Harry Potter and the Book of Shadows

The Order Meeting

Finding himself once again in the dark confines of the attic of Number Twelve, Harry wondered why he only seemed to have the desire to look through its contents in the middle of the night. Maybe it was because he knew he would be able to peruse uninterrupted, or perhaps the solemn silence that accompanied the darkest hours of the night seemed somehow appropriate. Whatever the reason, Harry glanced around the attic, trying to decide what to look through first.

Once again, Persephone's trunk caught his eye. It sat exactly where he had left it, but this time Harry resolutely ignored it. He'd already seen what it contained and while the questions the contents had brought up remained unanswered, there was no way for Harry to find out more without admitting he'd looked through her things in the first place. After setting the candelabra down on a high stack of boxes in the hopes of casting a wider circle of light, Harry turned away from the trunk and stepped toward one of the large objects draped with a dusty white sheet.

With a gentle tug, the cover fell into a heap on the floor and Harry coughed a bit at the cloud of dust that arose. Underneath stood a rather ornate highboy dresser. Picking the candelabra up and holding it closer, Harry understood why Lupin had chosen to buy new furniture instead of using what was in the attic. If this piece was any indication, what was left in the attic would be all of a similar heavy, intricate design and dark, almost gloomy stain. Although, as Harry examined the tall dresser more closely, he began to consider it wasn't as ugly as he'd first thought. While it was a rather cumbersome bit of furniture, in the right room the detailed lines and deep finish might actually work. Harry agreed that in the state the house had been in before, the heavy furniture looked ominous and overbearing. But, now that the walls had been painted lighter shades and most of the grim removed, he thought it might actually look quite nice.

Unmasking the other draped forms, Harry found the attic also contained a sleigh bed headboard and footboard in the same dark walnut stain (though the side panels appeared to be missing), a pair of mismatched high back dining chairs, a wing chair that a family of mice had once inhabited, another dresser in a similar style as the highboy, and a tall bookshelf missing all but the top and bottommost shelves. The bottom shelf tilted at a severe angle, obviously missing the brackets on one side. A large, grimy book lay underneath one edge as though it had once been used in an attempt to hold up the shelf but had long ago abandoned the endeavor. The highest shelf, above Harry's head, appeared secure and when Harry stepped back to look, saw it even still held a few objects.

Pulling the sturdiest-looking box he could find closer, Harry gingerly stood on it and reached for the first object on the shelf. He pulled a smallish, flat box toward him. Blowing years of dust off the top, Harry thought it looked like a box of stationery, and when he shook it, thought it might still hold some old pages and envelopes. Next, his hand felt another square object that turned out to be a deteriorating book. Unable to discern the faded writing on the cover, Harry placed it on top of the box in his other hand and reached for what looked like the last item the shelf held. A quick glance as he stepped down told him it might be some sort of jewelry box, though in the dim light, Harry wasn't sure it wasn't just a small sculpture.

Setting the stationery and book aside, Harry brought the figurine closer to the light. Closer inspection confirmed it was some kind of trinket box, judging by the small latch on the front. Before he tried to open it, Harry took a closer look at the delicate bird sculpture attached to the top. It was about three inches high and painted a delicate shade of yellow. Harry thought it must be some specific kind of bird but didn't know the name. The finely wrought branch it sat on bore a few sprigs of leaves, to make it look like early spring, Harry figured. Impressed by the realistic detail of the coloring, he almost expected the bird to fly off at any second.

Gently, Harry tried to lift the tiny latch and open the small box. When it didn't open easily, he secured his hold and pulled harder.

"Twooo-weet!"

Startled by the sharp whistle and the feel of something moving in his hand, he dropped the figurine and stared, heart racing, at the door to the attic. Afraid someone had heard the little bird's loud chirp, Harry waited to see if footsteps sounded on the stairs or more faintly in the hallway beyond. After a moment of continued silence, he picked the little jewelry box up again. Unharmed by the fall, the delicate bird was obviously sturdier than it seemed. Wary now he knew the little box wasn't as simple as it looked, he examined the latch again. Was it somehow locked? Hoping no one would hear and come investigating if it sang again, Harry watched the small porcelain bird closely as he tried once again, to open the box.

As soon as he lifted up on the latch and tugged, the little bird leaned forward, titled its head to one side, spread out its wings, trilling another 'twooo-weet' loudly as it did so. Harry had the odd feeling it was reprimanding him for trying to force the latch. Confused, he set the small trinket box aside, wondering if perhaps Lupin would know anything about it.

Shifting his attention to the small dilapidated book, Harry gingerly opened it, feeling some of the pages crumble a bit as he did so. The odd, sharp lettering was unfamiliar to him, though Harry was almost sure he'd seen something similar somewhere before. Turning to the inside cover in the hopes a name or date had been inscribed to give him a clue, Harry was disappointed to see nothing but blank, yellowing paper.

Sighing as he picked up the stationery box, Harry felt as if this jaunt into the attic wasn't nearly as interesting as the last. Reminding himself there were plenty of boxes left to root through, he lifted the cover, expecting to see a few pages of faded stationery and perhaps an unused envelope or two.

His breath caught as a familiar face grinned up at him. A wave of happiness mingled with sorrow swept over him as Harry picked up the photograph of his father, Sirius, and Lupin. Though he felt a tightness in his throat, Harry smiled when James and Sirius exchanged a look behind Lupin's back and suddenly pushed Lupin off the wall they were sitting on, laughing as he tumbled to the ground in surprise. Though he threw them a reproachful look as he stood, Lupin's frown quickly turned to laughter when James laughed so hard he fell backwards off the wall and out of Harry's sight. They all clambered back into place and the process began again. Though he didn't want to, Harry wondered where Peter was during all of this and finally supposed he was the one taking the picture. Propping it under the candelabra, Harry smiled to himself and looked back down at the box.

Joy mixed with sadness filled him as he sorted through picture after picture of his father, Lupin, and Sirius doing various activities at various ages, but always smiling and laughing. He was surprised Pettigrew didn't figure in any of the pictures, but again, assumed he had probably taken most of them. Carefully placing all the photos back in the box, Harry collected the book and bird jewelry box and headed back down to his room.

Finding a bit of Spellotape in his trunk, Harry taped the picture of the three Marauders sitting on the wall next to the head of his bed. Feeling as though Sirius and his father had somehow found a way to be with him on Christmas, Harry drifted off into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With Hermione back, they shouldn't have been surprised when immediately after breakfast the next day she bullied them into bringing their over-break assignments down to the drawing room. Since everyone but Ginny had completely ignored their schoolwork until now, even Ron agreed they ought to try to make some sort of dent in the essays and other assignments they'd been given.

As Harry collected his things from his trunk, he spied the little bird trinket box and with a shrug, brought it, too. Perhaps Hermione, or more likely Ginny, would know how to open it.

As they settled around the low coffee table, Harry placed the figurine in the center. "I found this the other day." Ignoring Hermione's inquiry as to where and when, he said, "But I can't get it open. I thought maybe one of you had seen something like it before."

Ginny picked it up and gave it the same sort of close examination Harry had. When it looked as though she was about to try to open it, Harry said hastily, "Wait. Here, I'll show you what it does."

Trying to hold it so he didn't block their view of the bird, Harry lifted the latch and pulled. As before, the little bird performed its little tilt and bow, trilling a loud 'twooo-weet' whistle. When it had returned to its original position, Hermione picked the trinket box up.

"Hmmm." She considered the little box from several angles. Setting it back down, she pulled out her wand and tried several spells, none of which produced any movement at all.

Ron looked at it next but simply shrugged and handed it back to Harry. "Don't know mate. Maybe Lupin would. Or mum. I bet she'd know. You can ask her later."

Slightly disappointed he was no closer to finding out the secret to opening it, Harry slipped the figurine back into his pocket. With his momentary distraction over, Hermione glanced meaningfully at Ron and Harry. Ginny stared disconsolately at her ever-present stack of books, sighed, and started flipping through pages. Giving her a sympathetic look, Harry pulled his Defense Against the Dark Arts text closer and opened it to the chapter on Elementals Dunn had assigned. With a resolved sigh, Ron opened his Advanced Potions text and began yet another lengthy explanation of what had gone wrong during their last potions class before the holidays. Meanwhile, Hermione pulled out the onerous text Harry had given her for Christmas and, finding her page, began reading in earnest.

Glancing up from his scribbling, Ron frowned when he saw Hermione wasn't plodding through schoolwork like the rest of them. "Hey, what's that about? I thought we were all going to get going on homework."

Sparing him a look, Hermione raised her eyebrows. "You needed to get started. I'm finished."

Ron stared in disbelief. "How? I know you had just as many essays as me and Harry, and you had to have something for Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, too."

Secretly surprised Ron was so familiar with her schedule, Hermione replied, "Well, I did some of it before we left and to be honest," she reddened a bit, "my house is kind of boring. There wasn't much else to do."

Harry grinned at his book, feeling the same way. There was nowhere he'd rather be right then than with his friends, even if they were doing homework. Their companionable silence was interrupted when Lupin leaned in the doorway and asked, "Harry? Do you have a minute?"

Happy to abandon his dry textbook, Harry stood. The others looked up in curiosity, but returned to their various books when Harry and Lupin stepped into the hallway.

"We're having an Order meeting and we thought you might want to be there," Lupin said without preamble.

Surprised, it took a moment for Harry to fully comprehend what Lupin had said. "You're letting me in an Order meeting?"

With a rueful look, Lupin said, "Keeping you in the dark has obviously done more harm than good. That's not to say you are to tell anyone-" Lupin paused and glanced through the doorway to where Hermione and the others remained absorbed in their work. "Well, I at least, don't expect you to keep secrets from them, but don't announce it. And outside of this house, you are not to speak of anything we discuss, understood?"

Taken aback he was to be let in at all, Harry nodded. "When's the next meeting?"

A knock sounded at the front door as if in reply. Lupin smiled and said, "Right now."

As he and Lupin answered the door, Tonks entered, accompanied by a cold, sharp wind. A few moments after they'd made their hellos, Kingsley arrived followed immediately by Moody. Harry followed them down to the kitchen while Lupin waited in the entry to let in the others.

"Bit early for you to be able to make the meeting," Moody commented as he sat. Harry, having been thinking the same thing, looked to Tonks and Kingsley expectantly.

"We made out like we were off to a well-deserved lunch somewhere other than the Ministry cafeteria," Kingsley said.

Tonks smiled and leaned toward Harry to whisper conspiratorially, "Rumor has it Kingsley and I are an item." She giggled and Kingsley shook his head. "Can you believe the conclusions people jump to?"

Her grin faded when Persephone came down the stairs, followed by McGonagall and Snape.

"Is this everyone for today?" Lupin asked from the staircase, followed by Bill and Charlie.

Harry wondered if the only reason he'd been allowed into the meeting was that Mrs. Weasley was not present.

Charlie looked concerned as he sat. "I thought Dumbledore was coming."

Several heads turned toward McGonagall and Snape. McGonagall replied, "So far as I knew. Perhaps he is merely running late."

"Well, Tonks and Kingsley have limited time, so let's just start," Lupin said. "Has there been any further word on the storms?"

His question was general, but he looked to Persephone, who shook her head. "Nothing useful. The only information I can access is what the public is getting and so far the Department of Magriculture is sticking to its 'it's just a bad storm' story. If we had more U.S. government contacts we'd probably know more."

Kingsley picked up, "As you know, the Ministry isn't exactly airtight these days, but information on the Dementor breeding problem seems suspiciously hard to come by. However, rumors have You-Know-Who setting up Dementor colonies near most of the major eastern U.S. cities. From what I've gathered, New York City seems to be one of the larger breeding grounds."

Harry knew that to Muggles Dementors were invisible, but still he had to wonder how any large number of them managed to stay concealed. As though in answer to his unvoiced question, Tonks said, "I overheard one of the liaisons talking about an unusually high number of suicides in New York City's Underground-"

"Subway."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Lupin eyed Persephone warningly, and she shrugged and mouthed 'sorry'.

Shooting Persephone a look, Tonks went on, "I think they're using the subway tunnels as shelters. Most of the big cities have them."

Lupin considered. "That could be. Well, we need to try to find out more about what the Ministry is telling the U.S. Department of Magical Affairs. You haven't had any luck talking to Percy?"

Harry perked up, he'd been wondering about Ron's other brother. Bill shook his head. "He's mastered Ministry-speak, I can tell you that." When Lupin raised his eyebrows, Bill took on an uncannily Percy-like tone. "The Ministry is taking measures to insure the continued safety and harmony of wizard-kind. The rumors that are circulating are counter-active to this and should be suppressed at every opportunity."

Tonks rolled her eyes. "That's a lot of words to say absolutely nothing."

Harry snorted in agreement. Why couldn't Percy see the truth and what a help he could be to the Order?

"I've kept an ear out at Gringotts and the goblins seem to know something's up," Bill said. "You know they're not too keen on wizards overall, but I think with the right influence, they'd side with us if it came down to it. If Dumbledore can get some of the higher-ups to listen, I think we'll have support there."

"How about the werewolves, Lupin?" Charlie asked. "What's the word on that front?"

Shaking his head, Lupin replied, "Hard to say. There's definitely a number already on Voldemort's side. Years of persecution are hard to forget. The one's who'll listen are the ones who know Voldemort's promises are empty. Still, I'd have to say the split is probably three to one against us. That's going to be something to worry about."

Charlie looked apprehensive. "I wanted Dumbledore to be here for this, but there's news from the vampire clans."

"Bad, I take it?" Moody growled.

"We shouldn't have expected their support in the first place," Tonks said irritably.

Charlie sighed. "Well, they've never been all that concerned over the dealings of mortals, as it were. Why would they be, we're mere blinks of time to them. Until now." Everyone sat up in surprise. Charlie continued, "As you know the strongest clans are still mainly in Romania, with a few family seats here and scattered over the mainland."

Harry thought he heard Persephone murmur 'Paris', but when he glanced over, she was listening to Charlie intently.

"They're not as communicative with one another as they have been, but word's gone out someone's on the Hunt again." There were gasps of surprise at this, leaving Harry confused. He didn't want to ask and draw attention to himself but leaned forward in the hopes it would be explained.

Tonks frowned. "There hasn't been a serious Hunt in centuries. Not since the Clan Wars."

"I know," Charlie said. "But Voldemort's after the Book and I think he's sent a Hunter to talk to the vampires about it."

Even Harry understood what Charlie meant by 'talk to'. Obviously not getting the answers he wanted, Voldemort had given whoever had been sent had the order to eliminate as they saw fit. Inwardly mulling this disturbing news over, Harry was shaken out of his musings by a sharp poke to the arm by Tonks. Flushing as he looked up, he saw her nod toward Lupin.

"You should know Voldemort is after something called the Book of Shadows," Lupin started.

"I know," Harry interrupted.

Silence fell at this. Lupin looked at him quizzically. "You know?"

"Earlier this year Harry had a vision concerning Voldemort and the search he is conducting for the Book of Shadows." Everyone looked up in surprise as Dumbledore came down the stairs. "I apologize for my lateness."

They waited as Dumbledore seated himself in an empty chair. When it became apparent he had nothing more to add, Lupin turned back to Harry. "What do you know about the Book of Shadows?"

Uncomfortable with everyone staring at him, Harry's mouth went dry. He avoided looking at Snape, but caught Persephone's piercing gaze.

Clearing his throat, Harry said, "It's some legendary magic tome but no one really knows what's in it. Supposedly it has necromancy spells, and I thought Voldem-" Harry stopped when Tonks winced. "Voldemort was looking for some new way to achieve immortality. I don't know how close he is to finding the Book of Shadows, but I know he found the Draguseni book." Since no one commented, he went on, "That's the last record kept by the vampire family that used to be the Guardians. But no one knows who the current Guardian is. In that vision I had, he had a list of other books but I couldn't read the titles. Since Professor Dumbledore said there were ways to find out who the Guardian is now, I assumed they were about that. We-I," Harry quickly corrected himself, hoping no one had caught his slip, "thought Voldemort probably thought the best way to find the Book was to find the Guardian."

Lupin looked impressed, as did the Weasleys, Tonks, Kingsley, and Moody. McGonagall's lips had gone thin and Snape was glaring at him. Persephone's expression was almost as unreadable as Dumbledore's. Not sure what to make of their reactions, Harry looked down at the table, not knowing what else they wanted him to say.

"Good to know you're up to date," Lupin said finally.

Before he could talk himself out of it, Harry looked to Dumbledore and asked, "Are we looking for it, too?"

Out of the corner of his eye Harry saw a few of the other Order members cast Dumbledore curious looks. Were they too, in the dark?

Calmly, Dumbledore replied, "I am personally looking into the matter."

Judging by the expressions of the others, Harry figured this was the same unsatisfactory answer they'd been met with before. Sneaking a look at Snape, he wondered if Dumbledore didn't trust everyone in the Order enough to reveal his progress regarding his own search.

Lupin turned to Dumbledore. "I don't know if you heard, but Charlie's told us some disturbing news from the vampire clans."

Dumbledore's expression was grave as Charlie briefly outlined everything again. When he finished, Dumbledore seemed to contemplate. Finally, he said, "We need to find someone who can talk to at least one of the clans. See what information they're willing to offer us in exchange for help. This could be an opportunity to form a strong alliance."

"I'll go," Persephone volunteered.

"You?" Tonks said derisively. "Why should we let you go?"

Persephone smiled coldly at her. "Because I know the Vlasceanus."

Everyone but Lupin stared at her.

"You know the Vlasceanus?" Tonks repeated incredulously. She snorted disdainfully. "Though you do have a tendency to ally yourself with dodgy groups, don't you, Hade?"

Persephone's voice was deadly. "Do not bring up things you have no understanding of."

Though she seemed to heed Persephone's warning tone, Tonks' eyes narrowed. "How do you know them, anyway?"

"That is really not your concern," Persephone replied evenly.

"Which Vlasceanus?" Moody asked. Harry sensed the answer would be rather telling to anyone who knew what was going on. He wondered if Hermione knew anything about vampire clans.

Persephone didn't answer right away, but seemed to have more respect for Moody and finally smiled evenly. "The twins."

"Why am I not surprised?" Tonks said scornfully. Harry noted even Lupin looked a bit taken aback by her answer.

Persephone shrugged her comment off. "But it's been a while since I last saw them, I can't promise they'll help."

"I want to go," Tonks said decisively. Harry saw she made no secret she didn't trust Persephone.

"No!" Lupin said emphatically. Startled, Tonks looked at him in surprise. "No," he repeated more quietly. "It's bad enough we're sending one person into their ranks unescorted."

Dumbledore asked Persephone, "How soon can you go?"

She seemed to think for a moment and said, "Tonight."

"You know where they are?" Moody asked skeptically.

Persephone's expression was neutral. "I know where I think they'll be. I didn't say I'd get all the information you wanted right away, but I can start tonight."

With the vampire problem temporarily addressed, Bill brought the previous unresolved issue back up. "We started by discussing the Dementor breeding over in the U.S. None of us have managed to get anything solid yet."

Bill's tone left a question hanging in the air, one they all hoped Dumbledore would have an answer to.

"I have been trying to contact some people in the Department of Magical Affairs, but information seems hard to come by," Dumbledore began.

"Election year," Persephone said. Several heads turned in her direction. "Next year is a Secretarial election year, so the major issues are probably taking precedence over any freak weather happenings. Actually," she thought for a moment, "if there was some way to convince the Ministry to let the rest of the world in on the fact Voldemort is back, the Secretarial election could really give you the publicity you needed. Voldemort using US cities to breed a Dementor army? That'd be one hell of an issue to stake a campaign on." She snorted. "Too bad that's unlikely."

Harry had only a vague sense of politics outside his own country and completely unfamiliar with wizarding politics outside of the United Kingdom. Seeming to catch the confusion on his face, Moody explained, "America's magical government elects a Secretary of Magical Affairs every four years, in the year following the Muggle Presidential election. That would be next year."

Persephone looked to Dumbledore. "They should be forwarding all my election mail, so when the issue sheets come out, it might give us a better idea of whom to talk to if no one volunteers anything first."

"I didn't think convicted felons were allowed to vote." Tonks looked to Persephone with an expression of mock surprise.

The sound of a chair scraping backwards and crashing to the floor made Harry jump, more so than the fact that Persephone had knocked it over in her furious leap to her feet. Her wand pointed straight at the younger woman, Persephone's expression was one of absolute fury. Several other people jumped up as well, including Lupin who had moved to stand in front of Tonks. Harry saw Snape had one hand on Persephone's wrist, which probably the only thing that had stopped her.

"Enough!" Dumbledore yelled.

"Would you two just stop it?" Lupin exclaimed.

Still pointing her wand at Tonks, Persephone hissed, "I didn't start it." After a tense moment, Snape righted her chair and she sat.

"We cannot have this kind of dissent if we ever hope to overcome Voldemort," Dumbledore said sternly.

"My apologies," Persephone said through clenched teeth. Harry didn't think she looked very sorry at all.

After that, the meeting ended rather quickly. Tonks and Kingsley left first, having to return to the Ministry. Harry saw Persephone narrow her eyes when Tonks assured Lupin she would return later that evening for dinner. Dumbledore indicated for Moody to join him as he left, leaving Harry wondering if they were discussing Dumbledore's search for the Book. Though he expected her to leave with McGonagall and Snape, Persephone merely said she would return shortly as they left behind Bill and Charlie. Harry saw Lupin waiting by the stairs with crossed arms, and figured he wanted to have a word with her. Fully expecting Lupin to wait until he was gone, Harry was surprised when he began as soon as McGonagall and Snape had disappeared up the stairs.

"This has got to stop."

Persephone's spine went rigid. "Then you should be talking to her."

"Look, I know you didn't exactly hit it off, but whatever the problem is, you've got to learn to work together. Dumbledore's right, we can't hope to gain anything if we can't even keep off each other's throats," he admonished.

Persephone wouldn't back down. "Don't lecture me, Remus. If she would just leave well enough alone, everything would be fine." When Lupin looked ready to jump to Tonks' defense, Persephone poked him hard in the chest. "And there is no way you can tell me that felon comment wasn't completely out of line! Has she been looking me up or what?"

Shaking his head, Lupin sighed, "It wouldn't surprise me. I don't understand what went wrong between the two of you."

She opened her mouth to reply, but stopped herself. Looking disbelievingly at Lupin, she said, "You really don't do you?"

Meeting her gaze, Lupin looked confused. "Should I?"

Laughing mirthlessly to herself, Persephone just shook her head. "I'll see you tonight."

"You're still coming for dinner?" Lupin asked, surprised.

Turning as she reached the bottom step, Persephone replied, "I said I'd help with dinner and I will. Besides, it'll be easier for me to leave for Paris from here than the Hogwarts gate."

"That's where you think they'll be?" Lupin asked.

"That's where they were when I left. I don't think they'll have moved yet." Heading up the stairs, she called over her shoulder, "And would you please eat something!"

As the crack announcing her departure faded, Lupin realized Harry was still in the room. They both seemed to silently agree not to admit Harry had just witnessed the conversation.

Setting a kettle on the stove, Lupin said, "So, Harry that was your first Order meeting. What did you think?"

"I think I know just as much as if I hadn't been sitting here," Harry admitted.

Lupin laughed. "Yeah, not always enormously productive. Still, there were some interesting points brought up today." He looked meaningfully at Harry. "How are your Occlumency lessons coming along?"

They'd talked about it a bit the first night, but still, Harry expected the question and shifted uncomfortably. "Since I haven't had any visions since I started up again and I don't think Voldemort is really trying anymore, I think I'm doing all right." A thought occurred to him. "You don't think Snape is going to tell him I'm at the meetings, do you?"

A flicker of disappointment flitted across Lupin's face. "No, Harry. I don't think he will."

"I'll keep practicing," Harry said. "And thanks, for letting me be there."

Leaving Lupin to his tea, Harry headed back upstairs to the drawing room. Glancing in, he saw Ron dutifully scribbling alone and wondered where the girls had gone. Remembering he needed another book for the essay Dunn had assigned, Harry decided not to disturb Ron just yet and ran up the stairs to get it. He had just stepped into the second floor hallway when he heard a sort of strangled gasp come from Ginny's room.

Worried, he started walking toward the slightly open door, when Ginny's somewhat breathless voice exclaimed, "I said tie it, Hermione, not strangle me!"

"Sorry! I thought it was supposed to be tight!" Hermione replied.

"Yeah, but I still need to breathe." There was a pause. "That's better. Thanks."

Wondering what they were doing, Harry debated knocking on the door. Deciding against it, he headed into this room. Finding the book quickly, Harry found himself unable to focus on the assignment Dunn had assigned, his thoughts instead caught up in Lupin's warning about Occlumency. It was risky to allow him in Order meetings when he wasn't as strong as he should be at blocking Voldemort from entering his mind. Sure, Voldemort was most likely still under the impression he couldn't reach Harry, but Harry had to agree they couldn't count on Voldemort believing that forever.

Harry didn't realize he'd stopped in the middle of the hallway, until Hermione's voice broke into his thoughts.

"Oh, Ginny! It looks beautiful! Let's go show Ron."

Ginny snorted and said, "He won't care."

"Well, let's show him anyway. Maybe Harry'll be back from whatever Lupin wanted to talk to him about."

Even though he felt like he shouldn't be caught listening in to their conversation, curiosity made him wait for them to come out of Ginny's room. The door opened and when Harry caught sight of Ginny, his jaw dropped.

Vaguely, he remembered seeing the robes she had on somewhere before and it was a moment before he recognized the color-changing embroidery. He'd only ever seen Ginny in something other than everyday clothes and Quidditch gear once, at the Yule Ball, but he'd been too captivated by Cho at the time to take much notice. The Twillfit and Tattings robes hung flawlessly on her, the deep blue color setting off her hair perfectly. Whatever Hermione had tied emphasized Ginny's curves and Harry suddenly realized she had a lot of them.

"Oh! Harry," Ginny said, catching sight of him.

Startled, Harry dropped his book. Picking it up, he wondered why he felt as if he'd been caught doing something wrong. "I...uh...came up here to get...uh...this."

Hermione looked at him pointedly. "Well, what do you think, Harry?"

He thought Ron was going to have a fit. Sincerely hoping he hadn't said that out loud, Harry managed, "They-you look...nice."

Hermione gave him an unimpressed look. "Nice?"

As Harry retreated hastily back to the drawing room, the girls exchanged a look. Ron looked up as he entered and dropped his quill with relief. "I needed an excuse to stop." Harry settled back in the place he'd been before the Order meeting. "So what did Lupin want, anyway? You were gone for a whi-"

Harry saw Ron had looked toward the door where Ginny and Hermione had just entered.

"What the hell is that?" Ron exclaimed.

Looking around, Ginny said, "What?"

"What you're wearing!" Ron said, looking flustered.

"My new robes," Ginny said as if explaining it to a small child. "Don't you like them?"

"I-" Ron stopped when Hermione pinned him with a glare. "They're kinda fancy. Why are you wearing them now?"

Ginny lifted the skirt and swished around a little. "I just wanted to try them on and show Hermione."

Confused, Ron asked, "Why?"

Not bothering to answer, Ginny sashayed toward the window, enjoying the feel of the silky fabric and the swish-swish noise the skirt made as she walked.

"So, what did Lupin want?" Hermione asked.

His attention brought back, Harry said, "It was an Order meeting."

Ron's face was a mixture of envy and dismay. "Why didn't we get to go?"

Shrugging, Harry replied, "I don't know. I'm not supposed to talk about what went on outside of the meetings," Ron's expression darkened, "but Lupin said he didn't mind if I told you. He just doesn't want to know you know."

Somewhat mollified, Ron asked, "So, what's going on?"

Harry quickly filled them in. When he finished, Hermione looked pensive, "So Voldemort is after something called the Book of Shadows? I wonder what we could find out about it."

Suddenly feeling guilty, Harry realized he'd never gotten a chance to tell Hermione they'd been researching it for some time. "I kept meaning to tell you about it."

"You knew?" she exclaimed.

"Since the beginning of the year. We've even done a bunch of research already." Harry looked over at Ron and Ginny awkwardly.

"Why didn't you ask me for help?" Hermione asked in an injured voice.

"I kept trying to," Harry insisted. "Things kept coming up. We haven't found out that much..."

"Well, can you tell me what you know, so at least I'm not completely left out," Hermione said with a little huff.

Harry got up and paced as he tried to think of everything they knew. They had started the list but he didn't know what Ginny had done with it. He threw out bits and pieces of what they'd discovered as he thought of them, Ron and Ginny occasionally adding a fact or two.

"Well, it's a start," Hermione murmured. "You haven't had any visions for a while, have you?" Harry shook his head. "That's good, I suppose, but I wonder how much the Death Eaters know that we don't."

Harry's worries about Voldemort's trying to use him to gain information again resurfaced. "I think we should have some Occlumency practice."

"Today?" Ron asked.

"Right now," Harry said. The sudden feeling he needed to improve quickly was almost overwhelming.

"Oh, I don't know," Hermione said, looking worried. "We're not really supposed to do magic outside of Hogwarts."

"Come off it," Ron said. "Lupin let us clean with magic and you even used a few spells this morning trying to open that little bird box."

Frowning, Hermione said, "Well, those were much less powerful spells..."

"It's not like anyone will know, Hermione," Ginny added. "Besides, this is kind of important."

A bubble of frustration was surfacing in Harry. Why did everything always have to be so difficult? For once, he'd like to make a suggestion without everyone jumping on him about how it was a bad idea.

"You're just going to cave in eventually so why don't you spare us the time and let's just find somewhere to practice now," he said rather heatedly.

Hermione's face fell into a genuinely hurt expression. Ron frowned at Harry. "Hey, now that was a bit harsh. I don't think-"

"No," Harry interrupted. "You don't understand. I have to learn this! The longer it takes, the more risk we have Voldemort will realize he can still break into my mind."

He ignored the looks of irritated disbelief at his growing tirade. The guilt that still remained over Sirius spurred him on. "And you don't understand what it's like- when he's in your head, making you see things and feel things. He makes you think they're real. None of you understand how horrible that is, what that's like!"

Harry stood confused for a moment, trying to figure out where the loud, sharp crack he had just heard had come from. After a second, he realized the left side of his face stung quite badly and his brain finally registered Ginny had slapped him.

Furious tears welled up in her eyes as she backed away. "How dare you!" she hissed, her voice catching.

Her footsteps fled down the hallway and up the stairs. They heard a door slam and then there was silence. It was then Harry realized what he'd said, and to whom. He put one hand to his face, partly to feel where she'd struck him, but more in response to the hideously insensitive thing he'd just done.

Hermione's hand slowly came away from her mouth. "Oh, Harry."

He knew it was not a remark made in sympathy with him, but rather in surprise he'd said something so incredibly stupid. Not wanting to see the expression on Ron's face, Harry strode for the door. Hoping the others weren't following, he ran up the stairs and down to Ginny's closed door.

Knocking softly, he called, "Ginny? Ginny?" Not surprisingly, she didn't answer. "Ginny, I'm sorry. I didn't think-" Harry stopped himself. What else was there to say? That was just it, he hadn't thought. "Ginny, I'm really sorry. Please open the door."

Several moments passed and all Harry could hear was a sort of muffled sobbing. "Ginny, please. I'm really sorry. It was a horrible thing to say. Ginny, please open the door. I didn't mean it."

Harry winced because that was a ridiculous thing to say. He jumped back a step when he heard the lock click and the door opened a fraction.

"If you didn't mean it, why did you even think it?" Tears were still spilling down her cheeks, but she managed to look furious and brave all the same. "Of all people Harry, I thought you would understand."

He felt terrible and had no idea how to make it right. "I'm really sorry. I'd take it back if I could."

Her eyes searched his for a long moment, and Harry wondered what it was she seemed to be looking for. "Please go away."

"Ginny, wait-" Harry held out a hand to stop her from shutting the door again. He hated the hurt in her eyes when she looked back at him and hated the fact that he had caused it even more.

"I forgive you, Harry," she said finally. Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, she closed her eyes as more tears fell. "Now please go away."

"I-" But she had closed the door in his face.

A sudden, intense urge to hit something overtook Harry, but it faded quickly when he realized it wouldn't really solve anything anyway. Feeling miserable, he plodded back toward the drawing room to endure Ron's inevitable telling off. Harry hoped Ron had already built up a head of steam because he deserved whatever Ron would throw at him.

"What the bloody hell did you say that for?" Ron started just as he walked in the door.

Not raising his eyes, Harry replied, "I didn't think."

"Obviously not," Ron growled.

"Ron, it's obvious Harry already feels awful about it. Did you apologize?" Hermione broke in.

Slumping into a chair, Harry said, "Several times."

"So what'd she say?" Ron demanded to know.

"She said she forgave me," Harry started, but when Hermione looked a bit heartened, he added, "and then she slammed the door in my face."

Sagely, Hermione nodded. "Well you can't expect her to just forgive and forget just like that. Give her some time and this will all blow over."

Harry looked to Hermione. "Did she ever talk to you about it?"

"About what?" Hermione's brow furrowed.

"The Chamber of Secrets," Harry said.

Frowning, Hermione hesitated. "Well, no, not really. She never said-" She looked from Ron to Harry. "She never said anything to anyone, did she?"

There was a moment where everyone looked uncomfortably at the floor. Finally, Ron plopped back down where he'd been sitting before. "I guess Occlumency is out for today, then."

"I think we should do it now," Hermione said.

Looking to her in surprise, Ron said, "I don't think any of us are really in the mood to-"

"And that's exactly why we should do it now," Hermione insisted. "What are the chances you'll be in a great mood when the time comes that you'll actually need it? I rather think if Harry ever has to block a mind-attack it'll probably be when he's feeling his worst, don't you?"

Harry had to admit she had a point. Even though he really just wanted to stew in his own self-pity for a while, he got up. "She's right. Let's find somewhere to practice."

They trooped upstairs to the third floor, though they all glanced down at Ginny's closed door as they passed the second floor landing. Dragging several spare mattresses into an unused bedroom, they arranged them on the floor.

Harry and Ron faced off, both feeling a bit nervous. Ron still wasn't sure why he was almost as good as Harry without being taught and worried he might accidentally do something seriously damaging, especially since he was still rather ticked at the moment. Harry hoped Ron had calmed down enough that he wouldn't try to kill him by thought alone. Still, he had to agree with Hermione, this was probably much more how he would be feeling if he were facing Voldemort.

They cast at the same time and a rush of images filled Harry's mind. Ron's spell seemed strong, but unfocused and Harry hadn't tried to break into Ron's mind, thinking a counterattack would be the wisest first choice. For the first time, Harry sensed emotion behind the Legilimens spell and, ignoring the continual stream of memories Ron was trying to force, tried to concentrate on that instead. There was anger, of course, but almost as strong, Harry felt guilt. Guilt like he felt over Sirius. At first this surprised him, but after a moment, Harry understood that since Ron had realized he'd never done anything to help his sister after their second year, he felt responsible for her feelings now. Oddly, while Ron had finally latched onto a memory of Harry's, Harry remained detached from everything Ron was seeing. Wondering what that meant, Harry gave a mental push and forced Ron out.

Hermione looked form one to the other. "Well, how was it? Are you all right?"

Still not sure what had just happened, Harry said, "Yeah. I feel fine. Ron?"

Ron looked confused. "I saw something about a zoo, but it wasn't like last time. What did you do?"

"I don't know," Harry replied, not sure what the odd detachment he'd achieved was. He looked to Hermione. "Why don't you try?"

She looked apprehensive, but stood. Still unsure of himself, Harry waited for her to cast. As soon as she did, he saw the Chamber of Secrets in his mind. Thinking Hermione had learned which memories to use rather quickly, instead of pushing her out right away, Harry again ignored the memory itself and sought out which emotions were driving her spell. Curiosity was forefront, which didn't surprise Harry. She hadn't seen what had happened in the Chamber and would naturally want to know. A guilt similar, but not nearly as intense as Ron's, was there as well, along with something else Harry couldn't quite place. As soon as Hermione had seen Ginny lying cold and pale by the pool of water, Harry gently nudged her out.

"It was rather creepy down there, wasn't it?" Hermione said after a moment.

Nodding, Harry said, "Yeah."

"She broke through?" Ron asked, surprised.

Shaking her head, Hermione said, "No, he let me watch."

Confused, Ron asked, "Why?"

Harry gestured for him to stand facing him again. "Here, you try blocking me." Ron raised his wand, but Harry stopped him. "Wait. Before you try to counter, ignore whatever memory I'm looking at and try focus on what I'm doing instead."

Though he wasn't sure Ron understood or if he'd be able to feel Harry's emotions driving the spell, Harry hoped his idea would work. He cast with measured force, thinking of Ron and Lockhart waiting behind the cascade of fallen rock. An image flashed into his mind of Lockhart humming to himself as he played with bits of broken rock and pebbles while Ron tried to shift the larger rocks so Harry could get back through. After a moment, he felt a slight shove and blinked to see the unadorned walls of the spare bedroom again.

"That was...weird," Ron said.

"What?" Hermione stood.

Harry looked to her. "Instead of seeing the same memory and trying to block from inside it, you can sort of... I don't know, it's like stepping out of the memory and looking past it." Harry struggled to describe what it felt like.

Ron tried to help explain. "It's like you're watching the memory from another room and if you look to one side, you can sort of feel the person who's trying to read your mind."

The look on Hermione's face told them they were doing a rather poor job of explaining. Harry tried again. "Here, you try to block but instead of watching the memory I bring up, try to focus on me casting the spell instead."

Trying to think of something she wouldn't feel too sensitive about, Harry thought back to the Yule Ball and cast his spell. Hermione dancing with Viktor Krum surfaced and he watched as they twirled around the room. With a bit of effort, Harry managed to gain Hermione's perspective and during one whirl, caught sight of Ron's disappointed expression as he sat alone off to one side of the Hall. Harry felt his heart sink a bit, as Hermione's must have done that night. There was a tiny mental nudge that Harry almost missed. Realizing Hermione was trying to push him out, Harry ended the spell.

She looked a bit bewildered. "I get it. You can still sort of see what they're looking at, but you're kind of away from it and you can tell why they wanted to see that memory in the first place. How do you think this will help?"

"I have no idea," Harry said. "It's a good way to keep from getting caught up in the memory, though."

"I wonder if it works when you're looking at something more...disturbing," Hermione mused.

"Maybe that's enough for today," Harry said hastily. While he was sure it wouldn't be nearly as easy when the memories were more painful, he'd already had enough for one day. Ron seemed to agree and they went back downstairs to the drawing room. Passing the second-floor landing again, they saw Ginny was still shut up in her room.

As the trio settled back into the drawing room, Harry stared at the fire for several moments before returning to his Defense Against the Dark Arts essay. There was a tense sort of silence as they all tried to focus on schoolwork that was broken when a creak followed by an odd whooshing noise sounded from within the walls.

Recognizing the sound of water in the pipes, Hermione glanced at the ceiling. "Smart idea."

The boys looked at her in silent question. "I bet she's using that Amortentia soap. It'll help make her feel better."

While Harry was glad there was something that might help, he still felt awful he'd brought up something so painful in such an appalling way in the first place. They didn't talk much for the rest of the day and Ginny did not reappear even long after the water had been shut off.