Bound Together
Author's Notes: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I'll try to keep the fivesome's hormones under control next time they appear, but I won't make any promises. In fact, their relationship has given me disturbing cookie ideas that might appear on other sites. If this chapter gets a bit boring, I apologize. There will be more action in future chapters-take that as you will.
Chapter 2-New Foundations
The Hogwarts staff room was filled with high-ranking Ministry officials, Aurors, and other people known for their association with Dumbledore. Harry was able to recognize a good number of the people in the room: Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody was standing in a corner, brooding, Remus Lupin and his dog Snuffles (known to a few as Sirius Black) were sitting by the window, Arabella Figg was standing in the middle of the room, talking to Mr. Weasley, and all four heads of houses, Snape, Professor McGonagall, Professor Sprout, and Professor Flitwick were there as well, pacing around. Harry and Hermione took seats on the couch next to Lupin's chair, and Ron sat across from them.
"So, Professor Lupin, Snuffles, how's it going?" asked Harry.
"Ah, pretty well. Had to get Snuffles licensed with the town government where I live. Can't be too careful. He's also still stinging about that last visit to the vet. He really didn't appreciate the rabies shot they gave him."
"Poor Snuffles," Hermione said, and then began patting Sirius on the head. He would have growled at her if he didn't have to keep up the whole dog persona.
"Snape's been scowling at the two of us since we got here. I suspect that he's still stinging about the loss of the Order of Merlin when Snuffles here escaped from the castle."
Snape overheard this comment, and while he knew that Sirius had never been a Death Eater or allied with Voldemort in any way for any length of time, he still would rather see Sirius in Azkaban for the rest of his life for a prank that Sirius pulled on him many years ago.
"That dog of yours belongs in Azkaban, Remus, as he tried to get me killed for a laugh, if I remember correctly," Snape spat.
"He wouldn't have pulled that prank on you if you had kept your oversized nose out of places where it didn't belong, Severus. Though I agree with you that the joke was in bad taste, it's actually quite lucky he pulled it on you then. If he hadn't, you may have walked straight into your grave, as none of us would have known until it was too late."
"I always thought that curiosity killed the cat, not the Hogwarts student."
"Well, McGonagall knew about it the entire time, and I did actually kill Mr. Norris. Why Filch ever got another cat is beyond me, though."
"You killed Mr. Norris?" Snape said, looking at Remus in an entirely new light.
"Yes, I did. Frankly, I don't know of any student that actually liked that cat."
"I must admit, it was quite annoying."
"Wait? What do you mean, Mr. Norris?" Harry asked.
"Shut up, boy," Snape spat at Harry.
At this moment, Snuffles pounced on Snape, knocking him to the ground. He gave the Potions Master a steeled look of sheer contempt and emitted a low, menacing growl.
"Boys, boys," Professor McGonagall said, quite disapprovingly. "Break it up this instant, or I shall be forced to remove you both from this room. If you cannot behave like civilized wizards, then there is no place for you here. Professor Snape, you shall not address anyone like that when we are in this room."
Sirius then transformed into his human form, and shot one more contemptuous stare at Snape, then walked back over to stand between Remus and Hermione. However, before Harry had a chance to say anything to his godfather, Amos Diggory walked in the door.
Amos Diggory, who worked in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures at the Ministry, was the person Harry was most worried about, as his son, Cedric, was Voldemort's first publicly-known victim from this reign of terror. Harry had been there that night, and still blamed himself for Cedric's death. There were nights when he couldn't stop himself from reliving the terror of that night. If only he had taken the TriWizard Cup alone, instead of coming up with the idea of drawing for the Tournament Championship, Cedric would still be here today.
"Hello, Harry," Mr. Diggory said calmly. "I wonder where Dumbledore is. After all, he is the one that called this meeting, why shouldn't he be here at it?"
"I honestly don't know, sir," Harry replied, glumly, wishing that he could be anywhere but here. "He should be here shortly. You should know that your son's death still haunts me, sir, and that had I known…"
"Harry, nobody really can see the future with much accuracy. There was no way you could have known that Voldemort had turned the cup into a Portkey. I wish I could understand how you feel about his death fully, but I've never been a murder witness. You should never have had to see that. Nobody should ever have to witness a murder. I'm just glad that you were able to bring him back so we could grieve properly. Bertha Jorkins' family didn't have that luxury, much like most of Voldemort's other victims."
"But I should have been able to save Cedric, somehow," Harry said, staring at the floor.
"There was no way anyone could have done that. Though there is obviously a way to survive it, as this conversation demonstrates, nobody really knows what it is, as the only two witnesses don't know exactly why the curse failed. There really is no reason to blame yourself for Cedric's death," Mr. Diggory said, trying to cheer Harry up.
"That's what everybody tells me, but for some reason, it just doesn't help. At least Cho is gone. She felt that I led him into a trap in order to get him out of the way."
"Well, I must say that from what I've heard about her reaction to you after that night, I must say that I was appalled. Though, come to think of it, that news shouldn't have been plastered over the wizarding press, either. But you know the press, probably better than anyone else in this room. Anything to sell another copy."
Harry shuddered as he remembered the way the press hounded him through his entire fifth year. As he wasn't in touch with the wizarding world during the summer, save for letters from Hermione and Ron, he didn't know what kind of hailstorm the news of Cedric's death caused. Dumbledore was able to protect him from the onslaught during the summer using the same charms that protected Harry from Dark wizards at Privet Drive, but once he was back at Hogwarts, journalists had come out of the woodwork to hound him. Though Dumbledore tried to stop them from entering, they were able to sneak into the castle using some of the passages from Hogsmeade and remain in the fairly large castle undetected for a while, until Harry came their way. Harry himself had come out of the experience having learned how to express himself a bit better as well has having learned how to deal with the press.
"I just wish there was something I could do to make it right," Harry said.
"The only person to whom you need to prove anything is yourself, if anyone at all. However, if that's the way you feel, just helping in the fight against You-Know-Who is enough to keep me going. I know I haven't been able to sleep well since that night, and I don't think I will be able to do so until You-Know-Who is gone once and for all. That, and your strength to carry on despite the emotional hardship that You-Know-Who has put you through has more than proven you to everybody in our world."
"Why? I didn't defeat him the first time. Though my mum's sacrifice for me was somehow able to protect me from that curse, it was her act, not mine, that gave us those thirteen years of peace. Not me, her."
"But I know about your other encounters with You-Know-Who. Dumbledore told me himself when he was explaining what happened to Cedric. Your encounter with You-Know-Who at the end of your first year was enough to prove to me that you are tough and good enough that you wouldn't have done anything to Cedric."
Harry opened his mouth to reply, but at that moment, Dumbledore walked into the room, and a hush swept over all those gathered. The look on his face was not the usual, cheerful expression, but far more careworn and grave.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice," Dumbledore announced. "I'm afraid I have some bad news. It has come to our knowledge that Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, has become a Death Eater." A stunned silence resonated for a moment over the gathering. Suddenly, a witch that Harry didn't recognize stood up.
"You can't be serious, Albus. Fudge is one of the leaders in the fight against You-Know-Who. Surely, he wouldn't betray us."
"Please, Eleanor. His name is Voldemort. Call him by his proper name. There is no reason to fear his name. He is only one of a long list of foes to that which is good in this world, both past and present. If we fear his existence, we cannot defend everything we hold dear. But what I said is true. Our list of allies grows shorter by the day, and now we cannot even trust our own government."
"So what are we going to do?" Eleanor asked.
"That's what I called everyone here for. Unfortunately, we are going to have to step up our efforts against Voldemort and the Death Eaters, now that Fudge has joined his ranks. As the government cannot be trusted to enforce its laws, we need to inform the Aurors about this most unfortunate development."
"Consider that done," Mad-Eye Moody growled. "I'm pretty sure that most of my colleagues would not be surprised by this chain of events. Many have been suspicious of Dark involvement in the government before. In fact, a few even thought that Barty Crouch was among those who secretly supported Voldemort. However, I don't know how many of the younger, more able Aurors would believe me, considering my reputation. Perhaps it would be better to send me with a letter to convince them. However, I have taken the liberty of securing a few valuable and trustworthy Aurors to assist us at this early date. Unfortunately, none of us can march straight up to Fudge and place him under arrest, as we must appear to be aligned with the Ministry. After all, they are the ones that cut our paychecks, and we don't control the courts."
"That is another point that needs to be taken care of. Our efforts cannot succeed without the ability to try anyone accused of Dark activity, and we cannot trust someone allied with the Dark side to fairly judge and punish those committing the same crimes of which he is guilty," Dumbledore said. "Unfortunately, due to the increasing age of those that we know we can trust, their numbers are dwindling. In the past year, Fudge has installed four new judges, though we don't know how many of those benches were vacated by intimidation or other methods of 'persuasion'."
"What about Demetra Connally? I happen to know her quite well, and I know that both she and her husband, who is among the Aurors I have recruited, are both willing to stand with us," Moody announced. "She is known for being level-headed and respected among the other judges. She's even managed to help me out a few times." Everybody there knew about Moody's paranoia and attack reflex, so the fact that he would have needed a judge's help was not a surprise to anyone.
"I shall be owling her after the meeting," Dumbledore said. "Now, Arthur, I fear that with this new change in its leader's attitude, wizarding-Muggle relations will be put to the test. Muggle-baiting will probably become much more common. Therefore, many of you who are not otherwise employed will be helping Arthur track down charmed Muggle items and make sure that they don't fall into Muggle hands." Dumbledore paused for a moment and asked, "Is your son willing to help us?"
"Unfortunately, he refuses to believe that anything is amiss. He's too focused on his career and potential for advancement to see the truth. Therefore, it would be best to leave him to his job," Arthur said somewhat grimly.
Ron looked a bit uncomfortable at the news that his brother refused to believe his father, but remained silent. Harry's attentions, however, began to drift to the girl sitting next to him. How on earth was he supposed to concentrate when he was inhaling the intoxicating scent of Hermione's hair? A part of him wanted to bury his face in her hair forever, just soaking in that scent. What shampoo did she use to get her hair to smell so good, Harry wondered. He tried to think exactly what her hair smelled like, but he couldn't concentrate on anything but Hermione. Turning to look at her, his eyes fell upon her face. Though she never wore makeup, Harry didn't feel that she needed to. It would have been that one extra brush stroke that ruins the painting. No, he liked her face just the way that it was. It was all he could do to keep his hands to himself instead of just reaching over to touch Hermione's natural perfection. Those brown eyes, whose sparkle never seemed to fade, her smooth, clear complexion, and those red, oh-so-kissable lips were right there, teasing him, beckoning for him to forget everything and act on what he felt.
For her part, Hermione wasn't as attentive as she usually was, either. In fact, she had caught even less of the meeting until, just by a casual glance around the room, her eyes fell onto Harry. The one person that was always there, no matter what. Her best friend of six years. And one hell of a looker too, Hermione thought. She could spend days just staring at his face and its almost-angelic quality. But what got her completely lost was his aftershave. True, it was late in the afternoon, but she could somehow still smell traces of it on him. She made a mental note to find out which brand he used and get him some more of it. Hmm, maybe I could help him out with using it one morning, Hermione mused. And with that, she slipped into a daydream.
Harry was in the bathroom one morning, getting ready for the day. He had just showered, and was reaching for his razor when there was a knock at the bathroom door. Slowly, the door began to open, and on the other side was Hermione in her bathrobe.
"Good morning, Harry," she said, with a gleam in her eye that he had never seen before.
"Hermione! I- I'm not exactly dressed," Harry stammered. In fact, the only thing on Harry was the towel he used to dry off with after his shower.
"I can see that. Could you use some help?"
"I'm just shaving."
"I know. May I?"
"I don't know…" Harry said, but he was just melting at the thought of what she wasn't wearing under that bathrobe. Slowly, she stepped up to him and reached for the shaving cream. As she shook the can, a seductive smile spread across her face.
"Calm down, Harry," Hermione said as she pressed down on the top of the can, spreading the shaving cream all over her hand. "I'll be careful."
Harry watched intently as Hermione rubbed her hands together, building up lather on both hands. It was all she could do to keep herself focused on the task of slowly seducing him, as his lack of clothing provided her a good look at his chest and torso, which she wanted to touch so badly. But that will have to wait for a bit later, Hermione thought.
Reaching up to his face, she gently started to rub the shaving cream onto Harry's face. His emerald eyes began to darken, and she could tell that he was beginning to catch on to her plan. Just as she finished with lathering him up, she reached over to the sink to wash the extra cream off of her hands. Turning around, she picked up his razor and muttered a charm on it so that while it would effectively take care of the unwanted facial hair, she wouldn't actually cut his skin. She reached out a hand to him, which grazed his chest. She could just feel the shudder running through him at that touch.
She raised the razor to his face, and began to shave him, making sure that she never broke eye contact. After a good ten minutes, she finally finished. Turning around one more time, she splashed some aftershave on her hands and rubbed it into his face. However, when she finished, instead of letting go, she pulled him down and crashed his lips onto hers. He didn't stiffen in surprise, but instead leaned in and took up residence in her embrace, thrusting his tongue into her mouth.
Oh, dear God, Hermione thought. He's kissing me. That's his tongue down my throat. Perhaps I should reciprocate.
So she did, which got a groan from Harry. By now, he was so aroused that his towel was beginning to fall off. Moving one of her hands behind his head, she took the other hand and divested him of his towel.
"Earth to Hermione," Ron shouted.
"What's going on? Where is Dumbledore?" Hermione asked, clearly just coming out of a trance.
"The meeting's over. It's been over for the past five minutes. I expected Harry to have dozed off, which he did, but how you got lost, I have no idea. Normally, you're one of the most attentive people I know."
"Oh. We'd better get going, then." She felt it best not to mention the fact that it was Harry who sent her off into a daydream, but instead turned to Remus and Sirius, who were still standing there.
"Good seeing the two of you again. I wish it could have been under better circumstances, though."
"Ah, don't worry about it. The two of us are getting a flat in Hogsmeade, so we'll be a bit closer. Feel free to drop by if you ever need to talk. I wouldn't mind having the three of you over for tea on Saturday."
"We'll be there," Harry said.
And with that, Harry, Ron, and Hermione left the staff room for the Great Hall.
The hallways seemed unusually quiet that night. Even someone completely unfamiliar with the climate of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry could have sensed that something was gravely wrong. Dinner had been subdued, as the students had been informed of the recent turn of events. Though the Weasleys, except Percy, were staying there at the castle, Harry's mind had been unable to leave the unfortunate turn of events since Ron awoke him from his trance in the staff room meeting. The mere thought of the fact that he had been daydreaming about a girl who just happened to be his best friend when the fate of the world was being discussed was slightly embarrassing to admit, even to himself. But he wasn't the one to blame for the fact that he had an attractive female best friend. About the only thing that Harry understood that came out of the afternoon's meeting was that he was going to have tea with Remus and Sirius on Saturday.
Author's notes: Short chapter, I know. Next time: Tea with the Puppies, and a few more hormone-fueled thought sequences, and perhaps a completed fantasy scene. Maybe. I don't make any promises.