Author's Note: It has been far too long and I do apologize deeply for leaving all of you hanging with such a nasty cliffhanger. I never expected that it would take this long to post another chapter. Really, I mean it, I am terribly sorry. But this is the last time I'm apologizing. I'm not letting anything get in my way anymore. I don't have classes, which means I don't have any papers to keep me preoccupied. I will admit that this chapter was completed months ago and I am a few chapters ahead, but due to certain reasons I couldn't update. Now I'm tossing those reasons aside. I'm a girl on a mission and I will complete what I've started. I thank all of you who have been giving me reviews, even the "hurry up already!" ones. It's nice to know that this fic hasn't been completely forgotten about by you, the reader. So, with all that said, it's finally time to find out what happens after the gag-worthy cliffhanger.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
DUMBLEDORE'S REQUEST
Back in the common room, Harry wondered if he was going to hyperventilate. He sat in a chair in the corner of the room with his head down between his knees, breathing heavily. His fellow Gryffindors passed him with concerned looks on their faces.
He didn't know what to do, what to think. Hermione…Ron…kissing…
No, don't think about it, Harry, don't.
But he couldn't help it. His mind was dominated by it. The idea…the mental image of Hermione stepping closer, hesitant but determined to prove Ron wrong…
A wave of anger washed over him. That bastard. That prick. He gave Hermione that ultimatum! All of this was his fault! And Hermione! She actually gave in! She'd rather kiss another man behind Harry's back to keep their friendship together than let things go their course!
Suddenly, just as it came, the anger vanished. Yes, Ron was a bastard to give Hermione such an ultimatum, but she was probably desperate not to let go of their friendship with Ron. He was the first person Harry had befriended at Hogwarts and she knew how important he was to Harry.
Ron.
Because Ron felt betrayed by Harry, he tried to betray him just the same. The sad thing was, Harry realized with a twisting feeling in his gut, he could understand where Ron was coming from. He wasn't quite sure that he, Harry, wouldn't do the exact same thing if he were in Ron's shoes.
Then there was his own dishonestly to deal with. He had willingly followed Ginny to eavesdrop on Ron and Hermione. He knew better, but he did it anyway. He was just as to blame as them.
That realization made him feel sick.
"Hiya Harry!" someone said suddenly, causing Harry to jump. "Oh, sorry," Colin Creevey said, placing his hand gently on Harry's shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"What? Yeah-yeah, I'm fine. Snape experimented on me in Potions…gave me a poison," Harry said, giving only a half-truth.
Colin shuddered. "Is that what I have to look forward to this year?"
"Afraid so," Harry said.
"Are you sure you're okay? You're all pale and clammy," Colin said. "Maybe you should go to the infirmary."
"No, no, I took the antidote, I should be fine," Harry said. "I don't have to go to the Hospital Wing."
"You're sure?"
"Yes."
Colin looked around. "Where are Ron and Hermione? I think they should see you."
At the mention of their names, he recoiled. "I don't know," he said.
As if being summoned, Ron and Hermione walked into the common room. When Hermione's eyes found his, they widened as she rushed over to him. "Harry! What's wrong?"
"He says Snape poisoned him in class, but he said he'll be alright," Colin told her.
"But you didn't look like this when we left class," she said, "and I'm sure there aren't any side effects to the antidote."
"Remember Snape said mine was slightly flawed," Harry reminded her, feeling only slightly guilty for lying to her.
Ron stepped up to him with concern in his eyes. "Mate, I think you ought to get to the Hospital Wing and have Madam Pomfrey check you out."
"That's what I told him," Colin said.
Harry stared at Ron in shock. He had called him "mate."
"Okay," Harry said, even though he knew that he really didn't have to go.
Both Ron and Hermione accompanied him to the Hospital Wing, but, as Harry predicted, Madam Pomfrey could find nothing wrong with him. She was outraged, though, at the idea of a professor poisoning his own students. "It's preposterous!" she cried. "I'm going to have a word with the headmaster."
Throughout the entire visit, Hermione had sat by his side, holding his hand, while Ron hovered about nervously. When Harry was allowed to leave, Ron cracked his knuckles menacingly as they walked back to the common room. "I'd like to have a word with Professor Snape myself, poisoning my friends…"
Harry stopped abruptly, his eyes on Ron. Ron looked down and shuffled his feet.
Hermione checked her watch. "Merlin, I'm going to be late for Ancient Runes!" she cried and rushed off, but not before giving Harry a kiss on the cheek in the deserted hallway.
Harry continued to stare at Ron, who continued to shuffle his feet.
Finally Ron cleared his throat and looked Harry in the eye. "I'm-er-I'm sorry, Harry. I'm sorry I've been acting like a great big prick towards you and Hermione these past few weeks. You don't deserve it and…I'm happy for the two of you."
Harry blinked. "You are?" He didn't know whether or not he wanted to punch him or to hug him.
Ron nodded. "You were right. You were right all along. She is nothing more than a sister to me."
Harry breathed out a sigh of relief. He hadn't felt anything when they kissed.
"She really does love you, y'know," Ron went on. "I'm nothing more than a brother to her. Somehow you captured her heart instead of becoming a brother to her too."
And neither had Hermione. A great weight had been lifted from Harry's shoulders and he felt his anger with both of them fade away, although there still was a slight urge to punch Ron for kissing his girlfriend.
Ron fidgeted. "So-er-are we still-"
"Yes," Harry said, cutting him off. "You'll always be my best mate."
It was better, Harry decided, to leave things be. After all, if he punched Ron, it would give away the fact that he had been eavesdropping on them.
Ron smiled. "Cool." He gestured down the hallway. "Come on, let's go enjoy the weather outside before dinner."
*****
The first week of classes ended with a pile of homework for Harry, Ron, and Hermione, the latter of whom received a large essay to do over the weekend in Arithmancy. Yet on Saturday morning, after breakfast, the three of them walked over to Hagrid's hut to hear about their friend's summer.
"Well, crikey," Hagrid said when asked, "Dumbledore had me take a special trip after…Percy's ceremony."
"Where to?" Ron asked eagerly.
"He had me travel ter Romania ter visit the dragon refuge," Hagrid said excitedly. "Since yer brother Charlie's still here in Britain and all."
"What kinds of dragons did you see, Hagrid?" Harry asked him.
"Well, there were about a two dozen Romanian Longhorns. They're native, yeh know. And there were three Ukrainian Ironbellies! Oh, and a Chinese Fireball! And, o' course, yer personal favorite, Harry, a Hungarian Horntail," Hagrid said.
"Was it the same one?" Harry asked.
"I think it might 'ave been. But do yeh know what else I saw?" Hagrid asked them.
"What?" the three of them asked.
"I SAW NORBERT!" he boomed happily, causing Fang the boarhound to jump.
"Norbert?" Ron said. "You mean that Norwegian Ridgeback that bit me?"
Hagrid nodded enthusiastically. "He's a big fella now. And he looked happy." He sniffed as his eyes watered. "I'm glad he went there."
"Oh, dear," Hermione said, jumping up. "Let me make you some tea, Hagrid."
"No, no, I'm alright. I'm happy fer 'im. I'm happy that Norbert's happy."
"So why did Dumbledore want you to go to the dragon refuge in Romania?" Harry asked.
"Ter make sure nobody's bin tamperin' with those beautiful beasts. Ter make sure nobody's bin stealin' them fer You-Know-Who's army," Hagrid said.
"You-Know-Who's army!" Ron exclaimed. "You-Know-Who wants dragons for his army? What for?"
"Well, it's a lot easier to destroy and entire town with one dragon than it is with a bunch o' Death Eaters or vampires," Hagrid said. Then he glanced at Harry. "Is it true yeh had a dream where You-Know-Who was wantin' some Inferi?"
Harry nodded. "He sent Wormtail and another Death Eater out after them."
Ron shuddered. "Inferi…I've heard stories."
"I've seen 'em," Hagrid said in a low voice. "During the last war, I saw 'em. Scary creatures, that's what they are. They like to eat flesh, like cannibals. Dead cannibals. The world's not goin' ter get any better anytime soon if there's Inferi runnin' loose."
"How do you stop them?" Harry asked.
"Yeh have ter reverse the spell that resurrected them," Hagrid said. "But usually, that requires a sacrifice, as it requires a sacrifice just ter resurrect them."
"What kind of sacrifice?" Harry asked.
"Most common is blood," Hagrid replied.
"So you have to kill something to bring back the dead?"
"No, no, not that big of a blood sacrifice," Hagrid said. "It's more like yeh have to slice open your arm and let yer blood drip until the Inferi start poppin' out o' the ground."
"Merlin," Ron whispered. "You've got to do something like that just to force them back into the ground?"
"Might," Hagrid said. "Dumbledore knows more about this than me. Yeh should ask him sometime. The less I 'ave to think about Inferi, the happier I am."
"Yes, I agree," Hermione said. "Although we have to be concerned about it. Hopefully Wormtail fails at his task."
"Hopefully," Harry agreed.
*****
The following Monday, while he, Ron, and Hermione were walking down to breakfast, a third-year Hufflepuff ran up to them and nervously thrust a piece of rolled up parchment into Harry's hand.
"What was that all about?" Ron asked, watching the third year rush away.
"I dunno," Harry said, unrolling the parchment as they continued on their way. He stopped suddenly. "It's from Dumbledore!"
"Dumbledore? Does he want to talk to you about Snape poisoning you?" Ron asked.
"I don't know. Let me read it first," Harry said.
Harry,
Could you please come up to my office at 8:00 tomorrow evening?
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
P.S. Have you ever tried a vanilla wafer?
Ron, who was reading the note over his shoulder, made a face. "Why does he want to know if you've ever tried a vanilla wafer?"
"It's his password," said Harry with a grin as they started walking again.
"Oh. Yeah."
Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron. "I wonder why he wants to speak to you."
"Maybe it is to talk to me about Snape," Harry said.
Hermione gave him an incredulous look. "But Snape obviously would have had the correct antidote made beforehand in case something went wrong."
"Are you sure he'd use it on me?" Harry asked her.
"If he values his job, he would have."
"I don't think he values much of anything," Ron said. "We are talking about a Death Eater here."
"A former Death Eater, Ron," Hermione said. "Dumbledore trusts him, even if he is a huge sleazebag."
"I don't trust him," Harry said. He started down the marble staircase to the entrance hall. "I'd like to know why Dumbledore does. What did Snape do to gain his trust?"
"Perhaps it's none of our business," Hermione suggested.
"Why are you defending the slime ball all of a sudden?" Ron demanded.
"I'm defending Dumbledore," she said, "and his decisions."
"But it started out as a defense of Snape with that whole 'he obviously would have had the correct antidote made beforehand' gunk," Ron said.
"That's not defending him; that's making logical inference," she said.
"Logical my ass!"
"Mr. Weasley!"
They froze and turned around. Behind them was Professor McGonagall making her way down the stairs.
"Good morning, Professor McGonagall," Ron said mildly.
"Don't 'good morning, Professor McGonagall' me, Mr. Weasley. I heard that foul utterance come out of your mouth. You know perfectly well that we will not tolerate such language here and as a prefect I would have hoped that you would show a better example for the students. Five points from Gryffindor," she said sternly. "I had better not hear you say such things again."
"No, ma'am," he said sheepishly as she walked away.
Harry snorted in laughter. "Good one, Weasley."
"Shut up, Harry," he muttered, but there was a smirk on his face.
"You two are hopeless," Hermione said and continued down the steps.
"And yet she still hangs out with us," Ron pointed out, causing Harry to laugh.
*****
That evening after dinner, when Harry and Ron got up to leave, Hermione continued to sit, waiting.
"Erm-Hermione? Are you coming with us?" Harry asked.
She shook her head. "No. I'm waiting for the mentorship ceremony."
"The what?" Ron looked down at her, appalled. "You're going to mentor another one of those midgets?"
"Will you stop calling them midgets?" she asked irritably. "And for your information, yes, I am going to mentor another student. Dumbledore asked people to volunteer to take on more than one."
"What's wrong with the one you already have-Ally?" Ron asked. "I thought you liked her."
She rolled her eyes at him. "Ally is a great person. I swear she's like my younger self. She's got a good head on her shoulders and doesn't need that much guidance, really."
"Does she know that you're going to mentor someone else?" Harry asked. "Is she mad?"
"Yes, she does. I asked her about it before I made the decision to volunteer. But you two are making it sound like I'm not going to be her mentor anymore. I am. I'm just also going to mentor a first year too," Hermione said. "It's a shame the both of you didn't sign up to take on another student."
"I've got Dylan. That's enough," Ron said.
Harry shrugged. "I never thought about it, really. I'm not that great of a mentor anyway. I don't think Hunter's gotten anything useful out of me."
"I'm sure you're wrong there," Hermione said. "He looks up to you."
"I don't see how." People were starting leaving the Great Hall en masse. "Look, we'd better go," he said. "Good luck. Hopefully you'll get another one like Ally."
She smiled. "Thanks. I'll let you know."
When he and Ron exited the Great Hall, Ron shook his head. "Another midget. Let's hope this one doesn't go trotting off to the Forbidden Forest like our other three charges."
Harry winced at the thought, the echo of Lupin's werewolf claws ripping into his body still lingered. "Yes, hopefully she gets someone who's not brave enough to venture in there."
They traveled up the steps, turned down a corridor, and then walked up another set of steps that were concealed behind a large tapestry of a roguish-looking wizard riding a dragon, his wand held high as if he were charging an enemy.
"I don't get why Hermione feels like she should mentor another person," Ron said.
"She's just trying to help," Harry said.
When they reached the seventh floor, they found two young Gryffindor boys with their wands out and pointed at each other, shouting curses and jinxes at each other.
Lightning fast, Harry had his wand out and cried, "Declino!" A blue streak erupted from his wand and successfully deflected the shots that the boys had taken at each other. "What's going on here?" he demanded.
One of the boys went pale while the other turned a deep shade of crimson.
"S-s-sorry, Mr. Potter," the pale one said.
Harry grimaced. "What's going on here?" he asked again.
"Jeremiah and I were practicing," the crimson boy told him. "We were sparring."
"Sparring? In the middle of a corridor?"
"Well," the boy said meekly, "yeah."
"Why?" Harry asked them.
"The common room's got too many people in it," the boy explained.
"No, no, why are you sparring?" Harry corrected.
The pale boy shuffled his feet. "In case there's another Death Eater roaming around here."
"Dumbledore hasn't invited any outside people into Hogwarts. I think safety is one of his top priorities this year," Harry told them. "Are you two Muggle-borns? Is that why you're afraid?"
Both of them shook their heads. "I'm a pureblood," the one boy said, his face no longer crimson. "And Jeremiah's a half-blood."
"What's your name?" Harry asked.
"Lucas Orion, sir."
Harry cringed. "Don't call me 'sir.' And don't call me 'Mr. Potter' either, got it? It's just Harry."
"Er-okay."
"Wait a minute-you two are in Hunter's year, aren't you?"
They nodded. "Second year, s-I mean, Harry," Lucas replied.
Harry sighed. "I know last year was a really bad year for you lot to join us here at Hogwarts, but most years aren't like that. Granted, there have been some rough years and with this war they aren't likely to get any better, but Hogwarts isn't like this most of the time. Sometimes it can be downright…"
"Normal," Ron finished for him. "At least for a wizarding school."
"But what if You-Know-Who attacks here again?" the one called Jeremiah asked.
"I heard that last year you ran a club and taught people a bunch of stuff to help defend themselves, sort of like Defense Against the Dark Arts class, but more real," Lucas said. "Are you going to do that again this year?"
Harry hesitated for a moment, but then conceded. "Yes, I will more than likely hold meetings for the D.A. this year."
"What's D.A. stand for?" Jeremiah asked.
"Dumbledore's Army," Ron told them with a wink.
"We're becoming Dumbledore's army?" Lucas asked excitedly.
"Shush!" Ron said. "Not so loud!"
Harry shook his head. "We aren't really becoming an army," he told the boys. "It's just a name."
"It sounds cool!" Lucas said. "Can we come?"
Harry nodded. "If you can keep up."
"We will! Don't worry, we will!"
"Okay, then. Come on, let's get back to the common room and remember, no more sparring in the corridors," Harry reminded them.
"No problem, Harry!" Lucas said as they traveled back to the common room.
Ron shook his head in amusement as the two boys sped along in front of them. "Midgets," he mouthed.
Harry chuckled as they reached the Fat Lady. "Polka-dot pear."
Inside, Ron plopped down onto the couch. "Nice job, by the way, with that Deflecting Spell, Harry. Didn't even give that a thought."
Harry shrugged. "That Transfiguration essay is due tomorrow, so I think I'm going to sit down and try to get it done."
Ron laughed. "Good idea."
"You've still got to write that essay too," Harry reminded him.
Ron's groaned. "You need to get away from Hermione-you're turning into her!"
Harry rolled his eyes at him. "I promise you a game of wizard's chess after we're done."
He lit up. "You're on!" With that, he grabbed his books and joined Harry over at an empty table.
About a half-hour later, while Harry was searching for a random detail to toss into his essay, he noticed Hermione return with a brown-haired girl who looked somewhat tall for her age. The two sat down over near the fireplace and continued their conversation. From time to time Hermione smiled or laughed as the girl spoke, or spoke for awhile herself, sometimes using her hands to emphasize her point. The next thing Harry knew, Ron was waving his quill pen in front of him.
"Harry? Oi, Harry!"
"Huh? What?"
"I know this essay is boring, but you really shouldn't stare at certain people," he said, enunciating the final two words slowly.
He let his forehead fall onto the table and sighed. "You're right, you're right," he said to Ron. "I'm a moron."
"Good of you to finally admit that," Ron said, his voice full of mirth. "But now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go all Hermione on you and tell you to finish your damn essay, okay?"
"Okay."
"Finish your damn essay."
Harry laughed. "Thanks, Ron. I needed that."
"That's what I'm here for, mate. Besides," he added, "I want to play chess."
They continued their work. Another half-hour passed when Hermione finally joined them. "I'm so pleased to see the both of you working on your essays. I thought I'd have to scold you into doing them."
"We're not as lazy as you think," Ron said.
"I never said you two are lazy," she said. "Granted, you both like to procrastinate."
"Was that the new girl you're mentoring?" Harry asked before Ron could retort.
"Yes," Hermione replied, beaming. "Tara Ryder. She's a Muggle-born, like myself, and has a lot of questions about Hogwarts and the wizarding world in general. She's highly inquisitive."
"Sounds like somebody we know," Harry said with a smirk.
"I must say, though, she's very curious about Quidditch. She said she played on a junior league football team where she lives. She sounds like she's a bit of an athlete," she added.
"That doesn't sound like somebody we know," Ron said.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Just because I don't find Quidditch to be as fascinating as you do, Ron, doesn't mean I was never curious about it, nor does it mean that I don't find it interesting," she said scathingly. "If you hadn't noticed, I always try to cheer as loudly as I can for you, Harry, and Ginny during your matches."
"I've noticed, Hermione," Harry said softly, "and I appreciate it."
She smiled at him. "Well, I shouldn't distract the both of you from your essays. I think I'll go to bed. There's some reading I want to get done before I fall asleep tonight."
"Okay," Harry said. "Good night."
"Good night, Hermione," Ron said.
"Good night, both of you," Hermione replied and got up.
Harry watched her until she had closed the door to the girls' dormitories behind her and then sighed. "I wish…" he began, but trailed off. There were some thoughts that shouldn't be uttered out loud, especially when trying to keep a secret.
But he did wish. He wished that he could spend more time with her, outside of class and not when they were doing homework together. He wished he could have another moment with her like the one they had shared at the park during the summer, sitting back against a tree, enjoying each other's company; or all of those little moments at her house, where they laughed and had fun.
Most important of all, he wished that he wasn't a marked man. He wished that Voldemort didn't care so much about him. He wished that he could live the ordinary life of a wizard so that he could shout from the rooftops his affection for one Hermione Granger.
That, of course, could never happen. Not while Voldemort was still alive.
Silently, he hoped that he lived to see the day that he could announce to the world that he and Hermione were a couple. Even more, he hoped that Hermione lived to see it too.
It was vital that Voldemort did not find out about his relationship with her. If he did…Harry didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to think about her being in any sort of pain. She had been through enough already. He didn't want to think about how she would react to someone she really cared for dying.
Like her parents.
The Order had secreted them away to some location for their protection. The Death Eaters were trying to track Harry, although surely they knew he was back at Hogwarts. He wondered if the Order had restored Mr. and Mrs. Granger to their home.
He wondered if Hermione wondered about that also, but was too afraid to send an owl home to check.
Suddenly Harry felt a sharp pain in his arm as Ron pinched him. "Ouch! Hey, what was that for?"
"Quit daydreaming. We can't play chess if you're daydreaming and not writing," Ron said. "I'm already done, see?" He held up his essay for Harry to look at.
"Sorry," Harry muttered. "I'm just not concentrating this evening."
"Wonderful! That means I'll cream you in chess."
"Like hell you will, Weasley. I've been practicing."
"Against whom? Hermione?" he asked with a laugh.
"No. Now be quiet and let me finish my homework."
"Okay, but if you start staring off into space again, I'm going to transfigure my chair into a bucket of cold water and dump it on your head," he warned.
"Fine, fine. Whatever."
Fifteen minutes of hard work later, Harry set his finished essay aside to dry. "Okay, let's play."
"Finally!"
It was a close match, but Ron-full of glee-eventually checkmated him. "You better spend some more time practicing, Potter."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm going to bed," he said, grabbing his essay, quill, and ink bottle.
"Okay. Have you seen Neville around anywhere?" Ron asked.
"No. Why?"
"I-er-wanted to talk to him about Ginny," Ron said, shifting uncomfortably.
"About what?"
"I just wanted to tell him that-er-I'm okay with them going out. Better him than some other blokes around here, eh?"
Harry nodded. "Very true. Well, good luck."
"Thanks. 'Night, Harry."
"'Night," he said and headed up to the dorm. That night, after he fell asleep, he dreamt of a bushy brown-haired girl fast asleep in his arms.
*****
The next evening, at about 7:50, Harry bid Ron and Hermione good-bye and made his way to the gargoyle that concealed the winding stone steps up to Dumbledore's office.
"Vanilla wafer," he said and waited for gargoyle to step aside before he rode the staircase up to Dumbledore's door.
He knocked-"Enter," Dumbledore voice said from within his office. When Harry entered, he looked up from what seemed to be a very long letter and smiled. "Ah! Good evening, Harry!"
"Good evening, Professor," Harry said.
"Thank you for coming. Please, have a seat." With a wave of his wand, a cushy armchair popped out of thin air.
"Thank you, sir," he said and sat down.
Dumbledore set the letter aside. "So, any guesses as to why I've asked you to join me?"
Harry shrugged. "To talk about Professor Snape poisoning me in class last week?"
Dumbledore frowned. "No, although I have heard of this incident and have asked Professor Snape to refrain from poisoning his students, even if it is for the sake of education."
"Did anyone tell you that he hesitated to give me the antidote?" Harry asked.
He stiffened for a fraction of a second. "No."
"I thought not."
"I will speak to Severus again." He cleared his throat. "I do, however, have other matters to discuss with you.
"I think, Harry, that we should continue our Occlumency lessons from last year. The times are even more dangerous. Against our best efforts to thwart him, Voldemort has almost completed his massive army. Soon, I fear, Wormtail will return with the allegiance of the werewolves and a huge amount of Inferi to be placed under Voldemort's command. Let us not forget about the giants. I have advised Amelia Bones to send owls to the foreign ministries warning them about such a possibility. It will be their job to inform the Muggle leaders.
"Then, of course, there are the vampires and the Death Eaters. Combined, his army would be extremely hard to defeat. Vampires and werewolves can only be killed through certain means, if it comes to such drastic measures. Spells can bounce right off of giants, as you may have noticed with even a half-giant like Hagrid. Therefore, it makes it very hard to even stun them. Then there are the Inferi…"
"Hagrid said you had to reverse the spell that brought them back to life, that you have to make some sort of sacrifice," Harry said.
"You cannot bring a person back to life, Harry, and so Inferi are not alive. They are as dead as the other corpses in a graveyard. The only difference between them and those still in the grave is that they move because they are being controlled.
"Hagrid is right-you must reverse the spell to stop Inferi. The problem with that is there is no set way of creating them. Each time the dead are raised a different spell is used, making it extremely difficult to bury them all again. Just one spell won't knock them all out.
"But you see, Harry, Voldemort still has one more deadly weapon that he can bring into his army, and that is why it is imperative that you become a master at Occlumency," Dumbledore said.
Harry leaned forward in his seat. "What? What is it? Do you know where it is? Why must I master Occlumency? If I can see when Voldemort is about to go after this weapon, I can warn you and we can stop him!"
Dumbledore eyed him quietly over his crooked nose. "To answer what, I must answer where. You see, Harry, he is sitting right in front of me."
He reared back and slumped down into the chair, staring at Dumbledore in shock. "Me? But he wants to kill me!"
"Indeed."
"But then how does that make me his weapon? Why would he possibly use me when he wants me dead?"
"Do you remember that night at the Ministry of Magic? The night when Voldemort possessed you?"
Harry shuddered involuntarily. "Yes."
"You managed to throw him off because of your capacity to love, which wounded him. However, if he could whittle you down to a point of great despair and hatred, he could possess you again."
"That sounds unlikely," Harry said.
Dumbledore grinned. "I'm glad you think so. Actually, Voldemort may try to force his way into your mind to see what you, and the Order for that matter, are up to. That way he can gain the upper hand and remain one step ahead of us. He may especially like this idea after losing Seth."
Harry remained quiet for a moment before asking, "How is the baby doing?"
"Upon my last check he was healthy and whole. He will, however, be changing locations soon, in case the Death Eaters are sniffing around for him, which they no doubt are. I think it will also be much safer if we changed the baby's name," Dumbledore said.
"Where are you going to take him?" Harry asked.
"That, I cannot tell you, Harry. I'm sorry."
Harry nodded. It really wasn't his business anyway.
"There's one more thing I wish to know, Harry," Dumbledore said.
"Yes, sir?"
"I'd like to give you a little test, if you'd permit it," Dumbledore told him.
"What kind of test?"
He smiled at Harry. "Just a simple one. You'll think it mundane, trust me."
"Er-okay."
"Good. Close you eyes."
Harry did as he was instructed. A moment later, Dumbledore said, "Now, take out your wand."
Harry did so, although he thought it felt funny. The texture seemed different.
"Good. Now, call my quill pen to you."
"Sir?"
"Indulge me, Harry."
Frowning, Harry pointed his wand straight forward. "Accio quill!" The quill shot straight to his outstretched left hand.
"Excellent. Thank you, Harry. You may open your eyes."
Harry did so and glanced down at the wand in his hand, only that there wasn't a wand there. Instead, he held a thin round piece of wood. "Where's my wand?"
Dumbledore waved it in front of him. "I called it to me the moment you closed your eyes and replaced it with that piece of wood you now hold in your hand."
"Then how did I get the quill to come to me?" Harry asked.
"I'm sure you remember that you told me of instances where you have been able to perform wandless magic, am I right?" Dumbledore said.
"Yes," Harry said.
"I told you that you had an ability few have. Harry, I want you to do more than just train to become a master of Occlumency. I want you to train to become a true sorcerer."
"What?"
"I want to teach you how to harness your ability and use it. It may become particularly useful when you finally have to confront Voldemort. Your ability may save your life."
"So I'll be able to fight him without having to use my wand?" Harry asked.
"Maybe," Dumbledore said. "But Harry, there's more…"
Suddenly there came a knock from his office door. "Enter," he said with a smile.
Harry turned around in time to see the door open and Lupin step through. Behind him was-
"Moody!" Harry exclaimed.
"Hello, Potter," Moody growled.
"I hope we're not late," Lupin said.
"No," Dumbledore said happily. "No, in fact, your timing couldn't have been more perfect."
"What's going on?" Harry asked.
"Harry," Dumbledore said, standing up, "the Order of Phoenix wants to give you as many tools as possible to help you in your fight against Lord Voldemort. Alastor is here to begin training you in the ways of the Auror and Remus is here to help."
"Your dad taught me a thing or two about being an Auror," Lupin said with a grin. "I'm ready to pass on what I know to his son."
"You're going to train me to be an Auror?" Harry asked, amazed.
"We're going to give you a head start," Moody said. "It won't make you a true Auror, but trust me, when you get into Auror training, you'll be head and shoulders above the rest. In fact, by the time I'm through with you, you'll only need polishing."
Harry stood up, glancing at all three men, his mind racing and his heart soaring. They were going to train him to be like an Auror! He was going to receive Auror training! There was only one thing Harry could think to ask…
"When do we start?"