Harry Potter and the Amulet of the Moon

semprini

Story Summary:
Sequel to Harry Potter and the Antiquity Link. Following the recent disaster suffered by the Aurors, new Auror Leader Harry Potter recruits fifteen trusted members of Dumbledore's Army to become the backbone of the Aurors. To prepare quickly to defend an Auror-less society, they go to an uninhabited island and go back in time a year, planning to train uneventfully, isolated from the rest of the world, and the timeline. But they're pulled back into the whirl of wizarding events in a way they never would have expected.

Chapter 03 - The Chess Game

Chapter Summary:
Harry tries to turn a game of chess into an object lesson for the Auror trainees, but George’s taunting leads to conflict between him, Ron, and Harry.
Posted:
08/30/2009
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782


Chapter 3

The Chess Game

The next day, the group spent the first half of the day walking all over the island, finding a freshwater stream, plenty of trees and plants yielding fresh fruits, vegetables, and nuts, some of which the group gathered for later consumption. They also discovered two magically separated environments, each about the size of two football fields, containing swine and fowl. Harry explained, as it had been explained to him by the 'Auror Leader chronicles', that the island had been magically enhanced and altered specifically for human habitation, and in such a way that the ecosystems wouldn't become unbalanced even if humans were not present for decades. One particular Leader, the fifth, had had a strong interest in ecosystems, and he had made it a long-term project to shield the island from outside view and create self-perpetuating habitats. It had been the responsibility of each Leader since then to make sure that all was well.

In the afternoon, Luna and Cho were left on their own to set up the food preparation system, while everyone else gathered on the grass for the first Auror training. Harry decided to stand with the trainees, since in a sense he was being trained as well. Kingsley faced the trainees; Hestia stood off to one side, reflecting her status as a kind of assistant to the trainer. It was a perfect day: blue sky, temperature in the mid-70s, a light breeze. Harry remembered that the last time he'd stood on grass and listened to a lecture or practiced was in Japan, where it had been summer, with high heat and humidity. This is much better, he thought with amusement.

"Okay," said Kingsley, in a voice loud enough to be heard by everyone but not too loud. "First of all, we'll be taking five-to-ten minute breaks every hour, so you can relax or use the bathroom."

"Bathroom?" repeated Padma in surprise.

"By which I mean, one of the many trees or bushes out there," said Kingsley humorously. "I suggest that everyone choose one location to use, so you don't get into conflicts over who goes where."

"What about the women?" protested Parvati, clearly unhappy with this turn of events.

"See that willow over there?" asked Hestia, pointing. "That's mine. Don't anybody take it." Her tone was matter-of-fact, making it clear to Parvati that women were to be treated no differently than men.

With his Auror Leader-enhanced hearing, Harry heard Parvati mumble, "Nobody said anything about this." She said it so quietly that Harry assumed she'd intended for no one else to hear.

"Early on," announced Kingsley, "we'll be spending some time on practical things like conjuring, so the four of us who can don't have to be doing it all the time. The emphasis will be on eating and drinking implements, and then we'll move on to chairs. In the meantime, standing for long periods of time isn't a bad thing, because as Aurors, there will be a lot of standing involved.

"Before we do any magic, I want to talk about what's expected of Aurors. I think Harry's already done that to some extent, but for a few minutes, I want you to hear it from someone with years of experience as an Auror.

"What Harry did, in order to become Auror Leader, is the extreme example of what could be asked of an Auror. Faced with the choice of saving his loved ones and letting tens of thousands of wizards die, he chose to save society while having to watch his close friends and family die. The test, of course, happens in one's mind, but the person being tested believes it's real. I myself took it, and failed. So did Professor Dumbledore; most people do. So I know how hard it is.

"Luckily, this sort of thing--especially on such a large scale--almost never happens in real life, but it theoretically could. Once in the test, and once in real life, Harry made excruciating choices to do what was right, what was best for society. Because of that, Harry has the deepest respect and admiration of all of society--to some extent, believe it or not, even the criminal element--and it's well-deserved." Harry stared forward, not looking at any heads turned in his direction, wondering where Kingsley was going with this.

"You all will be Aurors. At least, that's what we hope. It could still happen that somebody is found, or finds themselves, unsuitable for some reason. Whatever that reason might be, it very likely won't be a lack of bravery, since you all fought in the Battle of Hogwarts, united by nothing but your common experiences, and your loyalty to Harry and to each other.

"But an Auror needs more than bravery, and one of the most important attributes for an Auror is morality. Because of what he's done, Harry has been given great authority. Authority that can't be overridden by anyone, not even the Minister. Authority that if abused could cause great damage to society. But society is confident that he will not abuse it, and in fact, it is a matter of history that none of the previous fifteen Auror Leaders let down their society in such a way. All retired or passed on with honor.

"Society trusts Aurors as well, and gives them a great deal of authority. An Auror can do something that for most people would be illegal--for example, break into a person's home and perform a search not previously approved by a magistrate--and not be prosecuted, not accused of a crime. An Auror is not absolutely above the law, but occupies a privileged space in relation to it.

"An Auror, therefore, should strive to the highest standard of morality. Not just the standard demanded by law, which for an Auror would be the absolute minimum standard, but a standard that reflects the high esteem in which Aurors are held by the people. A standard that reflects a desire to be of service to society. A standard which if adhered to, an Auror could be asked questions under Veritaserum and be unable to say anything that would bring shame to him or the Aurors. I do not mean that every Auror achieves this standard all the time, just that it is to be strived for.

"Now, the great enemy of morality is justification. Many of us--many of you, even, despite your youth--have done something we knew was wrong, but were able to justify it to ourselves. Stealing from a rich man is not so bad, because he's rich. Lying to someone we disrespect is not so bad, because we don't care what they think of us anyway. Hurting a bad person is okay, because they had it coming. Betraying our spouse... if they never find out, what's the harm? We want to think we're good people. If we do something that's normally considered bad, we don't suddenly change our minds about that. 'Oh, maybe I am a bad person after all.' No, we think of a reason why what we did is all right, or at least, not so bad. That can become a habit, a very dangerous one."

Kingsley paused for several seconds, seeming to look everyone over. "Why do we do bad things? Selfish things, things we regret later? Well, we are human, and the reasons are myriad. You should investigate such things, and we will talk about them, because they may be important in your work as Aurors. But the basic cause is what a Muggle psychologist called the id, which can be summed up like this: we want what we want. We do things out of self-interest, because self-interest was part of what pulled us up from the muck of evolution. The strong survived, got the most fertile mates, competed with the others. Self-interest, competition, aggression... they were necessary twenty, fifty, a hundred thousand years ago. They aren't anymore, but they're in our DNA. We're stuck with them. An Auror needs to understand this, to face up to our negative impulses, rather than giving in to them and later justifying the behavior.

"Justification is seductive, because it gives us permission to do things we know deep down we shouldn't do. There is a trap Aurors have fallen into in the past. It goes like this: I'm an Auror, I do what I do to benefit society. I'm a good guy, with good motives, therefore everything I do is for the good. Even if I do something that's normally considered bad, it's good if my objective is good."

"The ends justify the means," recited Hermione, standing a few feet to Harry's right.

"The very next words that were going to come out of my mouth," agreed Kingsley. "Now, sometimes they do. Everything is not always black and white, which is another theme we'll be getting to. But back to this one, another part of this trap is that if it benefits me, and I'm working for society, then it benefits society. This type of thinking can lead to corruption very quickly, and has in the past.

"I don't know if everyone read the article that Dormus Pinter of Witch Weekly wrote about Harry a few days after the dementors were defeated, but Harry went out of his way to say that he wouldn't be accepting anything free from anyone. No meals, no goods, nothing for free, and he was getting dozens and dozens of offers--"

Harry couldn't stop himself from interrupting. "It doesn't hurt to have inherited three million Galleons," he said dryly. A few trainees chuckled.

Kingsley eyed Harry, his eyes communicating 'oh, really' to Harry. "And if you didn't have this money, you would have accepted those things?"

Embarrassed, Harry sighed. "Well... no..."

Kingsley nodded as some trainees again chuckled. "Let's all just keep in mind that false modesty is also not something we should strive for."

Mildly annoyed, Harry responded, "I was just saying that it wasn't the sacrifice for me that it would have been for some people."

"Noted. But getting back to the point, it would have been extremely easy for Harry to justify taking such things. He had performed enormous services for society, and many of the people making these offers were motivated by sincere gratitude. But Harry knew how it could appear, and he knew it wouldn't be a good habit to get into. No one told him to do this, he just did it. Now, my purpose here isn't to hold Harry up as a model for you all, and only partly because I'm annoying him right now. It's simply a good example of what I'm trying to get across.

"To briefly summarize: much is expected of those to whom much is given. Now, before I move on, are there any questions or comments?"

After a few seconds of silence, Neville spoke. "Last winter and spring, I spent most of my time in the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts, which could provide everything except food, which as most people now know I got from the Hog's Head. I ran out of money to pay for it pretty quickly, and Aberforth said I could owe him. A month after Voldemort died, I got the money from my grandmother and tried to pay him, but he said that an anonymous person had already paid my tab. Assuming I was an Auror in that situation, what should I have done?"

Harry tried not to give himself away by changing his expression; Kingsley smiled a little. "I don't know, Neville. I certainly don't have all the answers for questions like that. Let me ask you, Harry, what do you think?"

Harry wished Kingsley hadn't asked him, as he now felt on the spot. He thought for a few seconds, trying to work out how he would answer if he himself had not given Aberforth the money. "Being anonymous makes it a little different thing, since no one's trying to get credit for it, no one wants anything in return. The more money it is, the more you should try not to accept it, especially if it's a really big amount. But eleven Galleons isn't really that much, so I'd think you could accept it, it's not worth the trouble--"

Harry cut himself off as Neville whirled in stunned surprised to face him. "I didn't say how much it was, and that's exactly what it was!"

Cursing himself for his carelessness, Harry knew he'd been caught, and quickly decided not to try to lie. Assuming an expression of false innocence, he shrugged lightly. "Lucky guess."

Kingsley burst into loud laughter as Neville gaped at Harry; other trainees started to laugh as well. "Do as he says, not as he does," joked Seamus.

"This was long before I was Auror Leader," protested Harry. "I wasn't thinking in those kinds of terms. I just... you know, wanted to say thanks for what you did."

Smiling, Neville took a few steps toward Harry. "I ought to smack you," he joked. "I can pay my own tab!"

"Your grandmother can pay it, anyway!" laughed Seamus; Neville gave him a humorous dirty look.

"I didn't mean that you couldn't," said Harry. "People trying to give me things certainly know I can pay for them, they know I've got money. And no smacking the Auror Leader," he added, pointing a finger, mock-sternly, at Neville.

Reaching Harry, Neville threw an arm around him, shaking him a little. "It was very nice of you," he said quietly. More loudly, he added, "And don't do it again!" Shaking his head, he walked back to his spot on the grass.

Kingsley had never stopped laughing, and was now winding down. "Oh, dear," he said. "Lesson for everyone: don't inadvertently betray others' secrets, and definitely, don't betray your own!" This got a lot of laughs as well, and Kingsley paused for a minute to let people get the humor out of their system. "I've given that lecture, or a variant of it, before, but it's never degenerated into hilarity like that one did. But since that's come up, it is worth looking at it from the other side. As the giver here, Harry's motives were very honorable, and as he points out, eleven Galleons isn't a lot. It's a gesture, and I've been on the receiving end of some of them; people mean well. A woman stopped me in Diagon Alley a few months ago and gave me homemade cookies. I thanked her, took them back to the office, and did a magical scan for poison." A few trainees chuckled. "Hey, it's a standard precaution. Aurors are targets as well. The cookies were clean, and my assistant and I enjoyed them. So, I don't mean you have to be an absolute purist. You don't want to offend people with good intentions. What you do need to do is recognize when someone wants something in return or is trying to curry favor, and when it's from their heart. You also need to recognize your own self-interest, and try to take it out of the equation. The more you want what they're offering, the more you need to think about it."

"You need the time to think up a justification," suggested George.

"Well, we hope not," said Kingsley, with a look at George that communicated that there would be a limit to his tolerance of humorous comments. "Now, accepting gifts is a small thing, but small things can lead to big things. You just need to keep it in mind.

"Now, for some more practical aspects of being an Auror. One of the very most important things is psychology, understanding how people work. Why is that? One important reason is that wizarding society is very small, between eighty and ninety thousand witches and wizards; this would be the total population of a mid-sized Muggle city. I've been an Auror for twenty-seven years... well, I should say, I was an Auror for twenty-seven years. I'm not now, of course, though I still tend to think like that. I'd say I personally know hundreds of people, maybe a thousand, and I have some knowledge of thousands more. This is not unusual for an Auror. People committing crimes will sometimes be people you know, and it's important to understand them. The guy who's an assistant at a local shop, who you've known for twenty years, might end up being a criminal. You never would have thought he'd do it, but he did. You'll know the prominent people better, but it's good to know as many people as possible. Is Madame Malkin a temperamental harpy, or a kind, helpful boss?"

Before Kingsley had a chance to continue, Parvati jumped in. "Oh, she's very nice, Lavender and I would often go to her shop, and..." Seeing Kingsley's expression, she trailed off. "Oh. It was a rhetorical question. Sorry."

Harry grinned, as did several others. "Yes, it was," said Kingsley wryly. "But thank you for that. Knowing that kind of thing can be helpful. Anyway, those people or their assistants can be very helpful. If they like you or trust you, they may give you tips on people who came through their shops, who seemed suspicious for whatever reason. Most of the time it'll be nothing, just people who gave them a bad impression. But once in a while..."

After a pause, Kingsley went on, "Okay, enough of that for now. Let's get to magic. I'm sure that after being in the DA, you all have the basics down, but it never hurts to be sure. We'll spend the next hour reviewing the important spells, then we start on elementary dueling spells." They broke into pairs, Harry and Kingsley both checking everyone's basic spells. At least from Harry's point of view, the afternoon passed quickly.

They stopped practicing at five o'clock, and dinner was scheduled for six. Some trainees went to their tent, while others sat at the main table and chatted; a few kibitzed while Cho and Luna worked on the food not far away. Harry decided to join Hestia, who was talking to them. He looked down at a work table and saw five chickens, heads and innards removed, already plucked, looking not altogether different from the many whole chickens he'd seen in Muggle supermarkets. The main difference was that these chickens were larger.

"How long did it take to pluck them?" he asked.

Cho picked up a chicken, immersed it in the water, and scrubbed it. "Only a few seconds, there's a good spell that does it. I had my mother teach me some household spells before I left."

"She doesn't know--"

"No, she doesn't," she gently chided him, as if he doubted her ability to keep a secret. "I didn't tell her why I needed it, just that it had to do with the Aurors. Her exact words were, 'if the Auror Leader needs you to know how to pluck chickens, then who am I to argue.'"

Harry chuckled. "Good attitude. What are we having with the chickens?"

"Just side dishes from the miniaturized stuff, bread and vegetables. We decided that for a week we'd just focus on preparing the main dishes, and when we got used to that, we'd start with the side dishes."

Harry nodded. "Sounds reasonable. How are you doing with this, Luna?"

He saw Cho's eyes flick to Luna, as if Cho was curious how Luna would answer. "Well, I managed," she said serenely. "I think that's the most I can say. It was difficult, though."

Cho gave Harry a wry smile. "She apologized to the chickens before killing them." Harry wasn't sure whether Cho's tone communicated 'isn't that cute' or 'isn't that silly.'

"What you might want to do, Luna," suggested Hestia, "is something I've read that some North American aboriginal cultures used to do. Rather than apologizing to the chickens, you thank them. The idea is that in some sense, they know their place in the circle of life, the food chain, whatever. A chicken's place is to be eaten, and we--and the aboriginal Americans--need food to live. So, you thank the chicken for its sacrifice."

Unseen by Hestia or Luna, Cho now gave Harry a look that he was sure was one of 'that's silly.' But as she turned to look at Luna, the look transformed to 'that's interesting.' Harry didn't blame Cho; it did seem silly. But if it would help Luna, then he was all for it. He had a fundamental respect for Luna that he suspected Cho, along with many others on the island, didn't have.

"Thank you," said Luna to Hestia. "I'll try that."

"Just wondering," said Harry, "but these chickens aren't even started cooking. How will they be ready by 6:00?"

Now Cho gave him an amused look. "This is one of those 'oh yes, you grew up with Muggles' things."

Harry rolled his eyes in annoyance at himself. "I have a feeling that magic is somehow involved," he said in a self-deprecating tone.

"Pretty much," she agreed, picking up a bottle of some spice, Harry couldn't tell which one. He had never been interested in food preparation, but felt as Leader that he should at least look in on every aspect of the operation.

Dinner went over well, as it seemed that everyone was satisfied with the chicken. Seamus said he felt it was good, but a little tougher than he was used to; Cho explained that not wanting to be wasteful, they had chosen chickens that were older than were normally eaten by those who raised them for food. "Once we're sure that the replenishment rate is okay, we'll start eating younger ones."

"How do you know how old they are?" Harry asked.

Cho just gave him a look similar to the one before. "Ah. Magic," he said. "You know, maybe before I ask any question about the food, I'll stop and think about whether the answer could be 'magic,' and if it could be, I won't ask the question."

"Now, now, Harry," Kingsley mock-chided him, "there are no stupid questions."

"Only stupid people," George instantly chimed in.

"I don't know, I heard lots of stupid questions at Hogwarts," added Lee.

"Like, did you enjoy Umbridge's lesson?" suggested George.

"Do you think the Slytherins are cheating at Quidditch?" put in Lee.

Neville spoke up. "Do you think it's safe to eat this candy that Fred and George gave me?"

The table broke up in laughter. "Of course not!" shouted George.

"That is a stupid question," said Ron through his laughter.

The same sort of atmosphere continued all through dinner. I know it won't always be like this, thought Harry, but it's nice when it is.

Two days later, after breakfast, Kingsley asked to talk to Harry alone, and they went into his tent. Harry sat on the sofa, and Kingsley, on the chair kitty-corner from it. "So, Harry, how are you doing?"

Harry shrugged. "Okay, I guess. It seems to be going fairly well."

"We have a long way to go, but yes, no problems so far," agreed Kingsley. "I will say, though, that I'm a little concerned about George."

"Why?"

"It just... seems to me that he doesn't have the seriousness of purpose that we look for in an Auror. Now, I know what you're going to say, this is George, so what did you expect? I've spent enough time around them, I suppose I should say, around him, to know what he's like. We've had mouthy Aurors before, and irreverent ones, and ones that were both. But usually, in the training period, they kept a lid on it, at least when they were around senior people. Not just because of his comments, but I wonder how serious he is about this. Just a feeling."

Harry thought about it. "I guess it may not help that I asked him to do it, in a way that I didn't with most of the others. With him, as well as with Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Ginny, it was like, I hope you'll do this. With the others, it was like, how do you feel about doing this? Do you think he might think he's doing me some favor?"

"It's possible, especially since as you said, he hasn't given up on the shop, he's kept one foot in that. It's your decision, but you might consider sitting down with him and asking him to keep the comments to a minimum during lectures, at least. I'm not comfortable with the influence it could have on the others. Again, granted, they know him, and it doesn't mean they'll do the same thing. Still... it doesn't sit right with me."

Again, Harry paused before answering. "I understand. When you're conducting the lesson, if you want to do that, I'll back you up. If he complains to me, I'll tell him he should heed the wishes of whoever's running the session. But as for me, I'm not quite ready to do that. It's a little too soon. I guess that since I'm the one who asked him, I should give him a little more leeway."

Kingsley appeared not to be thrilled with Harry's answer, but didn't let the feeling show too strongly. "Okay. Now, there's another thing I wanted to talk to you about, see what you thought. We talked about the possibility of doing Auror character tests on the island, even though there aren't too many chances. What I'm thinking of would be a kind of collective test. You, me, and Hestia would basically hide for a week."

Harry nodded. "Lord of the Flies." To Kingsley's quizzical glance, he explained, "A book they made us read in Muggle school, about a group of kids who get stranded on an island, with no adults. They eventually descend into a savage, survival-of-the-fittest tribe, one is killed by others, and so forth."

"Well, we can reasonably hope that wouldn't happen," said Kingsley dryly. "But yes, that's the general idea, to see what they would do."

"The portraits already mentioned this," said Harry. "They sometimes used the island for training, and when they had five or more at the same time, they would sometimes do that. They thought it might be a good idea for me to do. I thought about it, and decided I didn't want to. I felt as though I would be betraying their trust a bit. I mean, these aren't ordinary recruits, these are people I grew up with, who've known me since I was eleven. I feel like I don't want to do this without a very good reason."

"I'm sure you know this, but there is a good reason. It's a test of their ability to handle unexpected situations, and that's very important for an Auror. They'd figure out it was a test, and I think they'd figure out why. But just knowing it's a test doesn't mean it's easy to pass. I don't see why you see it as a betrayal of trust. It's not as though they need you to get by."

Harry sighed. "I can't explain it easily, maybe not at all. I guess I just don't see it as important enough to do something I'm not comfortable doing. So... I'm still probably not going to do it, but other than what you've already said, are there any important reasons to do it?"

"It could give you useful information about any particular person," explained Kingsley. "Not only having to do with unexpected situations, but also in general the absence of an authority figure. People act differently, and you might not know it until an important situation occurs. A rough analogy is that children left at home alone might misbehave, and some might behave as usual. It's good to know who might do what. And it might be good for them to know, too. They themselves might not realize it until it happens, and then they know that's something they have to address. One of the things I'll be lecturing on is self-improvement, the idea that you have to constantly look at yourself to see where you could improve. Like any test, this might give them very useful feedback in those terms.

"I understand why you don't want to do it, Harry, even if you can't fully articulate it. To the best of my knowledge, there's nobody outside this island who you would count as a friend. Balancing your roles as Leader and friend won't be easy, and is something you'll have to work out by yourself. Tilt too much to one side, be too chummy, and being a true leader will be difficult; your authority could be undermined. Too much to the other side, and they might stop considering you a friend. Especially on the island, I'll see my role as trying to let you know if you seem to be going too far toward one side or the other."

"I hadn't thought of it exactly like that," admitted Harry. "But I see what you mean. I suppose this is one of the things you can tell me that the portraits can't, since even though I've explained the situation in general, I don't think I can explain it so well that they can understand it. But thanks."

"No problem. Lastly, I'll be leaving soon, flying to Australia to set up the emergency Portkey. I might be back in time for dinner, but if I'm not, have them save some food for me, okay?"

"Sure." Harry paused, then asked, "Shouldn't, like, shouldn't Hestia go with you?"

"Why?"

Harry shrugged. "Not that it's going to, but something might happen. If it did, no one would be around to help you, in the middle of the ocean, like that."

Kingsley gave him a small grin. "Very good. That was a small test, which you passed. She absolutely should, and I was already planning for her to. On any mission like this which is far from routine, two Aurors should participate. And even routine missions are often conducted in teams."

Harry found himself mildly annoyed at being tested, but repressed it, as rationally he knew that he needed to be tested in some ways no less than the trainees, of which he was one in a sense. "Okay. After you get back, stop by here and let me know how it went."

"That would be what we normally refer to as a 'debriefing,' said Kingsley humorously. "I'll be here."

He left, and as was becoming usual after he talked to Kingsley, he spent some time pondering what had been discussed. Wondering if this would become usual as well, after a while he decided to get up and visit Ron and Hermione. He didn't mention specifically the test Kingsley had suggested, wanting to leave room for him to change his mind, but talked about the possible conflicts between his roles as friend and Leader. They seemed to sympathize, and to understand his dilemma, which made him feel a little better. They had to stop when Harry realized that it was almost exactly time to start training, and he would be doing it himself today. That made the choice of topic--dueling--unavoidable, as it was the one area in which he now had at least semi-expert knowledge. It was the only thing he felt comfortable teaching without the experienced Aurors.

He stepped out of the tent and headed for the main table, followed by Ron and Hermione. All of the trainees were there, waiting to proceed to the field for the day's training. Harry saw Luna and Cho talking at the food preparation area, and suddenly changed his plans. Deciding not to take them out to the field just yet, Harry said, "Cho, Luna, would you join us for a minute?"

Surprise on Cho's face--it seemed that Luna never appeared surprised--they walked over to join the others. Facing the group, Harry began. "There's something that's not strictly part of the Auror training that I want us to do, or try to do, and I've asked Luna and Cho to join us for reasons that'll soon become clear.

"I think most of you know that in my recent three-month stay in Japan, I attended what they called an advanced tactical school, one from which they choose the best students to become Aurors. And, you know from my speech when we defeated the dementors that they have group spells over there. They practice them from an early age, when they start their equivalent of Hogwarts.

"They couldn't explain to me how to use them, and I tried with my three friends there for months, and I couldn't do it. Then I finally realized that to do the spells, you had to... think like a Japanese, be in this... mental space similar to what they were in. Even if I'd known that this was necessary when I first got there, I couldn't have done it, because I didn't know how to think like them. After three months, I knew, or at least enough, and I was finally able to join them in the spells. The group spells are very impressive; as the old proverb says, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

"So, what I'm hoping is that if we practice it regularly, we can do that. My notion is that we have the mental space--I don't like that phrase, but I can't think of a better one--the mental space we had as DA members. That's what everyone here has in common."

Seamus raised a hand slightly. "Well, not everyone."

"Okay, that's true. But we did have you for one lesson, and I hope you'll use the memory of that, the feeling of connection with other DA members in the time at Hogwarts when Ron, Hermione, and I, and others, weren't there. Anyway, I want you all to, when we do this, imagine yourselves back in the Room of Requirement. It's three years ago, we're trying to learn but Umbridge is stopping us, that feeling we had of wanting to do something useful. When we practice, we need to be summoning that feeling. And I've asked Luna and Cho because they were members too, and this will be a DA thing. Hestia won't be joining us for this."

Ernie broke the silence. "All the Japanese can do group spells?"

"Pretty much, yes," said Harry. "But I was told that it often took them two or three years to learn them. But I was able to do it in three months, so I have hope that we won't take that long, if we can. I want to practice this every day, maybe for ten or fifteen minutes. I'm hopeful that this can work. I think that if I could do it with the Japanese, we can do it too."

They walked away from the table, stood in the grass, and started firing test spells. Nothing unusual happened from the spells, and Harry certainly hadn't expected that it would. For a while, it would be more about getting them in the right frame of mind than expecting results.

Cho and Luna went off to do their work--today, they would be fishing for the first time (Harry reflected that with nets and magic, the fish didn't have much of a chance)--and Harry and the trainees walked into the middle of the large field for their practice. Harry spent the first hour going over the fundamentals of dueling: body positioning, watching the opponent's wand, blocking spells, and movement. After some practice and demonstration bouts, he started going into more details, and the time seemed to start to fly by. Everyone seemed interested, as dueling was relatively important in wizard lore, but the time they normally would have studied it--seventh year--had been taken up instead by Dark magic, at least in Harry's year.

By the end of the day's training, most everyone seemed to have picked up the basics. Harry noticed that a few people, including George, Ron, Corner, and Lee, were being a little lazy on defense, and firing shots that their sparring partners weren't blocking, but that they shouldn't have attempted because a competent opponent would easily block them. "You shouldn't underestimate your opponent," he warned. "I don't care if you're practicing against someone who you know has less skill, or less natural talent. You always treat them as if they're highly skilled, you never let your guard down for a second."

"Harry, we're just learning," protested Corner. "Why is it so super-important to be so careful?"

Harry paused, then decided he would open up a little to properly emphasize the point. "Because I had a friend who didn't, and he died because of it." He saw Ron and Hermione looking at him somberly. He wasn't sure how many of them knew about Sirius, but assumed most of them did. "I know you're only just learning, but this is important, and not just because of me. I really think Kingsley and Hestia will agree with this. But even if they didn't, this is still what I want. Now, let's do it again."

They continued practicing, but Harry was still dissatisfied with the performances of many of the trainees, who he felt emphasized offense too much at the expense of defense. Unhappy but not wanting to repeat himself so soon, Harry called an end to the practice, as the normal end was approaching. As they walked back, he had an idea. "Ron, you brought a chess set, right?"

Ron nodded. "A regular one, not a wizard one. Why?"

"Could you get it out? I'd like to have a game, and I'd like everyone to hang around. I think it might be useful to illustrate a few strategic ideas."

Shrugging, Ron said, "Sure," and headed toward his tent to get the set. He and Harry sat at one end of the table, and the others gathered around, either standing or sitting in such a way that they could see the board. Ron put a pawn in each hand, put them behind his back, and held out two fists to Harry. Harry tapped the left fist; Ron opened it to reveal a black pawn. They moved the board accordingly. "You mentioned strategic ideas," said Ron. "Is there any special way you want me to play?"

Harry shook his head. "Just play as you would normally play. Assume it's important to win."

"I always do," Ron assured him, as he moved the pawn in front of his king two spaces forward.

Harry decided that for the first ten or so moves, he would try to appear to play as he had always done in the past. Ron didn't know that he had become an expert player as part of the quests he'd gone through to get the anti-dementor spell, and he didn't want to tip Ron off. He made moves that were slightly offbeat, but not damaging to his position. Ron played as he always did, self-assuredly and aggressively. With his new chess experience, Harry understood that in the past, Ron had always counted on him to make mistakes.

Harry made two moves in a row that appeared to be mistakes, including one which lost him a pawn, in the service of developing his pieces quickly. Ron took the pawn. His pieces were in developed, aggressive positions, but had no specific strategy or threat, and he hadn't castled yet. Harry made a move putting his queen deep in Ron's territory, making no specific threat but hemming Ron in and disallowing castling. Ron's eyebrows went up, but he proceeded with the game seemingly unconcerned with Harry's queen, making threats against a few of Harry's pieces.

Harry then made a move that took a piece out of danger and made multiple threats in conjunction with the queen at the same time. This apparently had an impact on Ron, and he took more time with his next move. His move was defensive, but not the best one, and it was too late. Three moves later, Ron's position was in ruins, and after another three, he was checkmated.

"Whoa, Ron! What happened?" said George, in a slightly mocking tone.

Ron shook his head in disbelief. "Didn't see that," he admitted, looking at Harry quizzically, as if unsure why his skills had apparently deserted him.

"Okay," said Harry. "Now, what I wanted--"

"Wait a minute," said Ron. "Can we do that again?"

Harry was disinclined to, but Ron's tone was unusually insistent, so he decided to agree. They switched colors, and Harry began as before. Ron took more time with his moves, and again, Harry tried to give the impression of someone making random moves while actually playing intelligently. Ron again started attacking pieces, which Harry defended against while trying to develop his position. Again, Ron made the mistake of failing to castle. This time, Harry moved his pawns forward aggressively, and after sacrificing a bishop, moved a knight deep into Ron's side of the board. "Ron! In trouble again!" said George loudly. Harry glanced up at him, as did Ron, who was clearly getting angry. He thought more, and made a defensive move, which Harry met with an unexpected move taking a pawn and making a threat. "Ooooooh!" gushed George. Other people were starting to whisper.

Again, Ron's position was starting to fall apart under Harry's organized onslaught. George spoke again. "Wow, Ron's playing like he's under a Confundus curse--"

Harry had had enough. "Cut it out, Malfoy," he snapped, glancing up at George. He heard a collective intake of breath, knowing that everyone was surprised at his words, even as he stared at the board. A quick glance told him that Ron was even angrier. Whether it was at him or at George, Harry wasn't sure.

"Hey, that's uncalled for," protested George. "Do you know how many times he beat me or Fred and gloated--"

"I said, cut it out," repeated Harry, his own anger now clear. George looked away in annoyance as Harry refocused on the game. Nobody said a word more as the game ended in three more moves, this time not in checkmate, but with a disgusted Ron knocking over his own king, the standard gesture indicating resignation of a chess game.

"Okay," said Harry, trying to keep any emotion out of his voice. "It seemed like most of you understand chess, at least enough to follow what was going on. The point I was trying to make here--"

"He underestimated you," cut in Corner. "I'm a decent player myself, I could see what was going on. You were pretending to be bad, lulling him into a false sense of security."

"Yes, that's right--"

"But Harry is bad," protested Neville. "No offense," he quickly added to Harry. "I'm not very good, and Harry and I were always about equal. Ron always killed me. Did you get good, or was that some magical trick?"

"You all know about that quest I went on, where I had some visions. One of the things I had to do to get by was to beat a good chess master, and I had to learn by playing hundreds of games, learning from experience. Time didn't move while I was doing it, and it seemed to take forever. So now, I'm almost equivalent to a master."

"Ron clearly didn't know that," commented Corner. "Did you not tell him on purpose?"

Ron's expression was clearly accusatory, his eyes on Harry. "No, I just didn't happen to mention it. The point was that this illustrated really well the point I was trying to make before, about never underestimating anyone. Ron was playing carelessly, banking on me to make mistakes, because I always have before." A few people glanced at Corner, who nodded in agreement. "He's capable of playing much better than that, but you get into habits when you play a lot of inferior opponents. I wanted everyone to understand very clearly what can happen when you underestimate an opponent. I don't care what you know, or think you know. Never anticipate mistakes, never do any less than your absolute best. One mistake can cost you a lot," he added, with a glance at Ron, hoping Ron would understand his reason, why it was important to him. Ron stared straight ahead, not meeting Harry's eyes, trying to keep his emotions under control.

"What would you have done if Ron hadn't played carelessly?" asked Parvati.

"Then I would have made note of the fact that he played carefully, even though he had no reason to think he had to. Either way, my point would have been made."

"But you expected him to play this way," suggested Corner.

"I had no particular expectations," Harry said, in a statement that was at best a half-truth. "The important point was that I had ability that he didn't know I had, and that was what was necessary to make the point. Okay, we're finished here, everyone should feel free to do what they want until dinner."

More abruptly than he normally would, Ron stood and walked directly away, into the nearby trees and vegetation until he could no longer be seen. Harry exchanged a worried look with Hermione.

"Oh, one other thing," added Harry when he was sure Ron was out of hearing range. "There's to be no mocking." He wasn't looking at George, but he was sure everyone would know what he meant. "Humorous insults are fine as long as you're sure that you have a relationship with the person in which that's known to be okay. If you're not sure, don't do it."

"There's really going to be a no-mocking rule?" asked George in disbelief. "What are we, children? Is there a no-mocking rule among the real Aurors?"

"There shouldn't be a need for one," replied Harry, trying to control his emotions. "But there is here, now. Mocking doesn't help anything, and I want people to learn."

"Well, I'm sure he learned not to trust you," retorted George hotly. "Mocking isn't okay, but humiliating your friend by crushing him with abilities you hid from him is. It really sounds like you're making up these policies on the fly."

"It wasn't my intention to humiliate him, but it was yours. That's the difference."

"Oh, please," said George sarcastically. "You know him better than anyone, you had to know, you must know what he's like when he's competitive, like when he was having those problems with Quidditch--"

George cut himself off, and Harry suddenly knew that George realized for the first time what Harry had meant with the Malfoy comment; he knew that both of them were remembering 'Weasley is our King.' More quietly, and with emotion, George shook a finger at Harry. "This is different from that. I'm not Malfoy."

"Different degree, same concept," argued Harry.

"Totally different. I'm his brother, and I love him, even though if anyone tells him I said that I'll deny it to the death. This is me, Harry, this is who I am. If you didn't want me to be like this you shouldn't have asked me to come."

"You're not usually like that. But what I said applies to everyone. If you upset someone by mocking them, it means you've gone too far."

George scoffed, making no more noise than an exhalation, but offered no further comment. Harry sat for a moment, not moving, then realized that people probably wanted to talk, but not around him. He stood and walked to his tent.

In the silence, he realized that with his enhanced hearing, he could hear what was being said, and decided to listen. "I have to say, I'm with Harry on this," said Neville. "I've been mocked plenty, I know what it's like. We don't need it."

George sounded frustrated. "Neville, I'm his brother. It's different."

"You were enjoying his discomfort. I don't have a brother, but if I did, I'd hope he wouldn't do that."

Harry heard Lee's voice. "Neville, were you really unhappy about the things like the Canary Creams?"

Neville hesitated. "I knew it was in fun, and I tried to react accordingly. But there's always some part of you that doesn't think it's funny. I think it just depends on the person. Now, I'd have no problem. I guess I'd say that context is really important."

"But why should Ron get so angry at losing?" asked Parvati. "It's just a game."

"Clearly," said Lee humorously, "you are not a man."

"I'd like to think that's clear, yes," she agreed.

"Men are competitive, and Ron certainly is," Lee explained. "You hate to lose, and Ron was losing when he expected to win, in front of people, his loss being an object lesson of what not to do. I wouldn't be thrilled either."

"But wouldn't an Auror be expected to keep emotional control in that kind of situation?" she persisted.

Now Dean spoke. "Probably, but that's easier said than done. I'd guess you have to work at it. I'm with Lee, I might've reacted like Ron did."

"Do you think Harry shouldn't have done it?" asked Parvati.

There was silence for a few seconds, then Hermione spoke; unable to see, Harry wondered if some people had looked at her, seeking her opinion. She sighed heavily. "Especially the second game, it really pained Harry to do what he did. The last thing he wanted was to hurt Ron, I could tell that. George, I think that's why he was so angry with you. To him, you were pouring salt on a wound that he was hoping to minimize. But the thing you have to remember is this: Sirius Black was Harry's godfather, and his father's close friend. Harry only knew him for two years, but they were very close, and Harry really suffered when Sirius died. You also have to remember that if any Auror here dies in the line of duty, it's going to be extremely hard for Harry. No matter what the circumstances are, he'll feel responsible. So I'm pretty sure that while he didn't want to embarrass Ron, he feels that if his making the point so dramatically like that helps anyone not to make that mistake in the future, and it saves their life, it'll have been worth it. He wasn't making this point for the heck of it. For him, this was deadly serious."

Harry heard no more words for a few minutes, after which people started to talk about other topics. He stopped listening, and let his thoughts drift. As usual, he thought, Hermione had gotten it right. He hoped that Ron's anger would be temporary, and that he--maybe with Hermione's help--would understand Harry's reasons enough to forgive him.

Harry came out for dinner ten minutes before it was scheduled to be served, and chatted with people until it was ready. Unlike the other meals, Ron sat on Hermione's left as Hermione sat to the left of Harry. He chatted with people near him but was a bit more reserved than usual, and didn't try to talk to Harry. At the table in general, there was less conversation than usual.

Soon after dinner ended, he went back to his tent for the night. Three hours later he was reading a book when he heard a knock at the door. Hoping it was Ron or Hermione, he shouted, "Come in," and opened the door with his wand. He found he was surprised to see Kingsley coming inside, even though he should have known Kingsley would be back before bedtime.

"How'd it go?" asked Harry.

"Nothing exceptional, meaning there's nothing to report. The Portkey has been activated, and it's set up in the way we discussed."

"Good. So, you said it's in a lightly forested area, but not too far from a wizarding village that has a hospital."

Kingsley nodded. "That's right. Even if the person was wounded and alone, they could shoot up a distress flare, and it would be seen in the village. Healers would respond quickly."

"And the Confining spell is ready."

"Yes, it should activate automatically. Do you want to test it now?"

"No, tomorrow should be fine," Harry said distractedly.

"Okay," said Kingsley as he stood. "See you tomorrow."

He headed for the door; just as he reached for the handle, Harry said, "Kingsley?"

"Hmmm?"

"How long have you been back?"

"Uh, about an hour. Why?"

"Have you... heard what happened?" Kingsley nodded wordlessly. "Who told you?"

Now Kingsley seemed disappointed. "Come on, Harry, you know I can't be telling you stuff like that."

"I'm not trying to get anyone in trouble," Harry protested. "I'm just curious."

"There are... some things about which you will have to be less curious. You shouldn't ask questions like that unless there's a truly compelling need to know."

He had to admit that Kingsley was right. "And you had no comment on it, as Devil's Advocate?"

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"It was an excellent idea. An important lesson, delivered with impact. It's one thing to just say, 'Always play your best game,' but it's another to demonstrate it so aptly. You always want to use appropriate examples or analogies when you're teaching. And looking on the bright side, nobody's going to think that you'll show Ron and Hermione any favoritism."

Harry looked at Kingsley sourly. "That's not much comfort."

"Hey, it's not nothing. That is a real concern--not that you would do it, I mean, but that they would think it." Kingsley looked at Harry, clearly understanding his state of mind. "Harry, don't worry. I do think Ron will get over it. This kind of thing is an adjustment for both you and him. Give him his space, and there's no way he won't understand that what you did wasn't personal."

It took Harry a few seconds to sort through the negatives in the sentence. "I hope so. Anyway, thanks." Kingsley nodded and left.

Harry tried to read for a while, but was easily distracted. He wanted to visit Ron and Hermione's tent, but knew that he shouldn't. He thought of apologizing, but was that something he should do? He finally, reluctantly, decided to let it go for the night, and hope things were better in the morning.

I asked them to join the Aurors, to help me out, thought Harry. But would I have been better off not having them join, but keeping them away from my work life, so I wouldn't risk problems like this? What if this kind of thing happens more and more, and I lose them as friends?

They had been together for so long, and been through so much together, that he found it hard to imagine. But at times like this, it was all too easy to imagine.

He woke up the next morning and glanced over at the window. It was mostly dark, but there was enough light that he knew the sunrise wouldn't be far away. Might as well get up, he thought.

Leaving his tent, he found nobody outside, or at least, nobody hanging around the communal table. He decided to take a walk, and headed towards the thicket of trees that surrounded the large grassy area.

He marveled as he looked around. Trees with lemons, apples, oranges, even some grapevines. He was hardly an expert in which crops grew where, but he was sure that all of the things that grew there--he had even seen some corn the day before--could not grow naturally in the same place. He remembered Malfoy and the coffee, and imagined there had to be a special horticultural discipline that involved making sure crops grew where they normally wouldn't. He remembered Sprout mentioning something about the subject, but he hadn't paid attention well enough in Herbology. Neville would probably be interested, he thought. He absently picked a few purple grapes off a vine and ate them. Delicious, he thought. I could eat a lot of these.

He walked for a while as the sky slowly got brighter. The sky was mostly clear, with a few scattered clouds, which were mostly orange at this point in the sunrise. Also very nice, he thought. I wonder if anyone's ever tried to live here for an extended time. You certainly could. Then again, maybe that's how whoever made the island this way did it; by living here and tweaking it, treating it like artwork, changing this and that until it was perfect. A few more of this or that tree or plant, more or less food for the animals to control the population. He did remember the portrait of the fifth Leader say that he had called upon the finest horticulturists of his time. Maybe the discipline had been more important at that time, and didn't matter much now to most people.

He heard the vaguest hint of a voice, and thought he had to be mistaken. Who would be out here at this time? He concentrated, and his now-acute hearing took over.

"I wish I didn't have to do it," Luna was saying. "But I know it should be me." Surprised, Harry walked toward the sound, which was still some distance away.

"You see, Cho doesn't understand," Luna continued. "I don't blame her; most people don't. But I know you have feelings, and they're important. Maybe I don't have to apologize, but I feel like I should explain. You see, Harry's trying to help our society, and we're here to help him. He can do a lot of good, so we should all help him. You're helping him too, in your own way. I'm sure he appreciates it."

He heard no other voices; who was she talking to? As he got closer, he heard the sounds of chickens clucking, and couldn't help but break into a smile: she was talking to the chickens. Very Luna.

He emerged from a group of trees into a clear area, and was very surprised to see Luna sitting cross-legged on the ground, with a chicken on one knee, and another next to her. She reached out and stroked its feathers; to Harry's amazement, it didn't react. Harry was reasonably sure that chickens couldn't be domesticated. Was it magic, or just Luna?

She heard him, and looked up. "Oh, hello, Harry. How are you doing?"

He gave the 'so-so' hand gesture. "Okay. I just thought I'd take a walk, I didn't think anyone would be out here. You seem to have a way with the chickens."

She nodded. "They like me, which is nice of them, considering that I'm rounding them up to turn them into food. I was just explaining to them that I'm doing my best to make it as painless as possible." She gently lifted the chicken off her knee, put it on the ground, and stood. "I don't think they understand the words exactly, but I think they understand feelings. They know I sympathize with them, and don't want to hurt them. Would you like to say something to them?"

His eyebrows went up slightly. He reflexively wanted to decline on the grounds that it would be silly, but he decided to try to see the world as Luna saw it. He realized it didn't matter what he said so much as how he said it. He looked around, trying to see the chickens as 'God's creatures,' as he'd heard a man on TV once talk about animals, rather than as future dinners. "Thank you all for helping us out," he said, feeling silly but good at the same time. He paused, then shrugged at her, unable to think of anything else he could say. The only other thing that had come into his head--'I'm sure you'll all be delicious'--seemed rather inappropriate.

She stood next to him and patted him on the shoulder. "That was good. I'm sure they know you mean it."

"Thank you," he said. "Did you just decide to take a walk, like me, or did you come specifically to talk to them?"

"I wanted to talk to them. I just hoped I could reduce their anxiety. I mean, these particular chickens have never seen humans before, and we come in and start taking them away. I thought the least we could do was explain why we're doing it." They started walking away slowly, towards the campsite. Holding up a basket, she explained, "I also thought that while I was at it, I'd try to find some fresh fruit to have with breakfast."

"Good idea. Well, I'll help you."

"Thank you. So, have you talked to Ronald yet?"

He shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. I thought about it a lot last night. I understand why he was upset, but I don't know what I would have done differently."

"I think it'll be all right," she said, with a casual tone. "I'm sure he knows you didn't do it out of malice. You're close friends. That's what's important."

He found himself smiling, her simple, direct, and unaffected manner raising his spirits. "Thank you, Luna," he said, putting his arm around his shoulder and giving a squeeze before letting go.

"Oh, you're welcome," she said. "It's just the truth." There was a pause, and just as Harry was about to open his mouth, she spoke again. "But, you know, I don't think you and I could ever be boyfriend and girlfriend."

Stunned, Harry did a double-take. "What?" he said, because he couldn't think of anything else to say.

"I mean, because you put your arm around me," she explained.

Still surprised, he said, "Well, I mean... I've done that with Hermione before, not too long ago."

"Oh, I know, but that's different, because your relationship with her is more clear. She already has a boyfriend."

Harry wanted to ask what had made her come out and say that, but that was just Luna being Luna. After a few more steps, he decided to ask about the thing he was wondering about. Normally he wouldn't ask the question, but he thought, if she can say it, I can ask about it. "Honestly, when I did that, I wasn't thinking about it like that. But why is it that you think that we couldn't be boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"I just don't think we have the right character for each other," she answered.

He got the impression--he didn't know whether it was the Auror Leader truth-telling sense, or just intuition--that she was doing what he'd seen many people in Japan do: avoid an uncomfortable response with an evasion. But why would she say that, then avoid the reason? He was now curious enough not to just let it go. "And what is it exactly that makes you think we don't have the right character for each other?" His tone was not hostile, but curious.

When she answered, her tone and expression were just a little different than usual, but he couldn't put a finger on exactly how. "I think my character is... unusually peaceful," she began. "You know, like, most people would kill the chickens without worrying about it, but it bothers me. Now, I don't mean you're different from most people; I know I'm the one that's different. But, for example, you did the Cruciatus Curse against that teacher, the Dark wizard..."

Feeling as though he'd been accused, he jumped in before she could continue. "Well, that situation was very unusual." Wanting to say more, he found there was nothing he could reasonably say that would justify his actions, and then he remembered what Kingsley had said about justification. He now felt compelled to add, "Obviously, I shouldn't have done it."

As they passed a banana tree, she pointed her wand up; a large bunch of ripe yellow bananas broke off and floated down into her basket. "Oh, I know you know that," she said calmly. "I don't mean to say that this is something you always do. But I just don't think I have it in me to do that, and I don't think I could be with someone who does. I think I need to be with someone who's more like me in that way."

You might not feel that way if you'd had the experiences I've had, Harry thought but didn't say. Also, he wasn't sure that it was true. She had, after all, been held captive at Malfoy Manor, which had to have been harrowing. Still, didn't everyone have that in them, at least to some degree? Wasn't that part of being human? He almost said it, but again held back. There was no point in accusing her. Clearly, if she was wrong, she wasn't aware of it. Unable to think of anything to say that wasn't defensive or accusatory, he walked on in silence. He looked around for fruit, but couldn't find any.

After a minute or so, she spoke again. "I'm sorry, Harry. I think I've upset you."

He held back a response of 'no kidding.' He still respected her, and her honesty--over-the-top though it could be--and he would be as open and honest with her as he could manage. He remembered the letters they'd exchanged that had helped him quite a bit. With a wan smile, he said, "If I didn't respect you so much, it wouldn't bother me. And... it's partly that, and partly just the fact that I did it. Looking back, I wish I hadn't. So, it just reminds me... well, let's put it this way: I'm glad that only you and Professor McGonagall know about it, and that it'll stay that way."

"It will, of course," she said. To his surprise, she transferred her basket to her wand hand and took his hand, holding it. Making eye contact, she said, "I am sorry."

He squeezed her hand. "I know," he said, and they let go. "You're just... being you, and there's nothing wrong with that. I've had the thought before that if there were more people like you, the world would be a better place."

She smiled delightedly. "Thank you, Harry! That's very sweet." Her mood brightened, she asked, "So, speaking of that subject, do you have designs on anyone, as a girlfriend?"

He shook his head. "No, and I wasn't planning to, on this trip. The last thing I need to do is get involved romantically with someone whose boss I am, who I have authority over. That could get very messy. And there's also the fact that as Auror Leader, my romantic life could get very complicated..."

"Because you won't know who's interested in you for that reason, or just because it's you," she surmised. "I'm sorry, that must not be easy for you."

"I haven't given it too much thought, to be honest. Being Auror Leader is hard enough, and I suppose I felt like I wouldn't worry about that for now, that it would take care of itself in the future."

"I can understand that. But, you know, I think Cho is interested in you." He looked at her quizzically. "I don't know that for sure," she explained. "She didn't say, 'you know, I really fancy Harry.' But it's her tone when she's said something involving you. It's... a little cheery, excited. Just a little."

Harry was dubious, but he also trusted Luna's instincts. After all, she'd had insights about him, things that he himself hadn't realized. "But she has a boyfriend."

Luna nodded. "She's mentioned him, too. The feeling I got in the times she talked about him was like, he's okay, he's nice enough, like that. Not a lot of enthusiasm. She doesn't miss him, I'm sure of that. I was a little surprised; I've never had a boyfriend, but I would think that if I did, and I had to be separated from him for a year, I'd miss him. I don't know how many people here have partners--besides Ron and Hermione, and Neville and Ginny, of course--but if they had them, they had to be apart for a year."

"Katie Bell," said Harry. "She wants to be an Auror, and I want her, but she has a boyfriend, someone she's in love with. It was a tough decision for her, because she wanted to be here, but she didn't want to be apart from him. She said she'll train with the first group, that are trained in real time."

"I can understand that," she agreed. "So, when you were with Cho, what did you like about her?"

He smiled, a little embarrassed. "I have to admit that it was 99% that she was pretty. At that age, you just like someone, you don't think about why. I realized later that I didn't have hardly anything in common with her." He didn't want to bother explaining that this had happened during the Auror Leader test; though it was an alternate reality, it accurately reflected most people's character.

"Oh, look! Peaches!" exclaimed Luna, pointing. "I didn't see them before." They went over to pick a few, and drifted off into other topics of conversation.

Ten minutes later, they were almost back at the camp when, to Harry's surprise, Ron was walking through the trees toward them. Luna glanced up at Harry with a quick grin. "I'll go on ahead, get these back for breakfast," she said, with a cheery 'good morning, Ronald' for Ron as she passed him.

"Hey," said Ron casually, with slight discomfort.

Harry nodded. "How did you know where I was?"

Ron shrugged. "Hermione has this locator spell."

"Ah. Well, she has a spell for just about everything."

"Yeah, I reckon." He paused, then added, "We had a fight last night. I don't mean, a bad one, just she was upset at me."

"Why?"

"Well, by bedtime, I was pretty much over what happened. I made the mistake of saying that to Hermione, and she got all over me to go over and tell you. I just wanted to sleep on it, make sure of how I felt. She kept after me, and the more she bothered me about it, the more determined I got to do it the way I wanted to do it. You know, I have to live my own life. I can't just do it the way she wants me to."

"I gather she was not receptive to this view," Harry said wryly.

Ron grinned at Harry's phrasing. "No, she wasn't. She accused me of being stubborn for the sake of it, not admitting I was wrong. You know, the usual stuff."

"Well, tell her that next time she should leave you alone. I'd much rather you talked to me because you wanted to than because she wanted you to."

"Yeah. Well... don't tell her I said this, but she might've been right."

Harry smiled. "Wouldn't be the first time. Look... I wanted to apologize, but the problem is, if I had it to do over, I wouldn't do it differently. But what I can say is, I'm sorry that there wasn't a better way for me to get across the point I thought was very important to get across."

Ron raised an eyebrow. "Very neatly phrased."

"Thank you."

Taking a deep breath, Ron said, "I get it, of course. Especially when she reminded me that this was mostly about Sirius, it was hard to stay mad at you. And I can forgive you more easily than I can George. Your Malfoy comment was right on the mark; that song was going through my head just when you said that to him. Uncalled for, my ass. It was very called for."

Harry nodded. "You going to talk to him?"

Ron shook his head. "If he apologizes, and I think he means it, we're okay. If not, I'm just going to keep my distance from him, treat him politely. Not like he's my brother. I mean, if only a few people were there, and it was during off time, what he did would be one thing. But with eighteen people, as an official activity, it's really another. Hermione thinks he feels entitled, because of what he said about when we were kids. Well, we're not kids anymore.

"But I also want to say that she said, and I realize she was right, that I shouldn't have reacted that way anyway. I should have just taken it in stride, it's just a chess game. I shouldn't have let George's cracks bother me either. If I'm going to be an Auror, I can't go losing my temper every time someone mocks me. So, I'll try to do better with that."

"Thanks," said Harry. "One of the portraits once said that everything that happens to us is a learning experience, or at least it can be, if we take the effort to learn from it. Maybe I should mention that to the group. Who knows, George might take heed."

"Doubt it," said Ron. "But anyway..." Ron gestured to the clearing, an invitation to end the conversation and go wait for breakfast. Happy that the problem was at an end, Harry walked back to the camp, Ron at his side.

* * * * *

Next, Chapter 4, The Test: As George's uncooperative behavior escalates, Harry, Kingsley, and Hestia unexpectedly disappear, leaving Ron and Hermione in a difficult position.

From Chapter 4: Heads swiveled to stare at George. "What the hell is wrong with you?" demanded Corner. "I mean, smart remarks are one thing, but this is mutiny!"