A quick note proclaiming my insolence: In the last chapter, I said that Voldemort's father was a wizard and mother was a muggle. That is wrong. It should have been his father was the muggle, and his mother was the witch. Please don't kill me for that, I should have caught it but didn't, and now I want everyone to know that the mistake was made. I meant it the other way around, and when I update later, I will be fixing that.
Also, Terry Boot is in sixth year, not fifth. That mistake was pointed out (thank you) and I will be applying it immediately. Again, when I update the previous chapters, I will fix that, too.
That said, please enjoy the chapter. It involves a lot: Julia joining the DA, Harry cheering up Kailyn, the last DA meeting before Christmas, a few Harry/Hermione fluff scenes, a birthday party interruption, and a very confusing message.
Enjoy!
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Chapter Eighteen: A Birthday and the Last Day of Class
It was only with the greatest of reluctance that Harry actually went to bed the night of the Ball. He and Hermione had been cuddled up in a chair by the fire after the duel had ended, and had only separated when they heard the sound of others approaching. Deciding together that it would be best not to rub that fact into a possibly awake Ginny and Ron's faces, they went up to their respective dorms.
The next morning, Neville handed Harry a note from his seat by the fire - the same seat that he and Hermione had shared last night, he noticed. Hermione had gone to speak with Professor McGonagall about something, but didn't say what. With a sigh, he shook his head, ran his hand through his hair, and then turned to leave the common room. Ron was still fast asleep upstairs, and he could only pray that Ginny was in her dorm as well as he stepped out of the portrait hole.
"Harry!" He stopped just at the entrance of the Great Hall and turned to the sound of his name being called. He saw Julia running down the corridor towards him, flagging him down. "Harry, thank goodness I caught you before you went in there..."
"Why?" he asked, peering around the double doors at the other students enjoying their Sunday morning breakfast. "What's going on?"
"Oh, nothing in there," she said, shaking her head. "Sorry, it didn't come out quite as I meant it to. No, I wanted to talk to you before you went in, that's all. I just came from the hospital wing."
Harry furrowed his brow. "What's wrong? Who's hurt?"
Julia smiled and shook her head at his concern. "No one worth caring about, anyway. Malfoy's there, but he's certainly not alone." At Harry's confusion, she went on. "Well, when Neville noticed you and Hermione slip outside, he alerted a few of the `members,' as Terry put it, and we all went to block the doors to keep the Slytherins inside. Malfoy had already slipped through, but we put about six or seven others in the hospital wing before Dumbledore put a stop to the whole dueling inside."
"Six or seven?"
"Truth be told, I felt a little useless," Julia admitted, shaking her head. "But you should have seen Neville, Lavender, Terry, and Susan fight! It was amazing! Terry struck one of them in the gut with some sort of blue ball of energy, and then chaos broke lose. Ernie Macmillan even came up from behind the group and stunned two other Slytherins - they didn't make it to the hospital wing, they were just Enervated."
Harry could practically feel his heart swell as he heard of the exploits of the DA members on his behalf. He would have to have a talk with each of them privately at the next meeting. "I take it you still want in?"
Julia broke out into a wide grin. "Of course I do. After seeing that! Oh, the others are still up by the hospital wing, listening in to see if they are trying to plot any sort of revenge, by the way. When Terry suggested someone go tell you what happened, I volunteered, as I wanted to talk to you anyway."
"The others?"
"Ravenclaw members. Well, except Cho. She wouldn't get out of bed this morning... I think she did something last night that she'd rather not face anyone about." Harry could only imagine who she had cried to last night, and shuddered at the mere thought. "So, can I join?"
Harry dug into one of the pockets of his robes and pulled out a gold galleon. He flipped it over and found the date he was looking for, and held it for a moment, concentrating. When nothing happened, he held it out to her. "Don't spend this. You'll need it to tell when the next meeting is."
She took the coin and looked it over carefully. "The Protean charm?" she whistled. "That takes a bit of skill. I assume the numbers along the casting information is actually date and time?"
"You're well placed in your house, and you weren't kidding about your charms, were you?" Harry asked with a bit of a chuckle. "It was Hermione's idea, incidentally."
There was a bit of a silence between them before she looked away from the coin and back to Harry. "Where is it?"
"You know that painting of Barnabas the Barmy and the trolls?""
"That codswallop of a wizard who wanted to teach them ballet?"
"That's the one," Harry admitted. "When you feel the coin change, check the date, and meet there at the right time. The rest will be obvious then. Hermione will check you in once you arrive."
"Check me in?"
"First time thing. Basically, an oath not to tell others about the club, just in case. This is a secret thing, by the way. That's why Terry couldn't tell you much about it."
"She's not using the Fidealus Charm for this, is she?" Julia asked, her blue eyes widening in surprise. "That's a nearly impossible charm to do at NEWT level, and she's only in sixth year, right?"
"No, she's not," Harry said with a shake of his head. "I don't know the details, but she said it would work better than last year's plan, and let me tell you, that one was a whopper."
"You really care about her, don't you?" When Harry simply nodded, she smiled. "She's a very lucky witch, I hope she knows that."
"I think I'm the lucky wizard, actually," Harry countered.
"Where is she, anyway?"
"With McGonagall."
"That would be Professor McGonagall, would it not?" Both froze instantly at the voice, and turned towards the double doors. Standing next to one of the open doors, leaning against the metal frame, was the Wanderer.
"Do you live to follow me around here?" Harry asked before he could stop himself.
The Wanderer seemed to be laughing to himself, but was making no noise before shaking his head. "No, Mr. Potter, I do not live to follow you around. Nor do I follow just you around. There are many students that I try to keep an eye on... students that I feel could be in danger, or just in need of a shoulder to cry on or an ear to listen. You just seem to need more following than some."
"Thanks."
The elf took a step forward, and Julia took a step back despite herself. She wasn't in the advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and wasn't as comfortable around him as the select few students of that class were. "I did mention that elves are aware of sarcasm, did I not?" Talisien asked.
"You did," Harry admitted.
"Good. I thought I'd check. I was afraid I might had forgotten to mention it," he said deliberately before turning. "May I speak with you for a moment, Harry?"
Harry looked to Julia, who shrugged. "I'm good. I wanted to get back to Terry and the others anyway." She then gave Harry a quick kiss on the cheek before turning away. "Sorry, I've always wanted to do that, but I know you are taken, don't worry. I believed what you were saying last year, by the way."
Harry turned to follow the green cloaked teacher, and found himself in the Defense classroom after a few minutes of walking in the silence. He found Kailyn sitting at one of the desks, looking a little upset.
"What's wrong?" he asked, sitting next to her and ignoring Talisien for a minute. If what the Professor wanted was important, he could wait. Kailyn had done a lot for Harry, though, and he couldn't ignore her.
"I... I didn't warn you properly," she sniffed. As she looked to him with her brown eyes, he could tell that she had been crying. Her long brown hair was a mess, too, and she looked very tired. "I should have, but I..."
"Warn me about what?" Harry asked in surprise.
"About going outside," she said sadly, holding her head in her hands as she leaned forward to break their eye contact. "I was supposed to tell you not to go outside, because only the Great Hall would be well protected."
When Harry looked up to Talisien, he found that the Wanderer was gone. He looked to the door just as it closed silently behind the elf before he looked back to the upset half-breed. "You did, though," he said quietly. "You told me during my lesson yesterday not to go outside. It was right before you told me to trust myself."
"I did?" she asked, looking up to him in almost amazement. "Really? You aren't just saying that, are you?"
"No," Harry countered. "I'm telling you that because you did say it. I just had to talk to Hermione away from everything else. I wanted to give her a necklace that I had made in Hogsmeade."
"You did?" Her eyes seemed to light up as Harry told her about it. "How did she take it? Does she understand the customs?"
"There isn't much that Hermione doesn't understand, and if she doesn't, she can always look it up," Harry said with a chuckle. "But I told her all about them, don't worry."
"You were watching Malfoy's collarbone the whole time, you know," Kailyn offered after a long silence. "I guess you really do pay attention when I'm teaching, don't you?"
"If I don't, I get the feeling that I might feel a bit of pain from one of your swords," Harry joked, poking her in the arm. She smiled back to him and wiped the remains of her tears from her eyes.
"Thanks. Granddad was upset that I hadn't told you, and I was too, because you could have been really hurt by that..." she trailed off and looked around the classroom carefully. "Git." At Harry's confused expression, she shrugged. "He doesn't like anyone insulting anybody for any reason, and it's not always obvious when he's around," she explained.
"Right."
"Nice striking spell too, by the way," she added as she flitted out of the room before Harry could say anything else. He found himself wishing that she had stayed an extra minute or two, because he wanted to ask her about that spell. He hadn't heard of it anywhere before, and wasn't even sure exactly what he had said, but she seemed to know something about it.
He'd have to ask during their next lesson.
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"So, everyone clear?"
"Not really," Cho piped up from the Charms corner. "Aren't we already in teams now? I mean, you did split us up in the beginning of the year, right?"
"Tactically," Ron said, looking pointedly at Cho and not at Harry. "It doesn't make any sense to stay in groups like this. If something were to happen to any group but the protection group, there wouldn't be anyone to heal injuries, for example." He shook his head and looked to Hermione briefly before looking back to Cho. "It's common sense."
Hermione forced herself not to respond to Ron's obvious dig at her decision when Harry had gone missing. It had been a little over two weeks since the Ball, and neither Ron nor Ginny had said so much as a word to either of them. Harry had helped Colin to the hospital ward when he found him covered with Bat Bogeys a couple of days afterwards, but that had been that.
"Right," Harry said after a moment. "Like I said, we're splitting up today, because I want everyone to get used to the idea of working with the groups that I've picked out next term, alright?"
"Will there be leaders in each group?" Dean asked.
"Which group are you in?" Susan asked at the same time.
Harry smiled. "There will be leaders, and I won't be with any group just yet. I'll still be trying to teach you what I can," he explained. When there were no more questions, he pulled out his wand and muttered a few words under his breath. Five strips of colour appeared on the ground - green, red, black, blue, and white. "Anyone have a colour preference?"
"That's not Slytherin green, is it?" Justin asked, poking at the strip of green with a toe as though it were the deadliest of poisons. "Cause I don't want anything to do with it if it is."
"That's a dark green," Hermione pointed out. "Slytherin is much brighter."
Harry cleared his throat and they all looked to him. "Right, well, Hermione, Denis, Anthony, and Julia are in the white group," he explained. Once they were in position, he pointed to the blue line. "Lavender, Neville, Susan, and Cho are in the blue one." Moving on as he went, he kept calling out names. "Dean, Pavarti, Luna, and Padma in the black group. Hannah, Justin, Ron, and Terry in red. Kailyn, Ginny, Ernie, and Colin in green."
"Given that the order was all heal, curse, counter, and charm, should we be given to believe we all get to pick our leaders?" Julia asked, looking over to him after checking her group out carefully. She had wanted to be with Terry, but being in the same group made that impossible. She also noticed Ron and Luna looking to each other in much the same light.
"That was my thought," Harry admitted. "Provided I can count on everyone here to be mature about it."
"We won't hide anything from you," Ginny quipped back, not looking to him. She was a little put out that Colin was in her group, but was pleased about Kailyn. She hadn't really had much chance to talk to the half elf before.
"Ginny..." Harry sighed, shaking his head as everyone started talking amongst themselves.
"Hermione's our leader," Julia offered to Harry, who nodded and smiled to Hermione. Her brown eyes showed of her pleasure at being picked, and he could practically see her trying to contain her excitement.
"I'll be the leader here," Neville offered before the rest could make any suggestions.
"And why would we follow you, Longbottom?" Cho demanded. "I mean, I'm ahead of you all by a year, shouldn't that say something?"
Although he knew better than to get involved, Harry couldn't help himself this time. "Neville's it," he said. When Cho looked to him in surprise, he kept going. "He was a big help last year, and of your group, he has the most experience."
"Thanks, Harry," Neville said quietly, returning the nod that Harry had just sent his way. Even in the DA, no one had really spoken about the trip to the Ministry of Magic. Everyone who had gone were gauging things by Harry, and since he hadn't said anything, neither had they.
"I'd like to suggest Dean," Luna said, looking straight at Harry with her large blue eyes. He looked to her for a moment, and she smiled sadly to him and shrugged in Ron's direction. He sighed and nodded, understanding what she was trying to say. She was working on Ron, but he could be stubborn.
"I'll do it," Dean said after looking to both Patil twins.
Hannah, Justin, and Terry all looked to Ron, who nodded but didn't say anything to Harry. Terry, who had spoken to Harry on more than one occasion since the Ball and knew some of what was going on, looked up when Harry looked to their group. "Ron'll lead us."
Harry didn't reply, but simply nodded to them, looking to the last group then - the green group. They were talking amongst themselves, and he was pleased to see that Ginny was no longer trying to curse Colin every time she saw him. "I'll lead," Ginny offered, turning to look squarely at Harry. "So long as you promise - " She stopped as she stumbled forward, and looked back to Kailyn angrily.
"Sorry, Ginny, I thought I saw something on the ground, and tripped," she explained with a shrug. As soon as Ginny turned away again, she winked at Harry, who could only smile. He would have to thank the first year later.
Harry looked at the groups and couldn't help but feel a bit proud. They looked ready, even though he hated to admit that he seemed to be preparing them for a war. The DA wasn't meant to be like this... it was just meant to be real practice for Defense Against the Dark Arts, not solider training.
He turned away from them and leaned against the desk at the front of the room heavily. The realisation had just struck him hard. "Is everyone here comfortable with what's going on?" he asked in a quiet voice. "With what we're doing?"
The room went deadly still at his words, and he turned around slowly to see everyone - including Ron and Ginny - looking to him. "What do you think we're doing here?" Justin asked him.
Harry sighed and focused beyond the group at the foeglass in the back of the room. The figures were still murky, and he was quite pleased at that. "I just thought that it seems like I'm not teaching extra work for our Defense Against the Dark Arts class, but training you like warriors of some kind for some foolish war."
Again, silence met his words, and he broke his gaze with the mirror to look to everyone. Neville was the first to move, and he stepped forward, standing just a few feet away from Harry. "We're fighting a war, Harry, and it's not foolish. We're a part of that war whether we want it or not. I, for one, do not intend to stand back and do nothing. Not after my parents..." he trailed off, staring right into Harry's eyes. He said nothing else, but stood up a little straighter.
"Neville's right, Harry," Terry said, stepping forward as well. "And while most of us don't know what we're up against, at least, not like you do, we need to be ready. I don't intend to go down without a fight. You happen to be the only hope that I can see to prevent that."
Harry wasn't sure what to say to all that. He certainly hadn't expected the members to agree with his thoughts. He had half hoped that they didn't feel like he was training them for war, but it seemed obvious that they did feel that way, and they weren't complaining.
His thoughts all stopped as Ron came forward. "I may not be very happy with you right now, mate, but there's no ruddy way in hell that I'm gonna sit here and let you take off to fight..." he trailed off looking grim, and then closed his eyes. "I'm not letting you fight Voldemort alone." When he fell silent, he opened his eyes again and looked straight to Harry once more, as though daring him to defy his statement.
"You might not want to lead an army of students, Harry, but we're going to follow you anyway," Luna said, not stepping forward, but looking to everyone else. "Because no one deserves to face their fears alone."
Harry snorted despite himself and looked away from the mass of support. "So you're saying I should change the name of this group to the PA... the Potter Army?"
"No," Luna said quickly. "I'm suggesting that we simply call this group what it was before. The Defense Association. When the time comes, we aren't following Dumbledore, or Fudge, or anyone else. We're following you, Harry. We are going to defend our world with you."
"We all believe in you," Hermione offered with tears in her eyes. "And I, for one, always will."
"Do you believe in yourself?" Kailyn asked.
Harry smiled despite himself and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I don't think I have much choice in the matter, do you?" He then looked at the clock on the wall. "Looks like that's time. See you in the New Year. And... thanks... to everyone. For everything..."
"We should be the ones thanking you, Harry," Dean said, clapping him on the shoulder as he left the room. Many of the others did likewise as they passed by him. He noticed that both Ron and Ginny refrained from actually touching him, but they did nod as they passed, until it was just him and Hermione left in the Room of Requirement.
"Do you believe in me?" Hermione asked as soon as they were left alone in the room.
Harry couldn't help but smile at that. "Of course I do," he promised her. "I believe in you without any doubt. I know that you'll always be able to do anything you put your mind to."
"Well, then you should believe in yourself, too." When he raised an eyebrow to suggest she keep talking, she smiled. "Because I believe in you, just like I said."
"You'll be a good leader, you know?" he said with a grin. "Because you really know how to raise spirits when a guy's feeling down."
"Really?" she asked, moving closer to him and wrapping her around around his neck, staring into his eyes. "I somehow don't think I could do it like this, now could I?" she asked in a whisper as she leaned in to give him a kiss.
He closed his eyes as he felt her soft lips press against his gently and he put his own arms around her, pulling her a little closer. Without warning, her lips parted just a little bit and he could feel her tongue dancing across his lips before withdrawing again as she pulled back to look into his eyes once more. The combined action made him shiver just a little, and he loved it.
Although his heart was probably beating faster than it ever had before, he still couldn't help but smile to her, getting lost in the warmth of her brown eyes. The rest of the room didn't matter, not with her in it, anyway.
"Promise me something?" he asked quietly. When she nodded, he went on. "Don't lift anyone's spirits but mine this way..." She replied to that by kissing him again with a little more pressure than before. When she pulled away again, she stood up on her toes and planted a kiss just below the lightning bolt scar on his forehead.
"Only yours," she whispered. When they pulled apart after a few more minutes of looking into each other's eyes, Harry clasped her hand in his own, entwining their fingers together as they left the Room of Requirement to return to the Gryffindor common rooms.
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Over the next two days, Harry thought that Ron seemed to be trying to get up the nerve to tell him something, but every time he started, a look would pass over his eyes and he would turn around again and leave. He hated being at odds with Ron - it always seemed to make life so much more difficult.
Being at odds with Ron was almost nothing compared to being at odds with Ginny, however. More of Fred and George seemed to have rubbed off on her than Harry had realised, and given that the end of term was fast approaching, it made for practical jokes to be taken a lot less seriously by Professors. He was constantly looking over his shoulder, and managed twice to keep Hermione from being caught, and three times for himself. He found himself thinking that he prefered it when she had been completely ignoring them, rather than this.
It was for that reason that the last day of classes came as something of a relief to him. The twentieth of December, the last day of fall, and the final day of classes. It meant a lot this year, too, as over the holidays, he knew what was waiting for him. He was looking forward to the Animagus training, even though he knew it would not be an easy task.
What he wasn't looking forward to quite as much was meeting Hermione's parents. She had received a reply to her owl the day beforehand saying that they were moving into Grimmauld Place today, so they would be settled in before Harry and Hermione even arrived. He knew they were good people -he had met them once before in Diagon Alley - but then he hadn't been dating their daughter. Hermione assured him that it wouldn't be a problem, and he tried to believe her.
With all that on his mind, as well as the large question of why their last Defense Against the Dark Arts class had been cancelled for the term, Harry was rather unaware as to the happenings in the Gryffindor common room. He knew many of the students were celebrating the last day, but he was simply lost in thought.
"Kailyn's not around either, Harry," Hermione said softly from beside him as she sat down next to him. "I spoke to a few other first years, and they told me that she wasn't in any of her classes this morning, and no one saw her at breakfast or at lunch. Apparently their professors already knew, though."
"Think they went home early?"
"Kailyn said that they were staying here over the holidays, so that wouldn't make much sense," Hermione countered. "But why so worried?"
"I was hoping to get one last lesson before going home, that's all."
"Lesson? You wanted an extra lesson?" Hermione asked in surprise. She seemed oddly pleased with his remark, and he smiled at her reaction.
"Yeah. From her," he added, watching her out of the corner of his eye. She jerked upright at that. Obviously she had thought he meant their Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
"What has Kailyn been teaching you?" Hermione asked quietly. He could detect a light hint of anger at being kept in the dark, and he knew right away that he had to handle it carefully. He was glad he could read Hermione as well as she could read him.
"She's been teaching me how to use this," he said, tapping the dagger at his side. "She carries two swords with her everywhere, did you know that?"
"How long has that been going on?" she asked.
Harry shrugged. "Talisien set it up after you gave this to me," he explained. "He said it would do me a lot of good to be able to get some things off my mind. Being attacked with a sharp weapon tends to do that nicely."
"It's helping?" Hermione asked in surprise. "You find it relaxing?"
"Yeah, surprisingly enough," he admitted. "Helped with the duel with Malfoy, too. I could predict his moves a lot faster, and was lighter on my feet."
Hermione sat back a bit, biting her lower lip as she thought something through carefully. Harry just watched her for a moment and sighed to himself. He still couldn't really believe his fortunate that she was willing to stick with him, despite the risks involved. She truly was a remarkable witch.
"Could I watch sometime?" she asked after a while of silence, during which time someone had eaten one of the Weasley's concoctions that made then walk on the ceiling for a short time before crashing to the ground again.
"I guess. Why?"
"Well, if it's helping, then I'd like to see it," she insisted. "Maybe..."
"You'd like to learn, too?" Harry needled her. She turned red at his suggestion and at how easily he had caught her. "You don't have a blade," he pointed out.
"But I could still watch."
Ignoring the laughter that was going on around them, Harry leaned in a little closer and kissed Hermione gently on the cheek. "I think I'm going to try and find her to ask, alright?" he suggested. When he looked into her eyes, he saw that she wasn't looking at him anymore, but at something over his shoulder. He turned quickly and saw both Ron and Ginny looking over to them, pointing and talking among themselves. "Will you be alright here?"
She nodded. "Hurry back though, okay?" She then sighed as she leaned back into her red armchair by the fire. "I hate fighting with them, you know?" When she saw the look on Harry's face, she sat up again quickly. "Oh no you don't, Mr. Potter. Don't you dare go thinking anything like that!"
"Like what?" Harry asked innocently, though knowing that she knew anyway.
"Don't you dare go thinking that I would be better off without you, understand? It was my decision, and I won't have you go blaming yourself for everything, got it?"
Harry smiled and kissed her on the nose. "See, that's why I care so much about you. You do everything you can to make me happy, even when I'm downright terrible to you sometimes."
"You're never terrible to me," she replied instantly. The two looked into each others' eyes for a moment before Harry stood up to leave. "Try the classroom first, or Talisien's office. Actually, I think the office is closest."
"I'll try there first, then." Harry stood up and went to the portrait hole quickly, ignoring the cries from several of the other Gryffindors for him to join in one of their games or conversations. He shot a glance back to the two Weasleys, and saw that Ginny was crying and Ron was trying to comfort her. He wished he knew what was going on, but he knew that they wouldn't tell him right then anyway. With one last sigh, he left.
He slowed down as he approached the door to the elf's office. There was light shining from beneath it, and he could hear several voices talking animatedly inside. There was a great deal of laughter every now and then, followed by more talking. Either the words were getting terribly muffled by the door, or they weren't speaking in any language that Harry could recognize... mind you, that wasn't saying much, as he could only speak English. After a moment, he determined it was more a combination of both his thoughts.
"Dan pasid spera sa sot, tebrec. A nen fipjaur rish ap fan que edinew a birgon kah. Tron reteude dan tekahug we olisantora regoruno ivera elator seton." This voice sounded somewhat like Talisien's, but with the strange language and muffled door, if made it impossible to tell for certain.
"Peo iha le it vekod, Wanderer. Sustad qodey fibute recunip i lane taux ril tolitali... dan wecoewe plin ka dowiet jiog, as ka wey." Whoever said this had a soft voice, and one that he certainly did not know at all.
"Dan i yeers ato Dark Lord, sokel Vermarth? Dan yip wekic remurk-ona hur peoljaur, sokel? Peo dowiet sa murk-ona." This one, he knew was Kailyn. Her voice always seemed somehow full of life, regardless of what was going on around her.
"Peo iha sokel, Verdurne. Tris que ence verisi eod-cout dan left tho thixer tea gortendas wi Voldemort," the first voice replied. Before Harry could respond to the sudden movement and sound from within the office, the door was pulled open and he found himself inside.
As he looked around, he saw Talisien sitting next to Fey by the fireplace, smiles on their faces as they looked to him, and Kailyn still had the door opened, looking at him in surprise. There was another woman in the room as well, a woman with striking white hair that reached all the way to the ground. She wasn't sitting either, but standing in the corner, watching him carefully. She was leaning on a staff, and actually seemed to be floating when he looked a bit closer to her. Something about her presence seemed strange to Harry... something he remembered from not that long ago...
"Good of you to join us, Harry," Talisien said with a smile when Kailyn still hadn't recovered. "We were just talking about you."
"You were?" Harry asked in surprise. "I'm sorry, I wasn't meaning to interrupt or anything, but..."
"You didn't interrupt," Fey countered calmly, motioning to one of the other chairs in the room. Kailyn beat him to the one she must have been in beforehand, and so he was left to sit closest to the door itself. "Talisien was just telling about his year here so far, and mentioned something about you reminding himself of his past, that's all."
Harry nodded slowly, taking in the information without really paying attention to it before looking to Talisien again. "Why did you cancel class today? And why weren't you," he said, looking to Kailyn pointedly. "In any of your classes either?"
"It is the Wanderer's birthday, Harry Potter," the woman in the corner said in her soft voice. "He has gathered with his family every year for nearly fifteen hundred years on this day, and school was not going to interrupt that tradition." As she spoke, he realised that she had been hiding in the corner during the Ball, and that was where he recognized her presence from.
"Fifteen hundred..." Harry said, trailing off as he tried to even imagine such a long life. "How old are you?" he asked, turning back to his teacher and looking at him in an entirely new light.
"Old enough," he said with a shrug. "Elves live extremely long lives by any creatures' standards... any save Ali's, anyway," he added with a grin, motioning to the woman in the corner. "She's a good several thousand years older than me!"
"You certainly don't look that old," Harry thought out loud, and ducked his head at once, wishing he had held his tongue. To his surprise, Talisien just laughed.
"No, elves don't really age beyond a certain point," he explained. "But what brings you to my office today?" he asked, sitting forward. "Something on your mind?"
Harry's left hand subconsciously found the hilt to his dagger at Talisien's choice of words, and he saw the two elder elves smile at the action. "I can't really remember why I came, actually," Harry admitted. He knew he had been talking to Hermione about something, but after hearing the strange conversation, his thoughts had been thrown out the window. "It was important, but..."
"You heard us talking and didn't understand a word of it," Kailyn supplied with a grin, finally regaining her composure. "You wouldn't," she added quickly. "It's not a language that any human alive knows, really. Ancient tongue."
"I guess I am interrupting," Harry said, standing slowly to leave. "I..."
"Sit down, Harry," Talisien said calmly. "I said before that my door is always open, and I meant it. Now, since you don't remember why you came here, might there be anything else on your mind now that you want to talk about?"
"Well," Harry said slowly. "I guess I am a little curious about this language and all, but that would be about it." As he released the dagger, the thought returned to him suddenly. "Actually, I wanted to ask Kailyn if she would mind if Hermione watched our lessons together in the future..." he said, looking to the first year as he spoke.
Kailyn shrugged. "So long as she stays out of the way, I don't mind. You probably can't really explain to her just what's going on anyway, given how her mind soaks up information." Harry grinned at that - it was a comment that he would have to remember in the future.
"Peo terni jiruw reaps," Talisien said softly. Harry looked over to him and saw that he was looking to Fey. The elf then looked back to him, and smiled. "I suppose a few terms wouldn't hurt. I just told her that she means the world to me."
"Peo turni jiruw reap?" Harry repeated.
"No, peo terni jiruw reaps," Talisien said again. Harry repeated the phrase, and got a nod from his teacher. "Right. Simple enough. Anything else you want to be able to say?"
Harry thought about it for a moment before sitting forward. There was a lot he wanted to be able to say without anyone else understanding, but he knew he couldn't ask for the whole language - he'd never remember it all. "How about `Do not hurt her?'"
Talisien smiled and nodded. "Alright. Lewer jilark kao." Harry repeated it twice before getting it right, and then Talisien nodded again. "Good. One more word that you may find useful in school... the other teachers wouldn't be able to punish you for it."
"A swear?" Harry asked with a grin.
"Same thing I said when my first spell failed to shield you from that mind attack," the elf said with a nod. "Tusonit. Or, if you prefer the full phrase for maximum effect, tusonit urea koces regaos!"
"What does it mean in English?" Harry asked after repeating it four times before getting it properly.
"It doesn't really translate well," Fey said kindly. "Besides, if it were translated, I doubt you would understand just why the full form is a curse for the most wretched of anger - I do not believe any human histories even mention that terrible era any longer."
Harry nodded and then noticed the clock above the fireplace. It said that it was almost six o'clock - he had been gone for almost two hours. The comfortable office and interesting topics of conversation had made the time fly by, but he had promised Hermione that he wouldn't take too long.
"Look, I've taken enough of your time," Harry said, standing quickly. "Thanks. And happy birthday, Professor Talisien."
"Thank you, Harry," Talisien said with a nod. "May you have many more yourself."
As he rushed back to the common rooms, he wasn't entirely sure why he passed by the Great Hall - it was on the other side of the castle from the office and Gryffindor Tower, after all. Then again, the castle had been known to shift students around every now and then for its only personal amusement.
He peeked inside and found most of the students gathered for the end of term feast already. Scanning the Gryffindor table, he found that Hermione was not there yet, and he felt even worse. She was missing the feast as she waited for him to return.
He actually ignored the cries of the caretaker Mr. Flitch as he ran down the halls and up the stairs to the tower again. He arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady almost completely out of breath, said the password, and slipped inside quickly.
Hermione was sitting by the fire looking rather upset, staring at him. Before he could say two words, she stood up and stalked over to him. "You had better have a good explanation, Harry," she said softly. "Because you told me that you would be back soon, remember?"
He gulped and looked away from her accusing eyes. "I'm sorry, `Mione," he whispered. "I found them and we started talking, and..."
"So you did find them, then?" Hermione asked, looking a little relieved, though still angry. "I was half convinced that you had run into Malfoy with a whole gang of Slytherins, or had been cornered by some girl and couldn't escape - I know how terrible you are at rejecting people, Harry."
"I would reject any girl who tried to get close to me except you, `Mione," Harry said instantly. "I promise you that. In fact, I swear it upon my honour as a wizard." He felt an odd popping sensation as soon as his words left his mouth, and he saw Hermione looking at him in surprise. "What?" he asked with a frown. "What did I do now?"
"Harry... you just gave a wizard's oath to always stick by me," Hermione said softly, the anger seeming to dissipate as she spoke. "Do you realise that?"
Harry nodded and lifted up his wrist. "Didn't I say that before, though, when I put this on? I promised you then that..."
"I know that, Harry," Hermione cut him off quickly. "But that wasn't an oath like the one you just made! Harry, what if we don't work out?" she asked. Harry noticed then the fear in her voice. "If we don't, and you ever looked at another girl, then you'd become a squib faster than you could say Quidditch!"
When he had asked Remus and the Weasley twins to make a wizard's oath to take care of Hermione in case anything happened to him, he hadn't been entirely sure why they were so hesitant, but that seemed to explain it. He was glad they had agreed in the end, but also a little surprised, knowing just what failure could mean to them.
Harry closed his eyes slowly and took a deep breath before opening them and looking straight into Hermione's eyes again. "Peo terni jiruw reaps, `Mione," he said firmly. At her questioning look, he smiled. "Trust me, you'd like what it means. I'll tell you sometime, if you want... or you could try to find out on your own. It is in the Ancient language."
"The Ancient language?" Hermione repeated. "You mean the Ancient language, the first language to ever be spoken, the language that no one can speak?"
Harry shrugged. "You've got me. It's what they said it was, though. Talisien taught me a bit. Not much, but enough to say that and give a rather interesting, lengthy curse, too."
Hermione rolled her eyes at that, but looked excited suddenly. "You took extra time to learn some of that language?" she asked. When Harry nodded, she threw her arms around him. "I guess I'm starting to rub off on you a little, huh?"
"You say that as thought I haven't rubbed off on you at all," Harry replied with a grin, placing his hands on her hips gently and pulling her a little closer. "It seems to me that once upon a time a certain girl with bushy brown hair was more worried about being expelled for breaking school rules than being killed, remember?"
Hermione giggled at the reminder of her first year, and then looked to him seriously. "Do you think Talisien would be willing to teach any of it to me?"
"Are you adverse to sneaking to the kitchens later to get something to eat?" Harry asked in response, looking into her eyes and trying his best not to get lost as he waited for her answer. When she shook her head, he smiled. "Great. Then let's go speak with him, and you can ask him yourself." Rather than the elated expression he had half been expecting, he found himself watching Hermione biting her lower lip gently again. "What's wrong?" he asked softly.
She smiled to him and leaned a little closer. "I'm trying to decide if I want to go right now or if I want to kiss you first," she whispered, her breath playing across his lips. Ever since the Ball when she had told him that he really wasn't violating her space, they had been kissing quite a bit more, and he certainly had no complaints about that.
Harry didn't reply to her, but captured her lips with his own gently, sliding his hands from her hips to press her inwards by her lower back. After the barest of moments, she pulled away just a bit, his upper lip caught between her teeth as she gently pulled. Before he could respond, she was kissing him again. He felt her tongue against his lips once more, and he felt the same jolt of energy run through him as he started to open his mouth to accept her inquiry.
Just as he started, though, she pulled away and looked into his eyes. "I don't think I need anyone to translate the meaning behind your words, Harry," she whispered, leaning her head into his shoulder as he held her close. "I think I understand the meaning behind them just fine."
"But you'd like to learn more?" he asked with a grin as she pulled away. He chuckled at the guilty expression on her face and held out an arm to her. "Well then, my lady, shall we be off?" Laughing, she accepted his arm and the two went out the portrait hole together.
The lights seemed to be off when they arrived at their Professor's office, and all sound had ceased from within. "Oh, they're probably at the feast," Harry said, remembering all the people that he had seen when he passed the Great Hall earlier.
"They are within the forest at this time, son of James and Lily." Both students whirled around in an instant, wands drawn, to find the woman that had been in the corner earlier floating an inch above the ground just behind them. "But you are still welcome to speak with me, if you wish."
"Who are you, anyway?" Harry asked pointedly. "Talisien called you Ali, I think."
The woman nodded, and looked to Hermione. "You wanted to learn some of the Ancient language, I believe, daughter of Mike and Jane."
Harry and Hermione exchanged a quick glance, and Harry nodded discretely and they lowered their wands. "How do you know so much about us?" Harry asked. "And just how did you know what `Mione was here to ask about?"
"It is in my blood to know things, Harry," she said softly, her crimson eyes staring directly at him. He had the feeling that those eyes could penetrate a dementor's gaze, and broke contact to look to Hermione instead, but she, too, was looking at the woman. "I am one who cares only for the planet, but not those within it."
"What?" Harry asked in surprise.
"You don't care about anyone's life but your own?" Hermione asked at the same time.
The woman shook her head. "I did not say I cared about my own life. I simply said that I care for the planet. If my life is laid down to protect her, then so be it. If I succeed, then it would be a worthy sacrifice."
"You are not making a lot of sense, you know," Harry said, closing his eyes to try and remain calm. Her unearthly demeanour reminded him very strongly of a mix between Dumbledore and Trelawny, a combination he had no desire to think about.
"Ancients rarely make sense to most people."
"I still think you should care about people, too," Hermione muttered.
"I did, once," she admitted. "I still care about Talisien and Fey... they are all that remains of my family, though they are not a part of it by blood. I stopped caring about others and focused on the planet a long time ago, Hermione."
"What do you mean? What happened?"
The crimson eyes seemed to lose their focus for a moment before looking to Hermione. "I gave my heart to another. She died with it." She continued to look at the girl for a moment before smiling slightly. "Your drive reminds me of hers, actually."
"It is never so much a goodbye, as a simple farewell. It is not as though you will never see each other again," Harry said after a long silence. This earned him a smile from the strange woman.
"My words, a long time ago," she said. "You were given quite a gift with that weapon at your side, Harry," she added. "The Oakrium does not chose lightly, and has been with the same master for almost his entire life. Do not ever belittle it's strengths. None know of its full protective powers."
By now, both Harry and Hermione were completely confused with just what the woman called Ali was trying to say to them, or why she was even there talking to them at all. Harry, in fact, called her on that point.
"A simple reason, Harry," she said as she turned. "I was performing a favour for the Wanderer, and happened to be close by. You have much to learn... both of you." As she started walking further away, strange aquamarine lights started to dance around her. "Fortunately, he has much to teach." Before either could reply, the lights flared, and she was gone.
They both knew without speaking to each other that what had just happened made very little sense to them at all, and decided without words not to talk about what she had said. With a quick glance, they also decided not to tell anyone that she had just vanished into thin air - despite the fact that it was quite impossible to apparate in or out of Hogwarts, it seemed like the woman had done just that.
After everything that they had just gone through, they were both glad that tomorrow would find them away from Hogwarts and within the walls of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.
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Now, I thought strongly about not providing a translation for the Ancient text, but decided that I might as well. Just in case anyone cares.
"This year has been interesting, though. I find myself reminded of my own youth more and more as I spend time within these walls. I hate to think that there is nothing I can do to help another lost soul," Talisien said.
"You are doing all you can, Wanderer. Teaching the boy magics and giving him a code to live and learn by... there is nothing more he would ask for, if he knew," Ali told him.
"There is a prophecy about this Dark Lord, isn't there, granddad? That's why you haven't gone to kill him yourself, right? You'd be killed!" Kailyn exclaimed in surprise.
"You are most likely correct. Only the young man standing outside this door can bring about Voldemort's downfall," Talisien pointed out.
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There. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, and didn't get too confused by the section with Ali. I'll say this on the matter, and that's it: The dagger will not protect against an Avada Kedavra curse, so if you thought that, sorry to burst your bubble.
I also hope that everyone is happy that Harry and Hermione are actually together now, just before they leave for Christmas. I don't intend to take things quickly, though, so please remember that. What other people assume, however, is not always the truth.
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If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please let me know through reviews or emails, no matter how short or long. I'll answer them regardless. Thanks!
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Until the sun sets upon a broken world...
The Shadows
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