Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.
More Important Than Any Broomstick - Chapter 32 - Security Measures
After their rather extensive snogging session, Hermione said, "Harry, I've been thinking."
"That makes one of us," said Harry pouting, "I guess you snog better than me."
Hermione blushed, "Er, I, er, didn't mean just now. Believe me, I was properly distracted by your wonderful, er, snogging skills. I meant for the past week while I was working on that spell. I think we should keep your restored sight secret. It'll be another secret from V-Voldemort."
Harry looked thoughtful for a few moments. "Er, I suppose so, but I'm not gonna wear them while dueling, so a few people will know."
Hermione smiled. "That's fine. Let me make your lenses into plain glass so that you can still see while you're wearing them. Remember to squint when you're not wearing them."
Hermione winked at Harry's glasses in her hand, and then handed them to Harry, who put them on. "At least you made them impervious last year. They don't even get dirty anymore."
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The next day, Harry and Hermione decided to surprise their dueling partners with Harry's restored vision.
Harry announced, "I'm going to try dueling without my glasses."
Sirius said, "Er, well, I suppose it would help if you could duel without them, but you might have a hard time. If you're sure you want to try…"
"Positive!" said Harry, taking off his glasses and squinting at them. I'm ready."
It soon became clear that Harry was not in the least bit handicapped without his glasses.
After he'd done extremely well, Lupin asked, "How did you do that? Have you been practicing blindfolded or something?"
Harry smiled, "No, although it may be a good idea to do that some time. Last night, Hermione corrected my vision. I can now see perfectly! Now my glasses are fakes! I want to keep it secret from the general public."
Sirius, Remus, Ginny, and Neville stared at Harry while he and Hermione beamed. "H-How is that possible?" asked Sirius.
After they'd explained the spell and Ginny had tried on Harry's glasses to confirm that they were simple glass, she said happily, "Congratulations, Harry!"
"Yeah," said Neville, "I'm really happy for you!"
"That's terrific," said Sirius.
"Incredible," is more like it," said Lupin.
Once Neville and Ginny were gone (probably off to snog), Sirius said, "James always hated wearing glasses! He'd have done anything to heal his eyes. You say Dumbledore had a book with that spell in it the whole time?"
"It's a very risky spell," said Hermione. "It shouldn't be commonly practiced. You could blind someone with that spell."
"Not on the first try," said Moony, "I think it wouldn't be bad for a professional eye healer at St. Mungo's to offer to perform that spell once and only once for a person. If it doesn't work, the healer provides the patient with a new pair of glasses."
"Hm," said Hermione, "Maybe, but not right now. Harry's restored vision is a tactical advantage against his enemies."
"That reminds me," said Harry, "What new security measures is Dumbledore taking?"
Lupin spoke, "He thought about a ward to keep anyone with a dark mark out, but it would expel Karkaroff, the killer who betrayed his buddies so he could go free. Dumbledore decided against that because of the tournament. He instead put up a ward that would notify him if anyone with a dark mark entered the castle. Dumbledore would also like to put a similar ward on both of you so that you'll know if you come within twenty feet of a Death Eater. Sirius and I put up a small ward that would stop anyone with a dark mark from using the one-eyed witch secret passage. They can't get in either side of the tunnel. That way we didn't have to tell Dumbledore about it and ruin Fred and George's fun. We know you two have `other ways' to get to Hogsmeade, so it wouldn't bother you as much. Dumbledore requested Fudge to post aurors around the castle, but Fudge wouldn't do it. He claimed that the Galleons being spent to compensate you two has taken away the resources necessary."
"Sirius," said Hermione, "would those wards be able to detect a death eater in animagus form, like Wormtail for example. I know for a fact that Scabbers didn't appear to have a dark mark."
"I'm not sure," said Sirius with a worried look on his face, "but if another death eater who has a form could sneak in here and get close enough…"
"Maybe those wards should also detect animagi," suggested Lupin. "Maybe they could be allowed to let in specific ones like the three of you and McGonagall. I'll talk to Dumbledore about that. We should do something about that in our wards as well."
"Er," said Harry, "Do you think the Marauders map could be modified to show people with the dark mark, er, perhaps display them in a different color?"
Sirius and Remus looked at each other for about thirty seconds. Sirius said, "What if we…"
"But we'd have to…" said Remus.
"Yes, but we could…" said Sirius.
Remus sighed, "I guess it would be worth the effort."
Sirius said, "Give us the map, and we'll have it modified within a week."
"Why don't we take Wormtail off of it while we're at it?" said Lupin in disgust.
"And add the new Marauders to it," suggested Padfoot with a smile.
"We'll have to come up with names for Harry and Hermione," said Remus.
"True," said Sirius. "We'll have to think about that. It's very important to come up with the right name."
Harry was excited about the idea of having his own alias on the Marauder's map, while Hermione was happy to be included.
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A few days later, Harry and Hermione were flying above the forbidden forest (in their animagus forms) when Fawkes appeared in front of them in a burst of flame, singing merrily. Fawkes seemed to be signaling them to follow him, so they did. When Fawkes led them into Professor Dumbledore's office, they weren't surprised to find him there, along with Sirius and Remus. They were a bit surprised to see Professor Brooks sitting next to Sirius. Fawkes silently went to his perch.
Dumbledore looked at the golden eagle and eagle owl with a twinkle in his eyes, and said happily, "Well, it's good to see you Mr. Potter and Miss Granger. I must say you've lost some weight since our last encounter. You both appear to be light as a feather."
Sirius, Adriana, and Remus chuckled at Dumbledore's little joke while Harry and Hermione changed back to their human forms. "Magnificent," Dumbledore said.
"You wanted to see us, sir," said Hermione.
"Yes indeed," said Dumbledore, "Sit down."
"I hope you don't mind that I've decided to include Professor Brooks in this discussion. She wishes to help with your training. Professor Black didn't seem to mind. With your permission, I'd like to include her in our little group and inform her of your skills. She already knows occlumency."
Harry and Hermione looked at one another. Harry answered, "Er, Ok. But no more unless you've discussed it with us before revealing any of our secrets, such as our forms, to them."
"Very well. I've been informed, Harry, that you no longer require those glasses," said Dumbledore.
"Er, yes sir," said Harry, removing them from his face.
"I must compliment you, Miss Granger on excellent spellwork, and on making good use of the book with that spell."
"Thank you," said Hermione shyly.
"I must also compliment Mr. Potter's most effective use of some of those spells on the dragon. I'm glad to see that allowing you to copy those books wasn't a wasted effort."
"Thank you, sir," said Harry.
"I also agree wholeheartedly with your plan to keep your perfect vision secret."
"Thank you, sir."
"Professors Black and Lupin have informed me of your suggestions for security measures. I thought you should be informed of my decisions. I have implemented wards to inform both myself and Deputy Headmistress McGonagall whenever either someone with the dark mark, or an animagus in animal form enters or leaves the Hogwarts grounds. Because of this, I had to inform your head of house that you both are animagi, and she has agreed to keep this in the strictest confidence. However, that means that she will know if you have left the safety of Hogwarts, and you will be punished accordingly should you violate those rules." His eyes twinkled. "I only thought it fair to warn you before you take a romantic trip to Hogsmeade." The young couple blushed. "I believe you've been informed of my desire to place wards on you." Harry and Hermione nodded. "If you are agreeable, you'll have very similar wards on yourselves. Both of you, as well as Professors Brooks, Lupin and Black will know if either a death eater or animagus in animal form is within twenty feet of either of you. That way, hopefully, at least one of the other four will be able to aid the other in case of a surprise attack."
"That sounds like a good idea," said Harry. Hermione nodded her agreement as well.
After Dumbledore had completed a complex spell on them, he said, "The way that you'll know when the wards have been crossed is that you'll get a small discomfort. It should come suddenly enough to wake you should you be asleep. For a demonstration, Professor Black, could you transform."
After he'd transformed, Brooks, Lupin, Hermione and Harry all said, "Ow," and touched their foreheads immediately.
With a slightly concerned look, Dumbledore said, "I'm afraid that's the best I can do. You will have to get used to that feeling so that you don't alert any intruders of your wards. I suggest you practice that to get used to it. Death Eaters will feel differently. I suggest you walk near Professor Karkaroff to test that feeling, er, without his knowledge."
After Sirius changed back from the big black dog, he said, "That was weird, I could detect myself. My own presence was giving me a headache."
"Now you know how you make everyone else feel," said Adriana with a smirk, causing Lupin and Harry to laugh while Sirius scowled and the others remained indifferent.
"But the pain did lesson once we got over the initial shock," said Hermione, changing the subject back.
"That it did," said Remus. "Maybe we should practice some more. This time Hermione, you change."
By the time Hermione, and then Harry had each had their turn at transforming, none of them were reacting to the discomfort. Harry said, "Now, we're each going to have to go near Professor Kill-em-all to get used to that feeling."
"Professor Karkaroff," corrected Dumbledore.
"But that's what he is," said Sirius, "and you know it! He didn't feel any remorse over his crimes. He simply hated Azkaban so he betrayed his friends so that they'd take his place there. Now he's teaching the dark arts to Durmstrang students. He should not walk free!"
Albus sighed, "Be that as it may, the fact is that he is free and is the headmaster of a wizarding school. If you don't respect him, then at least respect the position. Now, on to other matters. Professor Black has informed me that the two of you wear rings that would allow each of you to apparate to the other in times of need, if only you knew how to apparate." Smiling, they both nodded. "For this reason, along with the danger you both are in, I think it only appropriate that you learn how to apparate. That way, should the need ever arise, you would be able to aid each other. Professor Brooks has already agreed to teach you this skill. I believe that the Room of Requirement can allow you to apparate within its confines. You, of course, will not be licensed, and therefore should only practice in that room if you do not wish to get in trouble with the ministry."
"Wow," said Harry, that's great. "Since, as you know, magic can't be detected at Potter Manor, we can practice there as well."
"Excellent. One other matter I wished to discuss is that I believe I've discovered the location of a horcrux. I believe it is in the home where Tom's mother grew up. It will probably take me a few weeks to determine its exact location. I will keep you all informed. I was hoping that the professors could accompany me in case there is unforeseen peril in the mission."
"Of course," said Moony and Padfoot immediately.
"I already know the location of the house," said Brooks. "I never searched it for a horcrux, but I did visit the place once."
"Excellent," said Dumbledore with a genuine smile. "In that case, I'll be arranging our visit to that house shortly. That's all I had to discuss, except for how enjoyable I found Mr. Potter's handling of Miss Skeeter.
Harry chuckled, "Thanks. Did you notice the look between her and Fudge?"
"Minister Fudge's affairs are not our concerns," said Dumbledore.
"Then they are having an affair," said Sirius happily.
"I do not know that for certain," said Dumbledore, "and I do not waste my resources pursuing such matters. However, I have noticed how her articles about Cornelius have been more, shall we say, complimentary lately. In any case, although you've temporarily silenced her, I do not believe that she has finished her assignment that I suspect came from Mr. Fudge himself to ruin Mr. Potter's reputation. Which reminds me, you mentioned muggle laws against lying about people to ruin their reputations in your speech to Miss Skeeter. I am considering introducing a bill for similar laws into the Wizengamot. I would appreciate it if either yourself or Miss Granger knew of a book or books that described the different muggle laws from different countries relating to this matter so that I can properly research the matter before writing the bill."
Hermione's face lit up at this pronouncement. "Of course, sir. One book you'll have to read is…"
After she'd mentioned about a dozen different texts, they finally left. As they were walking down the stairs, Harry whispered to Hermione, "You realize what the new castle wards mean, don't you? We'll have to figure out the boundaries and make sure to change back before we cross them."
"Either that or simply obey the rules," said Hermione
"We can't do that," said Harry with mock fear. "What will people say?"
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