Chapter 39 - Beginning…Again
(A/N - This chapter will start out with a flashback. I hope it's not too confusing. Yes, there are some long canon sections that I'm not going to write out here, for obvious reasons.)
"Harmony, let's go over the timeline and the plan one more time - I want to make sure we have everything covered on this critical night. Are you sure you can't come down with us?" McGonagall said as she walked with Miss Puckle to a secluded area on the cliffs near the castle. They stopped when they could see the Quidditch pitch, now completely covered with tall hedges twisted and crisscrossed into a complex maze.
"Yes, Minerva, I'm quite sure I have to stay this far away from the action. Remember last year I had to take a sleeping draught to keep from interfering that night when Wormtail escaped, and this time, well…it's much worse."
"Yes…Cedric dies." Minerva said with great sadness.
"And, after Harry has to be a witness to that horrible scene, here's the timeline from what I remember. Over the course of this evening, Tom will attack Harry with two separate Cruciatus Curses and an Imperio. Harry may be attacked with a few other spells here and there until Riddle makes another attempt at an Avada Kedavra. But, thanks to the Priori Incantatem effect from their 'brother' wands, Harry will be able to block this one. While I know our soul-bond is numbed currently, my calculations indicate that the Crucios will break through, and both Albus and Poppy confirmed my findings. Since I know from experience that I will pass out in reaction to the curse, I assume Hermione will also. If we were both seen to respond to the attack in some way at the same time, it would draw too much attention to the two of us…which we don't need right now. If there is one good thing to come out of all of this, Poppy did assure me that by draining off the power from these attacks, we will at the very least save Harry's mind from further damage."
Minerva agreed. "Yes; or possibly even his life - he's obviously still suffering the effects of the original memory charm attacks that started this whole adventure and repeated attacks could weaken him to the point where he won't be able to defend himself. But this way, he should also barely notice the Imperio or any other curses the Dark Lord tries on him, and he should have much less trouble taking control of the Reverse-spell effect since he won't be anywhere near as drained magically. Now, you're sure you'll be fine up here by yourself? Wait, I just thought of something…you could use Harry's invisibility cloak and you wouldn't be seen at the critical times."
"Oh, don't worry about me - I will be able to see everything I need to from here, and no one will see me if and when I do collapse. I thought about the cloak, and it's too risky - it might fall off of me when I fall. Besides, if I were any closer to the maze I'm afraid I would forget myself and take matters into my own hands when it comes to Barty Junior…I still don't understand why Albus is not doing something to at least prevent Harry's abduction when he returns, you know…"
"We've been over this before - Albus does not want us to disturb the time line any more than we have to - besides, Harry will be in no real danger this time. Albus has seen to that, at least."
"Yes, I know, Minerva." Harmony sighed. "I just wish that we had some other options - or that I didn't know so much about the horrible things that are about to happen. Oh, look at the time - the task is almost ready to start. You'd better get down to the maze and take care of my younger self when she blacks out. If she weren't seen there, that in itself would be strange, so she has to make an appearance. After the first attack, though, you should probably get her away from there. You don't want to have to come up with a reasonable explanation for any strange behavior she may exhibit when Harry's hit with Voldemort's Imperio."
(End Flashback)
"So, Harry…you seem to be abnormally resistant to my strongest Crucio. Again I am encountering more interference from your protector." He reached out and again touched the lightning-bolt scar, and, instead of the expected pain, Harry could only feel a slightly annoying twinge…along with something else flowing into him as Tom attempted to probe his mind. "If only I could determine who it is that is doing this, but…I still sense no one else in your mind - just you. Ah, well, in a few moments, none of that will matter. Now untie him, Wormtail, and give him back his wand."
**********
"I said, bow," Voldemort said, raising his wand - and Harry felt pressure on his back. Immediately he felt his spine stiffen in resistance, and instead of bowing, he seemed to be pushed into the soft dirt of the cemetery grounds. Voldemort's anger increased and the Death Eaters' scattered laughter quickly faded to silence.
"You still fight me, eh, Potter? Strange, no one has ever resisted me this successfully." Voldemort's voice sounded slightly concerned, and he lowered his wand.
As soon as Harry felt the pressure go away from his back, he bowed slightly, all the while looking his opponent directly in the eye. "If I bow, I will bow on my own terms, not yours."
"Very well, then," said Voldemort softly. "None of this cheekiness you are exhibiting matters in the long run, for now, you will face me like a man…straight backed and proud, the way your father died…
"And now - we duel."
Voldemort raised his wand, but this time Harry barely flinched as the Crucio curse dissipated even quicker this time. <What is happening? That much magical energy has to be going somewhere! Why isn't it affecting me? I wonder if the bond is…but that means that he's attacking…Hermione!>
"NO!" Harry yelled, as he saw Voldemort raise his wand again, no longer willing to embarrass himself in front of his supporters. As Harry shouted "Expelliarmus!" Voldemort cried, "Avada Kedavra!"
A jet of green light issued from Voldemort's wand just as a jet of red light blasted from Harry's - they met in midair - and suddenly Harry's wand was vibrating as though an electric charge were surging through it; his hand seized up around it; he couldn't have released it if he wanted to - and a narrow beam of light connected the two wands, neither red nor green, but bright, deep gold.
******
His wand began to vibrate more powerfully than ever…and now the beam between him and Voldemort changed too…it was as though large beads of light were sliding up and down the thread connecting the wands - As he felt power from an unknown source flow into him, Harry felt his wand give a slight shudder under his hand as the light beads slowly started to move in his direction. But then, as if he already knew what to do, he concentrated on moving the beads towards Voldemort. Immediately, Voldemort's wand started shaking rapidly, and Voldemort looked quite fearful as he realized that he was being outmatched by a young boy. As soon as he looked at Tom, Harry realized that he could also sense Riddle's fear very clearly.
Quickly, one bead connected with the tip of Voldemort's wand, which began to emit echoing screams of pain …then - Voldemort's red eyes widened even more in shock as a dense, smoky hand flew out of the tip of it and vanished…
******
"Stand aside! I will kill him! He is mine!" shrieked Voldemort, as he watched Harry dodge his Death Eaters who were finding it difficult to hit him with any spells.
Harry's hand had closed on Cedric's wrist; one tombstone stood between him and Voldemort, bud Cedric was too heavy to carry, and the cup was out of reach -
Voldemort's red eyes flashed in the darkness as he realized the advantage was now his again. Harry saw his mouth curl into a smile, saw him raise his wand.
"Accio!" Harry yelled, pointing his wand at the Triwizard Cup.
It flew into the air and soared toward him. Harry caught it by the handle -
He heard Voldemort's scream of fury at the same moment that he felt the jerk behind his navel that meant the Portkey had worked - it was speeding him away in a whirl of wind and color, and Cedric along with him….They were going back.
*****
The person Harry had come to know as Professor Moody seemed to him to have gone completely mental as he continued to describe what he had done.
"Who put your name in the Goblet of Fire, under the name of a different school? I did. And, who, except for one time when I was caught off guard, frightened off every person or group that might try to hurt you or prevent you from winning the tournament. I did. And, by the way, Potter, in case you were wondering who attacked you early in the year, it was a few select former housemates of yours…you met their fathers earlier tonight, I dare say. Junior Death Eaters, they fancy themselves…following in the family tradition, I suppose. Now, where was I? Oh yes…Who nudged Hagrid into showing you the dragons? I did. Who helped you see the only way you could beat the dragon? I did."
*****
As he lay on his bed in the Hospital Wing, Harry was quite confused about his feelings. He wasn't sure what was worse; the shock and horror of all the terrible things that had happened to him in the graveyard, seeing one of his classmates killed without a moment's thought by Wormtail at the orders of a now-restored Lord Voldemort, the revelations from the traitor Barty Crouch Jr., or the betrayal he felt from certain adults whom he had previously trusted, especially after meeting with the Headmaster and hearing him defend his actions. As Pomfrey's memory-numbing potion had fully worn off, he was now able to remember all the details of his relationship with Hermione for the past 4 years - and the more he remembered, the angrier he became as he recovered in the Hospital Wing. <How DARE they interfere with us, using the excuse that they were trying to protect Hermione! Besides, from what I heard, Hermione was still knocked out when I was Crucio'd, so their plan wasn't even very effective. I remember warning him at the beginning of the year that this was none of their business, but they went ahead and did it anyway without our knowledge.
How can I face Hermione again? From what I can tell, the memory potion is still working on her, so she still doesn't know about what they did to us. Oh, if it weren't for me, she would have never been in danger from Tom in the first place - I'm sure she'd be happier if she'd never met me.>
But, as soon as he thought that, he realized it wasn't true. <But then, she wouldn't have survived that troll in the bathroom without me…>. Immediately, he realized that he shouldn't even have had that thought. <That's strange…why do I remember helping save Hermione from a troll? I only heard about it much later - I understood she saved herself with a Wingardium Leviosa…but somewhere in my mind, I seem to remember jumping on a troll's back…while RON used the levitation spell to drop the troll's club on his head…but that never happened, did it? And, what does Miss Puckle have to do with this…in my mind, she's there, too…helping Hermione? And, where IS Miss Puckle? I haven't seen her since before the third task started. I'm not too happy with her because of her part in all this…>
Before he could continue that thought, he was interrupted by visitors he would rather not have to face. However, he knew he could not avoid this unpleasant duty. "Mr. Diggory…Mrs. Diggory."
"Harry…" The Diggorys sat down next to his bed, both looking quite numb with shock as they tried to understand what had happened.
They did not blame him for what had happened; on the contrary, both thanked him for returning Cedric's body to them. Mr. Diggory sobbed through most of the interview. Mrs. Diggory's grief seemed to be beyond tears.
******
Harry returned to Gryffindor tower the following evening. From what Hermione had told him, Dumbledore had spoken to the school that morning at breakfast. He had merely requested that they leave Harry alone, that nobody ask him questions or badger him to tell the story of what happened in the maze. Most people, Ron included, took this to heart and seemed to avoid him as much as possible.
Hermione, however, was a different story. At first, Harry was slightly concerned that she seemed to always be close to him whenever he looked up. Not that she was hovering, mind you, but he noticed she was always nearby. The few times he caught her eye, he thought she looked like she wanted to say something to him, but would quickly think better of it and concentrate on her knitting or whichever book she was reading. However, today, as he sat in the common room he found was glad she was near, sitting in the chair next to his, pretending to read the latest Daily Prophet. He found that her presence in his mind seemed to be quite calming. <Wait a minute…her presence…in MY mind…and…I can sense some of her thoughts, too! Wonder if I'm a Legilimens…or is that an Occlumens? …. Blimey, Harry, how did I know about Legilimency, or Occlumency? I've never even heard of those before…or have I?>
"Harry…Harry, are you okay?" Hermione was shaking him gently by the shoulder as she leaned over him.
"Wha…what? Oh, Hermione…what's wrong? Did I doze off or something?"
"Well, not really, Harry." She continued to stare deeply into his eyes with a look of worry on her face. "You were just sitting there, staring at me for the longest time, and you had this weird looking grin on your face, and I thought…well, I was beginning to think you had 'gone round the twist' for a while. Are you sure you're okay? Do you want me to get Madame Pomfrey, or Dumbledore, maybe?"
"NO!" he yelled quite forcefully. At her pained expression, Harry immediately apologized. "Sorry about that, Hermione. While I'm grateful that Dumbledore kept me from being attacked by the fake Professor Moody, I am still quite angry with them over…well, something else that Pomfrey, Dumbledore, Puckle and McGonagall did this year and I've got to decide how best to handle things. In the mean time, its best that I stay away from them…for now. And, before you ask, Hermione, I know what you're about to ask, <Literally, in this case…> and, no, I'm not quite ready to talk to you about it yet. Soon, though…I promise. I have something I need to do for you first. Now, you've been following me around ever since…well, you know…and I got the impression you had something to say to me. No, don't worry; I'm not upset with you for being around. In fact, I really do appreciate it, truth be told."
"Harry…how did you know that was exactly what I was thinking? Do you know me that well? It's almost as if you could read my mind…but that's silly." she said as she smiled at him shyly.
<You have no idea…> he thought, as he said in reply, "Never mind about that, Hermione. What did you want to say to me?"
"Well, there are a few things, actually. First, Mrs. Weasley…" Hermione stammered and blushed as she tried to answer him. "…er…she asked Professor Dumbledore if you could go straight to the Burrow this summer. But he wants you to go back to the Dursleys, at least at first."
"Why?" said Harry. And, what does this have to do with you?"
"She said he's got his reasons," she said, and then she blushed even more. "And…well, I was …hoping that….instead of you…"
"Yes, Hermione? What's got you so worked up? I swear your face is redder than I've ever seen it!" he said, chuckling knowingly at her embarrassment since he could sense what was coming.
She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and started in again. "Well, I…was kind of hoping that you could stay with me…I mean, with my family, this summer after the headmaster says it is okay." Hermione quickly started to backtrack at Harry's neutral expression. "That is…if you want to…I mean, I'm sure you'd have more fun with Ron, anyway, practicing Quidditch and all, and Mrs. Weasley's a really good cook, probably much better than my mum, and you could chat with Ginny, she fancies you still, you know, and all you'd have at my house is me…and you'd probably get bored there…and…"
Hermione's nervous nattering was cut mercifully short by Harry's finger being placed gently on her lips. "I'd love to, Hermione. As soon as Dumbledore gives me permission to leave my prison sentence at Privet Drive, I'd be glad to come and stay with you…and your parents. You have an extra room next to yours, right? That would be fine."
"How…how'd you know about the extra room?" Hermione said, but before he could answer, they saw Ron enter the common room, attempting to look nonchalant as he tried to pretend he didn't see Harry sitting there while he walked towards the boy's staircase.
"Remember what I said, Hermione…I'll tell you all about it later." Harry said quietly, forgetting for the moment that she had wanted to talk to him about more than one thing.
While he hadn't been that close to Hagrid up until this point, he found that the half-giant was the only person besides Hermione that Harry felt able to talk to. As there was no longer a Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, he had those lessons free, and he and Hermione used the one on Thursday afternoon to go down and visit Hagrid in his cabin.
******
"The end," said Dumbledore, looking around them all, "of another year."
He paused, and his eyes fell upon the Hufflepuff table. Theirs had been the most subdued table before he had gotten to his feet, and theirs were still the saddest and palest faces in the Hall. He then looked at the staff table, and was both surprised and concerned to see Miss Puckle sitting there, looking noticeably pale and weak as she sat next to a restored Professor Moody.
"There is much that I would like to say to you all tonight," said Dumbledore, "but I must first acknowledge the loss of a very fine person, who should be sitting here," he gestured toward the Hufflepuffs, "enjoying our feast with us. I would like you all, please, to stand, and raise your glasses, to Cedric Diggory."
They did it, all of them; the benches scraped as everyone in the Hall stood, and raised their goblets, and echoed, in one loud, low, rumbling voice, "Cedric Diggory."
Harry caught a glimpse of Cho Chang through the crowd. There were tears pouring silently down her face. Once again, he had a flashback of her crying…in a dark room…under what looked like mistletoe…and leaning towards him…and him patting her awkwardly on the back…
Dumbledore, who had continued to speak while Harry considered this strange scene in his mind, said something next that grabbed his full attention, not to mention the attention of all the students in the hall. "Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort."
******
"Bye, Harry!" said Hermione, and she did something she never remembered doing before, and kissed him on the cheek. Harry looked at her with a wry grin on his face, and thought <Hermione, I know you can do better than that!>. She gasped as she recognized the voice in her mind. <Harry…what is happening? Why can I hear you in my head? And what exactly did you mean by that comment, anyway?>
<Wait…this time let me be the one to help you see something…> And with that, he used some skills he had recently acquired from a certain Dark Lord to remove the effects of Madame Pomfrey's potion from Hermione's mind. As all the memories that had been blocked came flooding back to her, tears of joy and relief ran down her cheeks as she heard Harry's familiar voice sound lovingly in her mind - <…you know, 'Mione, after all we've been through, I'd hate to have to begin things all over again!>
*****End of YEAR FOUR****
(A/N - All the rest of the canon story would be just about the same - Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall rescuing Harry from Barty, Fudge and Dumbledore's parting of the ways, the whole Rita Skeeter in the jar incident, and George and Fred getting the thousand galleon reward to start the joke shop - nothing's changed significantly this time around. Just remember, Harry still hasn't recovered ALL of his memories yet - just the blocked ones about Hermione that go back to the beginning of the time loop…but soon - VERY soon, he will remember the rest. As you may have noticed, in this chapter the process has already started. When that happens, Harry may just consider the last thought he shared with Hermione to be an understatement! We'll also find out more about what happened to Miss Puckle, but again, it's not too difficult to figure that one out, is it?)