Harry Potter and the Rise of the Phoenix

* * * * * *
Something is about to give,
I can feel it coming,
I think I know what it means.
I'm not afraid to die.
I'm not afraid to live.
And when I'm flat on my back
I hope I feel like I did.

U2 ~ Kite
* * * * * *

"He did what?" Ron asked, stunned by Harry's story about the Legilimency lessons. Harry sat on one of the chairs before the fire, his favorite, and Ginny was sitting on the floor with her back propped against it and her head leaning against his leg. Ron and Hermione were cuddled up on the couch, looking at Harry as he talked.

"He took three hundred points from Gryffindor," Harry said, hurrying to explain before Ron's heart gave out in from the shock. "McGonagall gave them all back, of course, but Severus was furious. I hadn't meant to do that."

"He said it was Dark?" Hermione repeated inquisitively.

"Yeah," Harry said, staring off into the fire. "He actually complimented me on my trap, but not what I did afterwards. But... he was also... I don't know... The lecture that followed came in two parts; on one hand, he condemned it, on the other... I don't know... he seemed to be proud of my accomplishment."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked when Harry didn't continue.

"Well, these lessons are so confusing," he said. "I'm learning how to be 'ethical' while using Legilimency on someone, you know, to check if they're lying or not. But, I'm also learning to attack with it. And... as an offensive move, what I did was good. But, that wasn't the point of the exercise and I think I really bothered Severus. Like, really bothered him."

"What did you see?" Ginny asked softly, not looking up at him, but into the fire as well.

"I--No, that's his life; it’s not my place to share that," Harry said, running a hand through her hair. "But--it was bad. And I shouldn't have made him watch it. But I didn't really know it would lead where it did. I was so stupid." Harry nudged Ginny, and stood up to stretch. Ginny promptly took his seat as Harry started to pace in front of the fire to work off some pent up frustration and guilt.

The common room clock chimed the first hour of the new day. Hermione stood up suddenly, surprising Harry into stopping. "Come, go get your brooms," she said sternly.

"Why?" Ron asked from where he sat, looking at her as if she'd gone insane.

"We're going to go flying," she said matter-of-factly.

"Okay," Ginny said, jumping up and racing for the stairs. Ron and Harry exchanged looks, and then followed Ginny's example. Twenty minutes later, Ron, Harry, and Ginny were hovering a few inches off the ground on their broomsticks and Hermione was perched on the front of Ron's broom in her parrot form.

"I love my Polly," Ron said with a grin, smoothing down Hermione's ruffled feathers.

"She's gonna peck your eyes out if you’re not careful, brother," Ginny said warningly. "She hates that name."

"If only I had a cracker for my Polly," he continued. Hermione spread her wings and started to claw at his face. Ron shot off trying to get away from the angry parrot.

"What's the name she picked?" Harry asked, trying to watch Hermione heckle Ron in the moonlight, a small smile on his lips.

"Damagris," Ginny replied. "It's Gray Lady in Spanish or some such thing. You know how Hermione loves Ravenclaw's ghost more than our own."

"Yeah." He watched Ron and Hermione for a few more minutes before turning to Ginny. "Well, come on, we should go help the poor bloke." Ginny laughed and took off towards her brother, Harry right behind her. It took them a few tries, but Hermione finally left Ron alone.

"Learned your lesson?" Ginny asked Ron sternly, smoothing Hermione's much worse ruffled feathers.

"Yeah, Polly doesn't like crackers," Ron muttered to Harry, flinching when Hermione spread her wings threateningly. Harry laughed at his best mates antics.

"Let's play follow the leader," Ginny shouted. "I'm leader!" She dove at the ground, Hermione leaving the moving perch and following Ginny on her own. Ron dove after Hermione and Harry waited a split second before following Ron. Hermione's plan worked, and before long, all Harry could think about was the moves and the wind and laughter and smiling and the thrill of diving.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU DOING OUT HERE?" Thia shouted, the anger very evident in her amplified voice. "Get down here, NOW!" They all hurried to land in front of the Commander. "You don't--I can’t--Into the castle, now!" They all marched, Hermione back in her human form and the others with their brooms resting on their shoulders, up the grounds and back into the castle.

"What were you thinking, being out on the grounds at night?" she demanded once they were inside. "I can guarantee that an army can't scale those walls, but a lone Death Eater with the right frame of mind and a bit of luck could make it in! And with the attack on Hogsmeade tonight, I don't even want to think how possible that might be!"

"Attack on Hogsmeade?" Harry repeated dazed by the news.

"The Three Broomsticks was razed to the ground, again, and Madam Rosemerta is at St. Mungo's," she told them, taking a deep breath and looking at them more calmly. "Look, I don't want you to worry about this, alright? You all have more than enough on your plates as it is, especially you, Harry. Now, off to bed, get some sleep, it's late, and I'll see you all later sometime." With that she was gone.

"I think she's the one who should be off to bed," Ginny said softly as they started to make their way up to the Gryffindor Tower. "She's always off to somewhere else."

"She hasn't had time to help with our lessons in months," Hermione added.

"The War is really picking up," Harry said with a shrug. "As Commander, she's got a lot of responsibility, and there're a lot of places she has to be."

"I hope she doesn't break under it all," Ron muttered. Harry nodded in agreement; McGonagall, Thia, and he were all overstressed and all three of them were hoping the very same thing for themselves and each other. They walked in silence, brooding over the little they'd been told.

"Do you think Rosemerta will make it?" Ron asked suddenly.

"Still got a crush on her?" Ginny asked, teasing him to break the tension.

"Nah, I just can't picture The Three Broomsticks without her, you know?" he answered. "She's been there since Mum and Dad were at Hogwarts. The Three Broomsticks is her, and she's it. One without the other would be too weird."

"Why would Voldemort attack there?" Ginny asked after a few more minutes of silence.

"Loads of reasons," Harry answered off-handedly. "He destroyed a place where a lot of people have a lot of good memories. Kind of like the affect of destroying the Burrow had on you guys, only on a much bigger scale.

"It's the heart of Hogsmeade, a center for people to get together. A center for them to complain about Voldemort and reaffirm their loyalty to the Ministry or at least the fight against Voldemort.

"Madam Rosemerta is also a huge contributor to the fund that supports survivors of Death Eater attacks. I think she's a founding member too.

"It's also a message to McGonagall. He can attack that close to Hogwarts and get away with it. I'm sure Voldemort's also jealous of all the fun times generations of students had there while he didn't. At least, nothing like the fun we've had there. He's a bitter old man with a lot of grudges to deal with."

"And you know this how?" Ginny asked, slightly amazed.

"Work done with Shacklebolt, for one," Harry said with a shrug. "Druce has also started working on tactics with me. And of course, educated guesses." Ron nodded. Of the four of them, Ron was the natural strategist. Harry knew he'd understand this attack best, even if he didn't like it.

"Silver lining," Hermione said to the Fat Lady who was waiting patiently for them. After she swung forward, the four climbed back into the common room. "I'm glad you finally started to use that stuff between your ears, Harry. It's a relief that one of you has."

"Hey, now! That's not fair! I've started to use it too!" Ron snapped. "I asked you to marry me, didn't I?"

"Yes, and I'm sure it's just because you want to make sure I'll always be around to think for you," she retorted back.

"Nuh-uh," Ron said quickly. "It's 'cause I love you and--" Harry and Ginny shook their heads and moved away from the bickering couple.

"Hopeless," Harry said with a small smile.

"Hopelessly in love," Ginny countered, causing Harry to chuckle.

"Touché," he agreed. "Night, Gin."

"Night, luv." He kissed her goodnight and they parted ways to head to their own dormitories. Harry paused before closing the door to the Boy's Dorm and looked down where Ron and Hermione were still bickering. Not even Voldemort would stop those two from fighting once they got going, and Harry hoped nothing ever would.

The rest of the week passed in tense worries. Thankfully, McGonagall's promise to end the Howlers came true, though she couldn't stop all of the hate mail. Tuesday night the Order agreed to let the Ministry issue a statement regarding Harry's "flight" from the Quidditch match, moving the blame from him to them. It worked for the most part, though Harry wasn't sure if it was the best move for the war movement. He had gotten used to the letters and even started to find them amusing. Now, instead, everyone was mad at the government, which couldn't be good, not when they were already upset about Hogsmeade.

Also during that Tuesday's Order meeting, Remus presented six copies of the Ravenclaw Notebook for review by the members. Flint, McGonagall, Thia, Severus, Hermione, and Remus himself all got a copy. Harry and his supporters argued and won a debate that would allow Ron, Hermione, and Ginny to attend meetings concerning all things dealing with Harry. Not quite members, but close enough that they were satisfied.

Harry had read some of the text, but had passed it on to Hermione to sort through. He didn't have time to waste reading it all now, though he was more than a bit sad about that and Hermione was so good at distilling information that Harry didn't feel like he'd be missing too much for the present. After the War, he vowed he'd get around to reading it.

Severus kept a very low profile the rest of the week, staying at his desk during lessons instead of prowling around menacingly like he usually did. During their Thursday Legilimency lesson, Severus went over some of the theories behind a battle between Legilimens, never once attacking Harry's mind like he had always done. Harry found this all rather disturbing and he was worried for the professor.

Practices for the upcoming Ravenclaw/Gryffindor game were intense and Harry contemplated quitting the team more than a few times because of Ron's practice routine. As bad as Bryant was, Ron was worse in so many ways. Maybe it was the fact that every morning Ron started out complaining about Bryant and then turning around and planning the torturous Quidditch practices. By the time Friday ended, Harry was glad for the relief they'd get while playing the actual game in the morning.

The game against Ravenclaw was wonderful in every way the Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff game hadn't been. The weather was exquisitely clear, the match lasted several hours, the seekers had spotted the snitch no less than ten times, and Gryffindor played amazingly all around.

With the win, Ravenclaw was knocked to second for both the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup, Hufflepuff moving to first for the House Cup and Gryffindor moving to first for the Quidditch Cup. However, the fight for the Quidditch Cup was not over. Slytherin had decimated Hufflepuff before the Easter Holidays, and if Slytherin could pull off a win of at least 110 against Gryffindor at the end of May, they'd have the Cup.

Ron and Harry were determined not to let that happen.

Behind all of this, the War continued to escalate. The attack on The Three Broomsticks turned out to be just one of many attacks planned for Hogsmeade. Death Eaters who had escaped from Azkaban weeks ago had been spotted for the first time and they had "captured" many of the streets. McGonagall opened the gates to Hogwarts for families of Hogsmeade that had nowhere else to turn. Thia put Shacklebolt in charge of interviewing everyone so that no Death Eaters sneaked in. It was slow going, but very important. Hogwarts had become the heart of the resistance against Voldemort.

As for Auror Bluezy, neither a hair nor a toe had been seen of the man since his escape from Hogwarts. Unfortunately, the leak was still compromising the Auror department so much that Harry was sure Thia was about to move all of the Auror department to Hogwarts. The only reason she hadn't was just in case another Auror happened to be a Death Eater. Just because Bluezy and his associates hadn't attacked, didn't mean that others wouldn't hurt students. And she didn't want to give Death Eater Aurors the opportunity to come onto campus every day.

The week after that one was a very depressing week for the seventh years. The professors had finished all the teaching they'd meant to do, and moved onto the final stages of their final projects, be them research papers, research projects, or a combination of both. Harry felt very confident about both his Potions and Transfiguration papers and he had even handed in advance copies to Bill and Severus. But this wasn't the only reason it was depressing.

That Friday, they sat a mock N.E.W.T. Each person had been assigned a different test, and they took the practical and theoretical portion of that test. It wasn't bad enough that they had to go through this for real, at the end of the month. Oh no. They had to torture them with a mock test a month before, giving them weeks to envision the horrors of taking two, three, or four of these exams. Hannah Abbot wasn't the only seventh year to receive a calming draft from Madam Pomfrey.

On top of this all, Harry, Hermione, and the prefects were working on the Fair, expanding it to include the change in Hogsmeade and Hogwarts. The refugees were living in wizard's tents around the Lake, and Harry was determined to bring them into the planning as well. They also had to rearrange plans to take into account things like Madam Rosemerta's continued hospitalization and the destruction of most of Main Street in Hogsmeade. None of the vendors had pulled out, thankfully, and Hermione and Miranda booked a few more booths to make sure the extra people could be accommodated. Thia was consulted and she agreed to post extra guards for security as all the vendors would be bring in food, supplies, and staff that were of differing backgrounds. It was impossible to test everything and everyone, but Harry felt sure the Fair would be a success.

May eighth dawned bright and clear, though gustily windy. Harry and the others were outside with Bryant and Shacklebolt practicing dueling. Harry was now winning more fights than he was losing against both men and in the lessons with the Aurors as well. The refugees who were early risers had made it routine to come watch the six duel. Harry could hear their whispers as they watched him fighting both Shacklebolt and Bryant at the same time. After the duel (which Harry had just barely managed to win), Harry walked across the grounds to the area between the Lake and the Quidditch pitch.

Here, laid out in roughly straight lines, were booths of all sorts. Food and drink, books and jokes, toys and quills, games and apothecaries were all included, though there were many, many more. Most of the shop owners, who had escaped Hogsmeade, had a stall now, selling what they had left of their inventory. A sadness hung in the air. Harry hoped the wind would carry it off sometime soon.

Just last night, Voldemort laid claim to all of Hogsmeade.

A village that never had fallen was now in the hands of the enemy; the houses had been burned, the stores sacked, and the captives tortured. Harry had seen it all and everyone knew of it. McGonagall had thrown wide the gates and instituted the strongest and also the oldest of Hogwarts many wards to keep those who would do the school harm out. It had cost much from the older witch, and she was asleep in a hospital bed at the moment, her hair changed from a grey with brown streaks to snowy white. A hundred or so more refugees had made it in before the Death Eaters reached them and the Wall.

Everyone had felt the reverberation as several Death Eaters tried to follow the stragglers through the wide open gates. Thia and her Aurors had traded spells with the Death Eaters for a while after Hagrid got the gates closed. Eventually, another Death Eater called them off and they returned to Hogsmeade. At the moment, the wind brought sounds of crashing trees, pounding earth, and slamming rocks as the Death Eaters fortified the fallen village.

Voldemort was making a statement.

He was after Hogwarts.

But today, Harry was going to do his best to distract everyone. There was a Fair to put on and people to entertain and he'd be damned if this wasn't a success. Voldemort wasn't going to ruin this day!

"Cheers, Harry!" Seamus called raising his glass of butterbeer and Dean and Blaise followed suit. "And you too, Ron!" The five boys were lounging next to the Lake, each with a bottle of butterbeer in their hands. The girls of the group were trying on costume robes from the Medieval period, something every last one of the boys had refused to do.

"Minus Sephra trying to get me into tights, this has been the best day since we clobbered Hufflepuff," Blaise commented, his voice a lazy drawl so very different from Draco Malfoy's. "I'm not sure how you all pulled it off."

"Tons of work," Ron grumbled. "Not sure how Hermione was balancing N.E.W.T.'s and this and the after-graduation party."

"No kidding," Harry agreed. "Though I'm not sure how I balanced all my stuff either."

"Carefully," Remus said, flopping down next to Harry. "You inherited Lily's ability to make it seem easy. James never quite got it right, though he always had a lot on his plate too."

"Where's Caitlan?" Harry asked, looking for the toddler.

"Tonks got the day off," Remus answered, pointing off towards the rides. "The two are on the kiddy rides."

"Caitlan might be too old for those," Ron said thoughtfully, "but Tonks sure isn't." Harry and Remus laughed and the other boys smiled. Ron turned around to look over the lawns filled with milling people, all smiling and laughing. "I'm glad this turned out. I was afraid after last night--"

"Don't," Harry said sternly. "Not til this is done with. It's all because of the weather, all week it's been rainy and cloudy and cold."

"Yeah, the sun sure helps," Dean agreed. "Can't enjoy a fair if you're soaked through."

"Oh, you can," Remus said with a twinkle in his eye and a smirk on his lips. "You just have to have the right company, a bit of mud, and a clear field."

"And I'm sure you've never experienced this," Harry said with a smirk of his own.

"Of course not!" he replied, smiling now. It was a small smile that Harry had learnt meant that Remus was remembering the 'good-ol-days'. "It was all James and Sirius! They were throwing it at each other and I just happened to get in the way. And, you can't expect me to take that laying down!"

"Of course not!" Seamus roared through his laughter. "You had to fight back! Defend your honor!"

"That I did," Remus said, smiling broadly now. "Got those boys so good they were still washing grit off themselves a month later. And was I the one to get in trouble for the mud in the Entrance Hall?"

"No, you bloody rascal," Thia said, stopping right behind her brother and looking down on him, her shadow covering him. "You nipped off to the Prefect bath and they took the rap between there and the common room."

"I'd taken the rap for them more than once," Remus said with a shrug. "It was about time they paid up."

"True," she said with a shake of her head. "Just to let you know, I saw Tonks all scraped up by the kiddy rides while I was doing my rounds. You prolly should go supervise your wife. She's not old enough to be on her own yet." Thia continued on her way, on the look out for anything wrong.

"Dear Merlin, she's going to be the death of me." With that Remus got up and headed over to the kiddy rides.

"I wish he'd of stayed after third year," Dean said as they watched him disappear between the tents.

"Yeah," Blaise said in agreement. "He was good, and laid back. Though, Professor Black was cool too."

"Too true!" Dean agreed. "She let me graffiti the walls and the floor! Forget it, I'm glad he cleared off, means we wouldn't of had her!" The boys laughed at that and continued chatting as the afternoon wore on. The girls joined them, Ginny going to Harry's side and shared her cotton candy with him.

Neville and Luna wandered by later and sat down, talking amongst themselves about the probability of the existence of MelynGoch Lichen, the main food source for the Crumpled-Horned Snorkack.

"There's yellow lichen, why can't you accept neon orange?" Luna was saying angrily.

"Because, yellow is really a shade of green, and if it was all orange, especially neon orange, it wouldn't live," Neville debated back.

Harry shook his head at his two friends and relaxed, his head resting against Ginny's legs. Today had been perfect. Nothing had gone wrong. He had been able to relax as well, Hermione too. He'd been afraid that something would keep him from his friends all day. But it seemed he'd worried for no reason.

"Rat's Nest!" Shacklebolt shouted across the empty space between the vendors and the Lake. Harry stood quickly, brushing his pants off and straightening his shirt. The others smiled and laughed at him, but Shacklebolt was in many ways his commanding officer. Though the two had a friendly bond, Harry still showed him the respect due to an officer, especially after Shacklebolt had lectured him about appearance and what people expected from their leaders.

"Yes, sir?" he asked once Shacklebolt had reached them. Harry noticed the crowd that followed the black Auror and he looked at Shacklebolt questioningly.

"Douglass O'Neil wants a duel with you," Shacklebolt replied, a bit of the commander voice leaking into his tone. Harry knew he wasn't going to get out of this. "He's the best dueler the Aurory has and Thia thinks you can take him. Doug's been asking for months, and you're not going to get out of this."

"Does it have to be today?"

"It'll be more of a showcase match, though Doug might get desperate if you get close to beating him, and it'll be good entertainment. And it'll be good for you," Shacklebolt answered.

"So, yes, it does."

"Yeah, that about sums it up."

"Okay."

Shacklebolt, O'Neil, and Harry gathered around to discuss rules as the word went around that Harry was going to take on the best dueler in the Auror ranks. A dueling spot was marked out and the crowds started to gather around within minutes. Harry thought he heard the twins taking bets, though he couldn't hear them clear enough to know what the odds were.

"Alright, can I have everyone's attention?" Shacklebolt called, and the crowd grew silent. "The rules are for a basic Auror duel, with no exceptions. Both men have been training with these rules for a while now, so I'm not going to run through them all. Just know that I'm the only judge, injuries are expected, Dark magic is allowed though frowned upon, and only a 'killing stroke' or a 'yield' will end the duel. There's also a list of off-limit spells that they know. There's enough off-duty Aurors around who can explain the rules in more detail if you want to know."

Shacklebolt turned to the two men facing each other.

"Ready?"

"Ready," O'Neil responded first.

"Yes, sir," Harry said with a nod and a slight bow.

"Okay, let me get out of here." Shacklebolt took the space Ron had been saving and then looked at the two combatants. "Take your bows."

Harry traded a bow with O'Neil, never taking his eyes off the man. He knew he was at a severe disadvantage. O'Neil was one of the regular watchers at Harry's lessons, so the man was familiar with his fighting style, whereas Harry knew nothing of this man besides the fact that he was the best. He turned and took five steps. Turning quickly, he placed up a ward to block the spell O'Neil had gotten off first. It bounced off the ward and up to the sky where it hit the second ward placed to protect the audience.

They circled one another for a few seconds, Harry calculating everything he could tell about the man. That had been a tricky little spell Druce had shown him only a week ago, one meant to disorient a target for a few seconds. Very few people knew of it and even fewer could pull it off and even fewer that quickly.

"Ardent!" Harry cried at the same time O'Neil cried, "Funestus!" Harry dodged the "unlucky jinx" and O'Neil ducked his fire spell. They continued circling each other. It was obvious that O'Neil was playing with him. Harry needed to figure out how to change the tables.

"Stupefy! Ardent! Exarmo!" Harry shouted, sending another string of spells toward O'Neil for good measure. The shield the other man had survived all the curses, jinxes, and hexes and then O'Neil returned a volley of his own. Harry dived to the left, rolling, and getting up, casting a shield as he stood. Two spells hit it, one Harry knew and one he didn't.

Harry's shield would last a few more spells, so he sent a blasting spell at the ground and charmed the dirt to attack O'Neil, circling around the man like a cyclone. The distraction worked, the older man unsure of how to get rid of the dirt. Harry sent a spell at O'Neil that hit the man's leg and made him hobble some. Ignoring both the injury and the dirt, O'Neil sent several spells that Harry avoided by scant inches.

The duel continued as the sun drew closer to the horizon. Harry held his own, though he could never take control of the duel. The crowd cheered them on through it all, no one growing bored for things were constantly changing. At one moment O'Neil would be a move away from winning, but Harry would surprise them all by evading it. O'Neil just had too many tricks up his sleeves that Harry didn't know about to win.

Harry noticed that the trampled grass wasn't holding footprints and it gave him an idea. He started to transfigure large areas of it into roughen stone, moving quickly to avoid the older man who was starting to tire. It was an advantage Harry was going to exploit.

Stepping on one of the clear spots, he whispered the spell to make himself invisible, "Evanidus." He became invisible and a non-verbal charm threw his voice to the other side, making O'Neil spin around. Harry moved quickly to a new spot and whispered, "Evanidus," once more. The crowd cheered, and Harry threw his voice once more, confusing O'Neil further.

"Come out here, Potter! Hiding doesn't look good!"

"Can't you find me? I'm right in front of you!" Harry reappeared as he swept O'Neil's legs out from under him and then kneed him in the stomach. Placing his wand at O’Neil’s throat, he grabbed his opponent’s wand and threw it outside of the circle. Taking his free hand, Harry pulled on O'Neil's hair exposing the neck further.

"Yield?"

"Yield."

There was an explosion of sound as the crowd cheered both men. Harry stood and held a hand out to help O'Neil up. O'Neil accepted it and they shook to show good will. "Accio wand," Harry said, grabbing O'Neil's wand out of the air and handing it to the Auror.

"You'll do," O'Neil said and then walked away, heading for the gates. Harry watched him, stunned.

"Bloody brilliant, mate," Ron said, clapping him on the back.

"Amazing."

"Excellent."

"Did you see the way Potter worked?"

"They're both so fast."

"Merlin, I couldn't do 'alf that stuff on me best day!"

"Harry! You're bleeding!" Ginny exclaimed and started to heal the minor injuries he'd acquired during the duel. Others came to congratulate him and Harry saw more than a few galleons change hands.

The next evening, the Order was gathered to discuss Ravenclaw's weapon. Severus sat pouring over the original, making marks on the translation, changing a word here or adding one there.

He and Harry had come to an uneasy peace that allowed them to continue with the Legilimency lessons. Severus moved on from the "ethical" Legilimency to teaching Harry how to fight a Legilimens' Duel. It made Harry ill, knowing how easy this was for him. He could only assume that Legilimency was just one more skill that Voldemort had transferred that night in Godric's Hollow.

Dumbledore's portrait looked down at them, a small little smile on his lips. Harry had come to terms with the portrait, though he still refused to speak with it. Just seeing the portrait made the ache in his heart worse. He'd give anything to have Dumbledore back with them.

Ron, Hermione, and Ginny sat nervously next to him, Remus on their other side. Hermione had her copy of the translation and she was still scribbling on a scrap piece of paper and Ron was leaning over her shoulder to read what she'd added. Ginny nervously played with a lock of hair, chewing on the ends until her mum scolded her.

"Okay, let's come to order," McGonagall said and the Order members turned to face her. A silence that was filled with hope, tension and a little bit of relief settled on the room. "Remus, would you like to start?"

"Sure," he said, taking out his copy. "Hermione, Bill, Severus, and I have been busy debating Percy's and my translation and the ramifications of this spell. There are certain words we don't agree on, some are insignificant, whereas others are hugely important. I think we've come to an agreement on most of these words, compromises you could say."

"Does this uncertainty make the spell dangerous?" Mrs. Weasley asked in her normal tone of worry.

"Not really," Remus answered. "We've played around with the theory, taking the parts that we know are correctly translated and re-working the bits that are questionable until we've got a working spell."

"The theory is water-tight," Severus said. "Flint, we've got a copy here for you of the changed translation, if you'd like it."

"Yes, thank you," he replied, taking the roll of parchment.

"It is doable," Severus continued. "At least, as far as we can tell, it would be difficult to test it."

"How so?" a young Order member Harry didn't know very well asked.

"It requires someone to die, for one," Severus replied disdainfully, looking at the witch who had spoken with little patience. "For another, the person casting it has to believe that the victim's death is the just and right thing to do, that only through the death of the victim can peace be bought, that only with the victim's death would his victims find peace."

"More importantly, though," Bill said, interrupting Severus, "the caster must believe that his or her loved one's safety and peace can only be bought with the death of the criminal."

"Exactly," Severus said slowly, drawing the word out to remind Bill who he'd interrupted.

Harry also knew the two men had argued over the use of "victim" to describe Voldemort's position in the spell. He probably sided most often with Severus, because it was too easy to slip into the "for the greater good" mentality to excuse horrendous acts of evil. Thinking of killing anyone still made Harry's stomach clench unpleasantly. Voldemort would be a victim of this spell, just not an innocent one.

"Harry's case fits this spell perfectly. Correct?" Severus turned to look at Harry, and everyone else turned to face the young man as well.

"Yes," Harry answered simply. He'd read the important parts of the translation and talked over its meaning and theory with Hermione for hours.

"That is that then," Moody said decisively.

"Not quite," Bill said. "There's a bit more, the Legilimency aspect of the spell. Severus has been very mum on Harry's ability as a Legilimens lately and he hasn't actually assured any of us that Harry's Legilimency skills are up to taking on Voldemort."

"I said ‘Harry's case fits this spell perfectly,' did I not?" Severus replied grumpily, avoiding the unasked question.

"What exactly does he have to do?" Thia asked. Though she was the second most knowledgeable person concerning Occlumency and Legilimency, she'd been too busy to enter into any of these debates. Hogsmeade's fall had taxed her over the past week.

"Enter into a Legilimens' Duel," Harry answered. "Hold my own until I have the upper hand, impress memories of those I love and all that love represents onto Voldemort, expel Voldemort from my mind completely, expel myself from his mind, casting the spell the very second I leave his mind, and it kills him. Hopefully. If everything goes right, at least. If not, I've got to do it all over again, if it hasn't killed me. We're not sure what happens if it fails certain ways."

"And you think Harry is capable of getting the upper hand against You-Know-Who?" Moody asked, turning to look at Severus, his magical eye focusing in the side of his head and Harry thought it might be looking at him. "The best Legilimens in at least a hundred years, better than Albus even."

"He has already exceeded the Dark Lord's ability."

Harry gaped at Severus' simple answer.

"Really?" he asked before he could stop himself.

"Yes."

The Order was silent, but old mistrusts were hard to overcome for someone like Moody.

"How do you know?"

"Because the boy was able to find a memory that I had buried long ago, a memory that the Dark Lord has been searching for during all the years since it had occurred. Because he knows how to properly set-up a trap to snare an enemy Legilimens, something I still struggle with, for all the boy is impressed with my simple trap. He has been ruthless, cunning, and daring; obviously the Sorting Hat hadn't been so far off when it had suggested that the boy be placed in my House."

"Stop calling him boy!" Ginny snapped. Severus ignored her.

"If I had to choose between the Dark Lord searching my mind or Potter, I'd pick the Dark Lord. He is lazy, complacent, willing to look only for what he wants to see. He is easy to please, in a sick, disgusting way. The boy will do fine." There was a very silent pause.

"Why do you call him boy?" Remus asked softly. Harry thought Remus was being recklessly brave in doing so.

"For the same reason O'Neil won't talk about yesterday," Severus replied. "Harry has surpassed us both in something we pride ourselves in. Slytherins do not take kindly to that, and O'Neil and I are not used to it. If that is all, I do not see why this meeting has to go on any longer." He stood, waiting for dismissal.

"Oh, sit down, Severus," McGonagall scolded impatiently. "Stop acting like one of the first years you so disdain and realize that none of us think less of you for Harry's accomplishments. If anything, it is because of his teachers that he has excelled." Severus sniffed at that and Harry made a mental note to talk to Severus about this at their next lesson.

"So, Harry's able to handle the Legilimency part and with practice, I'm sure he'll get the rest," Ron said with the confidence of a best mate. "But, what about when he's fighting it out with Voldie. Won't a Death Eater stab him in the back? I know the Prophecy says that only one can kill the other, but I'd rather not risk losing my best mate over something Trelawney said. And the notebook doesn't say anything about what happens after the spell is cast, just that the target will be dead. For all we know, it'll sap Harry of energy."

"What do you suggest?" Thia asked, sensing what Ron wanted.

"I'd like permission to watch his back, along with Hermione, Ginny, Remus, Shacklebolt, and Volker, maybe even this O'Neil, if he's willing," Ron continued before anyone could interrupt. "The three of us, Hermione and Harry and me, we've been through a bloody hell of a lot together. We've done just fine, helping him along and watching his back. We haven't always been there when he needed us most, but not this time. And Ginny's got a bloody good Bat-Bogey hex and every right to cast it on any Death Eaters that get close to Harry. And Remus is as good as Harry's guardian and I know he'd be relieved to look after Harry. And Shacklebolt and Volker all have a good rapport with Harry and they've been training with him for a long time. And, I'd never say no to a wand like O'Neil's helping us watch over Harry. Seven people should be more than enough," Ron finished in a rush. He took a deep breath, looked around and waited.

Everyone looked to Mrs. Weasley, expecting her to protest. She didn't; instead, she wiped her eyes to dry the tears.

"I agree," she answered. She opened her mouth to continue, but didn't. Instead she shook her head and wiped at the new tears.

"Anyone have anything against this?" McGonagall asked and no one said a word. "A vote then, to make it official; anyone against?" No one moved. "Those for?" Everyone made a motion of acceptance. "Very well, request granted."

"I'd like to move to make Ron, Hermione, and Ginny full members," Aberforth said.

"I'd like to second," Remus said quickly.

"Anyone have anything to say against?" McGonagall asked and again no one said a word. Voting went the same and when the meeting ended an hour later, the three left as full members of the Order.

"It's coming to an end, isn't it?" Hermione asked before they departed up different stairs to the dorms.

"Yeah, it is," Harry said. "Finally."

"No kidding," Ginny agreed.

"No matter what, we'll always be at your back, mate," Ron said before disappearing up the stairs quickly.

"Always and forever," Hermione said before she too rushed away.

"And we won't ever regret a moment of it," Ginny said, before kissing Harry goodnight. She too disappeared up the stairs before Harry's mind had caught up with what had just happened.

Pledges of loyalty, no matter how unneeded they may be, were always amazing to hear. Even from these three.

Harry watched the pacing Professor warily the next evening. Professor Snape had been in a strange mood all day, stranger than his sulking of the weeks before. He hadn't looked at Harry once during the day, nor Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, which was made more obvious as Severus never checked their potions though he had resumed making the rounds of the classroom. Harry never saw him speak once to McGonagall who was sitting next to him as she always had at meals. He wouldn't even speak to his plate in response to the Headmistress' queries.

At the moment, Harry waited for him to begin their Legilimency lesson, eager to see what changes he would make now that they had the translation finalized and the Order's permission to begin. Yet, Severus continued to pace. Fifteen minutes after the lesson should have started, Harry realized that the other man was waiting for something from him.

"Sev--Professor?" Harry asked, switching half-way through to show a bit more respect. This was a lesson after all, and though Severus had never made him call him Professor during it, Harry thought it would prudent.

"Back to that, are we?"

"What?"

"Professor/student. No need to be friends with me any longer, now that you're finished with me."

"Wh-What?" Harry looked at the other man with surprise. "No!"

"Don't lie to me, Potter!"

"I'm not!" Harry stared into Severus' eyes, removing shields that hadn't been brought down for months. "See?"

He thought of the moment the night before when Severus had confessed that Harry had passed him. He made sure Severus saw just how grateful Harry was, both for the confidence in him and all of the lessons. He made sure Severus realized how much he still needed him.

"Fine." Severus paused next to his desk, and leaned against it. "The trickiest bit of this spell will be when to cast it. My suggestion is we battle it out, when you think you have control, you follow Ravenclaw's instructions, but instead of the Lladd Cariad, cast a simple, preferably non-lethal, spell."

"A stinging hex?" Harry swore he saw Severus' lip curl into a smile.

"Yes, that will work."

"Okay."

And so they battled. Harry managed to cast the stinging hex each time, but the first time was too soon, the second too late, and the third so late that Severus had been able to block it. He was about ready to collapse from the concentration and magic.

"Enough," Severus said, holding a shaking hand up and sinking into his desk chair. Harry took the seat on the other side of the desk, thankful for the break as much as Severus. "I can not go again. Are you free tomorrow?"

"Are you watching the D.A.?"

"No, will that be a good time?"

"As good as any. Tomorrow then?"

"Yes." Harry nodded and got up to leave. At the door, he heard Severus stand up. "Wait." Harry turned to look. "I would like--I mean to say--"

"That's alright, I know," Harry said with a nod. "Friends don't come and go easily. Not good ones. I'm not using you."

"I--No, you are not." Harry saw something in the other's eyes that confused him. A flash of old pain, maybe. He looked away quickly so that his curiosity wouldn't turn into a betrayal of trust. He didn't want to force his way into Severus' memories. He looked back at the Potion's Master.

"Good night, Severus."

"Good night, Harry."

And Harry left, feeling even more put off by Severus' behavior. Later that night, when Hermione and he were the only ones up, he brought it up and explained it to her. Of all his friends, she'd be the one who would be able to explain this to him.

"Well, simple, really," she said when he'd finished. She rolled up a letter and sealed it with her wand.

"It is?"

"Yes," she responded. "He's had very few truly good friends. His Death Eater friends betrayed him, though they won't see it that way. Lily and Sam both died and they couldn't ever really be 'public' friends, you know? He's been used so often, that he expects it. You did good, not making him thank you or apologize or anything like that. I'm proud of you, Harry Potter. You might just be growing up."

"Thanks, Hermione," he said sarcastically. "What were you working on?"

"Party invitations," she responded. "Neville's grandmum agreed to get them printed off, and the girls all talked about it and agreed on the details, so I'm just letting her know."

"The guys don't get a say in the matter?"

"Do you really care if it's in really curly script or slightly curly script?"

"No."

"Then, no, you don't."

"Girls."

"Boys."

"Hey, I take offence at that."

"Go tell someone who cares, Potter."

"Maybe I will, Granger. I'm sure I could get Ron to ignore you for a week."

"I have a better chance at convincing Ginny than you have of convincing Ron. Do you want to risk it?"

"Point taken. 'Night, Hermione."

"'Night, Harry. Sleep well."

"You too, and sweet dreams."

"Thanks."

Harry smiled and hurried up the stairs to bed, thankful that, though they were stressed with school, war, and the future, life could still function well. And, even though Ron and Hermione were in love, they had never once shut him out. It was nice to realize just how great his friends were. He never wanted to take them for granted.

Harry crawled into bed three days later just about ready to strangle his two best mates, the two people he'd been so thankful for at the beginning of the week. It wasn't because they had all of a sudden ignored him or anything. No, it was just the opposite.

Hermione had started harping on about N.E.W.T.'s, which were admittedly less than a week and a half away. But, instead of doing anyone any good, she had set Miranda and Lavender off in hysterics, pissed Ron off, again, and annoyed the crap out of all the other Gryffindor seventh years.

And then Ron was bound and determined to annoy Hermione by scheduling more Quidditch practices for the team. The final match of the season, the Slytherin/Gryffindor rematch, the deciding match, was two weekends away and Ron was bound and determined to piss Hermione off and win the Cup at the same time.

This wouldn't normally annoy Harry, except he didn't have the time for more practices. Ron knew that.

But did Ron listen as Harry told him that?

Did Ron accept that Harry had Legilimency lessons in every free moment of his day to learn the spell that would equal a win in the war?

No bloody way in hell did Ron listen!

Now, Harry didn't often go to bed before supper, but he was drained from Legilimency lessons, arguing with Hermione, arguing with Ron, and listening to hysterical girls. He needed a nap before he could function enough to do homework for Bill. And he was going to make time for this nap whether Hermione or Ron thought he was wasting it or not. Legilimency sucked and they knew it!

He took a deep breath and calmed his mind, using Occlumency to help remove the warring emotions. A nap would be impossible if he dwelled on the events of the past two days. With his mind calm, he curled up under the blankets and closed his eyes.

When he opened them, he mentally groaned. Diagon Alley, so recently repaired, was under attack once more. Instead of Voldemort's normal hit and run, this was obviously a try for occupancy. Dark wizards of all types poured out of Knockturn Alley, and a mob of the poorest wizards and witches living there created the meanest and most vicious group. Voldemort stood on top of the stonework of Gringotts. It was a commanding view and the lack of spells aimed toward the Dark Wizard was a testament to the state of the Alley.

It was about to fall.

For good.

The only wizards fighting against the Dark wizards were the white robed Aurors. None of the shopkeepers or customers (though there'd been very few the last few months) were around. Shop windows had been smashed in, the shops pillaged, and any bodies long gone, trampled by the mob.

Wizarding Britain, at least, the upper levels of Wizarding Britain was paying for its mistakes. Generations of downtrodden people had had enough and Voldemort was giving them an excuse to revolt. It wasn't all that surprising that these people supported him. None of them thought life could get any worse, and at least this way, they'd have some revenge.

Voldemort's attention was drawn down to a cornered Auror. Harry recognized Volker immediately and his concern for the man must have traveled down the scar link.

Ah, Potter, you've come to see my victory!

Go, bite yourself.

Temper, temper, little boy.

Yeah, well, you aren't exactly the highlight of my nap.

Oh, you poor boy. And, to think, you are supposed to be my greatest enemy.

Harry told Voldemort where he could shove his wand.

Voldemort laughed and his attention returned to Volker. Harry's gut wrenched as he watched a Death Eater and a beggar from Knockturn Alley just lay into the man. The Death Eater had a wand and was using the Cruciatus, the beggar a dagger and was knifing Volker over and over. A high pitch whistle was heard all around and Aurors started to apparate away.

Volker did not.

Death Eaters started to celebrate the victory and those from Knockturn Alley jeered at the "Cowards!" loudly. Voldemort raised his arms, motioning for silence.

"The bank! We must conquer the bank!"

The hundreds of people flooding Diagon Alley--Death Eaters, foreign Dark Wizards, and Knockturn Alley scum--surged forward to beat on the doors.

Voldemort laughed once more, pointed his wand over the ground where Harry had last seen Volker, and cried, "Morsmordre!"

"HARRY! WAKE UP!" Ron was shouting at Harry from the door.

"Yeah?" he asked groggily, not having recovered from what he'd seen.

"Diagon Alley!"

"I know. How do you know?"

"Fred and George escaped to get Thia and the Aurors. McGonagall sent us all to our Common Room. Hermione, Ginny, and I were watching out the window and the Aurors have just got back looking pretty bad. Voldemort?"

"Yeah," Harry said with a nod. He threw his legs over the bed and straightened his clothes. They were overly wrinkled, so he used a simple charm to iron them quickly. Harry followed Ron down the stairs to the common room. "Volker didn't make it out alive."

Ron turned around from where he stood on the lowest step. "Volker?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry, Harry."

"I know."

"What do you know?" Ginny asked, coming over to stand with them.

"Volker died," Ron answered.

"No," she whispered.

"Yeah," Harry answered again. His mind seemed to have frozen, able to answer only in the fewest and simplest words possible.

"Oh, no." She reached out and grabbed his hand, begging for some support and offering what she had to give. Harry pulled her closer, holding her tightly. So many images streamed before his eyes.

Angry people, downtrodden for too long, surging towards Gringotts, trying to beat the doors down.

The beggar stabbing Volker long after he was dead.

The red blotches on the ground that could only be trampled people or animals.

The retreating Aurors.

The cheering Death Eaters.

The jeering mob.

The broken windows, burning apartments, looted shops.

The few people taken alive being tortured, or like Volker, their dead bodies desecrated.

"The Daily Prophet is going to have a field day with this," Hermione said coming over as well. "They were already calling for Thia's dismissal."

"No, we can't lose her as Commander," Harry said stiffly, shouting. The Gryffindor common room went silent in an instant and all eyes turned to look at the four. Harry cleared his throat nervously. "Sorry."

"Ruining our studies, mate!" Seamus called good-naturally. "We wouldn't want Hermione at our throats." Dean and Lavender laughed at the joke, but quickly stopped.

"What's the matter, Harry? Feeling ill?" Neville asked, eyeing Harry carefully.

"You could say that," he answered. "Voldemort just took Diagon Alley."

"What?" many of the Gryffindors cried out, stunned by the news.

"Yeah, he did."

"That's why Fred and George came careening into the Great Hall then?" Lavender asked.

"Yeah," Ginny answered.

"Here I thought McGonagall only wanted us to study some more," Seamus said, letting out a low whistle. "I was way off."

"Diagon Alley, huh?" Dean asked, as if to make sure, one last time.

"Yeah," Harry answered with a nod.

"It's coming to an end," Neville said with a grim smile. "It's about time."