Unofficial Portkey Archive

The Time of Change

by Olafr (olafr@iinet.net.au)

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and associated milieu, characters, and situations are owned by J.K. Rowling and her licensees. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

Rating: PG-13

Last updated: 27 February, 2005.

Author's Notes: This one was been giving me real trouble until I realised I'd fallen into the trap of trying to tell everything, not just the story. It seems to be going okay now, though.

I've decided to change to the more ordinary system of using double quotes to quote utterances. I had been using single quotes, aping the typography used in the books, but have decided it isn't worth putting up with complaints and is no harder to do it the traditional way. I have no plans to go back and change the previous parts, though.

This part was originally intended to included the move to the Grangers. But I decided to introduce the Grangers next time.

9. Occlumens

Mr Pace took the large folder and opened it before Harry, turning it around so he could see its contents.

"Your family's assets will come into your control on your twenty-first birthday," said Pace. "From yesterday, your sixteenth birthday, you have been able to get access to the family vaults and draw upon them even though you as yet have no control over the trust assets and its disposition. I must brief you and give you your keys." He glanced at the other people in the chamber. "It is best done privately."

Harry hugged Hermione with his arm briefly. "I want Hermione and Tonks to be with me." He looked to the others. "Does anyone else feel they should stay?" Mr and Mrs Weasley shook their heads and made to withdraw, but Remus Lupin looked torn. Harry noticed this, and said, "Please stay, Pro-- Remus. If you can help, I"ll probably need some advice."

Remus looked relieved. "Thank you, Harry. James had to take up the reins of the family's wealth quite early, too, and he would talk with me about some of it, so perhaps I can help." Harry's eyes grew wide and he nodded eagerly.

"Please stay, then!" he said.

oOoOoOo

Back in a quiet corner of the Leaky Cauldron, and once more in disguise as the Banks family, Harry, Hermione, and Tonks nursed butterbeers. They were enjoying the last moments of their outing before returning back to Privet Drive. It hadn't taken long to finish the business at Gringotts - it had quickly become apparent that Harry, having absolutely no experience in matters of finance or property or anything else along those lines, would be better served by Remus' patient tutoring. It had been decided that Remus would visit the following day to spend a couple of hours with Harry, commencing his education, and getting Harry to the point where he could educate himself by studying books.

Personally, Harry rather thought that the whole business sounded like an enormous drag, but he acknowledged that he had to know enough to realise when he was being cheated.

For the moment, though, he was content to sit back and sip his butterbeer before returning to his studies tomorrow.

"I still can't believe it," said Tonks out of the blue.

"Believe what?" asked Harry, somewhat uncharacteristically.

"That thing that Sirius pulled with the Trust." She snickered suddenly, then blurted, "Aunt Bella is going to be so pissed!"

Harry smiled, as did Hermione, who added, "Well, it only makes sense. He was forced to distribute the cash and so forth - the liquid assets - and so of course he made sure that the trust was as illiquid as possible. The nine hundred galleons that were distributed were probably what he kept in the trust as a spending reserve, that's all."

Both Harry and Tonks goggled at Hermione. "Where do you learn words like that, er, Julia?" he asked. "Illiquid?". Hermione sniffed.

"Just because you don't read the newspapers, Iain, doesn't mean the rest of us can't learn from them."

"I'd just as soon avoid contamination by that squalid little rag, the Daily Prophet, if you don't mind," spat Harry. His lips twisted in revulsion as he realised he was repeating a phrase he had heard used by Vernon Dursley.

"Children," scolded Tonks.

"That reminds me," continued Harry in a milder tone of voice, "how did you know how to handle Mr Rogers? That was really strange; you spoke politely, but, um..."

Hermione smiled. "I've been shopping with my cousins once or twice."

"Excuse me?" asked Harry with a blank look.

"My mother's sisters' children. My aunts both married into money, and their children are about the same age as me. They took me shopping a couple of times, and showed me how to deal with people like him." At Harry's confused expression, she added, "Well, actually, they were showing off and telling me how important it was to be firm with them." She looked up at the far corner of the room. "It's a completely different world, Harry. I had no idea; Mother says most people have no idea how the rich go shopping. They certainly don't just drive down to the nearby Marks and Spencer."

"Really?" asked Tonks.

"Yes, you see, celebrities use services like that to avoid being mobbed and the rich use them as a security measure."

Harry leaned forward, his interest captured. "Go on," he said, eager to learn how to avoid attention.

oOoOoOo

All too soon it was Monday again, and Harry sat, slumped over, in the comfortable armchair he had earlier conjured in response to Snape's arrival. Snape stood and looked down at him, almost pityingly. "Potter," he said as he gathered up his cloak. Harry looked up, his eyes bloodshot and his face slack with exhaustion. Snape continued.

"You did much better this time, but you are still missing the point. You are still using muggle mental disciplines, are you not?" He while Harry pondered the question, and at length he nodded. Snape rested his head in his hand, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose, and let out a soft sigh. "Potter, are you a wizard or aren't you?" he spat disgustedly.

Harry looked at Snape incredulously before turning his head away. Snape donned his cloak and turned to face Tonks, who had watched proceedings from her seat at the kitchen table. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the know-it-all, Granger, sneaking a worried look over the top of her current book.

"I will be in contact to schedule times once you have moved to the Granger house," said Snape to Tonks as he walked smartly towards the table. She handed him his broom, which he took with a nod. A moment later, he was disillusioned and gone.

Tonks made her way over to where Harry still sat in his chair. His head lolled somewhat, now flung back against the chair back, but his eyes were open wide and staring up at something only he could see. Tonks paused, hesitant to disturb him, and then hurrying footsteps from Hermione caused her to delay further, leaving Harry where he was.

"Don't disturb him!" whispered Hermione urgently as she grabbed Tonks' arm, hard.

"Wha-?"

"Shh! He's had inspiration. Leave him be!"

Just then, Harry started to laugh. At first a single bark, then a brief chuckle, and then a broad grin split his face as he laughed heartily out loud, almost hysterically. His eyes focused and his gaze fell on the two women.

"I've got it!" he cried as he leapt out of the chair, spinning in the air to face the two girls. "I've got it! I've got it! I'm a wizard, Snape, so take that!" With that pronouncement he jumped forward and grabbed Tonks, spinning her around and kissing her on the cheek before letting her go. Spinning, he did the same with Hermione whose expression was a mixture of discomfort and surprised pleasure.

oOoOoOo

In the sitting room adjacent to his office at Hogwarts, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore felt the peculiar flood of pleasure and power coming from Harry's link and smiled to himself. At last, he mused to himself with a smile playing about his lips, Harry's taken the first significant step. Congratulations, dear boy.

oOoOoOo

It was dark and quiet when Harry awoke, suddenly alert. Pale light from the half moon etched silhouettes of the open windows on one wall of the tall, cathedral-like attic space.

The bed was warm, and lifting his head, Harry saw that both Tonks and Hermione were sleeping peacefully to either side of him; Tonks on his left, and Hermione on his right. He could hear Tonks' breathing, almost a light snore, and he smiled at her as he sat up. Just past her, he could see the glowing hands of his clock. Twenty past two. What had woken him? With a thought he checked the wards, but there had been no activity.

The covers behind him rustled, and he turned his head to see that Hermione was now awake, leaning on one elbow. "Are you all right, Harry?" she asked. Her voice was muzzy, and he could visualise her blinking sleep out of her eyes. In the pale half-light of the moon reflected from the walls, he could barely make out her silhouette, dark against the dim, pale grey that was the white sheets of the bed. He nodded in reply.

"Yes, thanks," he said in a low voice to try and avoid waking Tonks. "I'm just suddenly... awake," he continued.

"No pain from your scar?" She leaned towards him, reaching towards his forehead. He held still and let her lay her palm against his head, measuring. A burst of smell came to him as she leaned forward and pushed back the covers somewhat, a warm bed smell, essential Hermione. He closed his eyes, breathing in and smiling. At length she removed her hand. "It doesn't feel hot."

"No."

"Last time you did Occlumency, you had problems with your scar. We were worried that might happen tonight as well, which is why we're here with you."

Harry nodded again, continuing to smile at Hermione. "Yes, I know. It looks as though I'm going to be okay, though." He reached out towards her hand was resting on the covers, pausing at the last moment before he made contact, then finishing the motion. "Thank you." For everything, even for being, the tone of his voice said.

Hermione gripped his fingers and lay back down again. He could feel her smiling up at him. "Thank you," she replied, ambiguously. She squeezed again, then turned hers within his grip so that their fingers interlaced. Harry's heart lurched briefly at the intimate gesture. He had been somewhat afraid that Hermione would get up and go to her own bed, but she showed no signs of doing so. He lay back down, and Hermione pulled the covers up once again against the cool night air. "Go back to sleep. We have to pack up tomorrow."

"Only take an hour, no poin'," said Harry blurrily as the warmth and comfort of the bed drew him once more towards sleep. "Dgnigh'," he mumbled.

Hermione smiled and whispered "Goodnight, Harry," even as she saw him relax into slumber. She flexed her fingers a little, feeling Harry's larger fingers entwined within her own, and she was not truly surprised when he moved his fingers just a little in response. He was lying on his side, facing her, and it was their left hands that were entwined. Her hand was getting a little cold, and she worked the sheet and duvet that covered them down until she could pull the covers up to her neck, their arms now beneath the covers, but the position wasn't completely comfortable. Thinking about it for a moment, she contemplated spooning with Harry, and in an impulsive moment decided to do it. Turning her back to him, she pulled his arm over her and snuggled loosely up to him. She breathed in, and out, realxing herself, absorbing the extra warmth through her back. It was almost too warm, but not quite, and she quickly faded out into a contented sleep.

oOoOoOo

Severus Snaped jerked out of sleep in agony as his mark burned like a white-hot brand. As he rolled out of bed and threw on his black robes and cloak, he worried abou the intensity of the call. The Dark Lord is seriously angry at something, he thought, which in turn recalled memories of similar summonings that he had experienced previously.

Moments later he disapparated out of his summer home to find himself in the Dark Lord's headquarters. Quickly he walked, not scurried, into the next room where Voldemort made his throne room. Bellatrix was already there. He knelt at his master's feet and kissed the hem of his robes. "My Lord."

Snape was shocked when the Dark Lord ignored him. "Bellatrix, you have your assignment. Go, teach young Draco the virtues of circumspection since it appears the good Professor here has not been able to."

"Yes, my Lord." Bellatrix bowed herself out.

There was a long pause, during which Snape remained bowed on the ground. At length, Voldemort spoke quietly, almost gently. "Severus. For the second time as many days I find myself... disappointed in you."

Panic gripped Snape's heart, and for a brief moment he could not speak. After a moment of calming discipline, he knelt back and asked, "My Lord?"

"You were to ensure that Lucius' son Draco was to be a suitable recruit... yet he is apparently so intemperate that he almost had the rights of the Malfoy family at Gringotts revoked. You would appear to be a total incompetent as a head of house, Severus; how is it that you keep your job?

"And now, the Potter boy. You were to ensure that the boy's mind was opened up to me through your lessons to the boy, were you not?"

"My Lord, I have most definitely been doing that. Our most recent session was tonight."

Now Voldemort hissed in fury. "I know that! I have been timing my attacks with your lessons. Yet, tonight, not only can I not penetrate his mind; I can no longer feel his stray thoughts in my head! So, my faithful servant, not only have you failed in your task, you appear to have achieved the exact opposite!"

"But, my Lord, I--"

"Should I believe that your true loyalty lies with the old man after all? Does he tolerate you because your true alleigance is him, not me? Was Draco's intemperance and uselessness a deliberate ploy?"

"My Lord, how--"

"Silence! You should count yourself fortunate that I can sense your black heart through the mark of fealty that I gave you, Severus, but you will learn the price of failure none the less. CRUCIO!"

"CRUCIO!!"

"CRUCIO!!!"

oOoOoOo

Hot.

The feeling of sweat trickling down his ribs and an unpleasant pressure from his bladder awoke Harry in a hurry. The sun was up, he saw, and his arm was loosely draped around Hermione, who was spooned up to him. What was more, Tonks had his chest in a firm grip, and she was snuggled firmly against him, her breasts pressed into his back and her legs nestled against his.

A tight heaviness in his groin told him he had a truly spectacular morning erection, and he was glad that, for whatever reason, Hermione's hips were not nestled against him. Well, part of him regretted the fact, but the greater part of him, his conscious mind, was glad that she wasn't. He didn't want to scare her off... that primal part of him wanted to sleep with Hermione again.

For now, however, the moist heat beneath the covers was too much and he had to get up, if only to relieve hydraulic pressure. Delicately he lifted his arm off Hermione, only to have her grab his hand once more and pull it against her diaphragm. He pulled more strongly and she let go, and he saw to his regret that he had woken her. She turned towards him, rolling onto her back, and her hips bumped his groin and she stopped as if burned.

"Sorry, gotta go," Harry got out in a strangled voice. He sat up, dislodging Tonks, and, gathing himself, did a handspring over the still-dozing auror to land on his feet by the side of the bed. Hermione stared at him and blushed before turning away, and he looked down to see himself poking out of his boxers. His face heated and his ears felt as though they would burn up as he quickly spun, tucked himself in, then padded quickly to the bathroom.

Much relieved, and beginning to feel a little cold from the unusually cool morning air, Harry re-emerged from the bathroom to hear giggling from his bed. He blushed once more then set his jaw and returned to his bed, where he saw Tonks and Hermione sitting up, facing each other, their faces wreathed in smiles.

"Sorry, Hermione," said Harry as he reached the bedside once more. "I didn't mean to..."

Hermione waved her hand dismissively. "That's okay, Harry, I know you didn't..." and then she burst into giggles again, accompanied by Tonks. Harry stood there, hands on hips, waiting for the two to finish.

"Do I want to know?" he asked at last, then grinned as both girls shook their heads. Hermione was looking at him with wide eyes, and he looked down, making sure he hadn't exposed himself to her once again. Everything appeared to be in place, so he looked up again, somewhat confused, but decided to ignore it for the time being. He sat down on the edge of the bed. "I just wanted to thank you both for keeping me company last night. I slept really well, and I appreciate it, even though I guess in the end it wasn't necessary." He had spent his time in the toilet rehearsing this little speech, and he looked up to see that both Tonks and Hermione seemed to appreciate it.

"No problem, lover-boy," said Tonks brightly.

"I liked it too," said Hermione quietly. "But you're welcome, Harry."

Tonks swung herself out of bed. "Come on, you two, it's almost seven. We'll get in an hour of exercise then it"ll be showers and breakfast before Remus comes over again."

"Was he going to come at ten again?" asked Harry.

"We talked about it as he was leaving yesterday. He'll be here at nine thirty and will be staying for lunch. After lunch we'll skip potions, since we're out of a few things, so I'll be running a few drills with both of you to promote your awareness. We'll pack tomorrow morning and Moody will come and help us move out at eleven."

"Oh," said Harry, a little surprised. "Well, that's good."

Tonks nodded and disappeared into the bathroom. Harry took a shirt and a pair of shorts from his drawers and slipped them on, followed by a rugby top to keep himself warm against the surprising - for summer - coolness of the morning air. He then wandered over to the window picture and gazed at the clear, cloudless blue sky. "Going to be a nice day," he said.

There was no answer except for light footsteps as Hermione hurried to swap places with Tonks in the bathroom.

oOoOoOo

Later, as he prepared breakfast (this morning it was scrambled eggs on toast with bacon, fried tomatoes and spinach), Harry flexed the arm that wasn't holding a spoon thoughtfully. The exercises that Tonks had them doing put him in mind of the time he had seen gymnastics on the telly. He had thought so for quite a while, really, and as he looked down his arm he was glad to see that his body was beginning to take on some of the shape that he had seen on the guys on the TV. It was when the Olympics were last on, and he had snuck a look at the telly while Dudley and Uncle Vernon were watching. Putting down the wooden spoon he was using to stir the eggs, Harry pressed both hands, spread-fingered, against his abdomen and was gratified to feel that it too was beginning to take some shape, and was rock hard. He didn't presume that he could be a gymnast, but he had heard overheard snippets of how the girls at Hogwarts had sighed over the male gymnasts. He had never thought he could be like them, but now, with hard training and by concentrating on the goal as he exercised, it appeared he was getting results.

He glanced over at Hermione, who was sitting at the kitchen table reading, and Tonks, who had just stepped out of the bathroom wearing a comfortable-looking dress of some kind, and wondered whether the exercises would give to Hermione some of the muscular fullness of limb and firmness of body that Tonks had.

The ka-chak! of the toaster as it launched the browned slices of bread into the air broke his train of thought, and the glanced over to make sure the toast slices landed properly on the plates. Sure enough, they did, and he scooped up the saucepan with the scrambled eggs and a serving spoon to begin dishing up breakfast.

"Smelling great, lover-boy," said Tonks as she sat down, on the other side of the table from Hermione but leaving the space opposite her for Harry to sit.

"Mmm, yes," put in Hermione as she closed and put down her book. Harry slid a plate in front of her and she breathed in deeply. "Yum." She looked over at Tonks, who was digging in to her own plateful. "The morning exercise is making me hungry."

Tonks nodded. "It's meant to. You need some muscle on you, Hermione, if you're going to keep up with Harry in a fight. Endurance and agility don't come just by clean living and good thoughts, you know."

"I know that," replied Hermoine with some asperity. "It's just... is that potion you give us after we finish exercising helping the process along? You damage the muscle fibres when you exercise, so if that can be healed more quickly you can get results faster without as much soreness. Besides, Harry must be using something like that. It's only been a little over four weeks since the end of term, and he's bulked up enormously, and he's become very strong. Those upside down presses you have him do, do you know how strong you have to be to do one of those? I've only ever seen them done on the telly. I know for certain I can't; can you?"

Tonks was about to interrupt Hermione but settled back as her speech flowed onwards. Putting down her knife and fork, she crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, frowning thoughtfully. "As it happens, no, I can't, but women and men have different weight distributions, less in the arms and shoulders and more in the hips and legs so that's to be expected. Also, men add bulk much more easily than women, and Harry's at just the right age to bulk up quickly since his hormones are going nineteen to the dozen at the moment." She leaned her head forward, resting her jaw against her chest, looking beneath her brows at Harry. Then she smiled, grinning at Harry reassuringly before turning back to Hermione. "As it happens, Hermione, you're spot on about the post-exercise potion. It helps prevent soreness and allows you to train harder and more frequently. That, and a few techniques I wasn't going to teach you yet which let you use magic to temporarily increase your strength and so on are part of the reason why wizarding folk don't compete in Muggle organised sport."

"Oh?" The tone of Hermione's voice said, But what about people like Malfoy?

"Besides, most wizards use magic for everything and aren't very fit."

"Except for climbing stairs," put in Harry ruefully. "I always wondered how Ron stays as thin as he does." He grinned, and added in a teasing manner, "I wonder if all Gryffindor girls have legs as nice as yours, Hermione? All that exercise, very good for you."

Hermione stared at him briefly, shocked, then tossed a plum at him. "You'll have to ask them," she said haughtily. "You should be careful, though, Harry. If you ask some girls to show you their legs, they might think you're propositioning them. That's no way to keep a girlfriend."

Harry's eyes closed in brief pain, and he looked away, swallowing, the happy expression he had been wearnig flowing away from his face. "I can't see that being a problem," he said in a quiet voice. He looked again at Hermione, then Tonks, then down at the table; his arms he held close to himself, his hands clasping each other in his lap, his shoulders slumped. Hermione and Tonks shared a look, Hermione aghast at Harry's reaction to what was meant to be a friendly joke and maybe a hint that she herself might fill the role, and Tonks just concerned. Hermione got up and hurried around the end of the table to grab Harry in a hug.

"Harry?" she asked quietly. "What's wrong? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel bad..."

"I just don't see the point," he said to the table, stiff within Hermione's arms. "Cho was a disaster, and I'm much closer to you and Tonks and Luna and even Ginny than I ever was to her, and you're my friends. Why have a girlfriend? All it got me was hassle and tears and a kiss, and frankly I don't see what all the fuss is about; it was hardly something that was going to inspire me to go off and do great deeds. Besides, everyone I know is either a friend, or is taken, or doesn't trust me, or sees me as the-boy-who-bloody-well-didn't-have-enough-sense-to-lay-down-and-die!"

Tonks and Hermione shared another look before Hermione returned her attention to Harry. She squeezed him within her grip, laying her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Harry, I didn't know. I didn't know what I said would hurt you."

Harry twisted his head to look Hermione in the eye. "You never hurt me, Hermione. Annoy me sometimes, yes, but not even that lately. I really don't know what I'd do without a friend like you." He moved his arms to hug her back, and Hemione sighed as she fitted herself to him more fully. After a few seconds she kissed his neck and pulled back. They disengaged and Hermione reached over the table to pull her plate and cutlery over so she could sit next to Harry.

Tonks broke the somewhat awkward silence. "It's nearly nine, you two, so let's finish breakfast and clean up before Lupin comes."

For a time there was only the sound of cutlery on plates, then Hermione broke the silence. "So, Harry, I suppose you've finally mastered Occlumency, then?"

After a moment to chew and swallow, he nodded. "I think so. You know I woke up once in the middle of the night, and that might have been when Voldemort was trying to send something to me. Or it could have been something else, though nothing excited the wards as far as I could see."

"How did you end up getting it to work for you?" asked Tonks curiously.

Harry shrugged. "I just did a relaxation sequence, visualised a barrier to thoughts around my head, and initiated it using the keyword Occlumens."

"Initiated? Keyword?" asked Tonks, flabbergasted.

Hermione snickered. "Harry's been reading his magical theory books," she said approvingly. He nodded, and grinned as he ate a forkful of toast and egg. "So that's it, then?" she continued to Harry.

He shook his head. "I'm sure I couldn't have done it without most of what I've gone through so far. If that makes any sense."

"I suppose," said Hermione, somewhat disappointed. Then she cheered up. "Harry, have you read about conditioning magic yet?"

Once again he shook his head, chewing. "No," he added once he had swallowed.

"Well, it doesn't matter for now, but let's discuss Occlumency again once you've covered it. It's a part of spell invention."

"Ah. I haven't read anything on that yet. I've been trying to concentrate on the stuff Dumbledore said I'd need to learn my mage sight." He sighed. "Another thing that makes me different." Hermione huffed in exasperation.

"Harry, I'm different. I'm a muggleborn and intelligent, and I top the school academically. Tonks is different - how many metamorphmagi are there? Does she try and hide her talent? No! She revels in it! So why can't you enjoy being different? What's so wrong with being a parselmouth, with perhaps being a mage? You're lucky! Most people who are normal want nothing more than to stand out. Look at Ron! Why do you think he gets jealous? For God's sake stop moaning about being different and start enjoying it, and maybe people will start to enjoy it with you."

"I, I don't understand."

"You need to open up! You need to start to enjoy yourself! People act towards you as you do towards yourself! If you act like you're of no value, people will eventually agree with you. If you act like you're worthy of people's hatred, they will wonder why and will learn to hate you, just like you want! So stand up, and enjoy yourself! Enjoy the fact that you're different! Enjoy the fact that you can do magic that others can't even contemplate! Take pleasure in it! Don't lord it over people like some others do, but take enjoyment from the fact that you can do things that people can't! Stand up for yourself and don't let others get you down, and act like you feel you're worth something! Enjoy your self! And then, maybe, people will start to look at you and not at the scurrilous libel that passes for news in the Daily bloody Prophet!" She took a deep breath and continued, more gently, "I see how depressed you get when you regret not being normal, and it just makes me so sad. So please, take pride in yourself."

Harry stared at Hermione, open-mouthed. For a long moment the two teens stared at each other. He wanted very much to take her in his arms and hug her, soothe away the unspoken For me that had accompanied her final plea.

The sound of two hands clapping jerked Harry out of his fugue, his wand falling into his hand. As he turned to face the training area he brought up his wand in a slashing arc and muttered, "ImpedimentiaProtego!" with all the urgency and power that his leaping heart could muster.

There was no second clap. There, perched on brooms about ten feet away, were Moody and Remus Lupin. Lupin was captured in the moment of clapping, his hands about six inches apart, whereas Moody, equally still, was grinning viciously. Quickly Harry cast a detection spell which flooded the training area with a red mist, then let out a deep sigh when it showed nothing new. Somewhat peeved at both Moody and himself, he allowed his shield to dissolve and conjured up shackles and chains that joined Moody's wrists, ankles, and neck, and summoned the old auror's wand before releasing the Impedimentia.

Moody promptly continued his previous movement, was caught short when he found he was shackled and chained, and fell off his broom to the floor a few feet below. Lupin finished his second clap, then turned to look in amazement as Moody fell helplessly to the floor.

"Ha, ha, very funny, Moody," said Harry with a slight smile playing about his lips. "I'll let you go if you tell me how you did it." Moody just grinned at him and, after wandlessly summoning a spare wand from his clothing, vanished the chains and shackles.

"Impressive, Potter," he said. "I think I'll let you try and figure that one out for yourself. I'm sure it won't take you long." He finished with a cackle, then waved to Tonks to accompany him to the other end of the attic.

"Hello, Harry," said Remus belatedly. "And to you, Hermione. May I say how much I enjoyed your oration. I agree, of course, with everything you said. I only wish I could do the same... but even though I turn into a vicious beast once a month, I at least don't let it get me down, and don't dwell upon it." With a glance at Hermione, he added, "Nor do I have such wonderful support."

"Er... right," said Harry, completely unsure how to respond to either Hermione or Remus. His old teacher noticed this, and cleared his throat.

"Right, then. Let's make a start, shall we, Harry?"

"I was about to make some tea," put in Hermione. "Why don't you and Professor Lupin set up in the library, Harry, and I'll bring some over to you?"

"I've already asked you to call me Remus, Hermione."

"Thanks, Hermione," said Harry gratefully, and he led Remus Lupin over to the table in the library.

oOoOoOo

By ten thirty the following morning, all the books, their clothes and effects were shrunk and packed into Harry's trunk and the furniture and other items that Harry had conjured had been vanished. Now, as a final step, he vanished the lining of the walls and ceiling, the walls surrounding the bathroom, and the floor coverings; he then undid the enchantment which expanded the volume of the space. He watched in satisfaction as the walls gradually went to nothing and the tiled roof with its rough beams came down to meet him, stopping just over their heads.

At last, the attic was as it was when he first returned to the Dursleys this summer. The heat began, as the sun-warmed tiles began to radiate into the small space. The bathroom had reverted to its previous state, and Harry's thin paliasse lay on the plywood floor by the now-prominent casing for the extending staircase which would allow them access to the house below.

Tonks looked around once more, nodding. "Okay, Harry, I think that's good. It's time to take down the wards, so I think you'd better put away your wand. You too, Hermione." Hermione simply drew up the tail of her blouse to show her wand tucked into the waistband of the skirt she had chosen to wear today. Harry caught her glance his way. She seemed to be checking his reaction, so he nodded and smiled at her. Hermione looked away again, looking around the space. She dragged her foot over the flooring, which was somehow gritty once more. Tonks watched her and eventually stepped astride her broom. "Harry, if you want to shrink your trunk I'll take down the anti-detection wards."

"Okay. Reducio." Leaning over, Harry picked up the trunk and slipped it into his pocket. "You know, I always wondered how it is that we can shrink a trunk full of things that've already been shrunk and things don't blow up," he said casually.

"Oh, that's because the Reducio charm actually generates a local distortion in space-time, a fractal dimension," put in Hermione easily. "It's acttually the same process as the room expansion charm, and the engorgement charm. The fractal dimension number is related to the degree of squeeze or expansion. The dimensions will only merge if the degree of shrinkage or expansion of nested objects is exactly the same, the likelihood of which is vanishingly small. Of course, the explosion is said to be spectacular if it does happen."

Harry stared at Hermione for a long moment, then smiled and shook his head. "I'll have to get you to show me that book some time, 'Mione," he said. "I think I understand what you meant, although I have no idea what a fractal dimension is."

Hermione looked embarrassed. "Actually, I don't, either, not really. It's not explained in the book that way, and I read about fractal dimensions in dad's New Scientist and I wondered if that was the concept the book was trying to get across. They had a very long-winded and detailed explanation that basically boiled down to, 'It's safe to shrink shrunken objects as long as the shrinkage factors are at least slightly different, but if they're exactly the same then watch out.'"

"Why didn't you say that the first time?"

"Well, you've been getting into all this theory lately, I thought you'd be interested."

"Well, I suppose I would be if I knew what a fractal dimension was, and whether you're right about them or not."

Tonks sighed loudly and pushed gently off the floor. Hermione let the discussion with Harry drop and watched with interest as Tonks removed first the keystone, the pyramid right above their heads, and once that was removed she dropped the wooden corner pieces into a small sack one by one.

"Now, you two, don't forget that you can't do magic again until I get this set up again at the Grangers' place."

"Yes, Tonks," they chorused.

Landing, Tonks shrunk her broom and put it in the sack she held. "All right, it's time to go." With that, she pointed her wand at the attic latter and muttered under her breath, and with a loud clack! and a metallic creaking noise, the hatchway unlocked and the ladder lowered and extended itself. Up through the now-open accessway, the sound of Tom Jones crooning one of his love songs floated up.

At Tonks' gesture, Harry descended the stairway first. He was struck by the smell of the place; it was as if he had been away for the school year. It was nothing unusual, just the normal smell of the Dursleys and their house, but the attic had smelled different, at first more of baked wood and tile and kind of outdoorsy, and later he supposed the three of them had grown used to their own smell in the attic, cooking their own meals and whatnot. But to suddenly run into the familiar smells of disinfectant, beef stew, and the usual post-breakfast eggy-bacon-toasty smell of the house was something of a surprise.

Breathing deeply, Harry continued down until he stood in the upstairs hallway. He looked around while he waited for the other two, and saw that Dudley had fully reclaimed his second bedroom. Curious, he stepped inside and saw that his old bed was no longer there; instead the room was dominated by a home computer with a racks of several somethings that Harry assumed contained data for the computer surrounding the large computer screen. The room smelled, rather, kind of like stale and sweaty Dudley; Harry took a look at the computer chair and saw that it was sweat-stained and there was a large stain of some kind at the centre of the front of the seat. It almost looked like... "Eww." Stomach turning at the mental image of Dudley sitting shirtless in the chair, hunched down with his fist working in his lap, Harry turned away and hurriedly returned to the stairs just in time to watch Hermione and then Tonks descend.

It was the middle of the day, and it was a weekday. Harry did not expect anyone except Aunt Petunia to be home; Dudley would be out with his gang and Uncle Vernon would be at work. The sound of a vacuum cleaner starting downstairs told him that Aunt Petunia was indeed home, and the lack of any music coming from Dudley's room likewise told him that his cousin was out as expected, so Harry led the way downstairs. Just as he reached the bottom, the vacuum cleaner switched off and Aunt Petunia came out of the lounge room and practically ran into him. She stopped with a start and a little shriek, her hand going to her chest. Harry thought she looked as though she might have heart failure; she was staring at him and panting in shock.

"Are you all right, Aunt Petunia?" he asked, somewhat concerned. She nodded, swallowed, and stood upright.

"What are you doing down here, boy?" Her tone was a little unsteady, but that was to be expected. She had just received a major fright. Then a creak from the staircase drew her eye, and she jerked again in surprise to see Hermione and Tonks on the staircase. Turning back to Harry with fire in her eyes once more, she continued, "And where did these two come from!?"

"This is my friend Hermione Granger. Hermione, I don't believe you've met my Aunt Petunia."

"You'd better not have been getting up to any funny business up there, boy."

Harry grinned mirthlessly. Summoning the discipline that he had learned dealing with the Dursleys for fifteen years and keeping a tight hold on his temper, he continued, "And this is Auror Tonks. An Auror is a kind of wizarding policeman.. or woman, in Tonks' case."

Aunt Petunia paled. "Police?"

Tonks nodded, and moved forward with a stern expression on her face. "It's just as well for you that Harry has the sense to call for help when he needs it," she said disapprovingly. "You should thank him that you have not been arrested for improper imprisonment, neglect of a minor in your care, and failure to provide proper shelter to a minor in your care."

"Tonks, please don't. I have to come back here next year; please don't make it any worse than it is."

"You're leaving, then?" asked Aunt Petunia.

Harry nodded. "Yes." He sighed. "I rather imagine I'll be back again next July, though. We can wish that Voldemort will be vanquished before then, but somehow I don't think that's going to happen," he finished resignedly. He noticed the odd looks he was getting from both Hermione and Tonks, and immediately felt defensive. "Well, whomever up there is organising my life seems to be having a bloody fantastic time; there's no way I could be allowed to have a normal school year!"

Hermione stared at him. Shaking her head, she smiled at Harry's outburst. "Even if we were to say that, oh, let's just say the Old Gods are actively moving in your life, Harry, which personally I don't believe, I really don't think you'd like a normal year. You'd get bored, and probably end up going around generating excitement just for something to do."

Tonks snickered at Hermione's rejoinder, while Harry blushed. "I think a bit of quiet would be nice," he said weakly, but smiled as Hermione joined Tonks in laughter. After a moment the laughter died down, and Aunt Petunia nodded slightly.

"Well, have a good year then," she said a little hesitantly.

"Thank you, Aunt Petunia," replied Harry automatically. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye," added Hermione, and the three of them walked out the door. Harry couldn't help but look back at the house as they turned at the front gate to walk down Privet drive, and he was not really surprised to see the Aunt Petunia looking out the loungeroom window at them. He wasn't at all certain she was happy to see them go. She had seemed a little... wistful? With a sigh, he made a mental note to think about it a little later, when he had a chance.

The day was still and warm, with the sun blazing down out of a pellucid sky. The feel of it on his skin made Harry stretch out his arms and turn up his head, beaming beatifically to the benificent sun as the three of them walked along the footpath. He could feel the warmth and the power of the sun seeping into himself, seeming to flood him with life and energy. The feel of the open spaces around him also lifted his spirits; no longer was his world circumscribed by four walls, no matter how spacious and no matter how good the company. He felt like he wanted to skip and spin and laugh out loud for the sheer joy of it.

"So, how do we get to my place?" asked Hermione. "Has something been planned, or do we have to make our own way there?"

"Oh no, we're going to take a portkey once we get to a nice quiet spot in that nearby park."

That sounded wonderful to Harry, except for the minor detail of taking a portkey which he didn't really mind that much... and another minor problem with Tonks' grand plan. He lowered his arms and straightened his head.

"Erm, Tonks, I think... I think there might be a small problem with your plan."

Tonks stopped and turned to look at Harry in surprise. "What's that?"

"Well, you see, that park's got a playground, and, err, it's a lovely day, and, well, it'll probably be croweded with mums and their children."

"Really? The whole park?"

"It's not a very big park."

It turned out that Harry was right. The small park was being well used by the mothers of the neighborhood with their children too young to go to school, enjoying the lovely sunshine of the day... and the nearest large park was some distance away. In the end, they huddled in the alleyway in which Harry had encountered the dementors a year before. Tonks brought out a portkey - a small, crumpled tin which had stored corn kernels in its previous life - and moments later they landed in the entry hall of the Granger home.