Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Chapter Three

The Mysterious Locked Doors

Harry turned away from Dumbledore, and looked back at the empty clearing; the moon was casting a silver grey light upon its grassy surface making it seem to shimmer in the pale light as a gentle breeze ruffled it, filling the clearing with the smell of pine trees as it rushed through the surrounding woods. But, as Harry watched, he saw something grow from the center of the clearing: a dark wooden door grew up from the ground, followed by walls, windows, and shutters. As he watched, a large house inflated before his eyes, made of a grey stone, and, from the looks of it, it was three floors tall. Harry watched as it inched toward Dumbledore, and had the distinct urge to warn Dumbledore to get out of the way; however it stopped just before it hit him.

Harry looked at the doorframe. Over the threshold was a carved stone bird; a phoenix arching gracefully over the door. Then, it hit Harry why he was brought here, but what had happened to Grimmauld Place?

Dumbledore opened the large wooden door, and beckoned Harry inside. It was as different as possible to Grimmauld Place. Instead of the derelict and decomposing look of Number 12, everything was neat and tidy. Instead of the serpentine chandlers and candle holders, there were hanging brackets of a glimmering silver; the fire danced merrily around a silver figurine of a phoenix rising up out of the flames. The walls were paneled in a dark wood. The ceiling arched above them, also paneled in the same dark wood. The floor was made of a polished grey stone that matched the outside of the house. The light from the flames danced merrily across wall, floor, and ceiling.

Along each wall of the hall were a set of doors, and at the end, magnificently carved doors stood, their carvings in a flickering relief from the flames. Like much of the decorations, it showed a phoenix rising from the ashes. The flicking light made it almost seem like it was dancing eerily. Harry was curious; almost eager to see what was behind those doors when he heard Dumbledore close the door behind him.

Another door opened nearer at hand to Harry's right, and Mrs. Weasley came bustling out.

"Harry, dear," she said brightly. She paused staring at the grim look on Dumbledore face. "Is everything all right?"

Harry turned to see Dumbledore's eyes glance toward the carved double door at the end of the hall.

"Ron," said Mrs. Weasley a little flustered. "Why don't you and Harry take his things up to your room?"

Removing his trunk and Hedwig's cage from the harness, Harry and Ron shrugged the trunk through the door that Mrs. Weasley had just come out of as everyone else followed Dumbledore toward the carved wooden doors. Harry found himself in a large kitchen. The walls were a pale yellow, and the floor was of the same stone as the hallway. Along the walls were cabinets, and counters that were cluttered with pots, pans, and plates. Mrs. Weasley must have been busy putting everything away.

In the center of the kitchen was a fairly long table surrounded by many chairs. Unlike Grimmauld Place, it was bright and inviting. Ron pointed to a staircase on one side of the kitchen, and, together, heaving the heavy trunk, they began to carry it up the stone steps.

"Lets stop for a minute," Ron said as they reached the 2^nd floor landing. They eased the trunk onto the floor. Looking around, Harry saw many doors on each side of a corridor that seemed to stretch across the house. In the other side, Harry saw another flight of stairs. "We have one more floor to get to."

"What's in all of these rooms?" questioned Harry as he took in the rest of the corridor.

"Couldn't tell you," Ron replied as he reached down and grasp the handle again. "They're all locked. Lets go. We just got another staircase."

As Harry passed, lugging his trunk across the hallway, he wondered what could be in these rooms. There were no locked rooms in Grimmauld Place, or at least he didn't remember there ever being locked rooms there.

Across the hall they walked, panting slightly under the weight of the trunk and Hedwig's cage; up the second staircase, and into an almost identical floor as below. Ron, dragged Harry's trunk over to the nearest door on the right, and opened it.

It was somewhat larger then their room at Grimmauld Place, and far more friendly than the derelict, foreboding air that hung around when they were in the Black's house. As Harry closed the door behind him, he heard the rush of wings, and looked up to see Hedwig soaring out from the top of a tall wardrobe. She came to rest on his shoulder and hooted softly.

Like the kitchen, the room was cluttered. Ron's bed was covered with a variety of items: from clothes, to one of his Chudley Canons posters. Harry carried Hedwig's cage over to his nightstand, and sat it down. Hedwig gracefully soared from his shoulder, and came to rest on her perch at the top of the cage. Harry sat down on his bed, and looked around the room, taking in more details.

The walls were of the same yellow as the kitchen, and the floor was not stone, but an oddly plush brown carpet. The window was closed, and the shutters locked from a catch behind. The tall dark wood wardrobe stood against one of the walls. There was nothing on the walls outside of the Chudley Canons poster Ron was in the process of putting up. The room was lit by two candle brackets on either side of the window.

A twittering noise broke Harry from his sweep of the room. Pigwidgeon was rocketing around his head in a state that made Hedwig glare reproachfully.

The door opened and Hermione came bustling in, carrying a squirming Crookshanks. "What took you so long?" she asked in a bossy sort of voice. "We expected you back an hour ago."

"We ran into some dementors," Ron said simply, stepping back to make sure that he had pinned his poster up straight.

"What!" Hermione exclaimed, shocked, as she dropped Crookshanks on Harry's bed where he immediately began pawing at Harry's hand, trying to get Harry to scratch him behind his ears. "What do you mean you ran into dementors?"

"Well, we ran into a large group of them about halfway through the trip," said Ron calmly. "But it was okay, we were able to drive them off in time."

Hermione was staring at Ron as if wondering how he could be so calm or collected about the dementors. "You," she said nervously. "You don't think V-Voldemort knows we are here do you?"

"I doubt it," said Harry, just as calmly as before. "I mean, we chased them off, and Moody says that he could not see anyone following us after that, visible or not."

"But still," said Hermione nervously. "He has them looking out for you."

"Yes," said Harry quietly. "But you don't think they will be able to find us here do you?" Now that Hermione had said it, he finally came to realize just what the dementors attack meant.

"Not as long as you are within the clearing," said Hermione. "Dumbledore's enchanted Spinners End and the land around it much like Hogwarts is."

The door opened again, and Ginny entered. "Why didn't you come and get me?" she asked with a grimace of annoyance toward Hermione. "How long have they been here?"

"Not long," said Hermione. "But aren't you worried that he's watching your every move? Those dementors were not a random occurrence."

"Dementors?" questioned Ginny.

"You tell her," said Harry quietly. Hermione had said some things that really made sense. Was voldemort really watching his every move? He sat, in deep thought, while Hermione and Ron filled Ginny in on the dementors.

"...but they can't find him here, can they?" question Ginny as Ron finished speaking.

"No," Hermione replied quietly. "We already covered that."

"Harry?" asked Hermione's voice. It sounded distant.

"What?" asked Harry, looking up.

"Are you coming?" Ron and Ginny had already left. He had been so deep in thought that he was not paying attention to what was happening around him. "Mrs. Weasley is in the kitchen if we're hungry."

Harry rose, and together, they walked out of the room, closing the door behind them. Below them, Harry could hear the sounds of many people moving a few floors below. When they had descended the kitchen stairs, Harry saw that many other Order members were sitting at the table, talking in whispers. Some looked up, smiled, and then returned to their conversations.

Mrs. Weasley and Bill were working at the counters; in the time that they had been upstairs, it seemed that the kitchen had been organized a little better.

"Pull up a chair," Tonks said from the far end of the table. She was sitting already with Ron and Ginny. When they were all settled, Tonks leaned over. "You doing okay?" she asked gently.

"Yah," said Harry as he watched Mrs. Weasley feverishly stir a large copper pot while poking with her wand at the base, as the fire had just burned out. "Why?'

"Well," she said in quiet tone. "You know."

It clicked in Harry's mind what she was asking him about. He was not at all interested in talking about Sirius; it was too fresh on his mind. Tonks did not ask again.

Harry didn't join in many of the conversations; his mind was on other things. Did the dementors tracking him mean that Voldemort was trying to get him, to use him for something again? But, just because Voldemort was sending the dementors toward him did not mean that Voldemort needed him as a regent for another potion, or another spell. However, nothing Harry could tell himself to try to get his mind off of it was futile. In the light of Sirius death, Voldemort seemed so miniscule, so distant. The dementors had brought him back to his senses.

"Harry?" said Hermione, her voice sounding distant once more. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Harry racked his brain, trying to find a change of subject; he did not feel up to discussing Sirius or Voldemort. "What... Why aren't we are Grimmauld Place, anymore?"

"Well," said Hermione calmly. "Isn't it obvious?"

Mrs. and Mr. Weasley were bustling over, placing plates of roast chicken, potatoes, and baskets of rolls before them.

"Did you think we would have brought you back to Sirius'?" Hermione broke off glancing at Ron, clearly wondering if Harry was keen on talking about Sirius.

"What happened to Kreacher then?" asked Harry, trying to change the subject once more.

An angry look had come over Hermione's face.

"They sealed him in," said Ron quietly. "Dumbledore made it so he couldn't use the house-elf form of Apparation to escape. He was actually quite happy about it. From what I heard, he immediately ran to Mrs. Black's painting."

Hermione's scowled deepened.

"Come on Hermione," said Ron, glancing at her mutinous expression. "He was happy."

"That does not make it right," hissed Hermione. "If Dumbledore would just let him go..."

"He knows too much Hermione," said Tonks simply. "We cannot afford him giving all of our secrets. Look, I was there; he would never have left the house if we tried to force him too. He would never have accepted clothes, and besides, none of us were his master, there was no way we could have set him free. I know it's not right, but this was the only option."

Hermione didn't speak much for the rest of the meal.

"So," said Harry, casting around for another topic to keep Hermione off house elf rights. "What happened to Buckbeak?"

"Oh," said Ron over a mouthful of potatoes. "He is living in the forest around Spinners End now. There aren't any muggles around, and so it's safe here; no one to see him who shouldn't."

"How did Dumbledore find this place?' Harry asked between gulps of butterbeer.

"He had it built specifically for this purpose," said Ron casually.

"But why Spinners End?" said Harry curious about how this building got its name.

"He didn't say," said Hermione, breaking her silence. "He said he had always liked that name."

Harry had to be honest with himself; He found Spinners end to be far more inviting then Grimmauld Place had ever been. He stopped, feeling guilty about it. He knew he would rather right now been in Grimmauld Place with Sirius, than in Spinners End without him. He shook himself; he needed to stop thinking about things like this.

"What is the mood right now?" asked Lupin, who was sitting nearby.

"Well," said Bill quietly. "He's refusing to listen. I think he is growing mistrustful of me. I would have thought that in the light of He-who-must-not-be-named's return that he would see that there is a threat growing on the horizon. Of course, he's one of the few who has never trusted me. He has been trying to discredit me among the others."

"He is?" Lupin asked with a shrewd and calculating look on his face. "Have you told Dumbledore this?"

"I'm planning on writing him a report about it," replied Bill calmly. "Seeing as he has already left, I can't tell him in person. Did he say why he had to leave the meeting so early?"

"He has things that he needs to attend to," said Lupin as he raised his goblet with a thoughtful expression.

"But why does Dumbledore want us to learn Apparation?" Ron asked from across the table. "We can't take our test until next summer, anyways."

Harry turned back to the conversation closer at hand.

"Well," said Tonks between bites. "He feels it's important that you all learn to Apparate in case you find yourself in a situation were you would need to escape quickly. It can come in handy once you have learned to master it. It's actually quite easy once you do it a few times; you just have to be very focused, and not let your mind wonder. And seeing as Hermione actually will be able to get her test during the holidays as she is going to come of age in September, Dumbledore felt it was best if you all learn with her."

"But how are we going to practice?" asked Ron nervously. "We can't Apparate at Hogwarts."

"Well," said Tonks. "You're going to practice here. It's the perfect place. Dumbledore has enchanted the area so that you guys can Apparate without ministry knowledge. They can't monitor anything like that, here. Once you're in the clearing, you can do practically whatever you want."

"You mean," said Hermione stepping into the conversation. "That we can practice magic if we want?"

"Yup," replied Tonks grinning.

As the evening slowly drew to a close, Mrs. Weasley layed out a variety of deserts, though Harry did not join in, having ate two dinners already. He excused himself and slowly made his way up the kitchen staircase.

As he walked down the 2^nd floor hall, he paused. He could hear someone in one of the locked rooms. He could hear them talking as if to an invisible person, for no voice replied. However, the person was talking as if having a conversation. He paused, and tried to listen to what he was saying.

"You have put too much faith in it being unknown to him," said Dumbledore calmly. "I do not see how this will in any way save the situation. It is a danger to us if he finds out."

There was a pause. "We have no other way to stop him from knowing. We will wait until we have taken the proper steps to protect him first. If we can just get this done, then we should not have to worry about this situation getting any worse. When he is ready, I will take over from here. When everything is ready, we can tell him then and hope that he can keep it quiet."

There was a scrape of a chair from within, and the sounds of footsteps. Harry quickly and, as silently as he could, ran to the other staircase as the door opened. Harry looked back to see Dumbledore backing out of the room, and locking the door with his wand. Harry ducked out of the way just as Dumbledore looked in his direction. Harry heard Dumbledore's footsteps growing softer and softer, and headed back up the stairs to Ron and his bedroom.

Harry sat down on the edge of his bed. Who had Dumbledore been talking to? Why were there all these locked rooms on the second floor? What could be so important that it had to be locked away from prying eyes? The door opened, and Harry jumped, but it was only Ron, Hermione, and Ginny.

"Is everything all right?" asked Hermione as she and Ron sat down on Ron's bed. "You didn't stay for dessert."

"I had already had a dinner at Privet Drive," said Harry calmly. "Look, I need to tell you something."

Harry got up and locked the door behind him. He turned and began explaining about him hearing Dumbledore's voice in one of the locked rooms on the second floor. About how Dumbledore seemed to be having a conversation with another person, and yet there never was another voice replying. He touched upon what he could remember of the conversation that had taken place, though he only knew of what Dumbledore had said. He ended with how Dumbledore had backed out of the room, and looked around as if wondering if anyone had been listening, and locked the door with his wand.

"There's something that he's keeping from me, or Voldemort," said Harry quietly. "I don't know which of us, but I don't think it would be anyone else."

"But who do you think he was talking to?" asked Hermione.

"I told you, I only heard Dumbledore's voice," said Harry.

"Maybe it's a way the Order communicates," said Ron thoughtfully.

"Tonks said that only Dumbledore has access to the rooms on the second floor," said Ginny. "None of the other Order members can enter with out him. Though she didn't say what was within them, as Dumbledore has not entered with another member."

"I don't think it would be the way the Order communicates if only Dumbledore can unlock the door," said Hermione, breaking out of her ravine. "Because why wouldn't the other members of the Order be able to use it?"

"But," said Harry thinking back to the one-sided conversation he had just heard. "He was conversing with someone, even though I couldn't hear what the other person was saying."

"But that is only one of the rooms," said Ron with a note of curiousness. "What could be in the other five?"

For a while, they all sat in silence, each deep in thought. The mystery of the six locked doors ignited in Harry such a curiosity. What could be so important that Dumbledore would lock even the members of the Order out of?

"Well," said Hermione finally breaking the silence. "I doubt Dumbledore would want us to be focused on what's in those rooms. We just have to trust him; he probably has his reasons. But with all the problems right now as it is, I don't blame him for working in secret."

"With having to deal with Fudge," said Ron quietly. "I don't see how he has the time."

"I don't think we will have to worry about Fudge for long," said Ginny. "Everyone is up at arms over how the ministry has handled the whole Voldemort situation." Harry looked up, it was the first time he had ever heard Ginny say Voldemort's name.

"How long do you expect he is going to last?" asked Ron, grinning. "I'm shocked a mob hasn't run him out of the country."

"Only a matter of time," said Harry. "I'm just glad we got Umbridge out of the way."

Ron, Ginny, and Hermione looked suddenly nervous.

"What?" question Harry, bewildered by the looks on their faces.

"Well," said Hermione tensely. "Umbridge has been in contact with Fudge. We think she has told more lies about you and Dumbledore. She's doing everything she can to keep her position."

"But you don't think Fudge is stupid enough to listen to her after everything she did to us?" asked Harry angrily.

"Well," said Ron quietly. "What else would you expect Fudge to do with the magical community in such an uproar against him? We think in his pride, anyone who is still loyal to him is worth keeping on. Percy has not even spoken to any of us, he still stands behind Fudge, and is convinced that Umbridge is speaking the truth."

"What has she been saying?" asked Harry, nervously.

"We don't know," said Hermione. "We think she was building upon things like Dumbledore's Army, and the fact that she knew you were in contact with..." she broke off looking nervously at Harry.

"He refuses to accept that Sirius was innocent," said Ginny, pushing forward. "He still thinks that Dumbledore is trying to undermine his authority."

"And Percy believes everything Fudge and Umbridge says?" Harry asked.

"Do you think Percy would just give up his position?" asked Ginny angrily. "We think he is just trying to keep his position in the top office. You know how ambitious he is. He thinks that if he just stays in the top office, he will eventually get the top job."

There was a knock at the door, and Harry turned and unlocked it.

"You two need to get to bed," Mrs. Weasley said to Ginny and Hermione.

Ginny and Hermione left, following Mrs. Weasley across the hall to the room opposite theirs. Ron closed the door behind him. They undressed and got into their pajamas in silence. Ron unbolted the shutters to let Hedwig and Pig out for a nights hunt.

"How long do you reckon Fudge will last now with the magical community on the hunt?" said Ron as they got into bed, and extinguished the candles.

"I really don't know," said Harry truthfully, as he turned on his back.

It was a long time after Ron's snores filled the room that Harry finally fell asleep, as a gentle breeze rustled the leaves of the moonlit trees in the distance.