Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Additional Author's Note: Please go back and read Chapter 26. Since I posted two at once, many people missed reading that one (445 vs 1450 for the one before and 1400 for the one after).
Chapter 29: Phoenix in Retreat
3 March
Harry walked into the Great Hall for breakfast with Hermione. Being prefects, she wanted them to avoid too many displays of public affection, but she considered holding hands appropriate and they almost never went anywhere without being hand in hand. Since the Quibbler article had come out, Harry had noticed a change in the overall attitude towards him. The DA members already clearly looked up to him, which was embarrassing, but gave him a warm feeling that he was doing well at his first attempt as a teacher. Noticing how the general student population now seemed to look up to him was a huge surprise, though.
Hermione might have been biased in the other direction, but she wasn't surprised at all. Harry was the boy-who-lived. He was the youngest seeker in a century and one of the most successful. He was the Tri-Wizard Champion. He hadn't noticed, but he'd started subconsciously doing the billowing robes trick he'd long admired (sometimes the only thing he admired) on Snape. For a fifteen year old he really struck a very imposing presence. She thought Dumbledore must have had a similar presence, maybe even Tom Riddle before he became openly dark.
They both greeted their friends in all the houses. Susan Bones in Hufflepuff gave them a little wave and they returned her greeting. Cho and Cedric said hi. Even Slytherin House was becoming much less hostile. Draco had stopped annoying Harry for some reason, maybe due to his dramatic loss in the duel, but it made a nice change of pace.
Harry slid into the Gryffindor table next to Ron while Hermione sat on his other side.
"Hey, mate!" Ron said. He was eating easily with both hands. Hermione had taught him a simple glamour charm to hide the silver gleam of his left hand and make it look just like his right. It was difficult to see through unless you were using auramancy, in which case the arm glowed magically.
"Hey." Harry nodded, "Looking forward to DA today?"
"Of course!" Ron said, "Going to do anything cool?"
"Yeah, Hermione's got a new spell for us." Harry said, smiling at the bushy haired girl. She smiled back, pleased that her hard work was noticed by her fiancée.
"Great!" Ron said, "Merlin knows we're not learning anything in DADA."
They all looked up at the head table, where Delores was glowering back at them. The day she left Hogwarts there would be a celebration.
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3 March evening
Harry met in the Room of Requirement with his assistants. He'd thought about finding time to discuss the mental side of dueling and he'd decided tonight was the best night for that. He also wanted Hermione to teach them her new spell so they could help the other members learn it later that evening.
"Ok, there's two things I want to cover tonight." Harry said, "The first is what I call the mental part of dueling or the 'mind-game'. Early on in Quidditch, I noticed there were times I felt really 'on' and times I felt a little more distracted. It seemed random to me and I couldn't figure out how to turn that switch on. Have you all ever felt that way?"
Ron was nodding. "Are you kidding? My first game I felt like I was going to puke, especially when the Slytherins were singing that stupid song. I think if I'd screwed up, I would have been a wreck and wouldn't have been able to concentrate for shite. Oops, sorry Hermione."
The others agreed. Neville spoke up, "We've talked before about my confidence problem. It's getting a lot better, but I've felt like Ron a lot."
"All of us feel that way from time to time." Harry said, "Professional athletes and duelists have written books about the subject, but it's very difficult. My proper mindset may be very different from yours. The key is to understanding that we both have one. Pay attention to how you feel when you're 'on'. What led to you feeling that way? Was there a ritual you went through? Once you've felt it, it's a lot easier to get back there."
"You're all skilled occlumens. I found the organization of occlumency was very helpful in consistently being able to enter that proper mindset. Look back through your memories. Find a memory of a time when you felt really 'on'. Examine that memory as closely as you can and memorize what that mindset felt like. Then practice assuming that mindset at will. With a lot of practice you'll be quicker and quicker about it. Maybe at first you'll need a little ritual to get into that mindset. For me during Quidditch it was the routine of the locker room, taking the field, and flying around waiting for the Snitch to be released. For dueling it was the bows and salutes. Eventually, though, you have to learn to do it without ritual, because the Death Eaters won't give you time. With practice, pretty soon you'll be able to drop into it without any. Let's work on that for a half hour, then Hermione's going to teach us her spell."
Harry and Hermione walked around and with permission used some gentle legilimency to explore those memories with their friends, giving tips about the right mindset and some ways they'd found helpful. It was a very individual thing, though, so they could only help so much. After thirty minutes, Harry called for their attention.
"Ok, I think each of you have at least a start." Harry said, "Just like we practice occlumency every night, practice this at the beginning of every duel or every Quidditch match." Glancing at Hermione, he added with a grin, "Some people even say it works on exams, so you might try that, too. With time you'll find it coming naturally. The other thing to remember is that your opponent may try to take you out of the right mindset. There are many ways to do that, including distraction, intimidation, causing you to underestimate them… you don't want to let them pull you out of your mindset and someday you may want to work on trying to disrupt their mindset."
Hermione stepped up. "We've been talking on and off about whether to use stunners or more lethal spells. I think Ginny brought it up at an earlier DA prep session. The problem is the stunning spell is just too easily countered by allies of your opponent. As long as some Death Eaters are awake, they'll innervate their comrades. Meanwhile, if they're using Killing Curses, we won't have the option of just waking up our fallen. It's a huge disadvantage. However, not killing is one of the things that separate us from them. So how do we reconcile this problem? I did some research…"
Ron chuckled a little and almost got Harry started. Even Neville looked like he was having a tough time not smiling.
"I know it's hardly surprising." Hermione huffed, "What I've been able to do though is really special. I modified the stunning spell to add a password. Without the password or passphrase, you can't innervate the target. It only adds a small wand movement and doesn't require significantly more power. I think we'll all be able to cast it easily."
"Now," Hermione continued, "the password should be standardized among the DA. I thought of a lot of options. Initially I just thought of things Death Eaters would be unlikely to say, like 'Voldemort sucks', but I realized we had even better options. To innervate someone, you have to be holding a wand. Any oath you make while holding your wand is magically binding. So the password I'm proposing is, 'On my life and magic I swear never to aid Voldemort'. It's something none of us will have a problem with, but Death Eaters should be very reluctant to say even if they learn about it. It's possible to innervate without the password, but it takes a lot of energy and so much time that it's not effective in combat, which is really the goal."
They all thought that was brilliant. Harry had been stunned. He'd initially thought about 'phoenix' or 'Dumbledore's Army', but Hermione's idea was so much better.
She taught them all the modified spell and they practiced on each other until the rest of the DA showed up. Then she made the same speech in front of all of them.
Then Harry stood up, "I've been thinking a lot about this. I believe there's a delicate balance between tying our hands trying to be too delicate with the Death Eaters and allowing them to drive us to their level. Hermione has encouraged me to read and it has really helped me understand this problem. A Muggle philosopher named Friedrich Nietzshe said, 'Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.' This really seems to fit our situation. Voldemort killed my family after they were betrayed by one of his servants whom they thought was one of their best friends. Others among you have lost family. We have reason to hate, but we must try to take the high road. So I ask that you consider this stunning spell your first line attack against Death Eaters. Now once they start throwing Killing Curses, which they will, if you decide to throw blasting hexes, bone breakers, cutting and piercing curses back, I'll understand. I'll probably be right there with you, but please let's try not to. I think when we come through this, we'll be happier and mentally healthier the more we've tried to avoid killing."
They broke up into pairs and started casting the spell. The Black Isle crew circulated and helped those who were having trouble, although given how much they'd practiced the basic stunning spell, most of them weren't having any problems. The most prevalent problem was switching back to the basic spell without thinking, given how much they'd practiced it. Once they all had the new spell down, Harry gave them a five minute break, then they practiced with one half of each pair dodging while the other half attacked with the modified stunning spell. Then they switched.
Harry was circulating around the group. The DA was really coming together. He was still surprised when some of the members seemed to use it as a way to flirt with him, like Lavender Brown. She seemed to wear briefer and briefer knickers until eventually, like Luna, she wasn't wearing any at all. Somehow she always managed to get stunned when he was walking by. Even his Quidditch team mates sometimes tried to tease him the same way, but he actually thought they were funny, since they'd at least try to target their jokes and they had spent way too much time in locker rooms together to be uncomfortable around one another. Besides, who knew they made knickers with flying snitches all over them?
They briefly practiced their Patronuses and then did a handful of duels before breaking up. Harry carefully examined the Marauder's Map before sending the members back to their common rooms. So far they were still escaping Umbridge's detection.
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4 March
Harry was strangely really coming to enjoy Potions class, completing the inversion of the year where he came to hate DADA and enjoy Potions. However, with more understanding of Snape, even though the grim man hadn't really apparently changed that much, and the benefit of working with Hermione very closely, it was a much different experience. They fully researched each potion beforehand and looked in other references how best to brew the potion of the day. Harry had come to realize the assigned text for the course really wasn't that good, but with a little outside reading, the weaknesses were easily overcome.
Professor Snape came up behind Harry and Hermione and watched as they made the invigoration draught. He watched as they carefully ground some leaves in a mortar and pestle.
"Mr. Potter," Snape said silkily, "I believe the text says to cut the Alihotsy leaves into fine pieces, does it not?"
"It does, Professor." Harry said while continuing to grind.
"Then why are you grinding them?"
"Because grinding actually creates more surface area, allowing the leaves to release their essential oils more readily." Harry said, "I read it in 'More Perfecte Potions', sir."
Professor Snape sniffed and continued on without saying anything more. Once he'd finished the steps, Harry looked at his potion and it looked exactly as had been described in the book. He carefully placed a sample in the vial and went to Snape's desk to turn it in. He placed it in the rack for that purpose, while Professor Snape ignored him.
He and Hermione left.
"What do you think that was about?" Harry asked her.
She smiled at him, "Couldn't you tell? Remember, Professor Snape will always say so if you're doing something wrong. If he doesn't say anything, it must mean you're doing it right. Our potions looked better than anyone else's."
Harry shrugged, "I still don't get that guy. We see him probably more than any other student, but he still acts like he hates us."
"That's just how he is." Hermione said, "It's not like he can be nice to you. How would that sound when it got back to Voldemort?"
"I know." Harry grumbled.
Hermione elbowed him and grinned, "It almost sounds like you care what Professor Snape thinks of you, Mr. Potter."
Harry thought for a few minutes. He supposed he was coming to care. Bugger.
Later, that evening, they walked down to Snape's office as usual for their occlumency lessons. They let themselves inside and sat. Snape strode in a few minutes later, his robes billowing behind him impressively. His black eyes seemed to flash fire as he glanced at them, almost looking for something to criticize.
"You continue to show up, how unexpected." He finally said.
Harry just cocked his head slightly, meeting Professor Snape's eyes as if to challenge him to attack him mentally. Which was exactly what Snape did, non-verbally casting legilimens. Harry shrugged off the attack. Snape did the same to Hermione, with the same result.
"Very well, now me." Snape said.
The two attacked Snape in tandem, finding he'd obviously been practicing. They had also been practicing legilimency, though, and it was a tough fight. Eventually, Snape managed to throw them out.
"You have both obviously been working, just as I instructed." Snape said, "Your results are…acceptable. We will not waste more time on this tonight. Your OWL exams are approaching. For whatever reasons, you remain a celebrity, Mr. Potter. Miss Granger, now that you are engaged, you too are in the public eye. If you fail your exams, it will make me look bad as an instructor. So until the exams, I will quiz you and then we will make one of the likely potions I expect will be on your OWL. You seem to be doing research before class. I approve of this. I will give you more of such instruction to improve your potion making. In addition to protecting my reputation, Madame Umbridge would love nothing more than for you both to fail. I dislike the woman and no matter how I feel about you two, would enjoy seeing her disappointed."
Snape then proceeded to ask questions in a rapid fire manner. He was very exacting and extremely critical of partial or vague answers. He even challenged Hermione, despite her encyclopedic knowledge. Afterwards, they brewed a potion and he offered even more refinements to the basic recipe, including several optional ways to make the potion depending on the planned recipient.
"For children, you may wish to add peppermint." Snape said, "Taste is actually important, because if they refuse to consume the potion, it does not matter how effective it would have been. For the elderly or infirm, you may want to dilute it slightly to avoid the intensity of the baseline recipe. Do not use this potion during pregnancy as it can be dangerous to the fetus."
Hermione's quill was almost literally smoking as she took copious notes. Snape curled the edge of his lip observing her behavior, but then crooked his eyebrow at Harry.
"Do you not need notes, Mr. Potter?"
"We share notes, sir." Harry said, "Hers are much more legible."
"Having graded your essays," Professor Snape said, "I can attest to the likelihood of that."
As they left, Harry was stunned. Once they had climbed the first set of stairs, he finally gave voice to his thoughts.
"Did we actually just receive a lesson from Professor Snape?"
Hermione grinned and nodded her head happily. "Wasn't it wonderful?"
Harry just shook his head, still shocked. Snape obviously could teach. The only question was why he normally didn't.
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5 March
At breakfast, the Headmaster again informed Harry he was expected in his office after breakfast.
"This is becoming quite a habit, Mr. Potter." Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling.
"I have told you the boy's disruptive." Umbridge said from further down the head table.
"Oh, Mr. Potter and I are well acquainted, Professor Umbridge." Dumbledore said, "I daresay he is in my office more than any other student."
Harry walked on, laughing inside at the veiled meaning of Dumbledore's words. Umbridge was an idiot. He just hoped she wasn't the idiot that closed the door on his hope to be an auror, among other potential jobs he was considering. A failure in DADA certainly wouldn't open any doors.
Harry and Hermione both went up to the Headmaster's office. Dumbledore watched them come in and then cast some extremely powerful privacy charms with an unfamiliar wand made of hazel wood.
Dumbledore noticed their attention. "Ah, this is my original wand. Twelve inches, hazel with a phoenix feather core. That touches on what I brought you here to discuss. Please, have a seat."
They both sat, quietly waiting for Dumbledore to start. Harry had come to understand that Dumbledore was similar to Hermione in some ways. He liked to lecture and the best thing to do was to let him start his own way.
"Have you ever heard of the Deathly Hallows?" Dumbledore began.
Harry shook his head and to his shock, so did Hermione.
"Ah, we have uncovered a gap in Miss Granger's knowledge." Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling, "To be honest, I am unsurprised. Wizarding children grow up hearing this tale, among others, as it is one of our common children's stories."
Dumbledore then told them the story of the three brothers who each made a request of Death and how each soon died except for the youngest brother, who lived with his invisibility cloak until he reached old age.
"Does this make you think of anything, Harry?" Dumbledore asked.
Harry thought for a few moments. "Not really, Professor. I mean I have an invisibility cloak, but so does Mad-Eye Moody. They're not that uncommon."
"No, Harry, you're right. They're not uncommon." Hermione said, "But they're expensive and somewhat delicate. Fabric is not easily enchanted. Only the highest quality fabric is enchantable at all, like our dueling robes, and tends to break down over years. I've never heard of an invisibility cloak lasting long enough to be passed from father to son."
"Exactly, Miss Granger." Dumbledore said, "Your cloak has been in the Potter family for many generations. I asked your father to borrow it to research my suspicion that it might be something very special. It works better than any other invisibility cloak, as well. I suspected it was the cloak mentioned in the legend. I had grown interested in the Hallows as a young man after a tragedy in my family. I wanted to find the Stone of Resurrection, rumored to be able to bring the deceased back from the dead. Harry, may I see your ring?"
Harry nodded and handed it to the Headmaster.
The Headmaster looked at it in his hands longingly, seeming to consider something for several minutes. Something in his eyes seemed to clear as he came to a decision. He handed the ring back to Harry.
"Do you see this symbol?" Albus asked, pointing at the face of the stone, "This is the symbol of the Hallows. The wand, the stone, and the cloak. This is the Stone of Resurrection. I always longed for it to bring my sister back, but I realize now that nothing can truly bring her back. I suspect that to try would cause more pain than I care to inflict at this point in my life."
Both Harry and Hermione were silent, speechless at the magnitude of this revelation from their beloved Headmaster.
"The wand I have used ever since I took it from Grindelwald is the wand of the legend, the Death Stick, also known as the Elder Wand. It is the most powerful wand in existence. It will only work for its master, whoever won it from the last master. Harry, you took it from me, so now you are its master. Should someone defeat you, they will become its master. You must not allow that to happen, for it is a powerful tool and would make Voldemort unstoppable. I want you to practice with it, but be extremely careful not to be defeated or disarmed. Hermione, I want you to be his failsafe. If he is ever defeated or disarmed, I want you to immediately disarm whoever had done so, without warning and without mercy. The elder wand must remain in our possession. You will need to drill with it, Harry. I have carefully gone over my pensieve memories of the time immediately after I began using it. There is an adjustment period when you will learn how to modulate your power. However, it is not very difficult, because the wand will do exactly as you wish so long as you are its master."
"I have to tell you of another portion of the legend. Anyone who becomes the master of all three of the Hallows would become the Master of Death. I do not know what it means, but I have manipulated events so that you would become that person. For many years I had hoped to be the Master, but I finally realized that a longing for power was a weakness of mine and one that I must avoid."
Harry was silent; trying to absorb everything Dumbledore had told him.
"You say the Resurrection Stone would cause pain to any it brought back?" Harry asked with a wistful tone in his voice.
"Yes, Harry, I am afraid so. There may come a point when your need to use it outweighs that concern. I know your parents would bear any pain to come to you, but please do not use it frivolously." Dumbledore said gravely.
Harry nodded. He resolved right then to never use it. His parents had sacrificed enough for him. They would not have to sacrifice their eternal rest as well. Hermione snaked her arm around his waist and leaned into him, offering him support as she felt the emotional turmoil he was experiencing.
Harry and Hermione went to the Room of Requirement, looking for a way to relax and think about what Dumbledore had said.
"Why don't we work on our animagus transformations?" Hermione offered, "We can work more on phoenix apparition."
Harry nodded. Together they transformed.
Hermione became a gorgeous phoenix with a thick plumage of primarily dark chocolate colored feathers with an iridescent golden sheen that showed through from the underside. In the long tail feathers, gold was the dominant color with a mixture of some emerald green feathers. The plumage on her head was an emerald green which only gradually transitioned into the brown around the shoulders and her eyes were the chocolate brown Harry adored.
Harry was predominately the vivid emerald green color from the shoulders to the just short of the tail. His head plumage was raven-black with an iridescent sheen. At the crown of his head, the feathers stuck out every which way. The black head feathers made the emerald green eyes stand out. The back of the wings was darkest black, while the undersides were green. The tail feathers were mixed, each feather being either all black or all green.
They'd managed to master flying, which came naturally. After a few early catastrophic attempts, they'd both managed to get airborne and then their skills rapidly progressed. Phoenices were amazingly graceful for such a large bird. They'd found they were ridiculously strong while in phoenix form, able to lift each other by the tail with almost no effort. Only magic could account for that, because no wing loading accountable for by physics would allow a bird that could sit on someone's shoulder to lift a single person, let alone several.
Phoenices apparently saw auras naturally, without effort. If it hadn't been for their efforts in auramancy, both phoenix animagi would have been very confused the first time they transformed and the world was represented in a rainbow of color. This magical ability was easy, but apparition was not. They tried and tried, but neither had yet been successful. Harry had transformed back to a wizard, rolling on the floor laughing after Hermione's first attempt. She'd transformed back, too, to look at him annoyed.
"What?!" she'd demanded.
"I didn't know a phoenix could look constipated!" he'd laughed.
"What?" she'd protested.
"When you were trying so hard, that's the best description I can give for how you looked!" Harry had said, still struggling to catch his breath.
Hermione had just shaken her head and transformed back to try again.
This time, she'd suddenly had an idea.
"Harry, what if you call Hedwig and have her teach us how?" Hermione asked.
"Do you think that could work?" Harry asked, wondering why they hadn't tried before.
"It seems ridiculously simple, but we haven't tried it." Hermione said, shrugging.
Harry called Hedwig, the beautiful white phoenix with some black accents and glowing golden eyes. She flashed into existence in a burst of silver flame. The two teens transformed and it seemed like suddenly they could understand Hedwig.
<Harry my friend, now you understand me!> Hedwig called.
<I do!> Harry replied, <This is brilliant!>
<You called me for a reason, I sensed it when you summoned me.> Hedwig replied.
<Hermione/my mate and I can't fire travel.> Harry communicated, <We hoped/longed for/hungered for you to teach us.>
<Ah, young one, it's like this!> Hedwig said and disappeared in another flash of silver fire. Both Harry and Hermione could see/feel the magic now that they were paying close attention. It was obvious they'd been trying much too hard. Apparition came even more naturally to phoenices than flying.
They both disappeared, Harry in a flash of emerald fire the same color as his aura, Hermione in a flash of gold. They reappeared high above Hogwarts, having followed Hedwig, who was gliding below them. They each tucked their wings closer and pursued Hedwig, who led them in a merry chase of fire travel and flying. Harry's earlier experience of apparating while dueling and flying with banishing charms was nothing compared to the insane but instinctive flying that Hedwig led them in. Flying under the covered wooden bridge only to loop over it, apparate from the bottom, when they were at highest speed to the top only to go over again in a dive, increasing speed again and again until they were flying so fast that only magical wings could withstand the strain of the g-forces, then to pull up into an almost vertical climb, letting the speed bleed off into pure altitude, running out of speed high above Hogwarts and then slowly falling back towards the Earth. In an effort to teach them, Hedwig led them on a game of follow the leader for hours. Once, they flew directly at one of the stone walls of Hogwarts only to blindly apparate through the wall, suddenly flying along the hallway, students ducking despite the fact they were nowhere near low enough to hit them. They blindly apparated and were swiftly flying through a girls' shower, almost empty but for a few late risers, Hedwig hooting laughter at Harry's felt embarrassment. Hermione called out her own laughter, which suddenly disappeared as they apparated through the boys' shower.
<Not so funny now, huh?> Harry cried in phoenix.
<Shush, you!> Hermione cried, <Maybe those images will burn from my mind with our next travel.>
With a flash they shot through the Slytherin common room, green and silver robed children ducking out of the way. Another flash and they shot through Dumbledore's office, his laughter following them out, Fawkes joining in their chase.
<Let's get Ron!> Harry called.
<And Ginny!> Hermione replied.
They found they could sense where their friends were, obviously the same way Fawkes had found Harry in the previously unknown Chamber of Secrets. They flashed to them, landing on chairs in the Gryffindor common room, where Ron was playing chess with Neville and Ginny was studying next to them. Friday morning, the common room was fairly full, since the fifth year Gryffindors had a light schedule on Friday, the time reserved for completing homework and studying.
"Bloody hell, are those four phoenixes?" Ron said, almost knocking over the chess set as he stood abruptly.
<Phoenices!> Hermione cried.
"Their songs are so beautiful!" Ginny said, trying to reach out and touch Harry, "I like this one. Look at his eyes, they look like Harry's."
Ron did a double take. He looked at the glossy brown, gold, and green phoenix twice and then knew.
"Ginny, I'm going to go grab my broom. I'm going to grab Harry's for you. Stay here." Ron said as he hurried towards the boy's dorm.
"Harry's Firebolt?" Ginny asked surprised, "I don't think he'd be ok with me borrowing it without asking."
Ron looked back and saw the black headed phoenix nodding its head that it was ok to grab the broom.
"I somehow think he's ok with it, Gin." Ron said with a smile.
Neville ran up with Ron to grab his own broom. Both Neville and Hermione had been poor flyers at first. Hermione had finally broken her fear through bonding with Harry. Neville had to do it the hard way, with sheer willpower, but he was too in love with Ginny to let something as important to her as flying be foreign to him. He'd begged Harry to teach him how to fly better and Harry had given him secret lessons during the little downtime Harry had in his crazy new schedule. Once he'd gotten over his fear, Neville had turned out to be a decent flyer. Nowhere near on Ginny's level, but about as good as Ron.
Ron ran down the stairs with his new broom and Harry's firebolt. Neville had his own Nimbus his gran had bought for him when he'd owled her why he'd wanted it. The three started walking towards the portrait, but the dark headed phoenix flew in front of them, cutting them off, then pulling up and spreading his tail feathers.
"I think he wants us to grab hold." Ron said.
"Are you sure he doesn't bite?" Neville asked.
Harry chortled in phoenix laughter.
The three finally grabbed onto Harry's feathers and Harry flashed to the Quidditch pitch. The other phoenices followed. Harry and Hermione spiraled around each other into the air.
Looking around and seeing the pitch deserted on a Friday mid-morning, Ron whispered to the other two.
"It's Harry and Hermione!"
Neville and Ginny looked at each other and then back at the phoenices.
"It is!" they exclaimed in unison.
"I can't believe they did the animagus and didn't tell me!" Ginny complained.
"I can't believe they became phoenixes." Neville replied, "That's unheard of, I think."
<Phoenices!> Hermione cried.
The phoenixes led their friends on a more sedate version of the flying follow-the-leader game they'd done earlier, enjoying the cool early Spring air. They flew for another hour or two, knowing they were done when Ron started complaining about hunger. Harry and Hermione flashed them back to the common room and then flashed themselves away, appearing within Harry's bed curtains, where they turned back into their normal shapes, only to meet Ron and Neville, who were returning the brooms.
"How?" Ron started, "Oh, you can apparate, that's right."
"Thanks for not being mad we didn't tell you, Ron." Harry said.
"I figure you had your reasons." Ron said, "You better bloody well help me do it now, though."
Hermione nodded and gave Ron a hug, refraining even from correcting his language.
"We'll help all of you."
That night Hermione gave each of the Black Isle Crew a copy of the animagus guide they'd followed, charmed to only be readable by them. She'd put a title on the front, "Marauder's Guide to the Animagus Transformation", which since some of the information came from McGonagall was not following the strictest attribution rules, but was essentially correct and more importantly honored Harry's family.
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6 March
Draco was casting piercing hex after piercing hex under Alex's close supervision. His wand work was precise and quick.
"You've been practicing." Alex said quietly.
Draco just nodded and kept casting during the drill.
"What changed?" Alex asked.
"Can we talk later?" Draco asked, giving a quick look around at his fellow Slytherins whose parents had also contributed to Alex's pay.
"Sure, stick around after." Alex said, moving on to another of his students.
Alex sighed as the last of the students left. It wasn't very rewarding, teaching the same things over and over to spoiled rich brats who didn't listen. Each of them imagined he was the next great dueling champion, destined to bring great honor to their already honored family names. Alex refused to call them by their surnames, wanting to establish that they each had to build their own reputation, not try to rest on the reputation of their families. Draco was the most promising, but he had the same underlying problem. This had been his best practice so far and it was apparent he'd been working hard ahead of time. Alex quickly warded the room for privacy.
"Alright, Draco." Alex said, "What changed?"
"I have heard all my life about honor. The great honor of the Malfoy name." Draco said, "When it came down to it, though, I dueled Potter and lost. The Malfoy name did nothing for me. My lack of preparation left me completely outclassed and it was obvious even to me. At first, I was just mad at Potter. I planned to work with you to become better at dueling than he is. In the process, I've learned how good he really is and how hard it is to get that good. I finally realized that not all Potter's honors have been just because of that 'boy-who-lived' crap. I realized the only way the Malfoy name will be honored in the future is if I bring honor to it. So I decided to get busy and do it."
Alex nodded. "Don't think the Malfoy name does nothing for you. If it weren't for the Malfoy bank account you wouldn't be training with me and becoming an accomplished duelist would be even more difficult. So on top of the great realizations you've had, remember that you've still got advantages that some others don't have."
Draco gave a short nod, his jaw muscles clenched.
"What do you think about Potter now?" Alex asked.
"I don't necessarily like him." Draco asked, "He's an ass of a Gryffindor. Only recently has he seemed to think ahead at all instead of plowing through life like a bull. Now, though, I respect him. He's accomplished a lot between his Quidditch accomplishments, winning the Triwizard cup, and becoming a really skilled duelist."
"What are you going to do when your family connections pit you against him?" Alex asked.
Draco gave him a curious look that seemed to ask why he was asking so many questions about Potter, but he finally replied, "The Slytherin mindset is to look for the greatest advantage. I'm not going to blindly follow my father's directions. Potter, for whatever reason, seems to win every time he defies the Dark Lord. I'm not confident he'll keep doing so, though. So I'm going to try to go my own way. Not oppose Potter to the extent I have, but not try to buddy up with him. I want to focus on making myself more than I am while trying to stay neutral in this conflict."
Alex clapped him on the shoulder. "That sounds like a fine plan. Less likely to get injured that way. I see you're making progress on the strip. Keep working and you have potential."
Draco nodded and left the classroom.
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6 March
Harry whooped as he passed inverted over the top of a loop, flying immediately behind Ginny while following a practice Snitch. They were playing pick-up Quidditch as a study break activity. He'd committed to revising for OWLs with Hermione for most of the day, but her playing some Quidditch was his price. Hermione was currently making a dash towards the goals with the Quaffle, her teammate Luna right beside her. They'd split up into the Weasleys vs. the world, which consisted of Harry, Hermione, Luna, and Neville. They were playing without beaters, which freed the twins up to play as chasers, Ginny as seeker, and Ron as keeper. On the 'world' team, it was Harry as seeker, Hermione and Luna as chasers, and Neville as keeper. The Weasleys were the better team, each of them having played more often and in at least one school game, however Harry was far and away the best Quidditch player among them and catching the Snitch was such a high value play that it balanced. Hermione was flying incredibly, the change since she'd bonded with Harry very obvious. Her animagus transformation had completed her personal transition from reluctant flyer to really skilled. Luna was pretty well suited to flying as a chaser, but Neville would have been a much better beater.
Hermione feinted a shot on goal while passing the Quaffle to Luna behind her back, something she'd seen done, but never tried. It wasn't a perfect pass, but Luna had an uncanny knack for reading people and she was in the right place to catch it and immediately dump it in the goal furthest from Ron.
"Not bad, Hermione!" Ron called, "That's 40 to 120, Weasley's lead, right?"
"That's right, Ron." Hermione replied, "We know you're still winning."
"Good!" Ron said grinning, "Just wanted to be clear on that!"
At that moment, Harry came shooting between the two of them, still whooping with joy. Ginny was right behind him, unable to keep up with the ridiculous speed of the firebolt. It wasn't clear at first whether he was trying to plough her into the ground with a Wronski feint or had the Snitch in sight until he came out of his dive with a golden glint shining between his fingers.
"190-120, world wins!" Harry called.
"Well, good game." Ron called, sighing.
They all headed back inside. It was still a little cold out in the early spring of Scotland. The House Elves had hot chocolate waiting for them in the Gryffindor Common room where Harry and Hermione started studying, Ron and Neville began a game of chess with Luna curled up on Ron's lap while Ginny tried to coach her boyfriend. The twins departed to whatever pranks they were probably working on.
"How are we doing on your revision schedule?" Harry asked.
"Not bad." Hermione said, "We lost some time to figuring out Ron's arm, but we've been going through the material faster than I assumed we would. You're not holding us back as much as you used to."
"Thanks, I think." Harry said, grinning.
"Well, it's true!" Hermione said.
"You've been a good influence." Harry said with a sweet, lopsided smile.
Hermione felt a warm glow. How did Harry still do that to her?
"I don't understand why you weren't always like this." Hermione finally said, "Your mum was supposed to be at the top of her class and your dad was eventually Head Boy. You definitely inherited their brains. Why did you ever slack so much before we got together?"
Harry looked at her, knowing she already knew the answer. She knew the Dursleys had beaten him if he'd done better than Dudley, enforcing their perception of the proper ranking between the two boys.
Hermione saw his look and huffed, "Well, it's just one more reason for me to hate them." She said, "Why wouldn't they want you both to do your best. You might have been a good influence on Dudley if they'd pushed you to do your best."
Harry shook his head. "Expecting the Dursleys to make sense is a losing proposition, Hermione. I will admit that it feels better to apply myself. I remember enjoying school before the Dursleys conditioned me not to and I feel like I've gotten back to that. I've always hated being famous for no reason, but it's kind of nice to give people a reason to be impressed."
Hermione gave him a smoldering look. Seeing him apply his intelligence was a huge turn-on for the studious Witch.
"Maybe we can make a little wager." Hermione offered, "For every OWL you get… I'll owe you one 'favor'. For every OWL I get, you can owe me one. Outstandings can be worth two." Her tone when she said 'favor' made it clear what kind of favor she was discussing.
"Let's get back to the books." Harry said, dropping his eyes back to his texts and missing the smirk he received in reply.
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After dinner they all gathered in the Room of Requirement. Harry had very high standards for continuous drilling, knowing that only through repetition would he get better and faster at his casting. He was making so much progress in his duels that he wanted to keep up the hard work, especially with Dumbledore's warning that he would have to recalibrate now that he was using the Elder Wand. He and Hermione had agreed they wouldn't share that piece of information. Both hated keeping secrets from their best friends, but this was just too important. However, if Dumbledore's warning was right, they'd need to tell them something or else they'd wonder why Harry's spells were suddenly more powerful.
"I need to recalibrate my spell power." Harry said, "The Headmaster said I'd had something like a magical 'growth spurt', but my spells are hitting a lot harder now."
"Harder?" Ron asked, "You're already ridiculously powerful, how much stronger can you get?"
"No idea, Ron." Harry said, "No matter how strong I get, Voldemort's probably stronger, so I'm not going to question it."
They set up a target range with standard dummies. Each of them took position ready to go. Harry focused intently, planning on starting with his SPEAR spell, his most-used spell which would make a good baseline for him. He'd never cast with the Elder Wand before and wondered how much of a difference it would make. Looking downrange, he saw five dummies set up. When it was just him, he preferred to set up ten, because then he could do more repetitions quickly, but even the giant Room of Requirement grew a little crowded when the six of them were each trying to set up five dummies each a good distance away.
Harry unleashed, focusing on smooth, small wand movements. The Elder Wand, carved with small elder berries, felt slightly different in his hand and he wanted to make his wand motions perfect, knowing speed would come naturally from a smooth tight movement and didn't need to be forced. The movements of this particular spell were almost reflexive, given how often he cast it. The bursts of light rippled off the Elder Wand like flashes off a lake in the summer. The wand felt good in his hand, natural. Harry was shocked at the results. Instead of the normal result, the heads of the target dummies exploding, the entire dummy flashed into vapor.
Ron looked over at Harry, his mouth open. He then looked at Hermione and mouthed, "Growth spurt?" to which she just shook her head and went back to her own casting.
Harry continued doing repetitions, finding that casting with the Elder Wand felt very fluid and natural. It seemed to take less power and deliver greater results. He slowly recalibrated the amount of power he put into each spell, striving for enough to kill a Death Eater, but not enough to hurt surroundings. After he'd done 200 iterations of his SPEAR spell, he started on Hermione's new stunner. He needed more work with this one, since it was new. It was lucky it was almost exactly the same as the stunner, though, because he already had a lot of muscle memory with that spell and just needed to retrain his body to add the small extra flourish that combined with the right non-verbal impetus created the pass-phrase locked stunner.
Harry kept drilling for hours. Eventually Ron and Luna wandered off, but Harry kept practicing. Ginny quit a half hour after her brother. She and Hermione went to a comfortable couch that suddenly appeared and started reading. Hermione was studying and helping Ginny with her work. Harry and Neville continued drilling. Neville had become almost as zealous as Harry, trying to make up for years of being thought of as a near-squib. However, even he eventually tired.
"Good job, Harry." Neville said softly, "Keep it up. I'm going to walk Gin back to the dorm. See you tomorrow?"
"Yeah, sure thing, Neville." Harry said absently. He was almost done getting comfortable with his piercing curses with the new wand and planned to move on to cutting curses next. With the minimal amount of power he had to put into his spells to get the desired effect with the Elder Wand he felt like he could go for days. He vaguely recalled Dumbledore had dueled with Grindelwald for three hours straight and they certainly were using more powerful spells than these.
Neville gave Hermione a hug and walked out with Ginny. Hermione gave Harry a fond glance, returning to her reading. She definitely understood the driven mentality and given that all the work he put in made it more likely he would survive the final battle, she didn't disapprove at all.
Finally, around ten o'clock, Harry wrapped up. He felt his robes sticking to him, damp with sweat despite the cool interior temperature. His core felt drained, having cast almost continuously for almost four hours. His holly wand would be warm from that much magic passing through it, but the Elder Wand was almost cold to the touch, feeling somewhat sinister, although that could be his imagination.
"Done, Harry?" Hermione asked, laying on the sofa reading.
"Yeah." Harry answered, "I'm just going to start getting sloppy if I keep going."
"You've been at it long enough." Hermione answered, "I wouldn't have thought you could get any better, but you were looking really good there at the end."
"Thanks." Harry said, "I really think repetition is half of what separates the good from the best."
"Well, keep it up." Hermione said, tucking herself under his arm after putting her shoes on, "Ugh, you need a shower."
"Thanks." He said, grinning sheepishly.
That night Harry had another Voldemort sent dream, seen through his occlumency shields. It was the same dream, but with each repetition he got closer to the door.
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March 7
Harry and Hermione were walking back to the Gryffindor common room from breakfast, when they heard a familiar drawl coming from an empty classroom.
"Potter. Granger. Come here for a moment, please."
They looked at each other and Harry dropped the Elder Wand into his hand from his wrist sheath. His Holly wand was on the other wrist and what had been his backup, but was now his third wand, was in a calf sheath.
Surprisingly, they found Malfoy sitting on a desk in the empty classroom, nobody else in sight.
"What do you want Malfoy?" Harry spit out, "I thought I told you to leave me alone?"
"Easy there, Potter." Draco drawled, "I heard you. It's hard not to when what you're saying is backed up by a hole in the shoulder."
Harry almost responded belligerently, but felt Hermione's calming influence through the bond. Malfoy really had been quiet lately. It might be worth finding out why.
"Ok." Harry said grudgingly, "Go ahead. What do you want?"
"You insist on making this difficult, don't you Potter?" Malfoy said, seeming irritated himself, "I'll try to keep this short. Since our duel I started working to try to get better at dueling myself. Get that look off your face - I didn't let something slip, I told you that because it's important to the story. If I wanted to keep it secret it would take more than a Gryffindor to get it out of me. Anyway, I learned how good you really are and how much work it took to get there. Now I see the difference between earned reputation and bought reputation. I've decided I like the earned kind better. So I wanted to let you know I've turned over a new leaf. I want to drop our feud. I don't think we'll ever be friends, but I have no intention of starting anything with you."
Harry nodded. "Ok, good enough. What about when snake-face forces you to get involved?"
Malfoy shook his head. "I don't have all the answers. I don't want to be associated with that madman anymore. I have my own goals. I'm going to try to just lay low and not get involved at all."
"Good luck with that." Harry said dismissively.
"I know it's not going to be easy." Draco said heatedly, "You don't know how hard it is."
"You don't know what hard is." Harry spat, "Try growing up in a cupboard sometime."
Draco looked confused, but then shook it off. "Whatever. I don't even know why I'm telling you. Probably just so you don't feel like you need to strike first. I just want to be left alone. I'm going to try to keep control of Slytherin, but some may want to associate with more aggressive elements once they see I'm not after you anymore."
"Thanks for the warning, but let 'em try." Harry said.
Draco shrugged. "Ok, then, Potter. I just wanted to tell you I really respect what I've saw during the duel. Now that I know what it takes, I wanted to let you know."
Harry looked at him surprised. Now he'd caught a glimmer of what Draco was really trying to say, even though the pale blonde probably didn't know fully himself.
"Fair enough." Harry said, "Good luck with your own training. Maybe someday we'll trust each other enough that we could have a friendly duel."
"I might like that." Draco allowed with a feral grin.
Harry impulsively stuck his hand out. Draco looked at it for a moment, the corner of his lip starting to curl, but then he took it. They shook hands and departed as neutral acquaintances, probably the best encounter they'd had since their first meeting in Diagon Alley.
Once they were out of earshot, Hermione leaned into Harry and whispered, "I'm proud of you."
"What for?" Harry said, surprised.
"You didn't hex him." Hermione said with a grin, "It's not much, but that was a start."
Harry and Hermione had gotten special permission to spend Sunday with the Grangers. They had planned on using House Elf apparition to travel to the Granger residence. Dumbledore had warned them that he suspected floo connections might be monitored. However, just before they apparated away from the Room of Requirement, Harry had winked at Hermione and disappeared in a flash of green flames. Without thinking, she followed him in a burst of gold.
"Harry Potter!" Hermione almost shrieked as she appeared in her parents' living room, "What were you thinking?"
Harry grinned his lopsided grin at her, glancing at her parents before looking back to her.
"Don't think my parents are going to get you out of this!" Hermione continued to rant, "For the first time we used flame travel in our regular forms, we should have tried small hops, then worked up to bigger hops. Not gone straight to my parents' house all willy-nilly!"
"It worked." Harry said, "So I took a chance. Nothing bad happened."
"Don't you know how much I worry about you, Harry Potter?" Hermione asked dolefully.
"Yes, I have a hint." Harry said apologetically.
They spent the day with the Grangers making wedding plans. It was fun for Harry to see Hermione getting so excited about something other than academics. In turn, she would steal glances at him, smiling and happy that she was preparing to marry the boy she'd loved almost since she'd started Hogwarts.
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Mar 31
March had passed with school work, dueling, and wedding preparations. With the Elder Wand, Harry had found he was getting better and better at dueling Dumbledore. Harry remained undefeated since the wand had changed hands, but was challenged enough to push him to continue developing new skills.
Dumbledore's Army continued to meet and train. Harry could barely believe it had been almost a full academic year since they'd started the group. He'd never imagined himself teaching, but now that he was doing it, he really enjoyed it. Despite everything Umbridge could do, he felt like this might have been one of the most productive years for learning Defense at Hogwarts. Even though she'd tried to keep them from learning anything practical, the fact that she'd forced them to learn independently had probably resulted in greater gains for the students involved in the DA than they would have seen even if they'd had a decent conventional professor.
He could honestly say that every member of the DA was proficient with basic defense against other wizards. They could all shield proficiently, dodge nimbly, and cast a handful of effective curses to counter attack. He'd taught them specific curses for werewolves, vampires, and the inferi. Tonight they continued to work on one of the most difficult of spells, the only weapon effective against Dementors.
Colin Creevey was the last member that Harry expected might be able to cast a corporeal patronus this year who hadn't yet. His younger brother, Dennis, was a second year. Harry had learned the spell as a third year, which had been really unusual, but he didn't expect Dennis would be able to do it as a second year. That hadn't kept him from trying, but Harry was focused on Colin, since he thought there was a good chance he'd get it.
"Come on, Colin, think of a really happy memory!" Harry encouraged.
Colin focused and called out, "Expecto Patronum!". A large amount of white mist formed, but not quite enough to form a shape.
"Almost Colin, keep working on it." Harry said. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Ginny whispering to Hermione. Hermione blushed to the roots of her hair and Harry was surprised by the amount of embarrassment and then determination he could feel through the bond. Hermione nodded. When she caught him looking at her she gave him an embarrassed smile, then quickly looked away.
"Colin, come over here." Hermione said, "We're going to coach you."
Every female member of the DA except Marietta who hadn't attended this meeting gathered around Colin. Somehow they shuffled until he had his back to a corner of the room. Harry noticed Cedric was grinning about something, as were the twins. Hermione kept up a constant patter of tips on the best way to cast a patronus.
"But the most important thing is you must have a really happy memory!" Hermione said. Almost as if on cue, all the girls lifted their sweaters. Harry and the rest of the men on the DA could only see their backs, but Colin obviously saw everything. His mouth dropped open and he looked almost exactly as he had during his first year, when he'd been petrified.
"Now, Colin, now!" Hermione urged.
"Expecto Patronum!" Colin called out. An English bulldog sprang out of his wand, running around the legs of the schoolgirls surrounding him. They all dropped their sweaters down, many of them giggling. They surrounded Colin even closer, laughing and patting him on the back.
"Good job, Colin!" Hermione said.
"Too bad you didn't have your camera that time, Colin." Harry said, "Ok, great job. I guess that shows the importance of teamwork." The DA members laughed at his quip. "We don't have any more time for duels today. Let's get back to our common rooms."
Harry took a look at the Marauder's Map and was concerned to see a lot of Slytherins walking towards the Room of Requirement. He noticed Delores Umbridge's name in the lead with Marietta Edgecombe's name next to her. They were coming too purposefully towards the room for it to be just another search. Just as he noticed this, Dobby popped into the room.
"Harry Potter, sir!" Dobby squeaked, "The bad toad woman is coming to get you!"
"Right." Harry Potter said, quickly synthesizing the information, "DA, Umbridge has found us somehow. We could try to hide here, but we should have time to scatter before we're trapped here, which would be awkward, because a headcount would show we were all missing. They're approaching this way…" he said pointing at the map, "that leaves these routes as our best escapes. Everyone set? Go!"
They'd covered various plans for escape should Umbridge ever find them. They hadn't planned on a direct betrayal, which made it more difficult, but everyone had memorized a number of planned routes. Harry watched as the membership of the DA rushed out the door, scattering into small groups and taking assorted different paths out. It was still before curfew, so the initial goal was to split into small enough groups to be believable and to get into normal places, such as loos or even broom closets, because the punishment for snogging would be worth hiding the existence of the DA. Harry watched as the DA scattered. He watched Ron safely lead his small group around the searchers. Ginny, Neville, and Luna avoided them as well. Cho Chang led her Ravenclaws by the searchers. Cedric was also clear. Eventually, only one name was exposed. Somehow Dennis Creevey had gotten separated from his group of assigned Gryffindors. Both Harry and Hermione held their breath, hoping he could get away. He was small and fast, but alone against a wave of Slytherin names, he was helpless. Soon his dot was surrounded by searchers, including Umbridge.
"Bugger." Harry exclaimed, pounding his fist into his thigh. He thought a minute. "Hermione, I need to get him. She believes in torture and Dennis is just a second year. Why don't you let Dumbledore and McGonagall know what's happening."
"I'm going with you!" Hermione shouted, "I'm not going to let that bitch torture you!"
"You know I can handle myself." Harry said with a loving smile, "Let McGonagall and Dumbledore know and then you can come to me. Here's the map."
"I'd know where you were no matter what, Harry. You know that." Hermione said, reluctantly moving away from him, "Be careful."
Harry nodded and walked purposefully from the room. Hermione vanished with a tiny pop, apparating in front of McGonagall's office. She quickly gave the password and slipped inside.
"Professor McGonagall," Hermione said, interrupting her favorite professor's grading, "we have a problem." After quickly explaining to her, they both set out for the Headmaster's office.
"We need to tell the Headmaster." Professor McGonagall said, "I normally would rush to young Mr. Creevey's aid, but Mr. Potter won't let him come to harm and Albus must know."
They called the Headmaster's office through the floo. After a delay, Dumbledore answered.
"Ah, Minerva, so good of you to call. I am afraid I have company at the moment. What can I do for you?"
"I am with Miss Granger." McGonagall said, "She had a concern she wanted to discuss with you."
"Unfortunately, I am locked in a meeting with Minister Fudge." Dumbledore replied, "He apparently is concerned there might be anti-Ministry activities here at Hogwarts. Professor Umbridge has promised to bring us proof."
"That sounds like a meeting the Deputy Headmistress may need to attend." McGonagall said, "Perhaps I should floo through to your office?"
"That would probably be for the best." Dumbledore answered, "Please bring Miss Granger with you. As a prefect, she may be helpful."
McGonagall and Hermione floo'd to the Headmaster's office, where they encountered Minister Fudge in a pinstripe suit and bowler hat. He had two aurors with him. One, Dawlish, was the same he'd brought when he'd come to execute Buckbeak. The other was a tall black man, dressed in richly decorated robes. Hermione had never met him, but Dumbledore had mentioned his name, Kingsley Shacklebolt, after the confrontation in Diagon Alley.
"Professor McGonagall, you know Minister Fudge?" Dumbledore asked politely, "This is Auror Dawlish and Auror Shacklebolt."
"How do you do?" McGonagall asked, "May I ask what is going on, Albus?"
"The Minister apparently has intelligence that anti-Ministry activities are occurring at Hogwarts. I think this is very unlikely, as this is a school, but Professor Umbridge has promised to bring back proof. That should be her at the door, now."
Umbridge walked in with Harry. Both had their wands in their hands. Harry looked quite calm, but Umbridge was pale and breathing heavily. Sweat shone greasily on her forehead through her thick caked on makeup. Dennis Creevey was with them, immediately behind Harry on the side opposite Umbridge. He looked shaken, but unharmed. Marietta Edgecombe was in a similar position to Dennis, but on Umbridge's side. She was barely identifiable because she had her face covered with her robes.
"What's the meaning of this?" Minister Fudge asked, "Take his wand!"
Dawlish stepped forward, but Harry just glanced at him, his thighs flexing as he settled into a deeper balanced stance. His magic flared out and Dawlish hesitated.
"Minister, surely you are not concerned about a fifth year Hogwarts student? Particularly Harry Potter?" Albus said in his most reasonable voice, "Perhaps if I simply ask Mr. Potter to put his wand away, then that would be satisfactory?"
"It certainly would not!" Umbridge shrieked, finally catching her breath, "I had some of my handpicked assistants with me when I went to capture the anti-Ministry gang Harry Potter has formed. They must have been informed we were coming, because the only one I was able to find was that one!" she said pointing to Dennis, "I was bringing him back to question him, when Mr. Potter walked up to us. I ordered my assistants to disarm him, but he began attacking them, stunning all of them! I couldn't even wake them up, my attempts to innervate them were completely useless. He refused to let me take his wand, either, but offered to accompany me back to the Headmaster's office. He must be sent straight to Azkaban!"
"When he stunned those students, they were attempting to take his wand?" Dumbledore asked.
"At my orders!" Umbridge shrieked.
"Self-defense is a completely valid justification for stunning another Wizard." Dumbledore said, "Those were students and not aurors. There really is no excuse to have them attempt to restrain or disarm another student. Harry, please put away your wand. Maybe we should discuss what it is you wanted us to discuss?"
Fudge nodded and Dawlish took a step back, looking relieved.
"Well, as I told the Minister, I have suspected there was an illegal organization meeting. They were seen at an initial meeting in Hogsmeade by an informant of mine. I have been searching for more evidence, but they have been very crafty. Eventually, Miss Edgecombe, daughter of Madam Edgecombe, one of our Floo Network employees, came forward and provided me the information I needed. I plan to arrest each of the students involved!"
"Arrest students for what, exactly, Madame Umbridge?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes twinkling.
"For forming an illegal organization meant to bring the Ministry down!" Umbridge snapped back.
"Illegal organization?" Dumbledore asked, "School clubs are not illegal."
"They are under Educational Decree Number 24!" Umbridge said triumphantly.
"Which was passed after you saw them in Hogsmeade, if I understand your timeline correctly." Dumbledore said.
"They've been meeting ever since!" Umbridge shrieked.
"Have they?" Dumbledore asked, "I thought you were unable to ever find a meeting?"
"Miss Edgecombe told me of their regular meetings!" Umbridge said, lifting her chin slightly, making the rolls of fat underneath wobble.
"Is this true, Miss Edgecombe?" Dumbledore asked, looking at Marietta, who tucked her face more firmly into her robes.
"Miss Edgecombe, tell them what you told me!" Umbridge snapped.
Harry felt a bolt of magic fly by him. He sensed it came from Shacklebolt, who was behind the Minister, and hit Marietta. It had been very subtly cast and nobody else seemed to notice. Marietta refused to move her face out of her robes and nobody could hear her voice.
"These miscreants hexed this poor dear and now she's afraid to show her face. I was unable to remove the jinx." Umbridge said, "It's ok, dear, just nod yes or shake your head for no. Were you present for meetings of an illegal club?"
Marietta shook her head no.
"What?!" Umbridge howled, "Yes you were! You told me you were. Let's try again, were you present at meetings of an illegal dueling club formed by Harry Potter?"
Marietta again shook her head no.
Umbridge grabbed her by the shoulders and began shaking her.
"You will not touch my students!" Dumbledore boomed, standing straight. Suddenly his presence filled the room and it was unmistakable that this was one of the greatest Wizards alive. It was easy to understand why he was the only Wizard Voldemort was said to fear.
Umbridge shrieked in surprise and stepped away from Marietta.
"I don't know what came over me." Umbridge said, wiping her hands on her pink woolen skirt, "I was just so shocked she would lie like that…"
"Is there any evidence she is lying?" Dumbledore said, "Your story seems a little thin to me, Madame Umbridge."
"Luckily, before she changed her story, she gave me this." Umbridge said, holding out the DA roster. Everyone looked and saw clearly written, 'Dumbledore's Army' followed by all their signed names. Hermione dropped her head. Why hadn't she charmed it to be unreadable as well as to punish those who betrayed them?
The Minster looked shocked at first, but then triumphant. Dumbledore looked at the roster with an unreadable look. He seemed surprised and almost…pleased.
"I knew it!" Fudge exclaimed, "Harry Potter is forming an army to disrupt my government! Aurors, seize him!"
"Wait!" Dumbledore thundered, "Minister Fudge, what does it say at the top of that sheet?"
"Dumbledore's Army…" Fudge read.
"That's right." Dumbledore said, "Dumbledore's Army, not Potter's Army."
Harry shook his head, stepping forward, but with a glance from Dumbledore, he held his tongue.
"I think it should be clear who is in charge of this group." Dumbledore said, his voice resonant, "I am afraid you are operating under a misconception. No student could hide something of this magnitude."
Fudge looked startled and afraid, but also pleased.
"You're right!" Fudge said, "Aurors, seize Dumbledore's wand and prepare to take him to Azkaban."
"Another misconception, I am afraid, Fudge." Dumbledore said grimly, "You seem to think I am going to go quietly."
Fudge just gaped.
Dumbledore drew his wand, his hand like lightning. A silver flash flew from the tip of it. McGonagall forced Hermione to the ground in an effort to keep her favorite student safe, while Hermione quietly drew her wand. Harry grabbed Dennis and partially shielded him, his own wand in his hand.
Harry looked around. Fudge, Dawlish, Umbridge, and Marietta were all unconscious.
"I am afraid we do not have much time." Dumbledore said, "I will have to leave. Harry, you will continue with Filius. Hermione, you will continue with McGonagall. I will not be far. Remember, help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it."
"Albus..." Harry said, his eyes shining, "I'm so sorry."
"Please, Harry." Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling, "You cannot know how pleased I am that you chose to name your club after me. I doubt I will be gone for long. You have already laid the foundation for my return. That Quibbler article was genius."
"Thank you." Harry said, "It was Hermione's idea."
"You have always been blessed in your selection of friends." Dumbledore said, "The spell will not last much longer. I must disappear. Minerva, keep my students safe."
McGonagall could only nod.
Dumbledore strode behind his desk. The others crouched down again, in the same position they'd been in. The Ministry officials began to wake. Fudge lifted his head and pointed at Dumbledore.
"Quick, he's getting away!"
Dumbledore lifted his hands and with a flash of red and gold fire and thunderclap of sound, Fawkes appeared, Dumbledore grabbed his tail, and they disappeared.
Shacklebolt shook his head. "One thing you can say about Dumbledore…he's always had style."
In the aftermath of the confrontation, Umbridge was appointed by the Minster as interim Headmistress of Hogwarts. Harry and Hermione were released, probably due to the shock the Ministry officials were in. Hermione non-verbally summoned the DA roster, removing their only evidence. They walked back to the Gryffindor common room with Dennis.
"Hermione?" Harry asked.
"Yes, Harry?" Hermione answered.
"Do you think I should give Poppy the passphrase for your stunning spell?"
Hermione chuckled.
"That might be nice. In a day or so."
H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr
A/N: This one is somewhat of a transitional chapter. Important things happen, but it doesn't necessarily have the "wow" of the last one. A big event I've been building up to for a long time is coming up in the next 2-3 chapters and then another one soon after that. I'm excited!
Please read and review! If you haven't read Chapter 26, please do!