream was false and that Ginny was still alive. He reprimanded himself, for surely he should have known that there was no way for her to get from Hogwarts to whatever that strange place where the Death Eaters had been so quickly. Indeed, it had been because of such a senseless dream that Sirius lay beyond the veil.
Harry was so grateful Ginny was still alive that he no longer felt the pain radiating from his scar and center, the latter caused by the fall from the broom. He gave a wave to show he was all right. He got his broom back on course.
Ginny muttered to herself, "One thing's for sure, I'm going to personally see that Harry visits Madam Pomfrey after this is over."
Meanwhile, in the match, Roger narrowly dodged a bludger as he flew towards the goal. Of course that dodge put him in the perfect spot to catch the quaffle. Taking a shot, the Ravenclaw Chaser was rather disappointed when it was blocked.
"Weasley for the block!" Dean shouted gleefully. Ron threw the quaffle to one of the Gryffindor Chasers, and the rapid hand to hand exchange immediately began. During the mad flight to the opposing goal hoops, Kim caught the ball and 180ed. She started the quick dash to the other end of the Pitch with her fellow chasers and those of Gryffindor hot on her heels.
Meanwhile, Su Li of Ravenclaw spotted a bludger spiraling dangerously close to Cho and moved in to swat it out of the way, but Jack Sloper got to it first. He missed.
"Close one!" Dean yelled, and when Su moved in to meet another bludger, she hit it with such force that splinters exploded from the bat in her hand. That bludger careened wildly towards the cluster of chasers, but it hit no one.
Kim entered the scoring area and with one solid toss sent the quaffle soaring through the center hoop. Ron's fingertips barely grazed the ball as it passed by him.
"Brittain scores for Ravenclaw!" cried out Dean, and he pressed one mittened finger down on the scoreboard, which now read: Gryffindor 10, Ravenclaw 10.
Thunderous applause escalated throughout the stadium and the Ravenclaws started to chant enthusiastically. "Go, Go, Ravenclaw! Go, Go, Ravenclaw!"
It was the first of several goals Ron would let in. Ravenclaw had scored five more times to take a 60-10 lead.
Suddenly, Harry darted across the sky. Cho seemed to take notice and followed, gaining bursts of speed every few seconds. He was nearly alongside her when Dean shouted, "Harry has seen the snitch!"
Well, what a game this was turning out to be. Katie had scored and given the Gryffindor team the lead early in the game. Now not really caring about what the score is, and just hoping his sister and the other Chasers can score a few more goals, Ron flew around the pitch protecting his goals.
Ron flew back to watch his sister work her magic on the pitch for a few moments. But just out of the corner of his eye as he turns his head to watch Ginny, a bludger came flying right at her.
With the bloody bludger coming right at her, she had literally no where to go. "This is bloody going to hurt," she said to herself a mere second before the bludger hit her and she fell from her broom.
Thanks to Harry's fast flying after seeing Ginny hit in the chest, she was lying on the ground unconscious and bruised, instead of unconscious and broken. The slight lead Harry had over Cho had been enough for her to get to it first, but he lost it because of the distraction. Cho's right hand enclosed over the fluttering, golden orb and triumphantly, she pumped her fist into the air as Dean cried out, "Chang catches the Golden Snitch! Ravenclaw win! Final score Ravenclaw 210, Gryffindor 10!"
Harry looked at the unconscious Chaser. "Ginny's dead, just like in my dream! But as soon as I find the Torch --"
"She is still alive," Remus reassured him. "We are taking her to the hospital wing, which is where you should go, since you suffered some injuries yourself."
So Remus used "Wingardium Leviosa" to transport Ginny, while Harry was fine enough to walk unaided. Harry was only mildly injured and a quick charm healed him completely, but Madam Pomfrey said that Ginny's bruises would require one night in the Hospital Wing to recover.
"Come on," said Remus. "It is time to go to Order headquarters. Ron and Hermione are already there waiting for you."
So Harry and Remus walked through Hogsmeade to McGonagall's house. Remus was surprised to see the house decked with banners reading "Happy Birthday, Remus!"
"I can't believe you remembered my birthday!" said Remus.
The Phoenix headquarters was abuzz with excitement. Mrs. Weasley was making a cake while Ron and Hermione were wrapping their presents. Remus was over in the kitchen licking the batter of the cake out of a bowl. Many Order members were seated around a party table, including Hagrid, who could barely fit inside the house. There was plenty to eat, with Hagrid helping himself to an entire side of beef and a couple of dozen Yorkshire puddings, too.
And so Harry went to bed, putting the unpleasant events of the day out of mind.
Monday, March 15, 2004
Over the next week or so, Ron and Hermione continued to see each other, making out in empty classrooms. Harry, on the other hand, re-evaluated his "relationship" with Susan, realizing that he had no feelings for her, but was only seeing her because he'd felt alone when Ron and Hermione got together. So Harry and Susan broke up.
But for the first time in several months, Harry had a dream about his late godfather.
"Sirius," Harry spoke sadly, "I'm sorry, but I've failed you yet again. I'm not close to obtaining the Green Flame Torch at all."
"Harry," said Sirius, "do you know what it is like here in the land of the dead? Here in the land beyond the veil?"
"No," said Harry quietly.
"It is very strange. I mean, you are reunited with all of the past family members and can speak to them again, but there is no emotion whatsoever. For dead people can feel no emotions, Harry."
Then another dark figure materialized next to Sirius.
"This," Sirius explained, "is my brother Regulus. He's pretty quiet these days."
"Regulus, the Death Eater?" Harry asked incredulously. "But you hate each other."
Regulus spoke. "But hatred is an emotion, and, as my brother has told you, there are no emotions beyond the veil."
Then Regulus disappeared, and he was replaced by an oddly familiar figure.
Harry's heart leapt. "Dad?" he asked.
"Not quite," said the man. "My name is Lewis Potter. I am the father of James and therefore your grandfather. Thus I once possessed the Red Flame Torch."
"The Red Flame Torch?" asked Harry, confused. "But I want the Green Flame Torch."
But then Lewis Potter vanished, and Sirius reappeared.
"Harry," Sirius spoke, "find my old flying motorbike. It is the key to everything. And if you need more help, use the mirror."
"But --" Harry began, but then Sirius and the world beyond the veil disappeared, and suddenly Harry saw Lord Voldemort again.
"Crucio!" he said angrily as he pointed his wand at one of his Death Eaters. "You have failed me yet again."
Harry saw that Voldemort's wand was aimed at none other than Wormtail.
"But," Voldemort continued, "I will give you one chance to redeem yourself, although that is one more chance than you deserve."
Then Harry woke up and he was back in his four-poster bed with yet another throbbing in his scar. But he was very confused by the events of his dream. First of all, how could his grandfather have once possessed the Red Flame Torch when all the Torches besides the Green Flame Torch had been destroyed a millennium ago? Then, how can Sirius and his flying motorbike be the key to everything, and what mirror was he even talking about? The mirror of Erised, perhaps? Finally, how had Wormtail failed Voldemort, as exactly how was he going to try to redeem himself?
Harry started to get up, but Ron pushed him back. "I reckon you should lie down a few more hours. I'll ask Hermione to fill you in on History of Magic." So Ron and his other roommates left Harry alone with his thoughts.
After trying to solve the mysteries of his dream for a while, he got hungry, and so he ventured down to the Great Hall. By then it was lunch and nearly time for Quidditch practice, and so he decided to go out to the pitch to get his mind off of the dream.
"Hello, Harry," a voice called out, and Harry saw that it was none other than his former Captain, Oliver Wood.
"Long time no see," said Harry. "What are you doing here?" For the last time Harry had seen Oliver, the Captain was 18, he was 13, and they'd just won the Cup. Now Oliver was celebrating his 21st birthday.
"Well, it's an emergency. You see, Katie's got her NEWT's to study for and she needs someone to train you chaps. My season doesn't begin for a couple of weeks, so here I am again!"
And so Harry had the hardest Quidditch practice he'd had in three years.
But for the first time in several months, Harry had a dream about his late godfather.
"Sirius," Harry spoke sadly, "I'm sorry, but I've failed you yet again. I'm not close to obtaining the Green Flame Torch at all."
"Harry," said Sirius, "do you know what it is like here in the land of the dead? Here in the land beyond the veil?"
"No," said Harry quietly.
"It is very strange. I mean, you are reunited with all of the past family members and can speak to them again, but there is no emotion whatsoever. For dead people can feel no emotions, Harry."
Then another dark figure materialized next to Sirius.
"This," Sirius explained, "is my brother Regulus. He's pretty quiet these days."
"Regulus, the Death Eater?" Harry asked incredulously. "But you hate each other."
Regulus spoke. "But hatred is an emotion, and, as my brother has told you, there are no emotions beyond the veil."
Then Regulus disappeared, and he was replaced by an oddly familiar figure.
Harry's heart leapt. "Dad?" he asked.
"Not quite," said the man. "My name is Lewis Potter. I am the father of James and therefore your grandfather. Thus I once possessed the Red Flame Torch."
"The Red Flame Torch?" asked Harry, confused. "But I want the Green Flame Torch."
But then Lewis Potter vanished, and Sirius reappeared.
"Harry," Sirius spoke, "find my old flying motorbike. It is the key to everything. And if you need more help, use the mirror."
"But --" Harry began, but then Sirius and the world beyond the veil disappeared, and suddenly Harry saw Lord Voldemort again.
"Crucio!" he said angrily as he pointed his wand at one of his Death Eaters. "You have failed me yet again."
Harry saw that Voldemort's wand was aimed at none other than Wormtail.
"But," Voldemort continued, "I will give you one chance to redeem yourself, although that is one more chance than you deserve."
Then Harry woke up and he was back in his four-poster bed with yet another throbbing in his scar. But he was very confused by the events of his dream. First of all, how could his grandfather have once possessed the Red Flame Torch when all the Torches besides the Green Flame Torch had been destroyed a millennium ago? Then, how can Sirius and his flying motorbike be the key to everything, and what mirror was he even talking about? The mirror of Erised, perhaps? Finally, how had Wormtail failed Voldemort, as exactly how was he going to try to redeem himself?
Harry started to get up, but Ron pushed him back. "I reckon you should lie down a few more hours. I'll ask Hermione to fill you in on History of Magic." So Ron and his other roommates left Harry alone with his thoughts.
After trying to solve the mysteries of his dream for a while, he got hungry, and so he ventured down to the Great Hall. By then it was lunch and nearly time for Quidditch practice, and so he decided to go out to the pitch to get his mind off of the dream.
"Hello, Harry," a voice called out, and Harry saw that it was none other than his former Captain, Oliver Wood.
"Long time no see," said Harry. "What are you doing here?" For the last time Harry had seen Oliver, the Captain was 18, he was 13, and they'd just won the Cup. Now Oliver was celebrating his 21st birthday.
"Well, it's an emergency. You see, Katie's got her NEWT's to study for and she needs someone to train you chaps. My season doesn't begin for a couple of weeks, so here I am again!"
And so Harry had the hardest Quidditch practice he'd had in three years.
Thursday, March 04, 2004
It had taken half a dozen butterbeers each that night, but Ron and Hermione had finally admitted their feelings for each other. It was about bloody time, Harry thought to himself.
Thursdays were usually a light schedule. Harry and Hermione had Charms mid-morning, then no more classes until Astronomy in the late evening. Ron had an even easier day since he had only Astronomy that night. Therefore Hermione decided to schedule the day's SPEW meeting for early afternoon, right after lunch.
"Goodbye, Hermione," said Ron before she left for Charms. "I'll miss you." Then he kissed Hermione for the first time since the night of the party.
In Charms class, Professor Flitwick taught the Cantor Charm, which resulted in music coming from the wand. Parvati and Lavender were able to get their wands to play music from the Weird Sisters, much to Malfoy's dismay. Only Susan Bones and Neville Longbottom were unable to get his charm to work.
After lunch, the SPEW meeting began. Hermione was delighted when five new members showed up to the meeting.
"Just sign your names on the parchment here," she told the newcomers.
Susan Bones was first, followed by two new Ravenclaw sixth-years, Terry Boot and Mandy Brocklehurst.
"Hey," said Hermione, "what happened to the Head Boy, Eddie Carmichael?"
"He changed his mind when you started going out with Ron," Mandy told her.
The next member was the first adult SPEW member, Lupin. "Remus John Lupin," he said as he signed the parchment.
"I didn't know your middle name was John," said Harry. "John, so that's what the J. stands for. I was hoping that it stood for James," he said quickly, trying not to think about his father.
The last new member was Ginny. "I convinced her to join," Ron told Hermione. "That ought to separate her from Malfoy for a while, since he'd never join SPEW."
She signed the parchment, "Virginia Molly Weasley." Naturally, she had been named after her mother, who now lay still, waiting for the Torch to revive her.
Ginny immediately changed the subject from her mother. "You'll never guess what Ron's middle name is!"
"I'm warning you, don't tell her!" Ron said to her. He pointed his wand at his sister and started to say "Silencio," but he was too late.
"It's Bilius!" Ginny said, and everyone began to laugh.
"It's not fair!" Ron said. "Why did I have to be named after my uncle with the worst name in the world!"
"So," said Colin to Lupin, "can you tell us what it was like to be a Marauder?"
"Sure," said Lupin, who enjoyed telling such stories. He told his favorite story, that of of the big werewolf prank on Snape.
"You see, the Marauders were Harry's dad, Sirius Black, and myself from Gryffindor and Peter Pettigrew from Slytherin --"
"What?" Harry interrupted. "Wormtail was in Slytherin?"
"Of course," said Lupin, "who ever said that we were all in Gryffindor?"
Unfortunately for Hermione, between the middle name discussion and the tales of the Marauders, very little was actually discussed about house elves. Harry was saddened when Lupin talked about his father and Sirius. Eventually, many of the students had to leave for classes and the meeting ended.
That night the Astronomy class began. The only sixth-year students in this class were, in addition to the trio, Parvati Patil and Draco Malfoy, since the students had been distracted during the previous year's OWL's by the Hagrid vs. Umbridge incident. But there were many seventh-year students in the class, including Katie Bell, Miles Bletchley, Eddie Carmichael, Cho Chang, Marietta Edgecombe, and Adrian Pucey.
"Now then," Professor Sinistra began, "can anyone tell me the name of the brightest star at this time of year? Yes, Miss Granger?"
"It is Sirius, the dog star," said Hermione.
"Five points to Gryffindor," said Professor Sinistra. "Around late February or early March, Sirius appears in the sky. In fact, the sighting of this star was the basis of the ancient Egyptian calendar."
Of course, this reminded Harry of his godfather again. He hoped that his outlook on rescuing Sirius from the veil would be brightest at this time of year as well.
Thursdays were usually a light schedule. Harry and Hermione had Charms mid-morning, then no more classes until Astronomy in the late evening. Ron had an even easier day since he had only Astronomy that night. Therefore Hermione decided to schedule the day's SPEW meeting for early afternoon, right after lunch.
"Goodbye, Hermione," said Ron before she left for Charms. "I'll miss you." Then he kissed Hermione for the first time since the night of the party.
In Charms class, Professor Flitwick taught the Cantor Charm, which resulted in music coming from the wand. Parvati and Lavender were able to get their wands to play music from the Weird Sisters, much to Malfoy's dismay. Only Susan Bones and Neville Longbottom were unable to get his charm to work.
After lunch, the SPEW meeting began. Hermione was delighted when five new members showed up to the meeting.
"Just sign your names on the parchment here," she told the newcomers.
Susan Bones was first, followed by two new Ravenclaw sixth-years, Terry Boot and Mandy Brocklehurst.
"Hey," said Hermione, "what happened to the Head Boy, Eddie Carmichael?"
"He changed his mind when you started going out with Ron," Mandy told her.
The next member was the first adult SPEW member, Lupin. "Remus John Lupin," he said as he signed the parchment.
"I didn't know your middle name was John," said Harry. "John, so that's what the J. stands for. I was hoping that it stood for James," he said quickly, trying not to think about his father.
The last new member was Ginny. "I convinced her to join," Ron told Hermione. "That ought to separate her from Malfoy for a while, since he'd never join SPEW."
She signed the parchment, "Virginia Molly Weasley." Naturally, she had been named after her mother, who now lay still, waiting for the Torch to revive her.
Ginny immediately changed the subject from her mother. "You'll never guess what Ron's middle name is!"
"I'm warning you, don't tell her!" Ron said to her. He pointed his wand at his sister and started to say "Silencio," but he was too late.
"It's Bilius!" Ginny said, and everyone began to laugh.
"It's not fair!" Ron said. "Why did I have to be named after my uncle with the worst name in the world!"
"So," said Colin to Lupin, "can you tell us what it was like to be a Marauder?"
"Sure," said Lupin, who enjoyed telling such stories. He told his favorite story, that of of the big werewolf prank on Snape.
"You see, the Marauders were Harry's dad, Sirius Black, and myself from Gryffindor and Peter Pettigrew from Slytherin --"
"What?" Harry interrupted. "Wormtail was in Slytherin?"
"Of course," said Lupin, "who ever said that we were all in Gryffindor?"
Unfortunately for Hermione, between the middle name discussion and the tales of the Marauders, very little was actually discussed about house elves. Harry was saddened when Lupin talked about his father and Sirius. Eventually, many of the students had to leave for classes and the meeting ended.
That night the Astronomy class began. The only sixth-year students in this class were, in addition to the trio, Parvati Patil and Draco Malfoy, since the students had been distracted during the previous year's OWL's by the Hagrid vs. Umbridge incident. But there were many seventh-year students in the class, including Katie Bell, Miles Bletchley, Eddie Carmichael, Cho Chang, Marietta Edgecombe, and Adrian Pucey.
"Now then," Professor Sinistra began, "can anyone tell me the name of the brightest star at this time of year? Yes, Miss Granger?"
"It is Sirius, the dog star," said Hermione.
"Five points to Gryffindor," said Professor Sinistra. "Around late February or early March, Sirius appears in the sky. In fact, the sighting of this star was the basis of the ancient Egyptian calendar."
Of course, this reminded Harry of his godfather again. He hoped that his outlook on rescuing Sirius from the veil would be brightest at this time of year as well.
Monday, March 01, 2004
It had been a rather painful week. Harry had never seen Ron cry before, but once Mrs. Weasley had been Torched, Ron couldn't stop sobbing. Harry had reassured him that his mother would be alive again once the Torch was recovered.
Harry, on the other hand, had been confused about the previous week's events. He had seen Voldemort tell Lucius that his son would attack Gryffindor Tower. He had concluded that Draco Malfoy had possession of the Torch. But no, it had been Marla Hedwig all along. Harry thought back to the day Sirius had died, when a false image had tricked him. Had the last dream been another fake, and there had never really been a planned attack on Gryffindor? Harry realized that he should have learned his lesson not to believe his dreams, but this time he'd been so sure that he was right, so sure that Voldemort possessed the Torch. In the end, he was no closer to obtaining the Torch than he had been seven months earlier.
But it was now the month of March, and that meant that it was Ron's birthday. Harry hoped that Ron would be in a slightly better mood on his birthday.
At the Great Hall at breakfast, Hermione said to Ron, "Happy Birthday, Ron! Although I know that you don't get a real birthday this year." For Ron had been born on 29th February, 1980, making him a leap year baby. He'd had a real birthday the previous year when he turned 16, but this year, like all common years, he celebrated his birthday on 1st March.
Harry had gotten Ron a Chudley Cannons jumper. This saddened Ron slightly, and he rubbed a tear from his eye.
"It reminds me of Mum, and how I won't be getting a birthday jumper from her this year," he told Harry.
Hermione was next, and she gave Ron a framed picture of his Mum and Dad, together on their wedding day.
"Where did you get this?" Ron asked her.
"Bill gave it to me," Hermione told him. Ron's mood lightened when he saw his mother smiling and waving back at him from the photo. "Don't worry," she told him, "Harry will find that Torch and you'll be able to speak to her again."
"Thanks," said Ron. "You don't know how much this means to me."
The next present was from -- believe it or not -- Draco Malfoy!
"You're actually being nice to me?" asked Ron in disbelief.
"You mother died, and so I decided to extend my sympathy towards you."
Ron hesitated, but then Malfoy continued. "As if I'd really be nice to you, Weasel! I'm giving you a bribe, so that you'll let me date your sister. It is a new Firebolt broom, and goodness knows you'll be needing it. I would have bribed your mother, since, believe it or not, she'd been more overprotective than your father. But now that she's out of the way --"
"YOU TORCHED MUM!" Ron stood up to yell at Malfoy. "You Torched her so that you can date my little sister. That's just sick! I won't accept your gift!"
"How could it have been me?" Malfoy retorted. "I was stuck in the Hospital Wing with Quidditch injuries that night!"
"Don't lie! Harry saw Voldemort tell your Dad that you'd use the Torch! The supposed attack on Gryffindor was just a diversion to get my Dad away from Mum so that she'd be Torched! Once Harry gets the Torch and brings her back to life, I hope he uses it to kill you!"
"Ron, calm down" came a deep voice, and Harry saw Remus Lupin nearby. "Don't let Malfoy get you all riled up on your birthday. He had nothing to do with the attacks on your mother. It was Marla Hedwig."
Ron sat down as logic finally overcame his anger. He realized that Malfoy had an alibi, that he'd been injured, and thus couldn't have Torched his mother.
"And I have some good news, Ron," Lupin continued. "I'm here to let you know that now that you're seventeen, you'll be starting your Apparition lessons soon."
"Apparition?" asked Ron incredulously. "But Mum was the one who trained all my other brothers."
"That's why the Order has asked me to train you instead," said Lupin. "I'll be giving you lessons every weekend, except this weekend's full moon, so we'll start the following weekend. They'll take place in Hogsmeade, at Order HQ. In two months you should be ready to get your license."
Ron was instantly in a better mood, for he'd been waiting for years to Apparate like his older brothers. Seamus and Dean had often bragged in the dormitory about obtaining their licenses, since Seamus had turned 17 in late November and Dean's birthday was in early December.
Ron left for Transfiguration while Harry and Hermione headed for another History of Magic lesson with Tonks. They were now studying the Goblin Rebellions, and the entire class laughed when Tonks disguised herself as a Goblin.
After lunch was Quidditch practice, and Ron was starting to regret not having taken Malfoy's Firebolt when Katie started practice with some speed drills. Katie discussed the importance of the upcoming Ravenclaw match, since the winner would battle Slytherin for the Quidditch Cup.
As soon as practice ended, Ginny headed straight for the library. Harry noticed that neither he nor Ron had seen Ginny much since her mother was Torched, except during Quidditch practice.
"Probably snogging Malfoy or something," Ron told Harry.
Harry returned to the Great hall to eat dinner.
"I suppose you're looking forward to SPEW tonight," Harry asked Hermione when she had sat down next to him.
"Actually, because of Ron's birthday party I'm changing the meeting to Thursday," she told him. "By the way, have you seen Ron lately?"
"The last time I saw him was after Quidditch practice, when he was muttering something about Malfoy."
"You don't think that he went to the library to attack Malfoy, do you?"
"Wouldn't put it past him," Harry answered her.
So Harry and Hermione headed for the library. Neither Malfoy nor Ginny were there, and to Harry and Hermione's surprise, Ron was actually reading a book. And it wasn't just any book, but Hogwarts: A History!
"So," Hermione said to Ron, "you're actually studying?"
"No," Ron answered. "I'm trying to find out more about the Green Flame Torch and how we can bring Mum back. Somewhere, some book must have the answer. And if we can't get the Green Flame Torch back, maybe we can find the Red Flame Torch or maybe the --"
"But the other three Torches were destroyed years ago," Hermione insisted.
"How do we know that, anyway?" Ron asked. "Why would Godric Gryffindor destroy such a powerful object, after all?"
And that was one question to which Hermione didn't have the answer.
"It's getting late," said Harry. "Don't you want to at least go to your own party?"
And so Harry, Ron, and Hermione headed for the Gryffindor Common Room. It was a typical Gryffindor party, with food nicked from the kitchens, Fireworks and other Weasley's Wizard Wheezes blowing up stuff, and butterbeer for everyone. Ron, the guest of honor, got drunker than he'd ever been in his life.
Harry, on the other hand, had been confused about the previous week's events. He had seen Voldemort tell Lucius that his son would attack Gryffindor Tower. He had concluded that Draco Malfoy had possession of the Torch. But no, it had been Marla Hedwig all along. Harry thought back to the day Sirius had died, when a false image had tricked him. Had the last dream been another fake, and there had never really been a planned attack on Gryffindor? Harry realized that he should have learned his lesson not to believe his dreams, but this time he'd been so sure that he was right, so sure that Voldemort possessed the Torch. In the end, he was no closer to obtaining the Torch than he had been seven months earlier.
But it was now the month of March, and that meant that it was Ron's birthday. Harry hoped that Ron would be in a slightly better mood on his birthday.
At the Great Hall at breakfast, Hermione said to Ron, "Happy Birthday, Ron! Although I know that you don't get a real birthday this year." For Ron had been born on 29th February, 1980, making him a leap year baby. He'd had a real birthday the previous year when he turned 16, but this year, like all common years, he celebrated his birthday on 1st March.
Harry had gotten Ron a Chudley Cannons jumper. This saddened Ron slightly, and he rubbed a tear from his eye.
"It reminds me of Mum, and how I won't be getting a birthday jumper from her this year," he told Harry.
Hermione was next, and she gave Ron a framed picture of his Mum and Dad, together on their wedding day.
"Where did you get this?" Ron asked her.
"Bill gave it to me," Hermione told him. Ron's mood lightened when he saw his mother smiling and waving back at him from the photo. "Don't worry," she told him, "Harry will find that Torch and you'll be able to speak to her again."
"Thanks," said Ron. "You don't know how much this means to me."
The next present was from -- believe it or not -- Draco Malfoy!
"You're actually being nice to me?" asked Ron in disbelief.
"You mother died, and so I decided to extend my sympathy towards you."
Ron hesitated, but then Malfoy continued. "As if I'd really be nice to you, Weasel! I'm giving you a bribe, so that you'll let me date your sister. It is a new Firebolt broom, and goodness knows you'll be needing it. I would have bribed your mother, since, believe it or not, she'd been more overprotective than your father. But now that she's out of the way --"
"YOU TORCHED MUM!" Ron stood up to yell at Malfoy. "You Torched her so that you can date my little sister. That's just sick! I won't accept your gift!"
"How could it have been me?" Malfoy retorted. "I was stuck in the Hospital Wing with Quidditch injuries that night!"
"Don't lie! Harry saw Voldemort tell your Dad that you'd use the Torch! The supposed attack on Gryffindor was just a diversion to get my Dad away from Mum so that she'd be Torched! Once Harry gets the Torch and brings her back to life, I hope he uses it to kill you!"
"Ron, calm down" came a deep voice, and Harry saw Remus Lupin nearby. "Don't let Malfoy get you all riled up on your birthday. He had nothing to do with the attacks on your mother. It was Marla Hedwig."
Ron sat down as logic finally overcame his anger. He realized that Malfoy had an alibi, that he'd been injured, and thus couldn't have Torched his mother.
"And I have some good news, Ron," Lupin continued. "I'm here to let you know that now that you're seventeen, you'll be starting your Apparition lessons soon."
"Apparition?" asked Ron incredulously. "But Mum was the one who trained all my other brothers."
"That's why the Order has asked me to train you instead," said Lupin. "I'll be giving you lessons every weekend, except this weekend's full moon, so we'll start the following weekend. They'll take place in Hogsmeade, at Order HQ. In two months you should be ready to get your license."
Ron was instantly in a better mood, for he'd been waiting for years to Apparate like his older brothers. Seamus and Dean had often bragged in the dormitory about obtaining their licenses, since Seamus had turned 17 in late November and Dean's birthday was in early December.
Ron left for Transfiguration while Harry and Hermione headed for another History of Magic lesson with Tonks. They were now studying the Goblin Rebellions, and the entire class laughed when Tonks disguised herself as a Goblin.
After lunch was Quidditch practice, and Ron was starting to regret not having taken Malfoy's Firebolt when Katie started practice with some speed drills. Katie discussed the importance of the upcoming Ravenclaw match, since the winner would battle Slytherin for the Quidditch Cup.
As soon as practice ended, Ginny headed straight for the library. Harry noticed that neither he nor Ron had seen Ginny much since her mother was Torched, except during Quidditch practice.
"Probably snogging Malfoy or something," Ron told Harry.
Harry returned to the Great hall to eat dinner.
"I suppose you're looking forward to SPEW tonight," Harry asked Hermione when she had sat down next to him.
"Actually, because of Ron's birthday party I'm changing the meeting to Thursday," she told him. "By the way, have you seen Ron lately?"
"The last time I saw him was after Quidditch practice, when he was muttering something about Malfoy."
"You don't think that he went to the library to attack Malfoy, do you?"
"Wouldn't put it past him," Harry answered her.
So Harry and Hermione headed for the library. Neither Malfoy nor Ginny were there, and to Harry and Hermione's surprise, Ron was actually reading a book. And it wasn't just any book, but Hogwarts: A History!
"So," Hermione said to Ron, "you're actually studying?"
"No," Ron answered. "I'm trying to find out more about the Green Flame Torch and how we can bring Mum back. Somewhere, some book must have the answer. And if we can't get the Green Flame Torch back, maybe we can find the Red Flame Torch or maybe the --"
"But the other three Torches were destroyed years ago," Hermione insisted.
"How do we know that, anyway?" Ron asked. "Why would Godric Gryffindor destroy such a powerful object, after all?"
And that was one question to which Hermione didn't have the answer.
"It's getting late," said Harry. "Don't you want to at least go to your own party?"
And so Harry, Ron, and Hermione headed for the Gryffindor Common Room. It was a typical Gryffindor party, with food nicked from the kitchens, Fireworks and other Weasley's Wizard Wheezes blowing up stuff, and butterbeer for everyone. Ron, the guest of honor, got drunker than he'd ever been in his life.
