Through Times of War

-Chapter 1: Teaser-

Minerva McGonagall stood by the window in the Headmaster's office, absently gazing at the summer blue sky. Below her, the thestral-harnessed carriages were travelling in a row, taking the students to the Hogsmeade train station, perhaps for the last time.

The last time. It was a thought she had pondered over and over during the past few days. It was, admittedly, far from appealing, and yet... seemed like the right thing to do. If the Death Eaters had now teachers and students among their ranks, if they could invade the castle, if they could get to the Headmaster and kill him... what else was left?

It had only been a few days since she had taken over the position of Headmistress, but the problems she had had to face were, to put it simply, huge. Even leaving that subject aside, there were too many things to be settled. She had had to deal with terrified kids, hysterical parents, an anxious but hardly helpful Ministry of Magic, plus make arrangements for Dumbledore's funeral and take care of the ordinary errands that were the Headmaster's responsibility. Not to mention, the morale of the Order of the Phoenix was torn in pieces, and although the members hadn't given up on their efforts, they lacked the confidence that the guidance of a strong leader gave them. She lacked that confidence, too; after all, Albus Dumbledore had always been near her, at first as a teacher, later as a colleague, and afterwards as the Hogwarts Headmaster and the Order of the Phoenix leader. She had blind trust in him and never doubted his advice; just like everyone else in his circle did, after all.

Maybe that was our mistake, she thought for the hundredth time since the day he had been gone. He was betrayed from the inside, we were all there and yet we didn't see it coming.

She wiped a tear away and tried to concentrate on something more mundane. His personal belongings were still there. She had been using this office for days, but hadn't had the time or the courage to go through them and sort them out. Knowing Dumbledore, everything would be organised in his own very non-organised way, messed up and yet exactly where and how he wanted it. McGonagall had never managed to understand this; unless it was compulsively neat and obsessively arranged, it was not good enough for her. But it was a job she finally had to face.

She sat on the chair and opened the top drawer of the desk. In it there was a pile of parchments. She took out the first one, a short letter in Dumbledore's handwriting.

To whom it may concern:

By the time this letter will be read, I will be dead. With this, I wish to settle some matters I had not taken care of until now.

I shall start with the paperwork stored in this desk. The part of it which is not protected concerns the school and should stay with the next Headmaster or Headmistress of Hogwarts. The part of it which is under the Order protection spell concerns the Order of the Phoenix. I wish that Minerva McGonagall, or, if she is not in the position to, another member of the Order, takes care of it.

Everything else material in this room is to stay in the school, property of the next Headmaster or Headmistress, should they choose to keep it, except for the Pensieve which is stored in the cabinet beside the door. The Pensieve is to stay with Harry Potter, and has been charmed so that he now is the only one able to open and use it.

Fawkes is free to live anywhere and with anyone he wishes.

Regarding my will, it can be found in my Gringotts vault, number 110. The key to my vault can be found in the bottom drawer of this desk.

Finally, I would like to say goodbye to all my friends, and apologise to everyone I might have hurt.

Thank you for your time.

Albus Dumbledore.

McGonagall let out a sigh. It was strange how reading this letter made her feel his presence so close to her. She couldn't help but wonder, what was he thinking when writing this letter? Had he felt his end approaching?

Come to think of it... when had he written this letter? There was not a date marker at the top. For all she knew, it could have been years, and yet it seemed recent... as if it only dated minutes before that awful moment...

Not that it made any difference one way or another.

She glanced at the letter again. The Pensieve is to stay with Harry Potter... who had just left the Hogwarts grounds. Talk about timing.

She turned towards the portraits on the wall. "Martin, could you please let Filch know that I need an owl?"

"Certainly, Minerva," a black-haired, bearded wizard said and left his portrait.

-----

Harry, Ron and Hermione entered the Hogwarts Express and found an empty compartment just for the three of them. The boys made to stow their luggage, when they saw Hermione open her trunk and retrieve her Arithmancy book, a piece of parchment, a quill and ink.

"Hermione?" Ron asked incredulously.

"Don't be silly," she said before closing her trunk. "I just want to write to my parents. Tell them not to come pick me up from Kings Cross."

Harry stared at her, befuddled. "Why not?"

"We're going to your aunt's house, remember?"

He gaped at her for a moment, then his eyes turned to Ron, who was casually taking care of his and his friends' trunks. Once done, Ron looked at Harry with a grin.

Harry finally found his voice. "So when you said you two are coming with me, you meant...?"

"Of course, mate," Ron said.

Harry's eyes flew helplessly from him to Hermione. "But..."

"You agreed to that a few minutes ago," Hermione said.

"I know! It's just... The Dursleys hardly tolerate me as it is. If I bring my friends over, they'll be sure to kick me out. And I can't risk that. Dumbledore wanted me to go back one last time."

"They're not going to kick you out," Ron said with a mischievous smirk.

Harry raised an inquiring eyebrow at him.

"Hermione and I are adults now, remember?"

Harry's eyes widened as realisation dawned. Ron and Hermione were adults... legally able to perform magic...

"The Dursleys won't have a choice," the red-headed boy said, confirming his friend's unspoken thoughts.

Harry looked over at Hermione. The expression on her face matched Ron's perfectly.

He felt touched. Granted, putting up with the Dursleys was nothing in comparison to the ordeals that lay ahead of them... finding Voldemort's Horcruxes, destroying them... facing him in a life or death battle... and yet, they wanted to be there with him. They wanted to support him all the way, now that he had this huge weight on his shoulders... they didn't want to leave him on his own. Not for a moment.

A smile full of gratitude slowly formed on his lips. "Thank you."

They heard the Hogwarts Express whistle signalling the departure of the train and settled down on their seats. Hermione placed the book on her lap and the parchment on the book and started writing. Harry made to open the window and the moment he did, a brown owl hastily flew in and he felt something hard hit his forehead.

"Ow! What the...?" He caught the bird and noticed a familiar object tied to its legs: Dumbledore's Pensieve.

He released it and the bird flew away. Harry watched it for a second, then turned his attention back to the stone basin and noticed there was a piece of parchment glued on it. As his friends turned their attention to him, he read the short notes:

From this moment onwards, this Pensieve belongs to Harry Potter, along with the memories stored inside. It is charmed so that he is the only one who can see inside it. I trust that these memories will help him see things as they are, and not as they seem.

Albus Dumbledore.

And right below it:

I just found it in the Headmaster's office, with the note glued on it.

Minerva McGonagall.

"...These memories will help him see things as they are, and not as they seem?" Ron read over Harry's shoulder, wonder in his voice. "What d'you reckon he means?"

Harry studied the Pensieve closely. "I don't know. I guess there's only one way to find out."

"Not here," Hermione advised. "It's not the right place."

"You're right."

Harry rose, retrieved his trunk and stored the Pensieve inside. He would deal with it in due time.

-----

When they arrived at Kings Cross, they saw from the window Arthur Weasley, Molly and their twin sons waiting for them. Ron helped Ginny with her trunk and together with Harry and Hermione approached them.

"Hello, Harry, Hermione," Molly said. "Come on, George, give Ron a hand..."

"Mother..." Ron started.

Molly looked up at him, alarmed.

"I'm not coming home."

For a moment, nobody spoke. The gravity in Ron's words revealed he had already chosen his path. No amount of pleading or teasing was going to make him change his mind.

"Where are you going?" Arthur asked quietly.

Hermione took a step closer to Ron and spoke. "We're going with Harry."

Molly contemplated this for a second, then, with unusual strength, approached Ron and kissed his forehead. "Be careful." She turned to the two teenagers standing by him. "You both, too."

"Good luck," Arthur wished. The twins and Ginny murmured some wishes as well.

"We'll see you at Bill's wedding," Ron said and gestured to his friends to leave. Together they went through the barrier leading from platform nine and three-quarters to the exit, where they spotted the Dursleys waiting by their car.

"Thank you for accompanying him," Vernon Dursley told Ron and Hermione when the three teenagers approached, in a supposedly nice attempt to shoo them.

"They're coming with us," Harry stated.

Vernon narrowed his already small eyes in disbelief. "I beg your pardon?"

"They're coming with us."

"And what makes you think -"

"It is just for a few weeks. Come July, we'll all leave and you'll never see us again."

Vernon pondered that for a while. He studied Hermione's severe face, then turned to Ron, who had pulled out his wand and was playing it on his fingers as if to warn him.

"They'll stay in my room," Harry continued. "All they'll cost you is two more plates of food every day."

Vernon glanced over at Petunia, who nodded in defeat, understanding that they couldn't afford to decline, and Dudley, who looked positively terrified at the thought of two more wizards in his house. Then, the man turned back to the three teenagers. "All right. Get in."

"If you'll allow me..."

Petunia could hardly suppress a shriek when Hermione pulled out her wand and enchanted the three trunks, making them small enough to fit in the car's trunk. Once the trunks were stowed in, everyone boarded the car and left for Little Whinging.

-End of chapter 1-