Training and Confrontations

Chapter XXXVI Sunday, January 5, 1997

It took nearly an hour to check all of the students to see if they were under the Imperius Curse. It might have taken even longer, except that Dean, Lavender, and Parvati had noticed something was slightly off in Seamus' behavior soon after the trip started. Parvati had clued in Padma, and Padma had notified Remus and Tonks, who were on Platform duty in Hogsmeade. Dumbledore had freed Seamus from Voldemort's control within minutes of Seamus' entering the castle.

Padma had also carefully talked to several students she knew well after Parvati had clued her in to Seamus' behavior, and the likely reason behind it. She, Ernie, Justin, Terry, Susan, Hannah, and Mandy had then moved through the train, just talking with all the students. Three of the five students they had thought suspicious also were under the Imperius, while one was very angry at her boyfriend, and the fifth was coming down with dragon pox. As for the three actually under the Imperius, all were younger Gryffindors and all were freed of the Imperius even more easily than Seamus (since they were under the control of weaker wizards than Voldemort). None of the other students were under the Curse.

Aurors were quickly dispatched to their family homes.

The welcome back dinner was therefore a very chaotic affair. The announcement of the Valentine's activities made it even more so. Finally, well after 10:00 (far later than usual), the staff finally managed to get the students out of the great hall and on their way to their common rooms, if not to bed.

All the students save one.

"Potter! Didn't you hear the headmaster? Get out of here and off to your common room!"

Harry regarded Severus Snape with cool consideration for a few moments -- just long enough to make Snape hesitate between yelling or waiting a moment. At that point, Harry politely said, "Since I need to see the headmaster on an Order matter, rather than a school or personal matter, I'll just wait, Professor." Dumbledore was busy conferring with Remus and Tonks, who had come in through the teachers entrance as the students had moved out.

"And I am ordering you out!"

Harry slowly stood up, bringing him face to face with the Potions teacher. When Harry had first come to Hogwarts, Snape had loomed over him, and Snape had been pulling that trick on Harry ever since. Snape was still nearly three inches taller than Harry was, but Harry was no longer intimidated by Severus Snape.

Harry kept his voice polite, but said, "Order all you wish, Professor."

"How dare you!"

"I really suggest that you not touch your wand again, Professor."

"Are you threatening me, Potter?"

"Fingering your wand implies a threat against me," Harry said calmly.

Snape gritted his teeth, but before he could respond, Dumbledore had come up. "Is there a problem, Severus?"

"Potter. . . ."

"Mister Potter, Severus."

"MISTER Potter refuses to go to his common room."

"If I am to be the leader you want me to be," Harry reminded Dumbledore, "then unfortunately I have to be one of the people breaking the news to those students. I have to know what is going on."

"You are not a leader, Potter!" Snape, his nerves on edge from all the Legilimency he had performed that evening, nearly screamed. "You are nothing more than a tool!"

Harry said nothing. He merely looked at Dumbledore. The headmaster knew that if he sent Harry on his way, his influence over Harry would be over, and quite likely either Harry or Dumbledore would lose a great deal of influence with the students. Dumbledore did not want to break with Harry. All personal considerations aside, there was a great deal he had yet to teach Harry. "Severus, please attend to your common room."

"Headmaster! I MUST protest! Do not let this tool rise above his station!"

"At least this tool has some usefulness left," Harry stated. Harry would have been prepared to state that Snape was about the most pallid any person not a vampire could be. Nevertheless, Snape's face lost even more color, and he simply turned and left the hall.

"Harry, if you only knew how much Professor Snape has suffered. . . ." Here Dumbledore stopped and shook his head sadly.

"I am sure he has," Harry agreed, "but that's no excuse for his trying to make me suffer along with him."

Dumbledore sighed. "Very well, Harry."

"How bad is it, sir?"

"Very bad. All four families were massacred; tortured in unimaginable ways, especially the Muggles."

"I don't know the younger students very well. Are they all from Muggle and Half-blood families?"

"They were all the Gryffindor cases of a magical-Muggle relationship, other than Mister Thomas, and that is not widely known."

"Did . . . did any of the students witness any of it? They could have been Obliviated."

"No," Dumbledore said. "While physical pain makes the Imperius easier to apply, that kind of psychological stress can be counterproductive."

"Why didn't my scar even twinge?" Harry asked. "Are my shields that powerful?"

"In part, and I am certain Voldemort is being careful as well."

"When will the funerals be? Do you know yet?"

"No, I do not." Dumbledore seemed to hesitate.

Harry spoke up, "I need to at least go with Seamus. If they're all at the same time, then I can't be at all of them. Still, if the security can be arranged, I should go at least for Seamus, if not all of them."

"We shall see," Dumbledore agreed. They came up to the Gryffindor common room, where Professor McGonagall was waiting for them.

"I had hoped I would never have to do this again," McGonagall said. Seeing Harry's look, she added, "We had to do this too many times in the first war." She looked at Dumbledore. "Of course, you and Professor Dippet had to do this during the two wars with Grindelwald."

"True," Dumbledore agreed. "While the first time was in some ways the hardest, the subsequent ones have all been as difficult, if in different ways."

"I just hope I don't throw up," Harry said.

"If you do, try and regurgitate afterwards, in private," McGonagall said. "I usually do."

The three entered the common room. They were each glad to see that none of the four students were being shunned. Harry could see from the interplay of glances that Hermione and Colin had both had a few things to say to some of the students on the subject.

Seamus stood up shakily, and Lavender helped him to come over to Harry. Bonnie More brought her best friend, Deborah Vane, to Harry. Third year David Bowman came over, Natalie MacDonald holding his hand. Dennis Creevy guided his girl friend Julia Carson. Dumbledore quietly took a step back, forcing McGonagall to do the same. The Gryffindors wanted Harry, not them.

"Those monsters. . . ." Seamus said, tears in his eyes, "those monsters . . . killed our families, didn't they, Harry?"

"Yes, Seamus, I'm afraid they did."

Deborah and Julia buried their face in Bonnie's and Dennis' shoulders. David simply stood, unblinking, while Seamus grimaced in agony. Harry turned around and said to the two teachers, "I think they'll need to see you in the morning."

Dumbledore placed a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder, and then went and did the same for each grieving student, then he and Professor McGonagall left. A jerk of Harry's head set the common room into motion. Dean and Parvati guided Seamus and Lavender to a sofa. Ginny helped Natalie sit David down, while Dennis helped Julia. Harry knelt and took Deborah and Bonnie into his arms. The three boys' prefects shooed all the other boys up to their dorms, while Katie and Hermione guided the girls out.

The common room was quiet, except for the sobbing.

A little after midnight, everyone was in bed except for Harry, Hermione, and Katie.

"But Professor Dumbledore said. . . ."

"I don't care, Harry," Katie stated. "We can't have you having any nightmares tonight. Now, both of you, take off your shoes and robes and get under those covers!"

"But. . . ." Hermione started to say.

"We shouldn't argue with the Head Girl," Harry teased. "It would set a bad precedent for next year."

"Ha ha," Hermione said, bending over and untying her shoes.

"Get some rest," Katie said, kissing Harry's forehead. "We're going to need your strength."

As the pair snuggled on the sofa, Hermione whispered, "I love you." Harry kissed her, and hugged her tight.

Harry was distracted from his dream of catching snitches by the sound of a crying girl. As Harry made his way towards the crying girl, he slowly became aware of the fact that this was no longer a normal dream.

As he thought that, Harry saw Voldemort, standing over a small, crying girl. The rest of the scene was pitch black. "I was wondering where you were keeping your thoughts," Harry said.

"It wasn't easy establishing contact," Voldemort admitted. "I have been trying all night, and it is nearly dawn. It was even more difficult than last year. That was difficult because I did not want you to know the messages were from me."

"Until the last one."

"Even then, I did not want you to know it was directly from me, willed by me as it were. So, this should have been easier. Congratulations on your improvements. Wait!" Voldemort warned, as it looked like Harry was about to flood him with the positive magic, like he had in Hogsmeade. "First, are you so certain you can safely do that while in this dream connection? Second, watch."

Voldemort moved his hand, and the scene brightened. They were in a small room, and Julian Malfoy was crouched over the crying girl, a long knife in his hand.

"You'll kill her anyway," Harry said.

"I swear my wizard's oath, Potter, that if you do not attack me first, she shall live, and be safely delivered to you later in the morning."

Harry hesitated.

"If I am injured, she will be killed. If I am killed, my follower can only escape the room by killing her. I shall keep my oaths I make tonight, Potter."

"Go on, then."

"Do you know who she is?"

"It doesn't matter who she is. She's a little girl. I don't care if she's a Muggle, a Pure-Blood, the only daughter of a wealthy family, or a poor orphan, like us."

That shot seemed to set Voldemort back for a moment, but just for a moment. "Actually, she is the last Mudblood."

"She's the what?"

"That Ministry you fight for is very incompetent."

"I don't fight for the Ministry, and if it's poorly run, people like Lucius Malfoy helped make it that way."

"True. In any event, they have a list of every magical child, including all the Mudbloods. All the Mudbloods too young to be in Hogwarts are dead, except for this one. Would you like to know her name? It's Rose Evans."

Harry blinked.

"Oh, I will not claim for certain she is related to your lovely mother, but as you can see, she does have auburn hair. Although you cannot see it, she does have brilliant green eyes, just like you and your mother."

"What do you want?"

"I don't suppose, if I promised to go away for two hundred years or so, you could restrain yourself from pursuing me?"

"No, I couldn't," Harry said.

"I didn't think so. In that case . . . no, no, I've changed my mind. I shall go with my alternative plan. Search if you wish, no one will find me, or my remaining followers. I swear, you shall not hear directly from me until just before midnight on the Thirtieth of June except in the unlikely event I am flushed from where I am going. The little girl will be portkeyed to the gates of Hogwarts within a minute of your waking up. Go to the Old Man. Just be careful. I have lost confidence in one of my servants, and I do not want him in my final plan. I considered killing him if he could not kill you, but I have just decided you might like the rat . . . if you can find him. Goodbye, Harry."

"Harry!" Hermione hissed, shaking Harry's shoulders. She had obviously been trying to wake him up for several moments. "Wake up! Your scar is bleeding!"

"I'm not surprised," Harry said, although the scar did not really hurt. He sat up and started to pull on his shoes. "Quickly, run and get Ginny down here. I'll need her in her terrier form in a few minutes, so don't worry about her getting fully dressed. Now!"

"Right."

Harry hurried up the stairs to get the Marauders' Map, Ron, and Neville. The five students had just gotten downstairs when there was a light knock on the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Let Luna in," Harry said.

Hermione opened the portrait, and was not at all surprised to see Luna, dressed and ready for action.

"It was dangerous coming here," Harry told her. "Voldemort and I just had a talk. He claims he's going away until the end of June. He also claims he's murdered every Muggle-born child too young to be in Hogwarts but one. That one, he claims, he's portkeying to the gates. He also claims that Wormtail is in the castle. I need to speak with Dumbledore. Hermione, take the map. Luna, Neville, take her to Remus and Tonks, and tell them what I just said. Keep an eye on the map, in case Pettigrew is anywhere near you. Ron, Ginny, transform. If he comes near us in rat-form, you get him. If he becomes human, I'll get him. Let's go."

Harry and the two dogs were just coming down the main stairs to the entrance hall, when Harry saw a glint from a silver hand at the bottom of the stairs and heard an intake of breath behind him. He turned and yelled, "Expelliarmus!" Snape's wand came flying while Snape himself was hurled backwards into a suit of armor. Meanwhile, Harry had not waited to catch the wand. He had swirled around and yelled, "Expelliarmus!" a second time, which caught the slow-moving Pettigrew before he could get a curse off.

"Sic 'em!" Harry cried, as he caught a wand in both hands. He yelled up at Snape, "You idiot! Pettigrew is in the castle!"

Pettigrew had at first transformed back into Wormtail as he had flown against the inside castle wall. Snape had managed to crawl to the top of the stairs in time to see two dogs approaching a rat near the wall when he was stunned to see Potter transform into a bear larger than any bear he had ever imagined. The giant bear leapt down the stairs towards the dogs. Snape also saw that Potter had dropped two wands when he had transformed.

Dog!Ginny had snagged Wormtail's tail with her teeth, while dog!Ron had just missed biting the rat's head off. Wormtail transformed back into Pettigrew, shoving dog!Ron ten yards away with his silver hand. Pettigrew was just reaching around to crush dog!Ginny's skull, since her teeth were still implanted deep in his buttocks, when he was run over by just over 1000 pounds of Kodiak bear.

Meanwhile, Snape had dragged himself down the stairs to the two wands. He considered several options, but then saw that Potter had just changed back. Potter lifted Pettigrew off the floor and threw him to the floor six feet away. Weasley was just standing, and he landed a quick kick into Pettigrew's gut. Ginny Weasley had even more accurate aim, and Snape and the two teen boys winced as her kick went home. Pettigrew screeched in agony and passed out.

Potter looked up and said, "Professor Snape, there is even more to this than Pettigrew. May we leave him with you while we finish going to the headmaster?"

"Aren't you worried what I might do to him?" Snape asked, standing and coming down the stairs.

"No," Harry said. "I really don't care what you do to him, since I doubt you'd let him go."

"Very true. Go."

The three went.

They met the other trio in front of the gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office.

"We caught Wormtail!" Harry said.

"Great! Remus and Tonks are checking the gate."

"It seems you all have tales to tell," Dumbledore said, who had suddenly appeared before them. "Harry? Go ahead."

Harry started to explain what had happened. Just as he was getting started, Snape came along with a well-bound Pettigrew floating beside him. Tonks and Remus came from the other direction, and Remus was carrying a small form with him. Dumbledore therefore brought them all to his office, and sent for McGonagall and Pomfrey. Harry told his tale, only omitting his and Snape's run-in. Remus then brief told of finding the then-still crying young girl at the gates. She had fallen asleep on the way inside.

"We did perform revealing spells," Tonks added. "She seems genuine."

"Could Voldemort have really killed all the young Muggle-born in Britain, except her?" Hermione asked, tears in her eyes.

"If he somehow had the list of names, yes, and in Ireland and the smaller islands as well," Dumbledore said. "Nymphadora, could you please go to the Ministry and start inquiries?"

"Yes, sir."

Harry grabbed her wrist, but spoke to Dumbledore. "Could she be a cousin of mine, sir?"

"It is possible, but she would have to be at least a second cousin and more likely she is even a more distant relation than that. And, of course, she need not be a relation at all. Need I remind you, Evans is a common Welsh last name, now found throughout Muggle Britain?"

"No, sir. Still, if she is related, and there aren't any closer relatives. . . ."

"I understand, Harry."

"So do I," Tonks said, stroking Harry's cheek. Harry let go of her wrist. She hurried from the office.

"Now, before the aurors arrive, I think, Madam Pomfrey, we need to tuck the girl into bed, after a few more testing spells, and then I need to relieve Pettigrew of that dangerous prosthesis."

"That should be nasty," Madam Pomfrey said. "We should get started."

As the group dispersed, Snape held Harry back just a few steps past the gargoyle. "I was wrong earlier, but I still don't like you, Potter."

"I understand, sir," Harry replied. "I'm not in your class, and I don't intend to challenge your authority."

"I shall endeavor to do the same," Snape said, obviously disliking the taste of his own words. Still, as much as he disliked the Boy, Snape knew there was little else he could do.

Harry and Snape separated, and both were glad to do so.