Harry Potter and the House Divided

Chapter Twenty-Two Many Conversations

Harry didn't know how much time passed between his collapse in the Common Room and waking up in the Hospital Wing. He could hear a number of people talking nearby, but couldn't see anything because the contact lenses that he now wore had been taken out of his eyes.

Considering the incredible pain in his head and horrible taste in his mouth, Harry wasn't sure that he wanted to be able to see himself. He was sure that if he looked as bad as he felt, Madam Pomfrey would be keeping him in the Hospital Wing for several days at least.

"'Arry?" Fleur's voice demanded from somewhere to his left.

"Yeah," he groaned, horrified at how much pain speaking one single word could cause.

"Are you well, Potter?" Professor McGonagall's voice boomed through his still-ringing skull.

"Fine," Harry groaned, "though if you'd keep it down a bit, Professor, I'd feel better."

"I certainly won't 'keep it down'," Professor McGonagall said. "I can't believe that you'd be irresponsible enough to drink alcohol after all the work that you did with the Headmaster and Ms. Delacour this summer."

"But I didn't," Harry objected, trying to remember what happened earlier.

"Oh, you most certainly did," his head of house said.

"When?" Harry asked, trying to put together his disjointed memories from the party.

"Yesterday evening, or have you had so much that you can't even remember what happened?"

"Uh," Harry said, confusedly. "I remember Hermione's party and getting some punch from Seamus but I don't remember anything about alcohol."

"Apparently there was alcohol in the punch that Mr Finnegan and Mr Thomas were serving yesterday."

"There was?" Harry asked, curiously.

"Indeed," said Professor McGonagall.

"I didn't know."

"I can see that," she replied, anger at him replaced by fury directed at Seamus and Dean. "I thought as much and have already taken 200 points from Gryffindor for tampering with the Anti-Alcohol Charms on the punch bowl and serving alcohol on the Hogwarts grounds. They will also serve a week's detentions and will have to speak with the Headmaster about possible suspension."

"But...," Harry objected, thinking that the loss of 200 points, not to mention possible suspension, seemed a bit extreme.

"But what?" Professor McGonagall demanded sharply.

"Nothing," Harry said, realizing that anything that he might say in defence of Dean and Seamus would only cause more trouble later. After all, they knew the rules and Hogwarts rules were explicit where breaking charms on school property without permission was concerned and even harsher about unsupervised use of alcohol given the risk of accidental or intentional magic while drunk.

"After Madam Pomfrey has had a look at you, I must insist that you speak with Ms. Delacour about what happened yesterday evening. Professor Dumbledore hoped to see you but news of 'You-Know-Who's' attack on you has already reached the Ministry and the Daily Prophet."

"What attack on me?" Harry asked, confusedly.

"Why, the attack that caused you to collapse in hysterical laughter in the middle of the Gryffindor common room yesterday evening of course," Professor McGonagall said. "An event that was nearly simultaneous with the destruction of Ms. Granger's home."

Harry was too shocked by the news of the attack on Hermione's family to register Professor McGonagall's report on his vision and the article about it that must have appeared in the Daily Prophet.

"Are her parents all right?" he asked, fear pooling in his middle like hot lead at the thought that he'd been too affected by whatever Seamus and Dean had put in the punchbowl to save them.

"Fortunately, Miss Granger's parents were not present and so the property itself is their only loss. Much of it has already been reconstructed by a special Ministry team but even so, many things can not be repaired."

Harry nearly collapsed with relief. Hermione's home might be destroyed but her parents still lived. So long as that was true, the guilt that he felt at having got drunk the night before wouldn't crush him.

"Can I talk to her?" he asked, unable to see whether she was in the room because his contacts still weren't in.

"Yes you may," Professor McGonagall said. "She will take a Portkey to London to see her parents later this afternoon, but you may see her after you have been released by Madame Pomfrey."

"Before she lets him out of here, I have to take a report of what happened for the Ministry files," Tonks' voice said from somewhere to his left.

"Miss Tonks!" Professor McGonagall cried. "Harry Potter is a student at this school, not a criminal whom you need to question."

"I don't know about that," Tonks said cheerily. "Looks like a trouble maker to me!"

Professor McGonagall spluttered and Harry couldn't help laughing at her response to his guardian's antics.

"Can I go to breakfast and see Hermione before I talk with you and Fleur?"

"Best to get it over quick," Tonks said. "Filling out reports is kinda like a potion. The faster you do it, the shorter the time you have to anticipate the taste."

"Right," Harry said with a sigh.

"If Madam Pomfrey says that you are well enough, I will let you speak to Ms. Tonks and I will then accompany you to the Great Hall."

"Then let me have a look at him," Madam Pomfrey's voice came from somewhere near the foot of his bed.

Harry was able to reinsert his contact lenses after some poking and prodding, a detoxification draught and a lecture about drinking alcohol.

"Can I have him to myself for a few minutes?" Tonks asked, determinedly meeting Professor McGonagall's ferocious stare.

"If you must," the Professor said, huffily, before striding off to Madame Pomphrey's office.

"Call me if she's too hard on the lad," Madam Pomfrey said to Fleur who showed no signs of leaving Harry's bedside.

"Of course," Fleur nodded before turning her attention back to Harry who was already going through the incident as best he could remember it.

Tonks was recording the interview with a Quick-Quotes quill that actually transcribed what Harry said, rather than some fantasy on the part of its owner. Her questions were direct but put in such a way as to keep Harry from becoming even angrier at himself for his perceived stupidity.

The effects of the alcohol and his worries about the well-being of one of his best friends' families were enough to keep Harry from remembering anything useful about the period before Voldemort showed him the destruction of Hermione's home.

"Do you think he would have been able to stop the vision if he'd not been drinking?" Tonks asked Fleur after the interview was over.

"Possibly," Fleur said. "'E was able to hold Voldemort out of 'is mind when ze prisoners escaped. I zink zat wizout ze alcohol zere wouldn't 'ave been any difficulty."

"Right," Tonks sighed. "Can I talk to him for a sec before we send him off to breakfast?"

"Certainly," Fleur said, moving slowly toward Madam Pomfrey's office.

After she'd gone far enough to allow them level of privacy, Tonks turned to Harry face filled with concern.

"Are you OK?" she asked, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Fine," Harry lied, not wanting to admit how embarassed he was about the whole thing.

"You remember when I told you this summer that you'd had enough people deceive you and that was why I would never appear to you except in my natural face?" Tonks asked gently.

"Yeah," Harry said, not seeing the relevance but willing to play along in any case.

"Well," Tonks said with a grin. "I'm a pretty good lie-detector too, which is why Kingsley sent me as opposed to someone with, well, more experience. I know that you're lying when you say that you're fine but I'm willing to let it go because I lie about stuff like that all the time, too."

"Really?" Harry asked, surprised.

"Oh yeah!" Tonks said, nodding to reinforce her words. "You think it's easy to be the girl who can be any girl in the world?"

"Dunno," Harry said, "sounds like being able to hide who you are could be pretty handy."

"It can be," Tonks agreed with a grin. "But it also means that people don't listen to me because they're not sure whether they're getting my real thoughts. When you can't trust the face you lose trust in the person behind it."

"But it's..., well, you!" Harry objected, not sure how to say that it seemed pretty stupid to distrust someone just because you didn't know what they really looked like.

"Thanks, Harry." she said softly. "It means a lot for you to say that."

Harry, embarassed by her open display of emotion looked away, not sure how to respond.

"Are you done with my student, Ms. Tonks?" demanded Professor McGonagall as she swept up the ward toward them.

"Sure thing, Professor," Tonks said, glaring at the older woman.

"Then I should take him to breakfast and make sure that he sees Miss Granger before she has to leave."

"Of course," Tonks said with a saucy grin for Harry. "Wouldn't want to starve the lad or anything."

"Certainly not," the professor said grimly. "With all that Potter's going to have to deal with the next few days it's probably best to get him fed up now."

"I'm going to have stuff to deal with?" Harry asked, as they walked down the stairs just outside of the hospital wing's main entrance.

"Unfortunately, yes," Professor McGonagall said, jerking a copy of the 'Daily Prophet' from one of her pockets.

Harry unfolded it and was greeted by a half-page picture of himself, scar prominent on his forehead.

The accompanying headline read:

Potter Possessed?

It was written by a reporter whose first name he didn't recognize, but whose last name was... Parkinson.

The accompanying article read:

Sources at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry report that Harry Potter, who was attending the coming of age celebration for Hermione Granger, a Muggleborn witch who is his friend and who fought with him in the Ministry of Magic last June, collapsed last evening in a fit of screaming and cackling. Mr Potter was transported to the Hogwarts Hospital wing by Professor Minerva McGonagall who was called to attend him by Miss Granger.

Mr. Potter's current condition is unknown but Mestophiles Davies, a healer at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Afflictions says that he believes that this "attack" was similar to problems that he had in his fourth and fifth years at Hogwarts. Davies says that the reoccurring nature of these problems and the fact that they are often coincidental with actions taken by 'You-Know-Who', suggests that Mr Potter suffers serious physical and mental trauma every time 'You-Know-Who' takes significant action.

Although this reporter can not confirm them, it has also been rumoured that several sets of Hogwarts parents have owled Headmaster Albus Dumbledore demanding that Mr Potter be removed from the school until such time as his mental stability can be guaranteed.

Professor Dumbledore, who was at the Ministry of Magic this morning, responding to the crisis in confidence that faces Minister Fudge's government refused to comment either on Mr Potter's mental state or any communication that he may have had with parents of Hogwarts students.

Harry Potter's heroism in defending the wizarding world against 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named' is unquestioned; but considering the Headmaster's silence on any risks that he may pose to himself and his fellow students, this reporter wonders if it would not be wise for Mr. Potter to withdraw himself from the school for a time. If he refuses, it seems reasonable that he be accompanied to his classes by a guardian capable of protecting him from himself and his peers from any danger that he may represent.

Harry couldn't remember being so furious. After all of its waffle about what a wonderful, heroic lad he was this summer, the Daily Prophet was back to its old habits.

"But Professor, surely you know that I'm not a danger to others!" he cried, causing a passing third year Ravenclaw to scramble away from him as quickly as she could.

"Of course you're not dangerous!" Professor McGonagall growled. "Your classmates' foolish behaviours are a far greater danger to you than your decisions have ever been to them."

"So there have been letters then," Harry said sadly.

"Of course there have been," the professor said, looking at him as if he were completely stupid.

"Are you going to send me away then?" Harry asked, insides squirming with fear at the thought of it.

"Of course not!" Professor McGonagall said sharply. "If any students leave this school it will be because their parents withdraw them. Professor Dumbledore is not in the habit of expelling students no matter what their transgressions may have been, and you have done nothing worthy of expulsion in... quite some time," she said, giving him one of her thin-lipped smiles.

"Oh," Harry said, immeasurably relieved.

"But we may yet have to revisit the possibility of having someone monitor your activities and mental state."

"But Professor!" Harry cried, horrified.

"But nothing, Potter," she said, glaring. "You've made it obvious that you can't be trusted to speak up when you're having problems and your friends are too loyal to report any difficulties that you may be having. Unless you can control the effects of whatever connects you to 'You-Know-Who', we will have to ensure that you don't hurt yourself or curse anyone as could have happened yesterday evening."

"Right," Harry sighed. "Can we try keeping me away from mind altering stuff first?"

"That will be up to the Headmaster," Professor McGonagall said primly.

"Do you know when Dumbledore's going to be back?" Harry asked, hoping that the Headmaster would be back soon.

"Professor Dumbledore, Potter."

"Yes, Him," Harry said shortly.

"I honestly don't know, Potter," Professor McGonagall said. "Though I am certain that he will want to speak to you shortly after his return."

Harry nodded, certain that Professor McGonagall wouldn't tell him when the Headmaster was to be back even if she knew precisely when he was expected.

"Uh, Professor," he said as they walked across the Entrance Hall.

"Yes, Potter?"

"Would you and Tonks mind letting me go in alone?"

"We do need to eat breakfast too, Potter," his Head of House said with some asperity.

"No," Harry said, face red with embarrassment. "I meant that I wanted to go in by myself, otherwise it'll look like you think I'm dangerous."

"Oh, very well," the professor said, huffing. "Go in and we will follow you after a minute to make it clear that you're on your own."

"Thanks, Professor," Harry said, trying to grin his thanks to her before turning toward the doors through which hundreds of excited conversations could be heard.

"Harry," Tonks said before he could complete the trip across the entrance hall.

"Yeah?" He asked, glancing back at her.

"I'm headed back to the Ministry but should be back up in a couple of weeks, assuming everything doesn't go pear shaped in the meantime."

"Why're you coming up then?" Harry asked, curiously.

"You'll see," Tonks said mysteriously before ducking through the main doors, Auror's robes shining in the mid September sun.

Knowing that no answers would be coming from Tonks about whatever it was that she was talking about, Harry turned toward the great hall, stomach tightening at the likely response to his entrance.

*-*-*-

The effect of Harry's entrance on the flood of noise in the Great Hall couldn't have been greater if Lord Voldemort himself had appeared there. Of course, Harry thought wryly as the silence spread from student to student and table to table, many of them probably knew that he had nearly been possessed by 'You-Know-Who'. So in their eyes, it could well be Lord Voldemort coming to sit down to breakfast with them.

"What are you looking at?" he demanded of a small group of Hufflepuffs who were unfortunate enough to be sitting near the main entrance.

"Nothing," a girl who must have been in her second or third year said nervously.

"Well get back to whatever you were doing then!" Harry snapped peevishly.

The girl swallowed, nodded and snatched up the toast that she'd been eating and ran for the double doors as fast as her legs could carry her.

"Great," Harry sighed to himself. "Another year where everyone thinks I'm some kind of dangerous freak."

It seemed that there were many other students who thought that being far from Harry was a good idea. Nearly a third of Hufflepuff house left the Great Hall at something short of a run and quite a few Ravenclaws and Slytherins departed as well. More kept shooting nervous glances in his direction as Harry walked up Gryffindor table toward the spot that Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville were holding for him.

"Thanks," he said sourly. "At least some people around here don't think that I'm dangerous."

"Oh, I think you're dangerous enough," Ginny said, smiling. "It's just that after last night I'm even more determined to be dangerous with you."

"Thanks Ginny," Harry said, trying to give her a smile.

"What are friends for?" Ginny asked placidly, returning to her kippers.

"Are you OK, mate?" Ron asked, worriedly.

"Yeah, fine," Harry said. "Head hurts a bit but Madam Pomfrey said that it should go away by lunch time."

"Good," Ron said before returning to his bacon.

"How are your parents?" Harry asked Hermione after grabbing some toast and sausages.

"Fine," Hermione said, eyes bright with tears.

"Look, Hermione..." Harry said uncomfortably. "I'm sorry that I couldn't warn you or Dumbledore or anyone about what was happening."

"It wasn't your fault," she said, giving his shoulder a squeeze. "After all, Seamus and Dean were the ones who spiked the punch."

"Yeah," Harry sighed. "But I should've known that they were planning something. Even without that I should've cottoned on when I started feeling odd after the first cupful."

"You can't watch everything all the time, Harry," Hermione remonstrated, though without the fire that would usually have accompanied such a comment.

"Maybe so," Harry said, guilt clutching at his chest. "But no matter what I'm off anything that doesn't come from the kitchens or Madam Rosmerta for a while."

"Probably smart," Ron said, entering the conversation for the first time. "Almost makes you understand why old Moody only drinks from his flask."

"Yeah," Harry said, feeling an odd sort of kinship with the old Auror.

"I always thought he was kind of barmy for that," Ron said pensively. "But I suppose that constant vigilance is the only way to go when a dark wizard is out for your blood."

"That was what I was thinking," Harry said, wishing that Ron hadn't reminded him of the danger that he posed to his friends.

"Think you should talk with Dobby about watching the food?" Ron asked, glancing up and down the table.

"Maybe," Harry said thoughtfully. "Even though they think he's mad, the other elves seem to listen to him, and if they don't listen to him, he'll figure out some way to take it to Dumbledore."

"What can Dumbledore do?" Hermione asked.

"Hermione," Ron said, disgusted. "He's the Headmaster. He can tell those elves to do anything."

Harry was momentarily surprised that Hermione didn't say anything in response to Ron's comments but supposed that worrying about her parents hadn't left her a lot of extra energy to think about house-elf rights.

"Speaking of that," Ron said thoughtfully. "How did V-V-Voldemort get your parents' address, anyway."

"Probably looked it up in the directory," Hermione said distractedly.

"The what?" Ron asked, confusedly.

"The directory..." Hermione said before trailing off.

"What are you thinking?" Harry asked her, caught by the arrested look on her face.

"Well,"Hermione said. "Voldemort would know about Muggle telephone directories, since he was raised in a Muggle orphanage. But the Death Eaters wouldn't, Ron's problems with calling you after first year show how unfamiliar purebloods are with the Muggle world."

"And..." Harry asked, confused.

"Well...," she said, "since they wouldn't know to use a telephone directory, they must have got access to the information some other way."

"He could have told them to get him one," Harry said, before realizing that, large as Britain was, that could mean a lot of directories before they got to the right one.

"Exactly," Hermione said, once she was sure he'd caught her train of thought.

"But there are only a few listings of witches and wizards in Britain, even fewer for families of Muggleborns," Harry said, remembering his last night at No 12 Grimmauld Place.

"So, he must have got access to one," Hermione said. "After all, he had to have the information somehow before making all the attacks that he did at the end of last month."

"Right," Harry said. "But the only listings that are that complete are here and at the Ministry."

"How do you know that?" Hermione asked sharply.

"Dumbledore said so when the last attacks happened. I was in the kitchen since Voldemort was involved and my scar was hurting."

"Oh," Hermione said softly. "So that means that either there's a spy at the Ministry or someone at Hogwarts got him the information."

"Probably Snape," Ron said, scathingly.

"Oh, Ron..." Hermione sighed. "Dumbledore trusts Snape."

"So...?" Ron said. "Dumbledore's been wrong before,"

"When?

"How about the fake Moody in fourth year?"

"Hmmm..." Hermione said. "But there's a difference between disguising yourself as a friend while quietly working for the enemy and, well, spying."

"I don't see one," Ron said, face flushing slightly. "After all, Crouch was pretending to help and Snape could be too."

"But Dumbledore..."

"Trusts Snape," Ron interrupted. "I know that's what you think but I think you could be wrong."

"What do you think, Harry?" Hermione asked sharply.

"It could be," Harry said, thoughtfully. "You know that I always had my worst visions right after working with him last year. Even though Dumbledore says different, I think that he might have tried to make things easier for Voldemort to get to me."

"But why?" Hermione asked, fearfully.

"Because he's a stinking Slytherin and sodding git besides?" Ron asked, nastily.

"Some of those," Harry said, thinking of Daphne's friendly attitude toward him, "or he thinks that Dumbledore might not win this time and doesn't want to take any chances."

"You don't really think that, do you?" Hermione asked.

"Well," Harry said, "I saw Dumbledore do pretty well against Voldemort and all, but if Fawkes hadn't been there, he might've been hit by one of Voldemort's Killing Curses."

"Wow," Ron said.

"Yeah," Harry said thoughtfully. "It could be."

"Well, I'd better go up and get packed for the weekend," Hermione said as if she didn't want to continue their conversation.

"But you've got loads of time before you have to get your Portkey," Ron objected.

"Not really," Hermione said. "It'll take a while to get everything that I need since I'm not sure how long I'll be gone."

"You are coming back, aren't you?" Ginny asked worriedly.

"Yes," Hermione said, "but I'm not sure how long I'll need to help my parents with getting the house back in Order. Professor McGonagall says that it's a mess and even with the best people at the Ministry working on it there's a good chance that some things are going to be lost forever."

It suddenly came to Harry that Hermione's innocence was the most valuable thing that had been lost when her home was destroyed. He knew that she'd always known that she took risks when she joined him on one of his "adventures" but until today, she'd somehow thought that she could make sure that she was the only person affected by what she did. Much as had been the case for him at the end of his fourth year, Harry saw that Hermione now knew that her actions had consequences far beyond danger to herself.

By going to the Ministry, she had put herself and her family on the front line of a war that her parents had no hope of helping to fight, and every chance of dying in, with no way to defend themselves. It was too late for her, for Ginny, Ron and Neville, but he was determined to redouble his efforts so that it wouldn't be too late for lots of other people at Hogwarts and in the wizarding world in general.

Though Harry would never remember shoving back from the table, he suddenly found himself on his feet, striding determinedly from the Great Hall, Hermione running to keep up with him even though she'd been the first to leave Gryffindor table.

"What ees 'eet?" Fleur's voice sounded from somewhere behind him.

"I'm just getting ready," Harry growled.

"Ready for what?" Hermione demanded, panting.

"Ready to do anything that I have to beat that bloody sodding bastard."

"But you don't have to do anything to beat him!" Hermione shrieked, grabbing him by the shoulder.

"Oh yes I do," Harry snarled, rounding on her.

"What do you mean?" she demanded, shoving him into an abandoned classroom.

"Just what I said," Harry replied, barely conscious of the Silencing, Imperturbability and Observation Detection charms that Fleur was casting.

"Harry!" Hermione cried. "Defeating Voldemort is Dumbledore's job, or the Ministry's not yours!"

"Wrong!" Harry yelled, spinning to face her. "It's my job and mine alone." he stopped for a moment, still not sure that he wanted to tell anyone about his fate. But before Hermione could open her mouth to continue the argument, he decided that there really wasn't a choice, at least not where she was concerned.

"Before you try to tell me that I'm wrong," he said, a bubble of amusement rising at the arrested look on Hermione's face, "I should probably tell you that Dumbledore says that I'm the only one who can do it."

"What do you mean?" Hermione demanded, horrified.

"I mean that there was a prophecy made about me before I was born. It was the one that Malfoy's father wanted me to give to them last June.

"I can't remember it exactly but the point is that there was to be a baby to be born at the end of July 1980. This baby would have the power to vanquish Voldemort and no other person would be able to. The baby would be marked..." at this he pointed to his scar, "...and by this mark it would be known that the baby was Voldemort's equal. The baby would have powers that Voldemort doesn't understand and until one or the other of us is dead, neither of us will be able to have a complete life and so we're fated to keep fighting each other until one or the other is dead."

"But Harry," Hermione objected weakly.

"There aren't any buts about this!" Harry cried. "Dumbledore believed in that prophecy so much that he hid me away with the Dursleys even though he knows they hate me. He believes in it so much that he was willing to risk the lives of Order members to make sure that Voldemort didn't get it. He's kept Trelawney around as Divination teacher because he wants to be able to keep an eye on her, and he was willing to go against the Ministry last year to make sure that she and I could stay here because like Hagrid said, "Hogwarts is the best place in the world to keep something that you want to be safe, even better than Gringotts. ""

"No!" Hermione cried. "It just can't be that way."

"I zink zat eet ees," Fleur said from her position near the door.

"Professeur Dumbledore 'as always worried about 'Arry and 'is fears 'ave only grown since Beel 'as been part of ze Order."

"But that only proves that the Headmaster knows that Harry's important to Voldemort."

"Zis ees true," Fleur said, nodding at Hermione. "But 'e 'as also been working to 'elp 'Arry learn Occlumency and ze tactics zat 'E ees teaching to ze students zis year. "'E ees also going to instruct 'Arry and 'U 'ow to Apparate zis year because 'e wants 'U to be able to escape eef 'U are attacked by ze Death Eaters or Voldemort."

"Learn Apparition from Dumbledore?" Hermione asked, shocked.

"Yes," Harry said, glad that Fleur had distracted Hermione from the prophecy for a while. "He wanted me to talk with you about it this morning before, well, everything else came up. You're old enough to learn and since he's going to teach me anyway, he thought that you could come along. He can't teach Ron because Mrs. Weasley won't hear of it but said that we could teach it to him and Neville too once we had it down."

"Wow," Hermione said, softly. "Learn Apparition from Dumbledore..."

"Pretty cool, huh?" Harry asked, hoping to keep her mind off of the prophecy.

"Yes," Hermione said thoughtfully. "But only because he's worried enough about you to think that you'll need it and smart enough to know that the rest of us will be with you if you do."

"Hopefully we won't need it," Harry said.

"Hopefully," Hermione repeated distractedly. "But not likely" she said, giving Harry a sharp glance.

"I know," Harry sighed.

"I've got to get ready for the train and you need to work on Occlumency with Fleur, but don't think for a minute that I'll forget that we've got a lot to talk about when I get back."

"I won't," he said, unable to suppress a smile at her bossy attitude.

"I might need a while to help my parents so I don't want you to let the Headmaster hold back on teaching you how to Apparate. I'm sure that you'll need to know it sooner or later and I don't want to be the reason why you didn't learn it soon enough," Hermione said, fixing him with one of her most determined stares.

"Right," Harry said, knowing that the near disaster with his Occlumency would occupy all his special lessons for a while but not wanting to remind Hermione about that.

A house-elf appeared in the room before Fleur could take her charms off the door.

"Please excuse Pokey," it said, huge blue eyes goggling up at Hermione. "But Professor McGonagall says that Miss must go straight to the Headmaster's office to take Portkey to the Leaky Cauldron."

"Are my parents all right?" Hermione asked, fearfully.

"Oh, yes," the little elf said excitedly. "But Miss' parents say that they need her right away."

Hermione nodded, her body language a mix of relief, worry and profound sadness.

"What about my clothes?"

"Winky has clothes for Miss and is waiting to give them to her at the Headmaster's office."

"All right," Hermione said. "Can you take me there?"

"Pokey will be glad to take Miss to the Headmaster's office."

"Can you give me a moment to say goodbye to Harry before we go?"

"Pokey will be back in two minutes," the little elf said before cracking away.

Hermione spun on Harry, eyes fiery with determination.

"Don't tell anyone about this!" she said. "Not Ron, not Neville or Ginny, no-one."

"I..." Harry said, wanting to tell her that he'd already decided not to tell anyone else.

"You know how Ron is," Hermione said, unaware that he'd tried to agree with her. "He won't be able to keep quiet about it and he'll get you all riled up before you can do anything about this."

"I know," Harry sighed. "But I am going to need his help sooner or later."

"I know," Hermione said gently. "You'll need all of us but we need to handle this correctly or there'll be big trouble."

"You think I haven't thought about that already?" Harry asked, furious.

"Honestly," Hermione said, "I'm never sure how much thought you put into everything that you do. Sometimes too much and sometimes not nearly enough."

"Well," Harry said, disgustedly, "between this and Sirius, I've not thought of much else since June."

Hermione's face crumbled and tears began to pour down it.

"I'm sorry," she sniffed. "I know that you've been preoccupied and working harder than anyone this year. I suppose I just didn't think that you might have had reasons to because I was so happy that you were doing it in the first place."

"S'allright," Harry said, embarassed that Fleur was seeing all this.

"It's not!" Hermione said, "but I have to go and help my family. Promise me that you'll take care until I get back."

"I will," Harry said, feeling a strange warmth in his chest at the open concern that she was showing for him.

"Good," Hermione said, sniffling. "I couldn't stand it if something bad happened and I wasn't here to help."

Before she could say anything else, Pokey was back, ears waggling in apparent distress.

"Miss must go, now!" the little elf said, shooting glances toward the door.

"You heard her," Harry said, not wanting to drag the conversation out further.

"I did," Hermione said. "Promise?"

"Promise!" Harry said, hoping that he could keep his word.

"Good." Hermione said, giving him another hug before rushing for the door.