Chapter 42 - Dolores Decloaked
(A/N -As you can see from the chapter title, there will be the beginnings of Harry's interaction with Umbridge, covering the events of Chapter 12 in OotP. But first, I suppose I'd better finish up the scene in Dumbledore's office.)
Anyone watching Hermione's facial expressions for the last few moments would have been amazed at how many feelings she could go through so rapidly. First, there was anger mixed with betrayal; followed in succession by confusion at what she was seeing, but couldn't accept for a moment, revulsion and hate when he grabbed her hand and insisted she shake hands with her hated enemy, surprise at Harry's unbelievable revelation of that person's true identity…and finally…as her logical mind processed all of the facts…the dawn of recognition, and the beginnings of acceptance.
"Hermione," Miss Puckle said quietly, "please tell me what you're thinking. I, more than anyone in this room, understand that you're having trouble with what you've just seen and heard."
Harry added slowly. "Hermione, I apologize for not handling that…erm…reunion scene any more tactfully… and I know you've got good reason to be upset at seeing me…well…kissing Harmony in front of you. In my defense, weak as it is, I had hoped to be able to reveal Miss Puckle's identity in a different manner. Events moved pretty quickly there, though, and I lost my head in the moment."
Hermione, who had quickly released Harmony's hand, was now looking at the two of them. Her expression was now unreadable. "Harry…after what I've seen you do in front of me, followed by probably the wildest story I've ever heard, I should just hex you both where you stand and never speak to you again. But, for some unfathomable reason…I believe you - both of you. I don't know why… maybe it's all that time we've spent in each other's head recently…I CAN'T understand how you could be telling me the truth, but I will give you 10 minutes to make your case. If you haven't convinced me by then, I guarantee I WILL never speak to either of you again, even if I have to leave Hogwarts to make sure that happens. You have ten minutes, starting now…Proceed."
Albus, who, along with Minerva and Poppy had been silent witnesses to these last few amazing minutes, immediately spoke up. "Hermione, may I speak? I may be able to overcome your resistance to these new, hard to comprehend facts in a much shorter time, with your permission, that is."
"Certainly, sir. In fact, this might be preferable - Now that I think about it, I'm still not sure I WANT to listen to either of those two for ten minutes under the circumstances," she said tightly as her valiant attempt at emotional control started to fail.
Dumbledore walked quickly over to a cabinet in his office and withdrew his Pensieve. Placing it on the desk in front of Hermione, he said "I assume you know what this is?" At her nod, he said "Good… then I won't have to waste time explaining its operation. I have here the combined memories of my experiences over these past years with the person you have known until recently as Harmony June Puckle, along with her specific memories of how she came to be here. I hope that this will validate their 'wild story' very quickly. If you want to see for yourself, just place the tip of your wand in the silvery material, and concentrate on what you want to see."
Hermione didn't hesitate as she complied with his instructions. Immediately, Harmony's figure rose from the bowl and started to speak, first describing her trip through time when she first met Dumbledore at the Leaky Cauldron, followed by her detailed memories of the earlier timeline she had related during the interrogation at the beginning of the previous year. Before long, both Harry and Hermione were listening with rapt attention as they heard all the details for the first time. Ten minutes stretched into twenty, and then an hour, as they also reviewed the headmaster's memories of his first meeting with Harmony in a room at the Leaky Cauldron, and his assertion that the letter she had used to validate her story was written by his own hand in a different reality.
Eventually Hermione waved her wand, dispersing the memories back into the silver liquid. "That was…quite enlightening…and nearly convincing. I do have a few questions, Miss Puckle, just for my own reassurance."
She proceeded to grill Harmony on a number of obscure facts about her pre-Hogwarts life, secrets she had never told anyone, (exchanged in whispers between the two, of course) teachers she had in Muggle school, her favorite movies, and other personal bits of trivia, each of which Harmony answered correctly.
"One last thing, though…if you don't mind a little experiment, Headmaster?" He nodded quickly, eyes twinkling, as he understood what she was about to try. "Harmony, draw your wand, please…I formally challenge you to a duel." Harmony gasped, but then nodded grimly. Harry looked as if he was going to say something, but then; he too recognized what she was up to. "Priori Incantatem - the brother…or is that sister -wand effect! And, realizing what was about to happen, he ducked behind the desk for protection. Poppy, Minerva, and Albus, his mustache quivering in delight, all remained seated. "Very good, Miss Granger…10 points to Gryffindor!"
Hermione, summoning all the magical energy she could, took careful aim at her assistant professor and said, "Three…two…one…"Petrificus Totalus!", while Harmony countered immediately with a "Protego!" Two flashes of energy left their respective wands…and a golden thread joined them briefly before the spells dissipated completely.
"Hmmm…well, that was different." Harry said as he peeked over the edge of the desk and then stood up. "When I crossed wands with Tom Riddle in the graveyard, we had a much more impressive light show."
Albus smiled. "That was a slightly different situation, Harry. In this case, since the dragon heartstring cores in this case were not only from the same dragon, but actually the same exact core, they cannot be used against each other in anger as you have just seen. The magical energies here cancel each other out, as I'm sure our younger Miss Granger guessed would happen when she thought of that specific test. Well, then, are you convinced?"
Slowly, a warm smile spread across Hermione's face as she looked at Miss Puckle for a moment, and then dropped her wand and embraced her in a welcoming hug as she said, "Yes, Professor Dumbledore…looking back on all that has happened since I met Harmony, I guess in the back of my mind I always knew there was something different about her…I always felt a connection to her from when we first met, and now, I know why."
Then, she looked over at Harry, standing next to her awkwardly. "Oh, come here, Harry…I'm still not sure what this means to the two…erm… three of us…but I'm sure we'll be able to figure it out - together." And the two Hermione's reached out as one to include him in their circle.
After a pleasant interlude where Harry's mind was fully engaged in VERY happy thoughts, eventually he was able to focus on a nagging concern. He turned to Albus with his question. "Erm…sir…I was wondering…just how DO we figure this out? I mean…what's going to happen? As much as I enjoy the thought of two beautiful girlfriends giving me all this attention," he said winking at both of them, and receiving two glares in return, "I just don't think that would be appropriate. Can anyone explain how this is going to work out?"
Harmony grinned, and turned to Madam Pomfrey. "How about it, Poppy - you explained it quite well to me last year, do you care to give it another go?"
"Certainly, my dear!" the healer replied happily. "First, a bit of background on the nature of time. Time can be considered to be like a…"
*******
"Are you sure about that, Poppy?" Harry said, scratching his head after Pomfrey finished her explanation. "I'd ask you to run that by me one more time, but I doubt that it would do much good."
Hermione (the younger one), however, had a very studious expression on her face as she considered what she had just heard and seen during Poppy's presentation. "Yes…that WOULD seem to solve our little problem, now wouldn't it? But, since we obviously can't do anything about it now, nor would we want to, really, I suppose we'll just have to keep on the way we are going…well, actually, not QUITE the way things were going."
"What do you mean, Hermione?" Minerva looked puzzled
"Well, I for one am not sure I want to have to witness Harry and Harmony doing any more displays of affection like I had to endure earlier, even knowing what I do now. And, knowing her as well as I probably should, I'm sure Harmony agrees. In fact, now that I think about it, I am amazed she hasn't slapped me when I've told her about what Harry and I have been doing together, telling me that Harry's HER bond-mate. It's what I would have wanted to do if I were in her position. It must not have been at all pleasant for you to have to watch us come together in such a manner, especially since you were the one encouraging it."
Harmony looked a bit guilty as she said, "To tell you the truth, Hermione, that very thought HAS crossed my mind. It has been very painful to watch sometimes, even after Poppy explained to me how things should work out for us all. As much as I want to believe her explanation, I am still facing the realities of this time loop. Did you realize, Harry," she mused, "when you kissed me earlier tonight, that was actually the first time I have ever been kissed like that…by anyone? Here I am, a young woman in her chronological early 20's, and I had never been kissed romantically, while my 'younger self' has been kissed by and kissed you…well, I assume a significant number of times," (Harry and Hermione looked slightly embarrassed as she said this) "…and there have been times when I have just wanted to do exactly as Hermione said - to both of you. No, I don't know that I want to have to endure knowing about that any more this year."
As he listened, Harry started to realize what this conversation was probably going to mean to him personally. "Does this mean we can't snog any more?" he asked plaintively.
Both of the Grangers looked at him with a combination of amusement and sadness. Finally Harmony spoke. "No, I don't expect that of you, especially considering all the effort I've put into GETTING you two together! You need each other, this year especially. But, Hermione, please, no more descriptions of how it feels to kiss him…to have his arms around you…that was the hardest for me to bear. In fact, it is probably best if you don't tell me about your dates any more…and, please try to keep your relationship as quiet as possible - for all of our sakes. And Harry, of course it would be totally inappropriate for you to treat me as anything other than your Assistant Charms Professor as you have always done. After I restore my appearance charms before I leave here tonight, you must maintain the proper student-teacher relationship with me and continue to refer to me as Miss Puckle in public and as Harmony only on those rare occasions when the three of us are with each other. Since I know that this adventure will be coming to an end soon, I will steel myself for one more school year of being without you, my only love."
Hermione's eyes narrowed automatically when she heard this last, but she quickly berated herself in her mind. <Now, Hermione…there is no point in being jealous, now is there…but it will take some getting used to, to hear another woman say that about Harry…even though I know it is true.> To Harmony, she said, as pleasantly as she could. "Okay, Harmony…we'll promise to keep our relationship discreet…and I won't share the details with you any more. Is that acceptable to you, Harry?"
"Yes, of course. Besides, if all the guys at Hogwarts knew I was snogging the TWO prettiest witches at the school, I'd never hear the end of it!" Immediately, two magically-produced down pillows flew directly towards his head. He drew his wand and, without thinking, said "Reducto!" as he ducked. This, he realized later, was not the best spell to use in that situation. Minerva and Poppy, now covered in plumage, were not amused. Albus, however, was smiling broadly as, with a flick of his wand, cleaned up all the feathers. "Enough of that for now, Harry," he said mildly. "We have a few more items of business to take care of tonight. Since the revelation of Miss Puckle's identity, you have been distracted from the original purpose of this meeting. Would you like to continue with your previous discussion?"
With all the excitement that had just occurred, Harry found that he was no longer as angry at Albus and Poppy about what happened the previous year, but he felt he had to say one last thing. "Headmaster, Madame Pomfrey, I suppose that this is the time when I'm supposed to tell you that 'All is forgiven'...well, all I can say to that is 'Bollocks!" I am still quite brassed off at all of the adults in this room, come to think of it; yes, even you, Harmony. Since I have full memory of this year's events from the last time I lived through them, I know now that much of the suffering that happened then was caused by others 'doing what they thought was best' for me - trying to protect me by interfering in my life. I give you all a warning - do not try anything like that ever again. Remember, chronologically I am a twenty-year old, and Hermione, because of her time-turner adventures, is over eighteen, if I remember Pomfrey's diagnosis last year. We are no longer children, and we will not tolerate being treated as such any more. Do I make myself clear?"
Poppy and Minerva nodded, but Albus said, sadly, "Yes, Harry, you make yourself very clear. I would like to give you a warning in exchange - no, not a threat against you of course, but a true warning - that you work with Harmony and between the two of you, try to stick to the existing timeline as much as possible. You may find that attempting to change events too drastically will not necessarily result in the outcomes you desire - as Tom Riddle himself is finding out. Now, if you are finished, Harry, I have one more concern about this year. You are familiar, of course, with our new DADA professor?"
In response, Harry's eyes narrowed fiercely and he nodded slightly. "Yes, I am."
"From what Harmony has shown me in her memories of this year, you and Dolores had your…differences last time, am I right?"
"That's putting it mildly, sir…"
Albus looked at him gravely. "Yes, I have felt anger rise from you each time you have heard her name or seen her… as is happening this very moment. I do not know the details of what she did to you previously - I chose not to delve into Hermione's memories of those events. But, I can assure you that she is here without my approval. The only reason she IS here at all is because she is well-connected in certain circles in the Ministry - circles that are most likely quite sympathetic to Tom's pureblood beliefs, I am certain. Harry, I feel it would not be wise to draw undue attention to yourself where she is concerned. I am certain that she has ulterior motives in being here at Hogwarts, and we must be careful not to make her suspect we know about her. The time is not yet right to uncloak her, so I must ask you, Harry, to not go seeking after revenge against her in this time-loop."
"But sir," Harmony said quickly. "I remember the events of that time too…and Harry was never the instigator when it came to Dolores Umbridge. She was always the one to attack, denigrate, punish, oh, let's face it, to abuse him. He never, so far as I knew, did anything to her in retaliation, no matter how much he may have wanted to. I was the one who acted against her, and then it was to keep her from using a Cruciatus Curse on him to get him to talk."
At this startling news Hermione, Minerva and Poppy all gasped, finding it hard to believe that ANY teacher would consider using an Unforgivable Curse on a student. Albus spoke again. "Be that as it may, Harmony, I still do not think it wise…"
Harry interrupted. "Enough talk, sir. You want me to agree to do nothing against her? I will make that promise - as long as she gives me no reason to. In other words, sir, I'll behave only as long as she does. I promise nothing else - if she moves against Hermione, Ron, or me, I will respond accordingly.
"Fair enough, Harry. As subtly as possible, I will do my best to warn her to be on her best behavior around you this year. For her sake, I hope she has the foresight to do so. And, of course, you have the right to defend yourself and your friends, if it comes to that. But now, the hour is late, and we all have our various classes and duties to attend to in the morning. Until tomorrow, then."
*****
After a relatively uneventful first day of classes (that is, except for the large amount of O.W.L. preparatory homework that they had been assigned), it was time for Harry to see if Dumbledore's subtle warning had gotten through to her.
When he, Ron, and Hermione entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, they found Professor Umbridge already seated at the teacher's desk, wearing the fluffy pink cardigan of the night before and the black velvet bow on top of her head. Through her link to Harry, Hermione very clearly saw the image of a large fly perched unwisely on top of an even larger toad, and was barely able to stifle a giggle as they found their seats.
"Well, good afternoon!" she said when finally the whole class had sat down.
A few people mumbled "Good afternoon," in reply.
"Tut, tut," said Professor Umbridge. "That won't do, now will it? I should like you, please, to reply 'Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge.' One more time, please. Good afternoon, class!"
Everyone but Harry repeated automatically, "Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge."
Dolores, who had been looking directly at Harry, said with a sickly sweet tone to her voice, "Well, apparently there is one student here who cannot follow instructions. Mr. Potter, I assume you heard my request?"
As Hermione gripped his arm in warning, Harry looked at Umbridge and said, "Yes, I did."
"Yes I did, what?"
"I don't know, what did you do?" Harry said with a straight face.
As Ron chuckled, Hermione said frantically, "HARRY…Please…you promised the Headmaster you would behave."
Dolores turned her attention to Hermione. "Miss…Granger, is it? Yes, I've heard about you, of course…your reputation as a top Muggle-born student is well-known in the Ministry. And you, the redhead- you must be Arthur's boy, correct, Mr. Weasley?" All three of you had better keep on your best behavior, or I will be seeing you in my office for the appropriate…punishments. I will not be threatened by anyone, even if they have the headmaster convinced of their importance. Her grin got even wider as she said this, which caused Harry's anger to swell again as he remembered just exactly what punishments she was referring to. But, with Hermione's calm voice in his head saying <Ignore her, Harry…it's not worth it. Just let her go…she hasn't done anything serious yet…please, do it for me…> Harry relaxed slightly, and said clearly, Yes, I did hear you earlier, Professor Umbridge. I apologize for not responding appropriately. Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge".
"There, now," said Professor Umbridge sweetly, "That wasn't too difficult, was it? Wands away and quills out, please."
*****
Several silent minutes passed. Next to Harry, Ron was absent-mindedly turning his quill over and over in his fingers, staring at the same spot on the page. Harry looked right and received a surprise to shake him out of his torpor. Hermione had not even opened her copy of Defensive Magical Theory. She was staring fixedly at Professor Umbridge with her hand in the air.
<Remember 'Mione - I know what you intend to do…and you were telling me to behave MYSELF?>
<Oh, hush, Harry…I only want everyone in class to understand what is happening in this class. Hopefully the wiser ones of our classmates will understand the problem. I have a feeling you're going to need more people on your side this year, and you won't get effective help if no one has the proper training in DADA. I swear, she's worse than Gilderoy if she thinks this twaddle is of any use. It would help if you stayed out of it this time, though. We surely wouldn't want to draw too much attention to you!> she thought with a big grin on her face. <Besides, I'm perfectly capable of exposing her true colors to the class by myself. Watch, you'll see…trust me, Harry.>
<Always, my love! Besides, as I said, I already know what's going to happen here…I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the show this time. Okay, I'll try to be on my best behaviour - for once!>
When more than half the class were staring at Hermione rather than at their books, Professor Umbridge seemed to decide that she could ignore the situation no longer.
"Did you want to ask something about the chapter, dear?" she asked Hermione, as though she had only just noticed her.
"Not about the chapter, no," said Hermione.
"Well, we're reading just now," said Professor Umbridge, showing her small, pointed teeth. "If you have other queries we can deal with them at the end of class."
"I've got a query about your course aims," said Hermione.
Professor Umbridge raised her eyebrows.
"Well, Miss Granger… I think the course aims are perfectly clear if you read them through carefully," said Professor Umbridge in a voice of determined sweetness.
"Well, I don't," said Hermione bluntly. "There's nothing written up there about using defensive spells…
******
"What on earth are you shouting about, Potter?" Minerva snapped, as Peeves cackled gleefully and zoomed out of sight. "Why aren't you in class?"
"I've been sent to see you," said Harry stiffly.
"Sent? What do you mean, sent?"
He held out the note from Professor Umbridge. Professor McGonagall took it from him, frowning, slit it open with a tap of her wand, stretched it out, and began to read. Her eyes zoomed from side to side behind their square spectacles as she read what Umbridge had written, and with each line they became narrower.
"Come in here, Potter."
He followed her inside her study. The door closed automatically behind him.
"Well?" said Professor McGonagall, frustration evident in her manner. "Honestly, Harry, after all the warnings you got from the headmaster, and knowing all that is at stake, you still couldn't control yourself."
"Yes, Professor. As I said yesterday, I will not tolerate her impugning my character OR threatening my friends. And besides, you know that Hermione and I are right in what we are trying to do. Her teaching this year will be less than useless, because it will give some of our fellow students the mistaken notion that studying defensive spells out of a book will somehow teach them to you, and that misunderstanding may be fatal. I, for one, will not stand by this time and let that happen."
"Have a biscuit, Potter."
*****
"Have we reached an understanding, then, Harry? I still think it is best that you follow Hermione's advice and keep your head down and your temper under control."
She stood up and, for a second, a smile crossed her face as he stood, too.
"Here…take a biscuit to Hermione, too. For that skillful performance in the DADA class, I dare say she deserves a treat, too. No, not THAT kind of treat!" she said as she noticed Harry's blushing expression. "Mr. Potter…need I remind you that as prefects, you both are held to a higher standard when it comes to public displays of affection? You can possibly even lose your badge if you're caught, you know."
"Oh, don't worry, Professor. Hermione and I have already discussed that very subject. She's come up with a solution to that problem already."
Professor McGonagall eyed him for a moment and her eyes grew wide as she considered what these solutions may include. Then, she sniffed, walked around her desk, and held open the door for him.
"Well, I'm glad you listen to Hermione at any rate," she said with a grin, pointing him out of her office. "However, I'm sure it would be best if I knew nothing about her 'solution'."
(A/N - By the way, if you are interested, here's the link to my daughter's first Portkey story -Soul Schism .)