Author's notes: Again thanks to my beta Danielle
This is a short chapter so expect the next one in a few days.
Thanks for all the reviews!
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The following morning Harry awoke confused. The relief he felt at sharing the prophecy with Ron and Hermione had now been replaced by an overpowering feeling of trepidation. Just because Ron and Hermione couldn't be in the final battle didn't mean they still couldn't be hurt, or worse, in the fray leading up to it. Harry saw a flash in his mind to the night before when Hermione had grabbed her chest in pain.
The fight at the Department of Mysteries was something that Harry tried not to think about, for obvious reasons. But it was more than just Sirius falling through the veil. What haunted Harry the most about that night was seeing Hermione hit by that curse. The moments where he didn't know if she was dead or alive. The panic he had felt at that moment scared him more than anything. He didn't think he'd felt anything as deeply before in his life. When Sirius fell and Harry realized what had happened, he was angry and wanted revenge, but he didn't stop functioning. His own differing reactions were confusing to him. He knew he cared for Hermione, she was one of his best friends, but he asked himself if it had been Ron in Hermione's place, would he have reacted the same? He knew the answer and that confused him even more.
They had never talked about that night. Harry still didn't know who had told them about Sirius. And he realized what an awful friend he had been for not asking how they were recovering. From what he could tell, Ron was fine, but he knew that Hermione wasn't back to full speed and that worried him since it had been almost three months since the attack. He also knew that she would lie and tell him she was fine. Harry sat up in bed and resolved that the first chance he got he would talk to them about that night.
Harry was showered and dressed before Ron was even out of bed. Grabbing his bag and wand, he made his way down to the common room to wait for Ron and Hermione.
He didn't have to wait long as Hermione was down shortly. "Hi," he said and tried to give her the best smile he could. "Sleep well?"
Hermione dropped her heavy bag at her feet with a sigh and admitted to Harry, "Not really."
"Me either," he confessed. "Thinking?" Harry questioned.
Hermione nodded. "Thinking. And maybe a bit more crying," she added truthfully.
Harry noticed her eyes looked just as puffy as they did the night before and felt a stab of guilt.
She knew what he was thinking and reached out to grab his hand. "It's ok. Crying is good sometimes," she said convincingly enough that he almost believed her.
Right then Ron, followed by the rest of the sixth year boys, came thundering down the stairs. "Ready to go?" he asked. "I'm famished"
Harry laughed at this. "Good to know some things can't change," he said as they headed out the portrait hole.
Amidst all of Harry's thinking the night before, he had also resolved to make this school year as normal as possible. Unfortunately, a summer's worth of Daily Prophet articles that were now telling the truth and a Ministry that recognized what Harry had been saying all along made for even more interest in Harry's life by his classmates. The attention was something he had never enjoyed, despite Lockheart's implications in his second year. But anonymity was not to be had on him the first morning back at Hogwarts.
As the trio made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast, they did little talking. Harry was lost in his thoughts and unknowingly outpaced Ron and Hermione by a couple of steps. Had Harry known what was going on behind him, he would have put a stop to it. While walking down the numerous hallways, more and more members of the DA were joining their march. Groups of students on their way to eat parted to allow the formidable looking group to pass.
The doors to the Great Hall were open and Harry could see it was already bustling with students. Not knowing the entourage he had picked up along the way, Harry was becoming increasingly irritated as he approached the entrance. The closer he got, the more people look towards him. Pausing in the doorway, he turned towards his left to share his frustration with Hermione and realized she wasn't there. Harry turned a bit more and what he saw almost made him gasp. Behind him were at least twenty members of the D.A. flanked out in what only could be described as a battle formation. Their faces were set and no one was talking. Ron and Hermione also looked somewhat surprised at what they saw. Harry was able to summon his speech and said, "Thanks guys, but I think we've got it from here." He made a point to look at everyone and silently acknowledge what it meant to him.
The D.A. members dispersed to their respective tables leaving the Trio still standing in the doorway. Harry turned back to the staff table and met Dumbledore's gaze. He gave Harry a small nod. Harry looked down the table and was fairly certain he saw Professor McGonagall dab her eyes with a napkin. He realized then what a sight they had made, it was understandable people had been staring. Harry was sure he had been walking quickly enough to cause his robes billow out behind him, as had the rest of the D.A. There was also something else he was just registering. Everyone, himself, Ron and Hermione included had had their wands out. He hadn't even realized he had done it. Harry brought a hand to his forehead and sighed. 'Had it really come to this?' he thought. 'Walking the halls of Hogwarts with wands drawn, as if ready for a bloody attack any minute?' As he lowered his hand, he was startled by both Hermione's quick grab of his arm and Dumbledore hurriedly rising from his seat.
"Harry! What is it?" Hermione hissed.
"What?" he asked in confusion.
"Your scar? You grabbed it, is it Voldemort?" she asked, worry evident in her voice and on her face.
"Voldemort?" Harry repeated confused, realization coming slowly to him. "No, no, it's ok. It wasn't my scar. Sorry to worry you." Harry looked quickly to the head table and gave a small reassuring wave.
By the end of breakfast, Harry felt as if things were almost back to normal. Ron and Hermione enjoyed their usual banter concerning Ron's eating habits and Harry looked on, shaking his head sympathetically at Ron. Luna wandered over from the Ravenclaw table just as they were finishing up. Hermione gave Harry a sly smile over her copy of the Daily Prophet and was about to say something when Hedwig suddenly landed on Harry's shoulder.
"Why hello girl, what have you got there?" Harry asked.
Hedwig dutifully held out her leg and after Harry had relieved her of her message, she hopped over to Hermione's shoulder to take a small bite of muffin that was waiting for her.
Harry unrolled the parchment and saw it was from Professor Dumbledore.
Harry,
Please come to my office during your free period today. Miss Granger and Mister Weasley will not need to attend at this time.
Albus Dumbledore
P.S. The new password is 'Skiving Snackboxes'
P.S.S. Drop this parchment as it's about to burst into flames.
Harry quickly dumped Dumbledore's note into his goblet of pumpkin juice, noticing Hermione's head turning sharply as the note caught fire and was immediately doused.
"What on earth was that?" she asked
"Just a note from Dumbledore asking me to come see him," Harry answered. He paused before continuing, "He, uh…he said for only me to meet him today." Harry waited nervously for Hermione's response.
"Well I'm sure he has his reasons. I trust Dumbledore and I trust you. If you can and want to share what the meeting is about, you will. If you can't, I understand," Hermione said, as if reading his mind.
Harry let out a breath he didn't even know he'd been holding. "Thank you for understanding. I don't want you to think I'm keeping anything, not anymore. I need you." Harry stopped himself realizing what that sounded like. "And Ron, of course," he added hurriedly.
"I know you do," she said with a grin. Hermione put a hand on his shoulder as she stood up and retrieved her bag. "Come on, let's go before we're late for class."
Harry looked over to Ron and had to say his name twice before the redhead pulled his attention away from Luna.
"Yeah mate?" Ron responded.
"Time to go, see ya, Luna," Harry said and jogged to catch up with Hermione, giving Ron and Luna some privacy.
In July, Harry had received his O.W.L results along with the other fifth years. He had barely given them a glance before tossing the parchment in the bin. Worrying about what grades he had made seemed completely inconsequential to him. He had however, noticed that they were good enough to allow him to take the classes needed to become an Auror. Harry hadn't asked Ron or Hermione what they had gotten, With Hermione, it really wasn't necessary and he assumed that since Ron was walking into Professor McGonagall's classroom with them, he had managed to pull a passing grade in Transfiguration.
Their first class wasn't all that interesting. Professor McGonagall mostly covered what they would be studying for the year and tried to impose upon them the importance of this year's work, even if they didn't have any major exams at the end of the year.
When the class had been dismissed, Harry motioned for Ron and Hermione to go on ahead of him. "I'll be right there. I just wanted to talk to the Professor about something."
Hermione gave him a quizzical look, but nodded and left with Ron.
Harry cleared his throat as he approached Professor McGonagall's desk. "Uh, Professor, do you have a minute?" he asked.
"Yes Potter, what is it?" Professor McGonagall replied.
"I was wondering… at the Department of Mysteries. Professor Dumbledore was able to make the fountain statues follow his command. They were able to pin down Bel…one of the Death Eaters and one jumped in front of me to stop a spell. I was wondering if that would be considered transfiguration or charms?" Harry asked all this very quickly, hoping his question wasn't stupid and that if it was, McGonagall would take pity on him.
The Professor looked surprised, but quickly recovered. "Well, Potter. I must say I'm quite impressed. Yes, what the Headmaster did with the statues is basically transfiguration. As you can see, there is a bit more to it than just turning mice into teacups."
Harry was relieved that his idea had been right. Now he just hoped that McGonagall would be willing to go along with what he was proposing. "Would you…do you…do you think you could teach me how to do that? I think that it might be useful. In the future, you know." Harry didn't want to come right out and say it, but he was sure she knew what he meant.
Professor McGonagall took off her spectacles and sat down heavily in her chair. Harry was surprised to see how tired she looked all of a sudden. "I think we'll need to discuss this with the Headmaster, Harry," she said softly. "Now, you'd best be off. I'll not be excusing you from your next class." Her usual brisk tone was back, even if the brogue was a bit thicker.
Harry nodded and smiled his thanks before leaving the classroom, his mind once again wandering to what the meeting with Dumbledore could be about.