Chapter 19: Neville Longbottom
The year was moving. Harry was content, but still on edge in case of an attack. Every day the Daily Prophet came in with more news of attacks, and every death just made Harry train harder. He had started doing small lessons in hand to hand combat with Tonks because he wanted to be able to fight without his wand, even if he could summon it.
There was also much more work in elemental magic - Harry still wasn't at Dumbledore's level, where he could conjure snakes of fire that worked autonomously, but he was getting better. He was also going through an astonishing number of books - the Malfoy, Black, Zabini, Greengrass, and Bones libraries had some wonderful books and light and dark magic.
Sirius was also doing a lot of collaborative research with Narcissa, Lucius, and surprisingly Amelia Bones on horcruxes - they hadn't gotten very far, but they had determined that Harry had once been a horcrux, though that was gone after the dementors in third year.
They were all really thankful for that, especially Lyra. His animagus was also going well, though he wasn't making much progress since he was too busy on spellwork.
He spent Mondays and Wednesdays in duelling club, Tuesdays and Thursdays at Quidditch, Fridays on homework, Saturdays on spellwork, and Sundays on animagus. Quite frankly, it was a lot, but he wasn't doing too bad.
He knew nothing about Voldemort, however, or Tom Riddle at least, so he had been doing some of his own reading thanks to Luna's vague words on Riddle's history at Hogwarts.
From what he could tell, Riddle had been a model student - prefect but not head boy, and had won the award for special services to the school for stopping the basilisk, though that was false. Really, his Hogwarts letters didn't say much, other than that he collected a group of students around him who followed him loyally.
Honestly, if anyone would have important information it would be Dumbledore, but Harry didn't fully trust the man. He wasn't sure if he had a choice, honestly.
Dear Sirius,
I've realized we're not going to get anywhere with the horcrux hunt at this rate. We need to collaborate with Dumbledore, even if we don't like him. We don't have to give a lot of information either, just enough to get the information we need on Riddle.
I want your, Lucius, and Narcissa's advice, and I'm talking to Lyra, Luna, Dean, and the others, but I think that this is our only option.
Love,
Harry
Carina Darling and Michael Williams were not included in the meeting Harry held, since they were too young. Only the kids in Luna's year and above were actually allowed, but by the end of the meeting it was agreed that Harry could talk to Dumbledore as long as he kept his Occlumency up at all times, and took antidotes to Veritaserum, Amortentia, and all poisons before entering the room.
Dear Harry,
We've agreed that you should probably meet with Dumbledore. He was the only one we can think of who went to school with Dumbledore except for old Slughorn, but when we contacted him about Riddle he ran away, and we're still tracking him down.
Be Safe Harry.
Love,
Padfoot
Headmaster Dumbledore,
I have some information on Voldemort that might be beneficial to you; however, I will need some information of my own in return. Let us be frank - I do not trust you anymore, and you think I am going to the dark side. Rest assured, I will never join Voldemort.
I need information on Voldemort's past - if you can give it to me, I can give you my information. It is on how we can stop him.
-Harry Potter
Dear Harry,
You are right in saying that there is a gap between us. I would be delighted to exchange information, however.
-Headmaster Dumbledore
PS. I love lemon drops.
Harry sighed as he looked down at the letter one last time, before folding it back up and tucking it into his pocket.
"Lemon Drop." he told the gargoyle.
It slid open and he walked to Dumbledore's office, not bothering to knock since he knew from Narcissa's black book that Dumbledore had a spell allowing him to see whoever was outside his door.
"Ah Harry." Dumbledore welcomed him. "What information did you say you have for me?"
Harry's eyes narrowed. He knew that if he gave the old man his information first anything he was given in return would be useless.
"I think I'll get my information first."
Dumbledore heaved a sigh, his blue eyes devoid of any twinkle.
"Very well." he nodded. "To understand Tom Riddle, we will be entering my memories of him as a young boy."
The first memory shocked Harry - the Riddle House, and a young Tom Riddle with a man named Morfinn Gaunt. That ring, it was probably a horcrux. Harry would have to go check it out with the rest of them.
The second memory had to do with an old woman named Hepzibah Smith and the Cup of Hufflepuff. For Harry, the greed in Tom's eyes had been evident.
"Ok." he nodded once the second memory was over. "That was good, solid information."
"What is it that you have to give me?" Dumbledore asked.
"Horcruxes." Harry said bluntly, watching with a little satisfaction as Dumbledore's eyes widened in shock. "Voldemort made horcruxes - we destroyed Slytherin's locket after we found it in Grimmauld Place. That was one. This information you gave me may tell me more. The diary in my second year was a second. We're unsure how many he made."
Dumbledore nodded and dismissed Harry, clearly in his own thoughts.
Harry left, already penning letters in his head. The Gaunt Shack in Little Hangleton had to be visited, and he needed to figure out what Riddle might have done with Hufflepuff's Cup after stealing it off that old lady.
Merlin, this was a mess.
Dear Sirius,
I have the information from Dumbledore. First, go to Little Hangleton and find the Gaunt Shack. Lord Voldemort used to be Tom Marvolo Riddle, and his mother was a woman named Merope Gaunt. He had a ring, black stone with a gold band, and he looked like he valued it. Also, I think Hufflepuff's Cup is a horcrux. We're not sure where that is though.
Love,
Harry
Dear Harry,
Narcissa found Slughorn. Old Riddle had an obsession with the number seven, so that's how many horcruxes we are going for. Looking at the data you gave us, we think Riddle had an obsession with the founders, so anything of Ravenclaw is a good bet. I don't think he would use Gryffindor - house rivalries were wild back then.
Love,
Sirius
Dear Sirius,
Luna and Cho both say that the only object they can think of is Ravenclaw's Lost Diadem. We're unsure as to where to find that, but search for that too maybe. Assuming I was an unsuspecting horcrux originally, and Voldemort planned to use my death to make his last horcrux, the diadem, cup, diary, locket, and ring are five. I don't know about the sixth.
Love,
Harry
Dear Harry,
We found a black ring with a gold band in the Gaunt House. It was really hard to get through - there were some nasty curses on the house, including a withering curse. Luckily, we used some wards to remove any and all magic in the house. We destroyed the band, which was the horcrux, but the ring stayed intact even through fiendfyre. It only cracked, so we suspect that it is more powerful than we thing.
Narcissa is examining it currently with Arabella Zabini.
Love,
Sirius
Harry yawned as he finished off his book, curled up in his bed. Frankly, this year was going better than expected. Even through constant attacks by Voldemort, and more and more deaths, Harry was getting better and better at duelling. They were also destroying more and more horcruxes, and the trap in the department of mysteries had been set up.
Dear Harry Potter,
I have found some books on Parseltongue in the Department you might be interested in. We at the DOM do not share our knowledge readily, but if it will help defeat the Dark Lord then we are willing.
May Merlin shine upon you,
Saul Croaker
Dear Mr Croaker
Thank you for the books. They contain some amazing spells from the time of Merlin and Arthur and Albion that will be incredibly useful in the fight. I realize that the DOM does not share knowledge readily, but if you would like I could attempt to give you the knowledge of Parseltongue. Just you, no one else. I found a spell in the book that transfers knowledge and was created by Rowena Ravenclaw.
Thank you,
Harry Potter
Dear Mr Potter,
If you could meet me on December 17 during your Winter Holidays such an exchange would be most amenable.
May Merlin shine upon you,
Saul Croaker
Harry smiled brightly as he packed his bags. He was going back home, to Grimmauld Place. House Hedwig was really split in half - Michael was going home with Carina, but except for Lyra and Draco everyone else in their year was staying back home.
They all were getting really good at the Parseltongue passwords now - Harry taught them words in advance and was beginning to teach some of them smaller vocabulary words like danger.
"Ready?" Lyra asked, taking his hand.
He nodded and boarded the train with her, going to their usual compartment. It was already expanded, and Luna was in it with Astoria, Daphne, Ginny, and the Weasley Twins. Draco was still coming with Colin and Dennis.
"So what's the ministry trip for this time?" Astoria asked.
"The head of the DOM gave me some amazing books on Parseltongue magic, and I'm just returning the favor."
"That's where you got the books?" Lyra asked, eyes wide. "From the DOM?"
"What's special about it?" Ginny asked.
"The Department of Mysteries doesn't give out any of its knowledge voluntarily - Harry is an exceptional and rare case." Draco said as he walked in, Colin and Dennis behind him.
"Of Course it is." Fred teased.
"Our dear Harrikins, moving mountains!" George finished.
Harry snickered with the rest of them as the train took off, and they settled down. Harry planned pranks with Fred, George, and Ginny. Lyra and Draco played team Exploding Snap with Colin and Dennis, while Luna, Astoria, and Daphne read books.
The ride was pretty quick for Harry, seeing as how he fell asleep in Lyra's lap halfway through. When they woke up they were at King's Cross Station - they got off like usual, Harry with Hedwig on his shoulder since she refused to get in the cage.
"Harry!" Sirius bellowed, wrapping him in a hug.
"Hi Sirius." Harry grinned.
"Got your stuff?" Sirius asked with a warm smile.
He nodded. "Come on." Sirius told him, taking his hand and side-apparating him to Grimmauld Place.
The others were driving, but Sirius had wanted some time alone with Harry.
"So why did you need me alone?" Harry asked.
"I'm going to teach you apparition." Sirius told him.
Harry gaped, thinking of how useful that could be.
"Awesome." he breathed out.
"Now, I won't be able to teach you today, but I want you to read theory books. Tomorrow we're going to Malfoy Manor - their wards are better for this sort of practice. Lyra and Draco will learn too.
Harry perked up visibly at the thought of seeing Lyra, glaring at Sirius when the man snickered and said, "Whipped."
The rest of the people came back to Grimmauld Place. Harry mostly stayed in his room - ever since duelling club, Ron had gotten unbearable in his "Potter the showoff" rants.
Surprisingly enough, he sounded like Draco when Draco acted like a blood purist. Hermione had calmed down, though she still thought that Harry had to be cheating to get better grades than her, and was a dark wizard.
Dinner was tense, though Harry did his best to ignore it and continued talking to Fred, George, and Ginny.
The next day he woke up and got dressed, ready for apparition. The books said that he should wear loose robes since sometimes magic went wonky and fused the clothing to his body, but to make sure he wore tight underclothes because he could also apparate without his clothes.
He got down the stairs early in the morning and scarfed his breakfast down, Sirius at his side.
"And where do you think you're going?" Molly asked, eyebrow raised.
They turned around to see Tonks, Kingsley, Molly, and most of the Order looking at them with curious expressions. Harry immediately pushed all emotion away and looked at them calmly. "Malfoy Manor."
He noticed that most of them had expressions of disgust at the idea.
"Please." Ron scoffed. "You're just going to learn dark magic."
"What we go to do is none of your business." Sirius replied coolly, putting his hand on Harry's shoulder.
"If it's nothing bad, why can't you tell us?" an old man named Diggle challenged.
"Apparition." Harry sneered at him. "Because unlike you, I actually have to fight Voldemort and I want to survive this mess!"
With that, both of them spun around and left, going to the Manor.
"Harry!" Lyra laughed as she embraced him.
Draco snickered in the corner with Sirius while Lucius and Narcissa turned away. They broke apart and every one sobered up, going to the Apparition Room.
"You will have to apparate from this hoop," Lucius pointed to a wooden hoop, "to this hoop." he pointed to another five feet away. "While doing so, deliberate on your destination with determination, as our old apparition teacher said.
"The guy's old." Sirius scoffed. "I'm pretty sure he taught Slughorn how to apparate."
Narcissa sighed. "You must concentrate on your magic, imagine it taking you to the other hoop. You cannot exist where you are anymore- you must think of your destination clearly and be at your destination."
Harry looked at the hoop across from him and imagined himself in the hoop, trying to imitate Sirius' spinning movement when he apparated.
Instead, he fell down. He noticed that Draco had done the same, though Lyra had kept her balance. He stood up and tried again, this time visualizing himself in the hoop. Nothing happened, though he could feel the tug of magic when he spun.
By the end of the day, nothing important and happened - none of them had managed to apparate, though Draco had gotten blurry at one point and Harry had felt a tugging sensation in his gut even stronger.
They went back home exhausted, Harry from apparition attempts and Sirius from laughing every time one of them fell down or did something dumb.
"Sirius." Dumbledore exclaimed when they entered the house. "We were unable to contact you - the Order Meeting had to be postponed."
"Sorry." Sirius said easily, not really apologetic. "Harry and I were busy."
"Yes I heard." Dumbledore's tone was definitely disapproving.
"Look, you don't get to judge us." Harry snapped. "Now I am starving."
"There's food in the kitchen Harry." Molly smiled.
He smiled back and sauntered into the kitchen, grabbing two sandwiches and going up to his room. He was going through the fifth of twelve parseltongue novels. The spells in that were amazing.
Salazar Slytherin was a veritable genius. There were spells that could single out Dark Lords, be keyed to blood signatures. In fact, if Harry managed to get just a vial of Voldemort's blood, there was a whole book on rituals he could do to stop and weaken Voldemort, but he knew none would work because Voldemort had Nagini's venom and his blood in him.
He could totally use these in battle with death eaters though - Voldemort knew Parseltongue, and once Harry did the spell Voldemort could do it too. He may hate the guy, but he was smart.
Soon it was time for his visit with Croaker - he put on a nice pair of deep blue robes with golden lining and a basilisk skin duelling vest underneath.
"Mr Potter." Croaker, well, croaked, as Harry entered.
"Mr Croaker." he replied calmly. "I would like to once again thank you for the Parseltongue books."
"More for the fact that I may be able to speak Parseltongue." Croaker remarked, a happy gleam in his eyes at the idea.
"It won't be easy." Harry cautioned. "You'll have the knowledge of understanding, but you'll have to talk to snakes and decipher words to speak it."
"Understanding is better than nothing." Croaker replied.
"Ok." he nodded, following Croaker into a room clearly lined for magical testing based on the residue and explosive marks. "Ready?"
"Maxime facultatem potens serpens." Harry hissed, watching as an ethereal green light enveloped Croaker.
"Ok." he nodded when it had settled into the man's skin. "Now to put it to test. Serpensortia!"
An adder appeared in front of them, hissing and spitting wildly.
What idiot dares to take me from my home?
"I can understand him." Croaker murmured in awe. "I will need you to take an unbreakable vow not to teach anyone else."
Croaker readily agreed and took the vow, both of them concluding business and Harry taking the floo back home.
"Where were you?" Hermione demanded the moment he flooed in.
He mentally groaned. "None of your business."
"It is!" she screeched. "The Order has been worried sick about you!"
Just as though it was perfect timing, the rest of the Order stampeded in, Sirius sauntering after them all with Fred, George, and Ginny.
"Mr Potter, I would ask where you have been?" Dumbledore demanded.
Snape smirked in the background at the rude gesture Sirius made at Dumbledore's back.
"If you must know, I was in a meeting with Saul Croaker." Harry replied flatly.
"The Head of the Department of Mysteries?" Diggle choked.
"Uh Huh." Harry nodded, satisfied at his dumbfounded expression. "He gave me some really good books on Parseltongue magic, and I was just returning the favor."
"Parseltongue magic is dark!" Hermione immediately exclaimed.
"No it's not." Ginny scoffed. "You just think it's dark because of your bias. It's actually classified grey magic."
"Harry, you had us worried sick!" Molly shrieked. "Just tell us, Harry, where you are going and when next time so we don't spend our time looking for you."
"Ok Mrs. Weasley." Harry agreed, heading up to his room.
Harry was in his room reading the book when he heard the thunder up the stairs. He shut it and looked up as Sirius barged into the room.
"Attack at Longbottom Manor!" he yelled. "Five minutes till we apparate!"
Harry immediately jumped out of bed and pulled his duelling robes on, adding the basilisk skin vest under it with his wand holster and wand, along with a new creation of Fred and George's - shield gloves. This way, he wouldn't have to worry about people summoning or disarming him - the gloves would stop that.
He ran downstairs to see some of the others getting ready - Tonks had her basilisk skin robes on, Kingsley had his Auror issued dragonhide robes on, and Sirius had his own pair of graphorn duelling robes - the man was rich.
"Sirius, what is Harry doing here?" Dumbledore asked, again disapproving. "Only the Order is going."
"Too bad Dumbledore." Sirius replied pleasantly, masking the disgust he felt.
"I refuse." Dumbledore glared.
"Fine." Sirius replied. "Ready Harry?"
He nodded, and Sirius took his arm and they both apparated out.
The grounds of Longbottom Manor were chaos. The Manor itself was on fire, and he could see lots of dead death eaters around him - from the wards, and from the plants that were attacking.
Sirius and Harry stayed out of the range of the plants and took down death eaters as quick as they could. Before they could advance, more death eaters apparated in, and this time managed to burn down all the plants guarding the house.
"Shit." Sirius hissed, running forward slinging spells.
Harry also leaped in, spells coming from his wand all nonverbally. He didn't play fancy like he did in some duels or challenge himself - he just killed and incapacitated as many death eaters as he could.
He heard pops of apparition behind him and Tonks and Kingsley joined the fight. He continued fighting the death eaters, locked in duel with two at one. Just like his duel with Voldemort last year had been hard, so was this.
The death eaters were not amazing at duelling, but in a life and death duel they were slinging Avada Kedavra's around like candy on Halloween and Harry could not use any wide range spells for fear of hitting his allies.
He finally cut both of them up with Sectumsempra and heard a commotion behind him, to see that the rest of the Order had arrived. He turned back around and saw that some more death eaters were apparating in - he immediately jumped into battle, not giving any warning when he killed three with a bombarda.
He could see the other members of the order sending off stunning spells and the like - he, Sirius, Tonks, and Kingsley were the only ones willing to go a little further. Frankly, death eaters were scum - they didn't need to be spared in his opinion.
He advanced forward, sending off a massive parseltongue water spell aimed at the mansion. Before it could do anything there was a huge groan from the top of the mansion, and it collapsed.
"NO!" he yelled, his water spell going faster, but it was too late.
They hadn't escaped, and he had failed.
Neville. Oh god Neville. No matter how clumsy he had been they had been in the same year, and they had talked lightly in class. Neville had never truly been mad at him for becoming House Hedwig, though he had never supported him either.
The death eaters all popped away the moment the mansion collapsed, leaving Harry and the rest with the remnants of a burnt mansion.
"Longbottom Manor." Sirius said finally, mournfully, and Harry knewthat he was imagining how the Longbottom's had fallen, how the line was gone.
The Longbottoms had been a skilled family - they descended from the time of Merlin, and had skills in plants. It was said that the first arbomancer was a Longbottom.
He closed his eyes even as they went home and went to his room, burying himself in the shower. The water was scalding but he didn't care, because Neville was dead. He knew it wasn't his fault, but Neville was still dead because he wasn't faster.
In the privacy of his shower and room, in the dead of night, even while Hedwig flew with the bad news to all of his friends, he let the tears fall down his face.
Dumbledore sighed in his office, looking at the silvery instrument that had gone dull. Another dead end. He had thought Neville could take Harry's position as the Boy-Who-Lived, but now he was dead.
It seemed he would have to work with Harry - he was already protected from any enchantments Dumbledore could use, because his allies were suspicious of him instead of trusting him.
It seemed he would have to work with Harry, even if he didn't want to- there was no other choice. It was such a pity about the horcrux in the boys head. He was surprised that Harry hadn't had any Voldemort related nightmares, but maybe Voldemort had found and blocked the connection.
Chapter 20: Amelia Bones
Harry sat down at the table in the Great Hall and looked down. There was a somber mood around, for just like last year one of their own was gone. Dead.
The Gryffindor table was in especial grief - Ron was the only Gryffindor left. Dean and Seamus, who had been closer to Neville before, were also really somber.
Harry. Well, Harry felt like had no more grief left to give. Now, just like Cedric's death, there was a gaping hole in him that would slowly start to fill with his determination to take down Voldemort.
The feast ended and he headed back, his movement almost robotic.
"Harry." Lyra murmured, taking his arm before he could enter. "Come wit hem."
She took him to a private area behind a tapestry.
"Harry you can't keep doing this."
"Doing what?" he asked, but his voice echoed and sounded hollow.
Cedric. Neville. Remus.
Three people he had failed.
"This!" she shouted suddenly, her silver eye sparking with fury. "You blaming yourself for every damn thing in the war and pushing yourself and training to death! Well guess what Harry? The war doesn't revolve around you! Voldemort is the one hurting and killing them, and just because there's a stupid prophecy about you doesn't mean it's your fault!"
Harry was struck by the fact that she was right. She was. He slumped to the ground, and when she enveloped him in a hug he broke down, sobs muted and eyes dry.
Harry threw himself into training after that, but not as much as before. He took more breaks, concentrated more on hanging out with his friends and just enjoying life. Blaise continued to teach him chess, and Harry started reading books on duelling strategy too.
The death of Neville and his grandmother had also struck the Wizengamot hard - the Longbottom family had no remaining heirs, and they couldn't just give the seat to anyone because it was tied to the family magics.
Finally, it was decided to remove the seat and create a new one for the Bones family: previously, Amelia Bones only had a seat because she was head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
Dear Harry,
The cup and diadem are the only ones left. From what we got on Slughorn, Riddle really valued his magical heritage. We also got some information about Wool's Orphanage, and according to the records, he was possessive and liked trophies.
We aren't sure where to search next - we were thinking of going through our Gringotts Vaults in case Voldemort gave the Malfoys or someone else associated with the Black Family a horcrux.
Love,
Sirius
Dear Sirius,
Maybe we should search Hogwarts? We could use the spell some time during summer and see if there is anything here. I know it's a longshot, but since Riddle valued his magical heritage so much he might have hidden something here, the first magical place he ever visited.
Love,
Harry
Dear Harry,
We can try for something at Hogwarts with the help of Snape and Flitwick - Dumbledore is going on a one month sabbatical to the furthermost parts of Europe for a trip that involves finding allies. If not, we can talk to Amelia Bones.
Love,
Sirius
Harry stifled a yawn as he read through his book. It was DADA, and the rest of the class was studying some slicing and dicing hexes.
He was on the seventh parseltongue novels - nonverbal spells that he might be able to use in battle. Unfortunately, he had to think in parseltongue, which would be a problem. He would have to practice that.
It was hard for him to think in Parseltongue- usually he spoke it instinctively and it translated to english in his head.
"Hey." he heard a voice behind him.
He spun around, automatically drawing his wand, but Lyra was just standing there with her curly blonde hair, now reaching mid-back again, in a black skirt and green top.
"Hey Lyra." he commented, putting his wand back where it belonged.
"Do you know what day it is?" she asked.
He paused, thinking for a second. "Saturday." he answered finally.
"It's Hogsmeade." she replied, her voice sharp. "And you're losing yourself in your studies again."
He said nothing, knowing that he was.
"Come with me." she said softer, sitting next to him and taking his hand. "One full day off at Hogsmeade, just you and me."
"But…"
"But what?" she asked. "Harry, you can't sacrifice yourself for others. You deserve time to be happy, even if you have to sacrifice some study hours."
Harry sighed. He knew she was right.
"Ok." he got up, stretching from his meditative pose. "Just give me ten minutes."
After ten minutes he had taken a shower and put on a pair of slacks and a red t-shirt, a pair of black robes slung loosely on top. After that they were on their way to Hogsmeade, sitting in one of the carriages while one of the first sunny days in their cold winter.
"So what do you want to do?" Harry asked Lyra.
"I'd like some butterbeer." Lyra commented idly. "We're still not old enough to have firewhisky, sadly."
Harry laughed, feeling more free than he had in ages. The sharp biting wind against his face felt good, and the constant rub of Lyra's tights against his leg was a reminder that he wasn't alone.
"I think I could use some Honeydukes." he replied.
And that's what they did. They went to Three Broomsticks and got butterbeer, laughing at each other's foam mustaches like they were three. Then Honeydukes, where they tried out all of the new candies and ran out of the store after paying without a care in the world, high on candy.
Harry finally stopped laughing when they reached a bench area, and Lyra sat down.
"I feel amazing." he told her. "This- this was amazing."
She grinned brightly and he leaned over to press their lips together. When they went back to the castle Harry was more relaxed than ever.
Dear Harry,
We have been coming through all of the vaults I have access to. Lucius and I pulled a bunch of strings at Gringotts and did a lot of legal work, but we got the Lestrange Vaults in the end. We figured that that is the highest possible vault - we checked all of our vaults but there was nothing, even using the spell. We'll probably go to Gringotts with you during Easter Break.
Love,
Sirius
Dear Sirius,
This is perfect. I was wondering if Blaise might be able to stay with us for Easter Break - his mom is facing some political troubles with the death eaters recruiting in Italy, so he's not able to go with her like usual. Unfortunately, he already signed the papers saying he would leave Hogwarts.
Love,
Harry
Dear Harry,
Of course your friend can stay. Blaise Zabini right? Yeah, that's totally fine. Just hope that the Order doesn't flip its lid.
Love,
Sirius
Harry grinned as he stretched out in the train compartment, Susan's cat Treacle rubbing his black and white furs all over him as the cat slept in his lap.
"So the swamp really worked?" Hannah asked.
"Yeah." Fred laughed loudly. "Mrs. Norris ended up stuck in it and no one could vanish the swamp. When they levitated her out, the mud was still all over her, and it fell on Filch!"
"It's sticky mud we created." George explained. "Swamps, but with some added chemicals Harry introduced to us from the muggle world."
"We're here." Blaise told them, clambering down from his place near the window.
They all took their trunks and got out, Blaise having already learned the Headquarters location. Sirius found them and they all apparated home, Harry quick to take Blaise to his guest room.
"Thanks Harry." Blaise grinned. "Mum can take care of herself, but not both of us, and no matter how much I tell her I can duel just fine she won't put me in danger."
"I don't know that much about your mum." Harry commented. "Tell me about her."
Blaise sat down on the bed, looking up at the star painted ceiling.
"My mum is amazing - super caring and she always gets me what I need. She marries a lot, and only for money, which is why a lot of people call her the Black Widow. She's also part siren, so when she sings its magical. She can convince and seduce people really easily with her voice. She's distant sometimes, but always caring."
"She sounds awesome." Harry commented.
What would his mother have been like?
Would she be caring? Kind? Compassionate? Would she have a love for books? Would she and his dad argue?
"Dinner!" there was a call from downstairs and both boys raced down.
As expected, there was kind of a blowout about Blaise being there.
"He's a Slytherin!" Ron screamed, the usual argument. "And not only that, his mother's that lady who kills her husbands for money!"
"They're accidents." Blaise replied, though he was so monotone everyone could tell he was lying.
"Just calm down." Harry snapped. "He's my friend and he's staying."
Mrs Weasley of course, took it in stride, making an extra plate for Blaise. It also helped that Blaise layered compliment after compliment on her, causing her the blush.
"You're such a charmer you." Harry teased when they were eating.
"What can I say?" Blaise rebutted, looking extremely smug. "My mother taught me how to please a lady."
Hermione rolled her eyes, while Ginny smirked. She and Blaise always had huge arguments that ended with them sweet talking each other. Frankly, they were like the opposite gender version of each other.
The rest of dinner was pretty peaceful, Harry and Tonks in a debate about the merits of the Transylvania and England game coming up next Saturday, and who would win.
Ginny and Blaise were debating the merits of dodging verus shielding with Sirius, while Fred and George were doing some not so legal business transactions with Mundungus Fletcher when their mum wasn't looking.
Easter Break passed nearly the same way the winter break had - Harry, Draco, and Lyra continued to study apparating, and their animagus forms with Luna. Sirius estimated that they would be ready for their first full transformation by Harry's birthday.
One particularly memorable time Harry had been stuck with wolf ears, Draco with a peacock tail, Luna with Cheshire Cat Strips, and Lyra with three heads.
Sirius had taken a picture of that with the enchanted cameras that Colin, Dennis, and Michael had made for everyone and sent for Christmas to go on their wall back at House Hedwig.
House Hedwig was more of a home at this point - the common room was full of plushy chairs, tables, sofas, and books.
They had an entire wall dedicated to photos they had taken and pictures Dean had drawn of them - small moments like when Cho had been caught by a prank from Fred and George, or the time Carina had been caught singing (she was amazing) when she thought no one was around.
All of their rooms were theirs to keep until they left Hogwarts, and with the help of Dobby, Winky, Twilly, and some other house elves could be personalized to how they liked it. Well, Carina tried to make her room hot pink but the elves wouldn't have it. They seemed to have an unnatural distaste for hot pink, and chose a light creamy shade instead.
The House elves were a huge help - Cho, who wanted to one day become a fashion designer, had taken all of the fabrics Harry bought for them and created matching uniforms for all the house elves. By pushing it off as laundry, the elves stayed happy and in employment.
His duelling was getting better, most definitely, but it was harder and harder to find people who could put up a really good challenge. He refused to go to Dumbledore, and he had long ago analyzed Professor Flitwick's fighting style and learned to best it.
At this point, he was just reading up on old reports from the war, and looking at how Voldemort fought.
The guy didn't pull his punches. He had a lot of power because he could throw dark curse after curse and not be tired, and Harry didn't have that power. He replied on his brains to get him out, and his duelling robes to shield against lighter jinxes.
His wand couldn't be broken now, that was for sure. The Parseltongue books had some things on wand protection, and now his was fireproof and unbreakable.
Soon Easter Break was over, and all of House Hedwig fell into studying for exams with a frenzy. The fifth and seventh years especially, because they had OWLS and NEWTS. Harry was confident in his defense and charms, but for the others he loaded up on books, ignoring his duelling for once because he cared about his exams.
He still wasn't sure what he wanted to do - his career talk was coming up, though the school refused to let him have it with Peeves. His would be with Professor McGonagall, who Harry was rather neutral on - she supported Dumbledore, but never took action against him. She was proud, but disliked the dark magic he used.
He had never used an unforgivable though, and he never would. He wasn't that horrible.
Harry sat uncomfortably in Professor McGonagall's classroom, Dolores Umbridge smiling like a toad from the corner. She had been watching random student's career paths to make sure that they were "using their full potential."
It was a load of hippogriff-crap. She just wanted to make sure that the really powerful and good students ended up working with or for the ministry.
Harry frankly didn't want to work in the ministry. He already was fighting so much, and being an auror like Seamus wanted to would just mean more fighting. He wanted to teach, really.
He loved the pleasure of devouring books and being able to explain them later to others and teach them the spell.
Daphne wanted to be a researcher, and Blaise was looking into expanding the family business of alcohol creation into the muggle world. Lyra wanted to be an independent researcher in runes and potions, and Draco wanted to be a banker with Gringotts since he was great with numbers. Susan was a political shark so she was going to take her place on the Wizenmagot once of age, and Hannah was aiming for a position in international magical cooperation since she was really good with languages.
Dean wanted to be an artist, since he had already sold one of his pieces of the potions lab to an art exhibit in France that was hidden in the Louvre.
Harry still marvelled sometimes at the places wizards and witches hid.
"Hello Mr Potter." McGonagall greeted him, shaking him out of his thoughts.
He gave her a small smile and sat down stiffly.
"So Mr. Potter." she said calmly and stiffly like always. "What career path are you thinking of pursuing?"
Harry looked at her calmly. "I want to teach." he said.
He couldn't deny the small spark of pride in him that flared up at her short and proud smile before she went back to her usual face.
"What subject?"
"Defense." he said without hesitation.
"Mr Potter." Umbridge spoke up from the corner with her usual cough. "Would your duelling skills not be more useful, er, somewhere else rather than teaching?"
Harry shakes his head, because he doesn't want to fight more than he has to, he's tired of fighting and fighting and fighting.
"I don't want to fight more." he said calmly. "Not unless I have to."
"Very well." McGonagall cleared her throat. "You will need NEWTS in Defense against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, Ancient Runes, and at least an OWL in History of Magic and Care for Magical Creatures."
Harry nodded. "That sounds good."
"In that case Mr Potter, this discussion can come to an end." she told him.
"Thanks Professor." he nodded before walking out.
Harry stiffened as he looked at the newspaper.
BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN, it read.
This was it, Voldemort was making his next move and gathering his most loyal of followers. Pettigrew was in Azkaban, really, for his crimes. Wormtail, the murderer of his parents, was free.
The game just got infinitely more dangerous.
The prisoners were nine wizards and one witch, all of them with insolent looks on their faces as they jeered.
Antonin Dolohov, read the legend beneath a wizard with a long, pale, twisted face who was sneering up at Harry, convicted of the brutal murders of Gideon and Fabian Prewett.
Harry looked around to Fred and George and he could see that both of them were clenching their fists, Lee attempting to calm them down. Dolohov killed their uncles, the men they were named after. Something inside Harry curdled, bitter and angry and vowing revenge for his friends.
Algernon Rookwood, said the caption beneath a pockmarked man with greasy hair who was leaning against the edge of his picture, looking bored, convicted of leaking Ministry of Magic secrets to He Who Must Not Be Named.
How many people died because of the secrets he leaked? How many people did he kill? That bitter seed in him snarled just a little more.
But Harry's eyes were drawn to the picture of the witch. Her face had leapt out at him the moment he had seen the page. She had long, dark hair that looked unkempt and straggly in the picture, though he had seen it sleek, thick and shining. She glared up at him through heavily lidded eyes, an arrogant, disdainful smile playing around her thin mouth. Like Sirius, she retained vestiges of great good looks, but something-perhaps Azkaban-had taken most of her beauty, and Sirius had regained his looks after intensive care at St. Mungos.
Bellatrix Lestrange, convicted of the torture and permanent incapacitation of Frank and Alice Longbottom.
He looked around and he could see Draco and Lyra huddling together reading a letter from their parents because this was their aunt.
They would have to fight against their aunt. Harry opened the paper and started reading the article more in detail, and he could see that almost everyone else at their table was doing the same. Not Michael and Carina - Cho had taken the paper from them and promised to explain it later since she didn't want them reading about some of the horrors in it.
The Ministry of Magic announced late last night that there has been a mass breakout from Azkaban.
Speaking to reporters in his private office, Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic, confirmed that ten high-security prisoners escaped in the early hours of yesterday evening and that he has already informed the Muggle Prime Minister of the dangerous nature of these individuals.
'We find ourselves, most unfortunately, facing the fact that You-Know-Who now has his most loyal followers at his side.,'said Fudge last night. 'All the aurors but one were slaughtered at the prison. The auror in question, Miss Penny Haywood, escaped using her animagus form, that of a skvader, or a rabbit with the wings of a pheasant, to hide in the rubble of the prison.
"They came out of nowhere." Miss Haywood states to reporter Rita Skeeter. "You Know Who, he was at the head, and the battle was really over before it started. He used some sort of cursed fire to murder everyone, and I only survived because I was small enough to hide, and he needed the prison intact to get the prisoners out."
We are doing all we can to round up the criminals, and we beg the magical community to remain alert and cautious. On no account should any of these individuals be approached.
The mood in the common room that night was grim. Incredibly grim. Michael and Carina were especially shaken up, because they were only eleven and they had to deal with the fact that they would be targeted for being Harry's friends.
He pretends that he doesn't feel watery eyed at their statements of loyalty, and for the next two days throws himself into training until Lyra drags him out and they sit near the black lake, dipping their feet in and feeding each other strawberries, trying to pretend that the end of the war isn't coming.
Dear Harry,
After the escape I claimed the Lestrange Vaults on account of them being criminals, so we have that. We got around to searching them, and the spell identified a horcrux. It's Hufflepuff's Cup Harry, and we destroyed it, so now we have one left.
We had a skirmish with the death eaters the other day, and barely managed to subdue them. Three of them escaped, and I know for a fact that crazy Bella was one of the escapees.
We interrogated the prisoners before taking them to the ministry, and we think Voldemort made one more horcrux - a live one. They all said that his snake, Nagini, is closer to him than normal. We want to try it out, but we won't know for sure ever.
Love,
Sirius
Dear Sirius,
We should just kill the snake - we'll never know for sure, but better safe than sorry. Hogwarts this summer is a good idea.
Love,
Harry
Harry sat down, eyes closed, as he retreated into his occlumency mindscape. It was a forest, yes, but it wasn't as bright as the first time he had found his mindscape. It was darker, gloomier, but the deeper you got to the middle of the forest the brighter the leaves and memories got.
He watched with nostalgia as he and Ron sat on the high table and ate food with the professors. How silly they were, thinking they could fly the car to school.
House Hedwig's quidditch season had gone well - their team worked together and trained a lot. All of them trusted each other too, so it was no surprise when they took the Quidditch Cup, to all of their euphoria.
They wouldn't make the house cup - Fred and George, with Lee's help, had really ramped up the pranks, and they had lost a lot of points for it, points even Peeves hadn't been able to make up.
OWLS were creeping closer and closer, and people were getting worried. With a level of efficiency to rival the Hogwarts Gossip Train, a black market in items to make you smarter and study better had sprung up, though most of it was absolute bullshit.
Teachers were also laying pressure on them, homework getting harder and longer, with more assigned reading. The week before OWLS started Harry abandoned duelling practice altogether to spend his time studying for his OWLS, memorizing pages of runes and every single type of ant that the cockatrice loved to eat.
The day before the OWLS started the governors showed up, and Lyra's hand clutching tightly at his as the other had a fork dangling loosely in her fingers showed just how shaken up she was.
"Lyra, calm down." he whispered. "We'll be fine."
"Those are the examiners!" she hissed. "Those are the people who will judge my future!"
"And you'll do amazing and fine." he reassured her, and she slowly calmed down, picking up her fork and taking a bite though her grip on his hand never wavered.
There was one small one who was friends with the Malfoys named Griselda Marchbanks, a former Slytherin. Professor Tofty, a former Ravenclaw, is the other really old one. Both looked like they were older than Dumbledore, and that was saying something since the man was ancient.
They all went to bed early that day, and the next morning all the fifth years and seventh years were reading through their charms notes and books while they ate breakfast. Harry was going back over charms he hadn't studied in ages, small fifth year ones that never really had a use in duelling but might show up on the exam.
Finally, finally, breakfast was over and books were put away and they were entering the halls with their quills and ink. Harry had brought his special non-shattering always-pointy self-inking quill that he had checked by Professor McGonagall, Snape, and Flitwick to make sure he could use it.
The exam began and Harry flipped the paper over, reading the first question.
Give the incantation and wand movement for making an object fly
Remembering a floating club, the smell of old sucks, and a shattered bathroom he smirked and set to writing, determined to get an O on this exam.
Two hours later the exam was over and the fifth years were going to the lake to relax before studying took priority again, in a small secluded area they had found. Dean and Seamus were taking a detour to the kitchens for some food from the houselves.
After lunch they convened again in the great hall, wands and nothing more in hand. He can feel Lyra twitching beside him, while Draco went the easy route and downed some calming potion. Blaise is muttering in Italian under his breath and Seamus is holding Dean's hand so tightly Harry can see the dark skin pale.
They get called into the hall in alphabetical order, and slowly the members of Harry's group slip away. He gets called in with Parkinson and the Patil Sisters. He takes a deep breath and enters the room, going to his assigned proctor.
It's the old man named Professor Tofty, who looks at him scrutinizingly with black eyes over his pince-nez glasses.
"Mr Potter, yes?" he asked, even though Harry knew that the man already knew who he was.
He nodded calmly, and the exam began. Overall it went well - his studying had paid off. Practical was always the easiest for him, and the color changing charms and levitation charms were easy for him.
Transfiguration was the next day and Harry thought that he could have done better. He did well on the practical, he knew that, vanishing his entire iguana and switching rat's head for the mouse head, but his written had some questions where he didn't know how to provide a full answer.
Herbology was the day after, and he was only bitten by a Fanged Geranium. His practical was again better than his written - he knew that the only two places where he was amazing at written was DADA and Charms. History was the only one where he had no practical to make up for the written, so he had studied extra hard in that field, absolutely poring through history books.
Thursday was DADA, and it was here that Harry knew he would succeed. He had Professor Tofty again, and a training dummy in front of him. Tofty has the list memorized, and spell after spell spewed from his mouth as fast as Harry could throw them, all nonverbal, the dummy decimated at the end, and the hall silent and watching.
Tofty smiled, a small lilt to his mouth that hints at more knowledge and told him, "A Patronus now."
It was symbolic really, all the destruction Harry had caused and for him to conjure up a wolf of pure light. He did, his thunder wolf howling up at the ceiling and leaping for the rafters before disappearing.
"Outstanding job Mr. Potter." Tofty praised, and Harry knows that the word choice is nicely chosen, that he did do well, that he got an Outstanding on his DADA.
The written was amazingly easy after that, because no matter how much Harry struggled in other subjects Defense came as easily as breathing to him.
Runes was on Friday, with COMC in the afternoon. He was pretty sure he got the required E on Runes; some of the lesser known ones had slipped his mind and he had to make do with the rune creation knowledge he had.
COMC also went pretty well, though Harry was bitten by a Bowtruckle. Saturday finally found the exams over, everyone lounging beneath the trees. Lyra had her head in his lap, just like Seamus' was in Dean's, while Luna was weaving a flower crown for Draco to match her own, one with.
"It's over!" Blaise laughed, slightly hysterical undertone but not really.
"I can't believe we're NEWT students." Fred grinned.
"Me neither." George laughed.
"I'm surprised you two sods made it past your OWLS." Lee laughed, yelping when they pelted him with grass.
Astronomy was the last exam on Monday, and Harry, for all his duelling knowledge, sucked at stars. They all looked the same to him. He knew that all the purebloods would ace the exam: it was a part of their heritage. Everyone knew that magic came from the stars, and that when they died they would go back to the stars.
Finally, finally it was all over and the fifth years celebrated with a visit to Hogsmeade. They went back to the great hall for dinner, and to his surprise he got a patronus message in a nundu form. The hall fell silent.
"Harry Potter." Saul Croaker said. "The trap we set up in the Department of Mysteries worked, but I don't know how long we can hold the death eaters. There is going to be a fight, but we have the Lestranges. We can't use any magic without them getting loose. Gather reinforcements."
Immediately Harry shot out of his seat, Lyra and Draco close behind. There was chaos in the Great Hall, though all of them were watching him, and he could see Dumbledore talking to McGonagall and Snape urgently.
"Fifth year and above only." he snapped. "That includes you Luna. I'm sorry."
She nodded calmly, though she desperately wanted to go, and he and his friends ran out. They all pulled on their robes and ran to Snape's office - his floo was open and he was talking rapidly to Amelia Bones.
"Go." he snapped, and they all flooed straight to the department.
"Mr Potter." Croaker greeted him. "The moment we let them out this will be a fight. We only have time to gather reinforcements."
Harry nodded, face set in determination. They walked there, and an array of Aurors were circled around the cell with Amelia Bones.
"I will be going." Croaker told him. "We at the DOM are researchers, not duellers."
He left, and Harry readied his wand.
"Would you like the first spell Madame Bones?" he asked.
She nodded, readying her wand. "For the Longbottoms." she stated, before shooting a cutting curse through the wall. The magical barrier broke, and the fight began.
Harry narrowed in on a random death eater and started shooting cutting curses. Lyra and Draco were next to him from when they duelled in teams and the group worked in sync.
Draco was a defensive dueller, while Harry worked best with numerous silent spells. Lyra preferred to let off few immensely powerful and destructive spells, so while Draco shielded them Harry herded some of the death eaters to a spot, and Lyra used to demon fist to crush them all into the ground.
Fred and George were using dungbombs as distractions to slice through major tendons and disable them, but no matter how hard the group fought they were at a standstill.
Bellatrix Lestrange was fighting like a devil incarnate, Avada Kedavra's going everywhere. They could hardly do anything against her.
Harry pushed as much magic as he could together and summoned a snake of fire to go and bite Lestrange, but she dodged and it burnt her brother-in-law Rabastan to a crisp instead. She cackled and pushed out a wave of water, putting the snake out.
He let out a shockwave directed at her, but she used a wind spell to work through it and sent her own punching hex at him. Most of the impact was absorbed by his robes, but he knew his ribs were bruised.
He sent out his own barrage of spells and this time, instead of shielding, Bellatrix gave him a hideous grin and yanked Bones by the arm in front of her, who even with a shield took the brunt of the damage.
"NO!" he yelled, his head pounding as he saw Bones fall to the ground, one of her arms irreparably mangled.
"Aww, look what you did itty bitty Potter!" Bellatrix cackled.
He hissed in anger, yanking all emotions away and just attacking.
He couldn't remember what happened.
Lyra told him that it was like he had turned to ice, the temperature around his visibly cooling as he advanced on Bellatrix, not giving her an inch of leeway.
He hadn't just killed her. He had obliterated her. He had frozen her and shattered her into a million tiny pieces in his anger.
After she died all the death eaters disappeared, and Harry was left standing alone, many of the Aurors staring at him in fear. He wasn't sure what to feel.
This is for you Neville.
"How many people died?" Harry asks after he is out of St. Mungos.
Lyra sighed from next to him, a slowly healing cut on the top of her forehead the only signal of battle. "Five Aurors died. Amelia Bones lost her wand arm. Cho had a lot of her hair burnt off. But we managed to subdue a lot of the death eaters. Now Bellatrix is dead, but Dolohov and the other Lestranges escaped with Rookwood."
"That's not even a victory." Harry hissed.
"We stopped Bellatrix." Lyra replied. "And killed a lot of minor level death eaters. Frankly, that's more of a win."
"But we didn't get Voldemort."
"And we're not gonna every time."
"How's Cho?"
"Fine. Rocking the pixie cut too."
"How are you?"
"...tired. No matter how much I hate death eaters I still have vague memories of Bella being an actual aunt to me and Draco, caring for us in her own odd way. It hurts to see her so hateful."
Harry didn't know what he can say to that so he stayed silent.
"Do you think we'll survive this?" Lyra asked quietly, tucking her head into the crook of Harry's neck.
He was reminded once again that they were teenagers, that they might not live to twenty at the rate the war was going.
"I don't know." he replied, tightening his grip on her. "But I want to be with you every step of the way."
She looked up at him with a smile and he could see the love in her eyes. They just weren't ready to admit it, not when they could be ripped away from each other so easily.
Chapter 21: Author's Note
Hey guys, I just wanted to apologize for not updating for more than a year. I've been really busy with my freshman year of highschool, ski team, volleyball team, and writing my own original book and getting it published. I promise I'm still working on Aspirations, and that I'll update as soon as possible.
Thanks! For the record, my book is called Like a Butterfly, it's on Amazon, and I would Love for everyone to check it out!