Harry Potter and the Last Year

Level 1.2: The Return to Hogwarts

When he finished with his cleaning, Harry went up to his room to send Hedwig out with a message for Dumbledore. He opened his window, and a large grey owl fluttered inside. Harry had to back away quickly to avoid a face full of feathers. The owl perched on Harry's desk and stood looking very stiff and important. Hedwig flapped indignantly, then rested herself on the foot of Harry's bed. Harry watched the owl for a minute before taking his letter. He had already been attack by one animagus that night.

~

Heard the news. Glad the Weasleys were there. Will take you home Saturday, August 16th. Happy birthday.

~Moony

P.S. Heard the party was a success before the trouble.

~

Mooney, of course, was Remus Lupin, who had been a good friend of James Potter and Harry's Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher during his third year at Hogwarts and was currently a member of the Order of the Phoenix. The rest made sense, except for "take you home Saturday, August 16th". Harry was not sure what he meant by "home". Obviously it was not the Dursleys', but whose home then? Or was this code for Hogwarts where Harry felt at home? And why was Lupin waiting so long to take Harry there?

Harry was getting tired of all this secrecy stuff. He wanted to march straight up to Voldemort and get it all over with, hang the ministry. He also wanted to live and enjoy his last school year with his friends. So he wrote back to Lupin.

Will be ready at appointed time.

~Lively

He tied the note to the grey owl's leg. It hooted at him and flapped off into the night. He was about to shut the window, when a second owl, this one brown came soaring across the backyard. It dropped onto the windowsill, and Harry took the note that was attached to his leg.

Terribly owful mess of rugged Ripper our Weasleys netted, ought of nown.

~Hagrid

Harry blinked at the strange letter. The grammar was remarkably bad even for Hagrid. Of course, Hagrid had been known to drink heavily on occasion. Maybe the news had reached him on a less than sober evening. Harry gave the brown owl a bit to drink and sent him back off into the night. He let Hedwig out, so that she could get her exercise for the evening, and with any luck return with more useful letters. He closed the window and sat down on his bed. "I guess, I'll just have to wait," he said to the empty room.

****************

The next day at lunch, Harry sat opposite Dudley at the kitchen table. His uncle was still scrutinizing the living room looking for something Harry had broken or left out of place. He seemed to be shifting between satisfaction at having everything in order and frustration at not having anything to yell at Harry about. Aunt Petunia was busy pretending that there had never been a party.

As Dudley predicted, she had not been happy about Aunt Marge's sudden appearance, particularly since they had not discovered her until that morning. Aunt Marge had emerged from the guestroom to look for the missing Ripper, and watching the ground, had run head long into Uncle Vernon. There had been a lot of shouting, and Harry had pieced together that Marge was having some sort of financial trouble. When she turned on Harry to blame Rippers disappearance on him, Dudley had stepped in and said he let the dog out to use the lawn.

Ripper of course was being held at the Ministry of Magic in London and nowhere near the Dursleys' neatly trimmed lawn. Aunt Marge had gone outside to look for the dog. Harry and Dudley had pretended to look as well, but they quickly doubled back to enjoy a quiet lunch before Marge returned. Neither Uncle Vernon nor Aunt Petunia seemed too distressed by the dog's disappearance, though they feigned concern for Marge's sake.

Despite the morning accusations, Harry was still in a very good mood from the success of his party and his new freedom to use magic. Dudley kept screwing up his face like he was about to say something, but then he would glance at his parents, think better of it, and settle for giving Harry half a grin.

Harry was trying not to look too amused himself. As Uncle Vernon made a huffing sound and started another round of searching the living room, he took a bite out of his sandwich.

There was a knock at the door that sounded a bit funny. Harry stood up, the sandwich still in his mouth, to look and saw that the knock sounded funny because it had been produced from the inside. Remus Lupin, looking as shabby and wonderful as ever, was standing casually in the entry hall. "Ready to go, Harry?" he asked.

Harry blinked. He felt silly standing there with the sandwich hanging out of his mouth, so he bit into it and tried to chew and talk at the same time, "Buf, you sed, you warn' gedding 'ere 'il the fixfeenf." Remus gave him a tired, bemused smile, and Harry quickly swallowed the bite. "Bit early aren't you?"

Remus glanced at the clock on the wall. "Nope, noon exactly."

"WHO IS THAT?" Uncle Vernon roared from the living room. He stormed into the entry hall, red faced and looking almost pleased to have something to yell about.

"Remus Lupin," Harry's former teacher said stretching out his hand to Mr. Dursley.

Mr. Dursley looked at Lupin's shaggy appearance and outstretched hand. "Hmph, what do you want?"

"I'm here to take Harry," Lupin said, unperturbed by Uncle Vernon's rudeness. Vernon's face twitched as he was torn between a desire for Harry to leave and his instinct to resist anything that Harry wanted to do. "Are you packed?" Lupin asked Harry.

"Not yet," Harry said. "But give me a few minutes." Harry left the remainder of his sandwich on his plate and sprang up the stairs. Extremely happy to escape before Aunt Marge returned.

"I'll help you," Lupin volunteered and followed him.

"Make sure, you get everything!" Vernon Dursely roared after them. "BECAUSE IF YOU FORGET ANYTHING, I WON'T PAY TO HAVE IT SHIPPED!"

"But why did you say you were coming on the sixteenth?" Harry asked Lupin once they were inside his bedroom.

"We didn't want to give the Death Eaters a heads up if they intercepted the letter," Lupin said calmly. He peeked out Harry's window. "I had thought you would interpret Hagrid's message. Naturally I couldn't come on the sixteenth. It's a full moon. Oh, well, no matter. Let's get you packed." He waved his wand and said the appropriate spell. Most of Harry's things jumped into his trunk.

Harry went through all his drawers, cleaning out the last bits that he might want. He knew Uncle Vernon would be true to his word. After he had gone through his wardrobe and fished out his small store of Galleons from the loose floorboard under his bed, Harry closed the lid to his trunk.

"Are you leaving right away?" Harry turned to see Dudley standing at the doorway.

"Yes, right away," Lupin said, pulling something out of his pocket.

Dudley glanced at the television he had given Harry, which was still sitting on the dresser. "You're not going to take it with you?" he asked with a hint of disappointment.

"They don't have electricity at Hogwarts," Harry explained. Dudley looked startled by this.

"We really should get going," Lupin urged. He took one end of Harry's trunk and laid the comb he had taken out of his pocket with a handkerchief on top of it. "Ministry set up a portkey to take us straight to the atrium. They want to ask you a few questions about the attack."

Harry nodded and picked up the other end of the trunk. "Well, keep in touch, Dudley. We'd best be off now."

"On three." Lupin gave the count, and they touched the comb at the same time. Nearly instantly, after the familiar yet disconcerting hook through the navel sensation that came with portkey travel, they found themselves in the atrium of the Ministry of Magic.

Golden fireplaces lined the walls of the atrium, and the large Fountain of Magical Brethren spouted steadily. It was busier than when Harry had last been here. Wizards and witches scurried past him and popped in and out of green fires. Lupin cast a levitation spell on Harry's trunk and sent it gliding lightly before them. They registered their wands and checked the trunk at the entrance to the lift and rode to level ten. Harry felt a bit nervous about leaving all his belongings, but he knew better than to ask if he could drag it through the ministry. Lupin took Harry to courtroom number three.

It was a smaller room than court room number ten where Harry had been to and through previous trials. There was no jury or counsel of wizards in the room either. Just the judge, two guards, and the tattooed man who had attacked him. The tattooed man was bound to a chair by ropes and probably half a dozen magical spells. He looked relaxed in his seat, but he kept his eyes on Harry. The judge motioned for Harry to come further inside. He did.

"Hello, Harry," the judge said with a tight smile. He was an old wizard, quite bald on top with a tuft of gray hair that came down to his shoulders and curled out at the ends. "Please state your full name and tell us what happened yesterday."

Harry recounted the story of the party, his 'aunt' Marge, and the Ripper's transformation. The tattooed wizard continued to stare fixedly at him. Harry tried to ignore him, but finally his nerves snapped. He turned on the man. "What are you looking at?"

"You're just about a man now," the wizard said. His voice still growlish, but it reminded Harry a little less of a bulldog. "You was just a little boy when I got into this. Hadn't set out to kill you, you know. Thought it might be a good idea to get close to the one who sent the Dark Lord packing. Thought, eh, every boy wants a dog, right? Left me-self on your aunt Marge's door with a note, figured if she gave me to you, it'd be less suspicious. Her breeding dogs and all, naturally wanting to pawn off an old one. Didn't figure the old girl would have a soft spot for old dogs. Didn't figure the aunt you lived with couldn't stand 'em.

"I'd left me wand at the base of a wood pile. Didn't figure she'd keep me locked up so long. Time I'd got back to the woodpile; she'd burnt up my wand. Too drunk to notice it sparkin' in the fire. Why don't you tell them about 'er, Harry? Tell them what kind of woman she was. Tell 'em how it's would be worse than Azkaban, to live nine years with the fat Muggle cow, being treated like a dog."

"You were her favorite dog," said Harry unsympathetically.

"Being treated like a pampered dog is still being treated like a dog," the wizard retorted. "If she hadn't given me a steady diet of brandy, I would have gone stark raving mad by now. You see what I mean, don't ya. I mean what sort of loony gives a dog brandy?"

"Wait a second," Harry scowled. "An animagus can turn into an animal at will. What did you need the wand for?"

"I ain't no animagus," the wizard growled sharply. "I'm in enough trouble without you accusing me of being an unregistered animagus. I transfigured myself...perfectly legal," he added with a glance at the judge. "Only I couldn't transfigure back without a wand. Awful grateful to get one in your kitchen."

"Why'd you attack me then?" Harry asked.

"Well, you don't get any news as a Muggle dog, do ya?" the wizard said. Harry did not see how that answered his question. "But your ears get keen. I heard that one boy mutter under his breath, 'she's worse than You-Know-Who returning.' And I figure after nine years of being tied up with your auntie, you ain't gonna trust me. Not after chasing you up that tree..."

Harry noticed the judge was looking at him strangely, as though wondering why Harry had not mentioned the Dursley's having a tree in their kitchen. "I stepped on his tail, when I was nine," he explained.

"Right, well, being a dog made me quite ornery," the wizard continued with a snigger. "Anyway, I figured, the way he said it, You-Know-Who must actually be back. And since Harry ain't gonna like me anyway, might as well make a go at getting back in the master's good graces. Probably wasn't the best plan, now that I've had time to think it over, but it made a lot of sense in that minute...course the old girl had given me some brandy to keep me quiet in the car, so my head was a bit muddled..."

Harry glanced back at Lupin who was still standing by the door. Lupin did not seem to know what to make of the man either. He was unnerving and tragic and comical all at once. Harry felt extremely odd, because the nine-year deception and the attempted murderer did not upset him. The anger he felt towards the man at the moment completely came from the down turn he had given to Harry's otherwise lovely party.

"I figure I got nine years pre-captivity for my crime and that ought to be considered. Come on, Harry. Tell them about her. Tell 'em what that woman was like."

The last thing Harry wanted to do was talk about Aunt Marge. "Can I go now?" he asked the judge.

"Oh, yes, certainly," the judge said. He apparently did not think pre-captivity was excuse for a crime either. The tattooed wizard became preoccupied with a gnat buzzing around his head and was trying to snap at it with his teeth. Harry remembered hearing that things could go horribly wrong when wizards tried to turn themselves into animals. Watching the tattooed wizard snort doggishly at the gnat cured Harry of any daydreams he had had about becoming an animagus this year.

Lupin led Harry out of the courtroom and back to the lift. "Where are we going?" asked Harry. "I mean when you said 'home'. You didn't just mean the Ministry did you? You are taking me somewhere else for the summer?"

"Naturally," Lupin said. "But, not immediately. We still have a little more business at the Ministry first." He was smiling secretively. Harry doubted he meant to be frustrating, but he really wished that Lupin would just tell him where they were going.

The lift stopped on level six the Department of Magical Transportation. Harry followed Lupin out of the lift, feeling curious, wondering if this had something to do with the portkey. They did not stop at the portkey office however but instead headed to the Apparition Test Center. "What are we doing here?" Harry asked. Anticipation and dread were mixing in his stomach. He really wanted to be able to Apparate, but he had no experience doing so.

"Well, you're old enough to get your license," Lupin said. "I thought it would be very useful."

Harry pressed his lips together as they went through the silver swinging-door. "But do you think I'm ready to take the test."

"You won't be tested today," Lupin said. "We're just getting you a learning permit."

"I see," Harry said, feeling slightly disappointed and slightly relieved. He could imagine himself popping in and out of Diagon Alley, wowing Ron and making Hermione very jealous that he could do something before she could. Hermione's parents had been too nervous about Apparation to let her take the test. He also pictured himself making a mess of it and Apparating right into a wall. He had a funny image of his arm and leg sticking out from the wallpaper but did not want to think what that might do to his insides.

Getting the learning permit turned out to be simple. There was an unnecessarily long wait to fill out a very simple form. It demanded that he make a verbal statement as well, saying that he would only Apparate inside his place of residence and under the guidance of a licensed Apparator.

When their business was finished, they returned to the Atrium where Mad-Eye Moody and Tonks were waiting for them. Harry guessed it was Tonks, anyway. It looked like a very Muggle businesswoman with a sharp chin, but she tripped on her heels when she spotted them. They got Harry's trunk, took the lift up to the London street level. Harry and Lupin lugged the trunk between them, which got them more than a few odd looks on the Underground.

Moody and Tonks deposited them at number twelve Grimmauld place, which Harry suspected was 'home'. He had mixed feelings about Grimmauld place. It was tied too closely to Sirius and his death. It was in many ways a gloomy structure, but it was also a safe one. He felt much less exposed here than he had at Privet Drive. No one attacked him. Dobby had moved in and was happily working for the Order as a freely employed House Elf.

Harry spent the rest of his summer Apparating from room to room under Lupin's watchful eye. It was an unusual sensation, but he was slowly getting the hang of it. He had a lingering fear of splinching himself and was very careful to remember all his body parts with each attempt.

He knew he should be worried about Voldemort's next move, but it was a little difficult to maintain an appropriate level of dread. Dobby kept bustling about him with at least three mismatching hats on his head (one on the top of his head and one on each of his long ears). He lost track of the days and was rather surprised when Lupin announced that it was time for him to return to Hogwarts.

Half the Weasley clan (Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ron and Ginny) and Hermione arrived early in the morning to escort him to Diagon Alley to buy his school supplies. "Have a good year, Harry, and keep your eyes open," Lupin said in way of a farewell.

Mr. Weasley must have come back in favor with the Ministry because a few blocks away from Grimmauld Place a Ministry car with a Ministry driver was waiting for them. Harry started to suspect that a lanky man in a bowler hat was following them, but he noticed the man had neon pink socks on under his tweed suit and figured that this again was Tonks providing a more discreet guard.

The attack by the dark wizard must have worried everyone else more than it did Harry. The last time the Ministry had sent a car for him it had been to protect him from a mass murderer who had escaped Azkaban prison. Later it had turned out the supposed 'murderer' was actually his godfather, and Harry had not been in any danger from him. As far as Harry could tell, Voldemort had not made any attempts on him at all this summer, which seemed very strange after the chaos of last year. It would not have been the first time that Voldemort had bided his time for a particular moment. If the Dark Lord had any redeemable qualities, his patience was one. Harry did not mind the attention, but he wished everyone did not look so serious.

They took the car to the Leaky Cauldron where they were met by the Weasley twins. Harry realized he had never had a chance to thank them for knocking the dark wizard off of him. When he said something, Fred Weasley grandly waved off the gratitude, "All in the line of duty, besides that's old news."

George bought them all a round of whatever drink they were in the mood for, and they all sat around two pushed together tables.

"Business must be good at the joke shop," Hermione added after thanking them for the drink.

"Oh, no...well, yeah," said Fred. "But he just wants to soften the blow."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"It's awful really," Fred continued.

"Oh, yeah, a travesty," George said dryly. He looked up, which may have been an eye rolling gesture or may have been in response to the teacup flying overhead.

"What's happened, boys?" Mr. Weasley asked, beginning to sound worried.

"Nothing to me," Fred said. "I'm completely in the clear."

"I fear that I'm in a great deal of trouble," George told them. He did not sound worried, but then the Weasley twins always seemed to stay in a great deal of trouble. Trouble had not fazed them in years.

"What have you done?" Mrs. Weasley demanded.

"Relax, mum," George said.

"As I understand, it was unintentional," Fred added, flicking a little sugar into his ginger soda.

"Well, completely unplanned, anyway," George amended, with a sigh. "I fear it's an end to my carefree days."

By now, everyone had realized the twins were playing with them. Hermione scowled at them. "Stop messing around. Harry still has to get his things before we catch the train at eleven."

Fred cleared his throat. "In that case, here's the thing..."

"I've gone and asked Angelina Johnson to marry me," George finished. "And she said 'yes'."

Mrs. Weasley put a hand up to cover her opened mouth. Mr. Weasley's eyebrows arched, and Harry could feel his doing the same. "Brilliant!" said Ron, looking appreciative. Hermione had a gaping expression similar to Mrs. Weasley but did not cover it. Ginny stuffed her knuckles into her mouth to suffocate her giggling.

Fred rested his hand on his forehead with a tragic air. "Poor, girl. She's clearly confused. Doesn't remember that I was the one who took her to the Yule Ball."

"She remembers," George said.

"Are you sure she realized it was you who asked her?"

"Yes, she realized," George said firmly.

"Shame she feels she has to settle." Fred shook his head sympathetically.

Mrs. Weasley found her voice. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Just did, mum."

"Only happened day before yesterday," said George.

"He didn't tell me 'til yesterday," said Fred with an offended air. "I mean we cracked out of the same egg didn't we? Should have told me right off."

"You were asleep," George insisted.

"Well, that's the sort of thing you wake a fellow up for!"

The questions and congratulations began to role out, and Harry forgot the time until Hermione rapped the table. "It's almost nine," she said. "We really need to get Harry's things."

"I'll go," Harry said. He felt quite safe in Diagon Alley. As he stood however, seven other chairs scraped against the floor and everyone else got to their feet as well. He was worried that they might keep him fenced between their six redheads with Hermione taking point like a military scout, but they were more discreet than that. He learned that Ron and Hermione had already purchased all their school supplies, but everyone still had things they wanted to look at in the various shops. They kept a loose guard about him, sometimes wandering across the street or into a nearby shop, but no less than three of them would keep him directly in sight at all times. He found something touching about their devotion, though he was very glad it would just be for a couple of hours.

At least they seemed to be enjoying themselves now. George kept pointing out the most obnoxious patterns of everything, saying they would be lovely for the wedding, causing Mrs. Weasley to shudder. Hermione picked up two extra books at Flourish and Blotts. Ginny and Ron split the cost on a broom cleaning kit. Harry resisted buying several interesting knick-knacks by reminding himself that he might need his Galleons when he left Hogwarts. Not that he had time for frivolous purchases. No one rushed him, but Hermione kept checking her watch. Harry stuck to looking for his school supplies.

The Ministry car appeared again to take them to Kings Cross. They reached the platform with twenty full minutes to spare. They stowed their trunks, said their goodbyes to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Fred, and George, and boarded the train. "Keep your eyes open, Harry," George shouted at him.

"And send us a Hogwarts toilet seat!" Fred added.

Harry did not know if it was coincidence or Ron and Hermione had arranged it, but the entire second car seemed to be filled by D.A. members. The D.A., of course, stood for Dumbledore's Army and was the semi-secret student resistance movement that Harry had started during his fifth year. He strongly suspected that most of the Hogwarts teachers were aware the meetings had continued into his sixth year, but they pretended not to notice. For many of the members, the D.A. had acted as a sort of substitute Defense Against the Dark Arts class, since the quality of teachers filling that roll varied greatly from year to year. A few members of the D.A. had actually fought in battles against the Death Eaters and even the Dark Lord himself. It was with this inner circle that Harry wanted to share his train compartment.

Sure enough, Luna Lovegood, who was always early for the train, was sitting in one of the second car compartments alone with a nervous looking Neville Longbottom. Ginny went to join them. Harry said hello and got them to save the remaining seats.

Harry donned his Head Boy badge and waited in the hall as Ron and Hermione went to the prefects' car for instructions. They took much longer than usual to return, and he gave up waiting to sit in the compartment by Ginny. After a few minutes the door opened and Harry looked up expecting to see his best friends. Instead a small girl in Slytherin robes entered the car.

"Sit there," she instructed an even smaller boy who must have been her brother. He must have been a first year since he wore no house insignia. The boy sat obediently beside the door, and his sister sat next to the door opposite him. They were both stony faced and incredibly dark.

"Hey," Neville said. Harry began to object to the intrusion as well, but the girl turned her dark eyes on him, white pupils almost glowing in contrast to her skin. Her expression did not allow argument. It was far too old for her and gave Harry a slight chill. The children were quite small, and they left plenty of room for Ron and Hermione. The girl studied them for a moment, unmoving save her eyes, then she turned to stare at some point past her brother's head. The boy looked at them longer and more shyly, but his mouth stayed as unflinching as his sister's.

"Do you have names?" Luna asked them after a very long, very uncomfortable silence.

"I am Victoria Dey," the girl said in thickly accented but very clear speech. "This is Thomas." The boy lifted his hand to give them a shy wave. His sister's eye shot to him, and he dropped it again.

"I'm Luna Lovegood," Luna began.

"I know who you are," Victoria said sharply. This statement seemed to apply to all of them. Harry caught a flicker of what might have been disappointment in the boy's eyes. His sister had been at Hogwarts with them two years, but he would not know who any of them were.

"I'm Harry Potter," he introduced himself to the boy whose eyes widened slightly. "This is Neville Longbottom and Ginny Weasley." The boy nodded once to show he understood but did not change expression. "We're Gryffindors, Luna's a Ravenclaw, do you know what house you'd like to be in?"

"I'll be in Slytherin," the boy said with the same round, heavy accent as his sister. He showed no anticipation or anxiety at the prospect. It was like he had told him that the sky was blue or water was wet, just one of those things that does not change.

Harry wanted to say more to him, but the dark gaze of the boy's sister had fallen on him. So he sat with the others in awkward silence, until Hermione and Ron made their appearance. Hermione entered the car first. She caught sight of the two children sitting like stone faced sentinels by the door and gave Harry a questioning look. Harry shrugged. So did Neville and Ginny. Luna had already started reading her fresh issue of The Quibbler and did not bother to look up. Hermione shrugged as well and sat down beside Luna, and Ron took the seat next to her.

"Can you believe that git Malfoy didn't even bother showing up to the prefect car?" Ron snorted.

"Actually, you were supposed to be there too, Harry," Hermione said with a small smile. "But Padma said she could handle it without you. We figured you wouldn't want to have to deal with Malfoy right off."

"Only, he didn't show," Ron repeated. "We waited for him for ages before they went ahead and gave us instructions, and those weren't any different from last year's."

"You don't suppose he missed the train?" Ginny asked.

"Draco Malfoy? He wouldn't miss eight teacher free hours to harass us," said Neville.

"Probably already prowling the rear cars," Ron growled. "Didn't want to leave his mates long enough for the formality of the meeting. Doesn't care who else it held up."

"Pansy was the one who held us up," Hermione said. "She didn't want to start without him...look, here's the trolley."

Harry who wanted to lighten the mood, treated everyone to their choice off the trolley. He hesitated when it came to the Dey children, but the girl ordered her brother and herself a very cheap but sweet smelling tea. She sipped it with all the poise and formality of a small duchess, and her brother did his best to copy.

"Would you like me to find you a car with some more first years?" Hermione tried helpfully.

"This is fine," the Dey girl replied curtly.

Unable to get rid of them or engage them in conversation, Harry and his friends did their best to ignore the Deys. They settled into topics that were fairly safe. The upcoming Quidditch Season, the current articles in Luna's Quibbler, and the impending N.E.W.T. exams. Through the window they noticed Crabbe and Goyle pass. The brutish Slytherin seventh years stopped to look through the compartment window. Crabbe reached for the door handle but thought better of it, and they continue to the front of the train. They returned ten minutes or so later with lost expressions. Goyle opened the compartment door.

"Have you seen Draco?" he asked.

They all shook their heads, and Crabbe and Goyle looked even more desperate.

"Have you tried the prefect car?" Hermione said.

"We've looked everywhere," Crabbe said.

"He isn't on the train," Goyle moaned.

"You don't suppose something's happened to him?" Ron said hopefully.

Crabbe and Goyle must have been truly distressed because they did not even bother to glare at him.

"Have you tried the girls bathroom?" Luna suggested.

The Slytherin giants considered this doubtfully, but closed the door and slunk away towards the rear of the train.

"Or he could be riding on top," Luna continued after they left. "I've thought about trying that...or clinging onto a side ladder..."

Hermione frowned. "Do you think it's possible he might not be coming to school this year?"

"Now, that would be an excellent birthday present," Harry said. "A whole year without Draco Malfoy."

"I'm not so sure about that," said Ginny. "Without him, the Slytherins might find themselves a decent seeker." Draco really was not a bad Quidditch player, but he was disliked enough that they all laughed. Except Hermione who was still frowning thoughtfully.

"Surely you're not worried about him!" Ron said, noticing her expression.

"Of course not," Hermione sniffed. "But if he has pulled out of Hogwarts, I'd like to know why. It could mean something bad."

"You know for a girl who has such a low opinion of divination, you sound an awful lot like Professor Trelawny," Ron retorted. "Predicting gloom and doom before the year's even started."

"I'm just saying that Draco has..." she glanced at the Dey children, who could certainly hear but did not seem to be listening to the conversation, "...connections that we don't. He's not the type to just drop out for kicks his last year. If he's really gone, then there's something up, and I want to know what." Harry knew she was right, but the prospect of a Malfoy free school year kept a small smile on his lips.

"Look, if Malfoy wants to go join up with You-Know-Who, let him," Ron growled, ignoring the Deys. "I say good riddance."

Hermione shot him a nasty look and stood up. "Come on, Ronald, we have to walk the corridors." She stalked out of the compartment. Ron stood with a resigned sigh. He told them that they would be back soon and followed Hermione into the hall.

"Speaking of birthday presents, Harry," Neville said, pulling a small wrapped box out of his pocket. "Sorry I missed your party. Gran hates cars. But I still wanted to give you this."

"Thanks," Harry said, taking the package. Ginny switched seats to sit beside Luna, so she could see Harry and Neville at the same time. Harry unwrapped the box and opened it to find it quite empty. "Um, Neville, not to complain or anything but...?"

"It's an invisible box," Neville said with a grin. At first Harry thought he might be joking, but Neville dumped the first box onto his hand and opened the lid. Harry could not see the lid of course, but he could see inside lining of the box, which was red and velvety.

"Oh," Harry said, taking the invisible box into his own hand. Now that he could feel the box he judged it to be just large enough to hold his fist. He tried this and watched his hand disappear. "Wicked."

Neville's grin broadened. "I know it's kind of small, but the big ones are really expensive and very easy to trip over. This one you could stick in your trunk or cabinet."

"Can I see it?" Ginny asked, stretching out her hand.

"No," Harry said, handing her the box. This got a brief chuckle from Neville and sent Luna into a prolonged fit of laughter.

"I want to 'not see it' too," Luna chirped, when she had recovered herself.

In time, Hermione and Ron came back and left again. They did this in cycles until the train ride was over. Ginny seemed to be ready to start talking D.A. business, but the presence of the Slytherin girl stopped her. The Dey children kept to their seats, except when the boy slipped out for a few minutes. Most likely to use the toilet, though he did not say a word as he left and returned. Harry caught them watching the older students occasionally, but they did not speak, not even to each other. Nor did they laugh or react in any way other than stony-faced silence.

He was very glad when the train ride ended, and they were able to climb into the thestral driven carriages. Victoria Dey did not follow them, which was a relief. The boy, Thomas, of course would ride the lantern lit boats across the lake with the other first years.

As the carriages released them, they were swept towards the castle by the wave of students. "I'm starving," Harry said as they reached the entry hall. Ron and Hermione had managed to stay beside him, but Ginny had been swept away with some sixth year girls. He was not sure what had taken Luna and Neville.

"I'm wondering if tonight would be too early for a D.A. meeting," Hermione said in a low voice.

"Far too early," Harry said. He wanted to cut off that idea before it got rolling. They could set one for the coming weekend, after he had a chance to go through all his classes. "Let's let everyone unpack first."

Ron stopped and pointed across the crowd at the stairs. "There he is," said Ron disappointedly. Harry and Hermione followed his finger to see Draco Malfoy coming down the stairs towards them.

Draco noticed that they were staring, but they did not seem to be the ones for whom he was searching. "Hi," he said distractedly as he passed. They watched him push his way through the crowd to Crabbe and Goyle, who seemed very relieved.

"Hi?" Hermione echoed with a short laugh. Harry and Ron exchanged shrugs, and Harry encouraged them all towards the Great Hall. They took seats at the Gryffindor long table near the door and were soon surround by the other seventh year students.

Dean and Seamus must have told everyone about the attack at Harry's party because Lavender Brown began assaulting him with questions about it the moment they sat down. Harry answered a few things, then Dean and Seamus took over the narrative, and made the whole thing sound far more exciting than it was.

"Who do you thinks teaching Dark Arts this year?" said Hermione.

Harry strained his eyes about the great hall looking for the new face that would be this years Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, but he found no one new at the staff table. More surprisingly he could not find one of the usual faces. There was an empty chair where a dark scowl should have been. Professor Snape was missing.

"You don't think they've finally sacked him?" Ron said hopefully. He must have noticed too.

"Or he's gone undercover full time," Hermione suggested in a low voice.

Harry did not say anything. He felt that he could not possibly be this lucky. To be able to enjoy a whole year without Professor Snape was beyond his expectations, much better than the prospect of a year without Malfoy and more feasible.

The sorting ceremony had begun, and Harry applauded as each new Gryffindor joined the table. Thomas Dey was sorted into Slytherin as he had predicted and looked neither overjoyed nor disappointed by this. When all the first years had been sorted, the feast began. Harry stuffed himself on meats and sweets.

"Our last year," Ron said. "Can you believe it?"

"It had to come eventually," Hermione said, dropping a heap of mashed potatoes onto her plate.

"And Harry's Head Boy," Ron said, looking proudly at his best friend.

Harry grinned, trying to look modest.

"Such a shock," Lavender Brown said through a mouthful of bread. "Who's head girl anyway?"

"Padma Patil," Hermione supplied curtly.

"Oh," Dean said. "Good thing for you, Harry. Padma's the prettiest girl in school. It's a legend that the head boy and head girl always get married. Hey!" Padma's identical twin Parvati Patil must have kicked him under the table. "Ouch, you should be taking that as a compliment too you know."

"That's rubbish," Hermione said. "They can't pair up every year."

Harry flushed and engrossed himself in his plate. His mom and dad had left school as Head Boy and Head Girl of their class and gotten married straight out of school. Harry had trouble picturing being that sure of someone that young. His age. He was just hoping to survive this year. Romance and true love seemed like very alien concepts. Of course, his parents had probably had a far more normal time at Hogwarts. As far as he knew Voldemort had never tried to kill them while they were still at school. Fewer attempts on their life and no reporters following on their heels must have left more time for relationships.

It was not that Harry did not like girls. He had made attempts to start something with Cho Chang and generally came out more frustrated than anything. Cho had left school last year, which took her out of Harry's range for the moment anyway. He had noticed that Hermione and Ginny Weasley were both getting very nice to look at, not that he would tell Ron that. Harry just did not see much point in pursuing romance with anyone. Right now he needed friends and allies. He wanted to keep his life as simple as possible, since Voldemort was doing just the opposite.

The feast ended, and Dumbledore began his start of term announcements.

"I would like to remind our first years that the Forbidden Forest is forbidden. Professor Sinistra will be approving all school clubs this term. Quidditch Trials will be held the second week of school and any interested in playing on the house teams should sign up. Mr. Filch would like me to remind you that there is to be no magic in the halls between classes, and we have had to place a ban on canary custards as they have excited Madam Pince's allergies. I'm sure some of you have been wondering about our potions master. Not to worry, Professor Snape is just a little late returning from his summer vacation. He assures me that he will be here tomorrow to start his classes on time."

"Drat," muttered Ron. "I knew it was too good to be true."

Harry nodded sagely.

"And finally, Slytherins, after you escort the first years to the dormitories, I need you to send a prefect to my office. They'll be picking up a transfer student who is joining your house this year."

"A transfer student?" Hermione repeated. "That's very unusual."

"You are all dismissed. First years please follow the prefects to your dormitories."

"I wonder why they didn't come to the start of term feast," Parvati mused while getting out of her seat.

"Another Slytherin," Ron said in disgust. "I don't know whether to feel sorry for them or just be worried."

"Harry, don't look now," said Neville. "But Draco Malfoy's staring at you."

Harry turned to look, but Draco had snapped his head back around. He turned back to Neville and shrugged.

"He had a funny look on his face," Neville said, as though to explain why this was different from the thousand other times Draco had glared at Harry.

"Oh really?" said Hermione. "Must mean he's breathing." The Gryffindors within earshot laughed, except Neville. Hermione tapped her prefect badge to signal Ron, and they wandered off towards the first years. Harry joined the other Gryffindors in their surge towards Gryffindor tower.

"Harry," came a voice from behind him. Harry paused. It was Parvati...no, Padma. "I don't know if it means anything, but I overheard Draco Malfoy say that you were in for a shock this year. And you know what his family is."

"Thanks," Harry said. "But threats from Malfoy are pretty standard. He tried to kill me last year, you know."

Padma lifted an annoyed eyebrow. "I'm trying to help. Just keep your eyes open."

Why did everyone keep telling him that? Harry made himself smile. "Congratulations on making Head Girl."

"Thanks," Padma grinned. "Same to you. Boy that is."

Harry waited for Ron and Hermione in the common room. He had the same sense of being home that he usually felt at Hogwarts, but it was tinged with the sad realization that this would be his last year to call Hogwarts home. He had a vague plan of applying for Auror training after graduation, but he did not know what that would mean exactly. How did they live day to day? He wished he had asked Tonks more about it during the summer. He supposed he could still write her.

Ron and Hermione herded the first years into the common room along with the other prefects. Harry spent the rest of the evening in their company to distract himself from brooding.

****************

Night faded, and morning came bringing breakfast and their new class schedules. Harry had Charms in the morning and Defense Against the Dark Arts that afternoon. Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a pleasant person to start the week with, but Harry was extremely curious about who had the Dark Arts position. Particularly since every Dark Arts teacher had attacked him at some point, including Professor Lupin. He had Transfiguration on Tuesday, Potions on Wednesday, and Care of Magical Creatures on Friday.

Hermione pointed out a large puff of silver hair at the Slytherin table, which must have been their new transfer student. There seemed to be a girl under it. She glanced at Harry but quickly looked away. Harry wondered why the Slytherins always looked so funny.

Hermione shared all of Harry's classes and was taking Arithmancy, Ancient Ruins, and Astronomy on top of them. She had told Harry she thought he was cutting it close, since five N.E.W.T.s was a minimum to become an Auror, but Harry needed 'E's or better in all those subjects and would rather concentrate on getting a few right than bungling a load of them. Ron shared all of Harry's classes except Potions. He had not gotten the O.W.L. he needed to get into the Advanced class and had claimed he could not stand two more years of Snape anyway.

Harry would have gladly dropped Potions if not for his Auror ambitions. Hermione just seemed to have a masochistic streak when it came to classes. After Harry and Neville, she was Snape's favorite target. Harry was still astounded that Neville had made it into Advanced Potions, and more so that he had willingly taken the class. Neville was determined to be a Healer and refused to let Snape daunt him.

Draco Malfoy took Charms as well. He was unusually quiet during the class. Harry had expected him to turn his absence from the train into an exciting story to wow the Slytherin girls, but from the other whispers circulating, Harry gathered he had not explained his disappearance to anyone. Harry did catch Malfoy glancing repeatedly in his direction during the lesson, but there was none of the usual malice in his grey eyes.

****************

It was a bright, pleasant day. Harry, Ron and Hermione decided to take their lunch break under a tree in the courtyard.

"There's that new Slytherin girl," Ron said, indicating the other side of the courtyard with a nod.

Harry looked up and saw the girl wave goodbye to some of the other sixth years. Except for the silver hair, which stuck out in all directions, she looked sixteen. As she came closer, he saw that she had a pleasant, round face and was a little on the short side. She jogged towards them, clasping a book to her chest, and stopped in front of their tree.

"You're Harry, right? Harry Potter?" she said breathlessly.

Harry suppressed a groan. He was used to first years coming up to him with similar excitement at meeting famous Harry Potter. He had never liked being gawked at, but he tried to take her interest good-naturedly. "Yup, I've got the scar and everything," he said lightly. Hermione put on a bemused smile. Ron was trying hard not to roll his own eyes.

"Oh, yes," the girl said with mild interest and looked at his forehead. "They told me about that." She shook her head as though to clear it. She shifted her book to her side and put her free hand to her chest. "I'm Persephone," she said brightly and looked at him expectantly.

"Um, hi," Harry said. Hermione was pressing her lips together very tightly. Persephone had apparently been expecting more of a reaction to her name. She looked down and bit her lip. "This is Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley," Harry continued, not wanting to be rude.

"Right," Persephone said, not sounding very interested in Ron or Hermione. "Please to meet you. Um, Harry, do you think that we could-?" She cut off and looked curiously at Ron who was staring past her with an intense frown.

"There's Snape," Ron muttered. Harry followed Ron's gaze to see Professor Snape walking in their direction. His black robes were billowing behind him like a dark cloud descending on their picnic. He was sticking to the walkway, avoiding the sun, and reminding Harry of a vampire. He was still a good distance away, and Harry hoped he would turn off before he reached them.

Persephone turned around to see what they were all looking at. "Severus!" she yelped and took off in a run towards Professor Snape. Harry, Ron, and Hermione watched with dropped jaws as she threw her arms around Snape's midsection. The only person more surprised than themselves was Professor Snape who was doubtless not used to being hugged by anyone much less a student. He held his arms up in the air for a moment, frozen with shock, then pried Persephone off of him.

"She's mental!" Ron gaped.

Persphone was speaking animatedly, bouncing on her heels and making broad gestures with her arms. She was too far away for them to catch what she was saying. Snape maintained his expression of shock, but after a few minutes, he regained his ability to move. He took Persephone by the shoulder and led her inside the castle.

"She knows his name," said Hermione. "Maybe he knows her family."

"He didn't look like he was expecting her," said Harry. "She didn't seem to expect him for that matter."

Hermione, at a loss, shrugged. "Do you know who we have for Dark Arts?"

"I've got my money on a vampire," Ron said. "Check to see if all the windows are closed when we enter the room."

"Surely Dumbledore wouldn't invite a vampire in," Harry chuckled, but even as he said it he felt uncertain. "I suppose I should stock up on my garlic."

"Harry could teach the class," Hermione said. "Of course, then you'd end up attacking yourself before the year's out."

Ron slapped his legs and stood. "Well, I'm all set for another uneventful year at Hogwarts. Shall we go face it?"

Harry laughed. The idea of his applying for the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher position played in his mind for a few minutes. He half liked the image. He had never fancied himself a professor, but that was almost precisely what he had been doing in the D.A. meetings. Wouldn't Snape hate him then? But his determination to be an Auror was stronger. He was tired of waiting for things to come after him. Very tired of always being on the defensive.

Dread held back by the friends at his side, Harry made his way to the Dark Arts classroom with Ron and Hermione a few minutes early. They took the center seats on the front row, so they could examine their new professor closely. The rest of the students filed into the class. Harry watched Draco Malfoy take the front desk near the window.

"What are you doing here?" Ron demanded.

"I'm taking the class," Malfoy drawled.

"But you can't!" Ron protested. "You weren't in it last year."

Malfoy shrugged and turned away to open his textbook.

"Why weren't you on the train?" Harry demanded.

"Patience Potter, you'll find out soon enough," Malfoy muttered vaguely, not looking at him. Harry did not like the sound of that, but he wondered if Draco was just trying to get a rise out of him.

"I'm keeping my eye on you," Ron spat.

Malfoy laughed coldly. "Oh, well, that's enough to make me quake in my boots." Ron sat tensely waiting for the insult to his family that would inevitably follow, but it did not come. Malfoy seemed to be very engrossed in his text.

Hermione was acting as if Malfoy was not there. Harry figured she did not want to get into a row with him on her first day back. No one liked being called a Mudblood, even if there was nothing wrong with having Muggle parents. They waited another five minutes.

"You don't suppose he's invisible," said Hermione, indicating the empty teacher's desk.

"That would explain why we didn't see him at the feast," said Harry.

"I wonder if..." Ron began, but it was nine o'clock exactly. The door at the rear of the room opened and in strode Professor Dumbledore. Harry was a little surprised to see the headmaster. Perhaps he was going to explain their absentee teacher.

"It has been a long time," Professor Dumbledore said as he strode across the room. "Since I last taught a class at Hogwarts. But I assure you that I do have some experience and am well qualified."

Harry felt a very nice sensation spread through him, as though a rainbow had sprung up and wrapped itself around him. He could not think of anyone in the world he would rather have teaching him Defense Against the Dark Arts other than Albus Dumbledore, and even in his worst nightmares, he could never picture Dumbledore attacking him for any reason.

Dumbledore stopped at the front of the class and surveyed the students, many of whom were as happy and awestruck as Harry. "All present, I see. Mr. Malfoy will be joining us this year. I'm sure you can help him catch up, Mr. Nott," he addressed a skinny Slytherin boy who had taken the seat next to Draco. "Now, let's get right to it. Harry, if you would please come up here, I'd like to attack you."

He said this so kindly in his breathy voice that it took a moment for Harry to register what he had said. He got slowly to his feet and walked around the desk to Dumbledore. Hermione must have understood his hesitation for her own eyes were wide with wonder, and Ron had a cocked eyebrow.

"Stand right there, Harry," Dumbledore instructed. "Everyone else turn your books to page thirty-seven." There was a shuffling of paper as the students found their place. Harry strained his eyes, trying to read Hermione's book upside down so that he could discover what page thirty-seven held for him. He made out the word 'Curses' but had trouble with the rest of it.

"Now, Harry," said Dumbledore, and Harry turned his attention to the headmaster. "What in your mind is the most logical defense against darkness?"

"A light, sir," Harry said, feeling very obvious.

"Very good," Dumbledore said. "I'm going to use a darkness curse on you, Harry. I want you to think about the best way to defend yourself." He turned to the rest of the class. "Does anyone have suggestions for Harry?"

Hands flew up and a few people shouted out answers without waiting for Dumbledore to call on them. He tried to make out Hermione's suggestion among the others, but she was watching raptly and for once not saying anything. She must have thought Harry could handle this on his own.

After everyone had had their say, Dumbledore turned to Harry. "Ready?" Harry nodded. "Obscuratis." Darkness engulfed Harry, and he raised his wand. Though he believed his wand and arm were there, none of his other senses confirmed it. It gave him the peculiar feeling of floating.

"Lumos," Harry said, and his wand glowed brightly. He blinked as his eyes adjusted, but found that he could see everything.

"Well done, Harry," said Dumbledore. "You may have a seat. Lumos is the simplest countercurse to an Obscuring Curse. However it is not the only defense available. Let us experiment with some others." Harry sat back down and watched as other students were called up to take part in the experiments and wrapped in dark clouds. Afterwards Dumbledore had them discuss the pros and cons of each defense. Draco Malfoy pointed out that Lumos left the defender temporarily blinded from the flash while the cloud dissipated. Harry suggested that closing your eyes while speaking the spell would allow them to adjust more quickly.

Dumbledore ended the lesson by giving them the assignment to read two chapters and return with three questions each. Harry felt a lot better about the prospects for his survival as he left the classroom.

****************

Harry sat down to breakfast Wednesday morning with the other Gryffindor Seventh Years. He was shoveling a fork full of eggs into his mouth when Luna Lovegood took the empty seat across from Ron.

"Hello, Ronald," she said.

"Um, hi," Ron replied from Harry's right.

"I've decided that you can take me to the End of the Year ball," she told Ron breezily.

Ron nearly choked on his eggs. "That's not 'til June." Luna did not react to this but watched Ron with her silver pop-eyes. "And isn't it traditional for the boy to ask the girl?"

"Oh, I don't mind," Luna said. Ron looked about for help. "You will take me, right Ron?"

Ron's face contorted into an expression that Harry found very funny, but he did his best not to laugh. "I don't even want to think about it until after Christmas!" Ron exclaimed. Luna shrugged indifferently.

"Hello, Persephone," Harry said, as the Slytherin girl approached the table.

"Hey Harry, I need to tell you..." she began, and then she stopped. A funny look came over her face, and she turned to Hermione who was on the other side of Ron. "You should move that glass. It will get broken if you leave it there," she said quietly as though half-awake. She wandered off, rubbing her temples as if she had a sudden headache.

Hermione glanced at her goblet, which was safely near the center of the table.

"Mental," Ron muttered in astonishment.

"She is a little odd," Dean Thomas said from Harry's left.

"Is that the new Slytherin transfer?" Luna asked watching Persephone's back curiously.

"I assume so," Harry said.

"Huh..." said Luna.

"Not to be rude, Luna, but don't you think you should eat breakfast at the Ravenclaw table?" said Hermione.

"Oh, I've already eaten," Luna said, waving her hand dismissively. "I wanted to show you something." She spread a copy of The Quibbler out on the table and pointed to an article on the second page.

Harry turned the paper around so that they could read. Dean and Neville leaned in as well.

Re-Evaluating the Yeti:

Savages or Pyramid Builders?

He started to ask Luna what was so relevant about Yetis when he saw the article beneath it.

Heartache of a Death Eater's Son:

Malfoy-Muggle Scandal in the Making?

Draco Malfoy is the only son of known Death Eater Lucius

Malfoy, who escaped from Azkaban Prison last year.

Draco is reported by his classmates at Hogwarts, where he

is entering his seventh year, to share his father's disdain for

Muggles and Muggle-borns.

OR DOES HE?

Sources in Newbury say that young Malfoy was

spotted there with a Muggle girl. Malfoy was dressed in

Muggle clothing and observed checking into a Muggle hotel

with his young companion. Is this one night stand a

meaningless fling for a wealthy playboy or does he harbor

pro-Muggle sympathies?

"It makes sense that he's leading a double life," said

a Hogwarts student, who preferred to remain nameless.

"He always seemed a bit over the top with the anti-Muggle-

born slurs. If he's got a Death Eater for a dad, you could

understand why he's afraid to socialize openly with anyone

but pure bloods."

"Oh, Draco Malfoy loves Muggles, if you know

what I mean," says post-witch Adalade Pickwick. "He's

got a Muggle girl waiting for him in all the major towns in

England and few hamlets."

Is it love, lust, or simply teenage rebellion

compelling young Malfoy to defy generations of pureblood

Malfoy lineage? The Malfoys were unavailable for comment.

Harry could not help laughing. He rarely believed a single word printed in The Quibbler, but he had been the victim of equally absurd press. Draco had always been envious of Harry's fame, and he wondered how Malfoy would enjoy this taste of it.

The other Gryffindors passed the article around, enjoying Draco's scandal almost as much as he did, though they seemed more willing to believe it.

"His mother sent mine an owl a week before school started," Parvati Patil said, after looking over the article. "He ran off, and she was in a panic. Look at the date. It fits!"

Harry spotted Malfoy as he entered the Great Hall. Malfoy glanced at the commotion at the Gryffindor table but did not seem to think much of it.

"Hey, Malfoy, is it true?" Seamus Finnigan shouted at him. "Were you at the hotel?"

Malfoy stopped in his tracks. "What?" He changed direction to come to the Gryffindor table. He scowled at the Gryffindors who were watching him with scandalized delight. "What are you talking about?"

"You finally got your name in the paper," Harry said, pushing The Quibbler toward him.

Draco snatched up the paper. His expression went blank as he read the article.

"Did you really take a girl to a hotel?" asked Ron, almost sounding impressed through his disgust.

"Oh, sure," Draco said dully, still scanning the article. "I kept her in my bedroom for a month or so. Then I got worried my parents might find her, so I took her to a hotel."

The Gryffindors, who had been expecting Draco to deny the whole thing, gazed at him in shock. "You're not serious?" said Hermione.

Draco looked up from the article and frowned. "Don't be a bunch of gits," he snapped. "I have never been in a hotel with a Muggle girl!!"

"That's not what the paper says," smirked Luna.

Draco turned on her. "You're father prints this rubbish, right?" he shot at her, curling the paper in his hand.

"It's not rubbish," Luna retorted. "Just because you don't like the truth getting out."

"Truth?!" Malfoy was starting to look livid. "Fine bit of journalism, they made it all up. Unnamed 'Hogwarts student'. Unnamed 'Sources'. 'Unavailable for comment'-like they even tried to contact me- What sort of name is 'Adalade Pickwick'? Is that even a real person?!" Several of the Gryffindors, Harry included, were having trouble holding back their snickers. Draco pointed the curled paper at Luna. "Make your dad print a retraction, or-"

"Or what?" Luna sniffed, looking bored. "Your dad will come out of hiding to set him straight?"

Draco's eyes narrowed dangerously and down the table a goblet exploded. There was complete silence as they all stared at Hermione's shattered glass. Pieces of it littered the tabletop. A particularly large piece was lodged into Hermione's hand, which was bleeding.

"I didn't mean to," Malfoy said shakily, his face slack. Hermione stood, clasping the wrist of her injured right hand with her left, and looked as shocked as the rest of them. Harry had never seen another student completely lose control of their powers while at Hogwarts, particularly not a seventh year. "I'm sorry," Draco said flatly, reaching for Hermione's injured hand.

Harry had a feeling Malfoy's embarrassment at losing control had more to do with the apology than any concern for Hermione. Hermione must have felt the same way. "Don't touch, me!" she snapped, pulling her hand out of his reach. "I'm going to see Madam Pomfrey."

"I'll go with you," Ron said. He stood, glaring angrily at Malfoy.

Harry considered following but decided he might best stay in case they were late for class. "I'll get your notes," he said, not taking his eyes off Malfoy.

Malfoy watched Ron and Hermione leave, looking ready to follow them, probably wanting to dissuade them from reporting his involvement in the matter. He must have realized that was impossible, because he stayed rooted in place. When they left the Great Hall, Malfoy's expression regained some of its fury, and he turned back to Luna. "Retract it," he spat, throwing the paper at her lap.

Luna caught the paper and kept her smug smirk as Draco stalked off. Harry wished she had not set him off. He knew Madam Pomfrey could fix Hermione up just fine, but he hated to see her hurt. He left the rest of his breakfast untouched and picked up his books.

"I can get Hermione's Arithmancy notes," Parvati volunteered.

"Thanks," Harry said.

****************

Harry spent his morning pouring over his potions text and trying not to think about the piece of glass sticking out of Hermione's hand. By the time Potions rolled around, Hermione had reappeared with her hand in a bandage. Though insisting that she was fine and the bandage was just a precaution, Hermione still allowed Harry to set up her cauldron for her. Malfoy for his part was trying very hard not to look at either of them.

Professor Snape started off the class by making the completely expected but still unhappy announcement that he would be grading all their assignments as if they were taking their N.E.W.T.s. "Well," he said with a predatory curl of his lip and began pacing. "Let's see if you're taking your lessons seriously this year. Mr. Longbottom?" Neville twitched. "What do you get when you add dragons blood to a mixture of powdered Graphorn horn and amber gris?"

"I don't know, sir," Neville said, hoping to advert complete disaster by not guessing.

"How unsurprising," Snape said dryly, not breaking stride. "Potter, same question."

Harry was used to these pop quizzes Snape used as excuses for torture. He had read his potions text over twice, determined to beat Snape at his own game, and had to stop himself from smiling. He knew this. "A Patafacere Potion. It's used to detect several otherwise untraceable poisons."

Snape stopped pacing and turned his black eyes on Harry. "This is a first," he said slowly. "It seems Mr. Potter has actually read his text this year. Five points for Gryffindor."

Harry blinked, not sure he had heard right. Had Snape just given Harry five points? He did say 'for' and not 'from'. Harry had taken potions with Professor Snape for six years now, and Snape had never given Harry so much as a single point. He had often taken points from Hermione for giving the right answer. The surprise must have shown on Harry's face because Snape raised his eyebrows. "Is there a problem, Mr. Potter?"

"No, sir," Harry stammered. A wicked smile played on Snape's lips, but he went back to asking random questions to the other students. Harry held his breath for the rest of class, sure that Snape was playing with him, sure he would find some excuse to take ten points from Gryffindor to leave them with a negative five. But Harry finished the class with his five points intact.

Hermione and Neville seemed just as shocked as Harry. "But he never gives Gryffindors points," Neville said breathlessly when they were safely away from the Potions classroom.

Snape's good humor lasted through their next class as well. The change was not dramatic. He was still strict and severe, unwilling to give out large point rewards. Harry's five were an anomaly. He still picked on Neville and Harry, but it must not have held the same relish for him it did in the past because the loathing seemed to have gone out of his cruelty. Hermione strangely enough seemed to have fallen into his good graces. He actually called on her a handful of times to answer questions and did not bite her head off for knowing the answers.

Harry said something to Ron about it later in the Gryffindor common room. "I know," Ginny said. "He's actually been smiling in our class. And I don't mean that nasty sneer thing either, I mean a real smile."

"Professor Snape can smile?" Ron said in astonishment.

Ginny nodded. "I'm not complaining, but it's weird."

Snape's change in behavior was not anything compared to Draco Malfoy's. It was not so much anything that Malfoy did, but more what he was not doing. Draco had never lost an opportunity to taunt and ridicule Harry. Last year had been particularly vicious. So far this term however Malfoy was unusually quiet and withdrawn. He was even showing bursts of consideration, which was very unnerving.

The day after the glass incident, Hermione had dropped her books on the way to Charms. Harry had stopped to help her only to find someone else already doing it. Draco handed two volumes to a surprised Hermione. "It was an accident, you know," he told her before slipping off. Hermione had gotten Harry to help her check the books over in case Malfoy had slipped something into them. They poked them with their wands, using the tips to flip open the covers. Malfoy caught sight of them doing this from across the classroom, and Harry saw his mouth puff with choked laughter. In the end, they found nothing wrong with Hermione's books.

"He's trying to lure us into a false sense of security," said Ron. "He's plotting something."

Even Draco did not act as strangely as the new Slytherin transfer student. Persephone made half a dozen more half-hearted attempts to talk to Harry. She ambushed him eagerly but was easily distracted. During one attempt Hagrid came up to say hello to Harry, and Persephone ended up engaging him in conversation instead. Another time it was nearly headless Nick, then a sixth year Hufflepuff girl, the disquieting Victoria Dey Harry had met on the train, a suddenly remembered assignment she had left in the library. During the last attempt, she had seen Professor Trelawny and fled in the opposite direction.

Harry for his part, did not feel too eager to speak privately with her. He had a dread that she wanted him to sign something. Hermione and Ron thought the Slytherin's were setting up an elaborate trap for Harry, and Persephone was either in on it or being used as bait. Hermione proposed that she may have been in on the whole glass incident, and Harry thought that was feasible. Ginny had her own theories.

"I think she fancies you," Ginny told him as the four of them sat around a table in the Gryffindor common room. Harry and Ron were playing a game of wizards chess, while Hermione did her homework, and Ginny polished her broom handle.

"I don't know her!" Harry protested. "She doesn't know me.

"Have you noticed anything funny about her?" Hermione asked. "She's a sixth year too isn't she?"

Ginny nodded. "We've got four classes together, and she sits next to me in History of Magic."

"Advanced History of Magic," Ron said with a shudder.

"It's not so bad," Ginny said.

"But is there anything odd about her?" Hermione repeated.

"You mean aside from the hair? No-I don't think so," Ginny said. She paused. "Well, yeah. It's not her so much, she's nice enough, but the teachers act funny around her."

"How so?"

"It's like they all know her...or know something about her. McGonagall almost started crying when she saw her first day in Transfiguration." Ginny sniffed and did an impersonation of McGonagall. " 'So good to have you with us, Ms. P.' Same with Professor Flitwick. She's a favorite with Professor Snape, too. Of course her hand stays up in the air, and he likes the people who know everything."

"Since when?!" Hermione demanded.

"Since always," Ginny said. "I mean he'll go all cranky if you shout stuff out, but he likes the people who raise their hands a lot."

Hermione just blinked at her.

"She does the same thing in Professor Binns' class," Ginny continued. "She interrupts his lecture at least fifteen times per class, asking questions. It's really good though, because a lot of it is stuff I'm having trouble with too. I think she might be slowing us down a bit, but it's lot easier to stay awake. A few other people picked up on it, and we sort of had a class discussion last time. I never realized Professor Binns actually liked history before."

Hermione still looked like she was having trouble with the idea that Professor Snape liked people who raised their hands.

"Although he said something funny too." Ginny titled her head trying to recall the exact words. "It was the first time she asked a question. He turned around and said, 'Ah, Persephone, when did you get back?' I thought it was funny, because it was the first class, and he used her first name. Though I guess Dumbledore could have introduced her to the staff...or she could have gone to his office."

"Everyone knew me," Harry said. The chess game was taking more of his attention than the conversation. He was trying to think five moves ahead and had a feeling that Ron was thinking six.

"Yes," Hermione said. "But you're famous."

"What does Binns need with an office?" Ron blurted.

Ginny shrugged. "I wonder if he still gets a salary. I mean what would a ghost do with a salary?"

"It might go to his descendants," Hermione said. "The living ones."

Harry tried to force himself to think seven steps ahead but gave up and took Ron's knight with his bishop. He watched the pieces struggle with each other, then caught Ron's secretive grin. Harry sighed. Usually that grin meant Harry would loose the match, but he refused to give up before the deed was done.

"What makes you think that she fancies me?" he asked Ginny.

"She asks a lot of questions about you," Ginny said.

"What sort of questions?" Hermione closed her textbook.

"This and that," Ginny said. "Everything from your favorite color to 'did he really fight Voldemort single-handed?' to 'does he have a girlfriend?'"

"Did she really say Voldemort's name?" Hermione asked sharply.

Ginny looked surprised. "She did, come to think of it. That's a little strange, isn't it?"

"That makes me like her better," Harry said, as Ron took one of his pawns with his Queen.

"Do you want me to set up a meeting for you, Harry?" said Ginny, sounding much more interested in Harry's love life than he was.

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to be alone with her," Hermione cautioned. "Not until we know more about her."

"I'm not in any rush to be alone with her," said Harry, moving his king to safety. "Why don't we set up our first D.A. meeting?"