Harry Potter and the Horcrux Quest

Chapter 4: Some meetings

That same evening at the Burrow, Mrs. Weasley served dinner to her family like she did every night. There were more of them there than usual, what with the wedding less than two weeks away. She looked at her brood, and future daughter-in-law, and knew something was wrong. As she walked out of the kitchen carrying a bowl of mashed potatoes, Charlie passed her heading into the kitchen. She noticed the twins deep in conversation and Ginny still withdrawn as she had been since the funeral.

Fleur was fussing over Bill, and that brought a smile to her face. He said he was better, but she knew his trip to Grimmauld Place that morning to cast the Fidelius had worn him out. She passed Charlie when she went back to the kitchen; he was carrying the serving dishes filled with green beans and carrots. She piled the rolls into a wicker basket, and put them on the table, taking her spot. Arthur still wasn't home - his seat was empty, and the place was set in case he could make it before the meal was done. She looked around - everyone was filling their plates, except Ginny. Then it struck her.

"Where's Ron?"

Charlie and Bill looked at each other. Without saying a word, or making a gesture, Bill lost the contest, and turned to his mother.

"He got a job, and won't be home for a few days."

"WHAT! What job did he get? And why won't he be home?"

"I hired him in the name of the Order as a bodyguard for Harry."

Ginny looked up, interested in something for the first time that day.

"You hired him? For Harry? This is so wrong in so many ways! He's too young. You can't hire him for the Order. If Harry needs a bodyguard, we have Aurors in the Order who can do that job. He's not a member of the Order yet...." She soon ran out of new objections and went on for several more minutes with variations of the ones she already stated. Eventually even she realized that she was repeating herself.

"Mom, it's the perfect job for Ron. First, he is old enough. He's an adult now, has been for months. Second, I certainly have the authority to hire him for the Order. He would have done it without pay, by the way, but I think this will make him more responsible. Third, he doesn't need to be in the Order to be hired by it. He's not getting any secrets. Fourth, he's Harry's friend, and Harry wouldn't accept just anyone. He almost rejected Ron. Harry's pretty tired of being baby-sat. Fourth, or is it fifth?"

"Sixth," Fred said helpfully.

"OK, sixth, since he has to stay at the Dursleys' -- probably in Harry's room -- we had a limited pool of candidates who could do that. And seventh - since Harry's protected from magical attacks because of the blood protection, Ron's real job is to protect Harry from the Dursleys, and from himself. Charlie spent several hours with Harry and his uncle. We think now that Harry's almost done with them that he's in real danger from Mr. Dursley taking his hatred of wizards out on Harry one last time before he leaves. Ron will have no problem protecting Harry from his relatives. He was well trained, from what we can tell, by Harry, and he isn't limited by the underage magic restriction.

"All in all, a perfect fit, and a good deal for both Ron and Harry."

"And Mr. Dursley is alright with this?" She gave her oldest son a very skeptical look. Bill turned to Charlie, who answered.

"He wasn't thrilled, but he agreed of his own free will. Of course, we didn't tell him that he was the main target of the bodyguard, but what he doesn't know, can't hurt Harry."

"Well, I just hope those Dursleys don't starve both of them." It seemed she had no say in the matter. Dinner was a rather quiet affair after that. The boys watched their mom warily, knowing that she was probably a tightly wound spring at the moment, and none of them wanted to give her a reason to snap. Ginny just looked thoughtful, and ate more than she had at lunch. Molly felt the old pain return - another of her sons had grown up and was leaving home.

Meanwhile, in Little Whinging, dinner at number four Privet Drive was a quiet affair, too. Even though Mr. Dursley had put an end to their talking, he couldn't stop "the boy" from looking happy. The red haired freak also seemed to be sharing some joke. Vernon seethed inside, but they did everything he told them. They weren't talking. They weren't even laughing aloud. What right had they to be happy? Dinner proceeded quietly.

Afterwards, in Harry's room, they laughed out loud.

"You were right, Harry! All we had to do was look happy, and he just kept getting redder and redder. That's so funny!"

"Yes. Pushing his buttons is easy. I was actually worried about Dudley. He could try to beat us up with some of his friends, but he's too scared. As long as he stays just scared enough...."

"What do you mean?"

"If he gets too scared, he'll lash out at the thing that's making him afraid. But if we ignore him, but watch him, we should be OK."

Ron nodded. The smile left his face. "Do you want to talk about," he paused. "You know?"

Harry thought a minute. "No. I think I want to wait until Hermione's with us. Face it Ron - she's smarter than both of us, and right more of the time, even if she's bossy. I think she's reduced the bossiness this past year, but she's still smart."

"And a good kisser," Ron added with a smile.

Harry put his hands over his ears and said with a smile, "Too much information! Too much information!"

They broke up laughing again, and settled into a game of wizards chess.

The next day, Harry got up early, forced Ron to get up, made breakfast for his aunt and uncle, and quietly submitted to Vernon's lecture on things he shouldn't do, like touch anything in the house. After his uncle left, Harry cleaned up the kitchen, with help from Ron. Aunt Petunia seemed less inclined to yell at Harry while Ron was there. After they were done with the dishes, Harry took Ron into the back yard for company and worked on the garden. Ron wondered why Harry did it, and Harry explained that for years it had given him something to do. Lately, though, he took some pride in the garden, knowing that it always looked better when he was home.

"Besides, this garden is mine. It doesn't matter that my uncle owns the land, or that my aunt claims the garden. I'll always know it's mine because I was the one who made it look good by working on it."

While Harry worked on the garden, his cousin woke up and was fed by Aunt Petunia. That was one good thing in Harry's summers -- he usually didn't have to feed his cousin breakfast, at least. After his breakfast, Dudley left the house. Harry remarked that he probably went to join his gang and beat up little kids. After another hour or so, Harry and Ron went in to get lunch. Petunia left them alone for that. She seemed to find reasons to not be around the boys. Shortly after lunch the doorbell rang.

Harry and Ron were washing the dishes when they heard Aunt Petunia say, "Yes, may I help you?"

"We'd like to see Harry, please," said Neville Longbottom.

Harry quickly dried his hands, and ran to the front door. "Neville! And Luna! Come in!"

Aunt Petunia looked astonished that Harry would dare invite his fellow freaks over. "Aunt Petunia, may I present Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood. They're friends of mine from school. Luna, Neville, this is my aunt, Petunia Dursley. I invited them over to talk about plans for this summer. They won't be here too long."

Neville gave a nervous hello, and Luna smiled her dreamy smile and said, "What a lovely home you have, Mrs. Dursley. It's so neat and clean I would guess you have no problems with Bollywoggles here."

Petunia, who was off balance from having Harry's friends in the house, found her world rocking even more with Luna's half normal, half weird greeting.

"Ron, take them up to my room. I'll finish the dishes, and join you shortly."

Ron started directing Neville and Luna towards the stairs. Harry spoke quietly, "Don't worry, Aunt Petunia. Nothing strange will happen. We just have to talk for a little while."

Petunia just nodded, and walked to the living room. Harry went back to the kitchen and continued with the dishes. He picked up where he'd left off in the soapy water, when a delicate, pale hand took a plate out of the drainer, and started drying it.

"I'll help," said Luna. She gave him a smile, and pitched in.

"Daddy's very busy with a special edition. The whole thing is on Professor Dumbledore. I did the rune puzzle! The witch who normally does it moved to Canada, and won't be able to supply any new ones for an issue or two, until she gets settled in. Can you keep a secret?"

Harry nodded, just enjoying her conversation.

"I'm only telling you because I know you didn't take Runes. The answer is 'lemon drop'!"

Harry laughed, and while the conversation took strange turns and touched upon many things that Harry had never heard of before, the dishes got done. They went upstairs (after Luna complemented Aunt Petunia on her kitchen) and into Harry's room.

Neville and Ron were engaged in a game of chess, which at first glance appeared rather even. Harry learned later that Ron had played without his bishops, to give Neville a fighting chance. It didn't help, Ron still won three moves after Harry and Luna showed up.

Ron summoned chairs for everyone. Harry knew not to sit in them for more than a couple of hours. Ron's beds, luckily, lasted the night.

"Ron, can you cast an Imperturbable Charm on the door and a Silencing Charm on the room?"

"When Professor Flitwick was teaching us that, I couldn't get it quite soundproof," Neville commented.

"Me neither," said Ron. "But Hermione said it muffled the sounds enough so that no one could understand what was said." Ron cast both spells and smiled. "I love being able to do that out of school."

"Just a few more weeks for us, Neville," Harry said with a grin. Then it disappeared. "But we should probably get started. A year ago June you put your lives on the line to follow me. It turned out that you shouldn't have, it was all a trap that I fell into, but you did it. While Dumbledore was alive, he asked me not to tell anyone except Ron and Hermione what the prophesy said, but this year, once again, you risked your lives for me and I think you deserve to know." Harry then went on to tell how the prophesy survived, and what its contents were. He finished and looked at the floor. "So that's why Voldemort wants me dead, and will keep trying until he succeeds."

"Wow, Harry," Neville said, slowly. "That sucks."

Harry started sniggering at that, but it really wasn't that funny. "Yes, but I'm still stuck with it."

"Do you know what power you have that the Dark Lord doesn't?" Luna asked.

"Dumbledore said it was "love." That's all well and good, but how does that help me fight Voldemort? What am I going to do, take him out for Valentines Day?"

Harry's face showed the anguish he felt, despite his light words. Ron, who knew all this, was impassive, but inside he was worried. Neville somehow conveyed an attitude of fear and determination at the same time.

Luna looked as serene as if they were discussion flower arrangements.

"If Professor Dumbledore felt that "love" is the power the Dark Lord knows not, then he must have felt there was some way to use it. Although, that sounds like something a Slytherin would say, doesn't it? "Use love." I always considered love the goal, not the means, and if you use it as a means to an end, you aren't really in love." As she talked, she seemed to acquire that dreamy expression that she often wore.

Harry was impressed. She was the only person to address the fundamental problem of "love" as the power. Harry spoke, trying to bring her back to earth.

"But Luna, if I don't "use" it, how can it help? How does it defeat Voldemort?"

"I don't know, Harry. The power of love has brought us, your friends, to you. Could that be it? Somehow we, and Ginny and Hermione fought a dozen Death Eaters until re-enforcements arrived. What about those people? Will they follow out of love? Your godfather did. What about the rest?"

"Some. Remus, er, Professor Lupin did, and Auror Tonks, too. Most of the rest came because of duty, though. And even if that's what it meant, the only person who could have defeated Voldemort--the only Wizard he was ever afraid of--was Professor Dumbledore. He might have loved me. It seemed that way, sort of, sometimes. But he's dead. There's no one who can duel Voldemort now. I just don't know how it can be done."

"Harry," Luna had again regained her focus. "We don't know yet, but I believe we will find out. Perhaps at the moment knowing we love you is enough, and we can think about this and talk more another time."

"Yeah, Harry," said Neville. "We're with you, no matter what. So, assuming that you have some time to figure this out, what are your plans for the summer? How can we help?"

"Thanks guys. I don't think there's really anything you can do to help, but I really appreciate your offer."

"No, Harry," said Ron.

"What?"

"No. You're going against the Dark Lord! This isn't some Wizarding tournament where you might get hurt. This is the most evil, and now most powerful Wizard in the world. I can't tell you who to pick, or what to share with people, but I don't think we're in any position to reject help that's offered to us. Sure, maybe we can't trust everyone, but I think Neville and Luna have earned your trust. Voldemort,"--and he didn't even stumble over the name--"isn't going to play nice. I'm going to be with you, no matter what, and I'd be honored if Neville and Luna were fighting with us. The last time we faced Death Eaters they didn't even have the advantage of the Felix Felicis potion."

Ron paused, and took a breath like he was going to continue, but Harry cut him off.

"Ok, Ron. You're probably right, I shouldn't automatically turn people away." He turned to Luna and Neville. "I just never had many people I can count on, and I guess I don't recognize them when I see them. Sorry guys."

"It's alright Harry," said Neville. "No one's ever really counted on me before."

"We're not the 'In crowd', Harry. We appreciate you accepting us," Luna added.

Harry took a breath, and didn't look at them, as he started talking again.

"Dumbledore wanted me to keep this secret, except for Ron and Hermione. I'm not sure why, except that he was worried if word of this got back to Voldemort, that it would ruin everything.

"Luna, you were more right than you know. There is time to figure it out what power I have, because before I can defeat Voldemort - however I do it - there's something else that has to be done first."

Harry explained the Horcruxes to his friends.

"The fun never ends, does it Harry," Neville said, trying to lighten the mood. It did help a little.

"Harry," Luna said after a thoughtful pause, "does it make sense to store your treasure in a weak vault? I don't think Voldemort would split his soul and then store it in a mortal vessel. I just don't think his snake is one of them."

"If it's not, then we have two Horcruxes that we don't know. There's still the missing locket, and Hufflepuff's cup. What are the other two? And where's the locket?"

"And who is R.A.B.?" asked Ron.

No one could answer those questions. Harry described his next few weeks - a couple of weeks with the Dursleys, the wedding, then probably a few weeks at The Burrow. After that - he wasn't sure.

"Well, I'll see you at the wedding, at least," said Luna. "Ginny made sure I got an invitation."

"I'll be there too, with my Gran," Neville added.

"Good, then we'll get together then and discuss the next steps. If you think of anything, owl me."

"Hermione knows what you told us, doesn't she?" asked Luna. Harry nodded. "Have you told Ginny?"

"No. I was keeping it a secret as Dumbledore requested. I will tell Ginny, but I won't put this into a letter and send it by owl."

"That's what I thought. If you want, I can tell Ginny. She'll be mad if you make her wait after telling everyone else."

"Ok, but make sure you're alone. Thanks Luna."

They spoke a little after that, of nothing important, and when they were done Ron summoned the Knight Bus for Luna and Neville. Then they went back to Harry's room to let Ron beat Harry at chess again. Harry did take time out from losing to owl Hermione, telling her about his bodyguard, and that Luna would, as he put it, "fill Ginny in on all his plans for the summer." Hedwig seemed happy to have something to do, and flew off into the gathering dusk.

That evening, at Twelve Grimauld Place the Order of the Pheonix met. In the confusion after Dumbledore's death, the Fidelius Charm had been off the house for several days. Until, in fact, Harry had reminded them. They had searched the house, and it was undisturbed. And now a good portion of the Order had assembled there.

Minerva McGonagall shook hands with Dedalus Diggle, the newly elected head of the Order. While she had been (and continued to be) treasurer, she didn't feel that she was the right person for the leadership role.

The different department heads had each given an overview of their activities. Tonks was head of Harry's protection. Arthur Weasley was the liaison with the Ministry. Professor Vector was the head of intelligence. And Dedalus Diggle was the chief of counter-Death Eater operations. Madam Maxime was the Order's legate with the European Wizarding governments. Several individuals were contacts with various magical peoples: Remus with the Werewolves, Hagrid with the Giants, Bill Weasley with the Goblins, Fleur with the Veelas, and Professor Flitwick with the Merpeople. (The Centaurs had rebuffed every delegation.) Many of the rank and file members worked in multiple areas. Bill Weasley probably did the most, helping out with the combat groups who tried to respond to Death Eater activities, working with Vector on intelligence analysis, taking stints protecting Harry. He would have been elected head of the Order, but declined. He was still recovering from the attack. There was a lot more interaction between the members than usual. Dumbledore rarely had the whole Order together. Different anti-DE squads compared notes. Flitwick, who was an excellent duelist in his younger days, gave pointers to the fighters, and received first hand information in return. After a while, Diggle called the meeting back to order.

The final business of the meeting was to discuss offering Harry membership in the Order. Molly Weasley was opposed, arguing that he was too young. Tonks felt that Harry should be in, it would make protecting him easier. McGonagall reported that Dumbledore had several private meetings with Potter over the school year, but she wasn't given any indication of their content. She also reported that Harry had gone off with Dumbledore the night he died, and had refused to tell where the two of them had gone, and what they had done. In the end, it was almost unanimous. Harry would be invited that week.