Harry Potter and the Amulet of the Moon

Chapter 11

Harry's Horcrux

Harry sat up quickly. "Malfoy? What happened?"

Malfoy was sitting on the floor in a corner of the room, legs crossed. He was staring at the ground in front of him, the Dark magic book at his side. He didn't look up when talked to. Pointing to the Pensieve he'd taken from Malfoy Manor, he said, "It's in there."

Surprised and concerned, the three exchanged glances. Harry almost asked Malfoy for more information, but the look on Malfoy's face suggested that he didn't want to be asked. Definitely not good, thought Harry. He and the others put their hands in the Pensieve.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Malfoy stood in a small open spot in some woods; there was a small shack about thirty meters away. Malfoy had a shoulder bag, no doubt containing the Dark magic book.

Ron looked at Malfoy crossly. "So, Malfoy, are you going to tell us, or are you going to wait until it's already happened to tell us what's going to happen?"

"Listen, Weasley," responded Malfoy angrily, "I already told you that I'd tell you when you needed to know, and that there was a reason for that. Now is when you need to know, so now I'm telling you."

Malfoy turned to Harry and spoke earnestly, telling the story he'd already told the trio who were watching: Dumbledore's request, how he'd been kept alive, getting the magic book out of Malfoy Manor. The three reacted with shock, horror, and sadness as Malfoy explained that while Dumbledore would probably not be rational now, he had expressed these wishes when he was.

"Are you absolutely sure that this is what he wanted Harry to do?" pressed Hermione.

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "There's now a Pensieve back in our tent. If you want, we can Apparate back there and I can put the memory in there for you to see. Or, you can take my word for it."

Hermione and Ron exchanged a glance, neither sure how to answer. "I'll take your word for it, Malfoy," said Harry. "Like you said, it's like what he said to me on the river. It's something he would do. How does it work?"

Malfoy reached into the bag and pulled out a thin, foot-long cylindrical piece of metal whose shape reminded Harry of a flute. There were intricate designs on the surface, and it was hollow, with slightly extruding apertures at each end. Malfoy took out his wand and put it into one of the ends. He pointed it in Harry's direction.

"This device, which Professor Dumbledore gave me, can detect a Horcrux. It is also, according to this book--and Dumbledore thought as well, once he heard the book existed--what will be used to get that out of you and into him. You stand facing him, so close your foreheads are touching. I apply this to the back of your head, do an incantation, and the Horcrux will move through your forehead at the spot where yours touches his. Then he'll have it.

"The book says it should take no more than fifteen seconds, probably less than that. There'll be some discomfort, maybe a sharp pain, but that should be about it. The important thing, Potter, is that you don't really have to do anything. Just touch your forehead to his, and I'll do the rest. Any questions?"

"Why his forehead?" asked Hermione. "Is that in the book?"

"The book says that the spot on Potter's body that we need is the 'entry point' of the Horcrux. I assume there's no doubt in anyone's mind that the scar is it?" Ron and Hermione nodded in agreement, then Harry did as well. "Good," said Malfoy. "Now, we're going in. Just remember, Potter, that whatever he looks like or sounds like now, this was what he wanted. Now, you're okay to do this, right?"

Harry took a deep breath, and nodded solemnly. They walked toward the shack, and Malfoy opened the door.

On the bed was Professor Dumbledore, but not the man in any way Harry remembered him. His long hair and beard had been cut off; his beard was short, as was his hair. He wore only a pair of short pants and a T-shirt, and was emaciated, bruises visible on his legs and arms, as well as some cuts. He seemed to be sleeping, but was sometimes jerking and twisting on the bed, as if he could get no rest sleeping. Standing in the corner of the shack was Dobby, with several bandages and no small amount of bruises himself. He smiled on seeing Harry, but was clearly unhappy with the circumstances.

Malfoy spoke to the three in a whisper. "As you can see, Dobby's been through a lot, trying to take care of him. He can't clean him, except by force. He won't eat anything unless I do the Imperius Curse on him, and even then, Dobby says he throws up half the time. The unicorn blood, no doubt."

He turned to Dumbledore. "Professor," he said, "there's someone here to see you." Dumbledore snarled and muttered something incoherent.

"Professor!" shouted Malfoy.

Dumbledore leaped up with surprising agility and reached for Malfoy's throat; Malfoy was able to fend him off with Dobby's help. "My jailer returns!" spat Dumbledore, enraged. "Kill me, or I will kill you!"

Holding Dumbledore by the shoulders, Malfoy turned to Harry. "Potter, are you ready?"

Numbly, Harry nodded. "Granger, Weasley, hold him firmly," said Malfoy, slowly releasing his grip as Ron and Hermione took over for him. Malfoy quickly took out his wand, speaking as he did. "I'm going to give him a calming spell, and that's our chance. It wears off quickly, a minute or two at the most, and can't be done again anytime soon. Right after I calm him, we do this. Got it?"

Holding a struggling Dumbledore, Ron and Hermione nodded, as did Harry. Malfoy cast the calming spell; Dumbledore stopped struggling. Harry quickly moved into position, moving his forehead close to Dumbledore's. His nose wrinkled, no doubt noticing the old man's foul breath, as Dobby couldn't enforce all aspects of personal hygiene.

Malfoy stood behind Harry, extension on his wand touching the back of Harry's head. "Granger, tell me when their foreheads are touching, at his scar!"

Hermione took Harry's head in her hands, moved it a little, and turned to Malfoy. "Touching!" Malfoy began the incantations.

Dumbledore, eyes dull just a second ago, looked up. "Harry," he mumbled, but his eyes lit up, and just for a second, the old affection he had for Harry could easily be seen. Harry was clearly affected; his eyes seemed to moisten, showing affection and pity.

Malfoy cast the spell, and after a few seconds, an orange spot started to become visible on Harry's forehead at the point of the scar, growing brighter and brighter by the second. Harry winced in pain, but stayed where he was.

Ten seconds later, it was apparent that something was wrong; the orange spot was getting brighter still, and Harry started to cry out in pain. Malfoy continued to repeat the incantations as Harry's pain soon escalated to such agony that he could no longer stand; he twisted away and fell to the ground, screaming, his forehead a bright orange, especially at the point of the scar.

"Harry!" cried Dumbledore, apparently still in command of his faculties, bending down to look at Harry. But as he bent, he lost his balance and collapsed, landing partly on the screaming Harry. Ron and Hermione pulled Dumbledore off and looked at Malfoy.

"What happened?" shouted Hermione, trying to make herself heard over Harry's screaming.

"I don't know!" shouted a bewildered Malfoy. "Let me try the calming spell on him!" Malfoy pointed the wand at Harry, now minus the attachment, and cast a spell, but it seemed to do little good. Harry's pain appeared not to have lessened at all.

"Malfoy!" shouted Ron in anger. "What the hell did you do?"

"I did exactly what I was supposed to do! It should have worked!" Both the fury at being accused and the dismay at the spell having failed were clear on his face. "Potter! Can you hear me?" Giving no recognition that he'd heard Malfoy, Harry continued screaming.

"Let's get him back to the tent," said Hermione, touching Harry and Disapparating, as Ron and Malfoy also disappeared.

Hermione pointed her wand at Harry and Stunned him. To the surprise of all, Harry didn't go unconscious; he appeared to be half-conscious, and moaned loudly in pain. She looked at Malfoy. "The book didn't say anything about this possibly happening?"

Malfoy shook his head. "Not a word! From beginning to end, exactly as it said! Look at it if you want."

He handed the book to Hermione, who opened it at the bookmark. She took a few minutes to read it, then closed it and handed it back to Malfoy. "He's right, Ron. He did exactly what it said. It should have worked."

"Then why didn't it?" asked Ron, still emotional over Harry's condition.

"I don't know," said Hermione anxiously, "but that's not the important thing right now. We have to figure out what to do! Obviously any hospital is out--"

"What about Muggle hospitals?" asked Ron, as Harry continued to scream noiselessly.

"They wouldn't know what to do, and it would--wait, that's it! I'll be back." She touched her wand, and Disapparated.

The memory shifted ahead to Hermione's return. She was holding a small plastic bag she hadn't had when she left. She knelt and produced a hypodermic needle encased in plastic and a small glass vial.

"What's that?" asked Ron.

"A Muggle drug called morphine, a painkiller. Very powerful, and very dangerous," she said as she prepared the hypodermic.

"How do you know how much to give him?"

"I asked a doctor what a safe dose was, then gave him a Memory Charm. I more or less knew already, just wanted to make sure." She looked at the needle one last time, asked Ron to roll up Harry's sleeve, and gave him the shot. A minute later, he was unconscious.

Using her wand, Hermione checked his condition. "He's okay," she said. "Looks like the amount was right."

Malfoy spoke. "How long will that drug affect him?"

"I think, about 24 hours. I have enough for another shot, if it's necessary. I hope it won't be."

"Why?" asked Ron.

"Because this drug is not only powerful, it's addictive," she explained. "The more you take, the more negative effects there are when you stop. Even two doses are hard to recover from. I don't like it, but... it's better than the alternative."

Ron nodded vigorously. "I'd say so, yeah."

The memory ended, and the three took their hands out of the Pensieve. Malfoy appeared not to have moved at all while they'd been watching the scene. No one spoke for a minute.

Finally, Malfoy did. "Granger," he said tonelessly. "Pick up the book, look at the section bookmarked. Read it carefully, and see if you can figure out what went wrong."

Hermione opened the book and read through the section, taking about ten minutes. Harry and Ron sat quietly.

"There's nothing obviously wrong," she said, her voice more quiet than usual. "What we saw in the Pensieve seems to match what's here; there was nothing wrong with the incantation, for example.

"But if I had to pick a likely reason, it would be this," she went on, putting her finger under one particular line. "It says, 'the recipient thus desiring to receive the Horcrux, and the giver thus desiring to give the Horcrux...' This may be the problem." Malfoy looked at her quizzically, and clearly, neither Harry nor Ron understood.

"The word 'desire' is unusual in this kind of situation," she explained. "Normally we'd use a word like 'wishing,' or we'd say, 'the person giving the Horcrux,' instead of 'desiring to give.' Now, this text is very old, over two hundred years, and the language and usage has changed, so it could be ascribed to that. But I've read enough spellbooks to know that it probably isn't that.

"What I believe is that the word 'desire' is not just a flowery word, but is meant to be taken literally. That the giver and receiver must actively desire to give and receive the Horcrux, and that if that active desire isn't there, then the transition won't work."

Malfoy was still confused. "Do you mean that Dumbledore didn't desire it enough, because of his mental condition? Because this was his idea, he knew what his condition would be--"

"Oh, my God," Harry interrupted, his mouth open in shock, the answer having come to him in a burst of inspiration that he was certain was not wrong. "It wasn't Dumbledore, Malfoy, it was me. My counterpart. He didn't actively desire to give it."

"What??" exclaimed Malfoy in disbelief.

Hermione nodded solemnly. "Yes, exactly. It has to be."

Harry's manner was somber as well. "You see, Malfoy, I, and my counterpart, cared about Dumbledore. I respected him, looked up to him, thought he was a great man. I still do. Now, if I imagine that I suddenly learn that he's been kept alive--by his own request, I know--in a way that would horrify most people, that he's suffered so much just to do this thing for me... it would be very difficult to accept all at once. My mind would be reeling. And it's going to be the last time I see him, and I know that. All kinds of emotions would be going through my mind.

"There's a difference between what you know and what you feel. Rationally, I would know that I should do this, and my counterpart agreed. But in the memory, I could see his ambivalence. He felt sorry for Dumbledore, and he felt guilty that Dumbledore should suffer this for him. So, he was in a very emotional state, and though he agreed to do this, he didn't 'actively desire' to do it. Some part of him didn't want to, because it would be like killing Dumbledore. It's not rational, and he would know that, but he would feel it anyway. So... the spell didn't work."

Malfoy looked at Hermione. "That's what you think."

She nodded. "Yes."

"If," Malfoy asked her, "you had been asked to look through this before it was done and identify any possible problems, would you have noticed this?"

She hesitated. "It's after the fact now, and it's impossible to say for sure--"

"Damn it, Granger," cut in Malfoy, glaring at her, "I want your best guess, and I want an honest answer. Would you have noticed?"

She sighed and looked down, glancing up occasionally. "Almost certainly. I always look for odd words in the instructions, and I'm pretty sure I would have understood what it meant."

Malfoy closed his eyes and slowly shook his head. "Unbelievable," he muttered. He got to his feet and walked out of the tent.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other, but again, no one spoke for the moment. A few seconds later they heard shouting; Harry wondered for a second what it was, then realized it was Malfoy, letting loose a string of curses.

"That's pretty much how I'd feel," agreed Ron.

Harry looked at Hermione. "What do you think is going to happen with him? The other me?"

She shook her head sadly. "I couldn't even begin to guess, since this is so unprecedented. I really think even a veteran Healer wouldn't be able to say. Best case would be that over a short time, the Horcrux gets less inflamed, and he recovers. Or, it slowly works its way back to its former location. Worst case, nothing changes, and he's like this for the rest of his life. Or anything in between."

"Well," said Ron, "if he doesn't get better fairly soon, the answer is for someone else to take it from him. I would if I could."

She nodded. "Me too. But yes, it has to be someone from this dimension. And keep in mind that he wouldn't want to give it to us any more than he'd want to give it to Dumbledore."

"Yeah, good point," he reluctantly agreed. "I can't believe that's what stopped it. You know, if it'd been me, I'd have done the same damn thing as Malfoy."

Harry shook his head. "One difference."

"You mean, I'd have asked her," said Ron, gesturing to Hermione. "You told us what he said last switch, about how we mindlessly follow her. And then this happens. Bet he's kicking himself."

After a few minutes, Harry stood and walked outside, looking for Malfoy. Randomly wandering around, he finally found him about a hundred yards from the campsite. Malfoy was sitting on a rock; clearly having heard Harry coming, he didn't look up. "Save it, Potter."

Harry was slightly confused. "Just what was it you thought I was going to say?"

Malfoy shrugged. "Doesn't matter."

"Yeah, I suppose there isn't much that would really help," agreed Harry. "I suppose it was going to be something along the lines of, 'everyone makes mistakes."

Malfoy glanced up, surprised. "Not, 'I told you so?'"

Harry grunted. "I'm not really inclined to get on my high horse when other people make mistakes, since I've made so many myself, and my biggest ones were worse than this. My godfather died in part because I ran off without thinking. Hermione got tortured at Malfoy Manor because I mentioned what's-his-name even after I knew I wasn't supposed to. Those are the biggest ones, but there have been others."

"Just because you make mistakes doesn't mean I should."

Harry leaned against the nearest tree. "No, but... the previous Auror Leaders left lots of documents, advice, other things for their successors. For future Leaders' eyes only. One thing that most of them say is that everyone makes mistakes, it can't be avoided. We're human. One of them said, 'A much bigger sin than making a mistake is not learning from it.' If you deny your mistake, or try to blame it on someone else, you won't learn from it, and are more likely to do it again. They put a big premium on learning from mistakes, because--"

"When the Auror Leader makes a mistake, it's very costly," Malfoy finished, as Harry nodded. "Makes sense." He finally looked up at Harry. "It's funny, Potter, you're very different from the other one. It's like you're five years older."

"I'm sure it's from being Auror Leader," said Harry. "There's just an enormous amount of pressure, because of the responsibility. I took this group back in time to an isolated location because a disaster wiped out almost all the Aurors before I became Leader, and it made sense to get them up to speed quickly. But then this switching starts happening, and we have no idea how to stop it. We could end up living our lives in this reality rather than our own. So, even though I couldn't have predicted this, no one could, I still feel responsible. Sobers you up real quick. I study a lot more than I used to, because now it's important."

After a silence, Harry spoke again. "How's Dumbledore?"

It was clear that Malfoy had expected to be asked the question, but was no happier about it. "He's dead," said Malfoy quietly, looking down. "Dobby said it was only a few hours after that happened." Malfoy shook his head. "It's amazing. It's like he held on for as long as he had to, to do that..." Malfoy trailed off, and Harry could hear the unspoken 'and I failed him' in the tone. He might have asked another question about Dumbledore, but given Malfoy's feelings, he decided to shelve the topic.

There was another silence. "So, what do we do now?" asked Malfoy.

"Good question. For now, I'd say we wait to see how this Harry does. There wasn't much you guys could do for him, but on the island, Cho is a Healer trainee, along with us for medical reasons, so her counterpart is on the island with him now. She won't know what to do, but she should be able to keep him comfortable, and teach your Hermione how to do it on this side. He may recover naturally. If he doesn't, then we may have to settle for trying to kill what's-his-name even though a Horcrux exists."

"But wait," said Malfoy. "What if--and I suspect you'll say 'I don't know, we should ask Hermione'--what if we get all the Horcruxes except the one in Potter, and he's on the other side when the Dark Lord dies? Would that be enough to keep him from coming back?"

Harry nodded thoughtfully; he hadn't thought of that, and now felt that he should've. With a straight face, he said, "I don't know. We should ask Hermione."

"Very funny, Potter."

Now, Harry grinned. "I try. Seriously, I don't think she'll know; I think this is unknowable. But we always ask her anyway, because you never know what weird thing she'll know that you could never have predicted. It's an interesting thought, and it is possible that it'll come down to banking on that. My feeling is that killing him without dealing with the Horcruxes isn't preferable in general, but it is preferable to not killing him at all."

"Can't disagree with that," mused Malfoy. "But of course, the question is, how? He's incredibly powerful, so unless being Auror Leader gives you some special power to beat him, I don't think you could."

Harry shook his head. "Nothing I can think of."

"That reminds me," said Malfoy. "Look, Potter... I realize that not asking Granger wasn't my only mistake; I also should've given Potter more time to deal with what I was telling him--"

"Dumbledore told you not to--"

"Yeah, but I don't think he meant, don't tell him until the very last second. I should have done it differently. But I understand that both of those mistakes were made because I had information I didn't want to share. With the book, it was like, this is my family's book, and only I look at it. With Potter, it was that I didn't want to have to listen to his and the others' reactions, and telling them at the last minute would minimize that. But I kept too much information.

"Now, you have Auror Leader powers that I don't know; you told me two because you had to, and then later, the Apparating anywhere one. But it occurs to me that we may miss another opportunity because I don't know what you can do, and if I did, I might be able to think of something that you didn't. I know there are reasons not to tell me, or anyone. But I think you should."

Harry thought about it, and decided that Malfoy was right. He also appreciated that Malfoy was trying to be honest, and criticizing himself definitely didn't come easily to Malfoy. "Most of these powers require me to concentrate, to really focus. Let's see... enhanced sight, as well as the hearing. Can withstand Cruciatus-levels of pain."

Malfoy whistled, impressed. "That must be helpful."

"Fortunately, haven't had much occasion to use it. Let's see... can know if someone's about to pull out his wand, I think it's like animals know when the other animal is going to attack. Can see magic--oh, wait, you already know that one. So, that's it. If there are others, I don't know about them."

"Interesting. I wonder why it gives you those particular powers. I mean, they're nice, but there are wizards who can do those things. They're not superhuman."

"I think they wouldn't give me those things if they were superhuman. They don't want to make it too easy."

Malfoy frowned. "Who's 'they?'"

"Sorry, couldn't tell you if I tried. Some things I'm not allowed to say, like a Forgetfulness spell. I just end up looking like an idiot. 'um, uh, um, I, um...'"

Malfoy grinned. "I'll take your word for that. Auror Leaders like their secrets, huh?"

"It seems so."

"I know you said it depends on how fast Potter recovers, but let's say he doesn't recover fast. Plan for the worst. In that case, what do you think we should do?"

"Kingsley, my Kingsley, talked about the possibility of going out in the open as Auror Leader and getting the Aurors to follow me. If they did, I would have a lot better position to operate from."

Malfoy looked thoughtful. "That works in some ways, but not in others. You see, the key aspect of the current political situation is that the government is pretending that they aren't controlled by Dark wizards, when of course they are. Doing what you're talking about would put the politicians and bureaucrats on the spot. If you only arrested Dark wizards, they wouldn't object, unless they were pressured to do so. If you stuck your nose into the Ministry, you'd make a lot of enemies."

"All I have to do is make one person disappear, and not be too subtle about it. They wouldn't fight me after that."

Malfoy's eyebrows rose high. "I'm surprised you'd do that. But then, it depends on who they fear more, you or the Dark wizards. The problem is that even if you got rid of a couple, they still might say, 'Potter can get me fired, but the Dark wizards can get me dead.' The Dark wizards would hide, but still control the government."

"Thicknesse is under the Imperius Curse," responded Harry. "I could release him from it, and if that doesn't help, get rid of him. If I'm strong enough, the Council would appoint someone I like rather than someone the Dark wizards like."

"I didn't know that about Thicknesse, but I'm sure it's widely suspected. So then the best case is that a pro-Potter Minister is installed, Muggle-borns get their wands back, and life goes on as it did before the government fell. What would the Dark wizards do? Probably go on a rampage of violence, targeted especially at Muggle-borns and their sympathizers, people like the Weasleys. They'd rather control the government, but if they can't, they'll make people they don't like suffer. They'd also try to keep influence in the Ministry by terrorizing bureaucrats. In the end, you have to get the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters, because they're the source of the problem."

"The other thing I was thinking about," said Harry, "was trying to get the public on our side. Get the word out that what's-his-name is controlling the government, and get people to rise up against him."

Malfoy loudly scoffed. "Yeah, right, Potter. Amazing how you can talk about manipulating the government one minute, and then sound so naïve the next. The people don't want to hear about it! They want to get on with their lives. They don't want to fight this enemy they can't see but you tell them is there. One thing I've learned is that most people take the path of least resistance. A few people would jump on your bandwagon, but most would try not to get involved."

Harry was dubious. "You really think so?"

Malfoy's tone left no doubt that he was sure he was right. "Why do you think, Potter, that the Dark Lord is lying low? Why he hasn't shown his face? Eighteen years ago some people, like your father, opposed him, as well as the Aurors. He was around, he was killing, and everyone knew it. It couldn't be denied.

"This time, he seems to have learned a lesson from that. He hasn't been letting the Death Eaters kill anyone, except in special cases, like he wanted me to kill Dumbledore. But it's not out in the open. He knows--I mean, I don't directly know that he thinks this, but I can guess--that as long as he keeps out of sight, and Death Eaters don't go on killing sprees, people will pretend he isn't back even though the evidence is that he is back. Look at what Fudge did! That's all you need to know. "

"But if I told people, maybe had some evidence, then they couldn't ignore it any more."

Shaking his head, Malfoy responded, "They'd find reasons, excuses, like Fudge did. They'd remember those attacks the Prophet did, that you're mentally unstable. They'd point to the lack of public attacks. One thing I learned growing up was that you can use people's weaknesses to manipulate them, and people don't want to hear bad news. Give them a reason to ignore it, and they will. Yeah, you're the Boy Who Lived, and some would join up. But a lot, I think most, would tell themselves some lie--which the Prophet, under Dark control, would spread--so they didn't have to face the truth. I can't be positive, but I'm pretty sure."

Harry thought about it. "I find myself not wanting to agree with you, even though I have no good arguments to make against what you said."

"See? That proves my point. You want to believe what you want to believe. You want people to fight against him, because his number one priority is to see you dead. But who's to say that if you had no connection to him, that you'd be willing to fight him?"

"My dad fought him," Harry protested. "And he had no special connection. Others did too."

"Okay, that's true," Malfoy conceded. "Some did, but most were busy keeping their heads down, too scared to do anything. I don't mean you'd get no support, and you would do better than anyone else could, because of your scar. I'm just saying that as a strategic goal, counting on a mass uprising is an extremely risky thing to do. I think 80% of the people who would follow you would be Gryffindors. And let's not forget, people who supported you publicly--and this was the case eighteen years ago as well--would have a short life expectancy."

Harry sighed. "Well, this is all very depressing."

Malfoy shrugged. "The truth hurts. Both for you, and for me."

"How did you learn so much about this kind of thing?"

Malfoy paused before answering. "The Sorting Hat always talked about how Slytherins are ambitious, but the real word, which it doesn't use, is power. Slytherins want power, and they learn what it takes to get it, to wield it. My father was very good at that, and he taught me well. He would talk at great length about how he manipulated Fudge, which he admitted was no great challenge, and others in the Ministry. Say what people want to hear, and they'll be with you. Know and exploit your opponents' weaknesses. Project power, and you'll have power. Use fear, because people will act on their fears but not admit that they're doing it, so they can't catch you at what you're doing. Use money, because people want it. Make people think it's to their benefit to support you, and they will. I can see that this depresses you more, but believe me, it works. I had a lot of power at Hogwarts, which I got by applying what my father taught me. If the Dark Lord hadn't come back, a plum entry-level position in the Ministry would have been mine for the asking after I left Hogwarts, if I'd wanted it. This is reality, Potter, and if you're going to be Auror Leader, you need to learn it, and fast."

"Some of it I already knew, but it's never been put to me quite like that. I guess it's that on my side, I don't need to worry about it that much. I'm Auror Leader, defeated what's-his-name, am extremely popular, and the Dark wizards are on the run. The Ministry wouldn't dare refuse anything I asked. But over here it's much tougher, because this Harry hasn't defeated what's-his-name and isn't Auror Leader. He's still a possibly unbalanced and attention-seeking teenager. All the adulation and support will come after defeating what's-his-name, and by then, I'll need it a lot less."

"That sounds right," agreed Malfoy.

"So, you think political manipulation, and going after Dark wizards directly, is the way to go."

"Especially the second, but yes. Now, that's not to say that you should give up on the general population. If there's a good chance, you should let them know that Dark wizards are there, if only to keep them on the defensive publicly. Always keep the enemy on the defensive, that's another important principle. Identify pressure points, and use them for maximum effect at the right time."

Harry was reminded of the lessons he'd learned about chess from the master after leaving Japan. Malfoy's last two sentences, he realized, could be equally applied to chess.

"As for the Dark wizards, you need to take them out of the game every chance you get," Malfoy went on. "No more leaving them behind like you did when you rescued Lovegood."

"Yeah. But what to do with them?"

Malfoy grunted. "What Granger and Thomas came up with is diabolical, more than they know. Death Eaters would fear that worse than death if they knew it was possible. But I heard Granger saying that you can only do it so many times until there's a danger of the Muggles finding out that something is up. Now, I do have one idea you might not have thought of..."

An hour later, Harry stood at the mouth of the new 'cave' that he, Ron, and Hermione had excavated with the Reductor Curse. "Good enough, you think?" he asked Kingsley.

The older man nodded. "Put a few tapestries on the walls, it'll seem like home."

"I'll have to talk to Kitterman about that," joked Harry. "So, we can do a Fidelius Charm on this, right? It doesn't have to be a house?"

"No, a hole in the side of a hill is just fine for that."

"Okay. It has to be your Fidelius Charm, because you're of this dimension, and not switching. And someone in this dimension has to be Secret-Keeper. Did you have anyone in mind?"

"As a matter of fact, I did." He took out a mirror, spoke into it briefly, and put it away. A few seconds later, a familiar figure Apparated in.

Harry's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Remus!" Mixed with his pleasure at seeing his friend again was the recollection that the one in his dimension was no more. He walked over and wrapped Lupin in a strong hug.

Lupin returned it with a grin, but his eyes showed his concern for Harry. "It's good to see you, Harry, though it hasn't been that long, from my point of view. Kingsley's told me your story, what you told him. Quite remarkable. But I'm guessing from your reaction that where you come from, I didn't make it."

Harry shook his head sadly. "You and Tonks both died in the final battle."

Lupin nodded slowly. "We knew the risks. At least we went out together," he said philosophically. Gesturing to Kingsley, he asked, "What about him?"

"He became Minister."

Kingsley's eyes went wide; Lupin laughed out loud. "Well, you didn't get off easily either," he joked to Kingsley.

"Why didn't you mention that?" Kingsley asked Harry indignantly.

"It didn't seem relevant," Harry replied. "But speaking of Secret-Keepers, I've decided I'm going to Apparate into Grimmauld Place. It would be really nice to have a place to stay."

"You don't think there are Dark wizards there?" asked Remus. "I heard what happened."

"I think if there are, I can take them. I'll come in with the Cloak."

"I want to go with you," said Hermione emphatically. "There should be another person there."

Harry hesitated, not wanting to put another person at risk, but he knew she was right. "Okay."

"We should get Luna here," suggested Ron. "You may want to communicate with us through her."

Harry looked up without moving his head. "Luna, could you come to where we are?"

"Sure," he heard her reply in his head. "Just let me tell my father."

A few seconds later, she was there. "Hello, Professor Lupin," she said cheerfully.

Lupin grinned. "Hello, Luna. It's been a long time since I've been called that." Looking at her necklace, his eyes narrowed. "Isn't that the--oh, that's how you were communicating! Well, that's nice, I'm happy for you two."

"You've heard of it too?" asked Harry in surprise.

"Of course, most people have," said Lupin. "I was aware that Dumbledore had it. It's always intrigued me, because of my connection to the moon. Which Luna has as well, of course. Did you know that the shape of your necklaces changes as the moon does?"

"No, I didn't know that. Pretty neat." He looked at Hermione, put his left arm around her shoulder, and threw the Cloak over them.

"You're going for the bedroom, right?" she asked.

"Right. Ready?"

"Ready."

He willed himself to suddenly appear in the bedroom in which he'd slept for a few months... and nothing happened. He tried again.

"Are they gone?" he heard Ron say. "I didn't hear the noise."

"No, still here," said Harry from under the Cloak. "I'll try one more time." Again, he failed.

"Let me try," she suggested, putting her right arm around him. A few seconds later, she took the Cloak off of them. "I couldn't do it either."

Ron looked mystified. "Well, that doesn't make any sense. Could the house not be there anymore?"

"Then he'd go to the spot where the house used to be," said Kingsley.

"Could a new Fidelius Charm have been put on it?" asked Ron.

Lupin shook his head. "Whoever may have access to the house now, ownership hasn't changed; it's still Harry's. Even if the house is full of Dark wizards, they can't do a new one. There should be absolutely nothing stopping Harry from entering."

"Remus," said Kingsley. "Let's you and I try." Lupin nodded.

"Okay, but take the Cloak," suggested Harry. They put it on, and a few seconds later, Harry heard the Disapparation sound. Harry exchanged quizzical looks with Ron and Hermione.

A minute later, to Harry's shock, Kingsley and Lupin were back, but not just the two of them. "Kreacher!" exclaimed Harry.

Kreacher regarded Harry with great suspicion. "You looks like Harry Potter, but you is not Kreacher's master." Kreacher immediately disappeared.

"What the hell...?" Harry looked around in amazement. "Hermione?"

"Ah, I get it," said Lupin.

As Harry turned to look at Lupin, Hermione spoke. "Yes, I see, too. You see, Harry, you are Harry Potter, but you're not his Harry Potter. So as far as he's concerned, you're not his master. Somehow, he knows, which is why he didn't come when you called him two days ago.

"This also explains why you can't get into Grimmauld Place. Your own magic works fine, but any previously existing magic that links this dimension's Harry Potter to anything else in this dimension, like the Fidelius Charm linking him to Grimmauld Place, or the link in the relationship with Kreacher, doesn't work for you. For me or Ron, or anyone on the island."

Harry shook his head in annoyance. "It's always something. Kingsley, Remus, no Dark wizards in the house?"

"We took a quick walk through, didn't see any," said Kingsley. "No evidence that the place has been lived in, or infiltrated. But we can't know for sure, of course."

"At least you could live there, if you wanted to," suggested Ron. "If you were sure that it was secure."

Unhappily, Kingsley said, "I wish we could, but given how long it's been empty... for all we know, they could send someone in to check occasionally at 3 a.m., see if we came back, catch us sleeping. Probably that wouldn't happen, but it would be a risk. I'll think about it, at least."

"Okay, now the next thing," said Harry, looking around at everyone. He pointed to a spot a few miles away. "See that hill? I've already checked it out, it's safe. I want everyone to Apparate there."

After they arrived, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Luna Apparated to various places to gather Dean, Justin, Malfoy, and to Harry's surprise, Colin. Harry greeted him with a warm handshake. "Colin, it's great to see you."

Colin smiled, but Harry sensed a little discomfort. "I guess I'm looking better than the last time you saw me."

"Yeah," Harry agreed somberly. "Well, I think one of you will be okay. Everybody, make your Portkey."

A minute later, all had. "Be ready to grab your Portkey when I give the word. Ready?"

"Ready," a chorus of voices responded.

Harry raised his voice, even though he knew it didn't matter how loudly he said it. "Voldemort!"

About five seconds later, three rumpled-looking men in casual clothes Apparated in, wands at the ready, and promptly went down under a barrage of Stunning Spells. "That was easy," remarked Ron, as Kingsley and Lupin wrapped the men in magical ropes and moved them off to the side.

Harry had wondered if others might come, but no one did. They moved the three captives to the mouth of the new cave after taking their wands, and set up ten minutes later in a new location. Harry said the word again, and this time four men came out, and again were quickly subdued and captured.

"None of them were anybody important," remarked Malfoy on looking them over. "No Death Eaters, just Knockturn Alley lowlifes."

"Hired goons," suggested Ron.

Malfoy shrugged. "Basically. I wouldn't waste the effort of keeping them. Granger, what were you and Thomas going to do with them?"

"Give them strong Memory Charms, try to make them forget they're wizards, and scatter them in rundown Muggle areas, make them look like street people. The Memory Charms won't work completely--it's too much information to erase--but they'll be so disoriented that it'll be hard for them to get back."

Kingsley looked around as he spoke, as if he expected more to pop in at any moment. "The best thing about this is that the kind of person who does this isn't exactly brave. It'll get around that these men didn't get back, and the Dark wizards will find it more and more difficult to recruit people."

"We doing more?" asked Ron.

Hermione shook her head. "It'll take Dean and I quite a while to get rid of these ones. We shouldn't do any more today."

Harry looked at Kingsley. "Next time we do this, how many will come?"

"Either zero, or fifteen."

"Makes sense," agreed Harry. A thought occurred to him, and he grinned.

"What?" asked Kingsley.

"It felt good to say his name."

Kingsley nodded. "I'll bet."

Five hours later, Harry was sitting at the table, back on the island; they had come back a half hour ago, and he had just finished telling them the story about what had happened to the other Harry. Kingsley and Hestia already knew, of course, having been told by Ron and Hermione's counterparts.

"So, Kingsley," said Harry, "How is he?"

"We decided to put him into a kind of artificial coma. Their Cho, unfortunately, doesn't have nearly as much medical training as ours does," he said, glancing at Cho. "She didn't feel comfortable making decisions like that on her own. Hestia and I do have some medical knowledge, as will all of you by the time you become Aurors. This is one of those situations where his body's going to do what it's going to do, and we can't do anything about it. That's the problem with doing such an obscure spell as Malfoy tried to do. There's no precedent of treatment to follow if it goes wrong."

"So it looks like they'll be keeping him in the cave that we made," added Harry, who went on to update everyone on the cave's status. "Luna and her father will also be staying there, and basically anyone who doesn't have a place to stay. Colin says he's going to work on getting some furniture in there, and Luna mentioned the possibility of moving some bigger things from her house. Next switch, I'll go there and check it. Probably it'll be empty, but you never know if they'll use it as a hideout, an outpost, or something."

"Is it really worth taking even that small risk, to check that?" asked Corner. "I mean, I know you can handle yourself, but furniture can be gotten other ways."

Harry shrugged. "To be honest, I wouldn't mind picking off another two or three, if they're there. The combination of the Cloak and Auror Leader enhancements make it very easy for me to sneak up on people."

"Just don't get complacent," warned Ron.

"Actually," said Kingsley, "I was going to suggest that we establish a specific procedure for when Harry goes on solo operations. Luna being able to get his view is very useful. There should be a group on standby, ready to go in for a rescue, and the possibility should be planned for. I'll develop it over the next day, and have you let my counterpart know, see what he thinks."

"He should approve, since he's you," Ron pointed out wryly.

"Probably, but you don't want to take these things for granted," said Kingsley. "I'm sure I would appreciate the consideration."

Harry turned to Neville and Seamus. "How are things at Hogwarts?"

Neville grinned. "Getting rid of the Carrows was really, really good for morale. Anthony said it was all anybody talked about the day after it happened."

"I probably shouldn't have done this," said Terry, "but in Potions, I taunted Goyle about the Carrows being gone. Goyle did this stupid thing where he intentionally bumped me as I passed him--"

"He does that all the time now," cut in Seamus. "He wants to start an argument, hoping that the Carrows would let him do the Cruciatus Curse on whoever it was if they fought back. Really ticks me off."

"Yeah, I felt sorry for you guys, you had the Slytherins in Defense Against the Dark Arts. I just got snide with him, told him to watch where he was going. He pulled his wand on me, and looked over to Slughorn, as if that was going to help him. I said, 'Carrows are gone, Goyle. You miss your mummy and daddy?' He hit me with the Curse, but as soon as he did, three other Ravenclaws opened up on him with Stunners, and he went down. Crabbe and Nott pulled their wands, and Slughorn told everyone to calm down. Crabbe and Nott didn't even bother to Enervate Goyle, and he spent the rest of the lesson unconscious. If the Carrows had been there, I'd have definitely ended up in detention from Carrow, for some made-up reason, and Goyle would have been there too."

Ron grunted. "Maybe you need to get Crabbe and Goyle out of there."

Harry nodded, but said nothing. His impulse was to say to those who were at Hogwarts that they should try to stay out of trouble, not to draw attention to themselves, for fear of interrogations that could yield information he didn't want getting out. He didn't, though, because he knew it must have been difficult to be there that year, and he didn't want to tell those who had to endure it what they should and shouldn't do. "So, Slughorn didn't do anything?"

"No, we were surprised," said Padma. "Except for telling everyone to calm down, he just pretended it didn't happen. I think he doesn't like the torture, but doesn't want to discipline the Slytherins too much. In the current atmosphere, it's almost like the Slytherins are in charge, and they know it. But as Terry said, it's so much better now that the Carrows are gone. So, thanks for that."

"But yeah, I think Ron's idea wasn't bad," added Terry. "I mean, I wouldn't mind seeing Goyle trying to pee on some Muggle policeman's shoes."

This provoked loud laughter, as everyone remembered the scene they'd viewed in the Pensieve. "Now, now," joked Ron, "let's not be so mean to the poor Muggle policemen. They have a dangerous job."

"I guess so," said Seamus, "if people are always trying to pee on their shoes."

"That doesn't actually happen, though, does it?" asked Neville.

Seamus laughed. "I don't think so, Neville," he said, patting Dean on the back. "Only in Dean's fevered imagination."

Harry steered the topic back to the most recent switch, and soon discovered that nothing else important had occurred. He called the meeting to a close, and went back to his tent. He could still hear joking going on at the table; he supposed people needed some humor in difficult times.

A few minutes later his door opened, and Luna entered. He smiled. "How are you doing?"

"Okay. I'm glad my father is someplace safe. But I came here to see how you were doing." She sat next to him on the sofa and took his hand.

He shrugged. "All right, I suppose. Why?"

"Well, I know how much pressure there is on you, in general. And it feels like somehow the other Harry's situation puts even more pressure on you. And if they could have gotten the Horcrux out, that would have really changed the situation. But now, you have to figure out what to do."

"I guess that's part of being Auror Leader."

"I guess so," she agreed. "Is there anything I can do?"

He moved closer to her, and gently pulled her into a hug. There was something about her that made him feel better, calmer, like everything was going to be all right. "I'm glad you're here with me," he said quietly as they held each other.

"I am too," she said. They stayed in that position for a short while, then she left after giving him a kiss goodbye. Afterwards, he reflected that the weight of the burden on him somehow felt a little lighter.

* * * * *

The next switch would take place the next night, at a few minutes before eleven, and continue until half past eight in the morning. Harry debated whether to take action, or simply sleep the night. He ended up deciding that it might be better to do a few things, though after talking with Kingsley, he decided not to try another ambush using Voldemort's name as bait. "You mess them up more now by not doing it for a while, keep them guessing," Kingsley advised.

As he expected, Harry found himself lying on his back in the new cave when the switch happened; he had taken care to be lying down just before the switch so no one would have to move his counterpart. He stood and looked around. Malfoy was sitting on the ground, back to the wall, reading the Dark spellbook. Luna and Xenophilius were sitting near each other, clearly having been talking just before the switch. Ron, Hermione, Dean, Justin, and Kingsley were also there.

Harry walked over to Luna and her father. "How are you doing, Mr. Lovegood?"

"Fine, Leader Potter, just fine," the old man answered.

Harry felt mildly embarrassed. "Mr. Lovegood, you don't have to--"

"The position more than merits such respect," responded Xenophilius with obvious sincerity. "I just wish I could print the story. I wish I could print almost anything, come to think of it. It is my life's work, and I miss it."

"Well, we may yet be asking you to do that," said Harry. "We have to wait until the time is right, but that printing press may become a powerful weapon for us."

Xenophilius's face showed that he dearly hoped it would be. "It, and I, are at your disposal." Harry nodded, gave Luna a pat on the shoulder, and moved on to talk to Kingsley.

As he did, to his mild surprise, he heard Malfoy say, "Granger, would you come over here?" Also somewhat surprised, she did so; he gestured for her to sit next to him. He moved the book towards her so they could both see it. "Would you look over this one, see if there's anything funny." Harry smiled to himself, sure not to let Malfoy see.

He talked to Kingsley about the timing of the establishment of the Fidelius Charm for the cave, and the operational matters he'd discussed the day before with the other Kingsley. Kingsley agreed with his counterpart, and they discussed logistical details for about twenty minutes.

"Okay, I'm going to check in at Hogwarts, in the Room," he announced to all present. "It shouldn't take more than ten minutes."

"I'll be watching," said Luna.

"Potter," said Malfoy, still looking at the book with Hermione. "I want to talk to you when you get back."

Harry nodded. "Okay."

He Disapparated, and found himself in the Room of Requirement. To his surprise, he saw not only Neville, but also Seamus, Terry, Anthony, and Ernie. They were sitting in a circle, talking. "Hey. What's going on?"

"Our counterparts were here at the switch," explained Terry. "Apparently, there's a new DADA teacher. It's the guy you told us you ran into last year, Yaxley. And he's a real piece of work."

Damn, thought Harry. "What happened?"

"The other Seamus told me the story, asked me to tell you," said Anthony. "Yaxley arrived yesterday, and his first class was earlier today. After it finished, around lunchtime, he kept Seamus afterwards. Started asking him questions about Neville, where he went. Seamus said he didn't know. Yaxley asked what happened to you, what you were doing, and again Seamus said he didn't know. Yaxley said he didn't believe him, then Silenced him, and started doing the Cruciatus Curse on him. Not for short times, and not only once or twice. He'd keep it going for a minute or more, asking questions in between." Harry winced, imagining what Seamus had gone through. Neville had been surprisingly cavalier about the torture that had occurred last year, but judging from Neville's face now, what Anthony was describing was of a totally different character.

"Seamus said that in between the torturing, Yaxley kept asking questions," Anthony continued. "At first Seamus kept saying he didn't know, and Yaxley would keep it up. Then he started trying to invent stories, but Yaxley kept asking for details, and every time Seamus said 'I don't know,' he'd get the Curse again. He couldn't think of plausible details of the made-up stories fast enough, and Yaxley would give him a blast every time he said something that didn't make sense. Finally, after twenty minutes--Seamus only knew because he looked at the clock right afterwards, he said it felt like a lot longer--Snape came into the room to talk to Yaxley, apparently by coincidence. Snape looked at Seamus, who was on the floor, and told him to leave him and Yaxley alone. Seamus said that he was so worn down by the Curse that he wouldn't have thought he could move, but when Snape said that, he never got out of a room so fast in his life."

"I'll bet," agreed Harry somberly.

"So, Seamus came straight here, didn't even stop at the Great Hall for lunch. Said he wasn't leaving here, period. Wants to either stay in the Room to help Neville with whatever he might do, or leave and join up with Dean and Justin. He also said that when Snape came in, he was just about at the breaking point, and he thinks he might have broken down and told Yaxley the truth. He said, 'there's only so much of that you can take.'"

"I'm amazed he got through as much as he did," said Harry, feeling a cold fury at Yaxley. Looking at Seamus, he added, "All I can say is that he, you, are pretty damn tough. Anthony, please thank him profusely from me for what he did. And tell him that Yaxley's career at Hogwarts is over."

"He thought that might be the case," agreed Anthony. "He knows, we all know, what you did with the Carrows. He said, 'if Dean and Hermione decide to make Yaxley spend his life licking Muggle toilets clean, it'll still be too good for him.'"

Harry hoped that Dean and Hermione wouldn't go quite that far, but he could absolutely sympathize with the other Seamus's feelings. "I'm sure they'll think of something good. Is this known around the school?"

Anthony nodded. "Everyone in the class saw Seamus get kept behind, of course, and Seamus told me to spread it around. He hoped it wouldn't happen to anyone else."

"Now, Parvati and Lavender are the only seventh-year Gryffindors, and they'd be next in line to be questioned," said Neville. "I was going to sneak into the Gryffindor common room, go to their dormitory, and suggest that they stay here as well, not go back to classes. Parvati has said that as girls, they're at less risk, but I'm not sure how long that'll protect them. After what happened to Luna, anything's possible."

"Well, they took her because of her father," pointed out Harry, "so it probably won't happen to them. But you're right, they are at risk. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea."

Seamus spoke. "If you made it an order, Parvati would do it, and I think Lavender would follow her."

"Our Parvati would, but I have no authority over this dimension's Parvati," he said. "Sorry, but it has to be their decision. Did anything else happen?" Anthony shook his head. "Okay, then I'm going to go and deal with Yaxley. Hopefully, this time, they'll get the message."

"Are you going to try to make it look like something else, like you did with the Carrows?" asked Neville.

"Nope, I'm going to just take him. It seems like they didn't get the message last time, so this time, it's going to be a lot more emphatic. They're going to think the jinx on the position got stronger."

He Apparated to the same quarters he had before; Yaxley had taken his successor's quarters. As before he was under the Cloak, and it was a simple matter of stunning him in his bed. Glancing at the door, Harry noticed a magical barrier, obviously designed to keep out nighttime intruders. It seemed that they suspected that the Carrows succumbed to foul play, but naturally, they never considered the possibility that someone might Apparate in.

Harry took Yaxley back to the cave to question him. He tried to have Dean and Hermione hypnotize him to cause him to answer questions, but unfortunately, he was able to resist the hypnosis enough that while he answered the questions, the answers were false. Harry knew they were false, but it was the best they could do with hypnosis. Putting him under the Imperius Curse also failed, as, like Harry, Yaxley was resistant to it. There was always the Veritaserum given to him by Slughorn, but there was a limited amount, and Harry was far from sure that Yaxley might have information that merited it. Finally, he decided to do so.

Yaxley revealed nothing of supreme value, but a few things that Harry and the others found interesting and useful. As in Harry's own dimension, Yaxley had been forced out of Grimmauld Place by Kreacher right after the Umbridge incident had happened, so Grimmauld Place had not been compromised. This meant that those who were already approved to stay there could, but no one new could be told, as one had to be outside the house first, and that was probably still being monitored. Harry was pleased to know that this dimension's Weasleys would be able to stay there.

Yaxley told Harry that the instruction to take over for Carrow at Hogwarts came from Bellatrix Lestrange, who he believed was given the order by Voldemort himself. Asked who he guessed would take over the Dark Arts position, Yaxley said he had no idea. Asked about Seamus's torture, Yaxley said it had been on his own initiative, hoping to get information about Harry that would please the Dark Lord and enhance his stature. He had planned to torture all Gryffindors, in descending order of seniority, and all seventh year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. Asked for information about Voldemort's whereabouts or plans, Yaxley didn't know. "Senior Death Eaters know the location of junior ones, but not vice versa," said Yaxley. He also knew of no current operations against Voldemort's enemies.

Able to think of no more questions to ask him, Harry Stunned him and wrapped him in ropes. "What do we do with him?" asked Hermione. "We can't put him with the Muggles, he's too resistant."

Harry glanced at Malfoy. "Malfoy had an idea last switch that was pretty good, which I'm leaning towards. I can Apparate him down into the Chamber of Secrets."

"Interesting," said Hermione, clearly impressed. "That's very good. I should have thought of it."

"Sorry, Granger," said Malfoy humorously, "you can't be the one to think of everything."

"Well, she tries," joked Harry. "Thing is, we need food and water. Maybe a week's worth, bring some every week. It would have to be me, of course. I could Apparate in under the Cloak, no problem."

"That would work," she agreed. "I guess there's no other way."

"Or, better yet," suggested Ron, "Apparate into that bathroom, the one with Moaning Myrtle, open up the thing--"

"And drop food and water down, in indestructible packages! Great idea, Ron!" exclaimed Harry.

Hermione looked a little unhappy. Harry patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Hermione. You'll have the next idea." Malfoy laughed out loud.

"Very funny," she said to Harry, with annoyance that Harry hoped was at least partly feigned.

"And she'll probably have the next ten after that, knowing her," put in Ron.

"Okay," said Harry. "Hermione, your next project is to find out how much and what kind of food humans need to live, at the minimum possible cost."

Dean wasn't part of the conversation, but had been near enough to hear. "How about dog food?"

"I don't think you can live on that," said Hermione, wrinkling her nose in distaste at the idea.

"We could find out," said Ron; Harry wasn't sure whether he was joking.

"I think my mate would have no problem with that," affirmed Dean.

"Problem is," said Harry, "I suspect your mate would have no problem with us pinning Yaxley down and putting a five hundred-pound weight on top of him. Much as he doesn't deserve it, we are going to follow at least basic ethics in dealing with prisoners."

"Yeah, because they'd never treat us improperly if we were their prisoners," said Dean.

Hermione spoke, her expression serious. "Dean, if we treat them the same as they would treat us--"

He sighed and interrupted her. "Then we're no better than them, I know. It just seems unfair."

"The price we pay for being the good guys," said Harry. "We get to sleep at night."

"Hate to tell you this, Potter," said Malfoy, "but I'm pretty sure they have no trouble sleeping."

Dean spoke before Harry had a chance. "Did you?"

Harry thought Malfoy would react angrily, but he didn't. "Yes, sometimes. That's probably why I failed."

Harry gave Malfoy a small grin. "Their loss is our gain. You know, Malfoy, I didn't mean sleep literally. And I know they don't have much in the way of consciences. They feel better because they only care about power, but we do because we're righteous. I'd rather be us than them, even if it's tougher sometimes." After a pause, he added to Hermione, "But if it turns out that a human can live on dog food..."

She couldn't help but smile. "I'll look into it. Which reminds me, we need more food."

"Couldn't we just Apparate into a closed Muggle supermarket and steal some?" asked Ron.

Hermione regarded him with what was clear was real annoyance. "Were you here, Ron? We were just talking about ethics, you know."

He rolled his eyes. "Stealing from someone who won't notice it's missing is pretty different from treating people inhumanely. And it's not as though we don't have a good reason. We're fighting for our lives, and fighting for the freedom of the wizarding world. Not to mention, fighting against those who would make slaves of Muggles."

"So it's okay to steal from them?" she protested.

Harry held up his hands. "Okay, we're not going to have this conversation. Hermione, I'll ask you this. If the choices are stealing, or taking the chance of me Apparating into my Gringotts vault, which would you choose?"

Unhappy, she gave him a look that said, 'please don't make me choose.' Ron nodded triumphantly, as if his point had been conclusively made.

"We can always leave them a note, and tell them we'll pay them back later," said Harry, not wanting to argue further. "And I'm not saying I won't go into my vault, either, but it was a reasonable question."

Harry now glanced at Malfoy, whose expression suggested that he found the whole discussion peculiar, but was making no comment. "Malfoy, you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yeah. Can we step outside?"

"Sure."

A few dozen feet outside the cave, Malfoy spoke. "Look, Potter... yesterday I got an owl from an old friend of my father and my grandfather. He's someone who's always looked out for me over the years." Malfoy chuckled to himself. "So to speak."

"What do you mean, 'so to speak?'"

"He's blind," explained Malfoy. "But he knows a lot. He became blind in his thirties, victim of a curse from one of his enemies. He more or less withdrew from public life after that, but he's sharp as a tack. He could help us."

Harry was silent, thinking. Exasperated, Malfoy exhaled. "Look, Potter, I wouldn't be telling you this if he was some kind of Dark wizard. Trust me, he isn't. Neither was my grandfather; he was a typical power-hungry Slytherin, but not what you'd call evil. I suspect my father wouldn't have been either, if he hadn't gotten mixed up with the Dark Lord. This man--his name is Blackstone--had a falling out with my father when the Dark Lord came back. I really don't think you're going to have a problem with him."

Harry was somewhat reassured, but not completely. "Is he ethical? Wait, let me rephrase that. Is he what Hermione would consider ethical?"

Malfoy thought, then gave Harry a lopsided grin. "He's what Weasley would consider ethical."

Harry couldn't help but laugh. "That's not very reassuring," he joked.

"I'll tell Weasley you said that."

"I'm sure you will. Now, are you absolutely sure you can trust him?"

"He's my godfather," said Malfoy simply.

"Ah."

Malfoy took out the letter he'd received. "He wants to meet tonight, at the end of the main road in Hogsmeade, near the Three Trees."

Harry thought he knew what Malfoy was talking about, but wasn't sure. "Do you mean, after the road ends, those three large trees..."

With exaggerated patience, Malfoy replied, "Yes, Potter, that's what I meant when I said--"

"I just didn't know they were called that. Now I know. Can we be sure that he won't unknowingly lead you into a trap?"

Malfoy nodded. "I wouldn't think so--he'd be smarter than that--but I can't be certain. That's why I'm talking to you."

"What time do--wait a minute, you said 'tonight.' How are you going to arrange a time?"

"He said the time in his owl. 3 a.m."

"How does he know you'll show up?"

"If I don't, he just goes back home."

"Okay. You have a plan in mind?"

Malfoy nodded. "That book has a spell. You stand a distance away, but you seem to be in another place, like a projection. If they managed to follow him, they'll open fire on me, but hit the projection. If I then take his hand--he extends it willingly, is the exact phrase the book uses--he gets teleported to where I really am. I can save him, and escape whoever's waiting."

"Sounds good. But that book is called, something like, Darkest Magics. Is that such a Dark spell? It doesn't sound like it."

Malfoy tilted his head in a shrug. "Well, a lot of them are darker than this. But, you know, they want to sell books, even 200 years ago. Haven't you ever heard of a book that exaggerated a bit on the cover?"

* * * * *

Back inside the cave, Harry talked with the others about his next operation, a solo one. "I'm going to have a chat with Snape."

This was greeted with general surprise. "Why?" asked Ron.

"Just to let him know, since he didn't seem to get it the first time, that torture isn't going to be tolerated."

"Is he going to follow that order, just because it came from you?" asked Kingsley dubiously.

"He'd better," said Harry. "I can keep picking off their DADA teachers if he doesn't. I'd rather not, because it'll just increase the pressure on the students, especially anyone seen as anti-what's-his-name. He cuts out the torture, I'll leave Hogwarts alone. But no one is going to suffer what Seamus did, that's for sure."

"What's the risk factor?" asked Kingsley.

"Almost zero," replied Harry. "I'm not using the Cloak, because I'm not abducting him, just talking to him. I don't even care if he grabs his wand, because I can defend myself. It might take only a few minutes, or if he's feeling talkative, it could be a half hour or more. Don't worry, Malfoy, I'll be on time for your appointment."

"Okay, Harry," said Kingsley, "but just to humor me, I'd like you to set up a two-way Portkey between this cave and the Room of Requirement. Which, come to think of it, wouldn't be a bad thing to have in general, especially once this cave is fully under the Fidelius Charm. Anyway, would you do that?"

"I'd be happy to humor you," joked Harry. A minute later, it was done.

"Harry," asked Ron, "are you 100% sure that this Snape is on our side?"

He saw from glancing around that others were equally unsure. "Obviously I can't say it's 100%, but I'd be really surprised if it wasn't the case. The important aspects of the situation from his point of view haven't changed. So, he should still be on our side."

"What are these 'important aspects'?" asked Malfoy.

"Sorry, but I'm not going to tell that to anyone in this dimension unless it's absolutely necessary. Not for operational reasons, but for privacy reasons. He told me, or showed me, as he died on the other side; it was extremely personal. It wouldn't be right to just spread that information over here."

Lupin spoke up. "I myself don't know the reason, but I do know that Professor Dumbledore trusted Snape. That's good enough for me."

"Okay, be back soon," said Harry. He touched his wand, and Disapparated.

Having already gotten the location of Snape's quarters from the Room of Requirement, he knew where it was without ever having been there. Arriving in the bedroom, the first thing he was aware of was a strong electrical-feeling charge, causing all of the muscles in his body to spasm; his wand flew out of his hand, which involuntarily opened. He fell to the ground, found himself leaning on the floor with one hand, and could move no further; it was as if he was paralyzed.

Having been lying in bed, Snape snapped awake, wand already in his hand; he reflexively Summoned Harry's wand away just as it hit the ground. A smug grin came to Snape's face as he sat up. "Potter," he sneered.

* * * * *

Next, Chapter 12, Slytherins and Power: Harry falls into a trap set by Snape, whose powerful hatred of Harry may jeopardize the cause they are both fighting for.

From Chapter 12: "In that case, your analysis is very elementary," Harry couldn't resist needling Snape, even though he knew it was in his best interest not to get Snape any more emotional than he already was. "What are you going to do, kill me?"

Snape spoke slowly and deliberately, with a cold fury. "I advise you not to tempt me."