Unofficial Portkey Archive

Lies and Illusions chp. 16
Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction. The characters, locations and whatnot from Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

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Chapter 16

End of the Beginning

The trio returned to the Burrow for the last week of their summer holiday. With Slytherin's locket taken care of, and stored in Harry's trunk, they could take it easy until they returned to school.

Much to Hermione's chagrin, Harry had yet to open his Hogwarts letter. "I don't see any reason to," he told her when she brought it up. "McGonagall already told us all the important stuff and, unlike some Head Boys we've known, I see no point in wearing my badge outside school."

Trying not to smile, Hermione said, "Then you aren't aware of the change to our book list."

His curiosity piqued, Harry went to dig the letter out of his trunk. Somehow it had ended up under his Firebolt, which in turn had gotten buried under his school robes.

"You do know that there's more to packing than just throwing stuff in your trunk, don't you?" Hermione picked a shirt out of the mess and started folding it.

"Never gave it much thought." Harry broke the seal on the envelope and unfolded the parchment inside. His gold Head Boy badge tumbled onto the floor at his feet.

One of the letters was from Professor McGonagall, notifying him that he'd been selected to be Head Boy. Nothing new there. The second one was written by Professor Flitwick. That was pretty standard too, except for a note saying that Advanced Potion Making had been replaced by Stinkwurse's Guide to Complex Potions.

Holding up the parchment, Harry asked Hermione, "I suppose that McGonagall had something to do with this?"

"Most likely. She wasn't too happy about Slughorn manipulating his students' grades, after all," Hermione answered lightly.

Since they had to go to Diagon Alley for school supplies anyway, Harry thought they would kill two birds with one stone by checking out Borgin and Burkes. A quick trip back to Grimmauld, where Remus was still looking after Malfoy, and they quickly put a plan together.

Molly Weasley didn't like the idea of them going to Diagon Alley alone, but relented when they told her that Tonks would be meeting them in the Leaky Cauldron. That left the problem of what to do with Ginny and Luna while they sneaked into Knockturn Alley.

In the end, the decided to ditch Luna and Ginny in the joke shop long enough to sneak into Knockturn Alley. Tonks would keep the owner busy while Harry, under his invisibility cloak, would look for the telltale aura of a Horcrux. Ron and Hermione would stand watch using some old cloaks they found at Grimmauld to hide their faces.

It wasn't a bad plan, but they didn't count on Harry and Hermione being ambushed by a swarm of reporters outside Gringott's.

"Harry, what do you think about Hogwarts reopening?

"Is it true that Professor McGonagall personally met with you?"

"How do you feel about being named Head Boy? Were you surprised?"

"Do you think it's appropriate for the Head Boy and Head Girl to carry on a personal relationship? Given the private rooms -"

Harry had calmly answered all the questions directed at him up until that point. However, he wasn't about to put up with this insinuation...or the person who made it.

"What we do in any room is none of your business, Skeeter," he told the woman coldly. To the rest of the crowd he said, "We're done here."

Taking Hermione's hand, he retreated into Fred and George's joke shop.

"Can you believe that woman? Trying to make our relationship sound like some kind of scandal. Honestly, I'm beginning to wish I'd left her in the jar," Hermione said angrily as the twins ushered them into the back room.

Harry added in the same tone, "And thrown it out the window. I guess she couldn't be bothered with the fact that we're hardly the first Head Boy and Girl to date each other. My parents spring to mind."

"What do you expect?" George asked. "You know that Skeeter is always making stuff up. If you want reality, you're better off with The Quibbler."

"Why, thank you. It's always nice to hear from a satisfied reader," said Luna, who was standing in the door.

Fred and George blinked in confusion. Ron came up behind Luna and waved for his brothers to just let the matter drop.

"Where were you?" Harry asked.

Ron replied, "Tonks couldn't wait for your little press conference to get over with, so I had to help her all by myself." He discreetly handed the balled up invisibility cloak back to Harry.

"And did you find what she was looking for?" Harry asked carefully. Before coming there, the trio had agreed on what they would and wouldn't say in public -- hence the cryptic talk.

Ron shook his head. "If they did have it, it's long gone now." Nudging Luna the rest of the way into the room, he looked around. "What's with all the boxes? I don't remember this room being so cluttered the last time we were here," he said to his brothers.

For the first time, Harry noticed the stacks of boxes that had been piled in the space normally reserved for Fred and George's experiments. All of them were filled with the twin's merchandise.

Fred answered Ron by saying, "Weekend before last, we spotted some little wanker trying to plant some poisoned candies in our shop. We had a little talk with the guy before those Ministry morons came around, but he didn't know a whole lot."

"Why?" asked Harry. "Was he under the Imperious?"

George shook his head. "No, the only thing he was under the influence of was galleons. He was being paid to set us up for the Ministry. Since we still don't know by whom, Dad suggested that we magically tag all our stuff in case they try it again."

They continued to talk for the next hour or so before going back to their shopping. Harry noticed Ginny following them out of the joke shop with a pensive look on her face. When he asked her what was wrong, she said "nothing" and walked away.

**********

The next day, Harry and Hermione were in her room going over the scroll Professor McGonagall had promised them about the changes at Hogwarts. Ron was there too, sitting on the floor with Luna looking at the pictures she had taken on her trip.

Hearing a timid knock on the door, Hermione yelled, "It's open."

Both Harry and Hermione looked up when they felt how nervous Ginny was as she entered.

"Am I interrupting?" asked Ginny.

Harry shook his head. "No, we're just going over what we'll have to tell the prefects on the train. Did you want something?"

Ginny had to take a breath. "No, not exactly. I just...um...felt that I should apologize for the way I've been acting this summer. I was being petty, and stupid, and well...there's no excuse for it."

"Then why did you do it?" asked Hermione, giving the younger girl a piercing stare.

"Jealousy, I guess," Ginny answered with a shrug, "and anger. I worked so hard, and for so long, to get Harry to notice me. Then you came in and took him without having to do a thing. The whole thing made me mad as hell."

Hermione looked at Harry. "I think that you have the wrong impression of us, Ginny. Harry and I have our share of disagreements. We've just learned to talk to one another and work them out."

"Yes, and that was part of my problem," said Ginny. She then looked at Harry. "Did you honestly think that I couldn't see how much you share with her? Or realize just how little you confided in me while we were together? It was as if all the important stuff in your life was a secret I wasn't privy to."

"I wasn't the only one with secrets," stated Harry.

"Guess I deserved that," muttered Ginny. "It's true -- for a long time I thought that I could make Harry finally notice me if I acted more like him. Had to keep it secret, of course...practicing Quidditch, finding a good jinx to use on the Slytherins.... I didn't want Harry to see me if I failed, or face teasing from my brothers, or get another lecture from Hermione.

"And for a little while there, it looked like it had worked. When we kissed in the Gryffindor common room, I could almost hear a part of me roaring in triumph." Staring at her feet, Ginny couldn't see that Harry had turned even redder that she had.

Feeling distinctly uncomfortable, Hermione slowly said, "While I must say what you did was a lot more ethical than, say, using a love potion; you must have known that it wouldn't last. No one could keep up an act like that forever."

"Not everyone thinks as far ahead as you do, Hermione," Ginny said. "Admittedly, using a love potion did cross my mind. But while I may not be the brightest witch around, I knew that it wouldn't have really given me what I wanted, and I've heard that bad things can happen when you stop using them."

"Eh?" Having never had any interest in love potions, Harry had no idea what she was talking about.

Hermione and Ginny both opened their mouths to explain, but Luna beat them to it.

"When someone stops taking a love potion after a long time, they go into a kind of magical withdrawal which causes their feelings for the person who was giving them the potion to reverse. They stop lusting after the person and start despising them instead, ending the relationship shortly thereafter in most cases. My mother told me all about them when I was little. She always said that they were misnamed, should be called 'lust' or 'horny-for-me' potions, and should be re-classified as the Dark Arts."

Realizing that everybody was staring at her, Luna then added, "Oh, don't mind me. I won't say anything. Not even when you start talking about what Harry, Hermione, and Ronald are doing to stop Lord Voldemort."

Harry didn't know what surprised him more: the fact that Luna might know about his quest, or that she seemed only mildly interested in the subject.

"How do you know what we're doing?" Ron asked Luna once he picked his jaw up off the floor.

"I don't," Luna said casually. "But anyone who knows Harry knows that he would never stand by while others are being hurt." She poked Ron with her finger. "And anybody who knows you and Hermione knows that you'd never let him go off by himself. Then we have that gathering we were at. Either they were there to fight Voldemort, or to finally expose the great -"

Thourghly shocked, Hermione stopped her by saying, "Thank you...we, um, get the point. But there's still the matter of the information you stumbled across, Ginny. If Voldemort got wind of what we know, things could become very dangerous for us."

Ginny flinched at the name, but Luna just carried on as she usually did.

"Well, he's not going to hear about that from me," proclaimed Ginny. "Although I may have been a little...bitchy lately, I've had enough of You-Know-Who and his toys to last a lifetime. If that's not enough, you could always use a memory charm on me."

"Yes, we could," Harry said flatly. "Except that it won't make any difference if Voldemort thought that you knew anything important. He'd force you to remember, and it's best not to think about how he'd do it." A shiver ran down his spine when he said it.

Giving Ginny a long, penetrating stare, Harry slowly stated, "I'm trusting you not to say a word about this to anyone. I mean it: not a soul. Because if you do, and someone gets hurt because of it...." He gave his warning a moment to sink in. "That goes for you too, Luna...understand?"

Luna gave them a casual shrug. "Of course. It's not like I would ever have anything to do with the Death Eaters anyway. Those people aren't right in the head."

Harry couldn't help laughing and Hermione shook her head wearily. Luna was puzzled by their reaction at first. Then a chuckling Ron gave her a one-armed hug that made her grin.

Even Ginny managed a weak smile. "If that's everything, I'll be going." She took a step toward the door and stopped. "Do you regret it? Being with me, that is. Because it wasn't real."

"I wouldn't say that it wasn't real, more like it wasn't what it appeared to be -- like a lot of other things recently. As for regrets -" Harry glanced at Hermione, who was keeping her face steadfastly neutral. "While there are a lot of things I regret doing this past year, dating you isn't one of them."

Ginny heaved a sigh of relief. "You don't know how much better that makes me feel." She suddenly laughed. "What am I saying? You two read people's hearts, so of course you know!"

"Could you say that just a little louder, Ginny?" Hermione winced. "I don't think they heard you in London."

"Oops, sorry," Ginny apologized. "Maybe I should shut up before you reconsider that memory charm."

Giving her a cold look, Harry slowly nodded. "Yes, that would be a good idea."

His stare had the desired effect, for Ginny she kept her voice down when she spoke again. "You know, as hard as it was for me to believe this at first -"

A bewildered Luna interrupted, "Why would it be hard to believe? The signs were all over the place in Hermione's case. Harry was harder to figure out, but that's only because he never talked much until recently."

"Tell me about it," muttered Hermione. Catching his reaction, she patted his arm. "Come on. You're not the only one who likes to tease." Hermione showed him the smile he loved so much.

Ginny hastily made for the door, quickly saying, "All right, I'm out of here. Just because I'm not mad about Harry and Hermione being together anymore doesn't mean that I'm ready to watch them snog. If there's anything I can help you with, you know where to find me."

Having one of his silent conversations with Hermione, Harry called out to Ginny just before she disappeared. "Wait a second." Ginny stopped. "There is something you can do -- you and Luna both. Professor McGonagall has asked me to restart Dumbledore's Army." Luna's excitement at the prospect was almost blinding to Harry and Hermione's perceptions. "Since Ron, Hermione, and I will be busy with the prefect meeting, perhaps you two could pass the word to those D.A. members who are still attending Hogwarts."

Luna nodded energetically while Ginny simply said, "Consider it done."

"Thanks." Harry was honestly relieved. Now he had one less thing to worry about.

**********

Summer was over and it was time for them to return to Hogwarts. Unlike their previous journeys to and from platform nine and three-quarters, this time they simply Apparated to a deserted alley across the street from King's Cross. Hermione transported their trunks while Harry and a very nervous Ron side-along Apparated Ginny and Luna, respectively. Mrs. Weasley had come along to see them off, though Harry could tell that she was still a little dazed thanks to the news her eldest son had given them last night.

They were eating outside and Molly had just gone into the house to get dessert when Bill and Fleur stood up.

"She's okay, just fainted," Arthur said, gently trying to bring Molly around. Seeing the shock on his childrens' faces, he then added, "There's nothing to worry about, your grandmother did the same thing way back when we told her that Bill was on the way. My word, was it really twenty-seven years ago?" He wearily shook his head. "How time flies."

As they walked through the station, Harry noticed a familiar-looking guard turn away from a couple and (what he assumed was) their daughter. As he passed them, they heard the guard muttering, "...and three-quarters. Every ruddy year at this time, some nutter always asks for platform nine and three-...."

Hermione held out her hand. "Perhaps we should offer to help them."

"I don't believe that we'll have to," said Harry. He clearly saw the little girl pointing at them -- or rather, at Hedwig in her cage.

Letting the Weasleys and Luna go on ahead, Harry and Hermione waited for the family that was now coming their way.

"Excuse me," the girl ventured, "I see that you have an owl and...well, can you help me? I'm supposed to -"

"You're looking for the Hogwarts Express but can't find platform nine and three-quarters." The girl's eyes lit up while the adults were more than a little surprised at Hermione's statement.

Harry cleared things up for them by saying, "We heard the guard talking to himself as he walked past us. Don't worry, I had the same problem on my first trip."

To the girl, he said, "Getting on the platform isn't hard. Now, can you see the barrier between platforms nine and ten?" She nodded. "Good. All you need to do is walk straight at the barrier and don't stop, you'll go right though. You might want to run, if you're nervous."

Sensing the girl's doubt, Hermione volunteered to demonstrate. She gave Harry a peck on the cheek and tugged her trolley into motion, inciting a very upset meow.

"Calm down, Crookshanks. I know how much you hate your basket, but we're almost to the train."

The little girl watched in amazement as Hermione walked into the barrier and disappeared.

Harry gently said, "See, there's nothing to it. Go on."

With a smile on her face, the little girl ran through the barrier pulling her trolly.

"Thank you," the man said to Harry. "I don't know what we would have told Ellie's parents if she missed the train."

Harry blinked at the statement. "So you're not...."

"No," the woman said. "They were in a car accident the week before last. Ellie came through with barely a scratch, but her parents just got out of the hospital. It was the weirdest thing...it looked like they drove into a wall or something, but the police can't find any evidence of it."

"Well, I hope they get better," Harry replied carefully, trying not to show his reaction to their story. Having no way of knowning how much they knew about the wizarding world, and this "accident" sure sounded like something the Death Eaters would do, it was best not to say too much. "If you'll excuse me, I should get on the train."

They nodded and let him go on his way. Harry didn't pay much attention as he crossed onto the platform where the Hogwarts Express was waiting.

"Harry!" Hermione shouted from the first car. "I'm going to change for the prefects' meeting. You should do the same."

"All right, I'm coming."

Heaving his heavy trunk onto the train, Harry got helping hand from a very familiar face.

"Hi, Neville. How was your summer?"

"Okay, I guess," Neville answered in a subdued tone. "Gran kept hounding me to get my Apparation license. Believe it or not, I passed! Barely, but I passed. I heard about you being named Head Boy -"

"You and everyone else," Harry commented dryly.

Neville laughed. "I guess you have a point." His voice dropped to an anxious whisper. "By the way, is there any chance at all of you starting the DA up again? Just asking."

"As a matter of fact, I already have Ginny and Luna passing the word to everyone who's still attending Hogwarts." Harry smiled at the joy radiating off Neville when he said that. "You can go help them if you want. Hermione and I will be busy with the prefects for a bit. One other thing...." He beckoned Neville closer. "You know about the fight that happened at the Burrow? Well, we bumped into your mum at St. Mungo's the following day and...and later on we came across some information you might be interested in."

"What kind of -" Neville started to say, but Harry cut him off.

"Not here." Harry said sharply. "We'll talk at Hogwarts...and away from prying ears."

It took Neville a second to catch on. "I...see, I think. Guess I'll see you later then."

Going forward, Harry suddenly wondered what had possessed him to tell Neville what he did. A feeling, perhaps. Something that told Harry to trust him. Or it might be the fact that all the others who had accompanied him to the Department of Mysteries were now doing something to help him, so why not Neville?

The inside of the prefects' car was like the other cars, only nicer and less crowded. After admiring the furnishings in the empty compartment he chose, Harry closed the door and started to change. As he did, his thoughts wandered back over the summer.

Three months ago, he had embarked with his best friends on a seemingly hopeless quest to find Voldemort's Horcruxes. That task, while far from over, had now become a possible (albeit difficult and dangerous) one. Along the way he'd face dead ends, lies, battles, and even his own illusions. The last one he was especially glad to have gotten over, for he had found love in doing so.

Love. Whether it was in the form of his parents' sacrifice, his memories of Sirius and Dumbledore, the friendship he felt for people like Luna and Neville, his brotherly feelings he had toward Ron, or the romance he shared with Hermione, Harry was surrounded by love. Voldemort had rejected all of that in his quest for power -- not knowing and not wanting anything to do with any of love. Maybe it was the very nature of the Dark Arts, or the sorts of people who craved power, to give up a part of their....

Harry laughed at himself. When did he start waxing philosophical? It must have been all that time he'd spent with Albus Dumbledore. Either that, or Hermione was really rubbing off on him.

Speaking of Hermione, there was knock on the door shortly after the Hogwarts Express lurched into motion.

"Harry, are you decent?" she asked.

Settling the robe on his shoulders, he called back, "Yes, you can come in."

Her eyes scanned him from head to toe. "Imagine -- just a few months ago, I thought that I'd never see you dressed like this again. How things change." Hermione reached up to straighten his robes and asked, "Do you remember what you have to say?"

"Got my half of our notes in my pocket."

"And your badge?"

"Right here." Harry pulled open his robe to show her where he'd pinned the badge to his shirt.

Hermione softly chastised him, "You know, most people put the badge on the outside of their robes."

"Nothing in the rules says that I have to." He smiled and took a deep breath. "That should be everything. All I need is a kiss for luck."

Giggling, Hermione pulled his head down so she could give Harry his kiss. When they parted, she quietly said, "I don't care what anyone says, we're definitely taking advantage of those private rooms."

Taking him by the hand, Hermione led Harry to the first compartment of the prefect's car. Unlike the others, it had been magically expanded to the size of one of the house common rooms. The purple walls and carpets clashed terribly with the squishy chairs and sofas upholstered in the different house colors. Bright orange flames flickered merrily in the fireplace opposite the door, right next to a podium bearing the Hogwarts coat of arms.

Most of the prefects had already gathered there. Harry He quickly spotted Hannah Abbott, from Hufflepuff, along with Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil from Ravenclaw -- all three of whom had been members of Dumbledore's Army. He'd have to talk to them later.

Ron, still dressed in Muggle clothes, sat a short distance away from them along with a couple of the other Gryffindor prefects. On the opposite side of the room, Harry saw Blaise Zabini. *He must have been given Malfoy's prefect badge,* Harry thought. Pansy Parkinson, the other seventh year Slytherin prefect, came in a minute later. She gave Hermione a disgusted scowl, which was returned with a look that all but dared the girl to say something.

Fifteen minutes after leaving King's Cross, the last few stragglers came in. With all twenty-three prefects in attendance, Harry called the meeting to order.

"Take your seats, everyone. We've got a lot to do."

**********
THE END

Final author's note: Although it's taken a lot longer than I originally thought, this fic has reached its end. I know that I've left a number of threads hanging (like Malfoy's fate). Most were meant to tie in to a sequel that I no longer have time to write before the release of *Deathly Hallows*. Should my theories and guesses prove completely wrong, and book 7 goes against our 'ship, I may decide to drown my sorrows by writing that sequel anyway.

In the meantime, there's another story idea I've been playing with (and which contributed to the long delay with this one by refusing to get out of my head!) Hopefully, I can pound it into good enough shape to post before too long.

Until then:

Viper714