"Of course, Professer." Harry answered. His battle with Voldemort days earlier had shown him that he was not prepared to fight Voldemort yet, and it was hard to predict when he would be ready to. He believed even before hearing the prophecy that his purpose in life was to fight the evil man who had killed his parents, and now that he knew for certain it was his destiny he knew that he would have to do whatever he needed to accomplish it.
"Thank you for allowing us to view that memory, Harry." Dumbledore said. "Remember that the End of Year Feast will begin in a few hours." Harry knew he was being dismissed and stood to leave.
"No problem, professor. See you then." Harry replied as he walked out of the room, leaving Dumbledore and Snape alone again.
"The Dark Lord is gathering his forces." Snape said a few minutes after Harry had left. "He's planning something, although I do not know what. The ministry is a vulnerable target now that Fudge is out and no new minister has been elected."
"Rufus Scrimgeour has been appointed interim minister, he should be able to hold things together until next week." Dumbledore answered.
"Scrimgeour is a buffoon and you know it. Furthermore the Dark Lord knows it." Snape explained. "Mark my words Albus, open warfare will begin before the week ends."
"There is little we can do to prevent that, Severus."
"Attack him now. In a few days whatever temporary advantage you could have gained will be gone." Snape implored him.
"The time is not right. I dislike that fact as much as you but I can not change it. We are ill prepared to launch an offensive against Voldemort at this time. As a result we must continue to enlist support for our side." Dumbledore explained. "I am sorry Severus, but it must be done."
"Very well, but I stand by my warning." Snape said in frustration. Dumbledore nodded in acknowledgement as Snape rose out of his chair and left the office. Dumbledore could sense his spy's worries but believed that he was doing the right thing. There would be a time for offense later, but now was not that time. As leader of the Order of the Phoenix this was just one of the difficult decisions he had to make, and he knew it would not be the last.
...
The end of year feast was in full swing several hours later. During such occasions the Hogwarts staff of house elves went all out to ensure that everyone had a good time. They enjoyed this time of year as well because for them it meant that the summer would begin and bring with it several months of deep cleaning that could not be done with hundreds of children around. Despite what some bushy haired elf rights crusaders believed, the house elves truly enjoyed their lives and were incredibly proud of their work.
As the food was being served and devoured all of the professors, even Snape who detested such events, sat at the head table having their own conversations and watching the students to make sure they didn't get into any last minute trouble. Luckily for them this feast was tame in that respect compared to others in the recent past. The Weasley twins had somehow managed to turn the robes of all the other house's Quidditch players Gryffindor colors and had written "Gryffindor Quidditch Rules!" on their backs. The victims of their prank might have been angrier if it had not reminded them that in a few short months they would be back to playing their favorite sport instead of watching a tournament in which only a few competed. This led to impromptu team meetings in all four houses in which the team captains demanded that their players be ready to win by the time school started again.
Once Angelina Johnson, Gryffindor's new captain since Oliver Wood graduated, finally finished giving out practice instructions for the summer Harry made his way back to his normal spot in the table where Hermione and Neville were waiting for him.
"I think Johnson's been taking lessons from Wood!" Harry said as he sat down. "She would have us practicing all summer if she could."
"Think we'll be any good next year?" Neville asked. Although he was not obsessed with the game like Ron Weasley, he did enjoy watching it.
"Should be." Harry answered. "The only weak spot will be at Keeper. There's no way we'll find a replacement as talented as Wood, he was good enough to make the team with Puddlemere United this year." Neville nodded in agreement before returning his attention towards his dinner. As Harry was about to lift a fork full of food to his mouth the doors to the Great Hall slammed open, causing everyone to jump a little. When Harry saw who had opened the doors he dropped his fork and jumped out of his chair.
"Sirius!" Harry yelled as he ran towards his godfather, not caring that the rest of the student body was watching them.
"Hello, pup." Sirius said as he hugged his godson. "It's been too long, but I'm a free man now and that can change just like we had hoped it would."
"I know." Harry answered, letting go of the hug. "Would you like to sit with us?"
"Sure." Sirius replied with a laugh. "It's been a couple of years since I last sat at the Gryffindor table. In fact the last time I did was at the end of year feast during my seventh year. McGonagall kicked James and I out of the hall and threatened to not let us graduate."
"What did you do?" Harry asked, knowing it must have been fairly serious?
"Why Harry, are you suggesting that I would break the rules? Nonsense!" Sirius laughed as they began heading back towards the table. "It could have been anyone that confunded Snape into thinking his robes were on fire after all. McGonagall never even bothered to check our wands, just assumed it was us."
"So who did it?"
"Moony! And he got away with it, too. Last prank of the year was on us, I suppose." Sirius answered as they sat down. The rest of the Gryffindors were looking at them oddly, it was out of ordinary for an adult to be sitting at their table. Sirius seemed oblivious to their stares and proceeded to help himself to some of the food that was available. "I've missed Hogwart's cooking." he said between bites.
"A little better than what they serve in Azkaban?" Harry asked.
"You have no idea!" Sirius replied with a grin. "That was enough to make me want to escape by itself." Harry laughed and then noticed that Dumbledore was staring at them strangely from the head table while McGonagall was laughing at something.
"Sirius, did you tell Dumbledore you were going to show up early?"
"Of course not. Where would the fun in that be?" Sirius answered. The two continued to happily talk for the rest of the meal and Harry was beginning to look forward to spending his summer with Sirius even more. The two had had very few opportunities to talk face to face since Sirius went on the run again after Harry had discovered his innocence. Although they had gotten along perfectly so far a small part of Harry wondered what it would be like when they did live in the same house.
Harry's thoughts on the subject were interrupted when Professor Dumbledore rose from his chair and began to signal for everyone to quiet down so he could give his usual speech.
"Another year has passed at Hogwarts…" Dumbledore began "And I must first thank all of you for the graciousness and hospitality you showed our guests from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. I am truly proud of all of you. The Triwizard Tournament was an unexpected event for all of you but you managed to handle the changes admirably. Let us also applaud both of our champions: Cedric Diggory of Hufflepuff!" Cedric stood up and waved as everyone, including the Slytherins clapped for him. "And the winner of the Triwizard Tournament, Harry Potter of Gryffindor!" Harry smiled and stood like Cedric had done while the student body applauded his achievement. Their reaction to him was about the same as towards Cedric, except the Slytherins refused to clap for him at all.
"But as the year ends we must also acknowledge the changes that have happened as well. As you have heard by now, Lord Voldemort has returned." Most of the students, and some of the professors, gasped at Dumbledore's use of the name Voldemort. "Hogwarts remains the safest place in the world, and while you are here you should have no fear of Voldemort. But while you are gone you must be aware of your surroundings at all times. Many good witches and wizards have lost their lives because they were not paying attention to what they were doing."
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