Open Your Eyes: The Order of The Phoenix

Disclaimer:  It is JK Rowling’s universe of characters, settings, lingo, and ownership.  Not mine, and it never will be.

A/N:  As always thanks to my beta chem prof.  To clarify from the first chapter, his stories can be found online, at [fanfiction dot net]. 

Amelia Bones looked around the packed courtroom with a discerning eye as she polished her monocle with something akin to glee.  In a few moments Peter Pettigrew would be escorted into courtroom 10 to have his trial, and with little doubt the kiss would be administered after the usual debates.

Harry Potter was at the moment worth more than his weight in galleons several times over. Typically the media would turn against the heroes of the wizarding world to turn a knut when the chance provided itself.  However, aside from a short period during the boy’s second year where he was reported as the Heir of Slytherin, Potter had avoided that pitfall of celebrity in the wizarding world.

Shaking her head as other impressions of Potter from her niece pervaded her mind; she quickly went over the various evidence files in front of her as the aurors finally brought in the star of the trial, Peter Pettigrew.  With a confession on record, the sniveling man had no chance of avoiding his fate.  However, due to some clever political wrangling Fudge managed to pressure Bones into only forwarding testimony pertinent to the trial.  Unfortunately, this meant that news of Voldemort’s return would remain a closely guarded secret.

Due to reasons that were obvious to some but not to the general public, Dumbledore would be sitting this trial out due to a conflict of interest.  Therefore, as head of the DMLE Amelia had the pleasure of sitting in the head magistrate’s chair for the trial and she would not accept a plea bargain like she had been so disgusted to see so often at the last round of Death Eater trials.

As Pettigrew was seated the aurors guarding the exits closed the doors, and Percy Weasley due to a transfer to the DMLE stood in his new position of court scribe. “Hear ye hear ye, all rise in respect of the honorable Madam Amelia Bones who resides over these proceedings.”

The crowd and players all stood, before Amelia finally nodded and they all took their seats as she softly intoned, “We are here today to hear the case against one Peter Pettigrew.  Scribe, what charges does the Plaintiff bring?”

Percy unfurled a scroll and read, “Charges include accessory to the murder of James and Lily Potter, assault against one Sirius Black, the murder of one dozen muggles in clear challenge to the statutes of secrecy, and willingly serving the dark wizard He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.”

Pettigrew was pale and pasty even by British standards.  Of course by the end of the long laundry list of charges the balding rat faced man had paled further as he shrunk in his seat without the aid of his animagus form.

Amelia nodded before she turned to the defense attorney, organized by the ministry and said, “You may make your opening statement Mr. Limnum.”

The short but slim wizard stood and addressed the court, “I believe that Peter Pettigrew was a man who made some bad decisions and he agrees with me.  Mr. Pettigrew only wishes to ask the people of this court to think of what they would do in his circumstance.  He was given a choice by the dark wizard to either join him and divulge the location of the Potters, or die by his hand.  Peter Pettigrew acted out of self preservation, and while it may seem distasteful I ask if any of you would have had the strength to act otherwise in his position.”

While Amelia found the statement to be rather bland several in the audience were nodding thoughtfully, some of their expressions even showing sympathy for Pettigrew.  Bones knew that in terms of the law Pettigrew’s punishment would be the same, but if this wasn’t nipped in the bud it could open a whole new can of worms in any future Death Eater trials.  After all, considering how badly the first series of those trials went, anything was possible this time around.

Sensing the defense solicitor was finished she turned to the prosecution and said, “Prosecution, your opening statement as well please.”

Dedalus Diggle was a member of a secret militia that few knew of as well as the Ministry’s top attorney in terms of criminal proceedings.  He had been instructed to handle this trial with care so as not to expose sensitive information to the public.  “Ladies and Gentlemen of the court, this case is a very simple one as Mr. Pettigrew has already confessed to all of the crimes that were listed earlier.  In a way this is merely a trial to determine the man’s final punishment.  Now, what we need to ask ourselves is what line we want to draw as a society.  Do we wish to condemn murderers and rapists to death without reprieve, or do we wish to let them rot away in a hellish place like Azkaban prison? 

I needn’t point out that Azkaban prison hasn’t proven to be quite the fortress it was once thought to be.  Both Barty Crouch Jr. and the recently exonerated Sirius Black managed to escape the confines of the island.  Do we really think that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named would be confined to such a prison for any amount of time?  Do we base our society on tolerance of murderers or on justice for murderers?  That is the question that Madam Bones and the rest of the esteemed members of the Wizengamot must decide.”

Bones really didn’t care for many litigators, especially with her earlier career as an auror that had seen far too many evil witches and wizards freed on claims of the Imperius curse or other such nonsense.  But, in this case she agreed implicitly with Diggle’s statements.  Pettigrew’s life as a free man was rapidly coming to a close, now the question was: would all aspects of his life cease or would he live on as an escape threat at Azkaban?

After a few witnesses were called both to confirm all of the gathered evidence and explain its reliability both parties were in agreement that no witnesses would be necessary to shed more light on Pettigrew’s crimes.

Amelia led the group into the large deliberation hall adjoining the courtroom.  There hadn’t been such a room at the last Death Eater trials, and Amelia thought it would be beneficial to create some distance from the people they would have to condemn from time to time.  While she was the magistrate for the case, she remembered that Dumbledore still carried weight with his vote as a general Wizengamot member at least for this case.

Dumbledore apparently expected as much; after all he was a very old wizard and also very hard to fool for any length of time.  He smiled genially, “Hello Amelia, what are your thoughts on the punishment?”

Amelia’s smile faltered as Dumbledore had maneuvered her into the tenuous position of being the first to show their hand as she replied, “I think that this isn’t a simple decision and should be treated as such.  But, a few points need to be made.  First, rough estimates placed Voldemort’s forces at maybe 100 strong during the first war.  Those 100 terrorized most of the 15,000 witches and wizards living in the isles for close to ten years before the Potters made their sacrifice.  What would be better, to have the populace live in terror of the few, or send a message to the few that we won’t accept that any more?”

Dumbledore’s ever present twinkle dimmed some at Amelia’s words. She raised some very persuasive points; points that he hadn’t allowed himself to ponder since the end of his own personal war with Grindelwald.  That had been a very dark time in his life and he found that repressing the worst of the memories allowed him to wake up every morning with a lighter outlook on life.  Maybe it was time to take a good look in the mirror so that he could help prevent the same mistake with Harry that he himself had made fifty years earlier.

Finally he gravely replied, “While I loathe the necessity of such an action, I can not deny that there is indeed that necessity any longer.  Do you wish for the kiss or the veil for Peter?”

Amelia was startled that she had managed to get through to the normally placid and non-violent headmaster of Hogwarts.  She was also startled that he had even thought to use the veil as a potential option for captured Death Eaters.  The veil hadn’t been used in over two centuries as a tool for prisoners, but in a way it offered the best possible solution.  Only a select few knew the secret of the veil, and they were all in the Department of Mysteries guarding its secrets.  Needless to say, it was a one way trip and was as merciful as any execution could be.

Finally finding her voice she replied, “The veil definitely has some possibilities.  I’ll take a look at Ministry by-laws when we get back into the courtroom.  I have all of the provisions on record just in case.  I’ll have Weasley bring them in.”

Dumbledore nodded before he disappeared into the crowd, apparently to advocate the veil suggestion to some of his more influential colleagues.   

Nearly an hour later a consensus on the veil had been made, and it was an unsettled group that returned to the courtroom.  Murderer or not, none of the members ever wanted to condemn another human being to death without a fight before hand.  In this case, their hands had been forced by the notoriety and amount of Pettigrew’s crimes.

Amelia stood and even before she began to speak Pettigrew had the look of a condemned man walking on the green mile.  She softly but respectfully said, “It is the decision of this court and its members, that by a vote of 38-12 Peter Pettigrew will be sentenced to execution by the death veil.” 

Most of those in attendance gasped as the punishment was announced.  In fact, the only one that appeared relieved by the announcement was Pettigrew as he at least could avoid the dementor’s kiss.  In a way it was liberating for the man that had lived as vermin for a large portion of his life. He would pay for his crimes and only hope that his sins could be forgiven before the end of eternity.  For once the man that was the picture of cowardice would face this final adversity with his head held high.  He owed that much to Lily and James at the very least.

************************************************************************************

Harry felt wonderful in Hermione’s embrace for the first time in a week as he murmured into her ear, “I missed you.”

Hermione smiled into his chest as she carefully steered him away from the fireplace to prevent a pile up from Tonks and Kingsley who were coming next.  Pulling away enough to see his face she quietly replied, “I have so much to fill you in on.  Do you have your stuff?”

Harry was about to reply when Tonks tumbled into the fireplace and stepped out of it gracefully before tripping none too gracefully on her own feet.  Harry and Hermione covered their snickers with a pair of well timed coughs that Harry explained away with, “FLOO powder is terrible on the allergies isn’t it?”

Kingsley came a moment later and simply helped his fellow auror to her feet before he pointedly looked at Harry and Hermione and said, “You two need to get upstairs for the next couple of hours.  Tonks give him his trunk; Albus told me that his owl is already here.”

Harry looked at Hermione quizzically as the pair that had been affable a few moments earlier was talking as if the teens weren’t in the room.  No answer was forthcoming however, as Molly bustled in and gave Harry a quick hug before ushering him along with Hermione up the stairs.

Reaching the second floor Hermione led him as they each had a handle of his trunk to the left end of the hallway before she said, “You have your own room here Harry.  Ron is sharing with the twins by some sad stroke of luck.  I’m sharing with Ginny down the hall, so expect most of us to visit in your room tonight.  It’s the biggest on the floor after all.”

Harry stared at her blankly, trying to wrap his mind around having a large room as she opened the door and lead him into a room which was three times the size of his room at the Dursleys.  It was sparsely decorated, as though awaiting its owner’s personal touch, with a small bookcase next to a large four post bed.  The walls were painted a nice gray, and Harry still hadn’t managed to verbalize his shock at someone thinking him deserving of something so nice.

After getting Harry to release his grip on the handle of his trunk she frowned in concern, “Are you ok?”

Harry finally blinked and asked in a shaky voice, “Are you sure this is mine?”

Hermione looked at him quizzically for a moment before she understood. Keeping her surprise and other swell of emotions from reaching her face she reached over and took his hand before she said, “You deserve it Harry.”

Harry’s lip quivered for such a brief moment she wasn’t sure she had seen it, but then again she didn’t know that long ago he had vowed never to cry over the Dursleys again.  After a moment he composed himself and began to unpack a few parts of his trunk.  Harry quickly resized Hedwig’s cage and hooked it on a long nail hanging from the wall well aware that a house under the Fidelius and any magic done inside of it couldn’t be detected.

After looking around the room in satisfaction he turned to Hermione, and noticing her watching him intently he sighed. “What?”

Hermione smiled slightly, “I was just making sure you’re alright.”

Harry ran a hand through his hair before he replied, “Yeah, stuff just sneaks up on me sometimes.”  Changing subjects swiftly he said, “You said you had something to tell me?”

Hermione nodded slowly and carefully said, “Yes, but I think we should discuss it with Ron and Ginny.  They might be able to add something that I don’t know about yet.”

Harry looked blankly at her, he knew he was missing something obvious and probably something he had some kind of knowledge about and yet it eluded him.  Of course, he would be the first to admit he hadn’t been on his game since Dumbledore had told him the prophecy, but that was a concern for another day.

With a start he suddenly realized that Hermione had grasped his hand and gently led him down the hall to the girls’ room.  The door was already open and Harry couldn’t help but grin as he watched Ron and Ginny play chess atop the pink frilly bed.

They both noticed the movement and smiled upon seeing their friend as Ron said, “Hey mate, good to see you.”

Harry nodded as Hermione led him over to the opposite bed before she flicked her wand, closing the door with a strange squelching sound and then putting a simple privacy charm up.  Harry grinned and added some more stringent charms before Hermione elbowed him in the gut and said. “Show off.”

Harry shrugged before he asked, “Ok so what’s this I need to know?”

The Weasley siblings and Hermione shared some glances before Ron spoke, “This is the headquarters for the Order of the mate.”

Harry appeared nonplussed and said, “And?”

Hermione arched her eyebrow and asked in a surprised tone, “This isn’t a surprise to you?”

Harry shrugged, “I’ve gotten a few mentions of ‘the order’ today around Tonks, and Remus mentioned something vague about a group my parents were in during Voldemort’s first reign in some of his letters.  I assume this is that group.”

Hermione rolled her eyes at the flinch by both Ginny and Ron at the name, especially Ron, before she continued, “Well, I wouldn’t know about that, but the biggest problem is that the adults don’t seem to think we have any business knowing what is going on.”

Harry’s expression did darken at this, “Oh?”

Hermione nodded, “Apparently we have no idea of the evils of war like they do.”

Harry grinned wryly, “Ah yes, I’m certain they’ve all faced Voldemort and lived to tell the tale.”

Hermione nodded vigorously, “Exactly Harry, we’re at the center of this and they’re treating us like children.”

Harry sighed, “I’ll talk to Sirius about keeping us informed.”

Hermione nodded before she asked, “Ready for the Occlumency training tomorrow?”

Ron and Ginny apparently realized that they were no longer needed and returned to their chess match as Harry shrugged, “Hopefully we can get right into Legilimency.  We’ve both put a lot of hard work into Occlumency over the past year, and I think we’ve done a good job at it too.”

Hermione smiled before her eyes lit up, “I got a letter from Fleur about S.P.H.E.R.E.  Apparently she has started a chapter at Beauxbatons and they elected an executive board already.”

Harry smiled warmly and said, “See, you’re making the world a better place.”

Hermione shook her head as she took his hand, “No we’re making the world a better place.  But, that isn’t even the biggest news.”

Harry’s smile reached his eyes for the first time since before the third task as he couldn’t help but grin at the mischievous look in her eyes.  Leaning over to tickle her sides he said, “Are you going to tell me or do I have to snog it out of you.”

From the other side of the room Ron groaned, “Oh for Merlin’s sake, Gin grab the board we need to go down to the den if those two are going to be at it again.”

Hermione giggled as she replied, “We are not going to snog…yet anyways.  Although Harry does make an inviting case, I’ll save you the indignity Ronald.”

Ron looked at Hermione in exasperation as he shook his head. Harry was certain he heard his friend mumble something along the lines of, “Bloody indignity, how about using words people actually use for once.”

Ginny merely grinned as she placed her brother in check, “Uh oh Ronniekins, someone seems to be distracted.”

The tips of Ron’s ear were red before he grunted and focused his eyes intently on the board, seeking a way out from the mess his inattention had caused him.

Harry and Hermione watched this all in amusement before finally she turned to him and asked, “What do you say to coming with my parents and me on vacation in August?”

Harry tilted his head in puzzlement, “You and your parents are still going on vacation?”

Hermione apparently wasn’t expecting that response and she replied with a hint of worry in her voice, “Um yeah, there’s a dental conference in and my mum and dad are going. They planned on flying me in at the end of the week and having a family vacation for another week.”

Harry nodded, “So you want me to go then?”

Hermione smiled, “Yes, and I’ve already talked to Professor Dumbledore about it.  He agreed because he said he had some friends in the Japanese Ministry of Magic that could keep an eye on us and spare a security contingent for a week.”

Harry pondered this for a moment, “Um, if it’s ok with your parents I’d like that.  But, don’t I need to get a passport?”

Hermione squealed and gave him a tight hug as she sat with her legs folded under her.  Finally she pulled away and replied to his question, “Of course you need a passport, but I’m sure the Gringotts goblins can get you a magical one of some sort.”

Harry nodded pensively as his brain finally started firing and planning ahead in spite of his knowledge of the prophecy.  Nodding to himself he said, “Sirius told me there was a nice library in here.  Want to join me for a look?”

Hermione’s eyes lit up, “Oh, it must be under some kind of a Fidelius charm.  Who’s the secret keeper?”

Harry smiled at her patiently, “Sirius is, but like I said he told me all about it.  He told me that there were a few books that have some dark magic in them, but that all of the cursed and jinxed books have been removed.”

Hermione slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand as she grinned sheepishly, “Yes I guess he couldn’t have told you about it if he wasn’t the secret keeper, could he?”

Harry merely grinned at her cheekily as he stood from the bed offering his hand, which Hermione accepted gratefully.  As they left the room they heard some raised voices down in the meeting room. Hermione sighed wearily and muttered, “They’ve been like that almost every time they have a meeting.  I’m sure having Sirius back didn’t improve Professor Snape’s mood any either.”

Almost on cue the sound of glass breaking could be heard before the doors to the meeting room were blasted open.  Surprisingly it was Remus who was the culprit as he bellowed, “Don’t you understand? These children are the ones who have been fighting the war for the past four years.  Yet you belittle their accomplishments simply because they are younger.  Harry has faced down Voldemort, Dementors, Deatheaters, and a Basilisk and still survived to tell the tale.  Not even Albus can boast that, and yet you belittle him and his friends who have been with him every step of the way.  I can’t even begin to describe how much rage I am feeling at the moment.”

Tonks, Sirius, and surprisingly enough Snape tried to calm the enraged werewolf while Hermione whispered, “There’s a full moon tomorrow night; I’m sure that has something to do with it.”

Harry frowned but nodded; he had a feeling he would be given more insight into what had caused the explosion later.  Reaching the third floor Harry led Hermione down the right hallway as she asked, “The library is down here?”

Harry grinned, “Yes, but that isn’t what I wanted to show you.  Sirius told me of another guest that’s staying here.”

Hermione arched her eyebrow in question before she shrugged, “As long as it isn’t Malfoy.”

Harry laughed softly as he reached the room at the far end of this wing of the house before opening it slowly to reveal Buckbeak, looking very much worse for the wear in chains and crouched in the corner of the room.  Placing his hand on top of Hermione’s Harry whispered, “Let me wake him up and then you can come over and pet him with me.  After that we need to find a way to get him out of here safely.”

Harry slowly approached the large animal and with a bow he said, “Buckbeak, wake up please.”

The Hippogriff slowly opened its eyes and when it recognized Harry’s sign of respect decided to rouse from its spot and return the gesture.  Harry waved for Hermione behind his back and she repeated his pose carefully.  The hippogriff looked at the pair in puzzlement for a moment before some sign of recognition filled its eyes.

With Harry on one side and Hermione on the other they gently stroked the feathers on Buckbeak’s neck for what seemed hours.  They were broken from their activity when the door to the room swung open revealing Sirius, who still looked rather peeved from the argument a while earlier.

Spotting the pair he seemed to deflate some before he said, “Hey you two.  Taking my usual hiding spot I see.”

Harry frowned, “Sirius, what exactly is going on?”

Sirius opened his mouth and no sound escaped before he snapped it shut, apparently in thought about what he could safely say.  Finally he responded, “Well, Molly seems rather intent on keeping all of you kids in the house blissfully ignorant of some unpleasant realities.  Unfortunately, at the moment I am forced to agree.  Moony isn’t all too happy with me at the moment to say the least.   But, with your Occlumency and Legilimency training, OWL studies, and anything else you might want to do I think it would be too much to handle at the moment.”

Harry sighed; he supposed that at least Sirius was being upfront with him about why they couldn’t be more involved.  Finally he settled on, “Can you at least tell us when something comes up directly related to us or school?”

Sirius looked pensive for a long moment, “Yeah, I suppose that would be alright.”

Harry glanced over to Hermione who merely nodded, their nonverbal communication skills coming in handy as he turned back to Sirius, “We’ll let you have your hiding spot.  Is the kitchen clear?”

Sirius nodded absently as he watched the pair leave the room, before he walked over and settled into the corner of the room.  Molly Weasley’s words of an hour earlier still were echoing in his mind.

******Flashback************************************************************************

“Molly, you can’t seriously think that ignorance is the best option in dealing with Harry, Hermione, and your kids can you?”

Molly sniffed in a condescending manner, “If you knew the first thing about parenting you never would have run off after Pettigrew that night.  I assure you I’ve forgotten more about parenting than you’ll ever learn.”

Sirius stiffened, the Order meeting hadn’t even officially begun yet, and he was already being called out for a mistake he had made fourteen years ago.  He didn’t notice the violent red color that Remus’ face had blossomed into.

Fortunately, Arthur stepped in and softly said, “Molly dear, you’ve already put your foot in your mouth with Harry and Hermione this past year.  Perhaps you should think about keeping your thoughts to yourself if you haven’t anything nice to say.”

Molly huffed but Arthur’s words had the desired effect, at least for a few minutes as Dumbledore called the meeting into session.

After listening to a brief report by Snape on Voldemort’s movements, Remus stood up and that’s when the proverbial crap hit the fan.  “I am well aware that there are rules preventing any witch or wizard not of age from joining the Order.  But, given the circumstances I think Harry and the others in the house deserve to know of at least some of the happenings of Voldemort’s followers.”

Sirius couldn’t stop the small grin forming on his face as Moony echoed his earlier sentiments, albeit with a touch more tact.  Dumbledore appeared to be taking this matter into some serious thought before Molly finally blew up. “Absolutely not, I refuse to advocate robbing any more children of their youth and innocence.  You, you and Black don’t have a fit bone in your bodies to have a child.  One of you is an irresponsible prankster, and the other is classified as a dark creature.  I’ve been more of a mother to all of those children than either of you has, so I think my word should carry some more weight.”

Remus’ eyes narrowed as he felt an enhanced feeling of rage due to the proximity to the full moon. Just as he was about to explode Dumbledore stepped in. “Molly, you may very well have a point.  But, Sirius is Harry’s guardian and anything Harry knows the others will as well.  Instead of attacking a man wrongfully imprisoned, perhaps you should hold your tongue.”

Sirius glanced around at the assembled members and was surprised to see that nearly half of the members were in some sort of agreement with the Weasley matriarch.  Shaking his head he grabbed Remus before the man did something he’d regret and said, “This is my house and you are all here because I volunteered it for the cause.  But, if Molly can’t at the very least show a little thanks and gratitude for housing her family this summer then perhaps she should find other accommodations.  I will take any tactfully prepared argument into consideration on this matter, but know this.  I will not be belittled by a woman that has successfully scared every single one of her adult children out of the country or worse out of the family like Percy.  With all due respect to Albus, the meeting for today has come to an end.  Anyone who would care to discuss this matter in depth respectfully may follow me to an adjoining room.  If not, good day to you.”

Molly began spewing some particularly vicious things at this point, and even at Arthur’s behest to cease she continued until Remus joined in and made it a screaming match before their small group exited the room. 

******End Flashback********************************************************************

While he didn’t hold Molly’s esteem in high regards by any means at the moment, he did have to admit that at least a few of her statements matched his own feelings on the matter.  Granted, he had never been what you would call a rational and level-headed person.  But, his actions of that night had been both irrational and irresponsible.  The worst part was the imagined disappointment James and Lily would have in him for failing to uphold his role as godfather.

Glancing over at Buckbeak he felt a deep kinship with the hippogriff.  He too knew what it felt like to be cooped up in a hellhole with no obvious end in sight.  Flicking his wand he banished the chains holding the beast in place before he said, “I’ll be working on a way to get you out of here Beaky.  Now I just need to figure out what the hell I’m doing with my own life.”

Meanwhile, with some gentle prodding Harry convinced Hermione to join him in the library to transform into their animagus forms for the first time in a couple of weeks.  The library was quite large, and while not quite half of the size of Hogwarts library, it held books on much more advanced topics that guaranteed that the summer would not only consist of Potions review and Occlumency training.

Harry’s black jaguar form was stalking Hermione’s jaguar form as they crept between rows of bookcases in a strange came of cat and mouse.  The entire thing was much more of a game than anything else, because with their enhanced feline senses it was nigh impossible to sneak up on each other.

As they both came into view near the center of the room Harry playfully pounced and tackled Hermione to the ground as she playfully batted at his ears with her paws with thankfully retracted claws.  After a time they both grew bored with this and Harry began to nuzzle Hermione’s chest when they both heard the door open to reveal Remus. He looked at the pair in startled surprise before his eyes dawned in comprehension. “Harry?  Hermione?”

With nearly no effort they quickly transformed back into their human forms, still sprawled on the ground, although with Harry between Hermione’s spread legs.  Both blushed furiously as Hermione silently thanked her stars that she had at least had the foresight to wear her jeans for the day.

Harry smiled sheepishly, “Well, I guess our secret is out of the bag.”

Hermione rolled her eyes as she pushed Harry over and rose to her feet, mentally taking note that she rather enjoyed the feel of Harry on top of her.  Remus blinked once more before he said, “When did you two manage this little feat of magic?”

Hermione quickly replied, “We followed proper ministry protocol and I managed to transform in a little over three months.  Harry’s form took around five months, but he has some additional abilities.”

Remus turned thoughtful before he exclaimed, “Harry’s a twilight Panther!”

Harry winced. “Yeah, but I don’t think they heard you downstairs.”

Remus shook his head. “The library is magically soundproofed here so that you can read in peace.”  His eyes took on a mischievous twinkle as he asked, “So, who do you plan on pranking first?”

Harry and Hermione shared a brief grin, before Hermione replied, “Why ruin the surprise?”

Remus chuckled briefly before he said, “First day here Harry, and you’ve already amazed me.”

Harry blushed as Remus continued his teasing, “I mean I expect such disrespectful behavior from Hermione but you?”  Remus tutted as Hermione blustered good naturedly.

With a soft pop Dobby entered the library, “Master Harry, Missus Hermy, and Master Wolfie, Dobby is telling you it is time for dinner.”

Harry laughed, “Wolfie?”

Remus let out a long suffering sigh, “I swear Tonks is worse than Sirius sometimes.”

Dobby disappeared with a pop before Remus’ expression darkened and he added, “It might not be pretty tonight at dinner.  Molly is on the outs with Sirius and me, so don’t make it any worse please.”

Harry and Hermione shared a look; now they both had context for the earlier shouting match.  The summer suddenly looked as though it might be a little less enjoyable.

A/N:  Alright, so anyone have any guesses as to how they might reveal their animagus forms to Sirius?  Next, chapter we have a brief discussion with Snape and the first Occlumency session with Will.  Ron and Ginny will get a fair amount of chapter space as I reveal some of their inner workings as well.  Now, the question of the chapter as was requested by several reviewers.

For those of you that have read the various theories and essays on HBP, what aspects do you think are most likely to come to fruition in Deathly Hallows? 

Examples of essays include HHr leaning essays, “Seeing the ” by Sherbert Lemon…and others by Brown to name a few.  Textual inferences only and I'll gladly share my own thoughts on them.

Thanks for reading and thanks to everyone who takes the time to review.