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SIYE Time:19:16 on 28th March 2024
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The Time of Destiny
By Abraxan

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Category: Post-OotP, Buried Gems
Characters:All
Genres: Action/Adventure, Fluff, General
Warnings: Death, Sexual Situations, Violence
Story is Complete
Rating: R
Reviews: 503
Summary: Sequel to "The Refiner's Fire." Harry Potter returns to Privet Drive for the last time, prior to his Seventh Year at Hogwarts. Much to the Dursley's surprise, Remus is going to stay with him due to a head injury Harry received on the train. The Dursleys are not happy with this situation, as you can well-imagine. This fic covers both the summer before Harry's seventh year, and his entire last year at school. Canon-based with some OC. Ships, for those who care: H/G, R/H, R/T
Hitcount: Story Total: 508197; Chapter Total: 16428
Awards: View Trophy Room






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DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author notes: “Galangal” is a herb I found in a herb book. My beta Iris tells me it’s also great in Thai food, in addition to its possible medical uses. I’ve never eaten Thai, so I’ll take her word for it! The incantation “Defero” mentioned below is Latin for “communicate.” Many thanks to my brilliant Brit-picker, Kelpie, and my betas, Starfox, Blakevich, Iris and Asad!

You can join the Yahoo! Group for this fic at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPR efinersFire



Chapter 19 - Questions



A cautious peace reigned over Grimmauld Place for the duration of the holidays. The Weasley children stayed angry at Molly for days and avoided her company as much as possible during that time, only relenting in the last days of the holiday. Harry and Molly treated each other with careful courtesy whenever their paths crossed, Molly wary and anxious, Harry keeping his distance. The twins popped in from time to time, their inevitable good cheer brightening the atmosphere whenever they were present. That cheer became a bit forced when they learned from Bill and Charlie why everyone in the house was so tense, but they agreed to follow Harry’s lead in how to behave, in order to keep the peace in his home.

Now it was time to return to school. The trunks were packed, the house searched again and again to ensure nothing was left behind. Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione stood by the front door with Merlin waiting patiently on the banister to flash all of them back to school.

As Arthur, Molly, Bill and Charlie said goodbye to Ron, Ginny and Hermione, Harry stood to one side talking with Dobby and Winky. Harry shook hands with the Weasley men when they came to thank him and the house-elves for their hospitality.

When Molly got to Ginny, she hesitated. “Can you ever forgive me? I’m so sorry I spoiled your holiday and made such an awful scene.”

Ginny sighed. She was well past her rage now, but she was still wary of her mother’s volatile moods. “Just don’t do anything like that ever again, Mum,” she cautioned.

“I’ll do my best, dear,” her mother replied. “I love you so much. Please take care of yourself — and take care of Harry, too.”

“I will,” Ginny said, opening her arms and hugging her mother. “I love you too.”

Molly sniffled and hugged Ginny tighter. They held on to each other for a long time, then parted, both of them tearful. Molly turned nervously to Harry. “I don’t know what to say, Harry. I’m so sorry.”

“I know,” he replied, then followed Ginny’s example and opened his arms to Molly. Harry sighed as she clung to him tearfully. He wished things were the way they had been before she blew up at him. Molly was the closest thing to a mother he’d had since his own mother had died. When he and Ginny married, Molly would be his mother-in-law and they’d be related to each other for the rest of their lives. He wanted desperately to restore the comfortable relationship they’d once had together, but he worried that they’d never have that easy, friendly feeling between them again. He glanced up at Ginny’s tearful, hopeful face and decided it was time to make more of an effort to restore their relationship. He tightened his arms around Molly, his careful embrace finally becoming warm and genuine.

Molly sobbed harder when she felt the change. “You dear, dear boy. You are so precious to me,” she said, sniffling as she pulled back to look at him. “I never meant to hurt you.”

“I know.” He studied her face intently. “Let’s put it behind us now, all right?”

Molly gave him a watery smile. “I do believe you’re more mature than I am, Harry.” He smiled a bit in response. Molly’s eyes brightened as she had an idea. “Do you get much post?”

“No. Sirius is the only one who ever wrote to me at school.”

“May I write to you, then?” she said.

A slow smile crossed his face. “Yeah, I’d like that. Thanks.”

Molly returned his smile. “Have a good term.”

“Thanks. Take care,” he said, giving her another hug before stepping back and standing with his friends. “Merlin, we’re ready.” With a flash, they were gone.


* * * * *


Soon after they returned to school, Remus stopped Harry in the corridor. “How was Christmas?” he asked carefully.

Harry hesitated a moment, then said, “Fine.” He didn’t want to be dishonest with his godfather, but he also didn’t want to dredge up all the awful memories of Christmas Eve,

when Molly had driven him from his own home.

“I heard something disturbing from Professor Dumbledore,” Remus said, looking concerned. “Are you and Molly all right now?”

“Yeah, we’re fine,” Harry replied, lifting his shoulders in a casual shrug. “No problems.”

“I’m so sorry that happened, and that I wasn’t there for you when you needed me,” Remus said, his voice low and sad. “I wish–”

“Don’t worry about it,” Harry interrupted. “It’s over. She said what she wanted to and we all know her feelings. And she knows mine, as well. We’ll be fine.”

“If you ever want to talk about it,” Remus said, squeezing his godson’s shoulder comfortingly, “my door is always open to you. You do know that?”

Harry gave him a warm smile. “Yes, I know. Thanks. I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

“I have to worry about you. It’s in the Godfather’s Handbook,” Remus teased.

“You’re just practicing your parenting techniques on me,” Harry teased in return.

“At least I’ll have a head start with my own child. You’ve given me plenty of practice!”

Their conversation turned to the much more pleasant topic of Remus and Tonks’ honeymoon trip and the move to their new house as the two continued down the corridor.


* * * * *


The second week back at school after the holiday, Remus stopped by the Gryffindor table at breakfast.

“Good morning!” he said cheerily.

“Hi, Remus!” Harry said, smiling at his godfather. “How’s Tonks doing?”

“She’s wonderful,” Remus beamed. No one had ever seen him happier. He simply glowed with the combined joy of being in love, being newly married, and the prospect of starting on the lycanthropy cure.

“And how are you doing?” Harry asked carefully.

“I start the potion next week,” Remus said quietly, his face filled with hope. “They owled me with updates on their research. All the test subjects are doing well.”

“Excellent!” Harry said. Ron, Hermione and Ginny all added their good wishes.

“That’s not why I stopped by, though. Boys, there are officials from the Auror School coming to meet with you tomorrow.”

Harry and Ron glanced at each other, then Ron asked the question that was on both of their minds. “Why are they meeting with us?”

“They’re doing your pre-testing and interviews tomorrow,” Remus explained.

“Tests?” Ron said, looking thunderstruck.

“Yes, Ron, tests,” Remus said with a laugh. “They’re not like school exams. They’re aptitude tests, and they also want to see the quality of your spell work and so on. They don’t take just anyone who applies to Auror School. The Aurors are an elite group, and take only the best-qualified candidates.”

Ron looked at Harry and gulped. “Yeah, we knew that,” he said uneasily.

Remus smiled at him. “Don’t worry. Your spell work is far above average, both of you, and you have the qualities they look for in Aurors. If you do your best, you’ll be fine.” Both boys nodded and relaxed a bit. “They’ll be here at two o’clock. I’ll get you a pass from your classes, because this will probably take all afternoon. They’ll see you both together for a while, then they’ll meet with you one at a time. They’ll explain everything to you when they first meet with you.”

“Will you be there?” Harry asked.

“Yes, at first. I do have a class to teach in the afternoon.”

“OK. Thanks, Remus,” Harry said, grinning now. As Remus moved on to the staff table, Harry and Ron looked at each other with wide, excited eyes. “Wow,” Harry breathed. He’d had the conversation with Tonks that his godfather had suggested and was once more quite excited at the idea of being an Auror.

“Yeah! Officials from the Auror School! Testing us!” Ron said, more than a bit anxious.

“That’s wonderful!” Hermione enthused. “I wish we could watch the process. I’ll bet it’s fascinating.”

Ron turned to her in confusion. “Huh?”

“I mean, these are Aurors! They’ll want to test your skills and all,” she explained. “I’d love to see how they do it, what they ask you and all that.” She looked up into his suddenly worried eyes and smiled reassuringly. “You’ll do fine, Ron! What I’d really like to see is how amazed they are by how much you two already know!”

“I hope they’re amazed by my skills and not by what a fool I make of myself,” Ron said darkly, making his friends laugh.

“Ron, seriously,” Harry said, grinning. “You’re an Animagus. You’ve got top marks in most of your subjects now, if we just completely ignore History of Magic. Your defensive spells are excellent. You’ll be fine.”

“I’m not as good at the spell work as you are,” he said uneasily. “I’m going to look like an amateur next to you.”

“We’re not competing, Ron,” Harry said patiently. “They’re comparing us to a standard, not each other.”

Ron’s tension eased a bit. “Oh. Yeah! You’re right! What was I thinking?”

“Git,” Harry teased.

“Yeah, sometimes,” Ron agreed easily.


* * * * *


Two o’clock the next day came all too swiftly for Ron, not fast enough for Harry. Both were keyed up as well as on edge about the meeting. Now they stood outside the door an unused classroom, staring at the door nervously. They each took a deep breath and blew it out, trying to calm themselves, then looked at each other and nodded. Harry knocked politely on the door, then opened it when he heard someone call, “Come in.” When they walked in, they saw three men seated at desks at the front of the room, talking casually to Remus.

“Ah, here they are!” Remus said with a warm smile. “Harry, Ron, I’d like you to meet Albert O’Connell, Malcolm Kelly and Sean McTavish. Mr. O’Connell is the head of the Auror School, and Mr. Kelly and Mr. McTavish are instructors. They’re here to do your pre-testing and interviews.” He turned to the three men. “This is Harry Potter and Ron Weasley,” he said, indicating each boy in turn.

“Good afternoon,” the boys said courteously.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you boys,” O’Connell said. “We’ve heard a great many good things about you.”

“Thank you, sir,” Harry said with a smile, doing his best to stay calm.

“Thanks,” Ron agreed nervously.

“Sit down,” O’Connell invited. Each young man sat in a desk facing the three Aurors. “We have a few things to go over with both of you, then we’ll meet with you one at a time. We may call both of you back in when we’re finished to talk about some other things, as well.” The boys nodded their understanding.

“First off, we want you to be completely honest with us today. If you have questions about any aspect of the Auror training, or of a career as an Auror, please tell us so we can get your questions answered and not leave you confused in any way. If we ask you a question and you’re not clear on what we’re looking for, ask for clarification and we’ll explain it to you. This isn’t a test such as you’ve had here at Hogwarts — you’re allowed to ask questions, discuss things about what we’re doing that interest you, all that. Part of what we’re doing here is learning about how your minds work, what your attitudes are like, how you approach problem-solving, that type of thing. We want to know your aptitudes as much as your skill-level in various areas. Clear?” The boys nodded again. “Any questions so far?”

“Um, yes,” Harry said uneasily. He looked at Remus. “May I ask you something in private, Professor Lupin?”

“Of course,” Remus said, moving to the side of the room, Harry following close behind after he excused himself.

“They said for us to be completely honest,” Harry whispered with concern. “Do you know if we can trust them? I mean, do I tell them everything? All my Animagus forms, all the spells I know — the Dark spells as well?”

“Yes, Harry, everything,” Remus said with a warm smile. “Professor Dumbledore knows these men well, and I’ve known O’Connell for many years. He’s a good man. You can trust him. All of them are in the Order now, as well. And your Animagus forms and those spells will be useful to you as an Auror. Go ahead and be honest with them.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

Harry took a steadying breath. “OK, then. Thanks,” he said, then returned to his seat. “Sorry about that,” he told the Aurors.

“Is there a problem?” O’Connell asked.

Harry exchanged a look with Remus, who replied, “Harry wanted to know if he should trust you with some things he’s been keeping secret. I told him you’re in the Order, which means Professor Dumbledore trusts you, so he should, as well. I also told him that the skills involved, the things he’s kept secret, will be very useful to him as an Auror, so he should be completely honest with you.”

“Oh, well done, Mr. Potter!” McTavish said happily. “A cautious nature will be a wonderful help to you in this work.”

Harry smiled. McTavish seemed to have a cheerful, encouraging personality like Professor Flitwick’s. O’Connell seemed open and friendly, Kelly quiet and thoughtful. At least none of them were intimidating. Perhaps this meeting would be easier than he and Ron had thought it might be.

“Any more questions, boys?” O’Connell said. “No? All right, then, Mr. Weasley, if you’d wait outside while we interview Mr. Potter?” As Ron rose to go, McTavish said, “We’ll be talking with Mr. Potter at least an hour. If you want to wait elsewhere, that’s fine. Just be back in about an hour, all right?”

“All right,” Ron agreed. He touched Harry’s shoulder. “Good luck, mate. Not that you’ll need it,” he said with a grin.

“Thanks,” Harry said, smiling up at his friend. When Ron closed the door behind him, Harry folded his hands on the desk and forced himself to relax and to be at his most attentive at the same time.

“Mr. Potter, we’d like to ask you a few questions before we get into the testing portion of our meeting,” O’Connell began. Harry nodded. “Why do you want to be an Auror?”

“To catch Dark wizards,” Harry said immediately. “And it seems to be the best use of my skills.”

“Your skills?”

“I’m good at defensive spells,” Harry clarified.

“Yes, we’ve seen your marks,” O’Connell said with a smile, “and we know about the D.A. and your work with them. We also know about your battles with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.”

“Voldemort ,” Harry corrected automatically.

O’Connell looked at him quizzically.

“Fear of the name increases fear of the thing itself,” Harry explained. “He’s just a man like any other, a very powerful wizard, yes, but still, using some other term than his name to talk about him gives him even more power than he already has. And he doesn’t need any extra power.” His face had grown grim as he spoke.

O’Connell studied the face of the suddenly very serious young man before him. With those few words, the boy had disappeared and a resolute warrior had taken his place. “You’re right, Mr. Potter. I stand corrected. ‘Voldemort,’” he said clearly.

Harry shifted nervously in his seat, the boy suddenly replacing the warrior again. “I didn’t mean to be disrespectful.”

“No, you made an excellent point, which I will remember. Thank you for that.” He glanced at his fellow Aurors. All of them had been impressed by Harry’s response. “What do you see yourself doing in one year, five years, ten years, fifteen years?”

Harry thought a moment, then blushed. “In one year, I may be married, as well as going to Auror School, possibly at night if I get signed by a professional Quidditch team — that is, if Voldemort is gone by then. If he isn’t, I’ll be after him. When he’s dead, I can get on with my life. In five years, my wife will be through with Healer School and we might have a child, maybe.” He blushed again and smiled at the thought. “I’ll be an Auror, maybe still playing Quidditch, I don’t know. In ten years, I’ll probably be a full-time Auror and have a house full of kids. In fifteen years? I don’t know. Professor Dumbledore talked to me about teaching at Hogwarts at some point, but that will be after Remus — I mean Professor Lupin — retires, and I’m not going to rush him.” He blushed again, wondering how they were taking his responses. He glanced at Remus and got a wink and a teasing grin in return.

“We know Remus is your godfather, Mr. Potter, so your calling him by his first name doesn’t bother us,” McTavish said kindly. Harry smiled gratefully.

“So the most important thing to you right now is getting married?” O’Connell said. “You’ve mentioned a wife and children several times.”

“My girlfriend and I are very serious,” Harry explained. “I’ve never had a family, and I want one of my own.”

“That makes sense,” O’Connell said with a smile.

“But the most important thing to me right now is killing Voldemort,” Harry continued. “I can’t get on with my life until he’s gone. So one of my questions to you is, can I put off going to Auror School until I’ve killed him? When I finish Hogwarts, I’m going after him full-time. I can’t do anything I really want to do until he’s gone.”

“Why do you think you have to be the one to kill him?” Kelly asked seriously.

Harry looked at Remus, who nodded. “There was a prophecy about us, about Voldemort and me, made before I was born. Apparently I’m the only one who can kill him,” he said heavily. “It’s not what I would choose. It’s what’s been forced on me. But I can deal with it, and intend to do so before I move on with my life. I do want to go to Auror School, but if I’m required to be completely honest with you, I need to let you know I can’t go to school until Voldemort’s gone.”

“Well said, Mr. Potter,” O’Connell said seriously. “Thank you for your honesty. I can tell you that your need for that time will not affect your acceptance to Auror School. If you’re accepted, we’ll take you whenever you’re able to attend.”

“Thanks,” Harry said with relief. He’d been worried that he’d blown the entire interview right there.

“You said you want to play professional Quidditch,” McTavish said.

Harry nodded. “I’m hoping to be able to take night classes for Auror School so I can play Quidditch if I get scouted. But I don’t know if I’ll be scouted or not,” he said with a shrug. “I just want to keep my options as open as possible.”

“I understand,” McTavish said with a smile. “I, myself, played professional Quidditch while going to Auror School. It can be worked out.”

Harry’s face brightened. “Really? Who’d you play for?”

“The Edinburgh Eagles,” McTavish said proudly. “They’ve never been the best team in the league, but it was fantastic to play at the professional level. I’m glad I had the opportunity. I played Keeper.”

“Ron’s Keeper on our team,” Harry said, glad to hear the man’s experience. “I play Seeker.”

McTavish smiled warmly. “I hear you’re a brilliant Seeker and a fine captain. I’ve also heard good things about Mr. Weasley’s Quidditch skills.”

“Thanks!” Harry said with a happy grin.

“We could talk Quidditch all day,” Kelly grumbled, “but unfortunately, we need to get back on task.”

“Right you are,” O’Connell said, smiling warmly at Harry, “but a little Quidditch talk never hurt anyone.”

Harry smiled, finally beginning to relax and enjoy the interview.

“I see from your records that you’re an Animagus,” O’Connell said.

“Yes.”

“Professor Dumbledore told us you’re a multiple Animagus. Is this true?”

Harry gulped and glanced at Remus, who nodded. “Yes.”

“Why did you check with Remus before answering that question?” Kelly said.

“Um. . .the number and specific Animagus forms I do are one of the things we’ve been keeping secret, and one of the things I asked Remus if I should be completely honest about,” Harry explained. “I was just making certain that it was safe to trust you with the information.”

“Right, then, Mr. Potter,” O’Connell said. “I admire your caution. So tell us about your Animagus forms. Doing even one is a rare skill. I commend you on your accomplishment.”

“Thank you. Um, well, I can do a lot of them now,” he replied. “I haven’t actually counted in a while.”

“Name them off,” O’Connell suggested, wondering how many the boy could do that he didn’t remember how many there were.

“A cat, a phoenix, a thestral, a wolf, um, a stag, a Labrador. . .a damselfly, um, a flying squirrel. . .what have I left out?” he said, looking at his godfather.

“A flying squirrel? When did you do that one?” Remus asked, amused. “And you left out the raven.”

“Oh yeah, the raven,” Harry said with a smile. “The squirrel is recent. I just got it a couple of days ago.”

“Why a flying squirrel?” Remus asked, intrigued.

“Hermione turned me into one as homework for our Human-to-Animal Transfiguration study, and I enjoyed it, so I started working on it,” Harry said with a shrug.

“Harry loves to fly,” Remus told the interviewers, “as you might imagine, since you know about his Quidditch skills. He seems to enjoy being a flying animal as well. All that flight as an Animagus is why his upper body is so well-developed,” he said, looking at his godson fondly. Harry blushed.

The interviewers were still trying to get their minds around the fact that this young man before them could turn into any of the animals he’d named, much less all of them.

“Oh, and a frog,” Harry added suddenly. “I think that’s all.”

“That’s ten,” O’Connell said in a stunned voice. “Ten forms?”

“Yes,” Harry said simply.

“Could you show us?” McTavish said eagerly.

“Sure,” Harry said, and swiftly became a black cat, a raven, a Labrador, a black wolf. . .and froze, his hackles on edge, a growl in his throat as he bounded toward the door and swiftly changed back into himself. Harry stood there, wand out, ready to do battle. “Is this part of the test?” he whispered, “because someone’s out there who shouldn’t be.”

Remus had followed him to the door, arriving just after Harry changed back into himself. “No, it isn’t,” he said, pulling his own wand, and then throwing open the door. “Mr. Zabini,” he said in a harsh voice. “Exactly what do you think you’re doing?”

“Uh. . .nothing, Professor,” the Slytherin said lamely, casting furtive glances around the room, noticing the three strangers, all of whom stood with wands at the ready. “I, uh, just needed to, uh, tie my shoe.”

Remus looked down at the boy’s shoes, both of which were well-tied. “I don’t think so,” he said.

“He’s been there a while,” Harry said. “I thought I sensed something, but then —” he stopped himself before he said “when I was a wolf” — “I was sure someone was out there listening.”

Remus still held his wand on the boy. “Turn out your pockets, Mr. Zabini,” he demanded.

Zabini looked at Remus defiantly. “No.”

“Turn out your pockets.”

“I haven’t done anything wrong!”

“So far, you’ve earned a week’s detention for defying a teacher, and you’re losing more points for your house the longer you delay,” Remus said sternly.

Harry pointed his wand at the other boy’s pockets. “Accio,” he said, and caught an Extendable Ear as it flew toward him along with the boy’s wand and some sweets.

“Why didn’t I think of that?” Remus said, smiling at Harry.

“I learned that from Mrs. Weasley,” Harry said with a shrug as he handed Zabini’s wand, the Extendable Ear and the sweets to Remus.

“Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse me, I need to deal with Mr. Zabini, here,” Remus said to the Aurors.

“Remus?” Harry said quietly. “Check his arm.”

“I will,” Remus said, knowing Harry was asking him to look for a Dark Mark on Zabini’s arm, to see if he was already a Death Eater. He pushed the reluctant Zabini out of the door and closed it quietly behind him.

“Well, that was impressive,” Kelly said approvingly.

“Sorry?” Harry said, confused.

“How did you know someone was there?” Kelly asked.

Harry hesitated. His “sixth sense” for danger might sound odd to these men. But then again, Remus had said to be completely honest with them. “Erm. . .the hair on the back of my head stands up a bit when there’s danger nearby,” he said uneasily. “As soon as that happened — well, as a wolf, my hackles raised — the wolf scented him, so I knew where he was.”

“And who is that young man?” O’Connell said.

“Blaise Zabini. He’s a Slytherin.”

“I meant, who is he to you. You seemed to know he wasn’t to be trusted.”

“He’s always trying to get me in trouble. I think he may already be a Death Eater. That’s why I asked Remus to check his arm, to look for the Dark Mark,” Harry explained.

“You have excellent instincts, Mr. Potter,” McTavish said with a smile. “Well done. Now, if we could get back to your Animagus transformations?”

Harry performed all of his transformations for them, earning impressed sounds from them when they saw the phoenix and thestral, and laughter when the flying squirrel zoomed around the room.

“Sorry about that,” Harry said with a sheepish grin when he changed back into himself after being the squirrel. “Sometimes I just can’t help myself. The squirrel is a lot of fun to do.”

“It certainly looked it,” McTavish said, still laughing.

“Tonks Lupin — oh, is she your godmother now?” O’Connell said.

“She married my godfather. I don’t know if that makes her my godmother or not, but I’m glad she’s in the family,” Harry said with a warm smile.

“Ah, I see. She seems to be quite happy being married to Remus. He’s a good man,” O’Connell said.

“Yes, he is,” Harry agreed.

“As I started to say, Tonks told us you have some Metamorphmagus tendencies.”

“I don’t know that I’m a Metamorphmagus, but I can control the length of my hair,” Harry said off-handedly.

“What do you mean?”

“I can grow it out or make it shorter at will. I can do the same thing with my beard.”

“Show us.”

Harry stood there and grew his hair out until it hung down to the middle of his back, then made it shorter than he’d worn it in several years, then back to his current length. Then he grew a full beard that hung nearly to his waist, then shortened it to his pirate’s beard that Ginny so enjoyed, then became clean-shaven again.

“That’s a wonderful skill, Mr. Potter!” McTavish cried in delight. “However did you learn it?”

Harry shrugged. “The first time I remember doing it was when I was little and my aunt cut all my hair off but my fringe. I didn’t want to go to school looking like that. By the next morning, my hair had all grown back. I didn’t learn to control it consciously until a few years ago, and I never did anything with my beard until last year.”

“Is that how you were disguised at the concert where that man who looked like you was murdered?” Kelly asked.

“Yes, I had my hair longer and used a Glamour Charm to turn my hair, beard and eyebrows blue. And I wore a cap that covered my scar,” Harry explained.

“Can you show us?” Kelly continued. Harry changed the length of his hair, added the beard and then made his hair, beard and eyebrows blue. The Aurors laughed and nodded, and Kelly told him to change back to normal.

“Excellent, Mr. Potter, really,” O’Connell said approvingly. “All right, we’d like to test your spell-work now.” He stood up and waved his wand, clearing a large section of the room of furniture. “I’d like us to duel — do try not to hurt me too badly, all right?” he said with a smile. “And I’ll do the same.” He held his wand up in salute as he stood facing Harry, then turned his back and walked to a proper fighting distance, as Harry did the same. When they faced each other again, Harry watched the other man warily, wondering what he was going to do. O’Connell cast a Stunning Spell, which Harry blocked easily. Harry sent a Stinging Hex at O’Connell, and O’Connell threw up a shield just in time to avoid being stung. Soon each man had the measure of the other and they were duelling full-out, casting spells as quickly as they could, dodging, ducking and rolling, moving quickly around the area, the air filled with the colours of the rapidly flying spells. The other two men had all they could do to stay out of the way of the spells. Harry and O’Connell seemed to be fairly evenly matched, but then Harry became more aggressive and started getting spells past O’Connell’s shields. Finally, the older man put his wand up and said, “You win!”

“I do?” Harry said with surprise.

“Absolutely! I’m worn out, and you’re still going strong,” O’Connell said. “Very well done, young man!”

“Thanks! That was fun!” Harry said, grinning.

“For me, too,” O’Connell said with a smile as he sat down and tried to catch his breath.

“While Albert recovers,” McTavish said, “Why don’t we go over the list of spells Professor Dumbledore gave us. He says you know every spell on this list. I’d like you to read the name of the spell and tell us how its cast.”

After Harry had gone through the list as directed, the Aurors all smiled approvingly at him.

“Well done, Mr. Potter,” O’Connell said. “Would you please send Mr. Weasley in? And we’d like to talk to you again in an hour.”

“OK,” Harry said, heading for the door. Ron was waiting outside.

“How was it?” Ron asked nervously.

“It was fun!” Harry replied with a grin. “Have you seen Remus?”

“No, why?”

“I wondered what happened to Zabini,” Harry replied, looking a bit grim.

“Zabini? What are you on about?” Ron said, looking quite puzzled.

“He was listening at the door when I was telling them about my Animagus transformations,” Harry said quietly, glancing around to be certain they weren’t being overheard. “Remus took him away. Where were you, anyway?”

“Library. Thought I’d brush up on my spells a bit before the interview,” Ron said, blushing.

“You don’t need to worry — you’ll be fine,” Harry assured him. “They’re ready for you now. Good luck, mate!”

“Thanks!” Ron entered the room, closing the door quietly behind him. Harry decided it would be wise to guard the door, so he did a Cushioning Charm on the wall and floor and sat down, digging some homework out of his bag to keep him occupied.

“Harry! There you are!” Hermione called as she and Ginny came down the corridor. “Ron said you should be finished soon. How was it?”

“It was actually quite fun,” Harry said, grinning. “I was surprised at that.”

“Why are you sitting here, if you’re finished?” Ginny asked him.

“Blaise Zabini spied on my interview — Remus and I caught him. I decided it would be a good idea to guard the door while Ron’s being interviewed. They want to see me again in an hour anyway,” he said with a shrug.

“So what did they have you do?” Hermione said as she and Ginny sat down beside him.

Harry told the girls all about the interview and the duel he’d participated in.

“And they’ll do the same with Ron?” Hermione asked.

“I suppose so,” he replied.

They settled down to doing homework together as they waited for Ron’s interview to end. When nearly an hour had gone by, the door opened.

“They want a few minutes to confer, then they want to talk to us together,” Ron said, smiling at the girls when he saw them.

“OK,” Harry replied, starting to pack up his books.

“How was it?” Hermione asked Ron.

“It was brilliant! Harry told me it was fun, and I just didn’t believe him, but it was! I duelled with Mr. O’Conner, showed them the collie, demonstrated spells to them, answered a bunch of questions, but it was easy! It was fun! I would never have believed it,” he said, a huge grin on his face. “I was expecting something really hard.”

“Yeah, me too,” Harry agreed.

Just then, O’Connell opened the door. “We’re ready for you lads now,” he said with a smile. “Oh, I’ll bet these young ladies are your girlfriends, right?”

“This is Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley,” Harry said, indicating each girl in turn.

“It’s very nice to meet you, ladies,” O’Connell said with a courtly inclination of his head. “The lads had quite a few nice things to say about you.”

“You talked about us in your interviews?” Hermione said, looking up at Ron in amazement.

“Well. . .uh. . . ,” Ron said, blushing madly.

“We ask a great many questions as a means of getting to know the people we’re interviewing, Miss Granger,” O’Connell said reassuringly. “Gentlemen, if you’re ready? Ladies, it’s a pleasure to meet you. We won’t keep them much longer.” He escorted the boys back into the room and smiled one last time at the blushing girls just before closing the door.

“Sit down, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter,” O’Connell said genially. “We only have a few things to go over with you, and then you’ll be free to go. First, we’re delighted to tell you that both of you have passed all our tests with flying colours. We’ll be very happy to have you in the Auror School.”

Harry and Ron exchanged excited grins. “Thanks!” Harry said brightly.

“Yeah, thank you,” Ron said earnestly.

“We understand both of you want to play Quidditch if you get scouted, and we don’t have a problem with your attending night classes as they fit into your schedule,” O’Connell continued. “We take the long view in the Auror Division of the Ministry of Magic. We want our Aurors to be as well-trained as possible, and to be motivated to do excellent work at all times. We want our Aurors to be happy in their work and to receive proper rewards for work well done. It’s a dangerous job at times, so we do our best to take good care of our people.” He turned his eyes to Harry. “Mr. Potter, we do understand that you have a mission to accomplish before you’ll feel free to move on with your life, but we’d like to encourage you to go ahead and take the Auror training as soon as possible. The skills you’ll learn with us will help you in your mission. It’s your decision, of course, but we would like you to consider going straight into Auror training when you leave Hogwarts. You can think it over and let us know what you decide.” He turned to look at the other two men and saw nods of agreement from both of them. “We have discussed our findings from the interviews and tests we’ve done here today, and have come to some interesting conclusions.”

The boys waited nervously as O’Connell shuffled through some parchments before him.

“Yes, here we go. Mr. Potter, you have tested out of the first two years of Defensive Spells, the first year of Transfiguration, the first two years of Charms, and you may also skip the Disguises class if you wish, although I think it would be a help to you despite your ability to change your appearance at will. Mr. Weasley, you have tested out of the first year of Defensive Spells, the first semester of Transfiguration, and the first semester of Charms.” He looked up at them and smiled. “Your work with the D.A. has trained you well.”

“We’ve. . . ‘tested out’?” Harry said cautiously. “Exactly what do you mean?”

“I mean your skill levels are far above N.E.W.T. standard, and in some areas higher than we expect from second year students in Auror School. There are only a very few defensive spells that we teach that you don’t know — and you know quite a few that we don’t teach,” he said with a rueful smile. “You’re both Animagi, so you have a tremendous advantage in Disguises and in Transfiguration. So in other words, you don’t have to take very many classes the first two years of school. Or, you can take a full load and have a lighter class load later in your training — it’s your choice.”

“Wicked!” Ron breathed happily.

“Wow!” Harry said, looking a bit dazed.

“We’ll be owling you entry information — dates, supplies needed and so on. We have dormitories, but normally those not taking a full class load don’t stay there. Do you have someplace to live while you’re in school? We have a list of recommended, reasonably-priced lodging if you need it.”

“I have a house in London,” Harry began.

“Oh, I’m an idiot,” O’Conner said with a laugh. “Of course! Order headquarters is your home, isn’t it? You’ve done a wonderful job of refurbishing it.”

Harry blushed. “Thanks. Yes, Ron and I can live there while we’re at school.”

“Excellent! I believe we’re finished here then, lads. It has been a tremendous pleasure to meet you. We’re looking forward to working with you,” O’Connell said with a warm smile.

The boys exchanged pleasantries with the three men, then started for the door.

“Oh, Mr. Potter?” O’Connell said suddenly. “A word, if I might?”

“Yes?”

“I’ll wait for you outside,” Ron said as he walked out of the door.

“OK,” Harry said.

“We won’t be long, Mr. Weasley,” O’Connell said. Ron nodded and closed the door behind him.

“I’ve debated whether to say anything,” O’Connell continued, “but I think it’s the right thing to do.”

“Sorry?” Harry was completely confused. He glanced at the other two men, who were talking in the corner as they packed up their parchments.

“I wasn’t certain if it was right to tell you before you started at our school or not, but after getting to know you, I believe it is.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I’m sorry, I’m thinking out loud,” the man said, shaking his head with a rueful smile. “I wanted to tell you that I knew your parents. James and Lily were in my class in Auror School.”

Harry’s face lit with happiness. “They were?”

“Oh, yes, lad. I’d started working at Gringotts right after finishing Hogwarts, but then I decided what I really wanted was to be an Auror, so I started Auror School several years late. It happened to be the same year your parents started. We were great friends. I even knew you when you were a baby. One time when I was visiting, your mum gave you to me to hold while she made dinner. You had a bit of an, erm, emergency, and I thought I’d have to change your nappies, but your dear mum saved me the trouble,” he chuckled.

Harry blushed but still laughed in delight. “That was good of her, I expect.”

“Yes, she was like that. Kind, sensitive, sweet — and stubborn, hot-tempered, absolutely courageous. Much like your young lady from what I could tell meeting her and hearing about her from you and Mr. Weasley.”

“Ginny’s like my mum?” Harry said, his heart lifting to hear about his parents from a new source.

“Yes, very much so. Your mother was a good bit taller, and her hair was a darker red — and she had your eyes, of course. Or you have hers, rather,” O’Connell said with a grin.

“Yeah, I’ve heard,” Harry smiled.

“They would be so proud of you, Harry. May I call you ‘Harry’?” Harry nodded. “Your dad — he was brilliant, and funny, charming, quite the rascal at times. You take after him in more than just looks. You do know you look just like him, right?”

“Yeah, I’ve been told. And friends have given me pictures of them, as well.”

“Oh, I might have some pictures I could give you! I’ll have to look.”

“That would be brilliant! Thank you!” Harry said with delight. “Did you know Remus and Sirius as well?”

“Oh yes, I knew them, not as well as I knew your parents, but one or the other of them was often at your parents’ house when I’d stop by,” O’Connell said with a smile. “I’m sorry about Sirius. I know he was your godfather.” Harry nodded, a sad shadow crossing his eyes. “What happened to him was so unfair. I never thought he was capable of betraying your parents. He doted on you and he really loved both James and Lily. He was a brother to them. So was Remus, although I didn’t know him as well as I did Sirius. I understand Remus is your godfather now? How did that happen?”

“I asked him if he’d be my godfather when he offered to be my wizard guardian after Sirius died,” Harry explained.

“Oh, that’s wonderful. Everyone needs family. Remus is a good man,” O’Connell said with a smile. “I’m glad I’m going to get to know you better. I’ve been following the stories about you. I could tell from things I read and what I heard from those who knew you that you’d make a wonderful Auror. I hoped you’d choose this career path. It will be a real pleasure to teach you!”

“I’m looking forward to it!” Harry said sincerely.

“You know, I’ve just had a thought. I’d like you to let me know whenever you have contact with Voldemort, or when you wind up facing him again. There are a great many of us at the Auror School and in the Auror Department who want a crack at the old bastard. You seem to have far better luck — oh, wait, maybe ‘luck’ isn’t the proper word?” he teased, making Harry smile, “at finding him than we do. I’d like to set up a communication system between us so you and I can stay in touch. That way, you can let me know where to find him. We’d be able to respond much more quickly than if you let the Ministry know you needed us and then they had to inform us. This kind of direct link between us would be beneficial in many ways. Would that be all right with you?”

“You’ll come and fight with us?” Harry said, excited at the thought of having fully-trained Aurors helping in the battles.

“Absolutely! The Ministry is behind you, Harry. We want to help out. I’m sure Dumbledore will agree to this, but feel free to contact him if you’re concerned in any way.”

“Tell me more about it first. How will we communicate? Adferos?”

“No, those can be seen. I can make something that’s specific to the two of us and quite undetectable. Do you have any of your Famous Wizard Cards?”

Harry was startled into a snort of laughter. “Me? No, I don’t collect my own card.”

“We need two of them. I have one that I’ve kept in my photo album with the pictures of your parents. I can owl that one to you if I have to, but we really need two.”

“My girlfriend usually has some with her,” Harry offered. “Let me ask her.” He opened the door and looked out at Ron, Hermione and Ginny, who were still waiting patiently for him to finish. “Ginny, do you have any of my Famous Wizard Cards with you?”

“Yes,” she said, already opening her bag.

“We need two of them,” Harry said.

“Why don’t the three of you come inside and then you’ll see what we’re doing. It’s always good to learn a new spell, right?” O’Connell said with a smile.

“What kind of spell?” Hermione said excitedly.

“It’s a communications charm. James and Sirius had mirrors with a similar charm on them,” O’Connell began.

“Remus and I do, too,” Harry said, understanding now what O’Connell had in mind.

“Here are the cards,” Ginny said, passing over two of Harry’s Famous Wizard Cards.

“All right. I’ll give you a short Charms lesson, shall I?” O’Connell said, smiling at the students around him. “Here we have two cards with the same wizard portrait on them. It’s important that they have the same portrait on them, because they’re going to communicate with each other.”

“The way paintings do if there are portraits of the same wizard in two different places?” Hermione said, cottoning on.

“Exactly! So now that we have two wizard portraits of the same wizard — Harry — all we have to do is charm them properly. The incantation is Defero. You tap the item you’ll be using for communication twice as you say the incantation, thusly.” He tapped one card twice while saying, “Defero.” The card shimmered with light for a moment, then settled back in his hand. “Here, Harry, you do the other one,” he said, handing the card to the young man beside him.

“Defero,” Harry said as he tapped the card twice. It shimmered exactly as the other one had when O’Connell spelled it.

“Good work! Now they will communicate with each other. Go over to the other side of the room and give your image a message.”

“Do I need to say it’s for you?”

“Not as long as there are only two cards set up as Communicators,” O’Connell said, “but since others might use the same idea, it would probably be a good idea to use my name, yes.”

Harry nodded and crossed the room, turning his back to the others. He looked at his Famous Wizard Card. It always seemed odd to him to see himself smiling and waving, captured Snitch in hand, from the face of one of these cards. “Hey. Take Mr. O’Connell a message, OK?” Harry said uncertainly. His image nodded. “Tell him I think this Communication Charm is cool.”

“Got it!” his image said, then zoomed out of the edge of the card.

Harry’s eyes were wide with surprise. His cards had never spoken to him before. His voice from the card sounded funny, but he’d always heard people didn’t recognize their own voices when they heard them recorded. He’d have to ask his friends if his card’s voice really sounded like him. As he finished this thought, his image came back into the card.

“Mr. O’Connell says yes, it’s a cool charm, and he’s glad it works!” the little photographic Harry said enthusiastically, apparently waiting for some praise for delivering the message well.

“Erm. . .thanks,” Harry said to the card, feeling rather silly.

“No problem! Now go back over there, he has another charm to put on the cards,” his photographic image told him impertinently.

“Right,” Harry said, thinking it quite funny that even his photograph was cheeky.

“I see it works,” O’Connell said with a smile.

“Yeah, it’s brilliant,” Harry said, grinning, “although this little guy is rather cheeky!”

“He takes after you, Harry,” Ron said with a laugh. “He was cheeky on this end, as well.”

“All right, let’s do the spell that will let you know you’re receiving a message,” O’Connell said. “Once this is in place, you’ll feel the card vibrate in your pocket when I’m sending you a message.” With a bit of instruction, the cards were soon set up to let each of them know when they had a new message.

“Can Harry add people to the list this card will talk to?” Hermione asked curiously. “I mean, could he have the same card talk to Ron or me or Ginny, if we had similarly spelled cards in our pockets?”

“Certainly, it can be set up that way,” O’Connell replied. “Excellent question, Miss Granger.”

“She’s the smartest witch in our year,” Ron said proudly.

“Top of our class,” Harry added with a grin.

“I have more cards,” Ginny said. “Can we spell them too?”

“Of course,” O’Connell said. “I’ll show you how, then you can do the others.”

“Wait a minute,” Harry said suddenly. “If all of us have these cards, will they know when you’re sending a message to me?”

“No, only when the message is for them. And you could send a message to all three of them at the same time if you wanted to, Harry.” O’Connell supervised as Ron, Hermione and Ginny each put the spells on their cards. “Now, if any of you feel a need to talk to me, you just have to say my name and the message to Harry’s image, and I’ll get the message. If you want to send a message to several people, just say all of their names before saying your message. Simple, really, but quite a useful thing. Just be sure nobody else gets these cards. Don’t lose them or trade them by mistake. Mark them somehow so you’ll know which one to keep.” He gave Harry a considering look, then went on, “I think it might be best if Harry autographed the cards. I imagine you lot don’t have his cards with autographs on them, do you?” They all laughed and shook their heads.

“That’s a horrible idea!” Harry said, blushing madly. “Everyone will think I’m a great prat, signing cards for my friends like that.”

“Or that we’re prats for having the autographs,” Ron said, grinning, “but honestly, why not? It’s not as if we’ll be showing them to people. They’ll be in our pockets, right?”

“Yes, and about that — you want this in my pocket all the time?” Harry said, turning back to O’Connell, who nodded. “So even in the pocket of my pyjamas. . .?”

“Yes, Harry. The only time you won’t have the card on you is when you’re in the bath,” O’Connell replied.

Harry nodded. “OK. So how is my card supposed to be marked?”

“You won’t be trading it, so just keep it in your pocket,” O’Connell said. “I just don’t want any of you to get them mixed up with the un-spelled cards. I doubt Harry will, because he doesn’t collect his own cards, but Ginny, at least, seems to collect them, so the autograph is a way to mark the spelled cards.”

“OK,” Harry said, then sat down and pulled out his quill and ink bottle to sign his friends’ cards.

“Make it ‘to my best friend Hermione’,” Hermione prompted with a giggle.

“Make mine ‘to the best mate ever,’” Ron teased.

“Make mine personal,” Ginny said, a teasing purr in her voice that made Harry blush.

Harry spent a few minutes thinking, then signed them, “To Hermione, my best friend and the smartest witch I know, Best, Harry Potter”; “To Ron, the best mate a guy could ever have, Harry”; and “To my warrior princess, I love you! Your speed demon”.

“Aw, how sweet!” Hermione said with a grin as she saw what he wrote.

“Wicked!” Ron chuckled.

“Thanks, baby,” Ginny said, running her hand over his hair as he finished signing hers.

“I’ve taken up enough of your time, Harry. It’s been a real pleasure to meet you. I look forward to us working together,” O’Connell said sincerely. “If you get any clues about Voldemort or just want to talk, you know how to get in touch with me. Don’t go off and face him alone, Harry. A lot of us want to back you up.”

“Thank you, Mr. O’Connell. That’s great to know. I’ll stay in touch,” Harry promised.


* * * * *


“What happened with Zabini?” Harry asked Remus when he saw him in the corridor just before dinner.

“You were right, he was listening. We Memory Charmed him so he’s forgotten what he heard,” Remus replied, his face sad. “This war is making us do things to children I never thought I’d see.”

“It’s hurting loads of people. A little Memory Charm isn’t going to be too big a burden for Zabini to bear. You didn’t throw in an attitude adjustment while you were at it, did you?” Harry teased.

“You wish!” Remus said, grinning. “Oh, and he doesn’t have the Dark Mark. We did check.”

“I’m surprised. The way he’s been behaving, I was sure he must have already joined them.”

“Not yet.”

“Then he’s just acting like the prat he is,” Harry concluded.

“I suppose you’re right,” Remus agreed.


* * * * *


“Harry,” Dumbledore said as he passed Harry in the hall a few days later, “may I have a word?”

“Sure. How are you, Professor?”

“Spiffing!” Dumbledore said cheerfully. “Lemon drop?”

“Thanks,” Harry said, accepting the sweet as the two of them ducked behind a tapestry which was a shortcut to another hallway. Dumbledore led Harry down the shortcut to an unused classroom in the other hallway. “What’s up?” Harry said as the headmaster closed the door.

“I wanted to talk with you about your meeting with the Aurors,” Dumbledore said. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to attend the session, nor to chat with you after. I’ve heard wonderful things about how well you and Mr. Weasley did.”

“Yeah, they said we tested out of some classes!” Harry enthused.

“That’s wonderful, and I must say, I’m not at all surprised. Mr. O’Connell told me he set up a communications system with you and Mr. Weasley?”

“Yes,” Harry said, pulling out his Famous Wizard Card and showing it to his headmaster.

“Excellent! I’ll spell a card like that so it will be easy for you to contact me, as well. Mr. O’Connell is a very valuable resource in many ways, and will be a great help to us in the coming confrontation with Voldemort,” Dumbledore said. “He has recruited a large number of Aurors to the Order.”

“That’s great!” Harry said sincerely. “He told me the Ministry is behind us and wants to help.”

“Yes, that’s true. They can get there fastest if you notify Mr. O’Connell with this card when you face Voldemort again. Don’t forget about it in the heat of battle, Harry. Get someplace quiet for a moment and notify him as well as me where you are, if you should become separated from the rest of us.”

“I don’t intend to let Voldemort ambush me again,” Harry said fiercely. “I want to take the battle to him on my own terms.”

“And you very well might,” Dumbledore assured him, “but it’s best to be prepared for all contingencies.” Harry nodded. “I do have something else to discuss with you.”

“Yes?”

“The All-Stars Quidditch Game isn’t going to happen, Harry, at least not this year. It’s an excellent concept, and I hope to implement it in the future, but the current members of Slytherin house want nothing to do with it. We could force them, of course, but then the atmosphere of inter-House cooperation you were hoping to create wouldn’t be there. I’m sorry.”

“That’s OK. I didn’t really think they’d want to participate, but it was worth a try,” Harry replied with a shrug. He was disappointed, but not surprised.

“Yes, it was worth a try, and we will keep working on the concept,” Dumbledore assured him. “As for the D.A. Tournament, everything is in place. We have judges and a prize lined up, and we’ve gone over the skills you and Remus listed and created a number of challenging tasks for the competitors to complete. It should be a great deal of fun. We’ll do it in April, shall we? That way, it won’t interfere with the Quidditch Cup game.”

“Yes, that would be great, sir,” Harry said sincerely. “Thanks! So I can tell them about it now?”

“Absolutely. And I’ll announce it to the school, as well. I’ll send you the details we’ve worked out in the next day or two so you can share them with the D.A.”

“Brilliant!” Harry said with a grin.


* * * * *


When Harry announced the D.A. Tournament in the next D.A. meeting, it created an excited buzz that raced around the room.

Harry looked over the sea of upraised hands, each of which represented a question he’d need to answer, and sighed. This was going to be a long meeting, with not much time for practical work.

“All right, ask your question when I point to you, and the rest of you stay quiet so everyone can hear the answer. It’s possible a lot of you are trying to ask the same thing. Pay attention so I don’t have to answer anything twice, all right? We do need some time to practice our spell work this evening as well as talking about the Tournament.” His eyes roved over the room, finally settling on someone. “Right. What’s your question?” he said, pointing at a Fifth Year Ravenclaw boy.

“Can anyone enter, or just the D.A. members?”

“The Tournament is limited to D.A. members. It’s a test of your skills.” He looked around and chose another student. “Yes?”

“What’s the prize?”

“They haven’t told me yet, sorry. I’ll let you know when I find out.” He picked another person. “Yes?”

“What sort of things will we be doing in the Tournament?” Alex McCullough asked. He was the Ravenclaw who’d asked Harry near the end of the previous term if Harry had killed Alex’s dad in battle. Harry had invited him to join D.A. and Alex had become an enthusiastic member, working so hard that he’d moved up the ranks quite rapidly.

“Tasks that test the skills you’ve been learning,” Harry answered with a patient smile. He didn’t want to dim anyone’s enthusiasm, but he thought they should have had a clue about that question, at least.

“Can we invite our parents?” a young girl asked.

“I believe that will be allowed, but I’m not certain. I’ll ask Professor Dumbledore about it.” Harry turned to Hermione and said, “Would you make a list of questions I don’t know the answers to, so I ask Dumbledore about them?” She nodded and got out parchment, a quill and an ink bottle, then began making notes.

“Yes?”

“Who are the judges?”

“Professor Dumbledore, Professor Lupin, Auror Tonks Lupin, retired Auror Alastor Moody, and me.”

“Why you?” someone called out.

“I didn’t want to,” he said with a shrug. “I was planning to help run it and keep things going smoothly, but Dumbledore insisted I be a judge.”

“He’s a Tri-Wizard Champion, you git!” Colin Creevey added. “Of course he’d be a judge!” Everyone laughed.

“Will there be levels of competition? I mean, some of us are First Year D.A., some Second, some Third,” a Hufflepuff girl asked. “It wouldn’t be fair for everyone to compete together.”

“Harry was a Fourth Year when he had to compete with three Seventh Years in the Tri-Wizard Tournament!” Dennis Creevey said stoutly. “It should be a level playing field like that, with everyone trying the same challenges!”

There were groans as well as calls of “hear, hear!” in response to Dennis’s comment.

“All right, you lot, settle down!” Harry said, grinning at them. “I know exactly how you feel! But Dennis is right. It will be a level playing field. You just have to do your best. There will be reasonable solutions to every problem.” He was thoughtful for a moment, then said, “I suppose I could run the course myself before the Tournament to make sure everything’s set up as fairly as possible. How’s that?”

“If you can do it, that doesn’t mean we can!” someone from the back called with a laugh.

Harry chuckled. “Right, then, I don’t need to run the course! Works for me!” he said amiably.

“It wouldn’t be fair for them to see you run it anyway, mate,” Ron said quietly as the group laughed. “Then they’d have clues on how to do the tasks.”

“Yes, you’re right,” Harry said, glad Ron had thought of that aspect of the situation.

Numerous questions later, the group was finally satisfied and they were able to begin practicing their spell work. Harry and Ron conferred as the practice began.

“That went well,” Ron said with satisfaction. “I think the Tournament will be brilliant!”

“I hope so,” Harry said. “It should be fun, not life-threatening,” he added, thinking of the many times during the Tri-Wizard Tournament he had been certain he was going to die, long before he wound up face-to-face with Voldemort.


* * * * *


Double Potions was its usual stressful time. Harry was working hard on a poison antidote, one of several Snape had been teaching them lately. Snape had told Harry privately that he’d used these potions on Harry at various times the previous year, and it was time Harry learned to make them himself. With only a few minutes left in the class period, Harry was quite pleased to see his potion was the clear amber it was supposed to be, and it wasn’t smoking or sending off sparks as some other people’s potions were. His looked just like Hermione’s. He looked up at her and smiled as he caught her eye.

“Good work, Harry!” Hermione said with delight. “Perfect on the first try!”

“Yeah,” Harry said happily. “Wish I could do this all the time!”

“Mr. Potter,” Snape sneered as he passed their table. “Exactly what is that supposed to be?”

“Poison Antidote Number Three,” Harry replied promptly, wondering why Snape was behaving this way. His eyes widened in disbelief as his professor leaned over the potion to inspect it more closely and dropped a few particles of something in it, which instantly turned it sky blue.

Hermione gasped at the colour change. She knew something had happened, but she wasn’t certain what. Ron stared at Harry’s cauldron in shock, then glared at their professor furiously.

“Poison Antidote Number Three? I think not,” Snape snarled. “Evanesco!” he said, making Harry’s potion disappear.

“But, Professor,” Harry protested in frustration, his face white with shock.

“Not one word, Potter,” Snape interrupted, “or I’ll take points from Gryffindor. You know I expect the highest standard from my N.E.W. T. students. How you even qualified for this class is beyond my comprehension.”

Harry mouthed wordlessly, then blurted, “It was fine!”

“Apparently not,” Snape said silkily. “And now for your cheek, you have a detention. See me after class.” The Slytherins in the class had gone from sniggering to laughing out loud as the scene progressed.

“What the bloody hell was that all about?” Ron said in an urgent whisper, scowling at Snape’s back as the man glided away.

“I don’t know,” Hermione murmured uneasily. “That was totally unfair. Harry, your potion was fine!”

“I know,” Harry growled in disgust as he began packing his things away. “He hasn’t been as much of a prat as usual lately. Maybe he noticed.”

“Something must be up,” Hermione said worriedly. “He wouldn’t deliberately ruin your potion.”

Harry turned on her, doing his best to control his fury. “He did deliberately ruin my potion! And don’t you remember all the times I’ve turned in a perfectly acceptable potion, sometimes even a completely accurate one, and he’s dropped the flagon and said ‘oops’ or done something else to ruin it?” he hissed as the worktable started vibrating in response to his temper. He caught his cauldron, which was beginning to dance across the table, and stifled his rage as well as he could. “Fairness isn’t something he’s acquainted with.”

After class, Harry stormed up to Snape’s desk while Ron and Hermione waited at the back of the room. “What’s going on?” he snarled. He and Snape had actually been getting along fairly well so far this term.

“You and I are arranging a detention,” Snape said smoothly. He glanced around the room and raised his eyebrows at some lingering Slytherins who were watching the scene avidly.

“Why?” Harry hissed furiously. “My potion was fine!”

“Potter, any more cheek and you’ll have two nights’ detention,” Snape said, still glancing around his room. His gaze settled on the lingering Slytherins. “Why are you still here?”

“Just leaving now, Professor,” they said reluctantly, and finally left the room.

Snape bent his head as he wrote something on a piece of parchment, his greasy hair falling forward and concealing his expression. Harry shifted his weight from foot to foot, doing his best to control his temper, but incensed at being treated so badly. He heard a tinkle of glass and knew his anger was making the jars on the shelves behind him vibrate against each other. He took a deep breath and blew it out hard, doing his best to keep his temper under control and not break any of the containers filled with disgusting things.

Snape lifted his head at the sound and gave Harry a reproachful glance. “Your work is shoddy, Potter,” he said, turning the parchment toward Harry and tapping it lightly with his finger. “You leave out ingredients, you neglect the proper preparation time, you don’t follow instructions. And your cheek is beyond belief.” The lecture went on in this vein as he continued to tap his finger on the parchment, finally flicking his eyes down when Harry didn’t seem to understand.

When Harry finally looked down, he saw Snape had written, “I need you to do the detention. I have information for you. I can’t tell you about it now. Trust me.” He looked up at his professor, startled. He had information for him? He wanted Harry to trust him? Harry swallowed, forcing down his rage and thinking hard as the continuing reprimand washed over him. Snape had saved his life several times with potions like the one they’d been working on today. Trust him? He supposed he must. He gave Snape the briefest possible nod and the professor brought his tirade to an end.

“Right. You will come to my office for detention this evening at five o’clock,” Snape said, carefully pulling the parchment back toward himself and surreptitiously waving his wand over it, making the message disappear.

“Yes, Professor,” Harry said quietly, wondering who was watching them right now, since Snape was so obviously worried about being overheard or his note being seen.

“And you will work hard to improve your potion-making skills, won’t you?” Snape said snidely, but as he spoke, he pulled out his grade book and showed Harry that he’d given him full marks for the day’s work. “You can see you need to improve your marks.”

“Yes, Professor,” Harry answered dutifully when Snape finished speaking. He looked at the professor curiously. What was going on? He couldn’t make sense of it.

“You’re dismissed,” Snape said curtly, then turned deliberately away from Harry and busied himself with examining the potion samples the class had just turned in.

Harry picked up his bag and headed for the door, shaking his head at Ron and Hermione when they opened their mouths to ask questions. “Later,” he whispered as he passed them. He didn’t speak to them until they were in Gryffindor Tower, where he told them everything that had happened.

“What do you make of that?” he said when he’d finished his story.

“It sounds as if Snape thinks he’s being spied on,” Hermione said immediately.

“Yeah, and something about it involves you,” Ron added, scratching his head as he tried to consider every angle.

“What should I do?” Harry said, still baffled by what had happened.

“Go serve your detention and see what happens, I guess,” Hermione said with a shrug.

“You still have that mirror Remus gave you, don’t you?” Ron said suddenly.

“Yeah,” Harry replied.

“It’s a fairly safe way to communicate, right? People can’t see it like they can Adferos, and they can’t capture the message some way, right?” Ron went on.

“Yeah, I think so,” Harry said.

“So contact Remus with the mirror and ask him what he thinks. That way, nobody will see you going to see him, and whatever you two say will be private,” Ron said with a smile, pleased at his deductive abilities.

“That’s really good, Ron,” Hermione commended him. “Have you used the mirrors much, Harry?”

“Only a few times. It vibrates in my pocket when he sends a message,” Harry replied, pulling out the mirror. “Ron, can I use your suite? I don’t want to do this down here,” he said, nodding at the crowded Common Room.

“Yeah, sure,” Ron agreed.

Soon Harry was in the Head Boy Suite, mirror in hand. “Remus Lupin,” he said, staring at the mirror. Moments later, Remus’s face appeared.

“Hello, Harry! How are you?” he said cheerfully.

“I’m fine. I have a question for you,” Harry said. He went on to tell his godfather what had happened in class.

“I have no idea what’s going on,” Remus said, his face furrowed in concern. “Severus must have got wind of something to feel a need to warn you like this. I’m sorry he created a scene in class.”

“It was the same as every other time he’s yelled at me in class,” Harry said with a sigh, “but it hasn’t been happening that much this year. And my potion was fine! He added something to it to mess it up. I couldn’t believe he did that!”

“Whatever he has to tell you must be very important,” Remus said. “I’ll talk to Albus as soon as I can and see if he knows what’s going on. Let me know what you find out tonight, all right? And I’ll tell you whatever I learn, as well. Stay in touch.”


* * * * *


At five o’clock, Harry knocked on the door of the Potions classroom and entered when he heard Snape say, “Come in.”

“Good evening, Professor,” Harry said, setting his bag down by his work table. “What would you like me to do?”

“I want you to grade these First Year papers for me,” Snape said, handing Harry a stack of parchments. “The answer key is on top.”

Harry sighed and sat down, pulling out his quill and ink bottle, then setting to work. The first two parchments were simple enough to grade, but the third one was a message from Snape.

“We’re being watched and listened to. Don’t look round. The Dark Lord suspects me now, so he’s had some items set in place to keep track of what I do. Therefore, I must crack down on you more often in order to maintain appearances. Some of the students in my house have become Death Eaters. Make two marks here, as if you’ve found wrong answers.” Harry complied, writing a large “X” on one line, and then the next, flicking his eyes back and forth to the answer key to add authenticity. He continued to read. “They have been given some instructions by Voldemort, to which I’m not privy. If I learn what the plans are, I will let you and the headmaster know. Meanwhile, watch your back, and respond ‘normally’ when I berate you in class.

“I must say, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at your progress this year. I didn’t know you had N.E.W. T. standard work in you. Your father was a git, but he was very good at potions, and apparently you are taking after him that way. Please don’t let down the quality of your work. As I did today, I will give you the proper marks in my book, but I will have to damage your potions sometimes when they’re correct in order to maintain appearances. Please accept my apologies for what I am being forced to do. Mark something wrong here.” Harry made another large “X” on the parchment. “Once you’ve read this message, make what’s written here vanish. Keep this parchment in the stack, finish grading them and hand them to me when you’re done. Mark another wrong answer here.” Harry marked the parchment with a final large “X” and then murmured the spell that would remove all traces of what both Snape and he had marked on the parchment as he slid the now-blank parchment under the stack and went back to grading the other parchments. When he’d completed the task, which took only about twenty minutes, he carried them up to Snape’s desk.

“All done. What else?” Harry said, doing his best to act angry yet respectful.

Snape turned another note on his desk toward Harry. “Act as if you have no spare parchment,” it read.

“I want you to re-do your essay on galangal. It was pathetic. Clearly you have no understanding of the many uses of this ingredient. I expect twelve inches on it. Here’s the waste of parchment you turned in. Try to do better this time!” Snape snarled, handing Harry a rolled up parchment.

“I don’t have any spare parchment with me, sir,” Harry said.

Snape sighed dramatically and reached behind him, pulling out a roll of blank parchment. “Use this, then,” he sneered.

“I’ll bring you some tomorrow to replace this,” Harry said. “Thank you.”

“Yes, do that,” Snape said, giving Harry a filthy look and going back to work grading essays.

Harry sighed and went back to his seat, unrolling the parchment as he went. He saw the essay was marked with a spiky black “E” — E? he thought. Exceeds Expectations, yet he expects me to re-do it? What the bloody hell is going on here? He looked at the essay again, and stifled his look of surprise when he found a small parchment rolled up with it. “Potter,” it said, “when you’ve finished reading this parchment, erase it as before and keep it in your essay. You don’t have to re-do your essay, as you can see. But I need to keep you here long enough for it to appear that you’ve been thoroughly punished. Open the blank parchment and write whatever you want on it. Just stay busy for another thirty minutes or so. I’ve charmed the blank parchment so that once you roll it up again, whatever you’ve written will disappear and a copy of your galangal essay will appear.”

Harry stopped reading and scratched his head, making a show of studying his first essay, then pulled his book out of his bag and opened it to the appropriate page. He sighed heavily again, then rose from his seat and went to the book case, pulling down two heavy volumes and carrying them back to his desk. He started rewriting his homework in earnest, trying for an “O.” Writing as quickly as he could, he had the revised essay completed and handed it in forty minutes later.

“I think this is better now, sir. Thank you for giving me a chance to revise it,” Harry said, making sure the parchment didn’t roll up so it would erase itself. He hoped Snape would understand that he really wanted his professor to not erase it without reading it.

Snape scanned down the parchment, his eyebrows lifting in surprise. “I see improvement here, Potter,” he said seriously. “Try to do this well on the first try in the future.”

“Yes, sir,” Harry said. “What else?”

“That’s enough. You’re dismissed.”

“Thank you, sir. Good night,” Harry said, putting away the books, grabbing his bag and leaving. He glanced at the shelf beside the door as he reached for the door handle. At the bottom of a jar of newt eyes, one pair of eyes was aware, and following his movements avidly. He suppressed a shudder, glanced quickly away and pulled the door open, then hurried out, grateful he didn’t have such things watching him all the time. Wait until Ron and Hermione hear this, he thought as the door swung shut behind him.


* * * * *


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