Blood Magic

A Quorum of Weasleys

Fred and George escorted Harry back to Hogwarts, explaining along the way that they were not -- properly -- permitted into Gryffindor tower, but they expected to attend the victory celebration somehow. Harry allowed that no one was likely to report their presence in their own house. They walked together up to the headmaster's office.

"Cinnamon Dragon's Eggs," Harry said to the guardian, and the door opened. Single-file, they went onto the staircase, and it brought them up to the landing. Dumbledore was coming towards them. He greeted them with a perfunctory nod.

"Headmaster --"

"I'm afraid I have very little time, Mr. Potter. Is it quick?"

Harry waved an arm at the twins. "They thought I was an impostor. I've convinced them I'm not, but they have questions --"

Dumbledore held up a hand, and Harry fell silent.

"That will not be quick," Dumbledore said. He looked sharply at the twins. "You thought he was not Harry?"

"He looks different, sir."

"He sounds different."

"I see." Dumbledore looked troubled. Slowly, he inclined his head. "We must talk, then. After breakfast tomorrow, perhaps?" At the twins' nods, Dumbledore turned to Harry. "You, as well."

"Yes, sir."

"And none of you are to speak of it before then." At their murmurs of consent, Dumbledore's anxious look fled, and he smiled merrily. "Now get to Gryffindor, the lot of you! You have a victory to celebrate."

The twins glanced at each other in quick delight.

"Right away, sir!" George said happily. He caught at Harry's right arm, Fred grabbed the other, and between them they dragged their young business partner back onto the staircase.

In the Gryffindor common room, the party was building up steam. Fred and George were soon moving from one cluster of Gryffindors to another, hawking products, taking orders, and accepting compliments on their exit last year. Harry watched them for a while. Occasionally someone would come up to him and compliment him on the game, and Harry would say thank you, and then comment on how well the team was developing.

'That catch was spectacular," one of the younger girls said. Harry watched Fred take a small object from his pocket and drop it ostentatiously into his butterbeer. A warm orange color flowed up out of the bottle and into the air around him.

"Thanks," Harry said absently. "The Chasers have melded spectacularly, don't you think so?"

"And such a fine furglewattsel!"

"Yeah, well...." Harry blinked and looked at the girl. "A what?"

Zoë stuck her tongue out at him. "Just seeing if you'd notice."

Harry sighed. He certainly hadn't noticed it was Zoë speaking. "Sorry. It had been a long day by noon."

Zoë grinned and sat down next to him. "The players only seem to enjoy these parties about half the time."

"We all slept badly and woke up early."

"Not to mention flew as hard as you could."

"Yeah."

Zoë looked past him and bit her lip. "Your girlfriend is descending. I better go."

"Stay."

"Why?"

"Running away looks guilty. You don't want to get me in trouble, do you?"

When Hermione reached them, Zoë was collapsed back into the cushions giggling.

"Am I interrupting?" Hermione asked.

"Not at all." Harry smiled at her. "I'm just taking your advice."

"What advice?"

"About finding my inner Slytherin." He raised his eyebrows at her. "He's more entertaining than I am, apparently. Or maybe that's just spending too much of my day with the twins." He patted the couch next to him. "Sit."

She sat awkwardly. "I think I said 'your inner sneak.'"

He shrugged. "Same thing."

She looked uncomfortable. "Did you ask them for cigarettes?"

Harry shrugged. He could feel himself blushing. "Sort of. They asked if they could bring me anything, and that's what I said I wanted."

"Were you really helpless?"

Harry laughed. "Really. But they hadn't thought I would be. You know how they don't think things through." He glanced over at Zoë, including her, then told them the story of the cigarettes, of floating out of reach of the tree, the wall, and his fallen wand, and of Goyle's threat and Draco's solution. He found that he didn't particularly mind making himself out to be a prat, even though he would have been humiliated if anyone else had told the story in that way. That was, after all, much of what made it funny. Even Hermione couldn't keep from smiling at parts of it.

"So that's why you all came in to the pub together."

"Exactly. Fred and George looked like they were swallowing poison when they agreed to walk down with us."

"I'm surprised the Slytherins didn't mess you up, at least," Zoë said.

"Draco says he's using me for political advantage, establishing himself as a moderate."

"How sweet. Wouldn't handing you over to You-Know-Who be a greater political advantage?"

Harry shrugged. "Briefly. But Voldemort won't rescue his father."

Hermione collapsed back with a harsh exhalation. "Thankfully."

"Tom's a particularly capricious master," Harry observed. "Lucius Malfoy knew that, but I don't think Draco did."

"Tom?" Zoë lifted her eyebrows in question.

Harry ducked his head. "Voldemort."

"Is that his given name? Tom Voldemort?"

Hermione snorted with laughter. Harry chuckled. "Tom Riddle. He made up 'Lord Voldemort' back when he was at Hogwarts."

A few minutes later, with a few nervous glances at Zoë, Hermione asked Harry if he could take "that package" for her, now. Harry thought she was acting far too 'cloak and dagger' about the whole thing. With a wink at Zoë, he agreed.

"Great!" Hermione's relief was visible in her entire bearing. "Meet me at the bottom of the girls' staircase."

She ran off, and Harry sauntered over more casually.

"What is it?" Zoë whispered, following him.

"A pet. Don't tell."

Her eyes sparkled at him in reply. "Does Ginny know?"

"She will soon enough, I expect. As far as I can tell, Hermione tells her everything."

Zoë giggled. "Including how well you kiss."

Harry didn't dare look at her.

Harry took the ferret up to his room. It had come with a cage, bedding, and water bottle, all shrunk down for transport. Harry got all that settled on the far side of his bed from the door, put Shadow in the cage, and went to fill the water bottle. When he came back, the Weasley twins were sitting on opposite ends of his bed, and had the ferret chasing madly after a little fuzzy spot of orange which they were controlling with their wands.

"Are you supposed to be up here?" Harry demanded.

"Probably not."

The ferret collapsed exhausted onto its side, its long flank heaving with quick breaths. The orange spot dissipated like steam in a cold breeze.

"But you wanted us to complete an outfit for you."

"So we need to see these 'sexy Muggle trousers.'"

"All right." Harry picked up the ferret. "But let me put Shadow in his cage, first. Poor little beast -- you've worn him out."

Fred smirked. "He loved it, though."

Considering the number of times he had shared the team changing rooms with them, Harry felt oddly self-conscious about dropping his trousers in front of the twins. He supposed it was because they had their attention on him, now. He kept his back to them while he was drawing on the leather trousers. When he did up the zipper, a clearly appreciative murmur followed. Harry whirled.

One of the twins -- Harry thought it was Fred -- was still sitting at the foot of his bed, but the other had stood, and was leaning against the bedpost.

"Well," the standing twin said. He stepped closer, smirking. Harry thought this unusually aggressive of George, if it was George. Whoever it was began to walk slowly around him. Instinctively, Harry turned to keep him in sight. Definitely George, he decided. Fred sighed, then stood and mirrored his twin's path. Both circled slowly, carefully maintaining their positions on either side of Harry, so he could not face them both.

"Will you stop that?" Harry snapped, after two such circles.

"Very nice," George purred suggestively.

"Didn't know you were into that sort of thing."

Fred laughed. "He's just into making you blush, really."

"Fred!" George complained. "Don't spoil my fun."

Harry thought this was making him even redder than the original circling. Desperately, he tried to regain control of the situation. "Um, so, I forgot to get a shirt, and I don't really have anything ... suitable."

"Mm." George laughed slightly. "Tight and sleeveless?"

Fred looked thoughtful. "Or some elaborate thing with piles of lace?"

"Enough lace to hide a wand?"

"I was thinking tight," Harry admitted.

"Ah, all right. Nasty Muggle bad boy?"

Harry choked. "I suppose."

"Take off your shirt," Fred ordered.

"What?" Harry yelped.

"We need to see what you'd look good in. Take it off, now." Fred laughed. "George, you've terrified the boy. I've never seen him act so shy."

Embarrassed, Harry pulled off his shirt. The twins circled him again, but their manner was now businesslike, rather than predatory.

"Not bad," George remarked conversationally.

"Could do with a bit more definition, if he hopes to get away with tight."

"Wouldn't be too hard, though. He's got a bit of muscle already, and nothing in the way."

George stopped beside his brother, in front of Harry. Harry couldn't help noticing that the twins, even with their shirts on, were obviously muscular. "All right. Tight it is. But you should do a bit of upper body work every other night until then."

"Maybe take a Beater's position in practice occasionally."

"And we'll send you an alternate, in case you decide you can't carry it."

Fred cocked his head to the side. "Shiny?"

"No," Harry said firmly. He stopped and reconsidered.

"But yes?" George suggested.

"I don't know. I mean, it's a fancy dress, right, so what I'd normally wear doesn't really apply...." Harry considered that. A fancy dress -- but of what? Muggle bad boy, like George had said? Just anyone but me, I think. He frowned. "I'll need someplace to put my wand."

"We'll get you a leg sheath. How long is it?"

"Eleven inches."

"Great." George stepped back. "Well, get changed. We'll be downstairs."

"Okay." Harry turned away, and was completely unprepared for the solid slap that George landed on his arse in passing. Harry jumped forward and banged his knee on his trunk. "Ow!" He spun round to see George smirking at him from the doorway, while Fred tried to cover a smile.

"Git!"

"If you're going to dress like that, you know, you better get used to it."

Fred snorted. "Assuming you're in company as ill-behaved as George."

Harry, in a tangle of indignation, embarrassment, and amusement, managed a strangled, "Out!"

The twins left. Harry could hear their laughter echoing in the stairway.

By the time Harry had changed back into his robes, his embarrassment had subsided. Thinking over the rest of the day, he felt quite certain that George felt no genuine attraction to him -- he was just taking advantage of an opportunity to make Harry feel uncomfortable. He decided to go downstairs and behave normally -- if he showed any embarrassment or anger, or even avoided the twins, George would claim it as a victory.

Other parts of his day came back to him, now. Draco, Harry thought, had been interesting. Harry trusted him more than he had earlier. But Remus.... Harry remembered the last of the Marauders speaking eagerly to the young woman from the WFU. If Remus had not told him that his attractions were exclusively to men, Harry would have judged them to be a couple. The sparkle of joy on Remus's face when she smiled, his dismay at her disdain.... Harry recalled how Remus had warded his rooms when Miss Forest had visited earlier, and he wondered what relationship existed between the two werewolves.

He had a lingering feeling that he ought to tell someone that the two had been together -- Dumbledore, perhaps, or Severus. If Remus was emotionally involved with Miss Forest, in whatever manner, certainly someone ought to know? Or perhaps he should confront Remus himself.

In the common room, Harry was preoccupied enough with this quandary that he scarcely noticed the twins. It wasn't until Fred sat down next to him that he realized they had been nearby several times.

"Harry?" Fred looked serious again. Harry wondered if he would ever get used to that look on Fred's face. "You're not upset at George, are you? He was just winding you up."

"Uh... actually, I'd forgotten all about it. I was worrying about something else that happened today."

"With the Slytherins?"

Harry shook his head. "I can't tell you about it. Sorry."

"Got a lot you can't tell me about these days, haven't you?"

Harry shrugged.

Fred looked at him sadly. "Can I do anything?"

Harry shrugged again. He looked around at the partying Gryffindors. At least five people, including a rather drunk Seamus, were sporting mood wings, and several clouds of color hung here and there. Harry found his face cracking in a smile. The details were new, but it was a marvelously familiar chaos. The twins were here. "Get me a butterbeer," he suggested. "With no er ... extra features?"

Fred grinned. "Right you are, mate."

Hermione came over a minute later. She settled on the arm of Harry's chair and handed him a bottle. "Fred told me to bring this to you."

Harry looked quizzically at it. "Unopened?"

"He promises."

Harry ignored the bottle and tugged at Hermione's waist until she slid down into his lap. She gave a little shriek.

"Got you."

Her cheeks dimpled with a smile. "Yes, you do."

Harry kissed her -- on the cheek, as she twisted away, laughing. "Know what?"

"What?"

"You're better than butterbeer."

She swatted him lightly. "I'd hope so!"

After breakfast the next day, Harry and the twins went to the headmaster's office. "Cinnamon Dragon's Eggs" no longer worked as a password. Harry glanced over at Fred and George. "Mood wings." The stone shifted. Harry gave Fred and George a grin and thought they looked surprisingly tense. "Consider it a greeting," he said, and stepped onto the stairs.

The door to Dumbledore's office was open, and Dumbledore was waiting. He nodded at them, and rose from his chair to come around the desk. "Fred, George -- so good to see you. The outside world is treating you well, I hear?" At their nods, he smiled and gesture to a door behind him. "Please go through there -- I've called a small meeting. Harry and I will join you in a minute."

Fred and George glanced nervously at each other, then nodded in perfect synchronization. "Yes, sir," George said, and they vanished through the door. Harry felt very alone.

"I just wanted to warn you, Harry -- if the four youngest Weasleys are to know your secret, I felt the elder four should, as well. So they are all in there, with your father, and Tonks, because appearance is something of a specialty for her." He gave Harry a mischievous smile and gestured grandly after Fred and George. "Let us brave the assembled might of the Weasleys!" With that, Dumbledore stepped to the door, opened it, and waved Harry through.

Harry walked nervously into what proved to be a small, dark-paneled room, mostly taken up by a table with five chairs on each side and one at either end. The assembled Weasleys were imposing in the formal context. Tonks, perhaps unconsciously, had set her hair to a matching red. Severus sat at the foot of the table, an empty chair buffering him from Charlie. He looked like a crow in a crowd of robins.

"Harry?" Mrs. Weasley asked questioningly. As Harry met her eyes, her expression changed, becoming unusually guarded. She shrank back.

Harry shivered. She was looking at him almost as the twins had done. "Dumbledore...." she began shakily, looking to the headmaster.

"Hello, Mrs. Weasley." Harry said politely. He crossed gratefully to the empty chair next to his father. "You saved me a seat?" he teased.

Severus lifted his eyebrows. "No one else will sit with me."

Harry grinned at him. "Oh, and why would that be? Because you're sarcastic and argumentative?"

Severus smirked. "Of course not. They're just being unfair."

"Ah, I see." Harry rolled his eyes. "My mistake."

Severus sniggered. Harry looked around at the others. Most of the assembled Weasleys were watching with varying degrees of confusion and horror. Slow, matched looks of calculation were crossing the twins' faces. Ron, to Harry's surprise, looked lost, rather than angry or contemptuous. Ginny sent him a little private smile, and Harry realized this was the first time anyone but staff members had seen him interacting naturally with Severus.

"We ... discovered something about Harry, this summer," Dumbledore began. "I found myself needing to explain the matter to Fred and George, and Ronald and Virginia already know. Under the circumstances, and as you have all been close to him, I thought I should include the rest of the family. This information is not currently, however, known to the Order at large. Remus Lupin is the only member we have needed to tell, prior to this."

Everyone was watching him expectantly, and with visible impatience. Dumbledore took a noticeable breath.

"Molly, Arthur -- you will recall the August Offensive of 1979, in which Voldemort's forces pursued pockets of resistance across the channel and in Ireland. Severus reported to us as much as he could glean in advance, then went to take his place with the Death Eaters." Dumbledore hesitated. "But not directly. Between, he went to James and Lily, and he requested Lily for Herem."

Mrs. Weasley sussed it. Harry looked away from the sudden horror on her face and saw that Mr. Weasley was still puzzling this through. Bill and Charlie appeared mystified -- Harry suspected they did not recognize the spell name.

"What did you need an heir for?!" Mrs. Weasley snapped indignantly. Severus, at Harry's side, flinched. Mrs. Weasley's eyes narrowed and her voice grew more shrill. "You hated your family; you had no property. You just wanted her."

Harry, next to Severus, heard his breath catch. His father leaned forward. "I wanted her to know I thought her worthy. If I died, I wanted her to know that. I wanted it to be over, for her." He sneered. "But you wouldn't understand such things."

Harry, looking at the bloom of pity on Mrs. Weasley's face, thought she understood such things quite well -- perhaps better than Severus. Severus was breathing audibly. Cautiously, Harry settled his fingertips on Severus's forearm. The man shot a final resentful look at Mrs. Weasley, then sat back, his head high, but his eyes set on the worn surface of the table. Harry squeezed his arm once, then moved his hand away.

"When Severus appeared to be dead, Lily conceived," Dumbledore went on, as if there had been no interruption. "When he returned alive, they were unsure what to do. The prophecy had been discussed here, and with that and ... other things ... they feared he could not keep a child safe from Voldemort. They decided to conceal it."

Mr. Weasley was now rubbing wearily at his forehead, and Fred and George were wide-eyed with astonishment. Bill's eyes flicked appraisingly between Harry and Severus. We should have sat on opposite sides of the room, Harry thought. It would look like a tennis match.

"They cast the Paternity Charm pre-natally, for fullest effect, to replace Severus's features with those of James." Charlie finally got it. His head snapped to the side to stare at them. Harry thought his wide-eyed astonishment nearly matched that on the twins, earlier.

"Lily used Arithmancy to extend the spell to Harry's sixteenth birthday. At that point, they no doubt expected, he would be free of the need for a guardian and could decide himself on the best action, in the unlikely event that Severus was still alive. Afraid that they might take the secret to their graves -- as, indeed, they did -- they time-sent letters to Harry's birthday, so that Harry and Severus would know what was happening, and why, when the charm began to fail.

"After the unfortunate attack on Harry's aunt and uncle, I placed Harry with Severus, hoping they might learn to get along." Dumbledore beamed at them. "That, at least, worked far better than I had expected."

Severus raised an eyebrow at Harry, who held back a nervous laugh.

"But ..." Mr. Weasley waved his hands helplessly. "If Snape is Harry's father, and you find him suitable --" a nervous glance at Severus was his only indication that he questioned this appraisal -- "why ever have you let Fudge get his claws into Harry?"

"Don't worry, Weasley," Severus said dryly; "we won't let the confirmation hearing pass."

"I want Severus to remain in his current position until Halloween, if possible, or at least until the October full moon."

"Huh!" Bill leaned back in his chair. "Can't very well stay with Voldemort when he's Harry's guardian, now can he?"

"I will be green-listed."

Bill caught Harry's eye. "Death sentence, he means."

Harry shuddered, his mind, unbidden, calling up a memory of green light, but he managed a nod.

"We have considered all of this," Dumbledore said warningly. "Yesterday, however, a new complication came to my attention -- Fred and George arrived. Apparently, to someone who has not seen him for a month, Harry's physical changes are quite noticeable."

"We thought he was an impostor," Fred said. Harry saw Ginny's little twitch and suppressed a smile.

"Since Fudge has indicated that he plans to visit, this is of some concern," Dumbledore concluded. "Any ideas on how to handle this are welcome."

Charlie shrugged. "You could transfigure him, couldn't you?"

"Transfiguration accelerates the effect," Severus countered.

"The effect of the charm wearing off," Harry explained. "I've already made it worse twice -- once by something Fred and George gave me before I knew, and once by cracking my head -- blood loss."

They all considered this. Hesitantly, Mr. Weasley said:

"I know it's not -- it's bordering on Dark Arts, Dumbledore, but I expect you could affect Fudge's mind enough to make him see what he expects."

Dumbledore nodded. "I am capable of that. I would rather not."

Bill cocked his head to the side and regarded Harry thoughtfully. "How about a mask?"

Harry laughed. Everyone else nodded, or at least appeared intrigued.

"You can't be serious!" Harry exclaimed.

"He means a spell mask, Harry," Ron explained. He reddened and looked away. "It's ... it's not as good as transfiguring...."

Bill took over. "It can't be distinguished from the real thing by sight, but it can be torn easily. A minor scratch or something rubbing against it, and then you've had it!"

"I doubt Fudge will touch his face," Severus observed dryly.

"You'd need to be careful, dear, that's all," Molly said. She seemed to be over the revelation, now, judging by her encouraging smile. "And the changes in your body could be explained as a simple growth spurt. Stand up, love -- let's have a look at you."

"We'd create the mask from a drawing, or better yet, a photograph," Bill continued, "but once --".

"A photograph of me," Tonks interrupted.

"What?"

"If he suddenly looks like he used to, everyone here will notice. I'll create a look somewhere in the middle -- you can all decide -- then one of you can photograph the face we choose and Bill will make a mask from that." She shrugged at the looks of surprise she was getting. "I've done this for friends' costumes before." She gave Harry a cheery grin. "Comfortable as a second skin, I'm told."

The twins leaned over to look past Charlie.

"So you meant it?"

"About the transfiguration?"

Harry scowled. "Have I ever been difficult about your pranks before?"

The twins looked at each other.

"No...."

"But we've never seen you spend sixty galleons on clothes before, either."

"Or want to go to a bookstore."

Severus twitched. "Did they try to transfigure you?" he demanded.

"No, I just thought it might be...."

"We call it the fish-eye view," Fred said enthusiastically. "Billiwig body powder -- it's cheaper than the venom because it doesn't cause the euphoria, just the floating --"

"-- a lightfoot spell to bring the consumer to a horizontal position --"

"-- and powdered streeler shell in a blue phase, to make everything appear bluish...."

Harry expected Severus to get indignant on his behalf, but he just frowned thoughtfully. "Streeler shell?"

"Depending on the phase --"

"I know that, you insolent brat! But the color change effect only works when inhaled. How --"

A flash of panic crossed Fred's face, vanishing as he opened his mouth. Before he could begin improvising some improbable explanation, Severus had whirled on Harry.

"You promised!" he shouted.

"Promised what?" Harry asked. He tried to look politely confused.

Severus sneered. "Transparent."

"What?" Confusion came more naturally now.

"That innocent look -- you have it only when you are lying."

"Oh. Er ... it works with people who don't know me well." That was a mistake, Harry realized. He had as good as confessed.

"You asked Fred and George for cigarettes."

Harry reddened. "They were coming anyway, and they asked if they could bring me anything...."

"Quite a revelation, actually," Fred interjected bravely. "It's so hard to get people to inhale things, usually. We'd been working on a line of smoke bombs, but if we can sell people on this, that opens up a whole new range of possibilities."

Severus scowled at Harry. "If smoking becomes a school fad, it will be your fault, you know."

"My fault! Why?"

"Because people do what you do."

"Don't be ridiculous. Most people aren't as stupid as --"

A number of the younger Weasleys laughed. Harry sank down in his chair.

"Ah, but they are," Fred said. "That's why you're the perfect person to send samples to."

Mrs. Weasley twitched. "Fred!"

"You want to trust these two with critical information?" Severus demanded.

Harry forced himself to sit upright. "Well, yes. I mean, they can be irritatingly irresponsible. But they can keep secrets --" He glared at Fred -- "when they're not bragging -- and they're sly."

Severus drew in breath through his teeth. Slowly, he let it out again. He extended a hand, palm up. "Hand them over."

"I don't have them with me. And I really can't have any. Several have transfigurative effects."

"And you expect me to believe the risk will dissuade you?

Harry's first reply caught in his throat. He caught his breath, and forced himself to meet his father's eyes. "I won't risk you," he said precisely.

Severus struggled a moment before managing a fairly sarcastic:

"Thank you. I expect to receive the cigarettes with your homework, tomorrow."

Harry considered. He had really planned on finding someone who would like them, but Fred's Machiavellian observation made that less appealing.

"Won't that look odd?"

"I suppose." Severus sat back. "Bring them to the detention I'll give you on Monday."

"Father!"

"I did warn you."

Harry shrugged. "All right." He looked down. "Sorry," he muttered.

Embarrassed, he glanced around at their audience. Bill, across the table, looked amused, and his mother shocked, but ... pleased? Harry wondered what she was pleased about. Mr. Weasley was hard to read, for once.

Tonks, after sending him a lopsided, sympathetic smile, took the room's attention by beginning to mimic Harry's features. Ginny offered to run back to Gryffindor for photographs, then turned beet red at the thought of what she had just said.

"She borrowed some from Colin," Ron intervened, in a sudden charitable impulse. "To convince us he was an impostor."

Harry supposed Ron had gestured at him, but he couldn't look away from Tonks. Watching a face shift and waver through various permutations of his own was disturbing enough. That the face remained over a female body, in a thin shirt that draped down from her nipples, made it worse. Several minutes into her experiments, Tonks noticed his expression.

"You all right, Harry?" The question came from something like his mouth, and the wide eyes were certainly his own. Harry appreciated, now, why people commented on the intense color of his eyes.

"Fine," he muttered, blushing.

Bill took his jacket from the back of his chair and tossed it at her. "Wear this, Tonks. A hundred variations on Harry's face is bad enough -- we don't need it over your tits."

"Bill!"

Bill rolled his eyes at his mother's reproof. "Breasts," he amended. Tonks giggled. Bill grinned. "Obvious girly bits."

With a wink at Bill, Tonks shrugged on the jacket, and they resumed the search for a compromise face.

When they had agreed upon a face, Dumbledore stood and clapped his hands for attention.

"Thank you all for coming. Ron, Ginny, you may leave now."

Harry was surprised he was not also invited to leave. He sat very still, in case it was merely an oversight. Reluctantly, the two youngest Weasleys departed. Dumbledore nodded when the door closed behind them.

"I think we should all meet next week, with Remus Lupin, to discuss the hearing."

Harry felt a cold wave of apprehension drop through him at the idea of including Remus. He opened his mouth, then, after a look around the room, shut it again. He could not bring himself to publicly question Remus's loyalty. Remus's lunch date could well be just that, and Remus would be hurt, perhaps beyond the tolerance of their uneasy relationship, if he brought the matter up for scrutiny. Remus was no longer only his mentor, but not quite a friend; there was something delicate in this uncertain stage between ranks.

Several people had risen and were speaking quietly to each other. The twins were talking to Dumbledore, and Charlie to his parents. Bill had pulled Severus aside. After surveying those present again, Harry decided he would speak to his father. Granted, Severus was the most likely to over-react, but that meant that his relayed accusations would be less connected to Harry than as they might be repeated by anyone else. Also, it might convince Severus that Harry was being properly cautious. And telling Dumbledore was just too official -- too serious. Harry stood up, determined to break into the conversation with Bill long enough to arrange a time he could port to Severus's rooms, but Molly Weasley interposed herself.

"May I talk to you a minute, dear?"

Harry glanced uneasily past her, but Severus and Bill were deeply involved in an animated exchange that seemed surprisingly amicable. He nodded. "For a moment. I need to speak to my father."

Mrs. Weasley nodded, her red curls flashing as they bobbed in the light from the window.

"I understand. Harry, I wanted to apologize about my reaction, both to you, and to him. He's always been such an unpleasant man. I knew he wanted her, of course, that was difficult to miss, even in the once that I saw them together, but I never would have believed he loved her -- or anyone, for that matter. And at Order meetings -- he vilified James at any opportunity."

"Because of Sirius, you know," Harry justified. He felt a need to defend Severus. "Because he never trusted Sirius, but James did, and he thought it was from that that my mum died."

Mrs. Weasley's eyes glimmered, though no tears fell. "Poor dears," she said huskily. "James Potter was a good, loyal man --"

"And right about Sirius," Harry interrupted. "But everyone else believed he'd betrayed them, easily enough."

She sighed. "And it was poor Professor Lupin, before, that everyone suspected. Not even Sirius trusted him then. I've heard James actually asked him to stop coming to meetings, though he couched it as a way Lupin might clear his name."

Harry snorted. "And said that quite publicly, I expect, so that Pettigrew knew to be careful about passing on information that Remus didn't have."

Another reason to keep it private.

"But you seem to be getting along," Mrs. Weasley tried hurriedly.

"Yes."

"It's difficult to imagine." Her cheeks dimpled with a smile. "All of my children come home complaining bitterly about Professor Snape."

Harry nodded. "I still do, for that. But personally...." He smiled nervously. "I change everything, don't I? And he's not ... demonstrative --" Harry felt his cheeks heat -- "but I'm not used to affection at all. I notice subtler things than most people might."

"Well, I noticed that he smiled, today. And I had forgotten what that looked like." Mrs. Weasley laid a hand on his arm. "Take good care of him, Harry dear. But tell me if --"

"Harry!" Dumbledore said, from across the room. Harry looked up. "I think you had better go now," Dumbledore said firmly. "I will notify you of next week's meeting, and you are welcome to attend."

Harry nodded. He looked desperately to Severus and mouthed later. Severus nodded sharply.

"If you would," Dumbledore urged politely.

Harry left the room. Outside, he stopped to listen, and heard nothing. The room, apparently, was well warded.