Harry Potter and the Amulet of the Moon

Chapter 9

Malfoy Manor

Harry spent some time that evening with Kingsley, gaming out tactics that might need to be used in extricating Luna from her captivity. He told Ginny, who was sharing a tent with Luna, to tell Luna that she should feel free to get up whenever she wanted and not worry about preparing breakfast. Luna, however, got up at her usual time. She looked to Harry as though she hadn't gotten much sleep.

Unable to face the others, Luna had asked Harry after their conversation to tell the others what had happened, and why she felt she was responsible for their predicament. The next morning, he was gratified to see that several people gave her expressions of support, and no one acted in any way unhappy with her. If they were going to blame her, at least they weren't going to do it now.

They spent the morning on dueling and close-quarters fighting scenarios, which Harry expected to have to use soon after the next switch. After lunch, he went to his tent for a break, and soon there was a knock on the door. He opened it with his wand, and to his surprise, it was Ginny.

"Hi," he said. "Come on in." He gestured her to sit on the sofa; he took the chair that was kitty-corner from it. "Was she okay last night? It looked as though she didn't get much sleep."

"It looked that way to me, too," she agreed. "She only talked a little last night, and of course, I wasn't about to press her. I tried to reassure her, but what can you say?" She sighed, then continued. "The bad part is, she did make a mistake. We all know, we all knew when we were at Hogwarts, that you don't just wander over to the Room of Requirement. You do it very carefully, you set up lookouts, and you prepare a plausible reason for why you are wherever you are. So when she blames herself, she's not 100% wrong."

"I know," agreed Harry. "But I do think that was going to happen anyway, and we all make mistakes. So, is that what you came to talk about?"

"Um, no," she said hesitantly. "And I have to say, with what's going on, it seems trivial, but... my counterpart left me a note." She took it out of her pocket and read. "If this is another dimension and not our future, then please let me know what's going on with you and your Harry. As you probably know, I have no idea what he's thinking, whether he wants me, cares about me, or not. I know that bigger things are going on with him, but you know how important this is to me. Please tell me what you can." She gave him an expression that conveyed that she was uncomfortable telling him this, but felt she should.

He leaned back in his chair and looked up. "Wow. That's... not an easy one, is it."

"No. I'm not sure what to say. I'm afraid that if I tell her what happened, she'll give up on that Harry. But I'm not even sure if she should."

Harry nodded. "Because what happened that pushed you and me apart is probably unique to this timeline. I remember after I got back from Japan, you asked me if that hadn't happened, that weird mental place I was in, would we have gotten together, and I said I wasn't sure. This is, more or less, asking that same question."

She was somber. "Harry... well, before I say this, I want to say that I love Neville, and even if you said you wanted me now, I'd say no thanks, I'm happy how I am. But when you said that, that you weren't sure what you would have done... to be honest, I felt as though... not that you were lying exactly, but that you said that because you had to say that. If you said you wouldn't have wanted me, that's like rejection, and it would hurt me even though I was with someone else. But if you said you would want me back, that's also bad, because it would seem like you were after me even though I was with someone else, your friend. So, the safe thing to do is say you're not sure. And you can say it's the truth, because you're honestly not 100% sure. But it's probably more than fifty-fifty. It could be ninety-ten one way or the other, but you just say you're not sure."

Harry tried to keep a neutral expression, but was impressed at her insight; he hadn't thought about it like that, but he knew she was almost certainly right. He felt as though he'd been caught doing something wrong.

She continued. "I would've just let it go, because in the end it doesn't matter; what happened happened. But now there's this, and it matters, because I know how important this is to her. So... keeping in mind that I don't plan on telling Neville any of this, and it's not going to change anything between you and me... I'd really appreciate it if you'd give me your honest best guess about what would have happened if you hadn't had that experience where you almost died, and had to separate yourself from everything emotionally. Would you have tried to start things up with me again? Fifty-fifty, ninety-ten..."

Harry found he didn't have to think about it long, as he had considered the question at the time. "Eighty to ninety percent that I would have tried."

She slowly nodded. "I thought that might be the case. Thank you for telling me that. And... I'm sorry I couldn't wait. If I'd known that, I probably would have."

"I still loved you, for that year," he said quietly.

"Why didn't you take me with you? With Ron and Hermione, looking for the Horcruxes?" Her tone told him that it was a question that had long tormented her.

He had to think for a bit. "I just... I couldn't face it, that you'd be subjected to any danger. I know you wanted to... it's the same reason I tried to stop you fighting at the Hogwarts battle. I just couldn't risk anything happening to you."

"You could risk Ron and Hermione, though. And they could risk it with each other. So, why not me?"

He shrugged. "Honestly, I couldn't say. Maybe because I'd already been in situations like that with them--"

"I seem to recall going to the Department of Mysteries--"

"I know, I'm just thinking out loud. Maybe I'm just not as strong as them in this way. They could risk it, but I couldn't."

"I felt as though you didn't think I had it in me to do that, that I wasn't competent enough. That I would screw it up somehow. That you didn't respect me enough, that I wasn't Ron or Hermione's equal." Harry understood that she was unburdening herself of long-held feelings.

"Believe me, it wasn't any of those things," he said earnestly. "If it was anything, it was my fear of something happening." As he said it, he realized that he was lying to some extent; the part about not being Ron or Hermione's equal had hit home, and he knew there was some truth in that. Though she'd been his girlfriend, it hadn't been for a very long time, and he felt a closeness with them that he hadn't with her. He knew that she was asking for honesty, and he should say it, but he didn't.

"Well," she said, "not that it matters anyway, but as long as we're talking about this, I really wanted to know that. Back to this... what do you think I should say to her?"

It was a difficult question. "I'm not sure... his situation is going to be pretty different from mine, and who knows what could happen. I guess I'd say... if you think you can wait, don't give up on him. But he's going through a lot, and there's only so much he can handle. Once his life settles down, and Voldemort is gone, it's very possible. Nothing is certain, but... his feelings for you haven't changed. Just his life circumstances have." He shrugged, indicating that this was the best he could do. Another thought came to him. "Who knows, she might be happier with Neville."

She frowned. "You shouldn't say that."

"Why not? Couldn't it be true?"

"As she is right now, she's in love with you. Not Neville."

"But Neville, their Neville, probably loves her, too."

She sighed. "I know. But I'm going to answer her question based on what she's thinking, not from my experiences after the fact. And just because I fell in love with Neville when I did doesn't mean that I wouldn't have been equally happy with you, if that was the way it happened. You shouldn't put yourself down like that."

"I didn't think I was. But anyway, I understand."

There was a short silence. "Well, I should be going," she said. "But... thank you for being honest. I appreciate it."

"Sure."

* * * * *

After a few hours of practice, Harry called a halt, and everyone sat at the main table, including Luna and Cho. "Okay," he said, "this is to talk about what we're going to do over there, making plans for the future. I want everyone's input on this.

"Obviously, the first thing to do when we get there is get Luna the hell out of there," he went on, with a glance at her. "Probably it'll be me and Malfoy going in."

Many were surprised. "Why Malfoy?" asked Seamus.

"He knows the place," explained Harry. "Also, by fortunate happenstance, we need to go there anyway." He told them what Malfoy had said about the Dark texts they would be looking for.

"Harry," said Luna, "I think the place you need to go for those may be different from the room I'll be in. I'm not sure, though."

"Malfoy will have to tell me about that. Maybe they have more than one basement, but that's the only one I know. So, I'll have to go there first, at least.

"Now, the point I was getting to was that there may be bad guys in that room. I'm pretty confident that I can take whoever's there. If there are, like, more than five, we're in trouble, but the chance has to be taken--"

"What about using the Cloak?" asked Ron.

"I thought about that," said Harry, "but you can't shoot spells through it. They'll hear the Apparition sound, so they'll know we're there. If they hear that, but can't see anything, we have to assume they'll call for backup, whoever may be in the house. We have to assume there'll be people in the room. We'll have to take them by surprise, knock them out, and hopefully before they can sound a warning. The question is, then what? I don't fancy leaving them there, to spread the news that Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy Apparated into a room that's supposed to be immune from Apparition."

"You could wear masks, cover your faces," suggested Corner.

"While Luna sits there, who knows what happening to her, while Harry and Malfoy try to get masks together?" said Ginny accusingly.

Corner reacted as if he'd been slapped. "Hey, I'm just throwing ideas out there. No need to get like that. I don't want anything to happen to her--"

"All right, all right," conceded Ginny. "Sorry."

"I want to hear all ideas," emphasized Harry. "We'll evaluate them after we hear them, but don't hesitate to mention anything, even if it seems unworkable. Someone might think of a way to make it work. In this case, it does seem as though Ginny's right, there won't be time for that. We go get Luna as soon as humanly possible. So anyway, I don't want to leave them there, and to me the best solution is to take them with us.

"Which leads to the question of what to do with them. One possibility is to create some kind of hideout that also functions as a jail. And then, we have to ask, what would that be? A Muggle house? Should we try to reclaim Grimmauld Place, use that as a hideout? How risky would that be? There are all kinds of possibilities, and I want to hear ideas about that.

"Another possibility is using the same kind of suspended animation thing that Kingsley used on me a month ago. Kingsley tells me that they're expensive, but obtainable on the black market, as are various things, supplies we might need. Malfoy told me that there's a man whose business it is to procure things for people who are on the run from the law, or don't want what they acquire to be known for whatever reason--"

Kingsley interrupted. "The man's name is Kitterman, Angus Kitterman. He's well known to Aurors, of course."

"Ah. Malfoy said something about him being called 'the Kitten.'"

"He doesn't like that nickname," said Kingsley, deadpan.

"I can see why not," agreed Harry. "Anyway, obviously, we can't be seen going into shops, things like that. He could get us supplies, almost anything we'd need, but it would be expensive, at least double the ordinary price of these items."

"That must be really profitable," mused Lee. "I'm surprised there aren't more people in the business, with that profit margin."

"There are," said Kingsley, "but he's the best. He has the right contacts, and he spreads the money around to make sure the people he gets things from stay quiet. He's not rich, because there isn't a huge amount of call for his services, but it's well known that he's the man to call if you need that sort of thing."

"Why didn't the Aurors ever arrest him, if they knew about it?" wondered Lee.

"Strictly speaking, a lot of what he does isn't illegal," said Kingsley. "He's just in the business of buying and selling. Occasionally he deals in restricted or illegal items, and for that, he charges more, and is more careful. He's hard to catch, hard to get evidence on."

"Malfoy told me," said Harry, "that the 'hotter' you are, as he put it, the more he charges. Malfoy said that we were so hot he might not even do business with us, and if he did, it would be at no less than a 200% markup. Which means, we need money."

"But you have tons of money," pointed out Padma. "Three million Galleons, not in Gringotts. So, where is it?"

"It's in Grimmauld Place, which is another reason it might be good to go there. Now, last year, Hermione and I decided not to try to summon Kreacher because he might unwillingly take a Death Eater with him, or his loyalty might have changed again, and we didn't want to risk--"

"Wait, wait, wait," interrupted George. "I'd wondered about that. I know the bit about Yaxley ending up in Grimmauld Place, but... Kreacher has to do what you say! You gave him orders before, and relied on him to do things even when he didn't want to follow you. Were you really afraid that if you summoned him, he was going to find the nearest Death Eater and drag him along? And wouldn't the tiny risk of that been worth the immense amount of help he could have been to you?"

Harry exchanged an unhappy glance with Hermione. "Well, in retrospect, it turns out that you would have been right. We learned later that Kreacher got Yaxley out of there right away, and the house would've been safe for us. But considering the precarious situation we were in, we decided to err on the side of caution."

George's dubious expression suggested that he thought that Harry and Hermione had been overly cautious to the point of absurdity. "But your situation would have been a lot less precarious if you'd--"

"George," said Kingsley. "That's in the past, okay? Let's focus on the here and now."

"Wait a minute," said George. "I'm not trying to hassle Harry and Hermione here, but I think this is important. I don't think this is just a matter of judgment, I think this was a mistake, that the risk versus reward assessment was way, way off, and if I think the person who's giving me orders made what I think is a glaring mistake, then I'd like to be told why it wasn't a mistake, or to know that he knows it's a mistake, and has learned from it. I don't think this is unreasonable."

There was silence as everyone looked at Harry to see how he would respond. Wondering how to handle it, he turned to Ron. "You weren't a party to that decision, Ron. What did you think of it?"

Ron gave Harry a look that said, do you really want an honest answer? "I thought it was strange, too, but I wasn't inclined to argue with the two of you about it. Really, I didn't think it through that much. But sitting here now, looking at it like that, it's hard to argue with George."

"Kingsley?"

Kingsley nodded. "I think George is right. Even if he had brought someone, you could have Stunned them, three against one. If I'd been with you, I'd have told you to do it, absolutely."

Harry nodded. "I suppose you're right. Well, all I can say is that I've had a lot more practice making decisions since then, and I do try to weigh everything pretty carefully. That decision was made on the idea that even a tiny risk wasn't worth taking, which is ironic considering the risks we took later--"

"Hang on," interrupted Hermione, somewhat agitated. "First of all, Harry's trying to take responsibility, but this was basically my idea. Secondly, I agree that it was too cautious, but you have to remember that Kreacher's loyalty had been in real question for quite a while, and he had just been starting to come around. Now, he probably would have been loyal, but he could also be mercurial, and it would have been taking a chance. He could have been tricked, he could have made a mistake to betray us. Yes, I concede that it was overly cautious, and it was a mistake not to consider it more carefully. But it wasn't ridiculous. To really evaluate that, you have to know Kreacher's character and moods, and only the three of us knew that. So before you judge us, you have to know that." She defiantly looked around the table, silently daring anyone to argue with her.

George spoke again, but not to argue. "Well, you both admitted it was a mistake, so I'm okay. If you'd tried to defend it as the right thing to do, then I'd be pretty concerned. But, let's go on."

Kingsley spoke before Harry could. "I do want to say, and I had planned to talk about this at some point, that it's a very human characteristic to defend one's actions, not only before the fact, but also after the fact even when it's clear that the actions were mistakes. No one likes to admit they were wrong, so people often devise elaborate explanations and scenarios in retrospect, sometimes ludicrous ones, in order to not have to admit they were wrong. I say this because as Aurors, not recognizing mistakes is a very dangerous thing. You can't let your pride get wrapped up in defending your position. Hermione, it's very reasonable to point out in this case things you knew that others didn't know when judging you. But what you want to watch out for is getting upset, getting defensive. Be as analytical as possible. It doesn't matter that you--not you, but anybody--weren't right last time. What matters is that you're right this time, next time. That, as George said, you learned from it. Okay, lecture over. Harry, you were saying, about calling Kreacher in the other dimension."

He'd almost forgotten what he'd been talking about. "Yes, thanks. I was saying that we hadn't called Kreacher last time, but things might be different this time. The Yaxley thing might have happened differently, since it happened after the point where the two dimensions split, when Malfoy made his choice not to kill Dumbledore. So, it could've happened differently. But on the other hand, our counterparts aren't hiding out in Grimmauld Place, so it may have happened the same way. I'm going to leave a note for the other Harry, asking him what happened with that. But I'm also going to try to call Kreacher next time, after we rescue Luna. Our lives would be a whole lot easier if we got that house, and the money."

"If Dark wizards have the house," asked Parvati, "do they also have the money?"

"Only I can access it, fortunately. They won't even know it's there, unless Kreacher tells them, which isn't impossible. Still, they couldn't get to it, I'm sure.

"If that's impossible, then the only other choice would be my Gringotts vault, which I could Apparate into. The problem with that is that it might set off alarms, and it's hard to say how much money I'd be able to throw into a bag before they'd get into my vault. But it would be worth considering."

"Could you just walk in the front door?" asked Terry. "Wearing a cloak or something to hide your face? Would they have any reason to deny you access to your money?"

Harry looked at Kingsley. "Harry would be considered a criminal suspect by the Thicknesse government, and the goblins would be expected to alert the authorities if they come in contact with such a person. It's possible they might not, however. The extent to which the Gringotts goblins cooperate with the Ministry in such matters depends on how relations are between the parties at any given time. I'd judge it too big a risk--not that they'd capture Harry, but that it would get the government on its toes. I'd prefer Apparating into the vault, but before that, try Kreacher."

"Okay," agreed Harry. "Now, over the next day, I want people to think about things they can do to help out, strategy ideas. How to get things, what things to get, what to do with prisoners, what should be done at Hogwarts. Any questions or comments?"

"Yeah, one thing," said Neville. "Something that Luna's situation called attention to, and that would make our lives at Hogwarts much easier..."

At Hermione's suggestion, there were no more group exercises until the next switch; each person focused on activities that they thought they would need in the near future on the other side. Harry practiced advanced Apparition, testing the limits of his abilities. For it to be a realistic test, unfortunately, he had to use another's wand--he chose Kingsley's--because he wouldn't have access to the Elder wand in the other dimension.

He found that he was able to accompany two others by Apparition under normal circumstances. When faced with Kingsley's anti-Disapparation field, he and another person could Apparate, but he and two others were Splinched half of the time. He also tested how often he could Apparate; it was normally recommended that a wizard not try to Apparate more often than once every two minutes, and Kingsley had told him that for the average Auror, trying to Apparate twice in fifteen seconds resulted in Splinching about 25% of the time, up to 50% if trying to accompany another by Side-Along Apparition. Even with Kingsley's wand, Harry was able to do better, and he knew he could do even better with his 'old' wand, the one he'd used at Hogwarts for seven years before getting the Elder wand. He felt good about the practice, and was confident that he knew the extent of his abilities.

Others were practicing different activities, or exchanging ideas. He saw George, Lee, Angelina, and Cho talking together at one point, and realized that it was because they were the only non-Muggle-borns no longer attending Hogwarts. They would be able to do things together and not fall under suspicion, though George would have to be somewhat careful; as a Weasley, he would come under greater observation by the government.

Hermione and Dean were currently paired up in the tents, and Harry saw them together for much of the day, but he didn't know what they were practicing. Shortly before dinner, he found out.

George had spent the last half hour with them, and the three of them approached the others at the dinner table. "This is what we have been working on today," explained Hermione. "He'll demonstrate."

"George," said Dean, "what do you think of Ginny?"

"I don't know. She's my sister, I like her fine. Why?"

"What do you think of Ron?"

George answered immediately. "Ron is brilliant, the greatest genius in wizarding history. He's my brother, and I love him very much." George looked at Dean and Hermione accusingly. "Hey! I didn't know you were going to have me say that!"

There was some laughter as Hermione explained. Gesturing to Dean, she said, "The two of us were talking last night, and it turned out we'd both read a book they have in the library about magical hypnosis. In the wizarding world, it's not much more than a parlor trick, to amuse your friends, because the subject can cancel it with his wand at any time. But we realized it could be of great use to us, in a way that it never could be for most wizards, because of our familiarity with the Muggle world.

"George kindly volunteered to be our test subject. We hypnotized him in such a way that he says a particular phrase whenever he hears a certain word. So, for example, when he hears the word 'Ron,' he--"

"Ron is brilliant, the greatest genius in wizarding history. He's my brother, and I love him very much."

"He has to say that, he can't stop himself. George, what do you think of your younger brother?"

"He's a git."

This got some laughter. "That's really what you think of Ron?"

"Ron is brilliant, the greatest genius in wizarding history. He's my brother, and I love him very much." Annoyed, he added, "That's going to get a bit tiresome."

Hermione smiled. "So anyway, Dean and I--"

George spoke immediately. "Dean has a very large willie, much bigger than mine. I saw it in the shower once."

The table exploded in laughter, which even George joined in. "All right, that's enough," he said, advancing on Dean and taking his wand, which Dean had been holding. "Any ridiculous thing I say from this point forward will be of my own free will," he announced.

"Your own free willie, you mean," put in Lee, to more laughter.

"That one was Dean," said Hermione, smiling. "I had nothing to do with that."

Harry took a deep breath, having laughed a lot, like most others. "Well, that's pretty funny, but how are you going to make practical use out of it?"

Hermione took a few minutes to explain. When she finished, Harry found that he was impressed. "Wow, that's very good. I was Muggle-raised, but I would have never thought of that. Justin, what do you think?"

"Me neither," he agreed. "But yes, I think it should work. And I really want to be around when it happens."

"Sorry," said Dean, "It'll be just me and Hermione. But we'll put the memory in the Pensieve when we get back."

Harry was glad that even in dire circumstances, humor could be found. But he had noticed that while she had also laughed, the one who had laughed least was Luna. The thought sobered him up quite a bit. There was still a lot of work to do.

* * * * *

A few hours after dinner, Harry knocked on the door of the tent currently housing Ginny and Luna. The door swung open, and Harry entered; Luna was lying on her bed, but not in her nightclothes; on her side of the room, Ginny was sitting on the bed reading. "Hi, Harry," she said. "What's up?"

"I wanted to talk to Luna," he said. "Luna, could you come to my tent?"

Ginny shook her head. "No, I'll leave. I was thinking of asking Neville to take a walk anyway." She stood up and left.

Harry decided to walk over and sit on the bed, at the end. As he spoke, Luna slowly sat up. "How are you doing?"

She tilted her head lightly. "Not very good. I still feel really guilty."

"I know this may not help, but what I said before was right. This was going to happen anyway."

She met his eyes, and it pained him to see the sadness in hers. "Do you think that'll make her feel any better?"

He glanced down. "No, I suppose not. But that doesn't make it your fault.

"I came here because I want to talk about what we're going to do when we rescue you. I'm going to be carrying a Portkey in my left hand, and it'll activate with the next person it touches. I'll give it to you as soon as I can, depending on what resistance we meet when we get there, or it's possible that I might try to use it to get rid of an adversary, if necessary. If that happens, I'll just Apparate you out of there. If you're in a different room than the one the book is in, I'm going to get you first."

"How will you get from one room to the other?"

"Move through the house, under the Cloak. But I'll fight my way through if I have to."

"What if you only have time or opportunity to do one?"

"We get you, of course."

"Draco might not agree."

"Not his decision. He tries to stop me, I'll Stun him. But I don't think he'll do that. His counterpart, our Malfoy, seems to have a chivalrous streak."

She sighed lightly. "I'm sorry, I've put your mission in jeopardy. I should've just stayed in my dormitory."

He decided not to comment on that, and went on to the next item. "I've talked with Kingsley about the tactics of this operation, and one thing we have to consider is the possibility that they'll move you. Not likely, but anything could happen. We were talking about what to do in that case, and I remembered something that Dumbledore gave me that should be helpful."

He reached into a pocket in his robe and took out a necklace with a thin silver chain and a silver medallion on the end. The medallion was in the shape of a circle, and depicted a full moon. He pointed his wand at it, and as he had several months ago, he heard Dumbledore's voice. "Under the same moon, always together even when apart."

Interested, she examined it more closely. "Who wears it?"

"We both do," he said. "Kingsley thinks that one of us puts it on, and it affects both of us, but he's not sure how. We'll both be wearing it, somehow or other. Once it's in effect, he's sure that it connects us in some way. He thinks it's communication; he said he saw a man in France who had something like that, and of course, magic exists to allow communication at a distance. It almost has to be something that'll be very useful to us. If they've moved you, you should be able to tell me where."

"But it's just our bodies that make the switch," she pointed out. "Not our clothes, or jewelry."

"Kingsley said there's something he can do to it, for both of us, that should solve that problem. There's a spell that makes an object a part of the person, part of their body. It usually has other applications, he said, but he's pretty sure that it'll cause the necklaces to make the switch with us. So, do you want to try it on, or should I?"

"Maybe you should," she suggested. "Dumbledore did give it to you, so it might be that you need to be the one to put it on first."

He nodded. "Sounds reasonable." He put it on, but nothing changed for him. He shrugged. "Nothing's happening."

"Try the wand on it."

"Good idea." He touched his wand to it, and they heard Dumbledore's voice again. "A lovers' kiss seals the bond."

Both sets of eyebrows rose. "Ah," said Harry. "Didn't expect that."

"It makes sense, though," she mused. "This is clearly intended for lovers, after all. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Surprised that she would ask, he met her eyes. "Of course. As long as you're okay."

She nodded. "It's okay. I certainly never imagined that my first kiss would be in this kind of situation, though. I hope I'll do all right."

He smiled. "One thing I found about kissing is that it comes very naturally. I wouldn't worry about it."

"Okay, then," she said, looking a little nervous; it struck him that he'd never seen her look even a little nervous. It occurred to him that if the woman in this situation were, say, Parvati or Angelina, kissing her would simply be something that had to be done for operational reasons. But now, while that was the main reason, that wasn't all there was to it.

She sat up next to him, and they faced each other; he wondered if she felt as awkward as he did. He moved his face in slowly, to give her time to get ready, maybe back off if she didn't want to right then. She moved closer. Finally, their lips touched, and kissed gently. They pulled away and looked at each other.

"Any change?" she asked.

He touched the necklace, and shook his head. "Nothing I can notice. Maybe we should try again."

She nodded. "Okay." They leaned in and kissed again, this time for a few seconds, but the intensity was similar to what it had been the first time. Not exactly a chaste kiss, but not that far from it. They separated again, and exchanged a look. Again, he gave a light shrug and shook his head.

"Hmmm," she said. "I'd wondered if it might be this, but... what Dumbledore's voice said was, a lovers' kiss." The emphasis she put on the word told Harry what she meant, and it made sense. He looked at her again, and he recalled how he had comforted her after he father died, how he respected her for her straightforwardness and truthfulness, how well she'd seemed to understand him in the letters they'd exchanged in the month after Voldemort's defeat. She had an innocence, but at the same time, a quiet strength. Now, as he looked into her eyes, he saw her emotions, and it amazed him that so much could be conveyed with no words. They communicated with their eyes: this kiss would be different, and not just because it had to be.

They moved forward more quickly this time, their lips meeting in the same way they had before, but this time it was just the beginning of the kiss. As if on their own, his arms went around her shoulders and back, and he felt her do the same with him. As it continued, slowly their mouths opened; when their tongues finally touched, Harry felt an electric thrill--partly from the exciting sensation, and partly because he knew that something had changed with the necklaces. Somehow, he could tell that she knew as well, even though she continued the kiss without any overt reaction.

The kiss slowly wound down, and their faces finally separated. They glanced down, and saw that she was now wearing the same necklace. His was in the shape of the crescent moon; while hers filled out the rest of the circle. His eyes met hers again, and they again exchanged information. Her eyes seemed to ask a question: was that what I thought it was?

He returned her look, naturally answering the question with his eyes, but impulsively decided to answer another way. He leaned in for another kiss, holding her face with both his hands; she returned the kiss energetically. This kiss was shorter and not quite as passionate as the last one, but more than passionate enough. He knew the message--this wasn't because I had to, it was because I wanted to--had been received. Had his feelings suddenly changed, or had latent feelings been pushed to the surface? He didn't know, and didn't care. It felt good. He felt good.

At the same time, they both smiled. "Well," she said, "now I understand a lot better why people spend so much time kissing."

He chuckled. "Yes, that felt really good."

Still smiling, she looked at him, and he looked back. It continued for less than a minute, and while it felt like a long time to be silent, at the same time, it felt perfectly normal, and pleasant. She reached for his hand and took it; he gave hers a gentle squeeze and held it.

With her free hand, she reached for the moon that hung from her necklace. "Funny how this just sort of appeared there. And it's also funny that it happens to be a moon."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because 'Luna' is Latin for 'moon.'"

"Oh, yeah. Wow, that is appropriate. Funny, I hadn't thought of that--"

"Oh, wow!" she exclaimed, excited, as she looked up.

"What is it?"

"I can see myself! Do me a favor, look to your left." He did, and she let out another sound of amazement. "I can see that!"

"See what?"

"Look up," she said. He started to move his head; she put her hands on his head and moved it back down. "No, I mean, just with your eyes. Don't move your head." He noticed in passing that she'd touched his head to move it back down, while in ordinary circumstances she probably would have told him what to do without touching him. A lot had changed.

He did as she asked, and suddenly saw what she was talking about; he could see his own face in the upper part of his field of vision. Clearly, she could see from his face that he'd seen what she was talking about. "Okay, you can see it?" she confirmed. "Now, look at this." She turned her head to her right, and the view suddenly swung as well; now he was looking at the wall of the tent.

Awed, he looked down again, back at her. "We can see through each other's eyes..."

"It's very cool."

"It's extremely cool," he agreed. He looked up again, and saw his own face. It brought back a memory, one that felt both recent and very old.

"What is it?" she asked, looking concerned.

"What is what?"

"Your face. You suddenly looked as if something was bothering you."

He started to dismiss it. "It's..." He had planned to say 'it's nothing,' but then he saw her eyes. He saw that she wanted to know what was disturbing him, that she wanted to help him. Luna is different from most people, he reminded himself. She wants to know the truth.

"I suddenly had a memory, from the Auror Leader test. Part of the false memory the test gave me was that when I went to Hogwarts, I missed my parents' home, so they gave me this ring that caused me to, when I looked up, just like this, see the living room of my home, so I wouldn't be so homesick. Later in the test, when I knew, I thought, I was going to die, I took a last look at it. I didn't have to die then, of course, but after that, the view of the living room didn't go away, and that was how, in that part of the test, I saw the Death Eaters capture my parents, Sirius, and Ron and Hermione..."

She moved a little closer to him and put her arms around him. "I'm sorry. I can see why this would remind you of that. You have so many... wounds..."

He gratefully returned her hug, drawing comfort from it. "Well, usually, I don't think about that. I'll get used to this, and it won't make me think of that. This has a much better... association."

She smiled again. "Yes, it does. And thank you for telling me that. I do want to know things like that."

He wondered if she had known that he'd been about to dismiss it. "Yes, I know. And I appreciate it. Now this..." He gestured with his eyes, referring to the functionality of the necklaces. "Not only is this cool, but for what we're going to do tomorrow, very helpful. I'll know the situation immediately, and be able to make a plan, plan exactly how to attack them once we're there. Now I have to wonder, what other functionality is there with this? Kingsley thought there was communication, and we should try that out."

"We will, but... maybe tomorrow, not tonight. I know you can't stay long, you have things to do, to prepare. Tomorrow, we'll analyze this, figure out all it does. But right now... I just want to stay here, and enjoy this."

He smiled. "I can understand that. Okay, tomorrow morning, I'll go with you to gather the breakfast stuff, and we can practice it then. Then, we'll have Kingsley do the spell."

He stood, then she did as well. Their eyes met, and as if by unspoken agreement, they fell into a kiss very much like the one that had activated the necklaces' magic. They finally separated, and with a last look back, he left the tent. He walked back to his tent, a smile on his face all the way.

* * * * *

Harry was usually able to fall asleep by 11:00 p.m. or so, and he regularly awoke at sunrise, these days about 6:00 a.m. But tonight, he couldn't sleep. He understood the reason full well, but it didn't make any difference. Tomorrow's mission, always very important, had become even more so. The flip side of love, he knew, was worrying about the person you loved. That was part of the deal.

At a few minutes after midnight, he decided to step out of his tent and enjoy the night air, something he'd done occasionally when he couldn't sleep. He conjured a simple, soft chair in which he could lean back and look up at the sky.

Ten minutes later, to his surprise, he saw someone leave their tent, and quickly recognized her as Hermione. Noticing him sitting in the field near the main table, she walked over to him. She conjured her own chair and sat next to him.

"Can't sleep?"

He nodded. "A lot to think about."

"I guess so," she agreed. "What's that?"

He saw that she was looking at the necklace. "Dumbledore left me this, I'm going to use it for--"

To his surprise, Hermione beamed. "Oh, Harry, that's wonderful!" she squealed, grasping his arm for a few seconds. "I'm so happy for you!"

His face showed his confusion. "Why?" He would have been very surprised if Luna had already been talking about it.

"You may have thought that was an ordinary magical necklace, but it's actually a unique artifact, fairly well known in wizard lore," she explained. "It's called the Amulet of the Moon, and I've read a few stories of wizards who've used it in the past. It's great that you're using it."

"But that doesn't explain what you were so excited about."

"It means that you and Luna love each other!"

"But my intention was just to have us both wear it as a way to communicate, because of what happened with her."

She smiled. "That may have been your intention, but... the necklace won't work unless the two people love each other, in a romantic way. If you didn't love her, and she you, you couldn't be wearing that right now, and neither could she."

He shook his head. "Wow. I didn't know that." After a silence, he added, "Lucky that that ended up being the case."

She chuckled. "You mean, you didn't know?"

He thought about it. "I knew she was... special, and that I felt very close to her. I felt like I could talk to her about anything. But I think I was trying not to think about it. Maybe I was just trying to get used to being Auror Leader, and needed to focus on that. I didn't imagine that anything like this would happen on the island."

"I can understand that."

There was another silence as they both looked up at the stars. "Were you upset with George earlier?"

"I wasn't happy," she conceded. "It's always easier to know these things after the fact. And even though it seemed like he was attacking you, I felt like he was attacking me, because while you agreed with it, it was my idea.

"Which reminds me... I kind of hate to say this, or I should say, my ego doesn't like it. But Kingsley had a good point earlier, that I should be more analytical about it, not let my ego get in the way. Good advice, if you can take it. Anyway... you and Ron have always tended to rely on my advice in that kind of situation, and, you know, that's flattering. But clearly, I was wrong about not calling Kreacher last year, and if I was wrong about that, I could be wrong about other things. Now, not that I'm not going to be right most of the time, at least I hope. But it occurred to me that it's important that you think things over carefully yourself. Try to figure out where I might be wrong, what assumptions I might be making, how I'm weighing the risks. Even if you don't find anything, it's still worth doing."

He nodded, impressed. Still, he found he couldn't resist a small joke. Deadpan, he responded, "So, you're saying I shouldn't trust you."

She glared at him for a second before realizing he wasn't serious. She sighed in annoyance. "Don't do that. That was hard for me to say."

"Sorry."

"I guess everyone wants to feel indispensable," she mused.

He responded quickly. "I don't."

"No, I guess you wouldn't, because you are indispensable, and you've never liked it. I'm sorry." She reached over and took his hand in sympathy. "I'm glad you have Luna. I think she's better for you than you know. But no matter what pressure you're under, always remember that you have her, you have me and Ron, and you have all the people on this island who care about you. You should never think that because you're Auror Leader, you can't reach out to us for support. We cared about you before you were Auror Leader. When you were just Harry."

He appreciated her words, and her gesture; he felt that she was the only woman he knew who he could hold hands with as he was doing and not have it be misunderstood, by them or by anyone who knew them.

"I feel like before I was Auror Leader, I was the Boy Who Lived. I feel like I've never been 'just Harry.'"

She gripped his hand a little harder. "To me and Ron, to Luna, to Ginny and all the Weasleys, to Neville... you've always been 'just Harry.'"

He looked at her, and realized that as had been the case with Luna earlier, even if he didn't say the words, she would know from his eyes how he felt. Funny how I never really noticed that before, he thought.

* * * * *

The next day was pleasant, even though he was very busy confirming plans and coordinating activities. He enjoyed the morning walk with Luna, and they found that they could indeed communicate at a distance; if one talked while looking up at what the other was looking at, the other could hear, though that sound would not be audible to anyone near the listener.

He was aware that the topic of his and Luna's new relationship was being talked about all day. Even though it wasn't mentioned at meals, his improved hearing caught snippets of conversation here and there. At one point he overheard Neville and Ginny talking about it, both expressing satisfaction that he had found someone. Harry realized that this must have made Neville in particular feel better, since he had felt guilty over becoming Ginny's new boyfriend, even though she was completely unattached at the time.

Terry and Hermione had identified 10:06 p.m., give or take a few minutes--they were becoming ever more confident in their predictions--as the time when the switch would occur. It would last for five hours and twelve minutes, so Harry and the others would have a chance to get more done than usual. They had a late dinner to compensate for the fact that they would be up so late. As ten o'clock approached, Harry felt like a sprinter in the starting blocks, waiting for the gun to go off. Luna told him not to worry, that if there was no immediate danger--and he would know if there was, by what he saw through her eyes--he should take what time he felt necessary before coming to get her. Nonetheless, he was still anxious.

At 10:04, Harry was one of a dozen who was sitting at the table, waiting for the switch. Feeling ever more tense, he suddenly felt a hand on his arm; he hadn't noticed Luna sit next to him. "It'll be okay," she assured him.

It occurred to him that this was the first public display of affection they had indulged in since becoming a couple, but it was no problem, since everyone now knew anyway. A half a minute later, Ginny walked over. Leaning over and speaking quietly, she uncomfortably said, "Look... I'm very sorry, and I hate to say this, but I wonder if you'd..."

Harry and Luna both immediately understood, and withdrew their arms. "You're afraid that your counterpart will see that, if we switch like this." She nodded.

"Don't worry, it's okay," said Luna. "We understand. But you know, now with these," she gestured to her necklace, "it's not going to be a secret for very long. Anyone who sees both of us..."

"I know," she said. "I just don't want her to find out like this. I've already changed the note I wrote her, basically emphasizing that whatever happens here might not happen there, since things are so different

He was in a tent, a smallish one compared to what they had on the island. They were sitting on the ground at a small circular table; Ron and Hermione were to his left and right, with Malfoy opposite.

Before Harry could speak, Malfoy did. "Wow. Well, it's not going to take long to tell you two apart now. Who's--"

"We're going, Malfoy," said Harry, standing as he spoke. "You ready?"

"What's the rush, Potter?"

Harry ignored Malfoy for the moment as he looked upwards without moving his head, and saw from Luna's perspective. "Look from your far left to your far right, slowly," he said to her. He heard Hermione explaining the situation to Malfoy, but his attention was with Luna as his view slowly moved from one side to the other. From having been in the room before, he knew that she was tied up in the same place she had been a year ago. He saw a man sitting in a chair across the room, reading a book.

"Is it important that we come right this second?" Harry asked, keeping his eyes planted upward so she could hear him. His view through her eyes swiveled to her left, then back to center again. As prearranged, left meant no, right meant yes, and darting back and forth meant 'I don't know.'

"Okay, we'll take a couple of minutes to plan how to come in. I'll keep my eyes on your view." He looked at Malfoy, tilting his head down a little so he could look at Malfoy while keeping an eye on Luna's view, which started at a point just above Malfoy's head. I guess this is what the Muggles on TV call split-screen, he thought wryly, except it's top-and-bottom instead of right-and-left.

"There's one man, in a chair against the far wall, reading a book," he told Malfoy.

Appearing impressed that Harry could get such information, Malfoy nodded. "Do you recognize him?"

"Nobody I know. What I want to do... I was going to just have us go in there with guns blazing, but--"

"What?"

"Sorry, I mean, instantly on the attack. But this--and I don't want to take any longer than I have to, someone could come in at any time--this gives us an opportunity I hadn't expected. I want us to Apparate in under the Cloak. He'll hear the noise, but I'll be able to get him before he has a chance to shout; I'll stick my wand under the Cloak and fire. This gives us the flexibility to leave him behind if we want to, since I don't want it to be known who did this."

"Why don't you want it to be known who did it? I wouldn't mind them knowing I did it. Bastards are in my house!"

Harry sighed; for some reason, he thought he'd already been through this with Malfoy. "If they know it's me, they'll go nuts, overreact. Pull everyone who knows me in for questioning, maybe torture them at Hogwarts, try harder to find the Weasleys. I don't want a full-on fight, not until we're ready. I'm going to do stuff, but try very hard not to leave my fingerprints on it. Okay?" The tone of the last word made it not a question, but an expectation that Malfoy wouldn't argue.

Malfoy shrugged in mild annoyance at Harry's tone. "Whatever, Potter. As long as we get the book."

"That's the plan." He took out the Cloak, stood to Malfoy's right, and they both crouched down as he arranged the Cloak so it covered both of them. "Are we okay?" he asked Hermione.

"I can see your foot a little bit."

Harry moved closer to Malfoy, putting his left arm around Malfoy's shoulders. Malfoy shot him a look. "I'm not gonna be your girlfriend, Potter."

Harry rolled his eyes. "And thank God for that. Operational necessity, Malfoy. The Cloak isn't huge, and I have to be touching you." He snuck his wand under the Cloak; it peeked out only a few inches. "Hermione?"

"You're fine."

Ron leaned over, reached under the Cloak, and handed Malfoy a medium-sized pouch that looked like a coinpurse. "Here's your Portkey. Next person that touches it comes right back here."

"Okay, Weasley, got it."

"Ready?"

"Ready."

Harry willed himself and Malfoy to the desired spot, a few yards in front of their target. Instantly they were there, and Harry shot off the Stunning spell so fast that the man had barely registered the Apparition sound before he crumpled to the ground, the book falling to rest beside his head. Malfoy raised his eyebrows slightly in recognition of the speed of Harry's reflexes.

Harry threw off the Cloak and instantly pointed the wand at Luna, unlocking her chains. She walked over to them; he met her halfway with a quick hug as Malfoy bound the captive with magical ropes.

They walked towards Malfoy. "Hello, Draco," said Luna.

Surprised at the form of address, Malfoy mutely nodded. To Harry, he asked, "Are we sending him back?"

"I was thinking about sending Luna back with him."

"I shouldn't go yet," she said. "You two need to move through the house to get to where the books are. If I stay here, I can be an extra pair of eyes. Peek through the door, you can know if someone's coming, like that."

"I don't like it."

She smiled a little. "Harry, that's sweet. But you're going to have to let me decide what risks I want to take, and this isn't much of one. Right now you need to think of me as an asset, not a girlfriend."

He grunted. "I'll do my best. Malfoy, leave the Portkey here, put it... over there, near where she'll stand to look at the door. Luna, please, at the first sign of trouble, or that you've been seen, grab the Portkey. Okay?"

She nodded. "I promise."

"Thanks." He moved the man's body to where Luna could more easily keep an eye on it; he knew the man wouldn't be waking up for an hour, and the ropes weren't going anywhere, but better to be safe.

He and Malfoy climbed the stairs and peeked through the half-open door; they saw no one. Harry threw the Cloak over them. "Lead the way, very slowly."

They crept down a short hall and into the wide-open area that connected the front door, the living room, and the kitchen. "Where is everyone?" whispered Harry.

"How would I know?" Malfoy whispered back. They kept moving towards another hallway, leading to another door; this one was closed.

Harry put his left hand on Malfoy's right shoulder. "When I push down, crouch down, and we can fire under the Cloak," he whispered.

"Thanks, Potter," Malfoy shot back in a whisper. "If we ran into somebody, I was planning on standing here like a moron, doing nothing. Glad you set me straight."

Harry had already decided to try to overlook any snide comments Malfoy might make. "In a situation like this, it's better to be sure. Want to get the door?"

With his wand, Malfoy opened the door, slowly and noiselessly. Nothing happened. The walked down marble stairs into a wide room that looked like a storeroom, with many shelves containing neatly stacked supplies of all types.

"Can we take this thing off now?" Malfoy whispered. They both looked around carefully, and took off the Cloak.

"Weird how nobody's around," muttered Malfoy.

"Do you think we should bring Luna in here to watch this door," Harry asked Malfoy, "or leave her where she is to watch the prisoner?"

"Bring her here," said Malfoy. "The ropes'll keep him for an hour, easy."

Harry Propulsed the Cloak to Luna, who put it on and made her way over, then sat near the top of the stairs with the door open, the Cloak covering her. Harry looked over at Malfoy, who had already unearthed a secret storage area under a normal-looking section of floor. He walked over.

"Not bad," he said, as Malfoy started to reach into the open space. "But there's--Malfoy, no! Don't reach in there!" He lunged for Malfoy's right arm, but Malfoy had already moved it away fast.

"What the hell, Potter?"

"There's a field, a magical field, covering the top of it," explained Harry. "It looks pretty nasty. I think anyone who puts their hand in there will lose it."

Malfoy looked at Harry as though he'd lost his mind. "What makes you think there's a field there?"

"I can see it. Another Auror Leader thing. I can see magic, all magic."

"Must be convenient," mused Malfoy, trying not to appear envious but failing.

"How's your Analyze spell?"

"Better than yours, I'd guess," responded Malfoy, who pointed his wand at the opening; nothing happened. Harry did the same, with the same result.

Malfoy shrugged. "Well, my father's no amateur." He went silent, apparently thinking about what to do next.

"I could get Hermione over here," Harry mused aloud.

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Yes, you and Weasley, that's your solution for everything. 'Granger will know what to do!' It's none of my business, Potter, but if you're going to be Auror Leader, you're going to start having to think for yourself."

Ironic, thought Harry, that she and I talked about this just last night. "That's true, but as Auror Leader, if I don't know something, I need to admit that and call on whoever I can who does know. I haven't exactly had a lot of time to study up for this job. I'll learn as I go."

"Whatever. You really think Granger will know what to do?"

"Not necessarily. It's more that she'd have a better chance than anyone else."

"You wouldn't happen to have some special Auror Leader power that can cancel complex spells, would you?"

Suddenly wondering if it was possible, Harry pointed his wand at the field and tried. A powerful burst of flame shot up from the hole in the floor; Harry and Malfoy, both sitting on the floor near it, scrambled backwards. The flame died down quickly; Harry checked himself for burns, but had none.

"Remind me never to suggest anything like that again," muttered Malfoy. "And warn me next time, okay?"

"It sounded like you were suggesting it."

"'You wouldn't happen to have' isn't the same thing as 'please do immediately without thinking,' at least according to the vocabulary I know," responded Malfoy sardonically. "But for your sake, I'll try to be more careful about how I phrase things. For my sake as well, apparently," he added.

"Sorry," said Harry. It was becoming an effort to remain polite in the face of Malfoy's many snide comments, but he knew that as Auror Leader, he had to control his emotions and think first about the success of the mission. Easier said than done sometimes, he mused to himself.

After a minute more of thinking, he suddenly realized he'd forgotten something. He turned his head and spoke in the direction of the stairs. "Luna, you wouldn't know how to get through this, would you?"

"Sorry, no," she replied. "But thank you for thinking of me."

As he turned back to look at the field again, it occurred to him that from any other person, her comment could be taken as a sarcastic version of 'why didn't you ask me in the first place, do you think I know so much less than Hermione?' He knew, though, that Luna wouldn't resort to such sarcasm, for which he was grateful. At the same time, he did feel a little guilty that he hadn't asked her right away. She had been a Ravenclaw, after all.

"Hey, Potter. What's the color of the field?"

Harry looked closely. "Seems like mostly black and gray, with a little purple mixed in."

Malfoy perked up. "Is the purple any particular shape?"

"No, why?"

"Purple is the primary Slytherin color, but it's also the most important color in my family's coat of arms," explained Malfoy. "And the other colors in the coat of arms are black and gray. I think that my father, or for all I know his father, set this up so that only a Malfoy can reach in there. I'm going to try."

"Whoa, whoa! Weren't you the one complaining about doing things without thinking?"

"I have thought about it."

"For how many seconds?"

"I don't think we're going to find any other way, Potter. It's this or nothing. But I think this is it. I have a feeling."

Harry gave him a 'you're crazy, but okay' look. "I have a feeling I want to stand back. And use your left hand, so at least you'll still have your right one."

"Was planning to," replied Malfoy as he started to reach in. Harry moved back a few inches, but found he wanted to stay close in case Malfoy was successful. Malfoy's hand broke the surface of the field, but nothing happened.

Malfoy grinned. "Field still there?"

"Yep."

"That's what I thought. I was right." He reached in farther, his arm almost completely in the opening in the floor. He felt around for a minute, then withdrew his arm, a large, two-inch-thick hardback book in his hand. "This thing is heavy," he said as he set it gently on the floor. He covered up the opening, and the floor looked as it had before.

"Okay, good job. Now, let's get out of here."

"Wait, Potter, not so fast. There's a few things we can do here; there's lots of supplies, some of which could be helpful."

"Okay, but I don't want to take forever."

Malfoy started filling up a shoulder bag, then handed it to Harry and grabbed another. Harry was impressed that there also seemed to be a supply of shoulder bags; Malfoy had already placed the book into one.

"One more thing, Potter," said Malfoy upon finishing filling the second bag. "We need to check the house, see if anyone's here."

Harry was mystified. "Why?"

"I think we can take the house."

Harry looked at Malfoy as though he'd taken leave of his senses. "Yeah, if nobody's here, we can certainly take it," responded Harry. "We just couldn't keep it."

"The Apparition parlor can be disabled," said Malfoy animatedly, referring to the area near the front door which allowed Apparition. "Nobody would be able to get in!"

"How about the front door?"

"There are defenses."

Harry exhaled slowly. It didn't seem possible, but he didn't feel qualified to make that judgment. He decided to put it off. "Okay, we'll search the house, under the Cloak," he agreed. "If no one's here, we'll think about it more. If we see anyone, I'm Apparating both of us out of here. Agreed?"

"If there's only a couple, we can take them!"

Harry could see that Malfoy was very enamored of this idea. "We'll see what's there."

On the way out of the room, he was going to ask Luna to stay where she was, but then realized that he and Malfoy would need the Cloak. "Luna, I want you to go back. Take the Portkey, tell Ron and Hermione what's happened, and that I might want them and you to come back here. Ask them if they know where the Apparition parlor is. Oh, and take these bags." He handed her his, and gestured for Malfoy to do the same.

Malfoy handed over one of the two bags he was carrying. "The book stays with me."

Harry shrugged, and turned to Luna. "I'll be in touch after we've searched the house."

She nodded. "Be careful."

He smiled a little. "I plan to." She Summoned the Portkey, and vanished. He looked up to get her view, and saw Ron and Hermione talking to her. At least she's safe, he thought. Good thing she's not going to be an Auror, I don't think I could take that.

Harry and Malfoy crept around the large mansion, and after ten minutes, had found nothing. Harry took off the Cloak, folded it, and put it into his robes.

Harry talked to Luna, and found that Hermione remembered where the Apparition parlor was; she would escort Ron while Luna Apparated by herself. Soon, all five were standing not far from the front door.

"Harry," said Hermione, "if Malfoy got the book, then why are we here?"

"Malfoy wants to take the house, take it back from the Death Eaters and hold it--"

"What??" exclaimed Ron loudly. Hermione looked surprised, but said nothing.

Harry gave Ron a warning look. "I assume, Malfoy, that you're thinking we'd use it as a base, something like that?"

"Exactly."

"Have a base at Malfoy Manor?" repeated Ron incredulously. "A haunted house might be better for morale, think of all the--"

"Ron," said Harry sharply, as Malfoy looked daggers at Ron. "First of all, Malfoy, did you disable the Apparition parlor again?"

"Yeah, I did," said Malfoy. "And look, this can work. The--"

"Ginny's never going to agree to stay one minute here," said Ron to no one in particular. "After what Lucius Malfoy--"

"Ron!" Harry nearly shouted, glaring at his friend. "As Auror Leader, I'm ordering you not to say another word!"

Ron and Malfoy wore almost identical surprised expressions; Ron turned away in anger. "This decision," said Harry, "is going to be made based on the merits. If we can hold it, we'll stay. If not, we won't. Now, Hermione, do you think we can hold this?"

She asked Malfoy to explain the exact nature of the mansion's defenses. After he did, she paused and thought. "If we had fifteen or twenty here, and were defending against thirty, we could hold it, although our lives would be difficult. It would be like living under siege. But the problem is this: Malfoy may have a legal right to live here, but the government is working for what's-his-name. They would just tell the Ministry that someone else rightfully owns the home, they'd get fifty or sixty stationary magic specialists, and come out here. It would take them only a few days, a week at the most, to take apart the defenses, and that would be that. Not only that, it would take away our flexibility, we'd spend all our time defending, not attacking. But that aside... I'm sorry, Malfoy, but it just won't work."

Harry was impressed that unlike Ron, Hermione seemed to have discerned that this was important to Malfoy. Malfoy spent a few minutes debating it with her, but she held her ground, and he finally, very reluctantly, conceded.

"Okay," said Harry. "You guys leave; I'm going to go put that guy in the chair, prop him up so it'll look like he fell asleep, and give him a light Memory Charm so he won't even remember the Apparition sound. Then I'll be right along."

Malfoy appeared to be holding in frustration. "I'm going somewhere else. I'll be back to the tent in two hours or less." Before Harry could think of a response, Malfoy had stepped into the parlor and Disapparated. Exchanging wondering looks, Hermione, Ron, and Luna stepped into the parlor and Disapparated as well. As he expected, Harry finished his last task in under a minute, and joined his friends.

Back at the tent, Ron asked Harry to step outside for a minute. They walked far enough from the tent that they couldn't be overheard. "Ron, I'm sorry about doing that--"

Ron waved him off. "No, no, no, I actually wanted to apologize to you. I know I shouldn't react like that. Mainly, I just wanted you to know why that happened, because you might not have realized it. I myself didn't realize the reason at first, but... I'm pretty sure that my reaction was affected by the fact that that place has a certain association for me."

Suddenly it hit Harry what Ron meant. "I hadn't thought of it that way, and I feel kind of bad that I didn't. It makes it seem like... like I don't care about her so much."

"Well, obviously, I know you do," said Ron. "You just took a more rational view of it, both then and now. You're trying to figure out the best thing to do, and there's nothing wrong with that. I just wanted you to know why I was like that, and I'm not usually going to do that.

"I understand, and I appreciate your telling me that."

Looking curious, Ron asked, "How was it, working with Malfoy for such a long time, like that?"

"Not too bad. He knows what he's doing, he's no dummy. And he was pretty reasonable, for the most part. He wants to get this done, like we do. But clearly, he's no less affected by his emotions than you, or anyone else. It was easy for me to see that he was angry about his home being taken over by Death Eaters; it may be connected to whatever happened to his parents. So, I want to be cautious not to tick him off too much, which is why I shut you down so fast. He was already emotional, and the last thing I wanted was an unnecessary fight between you and him."

"But why do we have to be the ones not to tick him off? I mean, not to be argumentative, but I am wondering. Can't he cut out the snide comments?"

Harry nodded sympathetically. "It would be nice," he agreed. "I had to hold myself back more than once. If I had to guess, I'd say that he might think we have contempt for him, and are only working with him out of operational necessity--"

"Like you said, he's no dummy," cracked Ron.

"And he might be trying to provoke us, to see if we'll insult him and prove his point. Maybe from his point of view, we have to prove that we consider him an equal, that we respect him. I don't know, it's just a guess. I'm trying very hard to treat him as an equal, as I'd want to be treated. But yeah, it's not easy."

Ron grunted. "No, it's not. But I'll try harder."

Harry clasped Ron's shoulder. "I know. Let's go back to the tent, I have to get ready for the next operation."

"So, you won't let me or Hermione go with you?"

"Sorry. Kingsley also agreed that it's best if it's me alone. I'll be all right." They started walking back.

"Hey, what's with your using the phrase 'operational necessity' all the time? You never used to before."

"From the Auror Leader portraits,' said Harry. "They're always using it."

"Ah. I suppose I can see why."

They entered the tent to find Luna and Hermione talking. "I think he'll understand," said Hermione. "If it's what you want, he'll do it."

"I'm not so sure," said Luna. "He can be stubborn."

"I agree with Hermione, I think it'll be okay," Harry reassured her. "Now, remember what I said. I don't think they'll take action so very fast after it happened, so you should have enough time. But if anything happens, give me a shout, and get out of there. I'll drop what I'm doing and go straight there. Okay?"

"Okay," she agreed. She leaned in for a kiss, then Disapparated.

* * * * *

Next, Chapter 10, Cleaning Out Hogwarts: In the other dimension, Harry takes steps to try to end torture at Hogwarts, as Dean and Hermione's treatment of a captured Death Eater provokes an ethical debate.

From Chapter 10: "For Merlin's sake, Potter!" burst out Malfoy in great annoyance. "Is Granger your brain or something? If she wasn't around, would you and Weasley be mindless zombies? I'm not going to join your little cult of making sure Hermione approves of everything we do, because she's the smart one, as she never tired of reminding everyone in class, raising her hand every chance she got. I have a brain of my own, Potter. I read the book, I understand it, I can do the spell. I don't need Granger to tell me that. Okay?"