An: Sorry for the long wait. I hope you like this chapter. There is an H/hr scene in it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Chapter 8 - Trust
Draco barrelled into the kitchen with his wand gripped tightly in his hand. His face was flushed and his eyes held a dangerous glint.
"Flitwick said to bring them along." Draco said indicating to Harry, Ginny and Ron.
"Draco, can't this wait till later?" Luna asked calmly.
"No she put her blasted Bloodhound down there. She knows I hate them. Flitwick says her last class finishes in half an hour. We're going to settle this." Draco said angrily as the vein at the side of his neck throbbed.
"But," Luna tried to protest.
"Let's go. The fireplace is this way." Draco said as he headed out the door.
Harry looked curiously over at Luna. She sighed and got off her seat.
"Someone has to go with him before he does something stupid." Luna said. "You all better come as well. Professor Flitwick actually does want to see you."
"Where are we going?" Ginny asked.
Luna turned around, she thought it was quite obvious. "Hogwarts."
An uncomfortable silence came across the room. The last time Harry had been at Hogwarts was the final battle. He hadn't been back since and he was hoping it would be a bit longer before he had to return there. He took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself for the visit.
They followed Luna out the door through a series of turns to the circular room. The second time passing through the ward wasn't as bad as the first and only Ron felt the urgent need to throw up. Luna conjured a bucket for Ron and after a few minutes they were flooing to Hogwarts.
They emerged in the Headmaster's office in Hogwarts. Harry was half expecting to see Dumbledore behind the desk but the sight that greeted him was another painful reminder of everything that had happened. Professor Flitwick had indeed made the office his own and the only familiar objects in the room were the pictures of the previous headmasters. Harry searched for the one picture that he wanted to talk to and was greatly disappointed to find it empty.
"Welcome, Welcome." Professor Flictwick said from behind his desk. He had a special desk made for him to match his height. In front of his desk were two normal size chairs that looked quite comfortable.
Draco had already left and headed straight to the staff room. Luna cheerfully greeted the new headmaster and promised that no damage would be done to the school or the students there in before she headed towards the spiral staircase that Harry knew so well.
"Please sit. We have a lot to discuss." Flitwick said as he conjured an extra chair for Ginny to sit in.
"It's good to have you back Mr. Potter, and you to Mr. Weasley and Ms. Weasley." Flitwick said cheerfully.
Harry took a seat followed by Ginny and Ron. As Harry sat in the chair, it slowly started transforming into a cushioned recliner.
"The chairs are charmed to change into whatever the user wishes to sit in. It's quite interesting to see what people like, particularly my students." Flitwick revealed.
Harry looked uncomfortably at Ginny and wished for a different type of chair and it instantly changed into the stool he used to sit in when he was in class. Ginny decided to keep her massage chair but Ron decided to changes his futon to a stool similar to Harry's.
"You three have had quite an adventure. Let's see" Flitfick said as he summoned three thick files to his desk. "Greece, Colombia, Egypt, Brazil, Australia and the list goes on."
"How do you know where we've been?" Ron asked slightly alarmed.
Flitwick looked directly at Ron with a gaze that reminded Harry eerily of Dumbledore and he briefly wondered if Flitwick was also a skilled Legilmens.
"We've been tracking you since you left." He said honestly. "We were a bit concerned especially in the beginning with a few of those incidents you had."
Ron turned bright red at the mention of the incidents. In the beginning muggle customs were very alien to him and he often made embarrassing mistakes. There were a few times that he used magic and they did their best to cover it up. Harry always thought the stories they made up were a bit weak but now he knew the truth. Someone from the magical world had been covering for them.
"How did you find us?" Ginny asked voicing the question that was on all of their minds.
"Miss Granger, of course, you really didn't think you'd be able to hide from her? She also came up with some very innovative ways of tracking you." Flitwick said.
"Hermione knew where we were?" Harry asked in shock. He couldn't believe he knew where they were the entire time and never let them know. He always imagined himself running into her by accident and he was absolutely sure she would have screamed her head off at him. This Hermione certainly wasn't the Hermione he knew before the war.
"Yes she was aware of where you were. It was very difficult for her but eventually she decided that everything happens for a reason and there was some reason why she was not involved in the next leg of your adventure. Very wise of her, at times she reminds me of Albus. Honestly, I don't know how we would have made out had Hermione joined you on your journey. I truly think she's satisfied with the way things have turned out." Flitwick said honestly.
"Did our parents know?" Ron asked hesitantly.
"Yes, your father was very proud of you Ron, especially after the incident in Africa with the poachers. That required a lot of bravery to stand up for those innocent creatures. I believe it even bought a tear to Hermione's eye." Flitwick said proudly.
Early in their seven year journey, Harry had expressed an interest in going on an African Safari. They travelled to Nairobi where they settled down for some time. It was on a trip to Mount Kilamanjaro in north eastern Tanzania that they encountered three poachers chasing a herd of elephants on the plains that surrounded Kilamanjaro. Ron bravely pulled their vehicle up in front of the poachers and requested that they stop their actions immediately or they would call the appropriate authority. The poachers responded by shooting at them. Ron, with the help of a little magic, managed to disable them and they turned the poachers in. There was a bit of a celebration and Ron got his name in the local newspapers. He was quite the hero among the animal rights activists and Harry remembered that he was quite popular with the women as well.
"Why didn't you notify us when daddy ...." Ginny tried to ask but found it extremely difficult to convey the fact that her father had died.
"At the time you were in a monastery in Tibet, your mother felt it best not to burden you with the news. She was having a hard enough time convincing Fred and George that revenge wasn't the answer." He told them.
"But how did you track us. We were very careful." Harry pressed.
"How is not important. What's important is why two days ago you packed up everything in Taiwan and then made a beeline to England. This wasn't a planned visit Harry. Did you have a premonition?" Flitwick asked in a steady voice.
"Premonition?" Ron and Ginny exclaimed.
"I see you two aren't aware of the premonition Mr. Potter had before his fight with Voldemort." Flitwick said.
"What premonition Harry?" Ron asked as he turned his attention towards his best mate.
Harry bowed his head. He hadn't told anybody but Hermione and Remus.
"A few months before the final battle I had this reoccurring dream. I was at Hogwarts. I died." Harry said as he stopped to clear the mysterious lump that had formed in his throat. It was still difficult to talk about the final battle.
"The point is Harry was able to use this dream to defeat Voldemort." A familiar voice said from a portrait on the wall, spearing Harry the ordeal of revealing a few personal details he had kept private for so long.
Harry spun around and came face to face with the portrait of Albus Dumbledore. He was smiling sympathetically at Harry and his eyes seemed to convey that he already knew why Harry had come back.
"How did this dream help you?" Ginny asked Harry.
"Hermione did some research and reluctantly concluded that it was some type of premonition. She really didn't like the idea of a premonition so she thought on some subconscious level my mind was trying to visualize how the final battle would proceed and it was showing me in my dreams. She was convinced my fate could be changed and that I should learn from the mistakes I made in my dream and not repeat them in the final battle. Every night before I went to sleep she would suggest alternatives to try. With each attempt the dream changed slightly but it always had the same result. It wasn't until the final battle that I finally understood what it was that I had to do." Harry said
"She told me she was helping you with your occlumency before you went to sleep." Ron said a bit frostily. He had been dating Hermione at the time and he had been insecure about the time she spent with Harry at nights. She told him that he need not worry about their relationship but then she broke up with him a month before the final battle. He was beginning to wonder if Harry's premonition had something to do with it.
"She did that too." Harry said defending Hermione.
"So Mr. Potter, did you have a premonition?" Flitwick asked getting back to the point of the conversation. He was not interested in rehashing the past. The present was what mattered and if there was a new threat that needed to be dealt with, he needed to know it now.
Harry nodded sadly.
"We're waiting Harry." Dumbledore reminded him from his view on the wall. There was a grunt of agreement from the rest of the portraits.
"I saw Hermione die." Harry said coldly.
There was absolutely no reaction from the current headmaster or the portraits.
"I see, are their any other details you could supply for example when, where, how?" Flitwick asked.
"It was snowing so it must have been winter, I don't know where but she was shot through the heart." Harry revealed.
Flitwick steepled his fingers in front of him and thought for a while.
"A muggle weapon, interesting. That would mean it would be connected to one of the muggle/wizard cases. Winter starts in three months we have a lot of work to do if we are to prevent this tragedy." He said firmly as he looked at the paintings on the wall causing a few to scamper from their paintings and head to some unknown destination.
"I agree Filius but the first step would be to re-introduce these three to the wizarding world." Dumbledore suggested. He was one of the few portraits that had remained in the office.
"Yes Albus, you're right." Flitwick agreed.
"Have you three given any thought to what you want to do?" Dumbledore asked them.
Before they could answer the door opened and Professor Snape came storming in.
"Before you discuss anything with them they have to take the vow! I will not have the safety of the order compromised again." Snape stated angrily.
"Severus, we understand your concerns but I assure you they are no threat to the order." Flitwick said calmly.
"They must take the vow. All members have taken the vow. You can not show favouritism towards them just because they are Molly's children." Snape sneered in his usual manner.
"What vow are you talking about?" Ginny asked.
"Have you ever heard of an unbreakable vow?" Snape asked as he narrowed his black eyes at her.
"That's what you and Narcissa Malfoy did." Ron stated.
"This is similar but not as deadly. You take a vow that bounds you to the order and prevents you from revealing details of the order to outsiders. The vow also forces you to be true to the goals of the order so you cannot pledge to help the Wizarding world and then leave it. The vow would not allow that." Snape said stressing the last part to Harry.
"Severus, they will take the vow in time but there are others things that need to be dealt with immediately." Dumbledore said
"If you're referring to Draco, I believe Vicky is doing a nice job of honing his defence skills." Snape said proudly.
Flitwick waved his wand and a map of the castle appeared on the wall. It was similar to the Marauder's map but it carried greater detail. There were parts of the castle displayed that Harry never knew existed. He was greatly surprised to discover that the headmaster had such a map.
Dumbledore laughed a light happy laugh. "Harry you look very much like your father when he saw this map for the first time. You honestly didn't think that your father and his friends were the first persons to develop a map of Hogwarts?"
Harry didn't know how to answer. He never really gave any thought as to if the teachers had such a map. He did however think to ask one question. "It you had this map why didn't you ever punish us for all the times we were out after curfew?"
"That was Filch's job and he did enjoy catching students. I didn't want to take the fun away from him. Everyone has their own journey in life and I dared not interfere in that. This map was created for one purpose, the safety of the school and it is only to be used for that purpose." Dumbledore said
"So it was created by the founders?" Ginny asked
"Very good question Ms. Weasley but the founders didn't create this. It was created many centuries afterwards and it has been added to by the various headmasters." Flitwick waved his wand and numerous different initials were added to the map. "Those initials belong to the Headmasters who added that piece of the map. I myself haven't found anything to add yet but I'm sure I will. Hogwarts has many secrets."
Harry looked at the map and smiled as he saw AD where the Room of Requirement was. AD was also written on the Chamber of Secrets and it served as a sombre reminder of what Harry had gone through. There were hundreds of dots on the map and Harry took special notes of the places he had yet to visit.
"It appears their duel is over. I think I'll head down to the hospital wing and see if I can broker some sort of peace deal. I believe you have a class in five minutes Severus and as I can see most of your class is assembled in the dungeons except for a few stranglers" Flitwick said pointing at the map. "You wouldn't want to be late now would you?"
Snape's face soured and he reminded the headmaster that things weren't over yet before he left with the familiar billowing of his robes.
"You three can feel free to explore for a while. Draco will be here at least another hour." Flitwick said as he stood from his small chair and left.
Harry, Ron and Ginny stood and Harry indicated to them to go ahead of him. He wanted a private word with Dumbledore. They consented and left Harry alone in the room.
"What's the matter Harry?" Dumbledore asked.
"Did I do the right thing?" Harry blurted out.
"It is not for me to say what is right or what is wrong. What is important in life is that you learn from you mistakes." Dumbledore said kindly.
"Are you saying it was a mistake to leave?" Harry asked as he bowed his head to stare at a spot on the floor
"I'm not saying anything but I can offer one piece of advice Harry. Follow your heart. If you were truly happy travelling, then continue to do that but if your heart is calling you here, then you'll never be happy anywhere else. I must go now. Ms. Granger is requesting a consultation." Dumbledore said a bit distracted.
Harry's head snapped up at the sound of Hermione's name and Dumbledore's blue eyes met his. "In time, Harry. In time."
Dumbledore's portrait was left empty and Harry found he wasn't very comfortable in the office anymore. He decided to explore the new areas of Hogwarts that he had just learned existed.
-*-
Ron had left Ginny by the lake to raid the kitchen. He had missed Hogwart's cooking and was anxious to get some decent pumpkin pie. He moved through the familiar corridors to the portrait of the bowl of fruit. He tickled the pear and was instantly let into the bustling kitchen. The house elves were busy preparing the evening meal and only those nearest to him stopped. They looked at him with big eyes before they offered him a variety of food. Ron took a treacle tart off of the first plate offered to him and instantly felt guilty. They had travelled the globe and Ron had seen many injustices. He finally understood Hermione's SPEW. The house elves didn't deserve the treatment they were given. Ron reached into his robes and pulled out a galleon. He offered it to the house elf he had taken the treacle tart from.
"No sir. I am paid enough already. Cloud doesn't need anymore." The house elf insisted as he bowed and moved away.
Ron smiled. Hermione had stuck to SPEW. He wondered if other house elves were paid and how much the ones at Hogwarts were paid. Knowing how little Dobby accepted for work he was sure paying the house elves had not put a dent in the Hogwart's budget.
-*-
Ginny sat silently under a tree by the lake as she remembered the many times she came out there. The happiest she had been was with Harry but their relationship was not meant to last.
"Mind if I join you?" Neville asked
"Sure. I thought we left you back at the house." Ginny said as Neville sat down besides her.
Neville snickered. "Susan needed me to get some moss out of the lake for one of the potions Draco needs to take."
"You have to go in there?" Ginny said pointing to the lake.
"Not really the moss stays near the surface. If you go after it, then it will sink away. The trick is to use your wand to light the surface of the water. The moss will come to it and you can just pluck it out of the water." Neville said in a professor like tone.
"Interesting," Ginny replied
"Nah not really," Neville replied honestly.
Ginny laughed.
"You've changed Neville. You used to agree with everything I said." Ginny said with a slight smile.
"I guess I finally found my Gryffindor parts." Neville boasted proudly.
"You always had it Neville." Ginny corrected.
Neville baulked at the idea. "I don't think I was very Gryffindor when I was tripping over my own robes."
"You were always too hard on yourself Neville. You were there when it mattered and that's all that counts. You never let us down." Ginny said softly.
"You sound like Hermione. She likes to remind me of that whenever I feel like wallowing in self pity not that I do it that often anymore." Neville said lightly
They sat in silence for a while before Ginny decided to break it "Shouldn't you be getting that moss?"
"Nah not yet, Draco can wait. I'm sure he can cope with a little bit of pain." Neville said happily.
"Why does everyone trust Draco? He's from Slytherin." Ginny asked curiously. It had really been bothering her.
"Ah the old Slytherin argument, Draco has the brain of a Slytherin but the heart of Gryffindor. Don't ever tell him I said that. Draco's whole problem is he thinks too much with that Slytherin head and never listens to his heart." Neville said.
"But.." Ginny tried to argue.
"Despite Draco's attitude problem, he has proven himself many times to the order. He came up with the idea of the vow and was the first person to take it. I won't say he's not capable of betrayal because we all are but I would trust him with my life. Do you know why Draco and Hermione are so close?" Neville asked her.
"I just got back, how am I supposed to know that?" Ginny asked exasperatedly.
"Good point. After the war Draco did six months in Azkaban for his crimes. He should have served a life sentence for his use of an unforgivable but because of his help in defeating Voldemort, the Minister gave him six months. He got out a few days after you guys left and moved into the Leaky Cauldron."
"The Leaky Cauldron?" Ginny asked
"That's another long story but when you visit your mother ask her about the initial cleaning of the manor" Neville said with a cocky smile.
Ginny nodded.
"Now, where was I, ah yes, Draco moved into the Leaky Cauldron and had been living there for about two weeks before he was approached by Corneilus Barteby."
"Who?" Ginny asked with a look of bewilderment on her pretty face.
"A minor criminal, his name isn't important but what he tried to do is. He wanted to align himself with Malfoy and use his business influences to further Barteby's criminal enterprises. Draco fresh out of prison, was not eager to return to Azkaban and being Draco he insulted the man first then rejected his offer. Barteby didn't take that lightly and ordered his henchmen to kill Draco. Now, the MLE's had been following Barteby for the last month but the Aurors got involved when he ordered Draco's death." He explained while she keenly listened.
"Draco bumped into a very depressed Hermione in Knockturn Alley. Barteby's gang attacked at this point disabling Draco first. On instinct Hermione reacted and with the help of the Aurors, who were pretty close by, they were able to apprehend them. Hermione had now saved Draco's life twice, if you count the time during the war, and in return he brought her out of her depression. The incident also gave Hermione a purpose in life, something she thought she was lacking. She decided to become an Auror to help people and do some good in the Wizarding world. Draco decided to use his business influence for good but he has a side business that attracts a lot of dark activity." Neville explained carefully.
Ginny looked alarmed at the mention of the side activity. "Don't worry the side activity is run by the order. It's a way of finding out what's going on in the criminal world. It gets Draco into trouble sometimes but it's never been anything we couldn't handle." He said with a sexy smirk.
"What ever happened to Barteby?" she asked
"The wizards refused to testify against Barteby so there was no case. He runs a restaurant in Diagon Alley. I would stay away if I were you. He has a grudge to grind against Hermione and he would definitely jump at the opportunity to use you to do it." Neville advised.
Ginny made a mental note to avoid the restaurant. "What's the name of the restaurant?"
"You'll know it when you see it." Neville said with a twinkle in his eyes. "I better get going. I have a class to teach in ten minutes and I need to get this moss to Susan. See you around Ginny." He said with another heart stopping smile.
Ginny felt herself blush. She discovered that she liked the person that Neville turned into and she was looking forward to the next time she saw him. She watched him stick his wand in the lake and then bend over to grab the moss. Despite his pot belly, his rear end looked rather nice and Neville turned around to find Ginny staring at him. She blushed again and waved at him before he headed back to Hogwarts.
Ginny sat there for a while before a young girl, who looked eerily like Cho Chang, came to inform her that she was to return to the Headmaster's office. Ginny thanked the girl and joined her for the walk back to Hogwarts. She could see the girl peering at her out of the corner of her eye and she knew the girl was just bursting to ask her a question. Fortunately for Ginny, Professor Snape had ordered the girl to keep quiet and her fear of Professor Snape was the only thing stopping her from asking Ginny the million questions on her mind.
-*-
Harry walked calmly along the seventh floor corridor that lead to the Room of Requirement. He had walked this path many times in his fifth year and he wondered how many students used the room these days.
"Harry Potter!" an angry voice called out after him causing him to spin on the spot.
"Hermione!" Harry said surprised by her sudden appearance.
"Don't play innocent. Phineaus told me why you came back!" She said as she got closer. Her cheeks were red and she was slightly out of breadth making Harry assume she had run around the castle looking for him.
"Hermione," Harry said calmly as he reached to take her hand but she pulled it away from him.
"I'm a big girl Harry. I don't need you here." She said angrily.
"I'm not going anywhere." Harry said as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. He needed to have a word with Phineaus. He had always been under the impression that what happened in the headmaster's office was confidential.
"You were fine leaving the first time!" Hermione pointed out.
"I'm sorry about that. I just needed time to think." Harry replied softly.
"Seven bloody years!" Hermione shouted at him.
"I may have taken a bit too much time but I'm back and I'm not going anywhere." Harry told her firmly. He held her fiery gaze but what surprised him most was the fear that he saw in her eyes. Her eyes used to hold so much warmth and he remembered the comfort he had drawn from them on the many nights that she had forced him to practice his occlumency.
"I want you to leave Harry. You don't belong here." Hermione told him breaking his gaze. He had always been able to read her better than anyone else.
"I don't believe that." Harry responded as he reached his hand up to her chin and gently turned her head to face him.
"It's true. You're better off elsewhere. Trust me on this." Hermione pleaded holding his gaze.
"I'm right where I belong. You and I both know that." Harry repeated. "I don't know why it took me so long to realise that but as I talked with Dumbledore I realised why I wasn't happy."
"You have to leave." Hermione insisted.
"Why do I have to leave Hermione?" Harry asked. He couldn't understand why she was so insistent on it.
She cast him one angry glare and then walked away from him. He watched her walk away from him just as she did seven years ago. They had been right there in that same corridor when he had confessed to her that he thought it was hopeless and he was meant to die in the final battle. She had been quite upset with him. They argued for a long while and somehow he ended up kissing her. It had been the most passionate kiss that he had ever experienced but he soon broke it as thoughts of Ron filled his mind. Hermione stormed off and he thought he had ruined his friendship with her. He was quite surprised to discover from Neville later that night that she and Ron had broken up.
He stood there for a few more minutes. Normally he would let Hermione cool off but he wasn't sure anymore. He didn't know if to chase after her or to leave her be. He knew she was hiding something from him but he didn't know what. She had always known things before him and she would usually share them but the fear that he had seen in her eyes scared him. Whatever she was hiding from him, it was very important.
-*-
Luna had been sent to retrieve Ron from the kitchen. She arrived at the correct portrait and fondly tickled the pear. The door swung open and she walked into the kitchen to find Ron with an apron marked `kiss the cook' on. "What are you doing?"
"Learning to cook pumpkin pie!" Ron exclaimed happily.
Luna didn't want to sound like a dumb blonde but she had to ask "Why?"
"It's the one thing muggles can't cook correctly. I really craved this." Ron said as he waved his flour covered wand around.
"And people think I'm crazy." Luna muttered under her breathe.
"What was that?" Ron asked
"We're ready to go." Luna said politely.
Ron's face fell, "already?"
"Yes now clean up let's go." Luna said firmly. She felt like a mother talking to a six year old.
Ron gave her a puppy dog face but she insisted it was time to go and he reluctantly cleaned up and followed her out the door. They followed a series of corridors up to the headmaster's office. Suddenly, out of no where, Harry emerged from behind a suit of armour.
"Jeez mate, you scared me." Ron said slightly peeved.
"Sorry." Harry said with an apologetic face.
They walked in silence until they reached the gargoyles that guarded the entrance to the headmaster's office.
"Short feet," Luna said and the gargoyles jump aside.
Harry and Ron both turned to each other with bemused faces. They followed Luna up the spiral staircase until they entered the office. The last thing they ever expected to see was Hermione and Ginny in the middle of a duel.
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