Chapter Nine - Conversations
As the group of them passed Ron's bedroom door, Harry said, "You guys go on ahead, I'll be there in a minute." He knocked on Ron's door as they went on down the hall.
"Go away!" shouted Ron.
"Ron, mate," said Harry, "What was wrong with those results?"
The door whipped open in front of him and Ron stared at him with incredulous disbelief written on his face. "What do you mean, what was wrong with those results? Harry, have you gone blind? I got five P's and four T's!" He was shouting. "I'm surprised I don't hear mum shouting up at me now!"
Harry looked at him strangely for a minute. "Ron, mate, that was not what I saw when I looked at the report. You didn't have any O's, true, but you definitely had more E's than A's. The only thing I remember you failing was Divination, but who cares about that?"
Ron looked at him puzzled, and then pushed past Harry and went downstairs, Harry following in his wake.
They went into the living room, where Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were examining Ron's results with an odd look on their faces.
"Ron?" said Molly, "While I would have liked to see at least one O on here, these aren't the worst O.W.L. results I've ever seen." She gave a pointed look at the twins who were staring up at the ceiling and whistling.
"Can I see them again, mum?" asked Ron, and held out his hand for the report.
"Sure, dear." She handed him the results.
Ron unrolled it again and looked at. "See, Harry," he said, "Five P's and four T's."
"What?" said Molly, curiously.
Harry looked at the results, but only saw what he had seen earlier. "Sorry, mate," he answered, "I just don't see it."
Ron turned on the twins, who had just quietly stood up and were attempting to sneak out of the room. "Hold it you two!" he shouted. "Which one of you did it?"
"Why, Ronald," said one of the twins, "Whatever do you mean? Surely you don't think that we would stoop so low as to interfere with official Ministry communications, do you?"
"So both of you did it!" shouted Ron.
In arguing with Ron, the twins had failed to notice their mother coming up behind them until she had grabbed them both by their earlobes. "You two may own your own shop and be making good money," she said quietly but earnestly, "but I am still your mother!" She yanked lightly on their earlobes.
"Ow, mum!"
"Change it back."
"Yes, mum!" they both said.
She let go of their earlobes, and one of the twins held out his hand for the results. Ron handed them to him silently. The twin waved his wand over the scroll, "Finite Incantatem!"
Ron looked disgusted. "That's all it would've taken?"
The twin nodded, "We should've made you do it yourself."
Ron just growled in disgust and grabbed the results back, and he and Harry ran upstairs to join the others.
-*~*~*~*~*-
The day after next marked the arrival of their Hogwarts letters; these arrived via Dumbledore rather than standard owl post. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, and Remus were all seated at the table eating breakfast. Neville and Luna had gone home the evening of the party, and the twins had decided that making themselves scarce would avoid the wrath of mum--they were at the shop.
The fireplace flared and Dumbledore stepped into the kitchen. "Good morning, everyone," he said. "I have your Hogwarts letters with me. Given the fuss a certain faculty member has made about owls, I thought it wise to bring them myself." He looked at Harry and Hermione, "Speaking of which, Harry and Hermione, if I might speak with the two of you alone?"
"Sure, Professor," said Harry, with a glance at Hermione, who nodded. Having finished their breakfasts, they both got up from the table.
"Where did you want to talk, Professor?" asked Harry.
"How about the marvelous room that Dobby created out of the spare room? I've only heard about it, and would like to see it."
"He hasn't changed it back yet?" asked Harry, who hadn't been back in the room since the night with Hermione.
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "He says that he can't change it back."
"Oh," said Harry, "Well, that's actually good. I do plan on using it again."
The three of them walked out of the kitchen and back to the spare room. Harry opened the door and allowed Dumbledore and Hermione to enter, before following behind them.
Dobby came up to greet them. "Hello, Master Harry, sir! Headmaster! and Ms. Hermione!"
"Hi Dobby," said Harry, as Dumbledore looked around the room, obviously impressed. "Why aren't you back at Hogwarts?"
"Master Harry sir, Dobby lives here now. Headmaster said so."
Harry glanced at Dumbledore, who was busy inspecting the illusion of the waterfront view. He could have sworn he saw the twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes increase.
"Oh," said Harry. "How come you haven't been helping Mrs. Weasley?"
Dobby's eyes got big. "Mistress Weasley told Dobby not to help! Mistress Weasley likes to do things herself. Mistress Weasley says that once she goes back to her own house, Dobby may help."
Harry smiled. "That's okay, Dobby."
"Harry," said Dumbledore, turning towards him and Hermione.
"Yes, Professor?"
"I really wish that you hadn't confronted Professor Snape yesterday." He held up a hand to forestall Harry's outraged objection. "Yes, Harry, I heard what happened. Arthur and Remus told me all about it." He smiled. "They were quite proud of you. And I agree that you were well justified in your response, given what happened. But the incident has created some unfortunate repercussions."
"Oh, right," snapped Harry, "So I should have just stood there and let him insult my fiance, and cast spells on her father without any reason whatsoever?"
Dumbledore sighed. "Harry, I will say it bluntly. I was unable to get him to agree to let you in Advanced Potions even with your O level O.W.L. That level only makes you eligible for consideration, it does not guarantee you a place in class. That is still left to the teacher's discretion."
Harry looked down at the floor. "I was afraid of that." He looked up, "Actually, I've been giving it some thought, Professor, and I'm no longer sure that an Auror is actually what I want to be." He glanced at Hermione, who was looking at him interestedly. "I haven't mentioned this to Hermione yet, either, so this will be new for both of you."
He continued, "You know, the whole time I've been at Hogwarts, I've been focused on one thing; defeating Voldemort. And to be honest, I haven't had time to think about anything beyond fighting Dark Wizards--until this summer." He looked fondly at Hermione. "Assuming that I come through the battle with Voldemort, and I'm not convinced I will, do I really want to make Hermione continue to worry about me when I'm out hunting Dark Wizards?"
Dumbledore looked at Harry with an unreadable expression in his eyes.
"I mean, I love her, and nothing interests me more than settling down some place quiet and just being Harry and Hermione--not Harry Potter, Savior of the Wizarding World, and wife--but just plain old Harry and Hermione Potter. I am so tired of the reactions I get, and after I defeat Voldemort, it's only going to get worse." He sighed, "What do you think, sweetheart?"
Hermione turned to look at him and smiled. "Harry, you can be anything you want. But I will say that I like the idea of you having a less dangerous job--I would like having you around for a number of years."
He smiled. "Unless Voldemort kills me, I'm not going anywhere."
She frowned. "I wish you'd stop saying that."
Harry took her into his arms and hugged her. "Look love, I'm not planning on dying, and I'm going to do my darndest to make sure that doesn't happen, but it's still a possibility." He let her go and stepped back.
Dumbledore interrupted, "You know, Harry, this will disappoint Professor McGonagall. She was absolutely determined to make sure you became an Auror. Have you given any thought as to what you would like to do?"
Harry smiled. "Teach. I got to thinking about how well I'd done with the D.A. and realized that I really enjoy doing what I was doing with them. Plus, it strikes me as a relatively low stress profession."
Dumbledore smiled. "Indeed, unless you have a Harry Potter to teach." He looked at Harry, "Assuming your N.E.W.T.S. are the same quality as your O.W.L.s, I'm sure something could be found for you at Hogwarts. Who knows, you might be the first Defense Against the Dark Arts professor to last more than one year."
Harry said, "You know, Hermione, I never asked what you wanted to do, once we leave Hogwarts."
She sighed. "I'm not really sure, Harry. I've thought about teaching, but I'd also like to go on and get a more advanced degree. Magical Research really interests me--finding new ways of casting spells, and new spell effects, and things like that."
"Where would you get a degree like that?" asked Harry.
"There are various places," answered Dumbledore, "but we can discuss that at another time." He cleared his throat, "Well, now that we have the Advanced Potions issue out of the way, there are a few other items. One; rather than taking the train this year, You, Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley, and Ms. Weasley will be flooing to Hogwarts." Dumbledore frowned. "We received some rather disturbing indications that Tom and his followers will attack the Hogwarts Express if you are on it."
"Are you sure he won't attack if I'm not on the train?" asked Harry.
"Severus says that he is particularly interested in targeting you, Ms. Granger, and Mr. Weasley. If he discovers that you are safely at Hogwarts, he most likely will not expend the resources such an attack would cost him. And we will have Aurors on the train."
Dumbledore smiled. "You see Harry, I told you at the end of last year that I would start telling you more, and I keep my promises."
"What else did you tell him last year?" asked Hermione. "I've been trying to get him to tell me all summer, and something always happens to prevent it."
Dumbledore looked at Harry, "You still haven't told her about it?"
"I've been meaning to, but like she said, something always happens."
"Told me about what?" asked a frustrated Hermione.
"There's a prophecy about me," said Harry. "That's what we were fighting over that day in the Department of Mysteries."
"But it was broken, wasn't it?"
"Only the record of it, Ms. Granger," said Dumbledore. "However, the memory of it is still quite strong in my mind. Considering that Sybil did make it in my presence."
"Professor Trelawney?" asked Hermione skeptically.
"Whatever your opinion of Divination and of Professor Trelawney's abilities, know that she occasionally does have a flash of the sight--in her case, it's just very rare," replied Dumbledore.
"What did this prophecy say?" asked Hermione.
"Basically it said that either I had to kill Voldemort or he had to kill me. 'Neither can live while both survive' I think is what it said," replied Harry. He paused and frowned, "I'd been obsessing over the fact that I actually have to kill someone in order for me to survive. That's why I was so down at the beginning of the summer."
"Well," said Hermione, "that does explain quite a bit." She hugged Harry. "We'll face this together, okay? We're much stronger together than apart."
Dumbledore said, "And that rather conveniently brings me to the last couple of things that I have to say. First, one of the things that you and Ms. Granger should start exploring Harry, is the idea of simultaneously casting the same spell. If done correctly, you can feed the spell with twice the available energy, and in some cases, even more than that, because of the strength of your bond. But it takes practice, and it isn't something that I can help you with, other than to give you a push in the right direction."
"The second thing I think you will particularly like. Wizarding tradition from centuries ago holds that bondmates may live together, and up until recently, bondmates had their own quarters at Hogwarts."
"Why don't they now?" asked Harry.
"Mostly because bonding seemed to fall by the wayside in the last thirty years or so. In the older tradition it was not that uncommon for seventh years to be married together, and sixth years to be bonded, but in the last thirty years or so, that practice has all but vanished. I suspect it was a revolt against feeling like you were expected to be married upon finishing school, which at one time, was very common."
"So, how does that affect us?" asked Hermione.
"Well, it allows you to live together," said Dumbledore. "I've had the house elves open up one of the old bonded couple apartments. You'll be able to access it through the portrait of Godric Gryffindor in the Gryffindor common room."
"Live together at school?" asked Harry incredulously.
"Yes," said Dumbledore, "Just as you have here. I suggest you continue to avoid physical intimacy together although Hogwarts would be the safest place I can think of...You have been avoiding it?" He inquired with a tilt of his head.
Harry and Hermione both blushed but nodded. "We've sort of decided to wait until we're married, Professor," said Harry.
"Good," he said with a twinkle in his eye.
"One final thing, I've arranged for Tonks and Mad-Eye Moody to pick up your school supplies for all of you. Making a trip to Diagon Alley now would not be wise for any of you. Ever since your impromptu visit this summer, Tom has been pushing for your capture." Dumbledore smiled apologetically at Harry, "That is largely the reason Severus was so upset last evening. He knew what Voldemort was asking of his followers, and knew that the slightest hint of your existence would be followed up without question."
"Umm," said Harry, "That still didn't give him an excuse to be rude. Was anything ever found out about what happened with Uncle Vernon?"
Dumbledore's face darkened. "Apparently it was Lucius Malfoy, Harry. He has indeed escaped from Azkaban. As to how they circumvented the wards, I still have no answers. They had dissipated by the time I was able to go to Privet Drive."
Harry nodded. "So Malfoy managed to escape?"
"Yes. Now that the Dementors have joined Voldemort, they apparently broke Malfoy out at his direction. We can't trust that anyone will remain in Azkaban anymore."
"That's just wonderful," said Hermione sarcastically.
"Indeed," said Dumbledore. "Enjoy the last four weeks of summer. You'll be flooing to Hogwarts a day early."
"Thanks, Professor," said Harry.
-*~*~*~*~*-
Before they knew it, those four weeks were gone, and then they were hastily packing trunks; more out of habit than any real deadline needing to be met. It simply didn't feel like the end of the summer if they weren't frantically packing trunks.
Dinner the night before they were supposed to floo to Hogwarts was a buoyant affair.
"Well, Harry," said Mr. Granger, "You're going to take care of my Hermione, right?"
"Yes, sir," said Harry, with a loving glance at Hermione. She smiled back at him.
"Harry," said Mrs. Granger, "We'll be moving out once we get the insurance settlement. It looks like they're going to pay up--for some reason, they seem to think it was a natural gas explosion."
"Don't hurry on my account," said Harry, "I know Hermione and I would both feel safer with you here."
"Harry," said Mrs. Granger with a smile, "I know that. But this isn't our home; it's yours and Hermione's, and I feel like I'm interfering."
Harry shook his head, "You're not, you know."
Hermione said, "We will see you here at Christmas?"
Her father smiled, "Of course, sweetheart. Besides, even after we get the insurance money, it's going to take them a while to rebuild the house. I doubt we'll be moved back in before January."
"Arthur and I will continue to stay here with them, Hermione," said Mrs. Weasley.
"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley," said Hermione.
"Molly, that isn't necessary," said Elizabeth.
"Elizabeth, I'm sorry, but two Muggles should not attempt to live in this house alone. You couldn't even get back in without magical assistance," said Molly apologetically.
"But what about your own home?" asked Elizabeth.
"My son Charlie is watching it for us."
"Charlie's back from Romania?" asked Ron, "How come he hasn't been by to see us?"
"He's been rather busy," answered Arthur Weasley.
"Order stuff?" asked Ron.
His father nodded.
"What was he doing in Romania?" asked Mr. Granger.
"Studying dragons, among other things," answered Ron.
"Dragons?" asked Mr. Granger, "They really exist?"
"Of course they do," said Ron, "There's all kinds; Hungarian Horntails and Hebridean Blacks, Common Welsh Greens, and Norwegian Ridgebacks." He frowned. "There's more, but I can't remember the rest."
Hermione shook her head in disgust. "Ron, that was one of the questions on our Care of Magical Creatures O.W.L. Name the ten species of dragons."
He snorted. "Well, since I have absolutely no doubt that you can do it, I won't ask. All 'O's, indeed."
"I'm not completely happy with you, Ron," said Mrs. Weasley warningly, "You could have at least gotten one 'O' on your own O.W.L.s"
Ron closed his mouth and glowered at the table.
"Harry?" said Arthur Weasley.
"Yes, Mr. Weasley?"
"Were you able to get into Advanced Potions? Remus and I spoke to Albus about what happened."
"I should think that he could get into Advanced Potions with a 'O' in the subject," said Mrs. Weasley.
Harry looked at Mrs. Weasley and smiled. "Unfortunately, Professor Snape didn't see it that way," he said. "'O' grade or not, he's not letting me in."
"As Headmaster Dumbledore explained, admission to the N.E.W.T. level classes is still at the discretion of the instructor. I suppose I could make a huge fuss--I do have an 'O' in potions, after all; but I'm not sure I want to be an Auror anymore."
"Why not, Harry?" asked Mrs. Weasley.
He looked at Hermione with a happy smile. "I've had a lot to think about this summer, and the future was part of it. I'm not sure that I want to put Hermione through the worry of me being an Auror; it's bad enough she has to worry about Voldemort."
Molly Weasley nodded. "Believe it or not, I can understand that," she said with a fond glance at her husband.
-*~*~*~*~*-
Later, after the children had finally gone up to bed, and the house had quieted down for the evening, except for Arthur and Bob indulging in their nightly game of Wizard Chess, Molly joined Elizabeth in the kitchen for their almost nightly ritual of talk over tea.
"Molly," said Elizabeth, as Mrs. Weasley heated the tea with a wave of her wand, and brought it over to the table. "Are you sure you're alright with staying here with us? We can always find somewhere else to stay--there's Bob's parents house."
"Elizabeth, it isn't a problem." Molly took a deep breath and looked at her with a serious expression. "Actually, that was something I needed to talk to you about. You see, we know that Voldemort knows about Harry and Hermione's bond. We can keep them safe at Hogwarts--the quarters that have been prepared for them there have been under preparation since Albus knew about the bond; they are as heavily shielded and warded as Albus and other Order members could make them. The children are incredibly vulnerable right now, and will be for the next year. Should anything happen to one of them, the other WILL die, and there isn't anything we can do about it. We aren't even certain why Hermione didn't die back in July, except that ring of Taliesin's had something to do with it."
Molly took a sip of tea. "Elizabeth, you and Bob are also a point of vulnerability for both Harry and Hermione. Knowing them as I do, if Voldemort got his hands on either or both of you, he would have the perfect bait for a trap. Harry couldn't not try to rescue you. That's just the kind of person he is."
Elizabeth looked away for a moment. "You're saying we need to stay here."
"I know this isn't easy for you. I doubt things have gotten any less strange for you even though you've been forced into knowing more about my world than you ever probably wanted to know."
"Bob seems to be having an easier time of it," said Elizabeth. "But then, he was always more of the dreamer than I was. I catch him sometimes, when he doesn't know I'm watching, and he'll be staring wistfully at some magical thing and I know he's just wishing that we could have those things too. We haven't really talked about it, but I know he'd love to be discussing...Quidditch, I think you call it...with Harry, just like he's always talking about football or cricket with his other friends."
Molly looked thoughtful for a moment. "Elizabeth, do you regret that your daughter is a witch?"
"No, of course not," was the reply. "She's never been happier."
"Say that Hermione was in all other respects the same, except that she wasn't a witch. Would you be jealous of her intelligence? Are you jealous of other people's intelligence? Somebody like that...Einstein, I think his name is...are you jealous of his abilities?"
"Well, no, of course not. Einstein was a genius; he was born that way."
"Exactly. So was your daughter. So was I. So was Harry. We all have talents that other people don't have. Being a witch or a wizard is truly just another talent, and not everybody can be one."
Elizabeth smiled. "I am being a little silly, aren't I?"
"No, I don't think you're being silly. It was for these reasons and others that the decision was made to separate the Wizarding World from the Muggle world so many years ago. Yes, many of us would like to help you with your problems magically, but we can't. For some of us, given that our lifespans are much longer than your own, the Salem Witch Trials in America are somewhat recent history."
"We Muggles haven't been the nicest people throughout the years, have we?" asked Elizabeth with a wry expression.
"No, you haven't. And to be honest, you scare us. You can destroy entire cities without a second thought, and that is something we can't defend against," said Molly.
"You don't have spells that could do something similar?"
"No," answered Molly, "Because if we did, Voldemort would have used them already. Killing several thousand Muggles just to kill Harry wouldn't bother him in the slightest."
Elizabeth nodded, and took a sip of tea. She looked at Molly and smiled. "Thank you for being so nice to us. Even if we are just silly Muggles."
Molly smiled. "I don't think you're a silly Muggle, Elizabeth. I think you are an intelligent woman thrown into a situation beyond your experience. And I don't think that having you and your husband here is a problem. I know Arthur hasn't had this much fun in years, and I really enjoy our talks--it's given me some insight into your world that I didn't realize I needed. The biggest problem with the separation of our two worlds is that we really don't understand each other."
Elizabeth nodded. "I can see that. I actually feel a little bit closer to Hermione now, because I understand a little more about the world she's entering. Oh, I know, I'll never be the one that she'll come to for magically related problems because I just can't understand them, and that does hurt a little--I understand she had to go to the school nurse when she started her monthlies because you even handle that differently. I feel less and less like her mother some days."
"Elizabeth, you've raised a wonderful child. Arthur and I have always enjoyed it when she came to visit. She's obviously very bright, and when you consider the things that she's chosen to face, also extremely strong. You have nothing to be ashamed of."
"Thank you, Molly," said Elizabeth, "Coming from you, having raised as many as you have, that means a lot."
Molly looked pensive. "I can't say that I'm perfect, by any means. Percy...Have I told you about Percy?"
"No, who is Percy?"
"My third oldest son. He currently works at the Ministry of Magic as an aid to the current Minister, Cornelius Fudge."
Elizabeth smiled. "That must make you proud; having a son that high up in government."
Molly frowned. "It used to, until he chose the Minister over his own family." She swallowed. "He decided to believe that Dumbledore was trying to stage a revolt against Fudge with his talk of Voldemort's return, that Harry was either lying or mentally unstable, and that his own...his own father was an imbecile for listening to Dumbledore! Arthur and Percy don't speak to each other at all, even at work. Percy moved out, and has his own flat in London now. We haven't seen him in months." She blinked her eyes furiously.
"Oh, Molly, that's terrible," said Elizabeth sympathetically.
Molly nodded. "And...and the thing is, I can't even blame Percy for this. I always taught him that he should stick to his convictions; I guess he learned that lesson a little too well. No, I blame Voldemort, even for that. If he wasn't here, there never would have been the question."
Elizabeth nodded. "Voldemort is the definition of evil, isn't he? He corrupts merely by his presence, without any action on his part."
"That he definitely is," said Molly reflectively. She looked at Elizabeth. "So, have you talked to Hermione about her wedding yet?"
"No. I was kind of leaving that up to her." Elizabeth shook her head and looked down at her cup of tea. "I'm still trying to get used to the idea."
Molly patted her hand comfortingly.
"Well," said Elizabeth," We'd better go make sure those husbands of ours get some sleep tonight. I swear, if you let them, they'd play that silly game all night."
Molly laughed and they both got up from the table to go put their husbands to bed.