Harry Potter and the Keys of Light

Chapter Five: "Birthday Guests"

Harry woke early the next morning. There was none but himself at breakfast in the Great Hall, and he took the silence to plan his day. He would check the owlery first thing to see if Hedwig had brought anything back, and then find Lupin. If he could finish his lessons by four o'clock, he would have time to get to the Room of Requirement. Satisfied, he helped himself to another slice of bacon.

This first item on his list was soon taken care of, however; Harry was about the leave the Great Hall when three owls came into the Great Hall, depositing letters on the table before him. One was from Tonks, the other two from Luna Lovegood and Neville.

Harry-

I know I told you I'd update if there were any news, so, here it is:

We know it was the Death Eater Malcolm Avery that performed the attack on the Muggles. He was tracked to Malfoy Manor, where we think the Lucius Malfoy and co. have gone. Currently, Malfoy Manor is inaccessible to the Ministry, and Fudge is trying to keep it out of the papers by not making too much of a fuss.

I'll write when there's anything else.

Tonks.

Harry then opened Luna's letter.

Harry,

So good to hear from you. Daddy and I have yet to find any snorkaks, but we're sure we're on the right track. We did find a lovely man whose great grandmother had been a dragon, and he agreed to share his story with Daddy. He even demonstrated his ability to breathe fire! So, at least the trip isn't a total waste.

I am so glad you are continuing Dumbledore's Army. To be honest, that was the most fun I have ever had at school. Besides that, I think we all need to be ready, just in case.

I am looking forward to seeing you, Hermione, Ronald, Virginia, Neville and the others.

Write to me soon,

Your friend,

Luna

Harry smiled as he folded Luna's letter, and thought about the first time he had seen, last year on the school train, reading the Quibbler upside down; he was in a good mood, in fact, though he couldn't quite tell why. He added writing a letter to Luna to his list of things to do that day. Putting this second letter down, he opened Neville's.

Harry-

What was it like living with Dumbledore? I like him, but I think it would be kind of frightening.

I'm sorry about your Aunt and Uncle. The world is just going to be a better place when the Death Eaters and You-Know-Who is gone; no one will have to lose their families anymore.

I can't wait for school to get back in--have you found somewhere where we can practice defense yet? Is the Room of Requirement still there? Gran was really impressed with everything I learned last year. She spent the whole last visit to my parents telling them about it. If there is anything you need help with, just ask. I know I'm not quite so good at everything as Hermione, but I can try.

Write soon, and, if not, I'll see you on Sept. first.

--Neville

Harry put Neville's letter back in the envelope. He felt a renewed sense of determination about the DA; he knew it meant a lot to Neville if he mentioned his parents. Harry set off to find Lupin, ready to study. He wanted to be a good as he possibly could so that he had more to teach them all.

The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was in his classroom, cleaning glass aquariums.

"Good morning, Harry," Lupin said cheerfully. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, Professor. Um...I was wondering, could we start lessons early today?"

"Sure, Harry. Where do you want to begin?"

"I wanted to work more on transfiguration." Lupin nodded and put the aquarium he had just finished cleaning on top of one of his bookshelves.

"How about we start today by transfiguring animals into other animals. I think Professor McGonagall mentioned this as one of the lessons she wants the N.E.W.T students to learn most." He produced a jar of spiders from his desk, and, stupefying it, placed one before Harry. "The incantation for this particular transfiguration is 'Specie transius.' There are certain limits to the type of creature you can transfigure another into. As a basic rule, the creature you are transfiguring may increase up to four times its size. Larger than that, and the magic cannot sustain the transformation."

"Why?"

"The strain on the internal organs is too harsh, and the body repels the magic. A mouse being transfigured into an elephant would experience a great amount of pain with the sudden growth of its heart and lungs. The stress would cause the body to go into shock, you see." Harry nodded, looking down at the stunned spider. "So, for now, let's stick with smaller things, like insects. Try changing the spider into a ladybug." Taking his wand, Harry performed the wave necessary in transfiguration--as sort of left, right, left swish--picturing the ladybug in his mind's eye.

"Specie transius!" The spider developed a red color, the black receding into spots, but the legs did not shrink.

"Good try, Harry, good try." Lupin waved his wand over the semi-transfigured spider, which became solid black again. "For a first, that was really excellent. Now, really picture the ladybug in your mind. If it helps, close your eyes a moment and concentrate on the image before trying again." Harry took a moment and said,

"Specie transius!" The spider again became red, and the legs became significantly shorter, but were still too long. He tried another time, finally getting it right, after which Lupin made him repeat the transfiguration four more times so that he did it flawlessly. Then, Harry made the spider become an ant, a centipede, and a cockroach. Satisfied, Harry continued practicing on objects; by the end of an hour, he had managed to shrink Lupin's desk down to pocket size and back, and change one of the glass aquariums into a quill.

After this, they took a break for tea, and then spent an hour on Charms. Harry was learning the Somnulus Charm, which put whoever it was cast on into a four-hour sleep. A Shield Charm easily deflected it, but nothing would awaken the victim once the charm was cast. Ideally, Lupin had told him, it was used as a treatment for insomnia, and not as an attack. Harry, who had experienced bouts of insomnia before, usually before Quidditch matches, hoped the Charm might be useful, and he was determined to perfect it, using the spiders as his targets.

"I'll have to warn all the teachers you know this," Lupin laughed, putting the jar of motionless spiders back into his desk. "You would never have to use the Marauder's map again if you could just put everyone to sleep."

"I promise not to use it for that," Harry said. "It is tempting though...just kidding," he added at the look on Lupin's face.

"I hope so. Now, what do you say we start on some Potions? There is one I found that should interest you--it's called the Draught of Truth. When drunk, it enables you to tell if someone is lying to you, like a reverse sort of Veritaserum. It is very handy for Aurors, especially if you don't know Legilimency." He went to his shelf, and continued, "It is fairly simple, but the trick is timing. You have to add the ingredients at certain times of day, and so it can be somewhat tedious to make. Ah, here." He pulled a thick text out and handed it to Harry. The marked page showed two wizards, one of which was faintly discolored at the edges. The list was on the page opposite, along with the directions.

"As you see," Lupin said, "the main component of the potion is milk from a moonflower. The moonflower sprouts only on the full moon, and fills with a purple-ish liquid for exactly two hours before sunrise--its milk. The moonflower itself is used in a variety of potions for it magical potency. We can't start making it today, but I want you to read as much about it as you can. Shall duel a little, then?" Harry eagerly agreed, and helped move the desks to the edges of the room. The lesson went well; Lupin taught Harry ways to anticipate a number of attacks as well as the Repellant Charm.

"If used as a defense, it reverts an unfriendly attack back on the attacker; if used offensively, it very definitely knocks a person off their feet," Lupin said. He allowed Harry to practice it by performing Tickling Charms--he didn't want to try anything worse as they didn't have any mats or pads in the room.

It was half past eleven when they finished, and Harry excused himself to go write his letters. Lupin agreed to meet him for lunch, and made Harry help put the room back together before leaving.

Up in Gryffindor Tower, Harry found another envelope sitting on his bed, this time from Hermione.

Harry,

I'm so proud of your O.W.L scores! I got mine yesterday, and managed and O in everything but Astronomy. I'm not sure what career I want to do, so I'm not sure what classes to take next year. Any thoughts?

It's excellent that we're continuing the D.A. this year. By planning it this summer, we should get a lot more accomplished over the year. It's really important that we support inter-house unity, and if we can get more of the Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs and (yes, even them) the Slytherins together to fight against Voldemort, the better it will be for everyone. It will be a real example to the rest of the wizard world, and help stop all that pure blood nonsense.

I hope you're making use of your time at the castle (I'm sure you're there by now) and studying. Oh! I almost forgot--I got that book on Occlumency I told you about. I know I'm not very good at Legilimency, and even though I read a lot about it, I think the best I could do would be to give you a slight headache. But still, it's practice nonetheless. I only wish you would try again with Professor Snape--he's really the best teacher for you.

See you soon, and write when you can.

With love,

Harry put the letter in his desk and took out four sheets of parchment. He wrote Luna's name at the top of the first sheet, and sat a moment, wondering what to write. He tried a few beginnings, and then settled on,

Luna,

I'm sorry you didn't find the snorkaks, but it sounds like you had fun anyway. I'm living at the castle now, and I can't wait for term to start; it's too quiet here and the teachers act so weird--like normal people! Professor Lupin is back this year, and I'm sure you'll like him. He was a friend of my dad's, and he knows a lot about Defense. Actually, he volunteered to help with the D.A. if we want it.

I found the Room of Requirement again, and the strangest thing happened. This guy appeared, told me to call him "Professor" and is helping me study magic. I'm not really sure where he came from, but he's helped a lot. Don't tell anyone, though--I'm already weird enough.

Hope the rest of your summer is okay,

Harry.

Rereading the letter, he almost crossed out the part about the Professor, but didn't; for some reason, he felt he could confide this in Luna. She was more ready to accept it without lecturing him or wanting in on it, like Ron and Hermione, and she wouldn't think he was odd; after all, she could see the thestrals too. He wrote to Ron and Hermione, as well as Neville, telling them similarly about life at the castle, and Lupin's return (which he had forgotten mention in his last letters). In each, he asked them for suggestions about ways to improve the D.A., and assured Hermione that any subject she took she would be good at. Satisfied with these, he went to the owlery and gave the letters to a large brown owl; he wanted Hedwig to rest after all her previous journeys, which he had to explain to her when she looked reproachfully at him for giving the letters to a school owl.

Lunch was a simple affair; Harry ate lunch with Lupin in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, where one of the house-elves brought them trays of sandwiches and a pitcher of iced pumpkin juice.

"Dumbledore likes the teachers together at dinners, but most of us prefer lunch on our own. There's still a lot of work to do before term starts, after all," Lupin explained. After lunch, Harry spent some time with Madame Pomfrey in the infirmary.

"I was wondering," he asked, "if I could come to the hospital wing during my free periods. I'm learning some Magical Medicine, but I wanted to see some real healing." Madame Pomfrey, apparently flattered, agreed and set him immediately to work filling the potion bottles in her office cupboard. All the hospital potions came in large gallon containers, which were kept in a storeroom; Harry brought these out and used a device resembling a turkey-baster to fill the little vials.

"Most healing involves potions, draughts and serums," she said, taking the filled glass jars and placing them back in the cupboard. "If you have the right potion with you, you can heal anything. It is fairly simple to cure the effects of hexes, for example, with a potion based with pickled Murtlap..." Harry listened carefully to her instruction, but found she often preferred her own home brewed potions to any found in books; after some coaxing, she agreed to share them with him if he would promise to continue assisting her in the infirmary. He said he would, and they spent the rest of the afternoon happily finishing filling the potion bottles.

At four o'clock, Harry was again in the seventh floor corridor, standing before the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy. After a moment, the door appeared, and Harry went in to find the Room of Requirement as it was the day before; he went over the book, which lay open at the table of contents. He waited a moment, unsure of what to do. He recalled the day before...he had simply read the chapter title, and the Professor had appeared.

"Chapter One: Occlumency," he said. He wasn't knocked down this time, but the brilliancy of the light made him turn away; looking back, the Professor was standing before him.

"Did you clear your mind last night?" he asked.

"Yes. Or, at least," Harry admitted, "I didn't dream anything."

"Well, let's see how much better you are." He pulled a wand from his robes and pointed it at Harry, who had done the same, bracing himself for the attack.

"Legilimens!"

The image of a younger Dudley came to his mind, chasing him across the schoolyard, but the Professor and the room remained clear.

"Avertus!" he cried. The Professor was thrown back; when he stood up again, however, Harry could see the hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth.

"Who taught you the Repellant Charm?"

"Professor Lupin."

"How did you feel that time?" Harry described seeing the memory, but as if it was a transparent image, overlaying the room. "You are learning fast, Harry. I'll soon be able to teach you some real Occlumency."

"Again?"

"Certainly. Legilimens!" Harry felt the spell hit him, but he reacted before any memories surfaced.

"Expelliarmus!" The Professor's wand flew into the air, caught by Harry. The Professor nodded at him, his sign of approval. Harry tossed the wand back and they went again. Harry felt exhilarated; he had learnt in only two sessions what Snape hadn't been able to teach him in months.

"Why are you grinning, Mr. Potter?"

"No reason," Harry replied.

"Well, then, I suppose we may continue?" Harry nodded and, for a second time, sent the Professor's wand from his grasp.

"Accio." The wand returned to his hand in an instant, faster than Harry could catch it in flight. "I think we may end here. Tomorrow, we may start the real lessons." The golden light flashed, and he was gone.

Harry awoke on Sunday morning to the sound of something singing; Dobby was standing on the edge of his bed, belting out the tune of "Happy Birthday."

"Thanks Dobby," Harry said, stopping the elf before he could screech out his name.

"You're most welcome, Mister Potter, sir." Dobby continued to stare at him, until Harry finally said,

"Er...Dobby, would you mind leaving? I have to get dressed, you know."

"Of course, Harry Potter, sir, of course." Grinning and bowing, the elf left the room. Harry sighed exasperatedly and rolled back over onto his stomach, closed his eyes and tried to recall the dream he had been having; he was at a large party, surrounded by all his friends, his parents smiling at him from one side of the room, Sirius standing with them. He had been dancing, with a pretty girl in a purple gown...

It was already nine o'clock. Succumbing to consciousness, Harry got out of bed and put on a set of dark blue robes. He would go see if Lupin or Hagrid needed help with anything, and perhaps go down the pitch and fly. As he walked towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, Harry registered the fact that today was July the thirtieth, and that he was sixteen. He didn't feel particularly different, not any older or more grown up...

"Good morning, Harry," Lupin said jovially as he entered the classroom. "How are you?"

"Fine Professor."

"Harry, would you mind helping me with that list of students today? I am starting my plans for the N.E.W.T. classes, you see." Harry sat down at one of the desks and wrote down the names of all the sixth and seventh years students that had been in the D.A. last year and gave it to Lupin.

"This is quite a list. You must've had your hands full."

"Well, it wasn't too bad. I mean, I did have Hermione's and Ron's help. Actually, Professor, I was wondering if I could talk to you about starting the D.A. again--Have you asked Dumbledore about it?"

"Not yet," Lupin said, looking uncomfortable. "He did mention something the other day though, about not wanting to draw too much attention..." Reading the incredulous look in Harry's face, he added, "I know the Headmaster has never been quiet about certain things, but he does have a point about you, Harry. The last thing we want would be for you to make more of a target of yourself for openly continuing this resistance."

"How can I be more of a target? I'm number one on Voldemort's list of people to kill! How could it possible get any worse? Unless, of course, I walked directly into a Death Eater meeting wearing a large red bull's eye painted on my chest--would that do? Shall I just do that then?"

"Harry, that's exactly why you can't go around starting secret societies--you're already being sought after by the Dark Lord. You've seen what the Ministry is capable of, and how the press can make you look. If it got out--which, it undoubtedly would--that Harry Potter was creating a student army at Hogwarts, all your credibility would be gone, as well as the credibility everyone that has supported you. Do you really want that?"

"Well...no." Harry looked interestedly at his hands, and they passed a moment in silence. "But even if I don't have Dumbledore's permission, don't think I won't do it; at least, I won't stop teaching the first people that joined. The Order may not have a back up if their Golden Boy doesn't pull through, but I will." Harry got up and walked out, leaving Lupin staring after him.

The walk to the Great Hall seemed to take forever, as Harry brooded over the conversation with Professor Lupin. He couldn't believe Dumbledore--who was he to be telling anyone not to make a target of themselves? Hadn't Harry proved already that no matter what he did, Voldemort seemed to always come after him? Didn't anyone want him to be prepared? Or were they just hoping that some miracle would occur and, all on his own, Harry would defeat the Dark Lord and all his followers in one blow?

"He didn't even wish me 'Happy Birthday,'" Harry muttered angrily.

The Great Hall was full of teachers eating breakfast. The gentle murmur of voices spilled into the Entrance Hall. Harry stopped and looked in on the scene before going outside; both Dumbledore and Snape were sitting at the staff table, neither of whom he felt particularly like seeing at the moment. Once outside, he went down to the trees beside the lake and sat in the shade. The ground was warm, and the air felt good against Harry's warmed skin; he hadn't meant to become so angry, but he absolutely refused to allow anyone to control his life anymore. For fifteen years he had Dumbledore and Voldemort and the Dursleys deciding where he could go and what he was could do--he sighed and leaned against the trunk of the tree he sat under.

He wished he had his godfather with him then. Sirius would understand his frustration, would have reminded Dumbledore and Lupin and the rest that Harry could handle himself, that he didn't need them treating him like a child that couldn't make any decisions...they didn't understand him at all. Sure, they were all in danger, and they were all fighting, but they hadn't been an eleven year old boy forced to face the darkest wizard of all time with only a little magic and some luck; they hadn't been the ones to realize that his parents had been murdered by someone they thought was a friend; they weren't there when Cedric died, when Harry offered that they both take the cup; and they certainly hadn't felt what it was like, having Voldemort driving into your mind, trying to destroy you from the very depths of your being... He would be the only one there in the end, in the final fight, and the thought itself sobered him to the early adulthood he had grown into over the past five years. He had to be strong, he had to fight--to do nothing would be allowing Voldemort to win.

"If they want me to be responsible for all this, then I'm going to be ready for it," he said, to no one in particular. "Accio Firebolt!"

The lights of the castle glittered in the inky night, like a hundred fireflies clinging to the shadowed outline of its stone façade. Harry landed on the castle steps, and paused, taking a look back at the wild night. He had been gone all day, flying through the mountains that surrounded the school. A lot had been sorted through in his mind, and he was prepared now to face them all; he held a firm resolve, determined to harden against what was t come. He recalled the bracing wind that had carried him all day, partly longing to continue his flight, partly knowing he had to return to face his responsibilities. He would go to Dumbledore directly and discuss his plans with him. With a last look at the stars, he turned and entered the castle.

The Great Hall was completely empty, clear of any traces of dinner. Harry wondered what time it was as he headed to Gryffindor Tower. The castle was quiet, the eerie silence that had shrouded the halls for the past three days ever more noticeable. But Harry forced himself to ignore it.

"Well, there you are!" Harry started at the sound, and turned. Hermione was racing toward him down the hall, and Harry felt himself smile, despite the scowl on her face.

"We've been looking all over for you!"

"Hermione, how did you get here?"

"Oh, never mind that, you have to come with me. They've been so worried about you--we've been waiting for hours for you to turn up. You really shouldn't just disappear like that, Harry, we thought the worst..."

"Who is 'we' and why have you been waiting?" They came to the portrait of the Fat Lady, which swung immediately open.

"He's back!" Dozens of pairs of eyes were fixed on Harry as he entered the room. It took a moment for him to take the scene in--there were streamers everywhere, balloons littered the floor, and the entire Weasley family, as well as Hagrid, Harry's teachers, Tonks, Moody, and other members of the Order were sitting in various places about the room. A large banner was pinned to the entrance to the dormitory staircases, reading "Happy Birthday!"

"What--?" They all seemed to come alive at once, moving towards him in a large rush, expressing sentiments of worry and grief.

"Where were you Harry? We thought you'd got hurt or worse," Mrs. Weasley said, pushing ahead of the rest and embracing him.

"What is all this?" Hermione moved forward, replacing Mrs. Weasley.

"Happy Birthday, Harry." A guilty pang hit his stomach, and he realized,

"This is all for me?"

"Of course it is, you stupid git." Ron was now next to Hermione, grinning down to the last freckle.

"Come now, Ron, we have to remember that these big name celebrities have to keep up their image by arriving fashionably late to everything," said one of the twins' voices from in the crowd. Everyone laughed, and the tension was broken; the adults began talking amongst themselves, and Harry sat down with Hermione, Ron, the twins and Ginny.

"Where were you Harry?" Hermione demanded immediately.

"I just went flying...If I'd known everyone was here waiting for me, I would have come back sooner." They all seemed to accept his apology and Fred began informing Harry of their breakthrough with the so-called Musical Marbles ("You still sing to the tune of a Spice Girls song, but the words are whatever you're trying to say.") After a few minutes, Mrs. Weasley came back to them, holding a large package tied with scarlet ribbon.

"From Arthur and myself," she said, smiling, handing the present to Harry. He felt himself go red, and he stared at the ribbon a moment. "Is there something wrong, dear?"

"No...I've just...well, I've never really--" Mrs. Weasley gave him a comforting look and kissed the top of his head. He opened the present slowly, much to everyone's displeasure.

"Hurry up Harry, you've loads more!" Ron said, "We'll be here all night at the rate you're going!" Smiling mischievously, Harry exaggerated his movements, continuing as slowly as possible.

"Oh for heaven's sake," Hermione said. "Abritus!" The wrapping fell in a neat pile on the floor. Ginny and the twins laughed while Hermione grinned evilly at Harry.

"All that trouble for a mirror," Ron said, disappointedly.

"That's not just a mirror Ron," Hermione said, looking impressed. "That's a Foe Glass." Harry examined the mirror and found she was right; it was just like the one Moody had had in his office, the same swirling gray fog...Harry looked around and saw that Mrs. Weasley was talking animatedly with Professor Sprout. It took Harry a moment to catch her eye, but when he finally did, he waved, grinning and holding up the Foe Glass.

"What good is it, if just shows that smoky stuff?" Ron asked.

"It tells you if your enemies are near you or not," Harry replied; Hermione looked at him in surprise. "Moody...er, Crouch had one in his office when he was here," he explained.

"Oh! I almost forgot our presents!" Ginny said, getting up.

"Here's mine," Hermione said, handing him a large square gift, wrapped in green paper.

"Let me guess," Ron said sarcastically, "Did you get him...a book, by any chance?" Hermione shot him a dirty look in return and Harry tore off the paper. The cover showed a wizard turning into a giraffe and back--the title read, "A Guide to Animagi."

"Wow, Hermione, thanks!" Harry said, "This is the best!" Ginny returned with three gift bags, which she handed to Harry, who gave the book to Ron to look at. The first was from the twins, a patch for his bag that said, "Number One Seeker--With a Snitch, size doesn't matter," and a few Skiving Snackboxes.

"They have our newest products," George said.

"And some old favorites," Fred added.

"Thanks, guys." The second bag was from Ron, a miniature model of a Quidditch pitch with fourteen figures on brooms.

"It's for practices, you know," he said, "You just write out a play and tell it to the model and it demonstrates. Easier than drawing diagrams."

"Thanks Ron," Harry said, watching as the figures flew around the pitch, looping in and out of the goal hoops. "This is really great."

Ginny's gift was a quill that took dictation and a box of Every Flavor Beans. Food appeared on a table on the far end of the room, with a large cake sitting in the center. The whole company sang to Harry, who Mrs. Weasley had placed in front of the table, and they ate. There was a large pile of presents sitting near the fireplace, but Harry decided to wait until tomorrow to open everything. While everyone was eating, Harry managed to thank them all for coming, chatting with Tonks and Hagrid, who was standing with Bill and Charlie. As he made his way around the room, he realized that Lupin was missing. His mood darkened some--one of the things he had decided that afternoon was to apologize. If Lupin was avoiding him, he must have really been horrible...I'll go see him after the party, he decided.

"Having fun, Harry?" Albus Dumbledore had come up to him, a plate of half-eaten cake in his hand.

"Yes, Professor. This is really wonderful," he replied, looking around. "Professor?"

"Yes?" He lowered his voice and said,

"Can I speak with you about something? Tomorrow, maybe?"

"Certainly," Dumbledore said. "But for now, enjoy yourself." He walked away, and Harry went back to Ron and Hermione. Ginny and the twins were now with Tonks on the other side of the room.

"What's it like in the castle?" Ron said.

"I imagine your getting loads of work done," Hermione said with a wistful look on her face. "With all the teachers here to help you..."

"It's okay, I guess. It's too quiet, and the teachers are really weird over the summer. They're all so relaxed...did you know that Professor Vector sings? He's pretty good, come to think of it."

"You can't be serious!" Hermione giggling.

"I am," Harry said, beginning to laugh as well. "Dumbledore makes them provide entertainment for each-other at dinner. I told you, it's really strange around here without the students." The three of them laughed as Ron tried to do an impression of Snape attempting stand up comedy. ("Why aren't you laughing? It's funny, I tell you! I'll poison the lot of you if you don't start laughing right now!")

Somewhere, a clock announced ten o'clock and the party started leaving. Ron and Hermione explained that they had ridden the Knight Bus there with the others, and would have to leave. Promising to write to him soon, they said goodbye, and Harry took a place at the entrance to Gryffindor Tower where he could tell all of the guests goodbye as they left. When he was alone, Harry went took his opened gifts to his room. He was tired from the party, but, determined, he went back to the common room, and, grabbing a slice of cake, went off to find Lupin. At the door to Lupin's office, he stopped and knocked gently.

"Come in," said Lupin's voice, and Harry opened the door. The professor was sitting at his desk, pouring over some papers on his desk. He hadn't looked up yet, and Harry said,

"Professor, I brought you this."

"Oh, Harry," Lupin said in surprise, as he placed the plate on the desk. "Thank you."

"Professor, I wanted to apologize," Harry said quietly. "I shouldn't have snapped at you, and...I'm sorry."

"Thank you, Harry. I'm just sorry you're so frustrated. I know I'm not Sirius, but you can talk to me if you want--about anything." Harry nodded and turned to leave.

"I know I can talk to you," he said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night, Harry."

"Good night, Professor."