Disclaimer: See first chapter
Author's Note: This version had a very quick run through edit due to my lack of time so please forgive any small typos you come across. Also an interesting question was brought up in a review as to the group using Legilimens, as there is a restriction to the use of underage wizardry. I have two responses to this. 1) There are many instances of magic being used outside of Hogwarts, in cannon, for little things such as when Hermione repairs Harry's glasses. And 2) Seeing as how Voldemort's return is now known it seems only logical that Dumbledore would have informed them of the need for Harry to continue practicing Occlumency, so the Ministry would overlook any practice of this art by Harry. Sorry for the confusion, I apologize for doing a poor job of explaining that. Also as for Hermione's driving age, I apologize for that, it never really occurred to me but then again time and stuff never quite flows right in Harry Potter so just forgive and forget please.
Chapter 5: Expecting the Unexpected
Harry's eyes had trouble focusing on the headline of the paper. He read it over and over in confusion. "I knew I felt something in Diagon Alley! Quick Ron, light a candle!" Ron quickly jumped from his bed and lit the nearest candle, nearly knocking it over in his trembling hands. They all crunched together to read the article over.
Dementors Murder Two in Diagon Alley
Yesterday outside of a small pub known as "The Leaky Cauldron" four eyewitnesses account seeing Dementors murder two very unwilling victims. ("Of course they were unwilling, who asks to die?" said Ron) The victims Doris Crockford and Perpetua Fancourt, famed inventor of the Lunascope, were apparently "Just doing some shopping." A testimony from one wizard claims, "They were jus' comin' outta the pub o'er there when two Dementors jus' rushed up and attacked em' like nobody's business."
Some experts say this is the work of "He who must not be named." Resources tell us that the Dementors have left Azkaban prison to help aid in his resurgence. Everyone planning on going outside of their homes is advised to take all the necessary precautions needed to ensure a safe trip.
"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed leaning back, a look of absolute astonishment spread across his face.
"What I don't understand," Hermione faced Ron, "Is why we didn't feel them?"
"I felt them." Harry still clutched the paper tightly in his hands, even though he wasn't reading it.
"Yes but no one else did." She pushed a few strands of hair out of her face, "Not a single person in Diagon Alley except you felt them. I'm sure if anyone one else would have felt it we would have been able to tell."
"I'm right glad we got out of there when we did though. Those Dementors give me the creeps!" Ron shuddered.
Harry adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. The sun was just now over the horizon and the room was filled with a beautiful orange haze. "Me too. But I don't understand why I was the only one that felt them. They give everyone such a horrible feeling; I just can't believe that no one noticed it."
"At any rate," Hermione stood up, "This is the first sign that Voldemort is back. Which means we ought to be very careful."
Lupin and a very distraught Moody showed up later that afternoon. The news of the murders had spread like wildfire as Lupin explained around the dinner table.
"There isn't a witch or wizard left in Europe that hasn't heard of the murders by now. The Ministry is freaking out about what to do, and there is still no sign of Voldemort or the Dementors."
"So then," Harry looked eagerly towards Lupin, "They believe Voldemort is behind it then?"
"Not only that," Moody put in, "But Fudge is using this as political propaganda."
"How?" Hermione asked.
Moody shifted his eye around to Lupin before speaking, "He's saying that there would have been more attacks if the Ministry hadn't been involved. He's using it as a ploy for re-election and worse yet he has everyone believing him!"
"Everyone knows that Dumbledore is the reason there haven't been as many attacks!" Harry was frazzled. He had never quite hated Cornelius Fudge as much as he did at that very moment.
"If only the public knew," Lupin sighed heavily. "Even when he's cooperating with Dumbledore he just can't seem to get it through his skull that there's more at stake here than a run for power."
"So he is cooperating then?" Ron sat up.
"For the moment. At least he's doing what Dumbledore's telling him."
"He's not telling him much though," Moody scratched his scarred face, "We think Dumbledore is keeping the Ministry in the dark about what the Order knows. That of course is what is driving Fudge mad, he thinks we're hiding things from him."
"Are you?" Harry asked.
"Not really." This time Moody sighed. "We haven't really been able to learn much. Even Severus is hardly pulling in any information. We thought we might have pinned down a location once but it turned out to be a false alarm. All we're pretty sure of is that he's going to lay low for quite awhile, bide his time-"
"And," cut in Lupin, "Gain more support. That's why we have to find him."
"Where are the other members of the Order?" Hermione leaned on the table as she asked her question.
"Tonks is at Grimmauld Place along with most of the other members. A few of us are keeping a close eye on you Harry," Harry gulped but managed a small smirk as Lupin said this, "No one is quite sure of where Severus, er, Snape has gotten off too. Dumbledore's still at Hogwarts."
There was a sudden pop that made everyone jump in the room but Moody, who merely remained staring at Harry with his magical eye.
"Oh, thank goodness you're all here." Mr. Weasley said. His tie was undone, and he looked like he hadn't slept in hours. Mrs. Weasley came rushing in from the kitchen to see what the commotion was. "The Ministry has shut down Diagon Alley!"
"What?!" was the unanimous reply from everyone in the room.
"The issue has just been ordered. Diagon Alley is to remain closed to the public until the incident has been thoroughly checked into. You have no idea what this is going to do to the wizarding community." He sat down and took a large cup of tea from Mrs. Weasley.
"This is absurd!" Lupin protested, "There's no need to close the entire place down. This will put so many people out of business!"
"I tried to fight it," Mr. Weasley sat his cup down. "But I don't carry much weight with the big wigs at the Ministry. The only thing we can hope to do now is contact Dumbledore and hope he can talk them out of this."
Lupin and Moody made to leave. "We'll owl him right away." They gave everyone a hurried goodbye and apparated out in a rush to return the news to the Order. Mr. Weasley turned to the children.
"I'm just glad that you are all ok. It could have been anyone of you that was," he had a hard time saying it.
"We know dad," Ron spoke for all of them. "We'll be careful."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Should I tell them? They have a right to know don't they? But it would just put them in danger. Harry had committed himself to lying on his bed thinking for the rest of the day. Ron and Hermione left him to his own devices that day, and Harry, for once, enjoyed the solitude.
For the past two hours he had lain there. The long conversation he'd had with Dumbledore at the end of last year running through his mind. About a prophecy that would decide the fate of the entire wizarding world. And, most importantly to him, whether or not to tell his friends.
On one hand, he thought, I've never really kept anything from them. They have a right to know, and to be able to help me if I need it. It also might keep them out of harms way if worse comes to worse. On the other hand, knowing might scare the wits out of them. It might make them do something stupid, or put them in even more danger with Voldemort than they were just being his friends.
He rolled over on his side and reached under the bed. From under the bed he withdrew the small hand mirror that his Godfather Sirius had left him. He looked at his own reflection for quite some time before closing his eyes. Images of Sirius filled the blackened haze.
"I need your help, now more than ever." Harry imagined himself nearly in tears. Then Sirius would walk over to him, put a hand on his shoulder, and suddenly everything was all right. But when he opened his eyes, it wasn't Sirius staring at him, but his own reflection. The mirror was as empty of anyone but himself as it had ever been.
I wonder where the other mirror is. Sirius had told him that if they both held up the mirrors they could talk to one another. Maybe the other mirror was still around somewhere. I'll bet it's still at Grimmauld Place! Harry quickly scribbled a note to Lupin about looking for a small mirror in the house. He asked that everyone please help look for it, as it was very important.
Hedwig nibbled his ear affectionately before heading out with the letter. Harry rolled onto his back again and closed his eyes, once again debating whether or not to tell Ron and Hermione the secret he and Dumbledore shared.
Ron joined him an hour later holding two letters in his hands. "Just came in." he handed one of them to Harry who sat up to read it.
Dear Mr. Potter,
I hope you are enjoying your summer vacation. As you may or may not have heard, Diagon Alley has been closed due to extraneous circumstances. Due to this inconvenience, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has already purchased the items you will require for the upcoming school year. Please send the correct amount of money, by owl, to cover the cost of these materials. You may pick them up when you arrive on September 1st.
Sincerely,
Professor Minerva McGonagall
Harry scanned down to find the amount in which he owed. Ron was busy attaching a small bag filled with galleons to Pigwidgeon, who looked like he'd fall right out of the sky under the weight of the coins.
"Mind if I send mine along with yours Ron?" Harry asked.
"Oh sure. I hope Pig can handle the load though. Where's Hedwig?"
"Err," Harry, gulped. "He's looking for something for me."
"What?" Ron had finally got the bag tied to Pigwidgeon.
Harry fidgeted for a moment, and looked around the room as if he expected to see someone listening. "Promise not to tell?"
"Sure."
"Well last year Sirius," it was hard to say his name aloud, "Gave me this mirror." He handed the mirror to Ron, who flipped it over and over again examining it. "He had another one just like it. It's supposed to be like a walkie-talkie."
"A what?"
"Oh, it means that if we both looked in it then we could talk to one another."
"Why didn't you use it to talk to him then, instead of sneaking into Umbridge's office to use her fireplace?" Ron asked incredulously.
"I didn't know about it then. He told me not to open it unless I really had too. I guess it just slipped my mind until...well the end of last year. I tried to use it to contact him but...it was no use." Harry was holding back the tears in his eyes.
Hermione knocked on the door gently, "Can I come in?"
"Uh," Ron looked back and forth quickly from the door to Harry. "Wait a-"
"No it's ok, come on in Hermione." Harry watched her open and close the door slowly.
"What's wrong?" she asked walking over to them. Harry recounted the story to Hermione too who only returned a blank stare to him.
"So I sent Hedwig to Grimmauld Place, to see if he could find the other mirror. I thought it might be useful."
"Good thinking." Hermione sat down on the bed. "There's no telling what Voldemort-" Ron quivered as she said this. "Ron," Hermione started, very sternly, "I suggest you get used to hearing his name because you're going to be hearing it a lot from us. Anyway, as I was saying. There's no telling what he's up to and it wouldn't hurt to have anything extra that could help us."
Ron blushed a little.. Harry suspected that maybe he was trying to cut back on his arguments with Hermione. "Maybe we should just stay out of it, let Dumbledore and the Ministry handle it." Ron said.
"Yeah," Harry said, very unsurely. If only they knew what I'm going to have to do. "You know that we can't stay out of trouble. Plus I'm the one Voldemort wants." They all sat quiet after he said this, not knowing quite what to say.
"Let's talk about something else," Ron said.
"I'm so upset," Hermione said, sitting down in a chair. "If we don't get our books until we reach Hogwarts, how am I going to get any studying done? Plus we have our Apparating test, I really wanted to get ahead of the game on that."
"Don't worry Hermione," Ron said. "You're always ahead of the game. The fact that you're even thinking about the Apparating test shows you're way ahead of me." Hermione smiled as he said this.
"Are both of you done with your summer homework?" She asked. The blank stare from both of them was all the answer she needed.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Mr. Weasley shoved the last trunk inside of the back of the car. "What muggles do without wizard space is a puzzle to me." The trunk expanded a bit further to fit Hedwig and Pigwidgeon's cages.
Hedwig had returned a few days later with nothing, to a disappointed Harry. So he'd packed away the mirror and decided to forget about it again. Ginny and Hermione had packed up their trunks early that morning, and were ready to leave before Harry and Ron had even gotten out of bed.
"I'm so excited," Ginny said to Hermione. "Except for O.W.L's this year it's going to be great." None of them could wait to get to the train station. Even Harry's spirits had been lifted at the thought of returning to his favorite place in the entire world; Hogwarts.
They all stood around the car waiting on Mrs. Weasley to hug them each in turn. "Oh I'm going to miss you all so much," she exclaimed, almost in tears.
"You've still got us mum." Fred said standing behind her. She turned and stared at them for a moment before turning back.
"I'm going to miss you all so much!" she said again. Fred and George shrugged as she said this. They had enough to worry about without having to think about returning to Hogwarts. Mrs. Weasley gave her husband a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Please tell me," Ron smirked, "Hermione isn't driving."
Hermione cocked her head. "No I'm not driving. But if I was-"
"It would be wonderful" Ron finished for her. He smiled and climbed into the back seat. Hermione followed him a little shocked he hadn't mocked her. When Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, and Harry had filed in they made off for the station.
It didn't take them long to reach the station. Each of them, at Mr. Weasley's signal, slid through the brick wall into Platform 9 and three quarters.
Their eyes lit up as they saw old friends and their families hugging and saying goodbye. Ron spotted Neville and his grandmother and called over to him. Neville gave a small wave before climbing onto the train. Hermione shifted closer to Harry and whispered in his ear.
"Plan on continuing Dumbledore's Army?"
"Of course," he whispered back to her, "I just hope I can find time with Quidditch practice. Assuming I'm back on the team that is. He shook Mr. Weasley's hand and gave Mrs. Weasley one final hug.
"Now you are all coming to Grimmauld Place for Christmas right? I've already made arrangements." said Mrs. Weasley. Harry couldn't decide if he really wanted to or not. He did enjoy the odd house, and he had spent most of his enjoyable times with Sirius there. But I don't want to think of Sirius. I don't want anyone to see me cry.
A man attending the train helped them load their trunks. They all followed Ginny, who led the way up the small platform and onto the Hogwart's Express. Familiar faces, as well as plenty of new first years were buzzing about excitedly. They pushed their way to the back where the group found an empty compartment.
Harry took the seat closest to the window, where he could look out on the platform. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were waving at them, and they all leaned over Harry to wave back out the compartment window. Ginny plopped down next to Harry as Ron and Hermione took the seats across from them.
"Well we're almost back at Hogwarts!" said Ron energetically. "Oh I can't wait until the food trolley comes round' I'm absolutely starving."
"We just had breakfast," Harry smirked. "How much can you eat?"
"Enough," replied Ron smiling.
"LAST CALL!" shouted the man who had helped them load their luggage. Harry watched out the window as a few last students boarded the train. He swept his eyes over to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and stood up in a shock.
"What is it Harry?" Hermione asked at his sudden jump.
"It's Lupin!" Harry pointed out the window. Lupin had just burst through the brick wall onto the platform, panting for air. He had a rushed conversation with Mr. Weasley who pointed over at their compartment window. The Hogwart's Express's whistle blew and Harry felt a rumbling underneath him.
"Oh no we're moving!" Harry tugged at the compartment window. Ron jumped up and the both of them were barely able to get the old window slid open. The ground below them was beginning to move faster and faster. Harry leaned out the window to Lupin, who was chasing after the train.
"HARRY! CATCH!" Lupin reeled back and threw a small piece of cloth towards the window. With Ron holding the back of his shirt he leaned as far out the window as he dare. He caught the cloth in his fingertips, fumbled with it for a second, before acquiring a firm grip on it.
Ron slid the window shut and looked at Harry. He stared down at the small piece of cloth he clutched firmly in his hand. Slowly unfolding the cloth he revealed the face of a messy-haired teenage boy, emerald eyes, staring up at him. He looked up at Ron. "The other mirror."