Chapter Twenty Four: New Year's Day
Hermione woke to a sharp rapping sound, and groaned softly to herself as she tried to force herself awake. After a minute or so, the rapping sounded again, this time followed by a voice.
"Harry?" That woke her up almost instantly, and she sat up quickly, looking down at the wizard she had been asleep next to. He looked so peaceful, but she suspected it wouldn't last. "Harry, are you awake? I wanted to talk to Hermione, but she wasn't in her room!" She winced - she really didn't need Ginny shouting that to the entire household...
*Harry,* she hissed to him, leaning in close and giving him a kiss of the cheek. He moaned and started to roll over, as though fighting to stay asleep. *Harry, wake up!*
"Alohamora!" Hermione closed her eyes and held her breath, not looking forward to the scene that was about to made. She pulled up the one strap of her camisole that had fallen down in the night quickly - otherwise, she was presentable, if still dressed in her pajamas. The door rattled, but didn't open. "What gives? C'mon Harry, wake up! Hermione's missing!"
"What?" The wizard in question opened his eyes very suddenly and sat up in the bed quickly, only to bump heads with Hermione. He managed to catch her before she fell off the bed at the sudden impact. "What's going on?" he asked in a tired, groggy voice.
*Ginny's just outside your room, looking for me!* Hermione hissed, focusing on the fact that she had to speak kneazle to make sure Ginny wouldn't hear her voice. *What are we going to do?*
*First of all,* Harry started, reaching for his glasses and moving back in his bed to sit up properly. *It isn't just my room - it's yours too.*
*Harry!*
*I know, I know, this isn't the time...* he whispered back. In English now, he looked to the door. "What is it, Ginny?"
"Harry? Are you awake now?" she called back.
"Hard to sleep through all the racket you're making, trust me!" he said with a grin to Hermione. He leaned up to kiss her silently on the lips as he waited for her answer.
"Hermione's not in her room, any idea where she might be?"
He pushed the blankets back on his bed and stood up slowly, stretching. Hermione forced herself to look away from him - he was dressed in only his boxers. At a glance from him, it hit her just how simple it was to fool Ginny into thinking she hadn't been there all night. It was the same way they had tricked Ron last night before bed.
Once she had shifted down into her kneazle form, Harry walked over to the door and opened it to find a nearly hysterical Ginny waiting for him. "What's up, Gin?"
"I told you, Hermione's missing," she said quickly. "And I really really need to talk to her about... something..." She started slowing down when she actually looked at him and found that he wasn't dressed yet. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times without any sound coming out before Hermione hissed up at her from next to Harry.
"I couldn't find her at all on Christmas morning," Harry said with a shrug, turning around and walking over to his dresser. He was careful to open the drawer that held only his clothes, and none of Hermione's. "I wouldn't worry about it... I'm sure she'll be down before too long."
"Uh..." Ginny looked behind her suddenly, as though afraid of being caught talking to a shirtless Harry. "If... if you aren't worried... then I guess it's fine. I'll talk to her... later. Yeah. Later. Bye Willow... Harry..."
Once she was completely out of the room again and down the hall, still looking a little dazed, Harry closed the door completely to let Hermione change back into herself again. "How dare she?" she spat out in a low voice. "How dare she?"
"What's wrong?" Harry asked softly. He hadn't really seen Hermione go from happy to mad so quickly before - even with Ron in their arguments!
"Ginny!" Hermione said fiercely, staring at the closed door. She suddenly whirled on him, a finger pointing at him. "Or didn't you notice her staring at you like that? Like you were just -"
Harry cut her off by pressing his lips to hers. She fought against the kiss for a moment before completely melting into it, wrapping her arms around him as though her very being depended on it. The way her legs were shaking when they finally separated said that she probably would have fallen to the floor if not for his support.
"Better?" he whispered in her ear. When she stiffened again in his arms, he went on. "I meant what I said last night, 'Mione. You're mine. And I'm yours. Don't ever doubt that." He gave her a quick peck on the forehead and then pulled away, going over to his dresser again to pull out a fresh set of robes. "We should get downstairs before someone else comes up," he said with a grin. "Wouldn't do for you to try and claw Minerva's eyes out, now would it?"
It seemed that he had finally managed to catch Hermione without any response, though she did blush rather heavily. She turned a bit to let him change - even though it was such a simple affair of changing his boxers and then pulling on his robes - before she went to the dresser and pulled out her own clothes. She found him waiting with his back turned by the door, so she pulled off her pajama pants - surprising herself when she found that the crotch was a bit damp and sticky simply from what cuddling they had done last night - and pulled on a fresh pair of panties. Her blue jeans were next, and then she pulled on a sweater over her camisole, not really wanting to change out of the comfortable nightshirt.
Once she had her green cloak on, she tossed Harry his and watched him check his side one more time before opening the door. She did the same, making sure both her dagger and wand were on her before leaving.
As soon as the two stepped foot downstairs, all conversation stopped. Ron and Luna looked pointedly at Harry, while almost everyone else seemed suddenly intent on their breakfast plates - all of which were currently empty, Harry noticed. Neville also seemed to be looking at him strangely, at which point he looked away from everyone and back to Hermione.
"Do I have some sort of rabbit ears growing out of my head or something?"
"Mr. Potter... a word, if you please." The two turned quickly to find Professor McGonagall standing behind them, looking rather grim. If her looks weren't enough, then the fact that she hadn't called Harry by his first name this time told him that something was wrong. Very wrong.
"What's happened?" he asked instantly, not caring about who was in the room suddenly. They were in his house, so he trusted them. All of them.
"The study's free, Minerva," Remus offered from the other side of the kitchen. "And Hermione, I believe your parents will be down shortly, so if you wouldn't mind getting them a couple of plates..."
"We have received... news," Minerva said softly to Harry, meeting his eyes for the first time that morning. He was surprised to see tears there, and found himself fighting off his own without warning. "And it's not good. Come along now..."
He didn't take the chair that she motioned to once they were inside the study. Instead, the moment the door closed, he whirled around to face her again. "What's happened?" he demanded again. "Who died?"
"No one last night, Harry," she said slowly. "We received news of... the attack that came before Christmas. We have all the casualties now."
"It's that bad?" His mind was racing already. He knew that four members of the DA had been killed, and quite a few other people, but beyond that, he didn't know names.
"Half of St. Mungo's was destroyed."
Harry sat down at that, hard, on the stone surrounding the fireplace. Ignoring the pain in his rear from such an endeavour, he just stared at his Professor as though she had just grown rabbit ears. "Say again?"
"You-Know-Who blew the top half of the wizarding hospital away," Minerva said softly, taking a seat in one of the chairs in the room slowly. It was the first real time that Harry had really seen her looking anywhere close to her age. "The only survivors from the hospital were on floors three and down."
"So not only did he kill any number of muggles in his attacks, he took out that many witches and wizards with one blow?" Harry asked in amazement, trying to let it sink in carefully. He then sat up quickly. "Neville!" He looked back to his teacher quickly, and saw her shaking her head sadly. "His parents didn't make it, did they?"
Minerva couldn't find her voice to answer, and instead shook her head slowly. After a long silence, she stood up and looked to Harry. "I'll go tell him now... I wanted to stick true to my word and tell you what we knew as soon as I was aware of it."
"No," Harry said suddenly as he, too, stood up. "Let me tell him." He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders to face her. "It'll be easier coming from me. I've got to talk to him about something anyway."
"Are you sure, Harry?" she asked gently. "You already have to prepare yourself to talk to your DA about the four members that were lost..."
"Then consider this prep for it," Harry cut her off. "I need to tell him, Professor... Minerva. Just like I have to tell the DA later, I have to tell Neville this, now."
She nodded and stepped aside from the door. "I noticed that Gryffindor didn't lose any students in the attacks, by the way," she offered, her voice catching in her throat as she spoke. "But not everyone in Gryffindor is unscathed by them..."
"Can we continue my training after lunch, Minerva? I suspect this might take most of the morning," Harry explained as he walked back to the kitchen. "If you were to tell the others, though, that would help."
"Certainly, Harry."
After Harry had assured Neville that Buckbeak really was harmless, he finally agreed to take a seat in the attic next to Harry on the ground. He wasn't entirely sure why Harry had asked to speak to him alone, and was actually quite surprised when he had refused to tell Hermione what was going on first. All he had said was that she would have to sit tight and wait for Minerva to tell them.
"It's not good news, is it Harry?" Neville asked after a long silence fell upon the attic. "It's really bad, right?"
"Yeah," Harry nodded, running his hand through his black hair as he tried to think of where to begin. He really had needed to talk to Neville for quite some time, but he had a lot more to say now than he had hoped he would ever need. "It's bad."
"Is Gran okay?"
"Yeah."
Another silence before Neville ventured another guess. "It's mum and dad, isn't it?"
"Yeah." This time, Harry didn't give Neville a chance to say anything before he was talking again. "But first I have to tell you something... something only a couple of other people actually know about. You will be the second that I've told personally, though. It's important that you not tell another living soul, understand?"
Neville nodded and closed his eyes. "You know you can trust me, Harry."
"I know," came the reply. Another silence, this time broken by Harry clearing his throat. "You know how I knew your birthday was around the end of July?"
"Not really... I thought someone told you..."
"Dumbledore mentioned it at the end of last year," Harry admitted. "But not just so I could wish you a happy birthday when I saw you later. He told me about a prophecy, Neville."
Neville's brown eyes widened at that, and he started stumbling over his words. "Prophecy? Is that... I mean it was... but how?"
"Yeah, it was the one that broke in the Department of Mysteries last year," Harry said, guessing at what the boy was trying to ask him about. "But Dumbledore knew it, because it had been told to him originally."
Neville nodded. "So, I'm a part of a prophecy, am I?"
"No."
"But I thought..."
"You could have been," Harry interrupted him. "It could have been either of us. Both of us were born as the seventh month died, and both of our parents had defied Voldemort three times. But in the end, he chose me."
"Voldemort?"
Harry was quite impressed that Neville actually said the name without stumbling or sounding afraid for once. "Yeah. I guess I have power that he doesn't understand, or something, which means that one of us is going to kill the other. I'm the only one who can kill him. That, or be killed by him."
"How do you know it's you and not me?" Neville asked quietly, not wanting to think he was suddenly a target and supposed to be a saviour as well.
Harry lifted his bangs up, exposing his scar for Neville to see clearly. "He 'marked me as an equal,' " he explained. "Which means he chose me, and that set the prophecy in stone. It's me, not you."
Neville nodded and took a deep breath before looking back to Harry again. "Sorry."
"It's not your fault, mate."
"I know. But I'm still sorry." He then sat forward again. "Voldemort attacked St. Mungo's, didn't he?" He didn't give Harry a chance to say anything before he continued. "My parents are dead, right?"
Harry nodded and closed off his eyes. He didn't want to see Neville's reaction to the news. "He blew apart the top floors. Anyone who was above the third floor was killed almost instantly."
"At least they died painlessly." Harry looked up in surprise to see Neville's determined expression. "I couldn't have asked for more."
"I'm sorry, Neville."
"So am I," Neville said, closing his eyes as a few tears leaked out. "I feel more sorry for Voldemort, though. You're going to tear him apart." Harry couldn't help but smile at the vote of confidence.
"I will." And he believed it, as the alternative was more than he could bare thinking about. "For all of us who have lost, and for all of those who stand to lose."
"I understand that four members of the DA died, too."
"Yeah," Harry said softly. "Hannah Abbot, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Anthony Goldstein, and Ernie MacMillian."
"They were good," Neville whispered. "But I can't cry for them now. I can't even cry for my parents yet."
"Can I join you in that cry later, then?"
"I'm not crying until Voldemort's dead."
"I can live with that."
Neville gave Harry a small, forced smile as he stood up. "Thanks, Harry. For telling me yourself."
"I insisted on it," Harry told him. "Neville, do you want me to invite your Gran to come here? She'd be safer here than anywhere but Hogwarts..."
"No," Neville said softly. "She's tough... but this time, I want to protect her. Not the other way around. And if she were here, that would be impossible."
Harry shared a quick hug with Hermione once the two had gone back downstairs, but he skipped lunch as he joined Minerva in the study again for his training to continue. With the door locked, they worked on relaxation exercises, though Harry couldn't get the determined look from Neville out of his thoughts. If everyone was as brave as Neville had become... then Voldemort wouldn't stand a chance!
Once training was over - though Harry didn't feel any better about it afterwards than he did when he started - he set about trying to figure out what everyone was up to.
After apologising to Hermione for not telling her about the attacks earlier - to which she said she understood, given that Neville really needed to be told by a good friend first - he decided against his earlier plans and went to his room. He would spend time with people tomorrow, but today had really worn him out. He had promised Minerva that he would try to work on relaxation techniques that night before bed, so he decided that it was as good a time as any to start.
When he closed his eyes, his mind was plagued with a variety of images. He remembered clearly running into Neville at St. Mungo's last year, and seeing his mother come after him to give him an empty bubblegum wrapper. He could clearly see him tucking that piece of paper - paper that most would have considered garbage - into his pocket. He knew that Neville had treasured it... but now would do so doubly.
Harry forced his mind beyond that to the DA. The new year would not be an easy one... they had a lot of ground to cover. Not only that, but replacing four members... the faces of Hannah, Anthony, Ernie, and Justin flashed through his mind. They were all laughing or smiling to him... thanking him for his help with their spells...
"No," Harry whispered to himself as he tried to clear his mind again. He had to relax to perfect the animagus transformation. He had to, but his mind wouldn't let him. Before he could say anything else to himself, however, a knock at the door interrupted him. "Yeah?"
Ron's red hair was the first thing he noticed before Hermione - in her kneazle form - shot in the barely opened door to land on his bed. "Sorry mate, I just thought I'd let this little gal in. I know you're busy..."
"You know about the attacks, and Neville's parents, right?" Harry asked softly.
"Yeah." There was a touch of a pause before Ron came over and sat down on the bed next to Harry. "It's not your fault, you know that, right? Hermione did manage to drive that point home, didn't she?"
"I was a bit of a prat about it first," Harry admitted, at which point Willow hissed at him as she curled up on his pillow. "But we worked it out in the end. I know who's at fault..."
"Poor Neville, though."
"He's not going to cry about it," Harry said suddenly, cutting off whatever it was Ron was going to say next. "There's no way he'll cry."
"What? Why not?" Ron asked. "He loved his parents, even though their brains were... you know..."
"He's not crying again - he swore to me he wouldn't cry again, not until Voldemort's dead. I promised him that I'd join him then."
"He won't be alive much longer, Harry," Ron said with a grin. "Between the DA and the Order, he doesn't stand a chance."
If you only knew, Ron... "Hey Ron... when next term starts, remind me that I've got something to tell you. You, and the rest of the Ministry crew, alright?"
"Why wait until next term? Why not tell us now... we're all here, right?"
"I can't do it... not in this house," Harry whispered, not meeting his best mate's eye. "But would you do that for me?" Ron nodded and scratched Willow's head behind her ears.
"I won't forget mate, don't worry." He then stood up and made his way tot he door. "I still think its odd sharing a room with Neville and Colin, ya know?"
"If you'd rather share with Luna, I'm sure I could talk to Remus about that, if you'd like," Harry offered with a grin. "Of course, he'll want to check with your mum first..."
"Good night, Harry." He didn't wait for a response before slamming the door shut behind him, though there was a large smile on his face as he shook his head.
*You don't mind, do you?* Hermione hissed up to him as she snuggled into the pillow a little more.
*I'd be much happier with you lying beside me as yourself... I'd like to cuddle with my girlfriend tonight, not my pet.* Hermione obliged him instantly by changing back into herself, and immediately sat in his lap.
*Better?* she purred into his ear.
"Without a doubt,* he sighed. He then looked to her carefully. *So, how did today go? I bet everyone wanted to know how your holiday's been so far, right?*
*The moment I started talking about teaching myself a new language, surprisingly no one asked me again... not to say they left met alone completely,* Hermione said with a soft smile. She leaned in a little closer to Harry and kissed him softly on the lips. *Actually, I spoke to Fred and George today,* she whispered into his lips as she kissed him again and pulled him down with her to the bed.
*I didn't even know they were here,* Harry replied, letting his hands roam over her back and pull her in a little closer, causing her to giggle appreciatively. *Guess I was a bit busy with Minerva, right? What did they want?*
*I asked them to come,* Hermione admitted to him after another gentle kiss. *I wanted to talk to them about a couple of things.*
*Such as?*
*Such as...* Hermione stopped herself as she pulled out of Harry's arms just a bit. *Don't you think we'd be more comfortable in our pajamas?* she purred to him as she started to sit up.
*Probably,* he said with a grin. *But I doubt I'll be able to concentrate on what you're saying instead of on you...*
She swatted him in the arm as she giggled. *Then maybe I just don't have anything else to say tonight... sound good?*
Harry shook his head as he sat up next to her. *Actually, why don't you tell me what's up, and then we can get in bed together. Sound good?*
She nodded, but didn't start talking right away. Instead, she bit her lip as she often did when in thought, and then closed her eyes. *Are you thinking about talking in kneazle right now?*
*Yeah...*
*Just thought I'd check,* she explained as she opened her eyes again. *I spoke to them about a product of theirs, actually.*
*You didn't?* Harry couldn't keep the smile off his face - if she was talking to them about pranks, what was she up to?
*Well, someone had to figure out a way for us to keep sharing a bed without being caught once we go back to school, right?* Hermione said briskly, looking away from Harry. *And I wanted to speak to them anyway.*
*Sorry, 'Mione. Didn't mean to upset you...*
She didn't say anything right away. Instead, she got up out of bed and walked over to the dresser to look for her pajamas. Once she had the silk pants and thin camisole in her hands, she looked back to him. *You didn't...* she purred softly. *It's just been a long day. I couldn't get any work done in the library on those translations, and Ginny, Lavender, and Luna were great, but sometimes, a girl just needs a few hours to work.*
*I'm sorry, Mione,* Harry said almost instantly as he groaned and leaned back, closing his eyes to give her the privacy to change she needed. *I forgot to come up to help. I'll barricade the doors to the library tomorrow morning so we can work, but I've got to spend the afternoon with Minerva.*
*I'd like that,* Hermione said softly as she sat down on the bed again. Harry striped off his robes and set his dagger and wand on the night stand, right next to Hermione's. *It's great that everyone's here now, but I do like spending some time with you alone.*
*The feeling's mutual, don't worry.* Harry laid back on the bed and waited for Hermione to snuggle in next to him. *So, what did they say about that product?*
*They'll have one ready by the start of term... and I'll be testing it for them.* She decided not to tell him that she had also spoken to them about the wizarding oath they had sworn on his behalf. They had told her that they would do anything for a sibling of theirs (not that they would admit to such a thing later, of course) and told her that in all senses of the term that mattered, Harry was a brother. How could she refuse to test a product she had asked for, especially after they told her that?
*Good night, Mione.*
*Night Harry,* she purred back as he pulled the blankets up around them. *I love you.*
*I know.*
-------------------------
The next two days passed into a relative routine. After spending a bit of time with everyone for breakfast, Harry and Hermione would then go to the third floor and lock themselves in, telling everyone that they were working on a special project. Ron had quickly covered Luna's mouth before she could say the first thing that came to her mind, and apparently she had understood and decided not to broach the subject later.
After lunch, Harry would be in the study working with Minerva on relaxation techniques, and Hermione would spend some time with Ginny and Luna. Lavender, in the meantime, seemed to be a bit preoccupied with either Divination homework that she had been given by Firenze or watching Neville working in the kitchen alongside Molly. Although he was really a horrible chef, it seemed that working alongside the matriarch of the Weasley household was doing him some stroke of good.
On the thirtieth, while Harry was locking in the study with Minerva, Remus took everyone else to Diagon Alley for a couple of hours to do some quick shopping. Given that no one had really had a chance to do so beforehand, it was a welcome opportunity, and Harry had given Hermione access to his vault to pick up a few things for himself as well.
As for Ron and Colin, the two seemed to have reached somewhat of an accord. Ron was no longer breathing down Colin's neck every time he glanced at Ginny, and Colin was being a little bit more discrete about the whole affair. It probably helped that Colin wasn't a bad chess player, and didn't mind losing again and again to Ron - though he did come close to winning a couple of times before Ron really started paying attention...
While Harry spent after supper in his room continuing to attempt the animagus transformation - which everyone present knew about, but only a select few knew the actual animal - Ron and Hermione spent a lot of time going over Defense Against the Dark Arts books. Luna often sat in while reading the Quibbler, but she did offer a few good suggestions as well. It seemed that Ron had been thinking about the DA more than he had let on when he wasn't talking to Harry or Hermione, and had a few ideas about the groups Harry had made.
Since everyone had delayed Christmas gifts to New Year's day, it was with no great surprise that the household woke up quite early on the first day of the new year and were downstairs before anyone could say otherwise. All the students were especially quiet, though, and didn't wake any of the adults up as they gathered in the large study where Harry often worked.
"Well, I guess this is as good a time as any to wish everyone a happy Christmas, right?" Ron said quietly as he and Luna sat down on the couch together, leaving two chairs for everyone else. "And happy New Year, too."
Harry nodded as he motioned to the closest chair for Hermione. "May this year bring the end of the war," he said quietly, raising a hand into the air. His action was mimicked by everyone else, and he smiled as he sat down on the floor. With a wave of his hand, two more chairs appeared in the corner, giving Ginny, Colin, and Lavender a place to sit, while Neville had already sat next to Harry.
After sitting in silence for a few minutes, Ron finally leaned forward. "Sorry, mate, but I didn't get you anything for Quidditch. Figured you already had all you needed. But you don't have any candy left, so a quick stop in Diagon Alley two days ago cleared that right up," he said as he tossed a large box to Harry. He then tossed packages to everyone else, too. "Happy Christmas, everyone."
With echoes of 'Happy Christmas,' more gifts were tossed around to people, and then the yearly ritual of rip, rending, and tearing away wrapping paper began. To Harry, who had never been around so many people opening gifts at once, it was over far too soon. He had left his own presents sitting in front of him unopened as he watched everyone else's faces as they opened their own.
It seemed that Colin had put together a picture album for everyone present, taking pictures from his incredible stash as well as a few discrete ones over the holidays thus far. Looking down, he saw the wrapped book and knew that he had been included in that, too, and saw that Hermione was already looking through hers... tracing a couple of pictures carefully as she looked at them in amazement. Colin really was a good cameraman.
"What's wrong, Harry? Why haven't you opened any of your gifts yet?" Neville asked as he sat back, snapping a new watch onto his wrist. "Love the rememberall, by the way. Nice joke. The wand holster and training diary will help, though."
"Oh, no problem, Neville," Harry said with a smile, winking to Hermione who was watching him at the time. "You aren't the only one who remembers that little glass ball... but it looks like you might be forgetting something," he added, pointing down to the ball in Neville's hand. It was filled with red smoke.
Almost instantly, Neville looked over to Hermione. "Thanks to you, too, Hermione," he said quickly. "I know you had a hand in these. And thanks to everyone else, too, for everything." As he spoke, the smoke faded again, bringing a smile to his face. "If only everything were so easy to remember."
"Wicked chess set, you two," Ron said as he held up the obsidian set that Hermione had found for him. "Course, I'm still gonna wipe the floor with both of you..." He also had a wand holster sitting in his lap, though this one was from Ginny.
"Wouldn't have it any other way, mate," Harry said with a grin.
"Neville, these are beautiful," Lavender said softly as she held up a pair of ruby earrings and a necklace. "Aren't they a little much, though?"
"Never," Neville said in return right away, earning himself a little smile. "Looks like everyone got a wand holster, though. Great minds think alike, or something like that, right?"
"Are these what you two were working on in the library for the past couple of days?" Ginny interrupted, holding up a bound book of parchments. "Study guides for Charms, Defense Against the Dark ARts, Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, Transfiguration, Muggle Studies..."
"We both figured you could use them for your upcoming OWLs," Hermione explained. "But it was Harry's idea. We got Colin a set, too."
"Yeah, thanks," he said as he started leafing through it. "Looks like this'll free up a lot of time for Quidditch practice."
"Oh, but that's not what..." She was cut off by a hug from Luna, which caught her completely by surprise.
"Thank you, Hermione," Luna said softly. It was the first time anyone could remember seeing tears in her eyes. "Thank you..."
"What is it, love?" Ron asked, startling most of them with the endearing term. "What did she do?" In response, Luna held up a book entitled 'Mostly Mythological Creatures and Where to Find Them.' She opened it, revealing scribbles in the margins in Hagrid's large print, as well as the fine, neat, tidy script from Hermione, and the elegant writing from Talisien.
"She believes me," Luna said softly, holding the book closer to her. "Thank you."
"Well," Hermione said, obviously touched herself. "You did take Ron on... so I felt I owed you at least that much."
"Hey, what's that mean?" Ron asked in a louder voice than he probably intended.
The entire group broke down into laughter, and then everyone turned towards Harry, who had yet to open a single present. It was only when Lavender leaned forward did he actually pick one up. "Ron, Luna, Neville, and I looked through a small little shop in Diagon Alley for your gifts, Harry. Odds and Ends for the Odds and Ends, or something. Anyway, I wasn't sure what to get you, but as I walked in, the perfect gift was sitting on the counter. Of course, Ron went for candy, but everyone else picked up stuff there..."
Harry set aside the gift from Colin that he hadn't quite opened to pick up the oddly wrapped gift from Lavender. He carefully tore the paper aside to reveal a strap of leather with a couple of slots in it. "It's a wand and dagger belt," Neville explained for Lavender. "So you can keep both handy without having to worry about them. It's got a bit of magic in it to keep them from being taken by those without permission, too." He then looked over to Hermione. "That's where Ron found that Quick Quotes Quill, too, Hermione," he added.
"It's not like Skeeter's. It copies directly," Ron explained at her shocked expression.
"Thanks," Harry said softly as he pulled his cloak aside to reveal the ordinary belt he had been using. Stripping it off, he attached the dagger sheath to the new belt -leaving the dagger space open - and tucked his wand into the wand slot as he wrapped it about his waist and did it up. "This'll work great."
"I managed to find something I had been looking for for a long time there," Luna said after a moment, pointing to the rather small box she had given him. He picked it up hesitantly, knowing that, it could be quite strange coming from Luna. Once he had opened it, he found himself holding a small green stone that seemed to be glowing just slightly. "It's an extra link for the necklace I gave you for your birthday," she explained. "It's a quinton."
"Er... thanks," he said with a smile. She might be a little strange, but she was thoughtful. He knew that quintons were supposed to be quite rare, after all. "I'll attach it to it when I go upstairs later on." He then grinned as he looked back to her, noticing a glint of metal on one of her bare toes. "Nice toe ring."
"Thank you," she said with a dreamy smile. "Ronald gave it to me. He said it's a promise ring."
"I... uh... meant for it to be worn..." Ron started, and then shook his head. "Never mind. Glad you like it, love." He was clutching a letter in his hand tightly, as though afraid to lose it. "And I intend to take you up on this offer, by the way."
"Great!" Luna squealed, making everyone else cringe backwards at the sheer volume and pitch. "Summer will be great with you along. We're supposed to be going to Norway again... but I might have to look through this book from Hermione first to see if there's somewhere else we should check first."
Harry then picked up the last package in front of him. Again, he had saved his gift from Hermione for the end. He had given her sheath for her dagger that Ron had found in the Odds and Ends store - he knew it to be elven make from the look of it. It actually surprised him how many people ended up going into the store, when he doubted that any of them had been in it beforehand.
He tore aside the golden wrapping paper to reveal a long cardboard box... one he distinctly remembered seeing hundreds of six years ago. He had just found out he was a wizard, and Hagrid had taken him into a little shop called Olivander's. He lifted the lid carefully to reveal a long polished wand, made out of holly - just like his current wand. This one had a small inscription near the base, which looked like a lightning bolt above the letters HP.
Taking the wand out, he felt energy rush to him as golden sparks flew from the end into the air with a rush of sound and power. When it died down, everyone was looking to him in surprise, Hermione most of all - though she looked quite pleased by the reaction at the same time.
"A new wand?" he asked, looking at it more carefully. He had expected it to react a little, like his old wand did, but hadn't expected quite that result.
"I know your old one still works, and you'll keep using it forever, I'm sure," Hermione said quickly. "But this one is different... it's got one of Rozan's whiskers in it as the core. It's so you can..."
"Duel with Voldemort," Harry finished for her, holding it up a little and holding it a little tighter than he had been. Unlike his other wand, which felt a little warm at all times to him, this one felt slightly cool, and much older than it really was. He knew that she had had it made recently, but the feeling of time was still present in the wand, given the core. "Thank you, Mione."
Hermione didn't have a real chance to reply before a creak from behind the group interrupted them. They all turned to find Remus standing there with a pile of things in his arms, Mr. and Mrs. Granger right behind him. "It looks like you all got started already," he said with a grin as he deposited the load in front of Harry. "These aren't all from me, Harry, so wipe that look off your face," he suggested. Harry knew that Remus didn't have a lot of money, and had been shocked by the amount he had been carrying.
Deftly, Harry stuck his new wand in his new belt wear the dagger was originally meant to go. Since he had done up the old sheath to the dagger, though, there was an extra slot which seemed to meld around the new wand easily. "Sorry."
"Albus asked me to deliver a couple of things. These are all for something he called 'your special project.' "
The eight kids looks to each other and then back again. "The DA?" Harry said in surprise as he picked up the largest package. He tore the paper off to reveal a large book. "History of Tactical Magical Battles of the Late Middle Ages." He shrugged and tossed the book to Ron. "Right up your alley, mate."
"History up my alley?" Ron asked in disbelief.
"He means the tactical part," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "And besides, the History could be quite interesting, too. Don't you realise that the Late Middle..."
"Not this early, Hermione," Ron cut her off. "Save it for when I'm awake... or better yet, when I'm having trouble sleeping. That'll put me out for sure."
"What else do you have there, Harry?" Neville asked loudly, cutting off the argument before it could begin. "Looks like a pile of little things that are all the same."
Harry shrugged and tossed a few of them to everyone to open. It looks like Neville was mostly right, too. They appeared to be small badges - certainly smaller than Prefect badges, but not so small as to be impossible to spot. On each badge, written in small letters, was a colour and a position - from green, red, black, blue, and white for colours, and first through fourth for position.
There was a small note attached to the white first badge, and Hermione tossed it over to Harry. "While not an official club, and still operating against the rules, I thought it prudent to have a method to identify yourselves to others. Rest assured that there will be no detentions assigned for wearing badges, nor any points taken for admitting to being a part of the club. This is simply meant to boost morale of the Defense Association." He looked up from the note and shrugged. "They look fine to me."
"This is something I've gotta talk to you about, Harry," Ron said as he caught the red First badge that was tossed to him. "We've gotta rearrange the teams. And not only because of... well, the obvious."
"Yeah. Tomorrow, though." Ron nodded and let the topic drop again.
Hermione gave her parents her chair and sat down next to Harry as they handed him another scrapbook. "Sorry it's not wrapped," Mike said with a shrug. "I'm not much at wrapping things. It always looks like a dog tried to eat it first."
Several of those in the room held their breath at the unintentional reference to Sirius, but either Harry ignored it or didn't pick it up, as he just laughed and opened the book carefully. He was in good spirits for once, and was looking forward to an excellent day, at least.
The scrapbook was only half filled. The beginning held pictures from Hermione's past, as well as her first Hogwart's letter and a few other parts of letters where Hermione had mentioned him. Hermione didn't seem upset by this fact, so he assumed that she must have known about it beforehand. Later on in the half that was filled, there were pictures of the two of them together doing various activities. Judging by the fact that these pictures were moving, they were certainly the work of Colin. There were even a few right before it suddenly ended that included both Harry and Hermione, as well as her parents.
He looked up in confusion at the sudden end of the book only halfway through, and Jane smiled to him. "The rest is blank for the future, so you can fill in your lives as they continue together," she explained. "We've discussed it with your headmaster, and he has agreed to let us take you with us on our summer holiday... if you'd like."
"Really?" Hermione asked in surprise. "I didn't think he'd say yes! I was speaking to him a couple of days ago, and he didn't even let on..."
Ron actually leaned over and hit Harry in the back of the head to snap him out of his shock, at which point he accepted the invitation wholeheartedly. Hermione was told that her gift for Christmas would have to wait for the summer... given that having Harry along on the trip was her gift.
-----------------------
Harry looked down at the parchment after Ron had finished his scribbling. He saw that four names were written at the bottom, with a small note next to them. "Honoured members of the DA. They fought bravely, and fell in the war. They will not be forgotten."
"Hannah Abbott, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Anthony Goldstein, and Ernie MacMillian," Ron said softly. "I only really got along with Hannah... I barely knew the others. Not even Justin, and he was in my group."
"We'll mention them in the first DA meeting," Harry said softly, closing his eyes to ward off his thoughts. Everyone else was in the kitchen getting something to eat for supper, but Ron had pulled him aside. The plan was to start small DA practices in the evenings over the holidays, and he had wanted to make a few suggestions first. "I see you scrapped the red team entirely."
"I had to," Ron said with a shrug. "We did lose four people." Another tense silence followed his words before he shook his head. "And I wanted to include you in a group. I had to rearrange a few things to get people would could work well together, though. I hope Terry won't mind taking up a mix, rather than just charms. Maybe he could join Neville on curses..."
"So, I'm the leader of the white group as... counter curse?" he asked, thinking about which section each person was in originally. "Along with Hermione as our healer, Padma for charms, and Denis for curses?"
"I figured that you'd have to put Denis in with a strong group," Ron explained. "Given that he's one of the only members who isn't in the advanced class of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Well, him and Kailyn, but she's his grandkid, so..."
"Thanks for putting me with Hermione. I wasn't sure how I was going to work that out... but I wasn't going to be with another group. Just hers. Now I can blame it on you if anyone asks," Harry said with a grin.
"Ah, the perks of being in charge of tactics..." Ron said, wiping his brow in mock anguish. "No recognition, unless it's bad, and never knowing what's going to happen next." He then paused and smiled. "No, wait... other way around. Good recognition, and no one else knows what's going to happen next. No problems there..."
You're in green with your sister now? And Kailyn and Colin are still there, too."
"I had to go somewhere, and if it comes down to it, I'd rather be beside my sister to make sure someone's looking after her."
"So you're trusting someone else to take care of Luna?"
"I'd rather she wasn't a part of any group, but I ain't gonna tell her that. She's in the group of five, though. Second, after Neville as leader. Lavender's good at healing, too - second only to Hermione - and with Terry and Julia as well, I think blue's pretty much covered."
Harry looked back down to the parchment, mentally agreeing with Ron. If he had had his input the first time, it would have gone so much easier. "Sorry for not telling you about Mione and me," he said softly.
"Yeah, well... it's in the past. I'm still gonna watch out for her. You know that."
"And I'll be watching out for Luna. I doubt even she's strong enough to keep all of the prat out of you. I must say, she's doing a good job so far."
"Hardy har har," Ron said flatly. He then sighed and leaned onto their table. His mother had brought them both food as they were talking, but he wasn't digging in right away. "I'm glad you accepted her so easily."
"She helped me before," Harry admitted.
"Oh?"
"Yeah. With... Sirius," Harry said eventually. Ron paled a little and shook his head, as though trying to get an image out of it. "She told me about her mum. And about how, every now and then, her tears come back about her, but not for her sake. For everyone else's sake - for all those who never had a chance to meet her."
"So you know about her mum, huh?"
"Yup." Harry leaned back in his chair, picking up the parchment again. "But I'm the same way. Almost everyone out there still believes that Sirius was a murderer, and never got to know the real him. I'm not sure I even had that chance... so that's why I've got to keep going. I've got to prove his innocence to everyone... and make them all realise how sad they are for not having met him. How sad I am at not having him. Just like Luna's sad that we never met her mum... I'm sad that she never met Sirius."
After a bit of another stretched silence - during which time both ate about four sandwiches - Ron sighed and started to stand. "What do you think of the black group?"
"I think Dean's got his hands full with Cho," Harry said slowly. "But he's probably one of the only ones who can and will stand up to her without worrying about it later. And Susan and Pavarti are both pretty good at their own things. It'll work out."
"More work on the Patronus tonight, then?" Ron asked as the two left to join the others and head downstairs to where they usually held their DA mini meetings. They'd pass out the badges properly tonight.
"No telling when the Dementors are going to turn," Harry said almost casually, though his insides were telling another story entirely. "Then we get to worry about daddy Malfoy and all the others again."
"Azkaban'll hold," Ron said fiercely. "It has to."
Although neither said it as they joined everyone else, they both thought it at the same time. By the glances they gave each other, they both knew they had, too.
Maybe it has to... but it won't.
----------------------
Sorry this took so long to come out. I was suffering from a touch of writers block for this story, while the dams broke on another. There shouldn't be another break of this length again, though. I'm planning on posting a chapter a week for my fanfiction - though that's for all of it, so that doesn't mean an update every week. Maybe every two, though... that should work, anyway.
Thanks to all those who reviewed. I really appreciate it, as always.
For those of you who are curious, the upcoming chapters are listed in my bio, but I'll mention them again here, too.
Chapter Twenty Five: The Return to Hogwarts - 35% finished
Chapter Twenty Six: Forgiveness and the Unforgiven - 25% finished
Chapter Twenty Seven: The Moon's Reflection - 15% finished
Chapter Twenty Eight: Duel in the Halls of Hogwarts - 15% finished
Chapter Twenty Nine: Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff - 5% finished
Chapter Thirty: Quintons - 1% finished
Chapter Thirty One: The Prophecy Revealed - 1% finished
Chapter Thirty Two: Bladework and Insults - 1% finished
Chapter Thirty Three: Willow and Tor - 15% finished
Chapter Thirty Four: Valentine's Day in Hogsmeade - 20% finished
Chapter Thirty Five: The Day After - 1% finished
Chapter Thirty Six: The Oaken Shield - 10% finished
Chapter Thirty Seven: Gryffindor Versus Slytherin - 1% finished
Chapter Thirty Eight: Did You Find Freedom? - 25% finished
Chapter Thirty Nine: Or Did You Break Free? - 45% finished
Chapter Fourty: Finality and the Trip Home - 5% finished
Until the sun sets upon a broken world...
The Shadows
-->