Harry Potter and the Siren's Song

By the time Harry and the twins had reached the Common Room, Angelina had already posted the team list and there was a small crowd hovering around the board. Ron was on the edge of the group, obviously waiting for his friend to make an appearance. The second he spotted Harry he was at his side. "I can't believe it," he said hoarsely. "I'm Keeper. Not even reserve."

"'Course you are," Harry said, giving him a punch in the arm. "Best of the lot, weren't you?"

"Yeah, but…wow." Ron's eyes looked very bright. "Thanks."

"Umm, at the risk of sounding proud of you or something, you weren't just sprinkled with pixie dust and handed that position, you git," George said. "You earned it, fair and square."

"Keep gobbling on like that, and people will think you bribed your way on the team. Oh, wait - that's right, this is the Gryffindor team we're talking about," Fred added. "Not that I wouldn't say no to a new broom, but Mum's lectures about lusting after material possessions would all come flooding back to me, and then I'd develop morals and it all goes downhill from there…"

"Shut up," Ron said, without much feeling.

"Back at you," Fred retaliated, punching him in the arm. He looked around. "Where's Ginny?"

"She went to check on Neville." Ron said.

"Neville! I think you two ought to be the ones to tell him." Katie called over from where she was talking to Ashleigh Mahdavi, no doubt giving her a good pep talk.

"Yeah, we want to talk to the Creeveys anyway - you two have fun." Fred winked, before he and George headed to Colin and Dennis's side. The younger boys hardly seemed disheartened, and their faces lit up at the sight of the twins.

"God help us - if that bunch buddies up, they'll be blowing the tower to bits before the end of term," Harry muttered as he and Ron made their way out of the portrait hole and began heading for the infirmary.

"Who's our first match against, anyway?" Ron asked. He was so excited, he kept bobbing around on his feet, reminding Harry of someone who'd eaten their weight in Fizzing Whizbees.

"Hufflepuff. Second Saturday in November." They hadn't faced Hufflepuff since their third year, when Cedric had been captain - the only loss Harry had ever had in his Quidditch career. Some of his emotions must have shown on his face, since Ron gave him a bracing punch in the arm.

"Cheer up - so long as the monsoons don't put in an appearance, we'll be fine." Harry didn't reply.

Madam Pomfrey was somewhat reluctant to let them into the infirmary, but capitulated when Harry promised they'd be gone in a few minutes. "We have something really important to tell Neville, Madam Pomfrey, and then we'll be gone again. You shouldn't see us again for months."

"A likely story, Mr. Potter - although I must say it must be some sort of record for you, having been on the grounds this long without winding up in here for one of your usual dangerous stunts. Perhaps that prefect badge has reminded you that there are more important hobbies then attempting to break every bone in your body before you leave school?" Tutting, she led them over to Neville's bed and left the five of them alone.

Neville's eyes were anxious. "Well?" he asked, swallowing hard. Ginny and Hermione were perched around his bed, looking like avenging angels. Their expressions held a very clear warning for Harry not to upset Neville.

Not that he planned to. "How's your arm, Neville?" he asked.

"Fine - Madam Pomfrey fixed it in about a second, but she said she wanted to keep an eye on me overnight. Probably thinks I'll take a header down the stairs if she let me escape." Ron grinned at Neville's prophetic words.

"No permanent damage? No reason you won't be able to use it soon?" Harry pressed on.

"No, why?" Neville was starting to look hopeful.

"Good, because the team starts practice next week. Change that, you'll be starting practice next week - with the rest of the team, as our new Reserve Seeker," Harry grinned at him. Hermione gasped, and put her hands over her mouth, looking like she might cry. Ginny's smile was practically a beacon of light. And Ron, he just stood bouncing around and grinned, waiting for Neville's reaction.

Neville just stared at Harry, his mouth open. Finally, he managed to stutter out, "I -I made it? I made the team?"

"Yes, you prat!" Ron roared. "Of course you did, with a dive like that!"

Neville's cheeks had gone very red. "I made the team!" he exclaimed triumphantly, bouncing off the bed. "I can't believe it!" Harry had never seen Neville like this. The boy gave off a loud whoop, then scooped Ginny up, twirling her around. "I made the Quidditch team!" he all but shouted. Ginny giggled, kissed his cheek, and hugged him back.

"Um, Neville - I don't think you should really be swinging her around with that arm just yet," Hermione said.

"What? Oh!" He blushed and set her down, then turned to Harry. "I can't thank you enough, Harry! Me, on the Quidditch team…oh wow…."

"You earned it, mate," Harry said. As he caught sight of Madam Pomfrey storming over towards them, no doubt looking to tell them off because of the racket they were causing, he said hastily "We'll see you tomorrow - best you stay up here and get a good rest."

"Yeah." Neville was settling himself back on the bed, a dreamy look in his eyes.

Hastily waving their goodbyes, as the nurse angrily gestured them towards the door, Harry led them out into the hallway. "My god, Ginny - are you crying?" he asked incredulously.

"Harry, did you see his face? I've never seen him like that!" Ginny was wiping her eyes. Harry noticed that Hermione's face was also shiny with tears.

"Oh, for the love of Chocolate Frogs…" Ron rolled his eyes. "Keep it up, Ginny - and we won't share the rest of the news."

"What?" Ginny's head shot up from where she'd been drying her eyes on her handkerchief.

"You, my silly sister, are the new reserve Chaser!" Ron grinned at her. "How's that for something you can get properly worked up about?" He looked at Harry and Hermione. "Waterworks warning."

Sure enough, Ginny burst into tears. "Really?" she managed to get out.

"Really." Harry said, and pulled her into a hug, feeling her arms around his waist. "Think I'd joke about something like this?" he asked her softly, tipping her chin up so he could see her eyes.

Ron cleared his throat. "Much as I hate to interrupt the impeding snogfest, isn't there something we should be doing? Like celebrating in the Common Room - away from where Filch might find us at any second." His eyes darted around the hall. "I'm all for a good game of hide and pray-to-god-he-won't-seek with the resident ogre of the castle, but I had kind of hoped to get through my first week back without hearing his voice." He didn't look a bit upset about breaking up the moment.

"Good call." Harry agreed, releasing Ginny, albeit reluctantly. "Besides, there's something the team and I have to discuss with Hermione."

"You want me to do what?" Hermione squeaked, her eyes wide. "You're kidding, right?" The four of them had returned to the Common Room, where Harry had the rest of the team gather together, before he pulled Hermione over to discuss his plans for her. Far from looking pleased, Hermione looked ready to jump over the back of the couch and run for the door.

"Yeah, we're just running a test to see how many octaves your voice can climb," smirked Fred. "So far, you're doing swimmingly."

"Like a duck in water," George added.

"Oh, sod off you two." Angelina snapped, before plumping herself down in a chair across from Hermione. "It's not that scary, Hermione. Lee's leaving school next year, and besides, he's been whinging for ages that running the commentary solo has become something of a major bore."

"Lee's funny." Hermione whispered. "I'm not funny. Not even remotely amusing."

"Lee's himself. You'll be fine - just do what you usually do. Besides, some of the fans would probably love a solid fact-based commentator." Alicia said comfortingly.

"As compared to our 'determined to be witty and damn the consequences' commentator," Katie piped in.

"Think how pleased McGonagall will be to have some company chasing Lee around the pitch and wrestling the megaphone away from him," Fred grinned at her. "It'll be his worst nightmare - I should know, I've heard him yell about it in his sleep."

Ron took Hermione's hands in his own. "No one knows the game better then you, except maybe Madam Hooch. You can practically recite Quidditch Through the Ages word for word." He gave Harry a grin over the top of her head. "Besides, think what a step forward it will be for the role of women in Quidditch…there's never been a female commentator at Hogwarts."

"Well…when you put it like that," Hermione said slowly, the familiar glint back in her eyes. Harry had the feeling that her loyalty to SPEW was going to be nothing compared to her new mission.

Saturday morning dawned clear and cool. Harry woke to find Ron practically jumping up and down on his bed with excitement over their first free weekend, and the Seges party. "It's a very good thing you don't drink coffee," Harry groused as he reached for his glasses. "I'd hate to see you after a few espressos."

"Whatever, mate - get your ass up. I thought we'd go visit Hagrid today…we haven't really had a chance to visit with him since we got back."

"And you're just panting to find out what he did this summer, aren't you?" Harry groaned. Ron threw a pillow at him, which Harry knocked out of the way. Unfortunately, his aim was a bit off and the pillow flew across the room and hit Dean in the head.

"What the hell-" Dean sat up, rubbing his eyes blearily. "What are you two up to now?"

"Oh, six foot three, give or take an inch." Ron was clearly not going to be put off. Harry ducked the pillow Dean flung back at him and headed for the shower. "I'll see you at breakfast, shall I?" he asked Ron.

Hermione joined them at the table some time later, her bookbag practically splitting at the seams. "Not signing up for umpteen electives again, are you?" Ron asked.

"No," she said breathlessly. "I thought I should brush up on my Quidditch facts before the first game."

"What's to know? Memorize the players, make snide remarks about anyone wearing green, and point out how dashing the new Gryffindor keeper is at every opportunity," Ron said, pouring syrup on a tall stack of waffles. "Simple."

She ignored him, and turned to Harry. "I thought we might go see Hagrid this morning. He only answered two of my owls this summer, and I'm dying to hear all about where all he went."

"Sure enough, that's what boy genius proposed to me at an ungodly hour this morning." Harry grinned at Ron, who shrugged his shoulders.

"Great minds think alike."

Harry was also thinking of something else…something he hadn't had a chance to talk about with either Ron or Hermione. His godmother…if she'd been his mother's best friend, then surely Hagrid would know something about her. Knowing her name, at the very least, would be somehow comforting. He opened his mouth to tell them what Sirius had said, when Professor McGonagall appeared at his elbow.

"I hear tryouts went well," she said without preamble, her expression stern. "When exactly were you planning to tell me that you've chosen to place two first-year students on the Reserve team?"

Harry swallowed hard. "Sorry Professor McGonagall, the first-year rule sort of, well, slipped my mind…they're really good, you know."

"Be that as it may, Potter, you know perfectly well that all members of the team have to be cleared through your head of house before they can be officially listed on the roster - and that includes reserves. I will make my own decision at your first practice next week." Her mouth was set in a very thin line. "You will submit your practice schedule as well as your team roster to me by tomorrow morning." Looking miffed, she turned and headed for her seat at the Head Table.

"What was all that about?" Ron asked, in a low voice. "She's never asked for a roster before."

"That we know of," Harry said gloomily. Professor McGonagall had mastered the ability to make him feel incredibly guilty about almost anything. "Oh well, I'll just have to warn the O'Tooles to fly their hearts out."

As soon as breakfast was over they headed across the lawns to Hagrid's hut. Fang was outside the door, and he bounded joyfully over to their sides the moment he saw them. Hagrid's head popped out the door, and he held up a hand. "Give us a sec' - it's a bit of a mess in here."

Harry couldn't help but notice that a brown owl flew out the window the second Hagrid stepped back inside. He shook his head, and moved his shoe to prevent Fang from turning it to jello with his enthusiastic snuffling.

"Come in, come in!" Hagrid held open the door a minute later, and his smile was a very welcoming one. "Make yerselves at home. I jus' put the kettle on, and there's pie in the oven."

Soon the three of them were sitting comfortably around Hagrid's large wooden table, enjoying hot tea. Despite his big breakfast, Ron helped himself to a large slice of pie. (Harry had told him about Hagrid's improved cooking skills.)

"So? How'd yer firs' week back go?" Hagrid beamed at them.

"Ok," Harry said, as Ron shrugged with his mouth full of pie, and Hermione answered with a bright "Wonderful."

"Going' to the Seges bash tonight?" Hagrid asked them slyly.

"Oh, yeah." Ron and Hermione both turned red, while Harry looked studiously at his teacup.

"Aren't yeh goin', Harry?" Hagrid asked, looking concerned.

"Yes." Somehow he knew Hagrid would understand why he wasn't more enthused. "Cho Chang asked me."

"Oh?" Hagrid eye's were sharp on his face. "Be gentle wit' that one, Harry. She's seen a fair bit of pain this las' year. Hasn't seemed like herself all week, from wha' I hear tell."

Harry nodded. He would have been slightly annoyed at these words of caution if they'd come from anyone else, but he knew Hagrid was speaking out of concern for both Cho and himself.

He didn't know how else to bring it up, so he just said what was bothering him. "Hagrid…I found out something this summer…that I had a godmother." Harry was watching Hagrid very closely, so he missed Ron and Hermione's reaction. Hagrid, he noticed, looked suddenly wary.

"Did yeh now?" He looked almost angry. "From who?"

"My aunt." Lying to Hagrid is the hardest thing I've ever had to do, he thought, but I have to know. It sounded ridiculous, even to his own ears, but he pressed on. "I was asking her why she'd never told me about Sirius Black being my godfather, and it just sort of, came up." Harry shuffled his feet. "She said neither of them cared a whit for me, and that if they had, they'd have sucked up to their responsibilities and taken care of me."

Hagrid slowly drained his tea, not answering. Just when Harry thought he hadn't understood the question, Hagrid spoke in a slow, sad voice. "I can't answer that for yeh, Harry. I can only tell yeh this - your parents thought long an' hard abou' who ter name as yer godparents. Sirius was James' best friend, and yer godmother - well, she an' yer mum were damned near joined at th' hip when they were here."

"Is she dead?" Harry asked quickly.

Hagrid shook his head. "I thin' that's a question yeh'd best ask Dumbledore." He stood up, and stared out the window. "I can tell yeh this about yer godmum, she near lost her head wit' grief after yer mum and dad died." His voice faded away, and Harry realized that all three of them were hanging on his every word. "Now, I need ter get ter town and check on somethin' for Dumbledore. You lot have a jolly Seges." And with that, he bustled them out the door, shutting it with a very firm click in their startled faces.

"Harry, why didn't you tell us you'd found out about your godmother?" Hermione said at once.

"Didn't have a chance to bring it up?" Harry shrugged. "Not exactly the sort of thing you can just pop in a conversation. 'Oh, by the way, Sirius let slip he was in love with my mum's best friend, who was also my godmother. What he won't tell me is if she's alive or dead.' I'll tell you this, though - that's the second person to tell me she went mad after my parents died."

"Well, if she and your mum were best friends, and she dated Sirius that's understandable, isn't it?" Hermione said gently. "It was a lot for her to take."

"Yeah, that's what Sirius said." Harry shoved his hands in his pockets. Ron hadn't spoken a word. Harry gave him an inquiring glance. "What?"

"Well…" Ron looked uncomfortable, "if she went to St. Mungo's, that's not too hard to check…it probably made the Daily Prophet. You know how they love a good scandal, and this would qualify." Seeing Harry's face, he said hastily, "Forget it, it was a stupid idea."

"No," Harry said firmly. "It wasn't stupid at all. I'll start checking tomorrow."

Hermione reached over and took his hand. "What do you want us to do to help?"

Thoughts of his godmother lingered with Harry all afternoon. Even as he doodled over his proposed Quidditch practice schedule, he kept hearing Sirius' words in his head, 'She couldn't handle - everything was going much too fast for her, Harry.' Had she just snapped? He'd read dozens of reports in The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts of how whole families had ended up in St. Mungo's after losing a loved one to Voldemort's followers. His godmother had not only lost her best friend, but Sirius as well. Had she known he was innocent? Was that what had been the final straw?

He sighed and reached for his diary. Obviously just sitting and stewing wasn't going to help him tonight, and he didn't want to be in a glum mood when he met Cho…the night was going to be hard enough without the memory of a lost godmother he'd never known hanging over his head. Loading his quill with ink, he wrote:

Neville…Harry looked across the dorm room, to where Neville lay on his bed, his lips moving as he silently read his Potions notes. Neville visited St. Mungo's with his Gran during the holidays. Would he possibly know anything? But then, how exactly did one bring that up in conversation? He wasn't even supposed to know about Neville's parents - the only reason he did was because of the memory he'd seen in Dumbledore's pensieve.

Harry sighed and wrote:

That evening, Ron and Harry made their way to the Common Room feeling self-conscious in their dress robes. Ron's new dress robes were almost spartan-like in appearance, a severe blue-black without so much as a velvet collar. I guess after the lace fiasco, he wanted to go no-frills, Harry thought.

He noticed that Ginny was avoiding his eyes, and was just weighing whether or not he should go talk to her when Hermione appeared, looking very pretty indeed in her silvery-blue dress robes. Ron looked as though he'd been punched in the stomach. "You look nice," Harry told her awkwardly.

"Thanks!" she said, blushing. "You too." She waited for Ron to say something, but he appeared to be incapable of speech.

"Come on, you lot!" Fred yelled, already at the portrait hole. He had an arm around Angelina, and she was giggling at something he'd whispered in her ear. "Time to ogle later, Ron. Sorry for his manners, Hermione, we think he was dropped on his head as child." Ron went very red, and gave Fred a look that would have burned a hole through Antarctica.

Lee was paired up with Alicia. George was deep in conversation with Katie, Seamus and Dean had claimed Lavender and Parvati, and Neville would be meeting up with Susan Bones in the Entrance Hall. As the group began making their way out of the room, Ginny appeared at Harry's side. "Have a good time tonight," she whispered in his ear, before disappearing up the stairs towards her room. Hermione gave him a severe look as she followed Ron out of the portrait hole, leaving Harry to scramble after them while shooting a hopeless look after Ginny.

He spied Cho waiting by the marble stairs, and held up a hand in greeting. They both blushed. Feeling doubtful as to whether or not this was a good idea, he made his way to her side. "Hey," he said by way of greeting. "You look…nice."No points for originality on compliments tonight, Potter! He groaned inwardly.

She did, actually. Her shining dark hair was pulled back into a simple knot at the back of her head, and her robes were a brilliant shade of red. "Thanks," she said, not looking up.

"I guess we should-" he started.

"It looks like everyone-" she said at the same time.

They both froze, then grinned at each other. Harry looked at Ron and Hermione. "Go ahead, we'll catch you up." Then he slid an arm around Cho's shoulders, and led her over for a private word.

"Listen, Cho - I know this must be hard for you. And I just wanted to say," he flailed. (What did he want to say? 'Sorry Cedric's not here? Sorry you lost your boyfriend, but if it makes you feel any better I think about him all the time, and sometimes wake up screaming about how sorry I am?') He cleared his throat and tried again. "I just wanted to say, I never had the chance to tell you how sorry I am. And that I'm really honoured to be your date tonight." Where had that come from? he thought wildly.

But Cho was looking at him with what looked like a genuine smile on her face - the first he'd seen her wear since the Third task last year. "Thanks Harry. That means a lot." She swallowed. "This whole week's been a bit of a nightmare, you know…everyone's treating me like I'll break if they say his name. But it actually helps, talking about him." She reached out for his hand and gave it a tight squeeze. "I guess I figured if anyone would understand that, you would."

"Yeah." Harry looked down at her, and felt as though a weight he hadn't even known he was carrying had suddenly been knocked off his shoulders. "Well, ditto that. And if you want to talk, you know I'm here." She just smiled, and nodded.

"Let's get going, shall we?" Still holding hands, they followed the noisy group out the doors and towards Hogsmeade.

Harry had never been inside the Hog's Head Pub, although he knew it was a favourite of Hagrid's. Most students preferred to stay at the Three Broomsticks during their Hogsmeade visits, as Madam Rosmerta was both a lovely and generous hostess.

In retrospect, the Hog's Head was smaller, with dark wood and a slightly more mature crowd. Harry took in the dark velvet curtains, and the paintings on the wall that depicted scenes of wizard life from a century ago.

The Hogwarts' students had a group of tables all to themselves, set up close to a wooden stage beside a large open dance floor. "Wonder who's playing tonight," Harry whispered to Ron.

"For sure it's not the Weird Sisters. They're still out on tour." Ron looked around at the instruments on stage. Several guitars, a grand piano, what looked suspiciously like a Muggle electric keyboard, and a rather elaborate drum set were already set up.

Hermione peered at a board behind the bar. "The Spirit Room."

"Huh?" Ron asked her, looking around. "Where?"

"No, that's the name of the band. The Spirit Room."

"Never heard of them," Ron said with a shrug. "Oy, Fred!" he called across the table, "ever heard of this band?"

"No, but Rene said they were fabulous," he called back.

"Who's Rene?" Harry asked Cho.

"He's the landlord," Cho answered. "He's a little odd, but he's OK"

Just then, someone set a huge tray of mugs filled with butterbeer and mulled mead on the table. As everyone reached eagerly for a glass, Harry looked at the man who'd carried over their drinks. Easily over six feet tall and extremely burly, his lower arms were heavily muscled and bore several tattoos. "I'm Rene DuLac," he said in a gravelly voice, meeting Harry's gaze. "You'd be Harry Potter, then. Hagrid's said a fair few words about you. Pleasure to meet ya." His accent was difficult to place, and his voice was so deep that it took all of your concentration to follow what Rene was saying.

"How've you been, Miss Cho?" he asked then, setting a glass of what looked like red juice in front of her.

"Getting by, Rene, thanks." She smiled at the landlord, who grunted in reply before moving on. Cho looked at Harry. "Rene let me come down here a lot at the end of last term. Just to sit and not talk to anyone. He made me this," she nodded toward the drink, "and named it Chang's Fire. It's all I'll drink when I'm here."

"What's in it?" Harry asked, giving it a dubious glance.

"Vanilla rum, cranberry juice, and a shot of cinnamon Red Hot." Cho's smile was sad. "He said that way he knew exactly how many I'd had…after 3 he'd walk me back to the castle."

"Was it awful?" Harry asked her. He'd never really talked to Cho, and while the subject was a bit, well morbid, he could tell she wanted to talk about everything that had happened.

She didn't need him to clarify. "Worse then the most painful nightmare you can imagine. At least then, you can wake up. But with Ced - there was no waking up…and his poor parents." She took a sip of her drink, then looked at him guiltily. "We can talk about something else, you know. This can't be easy for you to listen to."

"It's not," he told her truthfully. "But who else can I talk about it to?"

She nodded, playing with the folds of her robe. Harry looked around them. Ron and Hermione were laughing at Fred and Angelina, who had engaged in a rather one-sided thumb-wrestling match. He heard voices and looked up to see the Slytherins, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws making their way over to their tables.

Draco, he noticed, had Blaise Zabini's hand tucked in his own. Pansy Parkinson was holding tightly onto the arm of Devon Warrington, the 7^th year Slytherin Chaser and seemed to be focused on looking anywhere but at Draco. Crabbe and Goyle, Harry saw, had once again shown up without dates. ("Big shock there!" Ron hissed in his ear. "Surprising lack of deaf, dumb and blind women at Hogwarts!") Glancing at the others, he recognized Padma Patil with her fellow prefect Terry Boot, Hannah Abbot and Justin Finch-Fletchley and Ernie MacMillan holding hands with Mandy Brocklehurst from Ravenclaw. Each house had its own table, but with all the inter-house dating, everyone just gave up and sat en masse. Harry was pleased to see that Draco and his crowd kept to the other end of the table, although he did see Draco's eyes narrowing on Hermione as he made a whispered comment in Blaise's ear, causing her to laugh.

Almost as if he could sense the tension between certain members of the Hogwarts party, Rene jumped up on stage and held up his hands for their attention.

"Good evening. Allow me to welcome another class of Hogwarts upperclassmen to the 200^th annual Seges party." Cheers followed this announcement, and Harry caught sight of a few locals pounding their mugs on the bar. "Fifth years, you have only one job tonight - to make sure the 7^th years make it home…. Preferably in one piece, but if you can't, then it's you who'll have to answer to Dumbledore, not me." The 7^th years all laughed, whistled and cheered, the twins choosing that moment to set off a few no-heat fireworks. "Oh yes, and to the people unlucky enough to be in Gryffindor, I pity the folks assigned to Fred and George Weasley...they claim to have been working their way up to tonight since their fourth year." More laughter followed this statement.

"And with no further adieu, I give you - the Spirit Room!" The pub burst into applause, even though it was clear not one student from Hogwarts had a clue as to who this band was. As they trooped up on stage, Harry saw that there were four men and two women in the band. Three of the men had very long hair pulled back into a ponytail, reminiscent of Bill Weasley. The fourth man, whom Harry saw was the drummer, had a shaved head and too many earrings to count. The two women, however, couldn't have been more different in appearance. While one was dressed in simple ivory coloured robes, with the hood pulled up to obscure her features, the other was dressed in Muggle clothing that was no doubt designed to draw attention. She had shoulder length curly hair in a shade of red that Harry was positive he would never find in nature. Her blouse was a loose folk style, with much embroidery and ruffles, paired with a wildly patterned skirt. Around her neck, she wore enough necklaces to rival Professor Trelawney - at least 10, 9 of which held large turquoise stones that fell at graduating lengths on her chest. The last one was a very long silver pendant with a goldstone center that swung to her waist. Her feet were bare, and she reminded Harry greatly of pictures he had seen in his Muggle history classes of hippies from the 1960's.

"Good evening." The hippie looking woman spoke, her voice magically amplified, no doubt having applied the Sonorus charm to herself. "Welcome to the Hog's Head. As Rene was good enough to let you know, we are the Spirit Room. Before we start, we feel obliged to raise a glass to the Hogwarts' Seges party." Every band member held up a drink, and waited for the pub to do likewise. When all had their glasses raised, the woman continued, "To the new generation - try not to piss yourselves on the way home." Harry looked around uncomfortably, as the onlookers chuckled and drank. The woman drained her glass, and then grinned. "I know what you're thinking…shut up and play, Lauren." A few loud cheers met this announcement, and she sighed. "So be it…just remember, the more you drink...the bigger our take." She bowed her head, and the room fell silent, only to be broken by the sounds of a piano being played. In the background, Harry heard the soft wail of the keyboard playing eerily.

Then Lauren began to sing and Harry forgot about everything else:

Her voice seemed to slip inside his head, and touch his very soul. The sound was warm, invigorating, and reminded him of something - something that he couldn't quite place. Then a second voice joined hers…the woman in the ivory robes.

The two voices harmonized and blended in a way Harry hadn’t thought was humanly possible. It was hypnotizing, like watching a bird fly and wondering how it stayed aloft.

And then Lauren's voice sang softly:

Harry waited, almost holding his breath. Surely they would sing together again. He reached out and took Cho's hand in his own, wanting to share the magic with someone else.

He wasn't disappointed.

As if pouring from the mouths of angels, the two women sang on:

And with that last word, the drums began a haunting beat that seemed to work its way into his very brain.

The keyboard started again, with its eerie melody. It blended with the drums, somehow making it impossible for Harry's feet to stay still. As if in a sort of trance, he helped Cho to her feet and led her to the dance floor. He saw, to his surprise, that he was not the only one doing so. Literally dozens of his fellow students followed suit.

And then, as if silenced by a far stronger hand the drum stopped, leaving only Lauren's voice tremulously hanging in the air:

Her voice arched over the crowd, and the song ended. The students on the dance floor burst into loud applause, and Harry found, to his shock, that he didn't want to flee the floor like he had at the Yule Ball. He was clapping and yelling along with the rest of them, not wanting the song to end. When the applause began to die down he looked at Cho.

"Wow," she said shakily.

"Yeah," said Harry.

"That was incredible!" Hermione squealed, looking positively transported.

The drum began again, this time faster. A driving rhythm, mixed with the soft whine of the guitar before Lauren began to sing again:

And once again, the two women's voices harmonized and blended, making Harry feel more at peace then he had all year. And yet he wondered: how? Why did they affect them so much? It reminded him of his experience with the veela last year at the World Cup - were these women part veela?

His feet were moving of their own accord, and Cho looked completely content as she swayed to the rhythm. Everyone at the Seges was dancing, and they all looked as carried away as Harry felt. Even Draco was smiling, a real smile with no malice. It was perhaps this that made Harry feel most uncomfortable. It was as if they'd all fallen under the spell of the Imperius curse, topped off with a rather strong Cheering Charm…

As the guitar began to wail in a break in the song, Harry found himself staring at the lead singer Lauren. She looked as though she was scarcely making an effort, and was completely unaware of the affect her music was having on the pub at large. As Harry watched, he was stunned to see that suddenly their eyes met above the crowd, and unmistakably she winked.

As the song came to a crashing halt, while the two voices seemed to hold the last note for an eternity, Harry let go of Cho's hand. "I need to get something else to drink…you need anything?" he said in her ear.

She gave him a quizzical look, before answering "Water."

Harry left the dance floor as the guitars began playing again. Making his way to the gleaming bar counter, he placed his request for two waters with Rene and waited. A tap on his shoulder made his head jerk around, and then he almost yelled in surprise. "Bill? What are you doing here?"

"Keeping an eye on things," Bill Weasley said easily, looking amused. Seeing Harry's suspicious look he clarified quickly. "Not on you lot, although I think Fred and George might warrant a bit of extra supervision tonight." Fred and Angelina were dancing so energetically that they had cleared a five foot circle around them, while George and Katie seemed to be undertaking some sort of odd tango.

"What, then?" Harry asked.

Bill finished his drink and looked at Harry. "Think, Harry - do you really believe Dumbledore would let something as well known as the Seges go down without any supervision now that Voldemort's back?"

When Bill said it like that, Harry supposed they had been a bit stupid not to realize this. When he asked which teachers were involved, Bill shook his head. "Almost none…they wanted you all to be free to enjoy yourselves."

"Plus they didn't want to deal with the twins?" Harry guessed, laughing.

"That too." Bill grinned. "Trust me, you'll never find them - they're extremely well hidden." His eyes drifted back to the band, and settled on Lauren in particular.

"Do you know them?" Harry asked, curious to know if anyone else had the same suspicions he did regarding the band.

"Not well….Rene said they were big in the States though." He shrugged and looked mischievous. "A welcome export, in my opinion."

"Yeah." Harry looked down at the glasses of water in his hands. "Something about the way they sing…makes me uncomfortable."

"Harry, just relax. It's a bit overwhelming I know, but rest assured, Rene wouldn't have booked them if they weren't completely aboveboard."

"So you noticed something too?" he said quickly.

"Yes, but you're not here for a lesson about magical creatures. You only get one first Seges, Harry - go enjoy it." Bill gave him a little prod in the back. "Go on - your pretty girlfriend is looking a bit lost."

"Oh, she's not my-" but Bill had reached for the hand of a woman sitting next to him at the bar and was leading her out onto the dance floor. Shaking his head, Harry carried the waters back to the table. Cho spied him and made her way over.

"Thanks," she said, swallowing it gratefully. "They're really great, aren't they?" she asked, her dark eyes shining.

"Yeah, great" Harry said quickly, not wanting to spoil her good mood.

"You know, I thought about not coming tonight. It just seemed too hard, but now…" she smiled at him, "I'm really glad I did."

"Right," said Harry. This was making him more and more uncomfortable. Something about their voices; they seemed to be prodding his brain, and telling him to forget his worries and relax. I won't! he thought fiercely.

As the song ended, the next one began, this one much slower. "Want to dance?" Cho asked, not looking as though she'd take 'no' for an answer. Harry nodded, resolutely following her onto the dance floor. The fast dancing had been all well and good, but this was the kind of dancing he just abhorred. He took Cho's hand, and placed the other around her waist. She rested her head against his shoulder, and seemed to lose herself in the haunting music.

Despite his resistance, he could feel the pull of their music, their words, making him feel so easy, so comfortable. As he danced, he saw that Ron and Hermione looked equally oblivious to everything around them. Without warning, Ron suddenly leaned in and kissed Hermione. Harry felt frozen, somehow unable to look away. Hermione's eyes were wide with shock, before she relaxed into the kiss, and wrapped an arm around Ron's neck, pulling him closer.

"Harry? You all right?" Cho asked curiously. He'd stopped dancing.

"Oh!" Harry couldn't tell her what he'd just seen. Instead, he grimly began dancing again, and didn't look at Ron and Hermione for a long time.

At one in the morning, the Spirit Room's guitars played a last chord, and then stopped. The Seges party clapped hard, cheering and yelling for more. Lauren held up a hand, and Harry noticed she looked surprisingly animated for someone who had been singing almost nonstop for the better part of five hours. "Thanks...we'll see you again soon. And fifth years, if the rest get too rowdy, just let them crawl home - it'll do them good." Harry and his classmates cheered, and the band Disapparated with a pop.

"Go on now, yeh've got a bit of a walk home," Rene reappeared to help the younger students propel some of their more inebriated senior members towards the doors. To Harry's relief, he saw that Fred and George were walking completely on their own power, although Fred was wearing quite a bit of Angelina's lipstick, and George and Katie appeared to be rather giggly.

"I'd say we got off easy - Warrington passed out cold! Imagine trying to carry that lump, especially as dead weight?" Ron asked.

"Really!" Harry laughed by way of agreement. Seamus and Lavender were helping Alicia to guide Lee out the door, as he seemed to finding the mere act of moving his feet something of a mystery. Overall, though, Gryffindor house was more or less intact and walking home unaided.

"A whole night with the Slytherins and not one nasty comment, not one vile remark!" Hermione said, shaking her head as the walked up the darkened streets of Hogsmeade. "Think we could get the Spirit Room to play in the Great Hall every meal?"

Harry shrugged and said to Ron, "Bill was here - did you see him?"

"Really?" Ron looked stunned. "Weird - he didn't come over and say 'Hi' or anything - was he lost?"

"Not exactly." In a low voice, Harry told them what Bill had said about Dumbledore arranging to have the Seges party supervised.

"Well, it makes sense, doesn't it?" Hermione said, matter-of-factly. "According to Rene, Seges is 200 years old and that would mean all the Death Eaters know about it." She gave Cho a quick searching glance. "This isn't bothering you, is it?"

"No." Cho said firmly, matching their pace. "For the first time in a long time, I feel like I'm in charge of myself, and not just waiting for something else to happen."

No one seemed to know quite how to answer that. They walked the rest of the way in silence, listening to Lee Jordan sing "Do the Hustle" all the way back to the castle. He didn't really know the words, but insisted on singing the familiar refrain over and over, and over again. Even when they neared the castle, Lee showed no signs of refraining from his one-man act.

"Oh, really now - he'll wake the whole castle!" Hermione said, caught between amusement and annoyance.
"Hermione! Help me out!" Alicia hissed. "Lee, for the love of God…disco's dead…let it go!"

"But I love the night life - I wanna boogie," he sang to her, before patting her face with his hand. "Such a sweet Alicia - you're really going to kill me in the morning, aren't you?"

"You're assuming I'll wait," she said kindly. "Might be better for you if we just put you out of your misery now…Heaven knows how you'll ever live down that John Travolta imitation."

Hermione pulled her wand from her pocket. "Here," she said, moving to Lee's side. "Quietus! "

Lee's mouth opened but barely a peep came out. "Thanks - I owe you!" Alicia said gratefully, as she led Lee up the stairs.

In the entrance hall, Ron shot Harry a smirk as he and Hermione headed for the stairs and bed. "See you in a bit," Harry called softly after them. He followed Cho to the stairs that led off to the Ravenclaw dorm, then stood awkwardly looking down at her. "Well."

"Yes. Well." Cho blushed, then leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Thanks, Harry. You're a good friend." With that, she hurried up the stairs, leaving Harry to stare after her.

He leaned against the cool marble of the stairs, and thought about what she'd said...'For the first time in a long time, I feel like I'm in charge of myself, and not just waiting for something else to happen.' Maybe that's what bothered him so much about Lauren's voice, it made him feel as though he was most definitely not in charge. The music had been beautiful, to be sure, and had left him longing to give in to it completely, and yet….

Shaking his head, Harry slowly made his way up the stairs towards Gryffindor Tower.