Harry Potter and the Rise of the Phoenix

"Poppy, she's quite alright," Althea assured her friend and colleague. "Let Sephra play today."

"She is not all right," Pomfrey replied.

"We've healed her."

"The Cruciatus after affects still linger."

"And we cannot do anything about that, other than to let her have fun and try to forget about it."

Ginny shook her head at the arguing medi-witches. Turning to her friend, she whispered, "At this rate you'll be an old woman before either of them come to a decision."

"Then you'll have to play Seeker," Sephra countered. Ginny pulled a face. "I can't believe you played that position when you hated it all that time."

"It got me on the team," she replied with a shrug. "I'd have played any position just so I could be on the team. I just wish I could have played with the twins."

"I bet they were a handful."

"Oliver Wood used to call them human bludgers," Ginny told her with a faint smile. The other girl burst into laughter at that and nodded.

"I'll believe that." They fell silent, listening to the arguing healers. "So... Lavena and Hannah and you are the chasers," Sephra continued, trying to distract herself from what seemed like a losing battle for her side.

"Right, and you are going to be the seeker," Ginny added, trying to convince both of them. Madam Pomfrey was being particularly stubborn about Sephra. Both Uncle Severus and Remus had healed much sooner than expected and had made a break for it. Sephra was the last one, and Ginny knew it was going to be a problem getting her out any time soon. "And those sisters from Hufflepuff, Laura and Lindsey are going to be our beaters."

"Absolutely not!" Pomfrey yelled. "I will not let her out my sight!"

"Then come down to the Quidditch Pitch!" Althea replied.

"I bet we could just sneak out," Sephra whispered. Ginny smiled, but shook her head. Her experiences with the Matron proved just how difficult that was.

"Impossible, no matter how distracted she is, she's always got an eye on her patients," Ginny informed her. "You've got to guess who I lined up for keeper?"

"Hermione?" Ginny laughed, but shook her head. "Lavender? Erica? Madam Pince?" Ginny shook her head, laughing loud enough to distract the two healers.

"Sorry," she managed to get out. "Madam Pince? Oh, that is an image!"

"Okay, who is it?"

"Luna," Ginny said, her face finally straight. It only lasted a second as she watched the stunned look on Sephra's face. "I'm serious. We'll have to play hard to make up for it, but Luna wanted to play."

"Who's on the guys' team?"

"Harry's seeker, obviously. Ron's keeper, obviously. Blaise is chaser, obviously," Ginny listed. "Zacharias and Justin are the other two chasers. Then Neville and Terry are going to be their beaters."

"Really! I'd of never picture those two as beaters," Sephra said completely surprised. "They're the nice boys of our year."

"Your year, not mine," Ginny said with a sorry little smile. Next year was going to be a drag without all her normal friends. "Really, those two have a hidden competitive streak. They'll be hard to play against. And listening to game strategy at breakfast, the boys plan to use their size and strength to beat us."

"We should let them win so that their male egos aren't destroyed," Sephra teased. Ginny started to laugh, but turned when the door opened. Ron and Blaise entered and held the doors open for Uncle to come in. Somehow Uncle had rigged up a chair with wheels and used magic to get around the school.

"Madam Pomfrey, these boys tell me you won't let Miss Carrigan leave though she is quite recovered," Severus said in a dangerously calm voice. "We've had many conversations about Cruciatus damage and its treatment."

"I am not letting her leave," Pomfrey said, arms crossed in stubborn defiance.

"And I am not letting you keep her," Severus replied. Ron and Blaise came to sit on Sephra's bed, Blaise gathering her into his arms. "Keeping her here will only allow the Cruciatus to linger. Let her move on, let her play." He paused for a second before continuing even slower. "Let her live, Poppy."

There was a long pause as Pomfrey thought over what he had said. With the smallest of nods, she turned and started to busy herself with cleaning out a cupboard of healing potions and medicines. The doors opened again and Remus entered with Harry trailing behind.

"I'm here for my mandatory check-up, oh great Matron," Remus said, bouncing on the bed nearest to the door. Pomfrey sniffed and hurried over to give him a look over. Harry stood in the doorway, staring out a window absentmindedly. Ginny exchanged looks with Sephra, Blaise, and Ron; she could tell they all were worried about him.

"Ready for Quidditch, mate?" Ron called out to Harry. The other teen did not even twitch in recognition of the question. Ginny watched the four adults exchange glances, Remus shaking his head ever so slightly to keep Severus and Pomfrey from saying anything. The werewolf's eyes found hers and she nodded in understanding.

"Harry?" she said, walking over to wrap an arm around his waist. He started in surprise, looking down at her with wide eyes. "Ready to get beaten by a group of girls?" He looked over at his friends, recognition finally reaching his eyes. She felt a giggle rise in her throat. "Don't tell me you've forgotten."

"Ginny, hush," Remus said heavily. "Are you guys starting soon?"

"Yeah," Harry answered, looking over at Sephra. "Have you been let out?"

"Oh, most definitely," Sephra said. "My Head of House was most helpful in getting me out of here."

"Let's go then," Harry said, turning quickly and leaving them behind.

"He alright?" Ginny asked Remus. It was a question that everyone was thinking.

"He is," Remus assured her. "He's just got a lot on his mind. Go play. It'll help raise everyone's spirits."

Sephra pulled out of the dive, the snitch proudly displayed in her hand. Harry laughed as she did a victory lap, even though the girls had technically lost. Between the chasers and keeper on the Guy's Team, the girls hadn't had a chance. That and the boys had played a tad bit dirty. The sun was out, the weak light reflecting off the snow below and the students flew to the ground, huddling together to offer congratulations and to warm up.

Harry still hadn't dislodged the slight unease from seeing his parents' tombstones. Not sure of the cause, Harry had thrown himself into the girls vs. boys Quidditch game. A lucky bludger had knocked Harry's glasses off, and when he swooped up after retrieving them Sephra was already closing in on the snitch. He had almost caught up, but in the end, Sephra's head start just couldn't be beat.

Ginny threw her arms around his neck, hugging him. Somehow she had felt his unease and was going out of her way to give him some comfort. Well, she would know because of the ring, wouldn't she? Whatever the reason, Harry was glad she hadn't asked him about it. He wasn't sure how he would answer any questions she might have.

"Let's go to the kitchens and get some food," Ron called out over the noise, and everyone agreed. They brought the pilfered food into the Great Hall, and occupied one of the house tables.

Harry absentmindedly listened to the rehash of the match, joining in every so often. Seeing his dad's old room had thrown him a bit. Visiting the house itself had been too much. What looked like a nice little two-story home was expanded magically to have three floors, an attic, and a basement. It was so unnerving to think how influential the Potter's had been, and how rich they were... how rich he now was. Richer than the Malfoys... something Harry never thought could be possible. Remus was right, though. Funding the Order and other charities seemed like a great idea. During Harry's mental wandering, the table slowly emptied as friends left to spend time together in smaller gatherings.

"You okay, Harry?" Hermione asked during a lull in the conversation.

"Yeah," he answered. Those left at the table exchanged looks. They had heard that of-course-I'm-not-all-right-but-I-can't-possibly-say-that tone before.

"What's the matter? You've been acting funny since you got back from Gringotts," Ron continued, pushing Harry to open up.

"Remus took me to my dad's childhood home," he offered, hoping that the others would leave it at that. However, this seemed to confuse them even more.

"What's the matter with that?" Seamus inquired.

"It was strange seeing his room, just as he'd left it after Hogwarts," Harry said with a shrug. "I wouldn't mind living in it, it's perfect for a seventeen-year-old guy. My dad just shut the house up after his mum and dad died. I think Remus said that he didn't have time to really do more than that."

"Is that all?" Ginny asked, squeezing his hand under the table.

"No," Harry answered softly. The silence stretched as Harry remembered the tombstones, the wildflowers, the snow, and the bare tree. Ginny squeezed his hand once more, bringing Harry back to the present. "Remus took me to see their tombstones." Looks of understanding crossed his friends' faces, but Harry was concentrating on the wood grain of the table and missed it. "It was strange. I never even thought to ask where they were or what their middle names were or even what day their birthdays were."

"Makes you feel like a bad son?" Blaise sympathized. Harry's head snapped up to look at him. Was that it? Was that what was bothering him? Was he a bad son?

"Of course not, luv," Ginny chided, reading his thoughts. "It's not something most people ask about, it's a given, something everyone assumes you know but never bother to ask how you possibly could. I'm not even sure when I learnt my parent's middle names."

"And I still forget my parents' birthdays every year," Hermione added. "I just forget until the day after, even if I bought the present or card weeks before. Parents don't expect perfection, just love."

"And respect," Dean added. "My mum never even told me my dad's name. He married her, but left before I was born. It broke her heart every time I asked about him, so I just quit. It wasn't worth making her cry and I thought I had all the time in the world."

"Funny how we always assume we do," Sephra said softly. "No matter how many times it's proven that we don't, we still assume."

"Or maybe it's just hoping," Hannah corrected. "Hoping that we have more time."

"Did you get to go to Godric's Hollow?" Hermione asked after an uncomfortable pause.

"No, we ran out of time," Harry answered. "I think Remus is planning a field trip for Easter holidays. I have the feeling they don't want me off campus again any time soon."

"Hey, does anyone know who's replacing McGonagall?" Blaise asked, seeing the headmistress walk by the doors.

"No," Hermione said after a thought. "She's inherited Professor Dumbledore's love of secrecy."

"She's got one then?" Seamus asked. "What about our Head of House?"

"She has one," Harry answered. "But she won't tell us who. And you'd think she'd at least tell the Head Boy and Girl."

"Head Girl and Boy," Hermione corrected with a slight smile. Harry rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders in defeat. "We'll find out Monday.

"I don't know why you insisted on dress robes," Ginny muttered, pulling at the hem of her sleeve nervously.

"Have you looked at yourself in the mirror?" Harry said as he paced in front of the wall, thinking of their spot. Ginny made a noise in the back of her throat, displeased with his answer. The door appeared, and Harry turned to wrap his arms around her waist. "No grumbling, Gin. You're beautiful, and I'm selfish enough to ask you to look your finest. Get used to it." She shut him up by kissing him.

"Think I am already," she replied once the kiss ended. "So, what's for supper?" She pulled him into the Room of Requirement and over to the oak tree. There was a blanket laid out and on it was spread a wonderful supper, compliments of Dobby. They ate, talked, and flirted shamelessly. No one was around to disturb them or snicker and this more than anything else allowed them to lower their shields. Walls that they had built to protect themselves from each other and the world started to come down. They had hurt each other; Ginny had been hurt over the summer, Harry that fall. Neither would forget how much pain they could cause the other. And Harry had the feeling that that knowledge would only make them stronger.

They walked hand in hand along the beach, barefoot and free. They talked like they hadn't talked for months, since springtime the year before. Things they'd wanted to protect--to hold back--finally came out.

What if he hurts me with this?

What if she doesn't understand?

They talked, and understanding did come, along with the unspoken agreement never to use any of it against the other. Harry was in this relationship for the long haul; so was Ginny. Forever would be a long time to hide these secrets, so best to get them out here and now. Stop wasting time and energy with the hiding; there were much better things to do with that time. Things that Ron definitely didn't want to think his sister did.

Forever...

Such a long time...

Harry couldn't be more thrilled...

...or more scared.

But he knew one thing:

It would never be enough time with Ginny.

"Don't let that guard down for even a second! Faster, Potter!" Bryant yelled the next Monday morning. The students had arrived back from holiday the night before, just prior to supper, and Hogwarts was still in mourning. McGonagall had decided to keep the black banners up for one more week, before returning them to the regular House banners. "Don't let your mind wander! Focus, Potter!"

Harry pulled off an upper-cut at Bryant's head, stopping short of cutting the man's head off. Well, severely bruising the man's neck anyway, because they practiced with protected blades, but that was beside the point. The point was Harry had just won the third duel today.

"Good, good," Bryant said, yielding the match. "I'm going to have to get Shacklebolt back out here; he's not as fast, but he's much stronger. Different technique. It'll be good for you."

"Of course it will," Harry agreed sullenly. "Let's just bruise and batter Harry Potter. It'll be great fun for one and all."

"Someone's cranky today," Ginny said with a laugh. It was time for a breather, and she sat down next to him. Taking his hand in hers, she started playing with his fingers.

"I just don't want to go to lessons," he corrected.

"Wish we could be at Hogwarts, and yet, not go to lessons," Ron said wistfully.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I enjoy classes. It's nice to get back in the swing of things. And we'll find out who's replacing McGonagall."

"Who's Deputy?" Ginny asked.

"Flitwick," Harry answered. "I over heard him talking with Professor Sprout about it. I wonder why the new teacher didn't show up last evening?"

"Chickened out," Ron said with a laugh. "Who'd want to teach us? We have such a bad record keeping teachers."

"Up! Up! Back to work, you lazy bums!" Bryant slapped Harry's shoulder with the flat of his blade. "We'll see if you can pull off five out of five."

"Breakfast can't arrive soon enough," Harry muttered under his breath, standing to start a new duel with the weapon's master.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the Transfiguration room, much earlier than they'd expected. The room was empty, none of the other students had arrived, and the new Professor was still missing. Professor McGonagall had announced that the very first Transfiguration class would be canceled, and the first year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs had let out a small cheer. However, she continued, the seventh years would be having class, and they all had grumbled at that.

"I still want to know who she is," Ron complained, taking his normal seat at the back.

Hermione set her bag down and took the seat next to Ron. "Why do you think it's a she?" Hermione asked curiously. Setting books, parchment, and quill on the desktop.

"I don't know," he said with a shrug. "All the good Transfigurists I know are female."

"Dumbledore was one," Harry countered. He started pulling out his book, notes, quill, and-- "Do either of you have extra ink? I can't find mine in my bag."

"That's because you left it on the table in the common room," Hermione responded, handing him the missing inkwell. "What would you two do without me?"

"Fail," Ron answered grinning wickedly.

"Play Quidditch non-stop," Harry said with a smile. "But that would lead to us failing, so... I guess Ron's right." The classroom was slowly filling with students, everyone asking the same questions.

"Is the new prof here yet?"

"Who is he?"

"What if she doesn't show up?"

"Why couldn't they cancel our class too?"

The bell rang to signal the start of class, but still no new professor had shown up. Harry exchanged a look with Hermione. Did they keep everyone in their seats? Did they dismiss them? Or did they find the headmistress and ask her?

No one stood to leave, so at the moment Harry and Hermione were free of making a decision. He'd give the new professor ten minutes to show up, but after that, everyone would be free to go, and he'd take the flack for it. Eight minutes.

"I don't know why they have to keep this a secret from us," a Hufflepuff said, his voice carrying over the room. There were several vocal agreements.

Six minutes.

"They like keeping us in the dark, keeps us on our toes," Sephra said, her voice betraying her annoyance.

Five minutes.

"Or they don't have a replacement, but don't want to admit it," Pansy sneered.

"They do," Hermione countered, her voice begging for Pansy to step out of line so that she could take points from the Slytherin.

Three minutes.

"I wonder what held the professor up," Susan said, others agreeing.

Two minutes.

"Oh, good, I was afraid you would have all left by now," McGonagall said, ending the speculations. She stepped into the room and Bill Weasley followed her in. "I'm glad you didn't."

"Has the new professor arrived yet?" Ron asked. Bill and McGonagall shared a look and a smile. "What?"

"I have," Bill answered.

"No way in bloody hell are you bloody teaching me!" Ron yelled. "No, no way in blo--" Harry quickly cast a silencing spell on his friend before Ron could get himself in any more trouble.

"Sorry, mate, I'm going to have to take five points for that," Harry said before McGonagall could take more than that. "Are you really teaching, Bill?"

"Would I lie about something like this?" Bill asked, feigning hurt. Ron started nodding his head quickly, but the silencing spell kept him from saying his thoughts aloud. "Honestly, little brother, I thought you'd be thrilled that I was the professor. Percy applied as well." Ron pretended to gag and throw up, causing everyone to laugh.

"Enough," McGonagall said, silencing the room once more. "Professor Weasley has graciously agreed to take the position of Transfigurations professor and as Gryffindor Head of House."

"Ginny's going to be thrilled," Hermione whispered to Harry. Harry nodded in agreement.

"Ron isn't," he responded, looking past Hermione at his other best friend.

"I'm sure you will all help him get comfortable and not give him any trouble," the Headmistress looked ominously at Ron. "Good luck, Bill."

"Thanks, Professor," Bill responded with a slight bow. Harry waited until McGonagall had left before raising his hand. "Yes, Harry?"

"Okay, because Ginny will kill me if I don't find out, why were you late?"

"Can't say, but more or less, Gringotts couldn't say goodbye," Bill replied with a small grimace. "I'm sure it'll be in the papers tomorrow." Harry sighed; that couldn't be good. "Now, would someone recap what you were up to before the Holidays?" He waited a moment, a smile on his lips. "Hermione?"

Hermione broke into her stride, explaining in quite a bit of detail what they had been studying. Transfiguration was Hermione's favorite subject along with Ancient Runes. The class turned into a review period, Bill testing the students and the students testing Bill. Too soon the bell rang, ending the class.

"Hey, Harry, can I ask you a question?" Bill called, stopping Harry from leaving. He nodded, and walked up to stand next to Bill's desk. "You mind not telling Ginny, I want to surprise her."

"I have healing with her next hour," Harry answered thoughtfully. "I'm not sure if I can manage it. And someone's bound to tell her at lunch. I think Dean and Seamus are planning on teasing Ron for weeks about this."

"Then they'll learn quite quickly that taking on one Weasley means taking on all of us," Bill said mildly. "I happen to be their Head of House, so we'll see how long that will last."

"No abusing your position," Harry said, laughing. "Do you want me to try?"

"I guess not," Bill said with a sigh. "She'll find out at lunch. She's good at getting information from people."

"Yes, she is," Harry agreed.

A car zoomed into the side of a building, deadly shrapnel flying everywhere as the car burst into flames. The air was filled with children screaming in terror, adults shouting: some in anger, most in fear, and Death Eaters laughing in delight. Harry stared down at the toddler writhing under the Cruciatus Curse at his feet. No, at Voldemort's feet, not his! The hatred Voldemort projected was tearing at Harry's consciousness. He wasn't able to break through the hate and bitterness to his own happy thoughts. Without those thoughts, Harry was trapped in Voldemort's mind.

Voldemort ended the curse, and with a careless flip of his wand, the child's lifeless body flew into the air. The dull thud as it landed echoed in Harry's mind, Voldemort's high-pitched laughter countering it. The monster started strolling down the street as if it was a normal sunny Sunday afternoon. Not once did he flinch as glass broke all around him, as flames roared out of control, and as curse light lit the scene in an eerie rainbow of greens, reds, blues, and yellows.

Voldemort was in his element.

And it horrified Harry.

"Bella!" Voldemort called out to the witch. Harry was glad to see that Bellatrix was having difficulties using her left hand. "How is the practice going?"

"It is difficult," she replied, carefully lowering her eyes. She knew better to lie, even if it was not a good answer. She knew she was on tenterhooks with Voldemort, that her failure and loss of her right hand had lowered her in his views. Her crazed mind, unfortunately, was not worth much to the monster now that she couldn't apply it to the beautiful torture of her past accomplishments. "I thank you for such an opportunity though." She looked around at all the destruction. "It is good to have such a Revelry. It has been too long."

"It has indeed," Voldemort said. Wouldn't you agree, Potter?

Do us all a favor and die.

I was hoping you'd be so kind as to die.

Harry grunted in a response, Voldemort's anger having overcome Harry's ability to form a coherent thought. Voldemort's laugh rang out again. A muggle hiding behind a nearby dumpster shuddered in fear, her eyes wide with terror. Voldemort spotted her at the same moment Harry did. Still laughing Voldemort raised his wand.

It shouldn't be possible to kill someone that slowly. It wasn't fair. Harry's empathy with the tortured victim created a temporary shield against Voldemort's tainted emotions. Harry realized that Voldemort had created a one-way shield between them. It allowed Voldemort's emotions to wrap around Harry, but stopped Harry's emotions from touching the monster. Harry knew he didn't have time to break through the shield, nor the knowledge. He just wanted to get back to his own body.

Why did these scumbags find it so appealing to cause this much suffering? What made them act so barbarously? A leg, recently ripped from a body, fell near Voldemort's feet. Harry felt his stomach heave at the sight. Death Eaters bowed as Voldemort passed, a similar grin on every face. How did they gain so much pleasure from so much pain?

Harry finally found the link back to his body as it puked once more, and he pulled on the link desperately. He wanted to get out of this demon before it infected him.

Ron shook Harry's body, hard, yelling at his friend to wake up. He barely made it out of the way before Harry threw up all over the bed. Still, Harry's mind was trapped in the vision. Harry threw up, the vomit choking him. Ron turned him onto his side, using a careful cleaning charm to remove the junk chocking his best mate.

Ron wasn't sure what woke him up, Harry wasn't screaming. Whatever it was, whatever had awoken him, he thanked it. To think of Harry going through this alone made Ron sick as he tried to wake his best mate up. Yet, as time wore on, Ron got more desperate; and, as he got more desperate, he started yelling. Now, everyone in the room was awake, peeking out of their curtains watching silently.

Ron barely got out of the way as Harry emptied his stomach several times on the floor. Harry bolted up suddenly, his eyes wide with horror. Without a thought, Ron spelled the mess away as he had the earlier one. Silently, Ron helped Harry into the bathroom so that he could clean up and get some water; his friend's body trembling so badly that he couldn't walk without help.

"I'd forgotten how bad those are," Harry muttered to the mirror. Ron wasn't sure if he was being talked to or not, so decided to ignore it.

"I'll be right back, mate, alright?" Harry nodded slowly, his hands gripping the sink for support. Ron left the bathroom to find the others waiting with drawn looks on their faces. "You guys up for a game of Snap?" The others nodded. They'd do anything to get Harry's mind off the nightmare or whatever it was he'd just woken from.

Harry staggered into the dorm room, his eyes asking questions when he saw everyone getting out of bed. "You don't have to stay awake," he said, his voice unsure and confused.

"Of course we don't," Neville said, throwing his pillow on the floor to sit on. "But what does that have to do with the fact that we're about ready to play Exploding Snap?" Ron had to laugh at the awestruck look on Harry's face. It seemed that Harry still wasn't used to having people going out of their way to help him. It's what friends were for.

They ended up playing four games, Seamus coming out the winner. One by one they said their goodnights although Ron knew Harry hadn't forgotten about the dream yet, but none of them were able to stay awake much longer. Heck, Neville had already fallen back to sleep before the last game had even ended.

"You okay, Harry?" Ron asked after the other three had gone back to sleep. He and Harry were playing one last game. Harry didn't answer, concentrating on the game instead. Ron accepted Harry's silence, knowing that Ginny would get him to talk later. No one was able to keep silent after Ginny decided to interrogate them. The game ended, Harry winning. Ron packed everything away, watching Harry's brooding face out the corner of his eye. "Harry?"

"I've been worse," he answered the unfinished question. "I'll tell you about it in the morning, with the girls. Alright?"

"Alright."

"'Night, Ron. And…" There was a long pause, Ron turning from where he had been about to crawl onto his bed. Harry was staring out the window, but shook himself out of whatever thoughts he'd been thinking. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," he said, amazed that Harry still thought he needed to thank Ron. He got onto his bed and under the covers. "It's what best mates are for, after all."

"Yeah, thanks anyways."

"'Night, Harry." Ron couldn't keep the laugh out of his voice, though he tried. He shut his curtains.

"'Night." Ron heard the smile in the word, and knew that Harry would make it through the night. He laid his head on his pillow, closed his eyes, and fell asleep--thankful that Harry was going to make it.

Harry listened to his dorm mates' snores. He really had gotten lucky with them. It would have been easy for them to be angry at him. To not understand. But they did understand, at least to a point. They'd been willing to stay up for an hour to play a game just to distract him. Even after Neville had fallen asleep and Dean's eyes wouldn't stay open for more than a few seconds at a time. How had he gotten so lucky?

For all their effort, Harry hadn't forgotten the Revelry. How could five games of Exploding Snap wipe a memory like that from his mind? Harry knew that he'd get little sleep the rest of the night. It wasn't that much of a loss; he slept little as it was. Too many thoughts crowded his mind. He stood and slipped out of his curtains. Unlocking the cupboard, Harry pulled out his Pensieve. There was a trick to completely remove a memory from one's mind. Normally, you only removed a copy of the memory, but this trick got rid of it until you wanted to take it back. It was what Snape had done during Harry's fifth year to empty his mind of memories he hadn't wanted Harry to see.

Carefully thinking of the vision, Harry pulled the thought from his mind. He felt relief almost at once. Marking the memory, he placed it with the others, vigilantly not watching the faint play of the memory on the surface. With that he rose and replaced the Pensieve in its cupboard. He crawled back into bed and under the covers. He slipped off his glasses, placed them on the nightstand, and closing his eyes, sleep claimed him slowly.

At least sleep did claim him. And he didn't have to relive the Revelry in nightmares.

The next morning's Daily Prophet answered any questions the seventh year boys had for Harry. "MUGGLE VILLAGE BURRIE DESTROYED! FIRST REVELRY IN MONTHS" was the main headline. Almost as large was the second most important headline: "WHAT IS POTTER DOING?" Harry read this second article, his anger rising as he went along. Most of his friends were still busy with the article about the Revelry, and were surprised when Harry crumpled his paper violently.

"What's the matter, luv?" Ginny asked.

He pointed at a paragraph in the second article too angry to speak.

"'"The prophecy says that Mr. Potter has the power to vanquish He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Name" an insider source tells me, Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet Correspondent. If this is so, what is Mr. Potter up to, sitting safe at Hogwarts while innocent muggles, witches, and wizards die? It seems that the worry of last year, that Potter had turned evil, is not warranted. Instead, we should be outraged that he hides as a coward.' That hag!" Ginny's shrill voice rang across the Great Hall, causing several people to turn to look at them. "That despicable, lying bug! I should have squashed her when I caught her in St. Mungo's! I'll give her sitting safe! That--"

"Ginny, enough," Bill said, resting a hand on his sister's shoulder. "Don't make me take points or give you a detention. I don't even want to know what Mum would have to say."

"She'd send a howler telling you not to punish your sister for saying the truth," Ginny informed him, her eyes still bright with anger.

"Then I don't want to be the first professor to get a howler from their mother," Bill tried to joke, but his voice betrayed his seriousness. "Just ignore her. Let Rita make up her lies, she doesn't understand anything."

"But she has enough truth to her story," Hermione said, having quickly scanned the article. "What are you going to do, Harry?"

"Nothing," Harry replied without thought. "Let her think that a seventeen-year-old could defeat Voldemort without training, I don't care what she or anyone else thinks. I'm busting my butt for them, and that's all they need to know. Most people read the Daily Prophet with a grain of salt anyway."

"You're taking this better then I thought you would," Bill said.

"Oh, if I get my hands on the scheming little beetle, I'll be hard pressed not to step on her," Harry responded. "But I have other things to worry about and bigger fish to fry. Compared to Voldemort, Rita is no more important than the beetle she turns into."

"We're going to find the leak," Bill assured him. "We've already had a meeting about it. Sorry that you couldn't be there."

"That's alright, I wouldn't have added anything objective to the conversation," Harry said, knowing that the "we" was the Order. "And I needed the sleep."

"Why?" Ginny asked, worry overtaking her anger.

"I saw... that," Harry said, waving his hand at the picture of the burning Burrie.

"Oh, my poor Harry," Ginny said, sickeningly sweet. She cuddled up to Harry, who just laughed at her antics.

"Don't make me take points away for PDA, young lady," Bill said, his voice strict. Harry rolled his eyes at the acronym; it was something the twins had come up with when Bill was at Hogwarts. Public Displays of Affection had been outlawed in the Weasley household, at least according to those two. Though--that might have changed now that they had twin girlfriends of their own. "Mum will stand behind me on that."

"Hush, Harry had a bad dream and I'm trying to make it all better," Ginny cooed, batting her eyes coyly. The other seventh years all made gagging noises, well, all except Harry. Harry wasn't about to complain. Then again, a lot more students were starting to stare. Looking around the Great Hall, Harry started noticing all the looks. He could almost hear their thoughts.

What is he doing if he could just end the war?

Wasting time with his girlfriend, while my parents died this break!

If this is true, why'd he quit Defense?

He's not anything special!

That's our hope?

"Gin, please stop, people are staring," Harry said softly, prying her off of him. Bill said goodbye, quite pleased with himself, and walked up to eat some breakfast before classes started. Harry tried to shake off the looks he was receiving from more and more people. Even the other seventh year Gryffindors were looking at him differently. Not accusingly, but just curious, trusting, and a bit awe-filled. Those that knew him all shared that look.

It was the others, people he didn't know and who didn't know him, that were accusing him. Students, teachers, and Aurors alike shot glares at him. Ah, the joy of being the subject of hostile conversations, Harry thought bitterly as the Hall started to buzz with the angry gossip.

"We all have off this afternoon, so let's hang out by lake?" Harry finally said, interrupting the conversation his friends where having. They looked a bit taken aback, but Ginny recovered quickly.

"Deal," Ginny said for the other two as well as herself.

"But shouldn't you be working on the stuff Dumbledore gave you?" Hermione asked, an eyebrow raised.

"'Mione, he's been working all break, give him a rest," Ron answered for Harry, his voice exasperated. "Some of us aren't as thrilled about spending time in the library reading texts by dead guys."

"Oh that reminds me!" Hermione said, and Harry exchanged a look with Ginny. Hermione had that glint in her eye. The one that meant a long explanation or story was on its way. "Harry, you never reminded me about your mum." The bell rang for class. "I'll have to tell you what I found when we're at the lake. Remember, I'm not going to be at lunch."

"Right, last minute tutoring for Blaise and Hannah before your Ancient Runes exam," Ron said, grabbing an apple. "See you at lunch, Ginny."

"Love you, Gin," Harry said, hugging her briefly, before jogging to catch up with Hermione and Ron. They left the castle to head down to Hagrid's for Care of Magical Creatures. He was glad when the buzzing voices were left behind him, shut out by the thick wooden doors.

"Wait, Harry's related to Gryffindor?" Ron asked, the surprise evident in his voice.

"Yes," Hermione said patiently. She went through it again. "Gryffindor only had a single daughter, so the Gryffindor name died out right away, okay?" Ron nodded. "His daughter, Fia Gryffindor, married and had a single daughter as well. The line continued almost exclusively with female children, until about three hundred years ago when the daughter born was a squib."

"Who did the genealogy?" Ginny asked.

"I'm not sure, some of the pieces are really old," Hermione said. "I've done a bit of checking, and the genealogy is done correctly, I just don't know who compiled it. There's a genealogy for all four of the founders in the library. All I had to do was ask Madam Pince and she took me right to them."

"I've always wondered how Riddle found out he was the heir," Ginny muttered, and Harry nodded in agreement.

"The original compiler of Gryffindor's genealogy ended with the squib daughter," Hermione finished bitterly. "After all, once the family became muggle, and it did, what did it matter to the magical world? But," she said, cutting Ron off, "someone more recently has continued it. The muggle line, following, once again exclusively daughters, led to a Lily Natalie Evans, the first witch to be born in the family since it became muggle. Harry's the first wizard in the family line for almost five hundred years, when the last male child was born. Though, hopefully, Harry will have better luck than Eoin did. He died at eighteen, run over by a cart. "

"Poor bloke," Ron muttered under his breath. "Taken out by a cart."

Harry sat, thinking about what Hermione had just said. He was a descendent of Gryffindor. Interesting. Gryffindor's heir versus Slytherin's heir. Almost... poetic. It had better not be the only reason Godric Gryffindor picked him to be the "Chosen One", because if it was, there was going to be some pain once Harry met up with the little, crazy old man.

Harry was leaning his back against the same beech tree that the Marauders had sat under right after their Defense O.W.L. all those years ago. His legs were straight out and his arms were behind his head. Ginny had her head resting on his shins, her eyes open and staring at the clouds. Hermione was sitting cross-legged and facing them, a book balanced in her lap. Ron was pacing, the week of classes was not sitting well with this Weasley. He had gotten too use to being able to move about freely.

"Would they stop staring," Ron muttered, glaring at a passing group of Ravenclaws.

"Bit annoying, isn't it?" Harry answered, closing his eyes, trying to shut out the stares.

"Wish they'd get a life," Ginny added lightly. "Look, a guitar!" Harry looked up trying to find the cloud she was looking at through the branches.

"I don't see it," Ron replied. "And I'm not even sure how you can, staring at the clouds through the branches like that."

"Careful practice," Ginny said with a laugh. "I used to stare out my window at the Burrow all the time, and there was that tree, remember?"

"How could we not?" Bill answered, sitting next to Harry. "You used to run away all the time. Mum and Dad had to put an anti-climbing jinx on it."

"I still say I was in the right," Ginny pouted.

"I'm sure you were, fire head," Bill agreed, reaching over to mess up her hair.

"Bill!" she shouted, standing up. She pointed her wand at him, but lowered it in defeat. "Not fair! I can't attack you, you're a teacher!"

"Funny how that works."

Ginny stuck her tongue out at him, and sat with her back to Bill. She fixed her hair and then crossed her arms. Harry moved to sit behind her, wrapping his arms around her. She leaned back into him, resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes. Ignoring the Weasley brothers' coughs of "PDA", Harry rested his head on top of hers and closed his eyes as well. No matter how annoying all the whispering got, no matter how much the stares bothered him, none of that mattered as long as his friends were with him. He knew he wasn't wasting time, and Dumbledore's advice was good. Harry shouldn't face Voldemort until he felt ready, who cares what everyone else thought. They weren't the ones who were forced to possibly die by Voldemort's wand in the battle. Nor were they the ones who were forced to possibly become a killer.

"So, what did happen Sunday night?" Ron asked, interrupting Harry's thoughts. Both he and Ginny turned around to look at Bill, and Hermione actually stopped writing notes to look up at him. Bill glanced around, waving at a group of Ravenclaws and Slytherins that were walking back to the castle together. When they were out of hearing distance, he took a deep breath and let it out really slowly.

"Another attack on Gringotts like the one back in your first year," Bill replied. "Personal bank accounts, particularly the rich ones. At least the ones that aren't held by suspected Death Eaters."

"And that didn't make the Daily Prophet?" Ron asked, rolling his eyes as Pansy and her group of Slytherin's passed.

"Sitting on your bum, Potty?" Pansy called out maliciously. "Shouldn't you go and have a cuppa with You-Know-Who?"

"No, I don't know who," Harry yelled back. "Who is that?" Pansy grimaced and walked away, the other Slytherins mocking her.

"No, it didn't," Bill answered Ron's question, ignoring Pansy. "The goblins are paying them off. Nothing was stolen, thankfully, but it took all night for us to make sure. They wouldn't let me go; called me in even though the Friday before was my last day. Everyone was checking, and I mean everyone. They checked one or two of the high security vaults and found a Death Eater or two. Can't believe they touched those doors."

"Can't believe it didn't make the news," Harry muttered, staring at a group of students sitting twenty or thirty feet from them.

"Goblins have a lot of gold to throw around," Bill commented. The group was talking together, shooting him glares every so often. Someone pulled out the morning's Prophet and they started arguing hotly.

"Why can't they keep me off the front page?" Harry asked angrily.

"I'm sorry, Luv," Ginny sympathized with him, squeezing his hand in reassurance. "You could pay them off," she added with a laugh. Harry forced a smile.

"I don't care, and yet I do," he added. The group settled down, glaring at Harry. Whatever they had agreed on, Harry felt he had been on the losing side. "I mean, I'm busting my arse to learn everything I can as quickly as I can! I am at Hogwarts for safety, because Voldemort would cream me at the moment. If I could end this war tonight, I would, but I can't! It's bloody frustrating!"

"Yeah," Bill agreed. "Potter, I need to have a meeting with you and the Headmistress later this evening. Say... ten o'clock."

"Alright," Harry said with a nod.

"And I need to be off," Bill said standing. "Got a date with this cute chick and she'll hang me if I'm late. Later siblings, Harry, Hermione."

"Bye, Bill," Ginny said waving.

"That's Professor Weasley to you, Miss Weasley," Bill replied, mock seriously. He waved once more and continued on his way towards the gates. Once past them, he apparated away with a pop.

"You okay?" Hermione asked after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.

"Been better," Harry answered honestly. "I'm going to go change into running clothes and then run it out. Anyone want to join me?"

"Sorry," Hermione replied first. "I have a meeting this afternoon and I wouldn't have time for a shower."

"Oh, I forgot about that," Harry said with a small nod. "You able to handle that on your own?" Several first year Gryffindors had gotten into a fight with several Slytherin first years. Bill, McGonagall, Harry, and Hermione had decided that it would be best if either Harry or Hermione spoke to them. Bill didn't have the right authority yet and McGonagall had too much. In the end, Hermione had gotten the honor.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said with a sigh. "Nip this animosity sooner rather than later."

"Keep them from repeating our mistakes," Ron said softly. "You ever wonder how different life would be if you had accepted Malfoy's friendship?"

"Can't see it happening," Harry answered honestly. "Not with me as a Gryffindor and his dad poisoning him like he did. What about you two? You up to a few laps around the lake?"

"Not really," Ginny said, stretching out like a cat. "I think I'm going to take a nap. A small warming charm and I'll be set." Harry smiled at her and ran a hand through her auburn hair. He looked up and watched his best friend shake his head no.

"I'm going to spend the rest of the time with Hermione and then get a head start on my Defense paper," he explained. "Five feet on why the Ridilus is a better counter to the Formidilus Ward than a Patronus. You know how hard that is when I think you're right and he's wrong? And I can't find anything that makes me think he is right. Unless I'm alone... which is unlikely..."

"It's going to be hard," Hermione agreed. "I talked with Remus about it over break. I had a feeling Burke was going to do something like that. I wonder what his deal is."

"Me too," Harry agreed. "Later."

"Bye," Ginny said, kissing his fingers before letting his hand go.

"Fred! George!" Ginny shouted the following Sunday. She ran to her brothers, grabbing them into a tight hug. Harry, Hermione, and Ron followed slowly behind her, veering off their original course for supper. The four had been running late, a chess game between the two siblings that would not end. Harry and Hermione had to pull them away from the board, knowing that the competitive siblings would not leave willingly.

"Shhh," George whispered urgently, looking around.

"Not so loud," Fred added.

"What are you doing here?" Ron asked, the four following the twins as they started walking towards the dungeons.

"Sources say it's someone's birthday today," Fred explained, a glint of mischief in his eyes.

"And we just wanted to leave a gift behind," George finished, holding a box out innocently.

"It's Uncle Severus' birthday?" Ginny asked, astutely putting most of the pieces together.

"What are you going to do to him?" Hermione asked, placing the last piece into the puzzle.

"Nothing," Fred said in his way-too-innocent-to-be-innocent voice.

"Just leaving him a gift or two," George repeated. He started down the stairs.

"It's not going to hurt him," Fred assured them, following his twin quickly.

"It'll just remind him that he's a Weasley now," George added brightly. Harry knew that look as a dangerous one.

"Go pick on Percy and leave Snape alone," Ron said glumly. "The greasy git deserves to be left alone whereas the world's biggest Prat deserves all the pranks in the world."

"We aren't pranking Uncle Severus," George assured them. "And we've already stopped by Grimmauld to say hello to the Prat."

"He also happened to lose all his hair," Fred added in a conversational voice. It was almost as if they were talking about the weather.

"Not sure how one can misplace all one's hair," George said with a shake of his head.

"And we mean, all his hair."

"Did he find it?" Ginny asked, eyeing both brothers.

"Not when we left," Fred added.

"He's not that much fun really," George said with a sigh. "He takes it as if it's his proper punishment."

"We know it is, but still--"

"It would be nice to have a bit of the old Percy's righteous anger and outrage."

"The silence is killing us."

"Mum didn't even yell at us for doing it."

"Almost like she's waiting for us to get it out of our system."

"Very disappointing."

"Nice to see you in the news again, Harry," Fred said surprising everyone but George with the topic change.

"Can't believe you're acting so 'immature and childish'."

"You should just 'face reality and get on with it'."

"'Kill the monster'."

"'Keep the innocent from dying' instead of 'sitting safe in the castle' like you are."

"Don't know what you're afraid of. You were 'born with the power', there's 'no need to train'."

"Shut up you two," Ginny snapped. They stood outside Snape's office. "Reading that rubbish was bad enough the first time. Promise me you aren't going to prank him."

"Promise, little sister," George solemnly replied, his hand over his...

"Your heart is on the other side," Harry replied dryly. George smiled broadly. "You lying to my girlfriend?"

"We promise that it isn't anything seriously damaging," Fred amended, his hand over his heart.

"It isn't dangerous at all," George corrected, looking at the dangerous looks from the other four. "Merlin, when did you all become his bodyguards? There was a time when you would have been plotting his slow and painful demise with us."

"He doesn't deserve it anymore," Ginny snapped. "He's helpful and decent and a good man and he definitely doesn't deserve you two pranking him."

"We aren't," George said once more. "Now run along before they send out a search party for you four. If you can keep Snape occupied for a while after he finishes eating, we'd appreciate it."

"We don't want him walking in before the surprise is ready."

"We'd rather him not walk in until after we've left the country, but as long as we're off the grounds, we'll be happy."

"Love you, sis, Ron," Fred said, hugging both. "Later." He took a deep breath and entered Snape's office.

"Wish us luck," George said with a grimace. "We go to a fate unknown," he added melodramatically. "Send a search party after us if you don't hear from us in a few days. Who knows what vile creature we'll meet."