Harry and Hermione Pt. III -- Finishing their Sixth Year and Into the Summer

Chapter VIII

Friday, May 2, 1997

A gasp went over the Great Hall as post owls dropped off The Morning Prophet:

DARK LORD'S ATTACK KILLS 6!! CHALLENGES HARRY POTTER!

He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named apparantely launched a solo attack on the Williamson farm near Merby, East Anglia, early last evening. The Dark Lord killed George Williamson (29), an auror, his parents Frederick (80) and Martha Weasley Williamson (56), his fiancee Georgina Brown (27), and two of his three siblings, Marie (16, a 5th year Hufflepuff) and Joseph (12, a 1st year Slytherin), who were home on special leave to meet their brother's fiancee. The sole surviving witness, who was mutilated, was 10 year old Victoria, who starts Hogwarts in the autumn.

The Dark Lord projected the Dark Mark, and left the following note:
Pure Bloods have proven themselves to be no better than Half-bloods, Mixed-bloods, or even the Muggle-born. None-the-less, I remain convinced there are wizards and witches who deserve to join me in ruling over the magical world, after we subjugate the Muggles! I shall begin my rule by destroying the symbol of the resistince, Harry Potter.

Harry Potter! You shall meet me once you become a man! I shall give you three weeks after you become a man to find and challenge me. If you do not, I shall destroy the weak and unnecessary, as I have tonight, until you do.

As for the rest of the wizarding world, until the 21st of August, I shall only strike in defence. After that, beware!

"He has GOT to be kidding," Hermione stated.

"Gone around the bend, that one finally has," Ron agreed.

"What?" Neville asked.

"He sounds like the villains in your comic books," Ginny said to Ron. She turned to Neville. "You never read comic books?"

Neville shook his head.

"We already knew he was a crazy, sadistic lunatic," Harry said softly. "Why should you be surprised when he just proves it again?"

"Because it always comes as a shock that he's really this insane," Hermione answered. "It's outside our every day frame of reference."

"I'm sure that's why he was so successful in frightening everyone back in the Seventies," Colin mused. When he saw he had everyone's attention, he went on. "Look, Voldemort is a nutter, but he's a very skilled and powerful nutter. Even if he wasn't totally nuts twenty-five years ago, he was off. People didn't realize that. His insanity made him seem more mysterious and dangerous than he was. Wizards weren't used to the idea of the insane mastermind."

"So they mistook his insanity for even greater power? Maybe," Lavender said thoughtfully.

"Everyone is going to be after you for a statement, Harry," Parvati pointed out.

Harry pulled out quill and parchment and scribbled a few lines. He showed them to Hermione, who nodded. Harry made a gesture, and Hermione read the short note. "'In regards to the ravings of Tom Marvolo Riddle, who calls himself Lord Voldemort, it seems strange that he still feels himself able to control with world despite over twenty-five years of failure coupled with terror, and stranger that he believes that a 16 year old is the only obstacle between himself and world domination.

I urge you all to report any information that might help the Ministry find this renegade wizard.'"

"You'll have Dumbledore look at it before you send it?" Hermione asked.

"Of course."

Harry stood up, but stopped when Lavender put her hand on his arm. She exchanged a glance with Neville and Parvati. "Harry, we're still with you. We'll be with you this summer."

Harry smiled. "Let's get through this term, and then this summer, we'll get ready. Together."

After May turned to June, the examiners again descended on the school, and the Fifth and Seventh years went through the annual torment. As soon as the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s were over, the exams for the rest of the students began. Compared to the O.W.L.s, the end of the year exams for the Sixth years were actually tolerable.

On the next to last Tuesday of the month, Dumbledore gathered the students who might be joining Harry in a small classroom. With two exceptions, the group was arranged in pairs: Harry and Hermione; Ron and Susan; Dean and Padma; Seamus and Anna Lloyd; William Lloyd and Henrietta (a rather new and unexpected couple); Luna and Ginny; and Millicent Bulstrode and Daphne Greengrass. One exception was a trio: Neville, Parvati, and Lavender, the other was Colin. Colin was still friendly, even involved to some degree with Dean and Wills, which Padma and Henrietta were putting up with at the moment (more so Henrietta than Padma, as Wills and Colin were still rather more physically affectionate than Dean and Colin).

Albus Dumbledore surveyed the tired-looking group. Compared to the previous academic year, this past year had not been so terrible, but it had been more tiring. Hopefully the same would be said of the coming vacation. The students sat, united to some degree, across House-lines. The three Slytherin girls still looked as if they felt a bit out of place, but they were there. "You all understand why you're here?"

"I'm here because I want Riddle destroyed," Millicent started. "Potter here can do that, especially if we can help feed him power through a group merge. That will be intrusive, but it's a lot safer for us than facing Riddle alone would be! We'll be leaving for some unknown place a week into the vacation, so that we can learn how to really pump some power through the merges when the time comes."

"Exactly. Some of you will be going with Mister Longbottom for that week, some with the Weasleys, and a few will go with Colin Potter. Is there anyone who is not committed to this course of action? For if you are not, you will be identified during the merges. It would be best forall concerned, especially yourself, if you acknowledge it now."

No one said anything.

"Very well. I leave you to make your excuses to your other friends as to why you shall be unavailable for the summer. I SHALL learn of any leakage of this information."

"So, Harry, how are we going to be dividing up?" Colin asked as they left the meeting a few minutes later.

"I have to go back to my Aunt's. Why don't you and Hermione work things out?"

Colin sighed. "Because she's likely already mapped everything out, and you're the only person she'd ever back down for."

"Nonsense!" Hermione declared in Colin's ear, making him jump. "Here! Don't leave it lying around!"

Longbottom . . . Weasley . . . . . Potter*
Neville. . . . . Ron . . . . . . . Colin
Parvati. . . . . Ginny . . . . . . Dean
Lavender . . . . Susan . . . . . . Seamus
Millicent. . . . Luna. . . . . . . William
Daphne . . . . . Henrietta
Padma. . . . . . Anna

*Professor Lupin and Auror Tonks will be supervising here.

"Oh. . . ." Colin said. "And where will you be?"

"I'll be visiting my parents for a few days, then I'll be staying near Harry for a day or two. Then we go back to you and Harry's place, along with everyone else. Where we go from there. . . ?" She shrugged.

Saturday, June 28, 1997

Harry, Hermione, Ron, Susan, Luna, and Ginny shared a compartment on the Hogwarts express. The prefects took turns making the rounds, but the train was very well-behaved that June.

Ginny and Luna were still recovering from their O.W.L.s to some extent. The four Sixth years were quite content with their scores. As the train entered the Midlands, Luna accidently asked Hermione about it when the two were alone in the compartment. "You look very content today, all things considered."

"Things like this summer, Voldemort, the elves; things like that?" Protests over the elves demands were spreading, as were the elves leaving work in protest and house elves being accused of slowing down their work.

"Things like that," Luna agreed.

"Actually, I was thinking about our grades," Hermione admitted. "Probably rather shallow of me, actually."

Luna smiled. "I know you all did well, but how exactly did you do?"

"You don't mind? Even Harry's eyes glaze over when I rehash our scores."

"well, you haven't told me the scores, so it's new to me. And I AM a Ravenclaw. We talk about our grades, too."

Hermione smiled widely, switched seats to next to Luna, whipped out parchment and quill, and wrote out the results while she and Luna talked about the scores and Sixth year classes in general.

Hermione:
Creatures 120, Charms 102, Transfiguration 102, Defence 99, Runes 99, Arithmancy 99, Medical 99 -- average 103;

Harry:
Defence 105, Creatures 101, Charms 100, Muggle Studies 99, Transfiguation 96, Medical 90 -- average 98.5;

Ron:
Defence 96, Creatures 96, Ministry 93, Charms 93, Herbology 87, Divination 84 -- 91.5;

Neville:
Herbology 102, Creatures 102, Defence 96, Ministry 92, Charms 91, Medical 90, Transfiguation 87 -- 94.3;

Dean:
Charms 98, Defence 94, Herbology 90, History 90, Household Potions, 93, Practical Transformations 93 -- 93;

Seamus:
Defence 93, Astronomy 90, History 84, Practical Charms 96, Household Potions 90, Practical Transformations 90 -- 90.5;

Lavender:
Divination 96, Defence 94, Charms 90, Transfiguation 89, Astronomy 87, Household Potions 96 -- 92;

Parvati:
Divination 96, Defence 91, Charms 90, Transfiguation 88, Astronomy 87, Household Potions 96 -- 91.33;

Padma:
Arithmancy 102, Runes 99, Astronomy 98, Potions 96, Herbology 96, History 96, Muggle Studies 91 -- 96.9;

Susan:
Ministry 97, Charms 96, Medical 90, Defence 89, Transfiguation 87, Herbology 87 -- 91;

Millicent:
Creatures 93, Charms 93, Defence 91, Potions 89, Transfiguation 84, Herbology 84 -- 89;

Daphne:
Charms 93, Potions 89, Runes 89, Astronomy 87, History 87, Herbology 86 -- 88.5.

By the time Hermione stopped analyzing the ramifications of every grade of Sixth year in the group, the train was approaching London. Hermione looked up to see Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Susan had returned and were grinning at her. "What?" she demanded. Then she realized what she had done, and how long she had done it. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"That's quite all right," Luna told her. "You needed to tell someone."

"And now you've done that, and we never need hear about it ever again," Ron stated firmly.

Hermione gave Ron a dirty look. She told herself yet again she was very glad she and Ron had broken up almost exactly the year before, and she almost wished they had never dated in the first place.

The platform looked more normal to Harry than it had in years. He hung back, standing next to the train and watched families reunite and his friends and followers march off proudly. While none had said to anyone outside the little group what they were doing, the other students had pretty much put things together.

In seven or eight weeks, Harry realized yet again, it might all be over. He might be dead; Voldemort might be dead; they both might be dead. There didn't seem any other option.

Harry hadn't realized how stiffly he was standing until he felt Hermione's arm go around his waist and her head lean on his shoulder. He could feel her magic, and the feeling of love and safety Hermione projected whenever she was near him calmed and relaxed him. "It will be alright, Harry. You'll win."

"I thought you gave up on Divination?" Harry teased.

"I have; it's not for me. Still, however imprecise, it does exist. And if I'm no good in it, Luna, Parvati, and Lavender are, and they're all confident you will win."

"But will I survive?"

"Plan on it," Hermione said. "Now come on. Let's get off this smelly platform."

"Easy for you to say. You're going home; I'm going to the Dursleys!"

The ride to Little Whinging was very quiet, as it was only Vernon and Harry. Vernon had nothing to say to Harry, and Harry had nothing to add.

Finally, as the approached the exit to Little Whinging, Vernon asked, "Where's that owl of yours?"

"Staying with Hermione."

Vernon grunted. As they approached Privet Drive, however, he managed speech again. "And you're leaving next Sunday?"

"So I've been told."

"And never coming back?"

Harry smiled internally, but kept looking straight ahead. "Not to stay, anyway."

"What does THAT mean?"

"Well, you're still my only relatives. I would imagine we'll see each other from time to time." Vernon turned into the drive. "And if Dudley's children turn out magical, I expect they'll need to see a lot of me."

Vernon missed the brake pedal and crashed into the garage door.

It was an interesting five days for Harry. He was still a tad below average in height, but he was now 5 foot 9 -- long-legged but moderately well-muscled for his frame at 11 stone 11 (165 pounds). Dudley, a widely-built 6 foot, was now 15 stone even (210 pounds) -- 5 stone lighter than he had been the previous summer, one heavier than he had been a Christmas. However, early Monday morning, when Dudley saw the speed at which Harry attacked the punching bag and heavy bag, he knew not to even try to tease Harry.

As soon as the thought had crossed Dudley's mind, he realized that the very idea of attacking Harry was silly. Objectively, Dudley was still a rather dense young man with bullying tendencies. Compared to where he had been before his encounter with the dementors, Dudley was now almost civilized.

Dudley watched Harry some more, and then made a decision. "Harry, you have fast reflexes, but let me show you what you're doing wrong." Harry eyed Dudley suspiciously. "If I trick you, feel free to curse me after your birthday."

Harry smiled. "Fair enough."

Dumbledore hadn't thought it necessary for Harry to stay confined to the house for this week, although he did describe the area Harry should limit himself to. Harry had Dudley out doing some road work with him every morning, although Dudley only did a third of what Harry did. Harry would then join Dudley in the middle of his own workout in the cellar.

It was Thursday when Dudley asked as the two were cooling down, "So what's bothering you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Something is bothering you. You go along fine enough, and then it's like a switch turns off."

"Why do you want to know?"

Dudley shrugged. "Just curious. Better than the nightmares were for the last two years, from my point of view, but it doesn't . . . it just doesn't look good for you."

Harry gave his cousin a twisted smile. "Well, believe it or not, some time in mid-August, I have to face a very powerful, evil wizard and fight him to the death."

Dudley's jaw dropped. "You're shitting me, right?"

Harry shook his head. "Believe me, I wish I was."

Dudley shook his head. "And you wondered why Dad thinks you and your kind are freaky." He looked at Harry. "Was what that guy told us about the attack true?"

"What did he tell you?"

"That if I wasn't under this blood spell stuff, I would have either been killed or turned into a werewolf?"

"That's true, at least."

Dudley thought. "Is it bad being a werewolf? Or, well. . . ."

"Cool? No, it's not cool. Remember how sick you were just from the scratches?"

Dudley grimaced. He remembered.

"Well, imagine feeling that way for two days before the full moon every month, and for three days afterwards. That would be a good transformation. Werewolves are very violent in their wolf forms, and if they can't attack someone, they either attack themselves or have to half-poison themselves to prevent it. One werewolf I know, who's been one for over thirty years now . . . you can't imagine how scarred he is. If you kill someone when you're transformed, you're destroyed. If you seriously injure another wizard, you're destroyed. If you're a Muggle, non-magical, and are bitten by a werewolf, you're destroyed."

"What!"

"A Muggle werewolf goes insane over a year or two. Most Muggles who are injured as much as you were are killed, too, just so there don't have to be any explanations."

"Then why wasn't I? Or the girls?"

"The girls that survived were raped by people, not werewolves. You weren't because you already knew about the magical world."

"That guy said something like that, but I thought I must have imagined it. So, are all the ones that were bitten. . . ."

"The ones who attacked you, and the ones bitten, are all dead."

Dudley shook his head, "I guess there's nothing I can do to help, so I'll just wish you good luck."

"Actually, there might be."

Harry was showered, dressed up, and at Mrs. Figg's at 11:15 Friday morning.

"Harry, she's not going to be here for twenty minutes."

"I know, but she tends to be early."

"Harry, she's traveling by timed portkey."

Harry shrugged and dangled some string for the cats to play with.

"May I at least thank you for sending the elves every morning?" One elf came for an hour every morning. Hermione and Harry had decided the elves needed to learn to pace themselves, and the accumulated dust and odor had taken a few weeks to get clean one reasonable hour at a time.

"You're welcome. I'll be glad when everything is worked out for the elves. It's tough finding enough for them to do."

"Really?" She thought for a moment. "Perhaps that's why so many Old Families have such accumulations of junk. If they had to clean them, they might not be such magpies."

"Mrs. Figg? What was your maiden name?"

"Stewart . . . but you're right. James' maternal grandmother was my oldest sister." Harry had wondered why and how the Squib had found herself involved with the Order.

"Too bad it was from my father's side," Harry grumbled.

"What? Oh, of course. However, if I had come from Lily's family, I would not have known about magic, and so would not have been chosen for your guardian."

Harry heaved a huge sigh. "No, I supposed not." As much as he loved magic, Harry sometimes wished there was no magical world, and that he had grown up 'normally.'

Harry was glad when Hermione showed up on schedule. There was really little for them to do in Little Whinging. Hermione would stay at Mrs. Figg's Friday and Saturday night. Harry would work out in the early mornings, do a few chores around #4, and then shower and walk over to Mrs. Figg's around 9:00 am. They would stay together all day, mostly sitting out in Mrs. Figg's back garden, although they would walk around the village a bit. They would go to eat dinner at the Dursleys' each evening, and Harry would walk Hermione back to Mrs. Figg's, where Harry would stay until 10:00.

On Sunday morning, Harry followed the same routine. When he left at 9:00, however, he knew he was really saying 'goodbye'. If he failed, well, he preferred not to think about that. If he succeeded, Harry doubted if he would ever be back to Privet Drive for more than a dinner, mostly likely when Mary was there and Vernon wasn't.

Which was fine with Harry. While Vernon made himself scarce, Dudley and Petunia managed to wish Harry 'goodbye and good luck.' They didn't want to know the details, but they meant their good wishes.

Harry and Hermione took a cab to see her uncle, and then on to Grimmauld Place.