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Don't Give Up On Me | ||||||
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Category: Alternate Universe Characters:All Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Romance Warnings: Death, Mild Language, Mild Sexual Situations, Violence Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 173 Summary: Harry Potter has a destiny to defeat Voldemort and save the Wizarding World, but it’s hard to do when he’s the only one who knows that the Dark Lord has returned. Hitcount: Story Total: 50420; Chapter Total: 1536 Awards: View Trophy Room |
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Moody’s warning stuck in Harry’s mind the entire walk from the gates up to the castle. Hagrid seemed preoccupied and didn’t talk much. When Ginny pried, he admitted that the Ministry had come the other day and demanded he surrender the last remaining Blast-Ended Skrewt that he’d bred and somehow managed to keep alive. It was well over fifteen feet long now. He’d also been fined for illegal breeding of creatures and warned that if he violated the statute again, he’d spend time in Azkaban. He grumbled that the statute had never been enforced, especially at a teaching academy. Harry clapped Hagrid on the arm as they parted and told him not to worry so much about it and that he and Ginny would do what they could. It sounded hollow to Harry, but he had no idea what to say. A Blast-Ended Skrewt wasn’t very high up on his priority list, even if it was Hagrid’s. Professor McGonagall received them with stiff cordiality and warned them that a Ministry overseer would be sitting in on their meeting with Luna. The Ministry was already hard at work subverting Hogwarts; this overseer had been causing problems for McGonagall about course curriculum and the way that professors interacted with students. “What can we do to help, Professor?” Ginny asked. McGonagall’s lips pulled into a tight line and Harry noticed that her hair was even grayer than the last time they’d visited a few weeks before. She appraised them with her piercing eyes, her square glasses slipping down her nose a bit. “Just keep your wits about you, Miss Weasley,” she said. “And hold your tongue, Potter. She’s not stupid; she only looks that way. And she’ll twist anything you say against you.” Harry and Ginny both nodded. Harry’s mind reeled as he tried to figure out what this might mean for Hogwarts and why the Ministry was so concerned with the education of children. He supposed it all stemmed into the desire to purge the Wizarding world of those who were considered ‘less than’. They entered the Headmistresses’ office to find Luna seated next to a small, squat woman, dressed all in pink tweed. A strange little bow sat on the top of her head of curls, like a fly that had landed there and never left. It seemed appropriate since Harry thought she looked like a fat toad with beady eyes that locked on him almost the moment he’d stepped into the room. “Mr. Potter, Miss Weasley, may I introduce you to Dolores Umbridge, Overseer from--” “Ahem. Overseer for the Department of Magical Instruction and Education,” Umbridge said. Her voice was high and reminded Harry of a fake, little girl’s voice. It set him on edge. “Quite,” McGonagall said, her eyebrow raising at Umbridge’s interruption. Both Harry and Ginny nodded, but didn’t move forward to shake the hand that the Overseer had offered. It hung in the open space between them, not far from Luna Lovegood’s face. Umbridge. She’d been with the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and had given the interview about werewolves. Harry’d hated her just from that interview and wasn’t further impressed by her appearance at Hogwarts. Someone cleared their throat at the back of the room and Harry turned to see Severus Snape standing in the shadows, not far from the door. “Severus,” McGonagall said with a sigh. “Your presence is not required--” “Headmistress,” he responded in his oily tone, “Miss Lovegood was summoned from my class--my N.E.W.T. level class. I believe I have a vested interest in whatever this...may be.” He looked Harry up and down and Harry returned his look, uncowed. He now understood something about Severus Snape that he never had before. Whether he could be trusted now, Harry didn’t know, but he had once worked with Dumbledore to take down Voldemort. “I must renew my objections to you all being here,” Professor McGonagall said. “Miss Lovegood deserves--” “Ahem. Mr. Potter,” Umbridge said, talking right over the Headmistress’ words. “I have not had the pleasure of seeing you since you were dismissed from service with the Ministry.” Harry felt his ire rise, but he was no impulsive sixteen-year-old boy anymore, and McGonagall had warned him to mind his tongue. “I quit, Madame Umbridge.” “Potter has always had issues with authority figures,” Snape said. “Anyone who thought his career with the Ministry would be a success has obviously never met him.” Harry smiled to himself and didn’t move when Snape came up to stand on one side of him, Umbridge on the other. Ginny took the opportunity to sit with Luna, her arm around the girl, and whisper what they’d come to tell her. “And yet you found him a sufficient enough student to include him in your N.E.W.T. level Potions class, Professor Snape,” Umbridge said. “I do wonder about your ability to discern talent, then.” Snape sneered at her in what Harry thought might be his attempt at a smile. “Potter showed...potential...but proved to be nothing more than a half-decent follower of instructions. He lacked the finesse for the finer skills necessary to excel at the highest levels.” “What did you receive on your O.W.L. exam for Potions, Potter?” Umbridge said. She peered up at both Harry and Snape from her low vantage point. Harry glanced at the bow, which was quivering in place, tucked into her hair. “An Exceeds Expectation.” Umbridge huffed out a breath through her nose and narrowed her eyes at Snape. “I was under the impression from our earlier interview, Professor, that you only accepted those who had achieved Outstanding on their exams.” “Some exceptions can be made, Madam, in particular cases.” “So, Mr. Potter’s defiance of authority did not extend to your class.” “Indeed,” Snape sneered, “Mr. Potter was insufferable, yet…” “I passed N.E.W.T.’s,” Harry pointed out, “and managed to be accepted into Auror Training.” “Only to fail dismally,” Snape quipped back. Harry nodded his head in acceptance. Now wasn’t the time to correct the man, and it appeared that Ginny was finished talking to Luna. They were embracing, Ginny in tears, and Luna smiling serenely. “Sometimes failing is the best teacher, Professor Snape,” said Harry. “And I don’t see it as a failure when it helped me discover what I didn’t want to be doing in life.” Snape’s eyebrow arched and his lips thinned as they pressed together. Umbridge opened her mouth to speak, but McGonagall interrupted. “I’m sorry, Dolores, but Miss Weasley and Mr. Potter must be going now. They have an important appointment after this and were gracious enough to come all the way to Hogwarts to inform Miss Lovegood of her father’s...accident. They must be about their business, however.” There was a steel behind her words and Umbridge backed down, but Harry knew it wouldn’t sit well with her. Professor McGonagall would pay in some way for her forcefulness. The Headmistress motioned toward a stack of books that sat on her desk. “Miss Weasley, do not forget the books that you asked to borrow--” “Hogwarts is not a public library, Professor! And Miss Weasley is no longer a student here.” “Of course not, Dolores.” McGonagall arched her back as she bristled. “These are from my own private collection. Miss Weasley and I share a great thirst for knowledge, and we trade books back and forth often. Surely, you are not telling me who I can loan my personal possessions to?” Umbridge shuffled and stammered, patting the back of her hair. “Of course not. I want it to be known that the Ministry will not tolerate the mismanagement of Hogwarts--” “I assure you, Madam Umbridge, Hogwarts is well in hand.” McGonagall turned toward the rest of the room. “Miss Lovegood, you are free to return to your classroom, escorted by Professor Snape, or you may take some time in the infirmary, if needed. Miss Weasley and Mr. Potter, I shall escort you to the entry hall where Professor Hagrid will guide you to the gates. Madam Umbridge, I will see you later, I’m sure.” Without waiting for another word, McGonagall led the way toward the stairs. Harry and Ginny followed. Ginny was nearly vibrating with laughter, but she held it in. “That was brilliant, Professor,” Harry whispered when they were finally back in the main hallway once more. McGonagall eyed him and the corner of her lips quirked upward. “You did well in holding your tongue, Harry, despite both their efforts to ruffle you.” Harry sighed. “There are worse things out there than Dolores Umbridge or Severus Snape, Professor.” Ginny’s hand slipped into his and she adjusted the bookbag she’d slung over her other shoulder. The Headmistress shot a sideways glance at him, her eyes softening. “Indeed.” When they reached the large oak doors, she turned on her heel. Her hands were clasped in front of her, twisting together. “I will see you later this week. Alastor Moody contacted me about a meeting to take place in London.” Harry nodded, although he hadn’t heard the details yet. He’d rather pretend he had any idea what Moody was planning than be thought stupid. “Miss Weasley, if you’ve finished with the book that you borrowed…” “Oh! Yes!” Ginny fished it out of her bag, her cheeks going red, and handed it over. “Sorry.” “We must be careful,” McGonagall said. “The Ministry will be making it very difficult from now on to communicate at all. But you are always welcome to borrow books from my...personal collection.” With a tight-lipped smile, she left them standing there, staring out at the cold, wet day. Xxxxx The Ministry’s only sanctioned newspaper, The Daily Prophet, began an onslaught of negative articles aimed at dividing the Wizarding Community, each edition worse than the last. They’d officially labeled Xenophilius Lovegood a ‘disturber of the peace’ and there was a warrant out for his arrest. Thankfully, he’d gone deep enough underground that no one but Mad Eye Moody knew where he was. Every time The Daily Prophet would print something salacious, The Quibbler would rebut the article or provide an alternative view. With the frequency it was being published, it was no longer considered a magazine. Harry wasn’t sure how Mr. Lovegood was getting his information about the Ministry, but it seemed to be from a direct source. Mr. Weasley let them know that none of his contacts at the Ministry were aware of who the mole was, but they were all cheering this person on in secret. The evening of the first meeting of the Order of the Phoenix, Harry was a nervous wreck. Everyone was meant to be at Grimmauld Place after dinner and Ginny’d been cleaning all day. “Nervous energy,” she’d told him. Harry did his best to stay out of her way and tried not to touch anything she’d cleaned. Ron came early, having just gotten off his shift at Quality Quidditch Supplies. He and Harry sat at the table and watched Ginny as she sent spell after spell this way and that, directing brooms and feather dusters to every corner of the room. They could even hear the dull sound of the vacuum she’d enchanted to hoover the rugs in the hallway. “She gets it from Mum,” Ron explained, as if Harry’d never seen their mother in action. “They both clean when they’re nervous. Mum’s been at it all day and nobody’s even coming to the Burrow.” “Ginny’s most nervous about your mother coming,” Harry said under his breath. She’d been through Harry’s room three times this morning making sure there was no trace of her in there, even though they hadn’t shared a bed in months. They did sometimes take naps together on the sofa in the entrance hall, but Harry knew better than to bring that up in front of anyone in the Weasley family. “Understandable,” said Ron as he picked at the remains of the sandwich he’d cobbled together. “In a way, it’s sort of like her house, too. She runs the place, even if you two are not...well.” Harry wondered how he should answer. He and Ginny were together, but there’d been no formal announcement, or anything. He didn’t even think of her as his girlfriend, although he supposed that’s what the title would be. They were definitely committed to each other, but Harry wasn’t sure what to call it. “I’m surprised nobody has said anything about it,” said Harry. “Why would they?” Ginny breezed through the kitchen, stole some crisps off Harry’s plate and plonked down in the seat next to him. “I don’t know,” said Harry. “I…” “They trust you, mate,” Ron said as he stuffed the last of his food into his mouth. “You’ve proven that you take care of Ginny--” “Hey!” Ginny tossed a crisp at him. “I can take care of myself, thank you very much!” “--and they know you love her.” Harry considered that. Ron and Ginny were the only ones in the family who know about the prophecy, however. Would things change if they knew what lay in Harry’s future? “Stop brooding over it,” Ginny commanded. “It doesn’t change how I feel, Harry.” She kissed him on the cheek, making Harry’s face heat. He glanced up at Ron, who was grinning at him. “Don’t look at me. I’m here to stay, but if you think I’m kissing you, you’d better--” The crack of someone apparating into the entryway made them all look toward the stairs. The portrait of Sirius’ mother, which Harry’d draped with a heavy cloth when Ginny moved in, began howling. “Blood traitor! You’re no son of mine!” Harry turned to Ginny, a grin stretching his face. “Sirius,” they both said in unison. “Oh, shut up, you old bag of--” Boots appeared on the stairs coming down into the kitchen and Harry stood as Sirius and Remus were revealed, little by little. Nymphadora Tonks followed them down. Harry blinked at her bright pink hair, but before he could comment, Sirius pulled him into a back-breaking hug. “You!” Sirius said. “Your father always said you’d do something amazing.” “You...you’ve heard then?” Harry choked out. “You’ve the makings of a true Marauder, Harry,” said Remus. He sat at the table and Harry sighed at how gaunt he looked. “Subverting the Ministry,” Sirius said with a shake of his head and a grin stretching his face. “And you’ve figured it all out!” “Not everything,” said Harry. “We still have--” “Hello!” Hermione came down the stairs, rubbing her shin. “Whose idea was it to put a sofa in the middle of the entryway?” “Mine,” Ginny said. “I hate the drawing room. Can’t stand to be in there.” More and more people began to arrive, and Harry felt his heart race watching their faces as they would tentatively enter the room, light up at seeing someone they knew, and then sober when their eyes settled on him standing near the fireplace. “When did you get back?” Harry asked Sirius. The Weasley’s arrived along with Bill, Fleur, and George--Fred was apparently at the store to keep up appearances. “Two days ago,” Sirius said. “Got an illegally made portkey--cost a fortune!--and have been hiding out at my cousin Andromeda’s place since then.” “You could have come here.” “Not without risking alerting the authorities. The portkey was dodgy enough, but there’s a price on Remus’s head.” Harry’s eyebrows rose. He hadn’t heard anything about that. “Tonks told us about it. He’s decided to take it as a compliment.” Remus gave a roguish wink to Harry and turned back to his conversation with Mr. Weasley and Bill. “I’m sorry,” Harry said. “Nothing to be sorry about,” said Sirius as he clapped him on the shoulder. “He’s a known werewolf and he won’t comply with the Ministry’s asinine regulations. It was bound to happen.” “You know you can come here now,” Harry said. “It’s your house.” Sirius smirked. “Looks more like Ginny Weasley’s house, I’d say.” Harry’s face flushed. “Yeah, about that--” “Don’t apologize, Harry,” he said. “I love it. In fact, I’d love nothing more than for the two of you to completely gut it, make it your own, and fill it with a dozen little Potters for me to corrupt.” Harry’s mind seemed to fizzle at the idea of children--he was only eighteen, for Merlin’s sake!--and he still had this mess hanging over his head. There was no guarantee that he and Ginny would get to live that dream. He looked across the room to where she was showing their wall of information to Moody and Professor McGonagall. A wave of longing for the life that Sirius described washed over him. What he wouldn’t give to know that he could make those promises to Ginny. “Harry?” “Yeah, sorry,” he mumbled when Sirius peered at him. “Let’s get started, please,” Moody said as he called the meeting to order. As he moved through several orders of business, Harry found his mind wandering. He looked around the room, seeing all the faces of these people who were pledging to help fight the Ministry on Harry’s word alone. Some worked for the Ministry and had been contacted by Arthur Weasley or Nymphadora Tonks, and others were witches and wizards who had been in the original Order of the Phoenix that Moody had contacted. And each and every one of them would likely have a price on their heads by the end of this, if they weren’t dead. The weight of it all hit Harry and he felt his shoulders sag. “Alright?” Ginny asked as she leaned into him. “Yeah, just…” “I know.” She rested her head on his shoulder and watched as Tonks gave a rundown of changes at the Ministry in the various departments and what they thought it might mean for them. “I want to give you babies,” Harry whispered to her. Ginny looked at him sharply. “Harry? What on earth…?” “Not right now,” he explained, “but...one day. If you want them. And a house. A good house. But I don’t know if I’ll be…” He wondered if this was how his parents had felt when they’d been at meetings like to this one. Had they worried about having him? Had they second-guessed their decision to bring a child into this world with a war on? Had they clung to each other the way he wanted to cling to Ginny? Ginny searched his expression, her eyes bright with emotion. “We’ll have that, Harry. One day.” He appreciated that she would lie for him and he slid his arm around her back, his hand resting on her hip. “Okay.” The meeting dragged on as people asked question after question about how they were going to proceed. It seemed as if no one had answers and Harry could tell they were restless with Moody’s cautions to keep the information to themselves and be aware of what was happening. For now, they were to do what they could to protect others without alerting the Ministry that they knew it was nothing but a shadow government for Voldemort. “This won’t last long,” Harry interrupted when a particularly vocal witch named Hestia Jones kept badgering Moody about why they weren’t coming out in the open about what they knew. The entire room turned to look at Harry. “It won’t,” he said. There was something in him that told him a confrontation with the Ministry was coming sooner rather than later. “The Ministry is digging into Hogwarts,” he said. “They have control of The Daily Prophet and the Wizarding Wireless. They are working on controlling Diagon Alley. Hogsmeade will be next, if it’s not already underway. And then he’ll start coming out. We’ll see his followers--” “He called them Death Eaters last time,” Moody said. “We’ll see them come out in open attacks,” Harry finished. All eyes were riveted on him and Harry felt the beginnings of a headache take hold deep in his brain. “He won’t be able to hide his agenda much longer. We all know people who have already been affected. When this is over…” He couldn’t finish and Moody cleared his throat. “Potter’s right. We need to be gathering people as quickly and as quietly as we can. Right now, we don’t have enough to mount much of a resistance. But we need to be ready.” Harry didn’t pay much attention to the rest of the meeting as Moody divided up various responsibilities and assignments. He knew his role in this. |
| Reviews 173 |
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