Harry Potter and the Ring of Reduction

Chapter 19

Snape and Neville

At nine-thirty the next morning, Harry entered Snape's quarters. He found McGonagall in the bedroom, sitting in the chair next to the bed. "How's he doing?"

"No change from yesterday, I'm afraid," said McGonagall. "The only difference is that there is less pain, and more staring off into space. He must be learning not to stray outside the memories."

"That's bad, we have to do something," said Harry.

"I am open to suggestions," offered McGonagall.

Harry sighed, as he didn't have any at the moment. "I'm really not sure what to do. I've done this twice already, with even more intensity than I used with Voldemort. The effects of the Cleansing should be reversed."

"You have done what you have done only when certain memories are summoned," said McGonagall. "Perhaps you need to apply the energy to other areas as well."

He grimaced. "I really don't want to do that. I've thought of that, but the problem is, once I start doing that to any part of his mind I'm not sure Voldemort already affected, there's a risk that I'll do to him what I plan to do to Voldemort. With Voldemort, I'm just going to blanket his entire mind with this, because I have to be sure that the evil has no place to operate from. He won't be the person Tom Riddle used to be, but I can't worry about that. But with Professor Snape, if I apply love so that in some areas he can't feel negative emotions, he wouldn't be a regular person. I don't want to take that risk."

"Understandable," conceded McGonagall. "But we should do something."

"I can check again with the Imperius Charm. It occurred to me, maybe there will be no pain if he leaves the memories, but he doesn't know. I hate to do it to him, but we really should know."

She nodded her assent, and Harry pointed the wand at Snape, then did the Imperius Charm. Again, Snape screamed in pain, and Harry instantly ceased the spell.

He looked at McGonagall in frustration, then had a sudden idea. He walked over to the far side of the bed, near the room's window. "I'm sorry about that, Professor," he said; Snape showed no reaction. "Professor, could you move over to this side?" Still no reaction. Harry reached for Snape's feet, and pulled him to the side of the bed, put Snape's feet on the floor, and moved him up into a sitting position. Snape offered no help, but no resistance, and stayed sitting after Harry let go of him.

As McGonagall looked on in confusion, Harry said, in a voice slightly louder than usual, "Okay, Professor, Minerva and I are going to go now, for a while. Just stay here, it'll be good for you to be facing the window. See you later." He walked to the bedroom door, which Snape's back was to, putting a finger to his lips and taking McGonagall by the arm, guiding her out of the bedroom without closing the door.

They walked to the door to Snape's quarters. Harry opened the door and shut it loudly, but he and McGonagall stayed inside. Again gesturing for McGonagall to stay quiet, Harry crept back to the bedroom door, McGonagall at his side, glancing at him as if wondering whether he had taken leave of his senses. Harry felt he couldn't blame her.

He took a silent step into the bedroom; Snape was still staring into space, in the direction of the window. Mentally crossing his fingers, Harry raised his wand and applied the Imperius Charm again. There was no reaction for a second, and just as Harry was starting to wonder whether he'd done it properly, Snape stood and turned to face them, his expression one of surprise.

Harry smiled broadly and silently exulted. "I knew it! Well, I suspected it, anyway. Professor Snape, how do you feel?"

"I expect that I should be screaming, but I'm not," he said in a tone of wonder. "I feel... very happy, I believe 'blissful' would be the word, though I have never felt it before, so I cannot be sure. It feels... wonderful."

McGonagall turned to Harry. "Does he feel that way because the reversal has been effective, or because he is under the influence of the Imperius Charm?"

"The second," said Harry. "Professor Snape, the reason you're not screaming is that the reversal was effective; you just didn't know it. It was probably effective the first time I did it. You didn't scream because there was pain; you screamed because you thought there would be pain, and because of that, there was. This time, I just took you by surprise. The reversal was effective; there will be no more pain. Do you understand?"

Snape was smiling, truly happy; Harry had only ever seen that expression on the half of Snape that he had been missing. "I am in command of my faculties right now, more than well enough to understand your question. What you mean is, do I accept what you are saying, and the answer is yes."

Harry couldn't help smiling at seeing Snape smile, even though it was under the Charm. "I also meant, will you accept it even after I withdraw the Charm."

Snape looked around the room, as if seeing it for the first time. "I wish you didn't have to withdraw it, but I understand. To answer your question, I believe I will accept it, but I am not sure how I will feel once you withdraw the Charm."

"I understand," said Harry. "I want you to keep in mind that you don't have to hide in the memories anymore, that you can stay in your usual consciousness, that there won't be the pain that you thought there would be. It's important that you stay in your usual consciousness, to get used to it. Do you think you can do that?"

"I'll try," said Snape, still happy.

Harry hated to take that away, but knew he had to. "Okay, I'm going to remove the Charm now. Minerva and I will be right here, if you need anything." He lifted the Charm. Snape let out a sharp cry, and fell onto the bed, looking overwhelmed. "Stay with us, Professor," said Harry urgently. "Don't go back into the memories."

Snape made exclamations of severe discomfort as he wrapped himself into the fetal position on the bed. He gasped and writhed.

Deciding he had to find out what Snape was feeling, Harry cast Legilimens, and looked for Snape's memories of the past minute. After viewing them, he spoke to McGonagall. "It isn't exactly pain, it's hard to put into words. It's like a shock; not an electrical one, but the kind you'd get by jumping into really cold water. But your body gets used to water in a minute; I don't know how long this is going to take. He hasn't had the possibility of feeling these emotions for such a long time, it's like he needs to get used to having that ability again."

McGonagall watched Snape writhe and shiver on the bed; Harry saw the concern on her face. "Is there nothing we can do for him?"

"Yes, there is. Take his hand. Better yet, let him hold you." McGonagall raised an eyebrow at Harry; there was no reaction from Snape. "I just felt what he's feeling, Professor," he said impatiently. "He needs something to hold on to, to focus on. It's an effort for him not to go back to the memories. I'd do it, but I think he'd rather it was you."

She nodded, and sat on the bed. She tentatively reached for him, taking his hand, then giving him a gentle tug. Realizing that she wasn't doing what was necessary and that Snape wasn't going to help, Harry sat on the bed and hauled Snape up by the shoulders into a sitting position. He moved Snape's right arm, draping it around McGonagall's shoulder. She took her cue, moving closer and putting her arms around Snape. "Hold on to her, Professor," said Harry firmly. "Healer's orders."

McGonagall gave him a fleeting look of annoyance, but Snape did hold onto McGonagall more tightly, still saying nothing. Harry cast Legilimens again. "It's helped," he reported. "He's doing what I hoped, he's focusing his attention on holding you. The discomfort isn't any less, he just has something else to focus on now."

McGonagall nodded, and held Snape a little more tightly after he shivered again. They sat in silence; after a minute, she said, "Harry, perhaps you should get Mathilda from St. Mungo's. She could give him something, make him feel it less strongly-"

She cut herself off as Snape shook his head vigorously, startling McGonagall. Harry cast Legilimens again, as it seemed to be the only way to communicate with Snape. After he finished, he said, "He is aware of us, what we're saying, but he's focusing his attention on dealing with this, which he should. He doesn't want Healer Haspberg to do anything partly because of his natural preference not to get outside help for this sort of thing, and partly because he feels that... I think the phrase is, 'the only way out is through,' and making him feel less will just make this take longer, that it should just go how it's going to go. Also, in a way, he welcomes the discomfort, even though it's pretty intense, because of what it represents."

She lifted an eyebrow. "That was a lot of information to get, in a few seconds."

He shrugged. "With Hermione and the phoenixes, I'm getting used to translating feelings into words."

"I would imagine," she agreed. After another silence, she asked, "What made you think of doing that? It seemed like a very odd thing to try."

"Really, I don't know. Maybe it was all the times Albus has talked about how important thoughts are. It just occurred to me that since this is all about what happens in his mind, that sort of idea might be even more important than usual. I thought, what if it did work, and he just doesn't know it? That made me think of doing what I did. I'm just glad it worked."

"I suppose we cannot even begin to guess how long this stage of his recovery will take," she said.

"No, we can't. But at least the hardest part is over; now, it seems more like a matter of when, than if." Easy for me to say, he thought, I'm not the one in intense, long-term discomfort. But he'll get through it. He managed for seventeen years, resisting the impulses of being Cleansed. He can do this.

* * * * *

Shortly after Harry returned to the Burrow, the others decided to take Harry up on his suggestion from the day before, and go to Diagon Alley. They spent three hours, and had lunch; Harry had the hamburger he'd been thinking about since Saturday. They were waved at by a few groups of Hogwarts students, and Harry was briefly approached by a few well-wishers, but for the most part they were left alone.

Back at the Burrow, Harry spent more time relaxing, and tried not to think about the executions. Then he spent the rest of the afternoon finishing up the copy of his Ring of Reduction, and gave it to Pansy. Very appreciative, she thanked him and told him that she and Ron would be trying it out as soon as possible.

The next morning, after breakfast and some relaxing ("I have a very heavy schedule of relaxing," he explained to Hermione when she asked him about his vacation plans), he went to see Snape again. Approaching the door to Snape's quarters, he opened the door with his wand. Sitting in a chair, Snape put down the copy of the Prophet he was reading. "Some people knock," he observed dryly.

"Professor!" exclaimed Harry, walking over to the sofa and sitting. "How are you doing?"

"Adequately, I suppose one could say," replied Snape. "Not well, I would admit. I continued to be in a rather high level of discomfort throughout most of yesterday, though it did ease off slightly in the evening. The headmistress insisted that I take something to help me sleep. When I resisted, she threatened to 'get Healer Haspberg or Healer Potter in here, whichever disturbs you the most.' I reluctantly acquiesced, because I knew she would do it."

"Yes, she would," agreed Harry, grinning. "But she was right, you did need to get some sleep."

"I felt that my body's need for sleep would eventually overpower the discomfort, and that it was best that that happen naturally. She pointed out that nothing about the situation was natural. It did not change my feeling, but I did as she asked anyway. This morning, I felt that the discomfort had eased even more. It is still present, of course, but at the current rate of... healing, I suppose, it may be gone in as soon as two days."

"I hope so, that would be great," Harry enthused.

Snape looked up at the still-grinning Harry, puzzled. "What are you smiling at?"

"You. It's so great to see you like this."

Snape looked even more puzzled. "Like what? I am not laughing, or dancing in the halls. I am not aware that my demeanor is any different than it was."

"Oh, it is," said Harry. "It's in your eyes, the look in your eyes is very different. It used to be that the look in your eyes was... anger, I guess is the best word. Even if you were doing your best to be polite, your eyes showed anger. I always sort of assumed that was your default emotion. Now, that anger isn't there. Sometimes I can see that you're in discomfort, but your eyes are more neutral, just like anybody else's. You could get angry, of course, you're just not that way all the time."

Snape nodded. "I had not thought of it exactly like that, as I have been in too much discomfort to notice. You are correct, of course, and you were correct about my anger. I had plenty to be angry about, but it was either that, or feel nothing. Even with the discomfort I currently feel, it is as though an oppressive weight has been lifted off my shoulders."

He paused, then looked at Harry, his expression serious. "I would like to thank you for what you have done." Harry smiled again, and felt emotion rise up. After a few seconds, taking on a more casual expression, Snape added, "However, I really cannot bring myself to do so. Perhaps some time in the future."

Puzzled just for a second, Harry was silent, then he started laughing, harder and harder. As his laughter died down, Harry could have sworn he saw the right side of Snape's mouth curl upwards just a fraction, but he wasn't sure. "It was not quite that funny," said Snape, sounding amused.

"Considering the situation, it was very funny," said Harry, still smiling. "Not only that, but it was a deliberate joke, I'd guess your first one in a long time that didn't involve anger or some other negative emotion."

"It may have been my first one ever that did not," corrected Snape. "Even before I was Cleansed, I was angry for a very long time. I imagine that the headmaster warned you that obvious changes in my temperament might not be apparent."

"Your other half, I guess I should say, the half you were missing, warned me. I guess the idea is that if you were angry a lot even before this was done, you might not be so different once you were restored."

"I did not know how I would feel, of course. For a very long time, I did not imagine that this was possible. By the time I realized that it might be possible, I was in such an emotional state at my activities having been exposed that I was unable to think rationally. In a way, it is as if this suddenly happened, without any opportunity for preparation." Snape spoke calmly and thoughtfully.

"I can only imagine how hard it's been to adapt to," said Harry.

Snape nodded. "Indeed. But as you sensed yesterday, it is a challenge that I relish."

"Let me ask you something," said Harry. "Suppose you had had a choice, before this happened: you could have had Voldemort dead, and you in your old state for the rest of your life; or the current situation, you as you are now and the Voldemort situation undecided. Which would you have picked?"

Snape gave Harry a penetrating look, one that Harry knew well, except for the current lack of anger in this one. He considered the question, then finally answered. Without anger or sympathy, he said, "You really are quite transparent. You would like... not forgiveness, but to feel less responsible for your mistake on the plane with the Dark Lord. And do not look at me like that; if I say his name, it will be in my own time."

Harry cut in before Snape could continue. "I didn't expect you would just start saying his name. If I reacted, it was because of the other thing you said. I didn't say it because I was trying to feel better about what happened. I really am curious about which is, or would have been, more important to you."

"You did not say it for that reason consciously, but that was a part of it," countered Snape. "A perceptive observer can understand your motivations better than you can, I believe. In any case, I cannot absolve you of guilt for your mistake, you must do that yourself." In response to Harry's mildly surprised expression, Snape said, "I did learn a few things from my vast experience viewing the headmaster's memories, and that was one of them. That is one of the very positive aspects of what has happened: at that time, I knew that I was learning things that could be tremendously useful, if only I could use them. It was as though a person without hands was learning to be a carpenter, from a great master carpenter. I imagine that at some point, I may be able to call upon what I learned from him.

"To answer your question... for a very long time, I had no hope of my condition ever being reversed, so my sole raison d'etre became the Dark Lord's defeat. My obsession was such that had I been given the choice you postulate, I would have chosen the Dark Lord's defeat without giving serious consideration to the alternative. You see, the headmaster told you that I came to him seventeen years ago hoping that the Cleansing could be reversed, but it was not long before I accepted the conclusion that it could not. It was something I could not dare hope for, so I would have had difficulty accepting the premise of such a choice. But had I the same choice to make now, I suspect I would make the selfish choice and opt for the present situation. Feeling what I feel now, it would be very difficult to contemplate returning to what I was, and there is a reasonable likelihood of your defeating the Dark Lord in the natural course of events, as things stand now."

"I will," said Harry. "You can bet on it."

"I doubt any Aurors would bet against you," commented Snape. "And if the look in your eyes is any indication, neither would I."

Harry tried to decide whether that was an observation or a compliment. Maybe it's both, he thought. He said, "Professor, I'd like to ask you a few questions about your condition right now. For example... could you smile if you wanted to?"

"I could smile before, but I take your meaning. I cannot see why not, but I do not plan to make a special effort to do so; if it happens, it must happen spontaneously. Also, old patterns may persist; despite my ability to have any emotion, some may not occur naturally, especially at first. So do not be overly distressed if you do not see me laughing anytime soon, your sparkling wit notwithstanding."

Harry chuckled at Snape's sarcasm, much easier to appreciate with the edge of anger gone. "Don't worry, I would have assumed you'd be far more likely to laugh at my expense than at something I said. After all, that's the way it is with the other five. My next question is, how do you feel about my father?"

Snape's eyebrows rose. "Are you sure you... I see, you are checking to see that my capacity to feel negative emotions is undamaged. I still detest him, both him and Black. I know you feel that he changed in his later years; I never saw any indication that he had, but then, I almost never encountered him after Hogwarts, not that such a determination would have changed the way I felt. More than that, I suspect I should not say."

Harry could believe that, and was just as happy to have Snape stop when he did. He hadn't wanted to ask the question, but felt he should. "By the way, this isn't to check on your condition, but I'm just wondering... why did you go after Neville the way you did?"

Snape's reaction was also familiar to Harry: surprise that Harry would be so dense. "I would have thought you understood this from our previous conversations. It was because he was weak; he made himself a target. In my previous condition, it was second nature to seek out targets for emotional harassment, and his reactions made him a prime candidate. And no, before you ask, I will not be doing that any longer, to him or anyone. It was almost not a conscious choice, but something done by instinct. I would have done it much more, left to my natural inclinations."

"I guess that was the whole point, that you had to fight against. So, you don't think there are any problems, anything strange that was a result of what I did?"

"I am not truly in a position to tell, this soon afterwards. There is still the discomfort, of course, but it is somewhat offset by the... 'euphoria' may be too strong a word, of having been restored to normal. But there is nothing in the nature of what you are asking. If there is, I will inform you if it is something I think you can do anything about."

Harry figured that was as much as he was going to get out of Snape. "Okay," he said, deciding that he couldn't think of anything more to ask Snape, and that he shouldn't hang around unless Snape asked him to. "Would you mind if I dropped in sometimes during the holidays, to see how you're doing?"

Snape shrugged lightly. "It should not be necessary, but since you seem to be taking this 'Healer' business seriously, I will indulge you."

"That's very good of you, I appreciate it," Harry replied humorously. Very happy that Snape was doing so much better, he stood and headed for the door.

As Harry opened it to leave, Snape spoke again. "Oh, and Harry, please tell the headmistress that she need not check on me; I will inform her if I need her assistance."

Harry beamed in pleasure. "I will, Professor. And I promise to knock next time."

Ten minutes later, Harry finished relating some of the story to Hermione, Neville, and Pansy; Ron and Ginny were out flying. "He called you 'Harry?'" asked Hermione, mouth open in surprise.

"I couldn't believe it, either," he said. "He was very casual about it, but obviously he knew what he was doing. When I gave her the message, McGonagall looked a lot like you just did. She said it was a high compliment, and that I shouldn't expect him to do it again."

"I guess that, and the joke about thanking you, were his way or letting you know how much he appreciated what you did," she said, still amazed. "You deserve it, of course, you basically gave him his life back. I guess the rest of us can't be quite as happy as you are, but I am happy for him."

"I'm happy for the students he won't torment in the future," said Neville, pointedly declining to say that he was happy for Snape. Neville had been unimpressed when Harry relayed Snape's answer to the question involving him.

"Neville, he had this unbelievable burden-" started Harry.

"No one pinned him down and made him get Cleansed," retorted Neville. "He chose that."

"Of course, you're right," admitted Harry. "But what he did after that was pretty amazing, more than most people could have done. Obviously it doesn't excuse what he did, but it does explain it."

Neville seemed annoyed, as if being asked to do something he didn't want to do. "Harry, Hermione's told me that you've seen Snape's memories, suffering being tortured, suffering from his condition. So, it's natural that you'd feel sympathy for him. But I haven't seen that, all I've seen of him is him trying to crush my spirit. You can't expect me to suddenly be like, it's so wonderful that he's all right again."

"Neville, I wasn't asking anything of you-"

"It seemed like you were."

"I wasn't. Well, okay, just that you consider what he'd been through when you thought about what he'd done to you. But only because doing that helped me deal with what he'd done to me. Which was quite a bit, as you well know."

Neville grunted in agreement. "From the very first class. 'Fame clearly isn't everything,'" he intoned, imitating Snape's snide tone more than his voice. "He didn't even say anything to me, and I still wished I could drop the class. He could probably sense it, even without me saying anything."

Harry decided to say nothing more to Neville in Snape's defense. No one said anything for a minute, then Neville said, with the air of one making a concession, "Well, I'm glad you're happy, anyway. I'm going upstairs for a bit."

After Neville was gone, Harry gave Hermione an inquiring look. "Well, you know what Snape's put him through," she said.

"Of course I do, but he isn't usually like that," Harry pointed out.

"We had a... not a fight, but kind of a misunderstanding," she explained. "He isn't in as good a mood as usual."

"Well, we all get like that sometimes," agreed Harry. "I guess I shouldn't expect everyone else to be happy just because I am."

Pansy started to speak, but just as she did, Harry felt his hand tingle, and heard Ginny's voice in his head. "I don't believe you!" she said excitedly. "What did you do that for?"

"Oh, good, it came," he said into his hand. "I'll be right there." He excused himself from Hermione and Pansy as Fawkes appeared. He grabbed Fawkes's tail, and the next thing he knew, he was hovering in midair, opposite Ron and Ginny, Ron on his Firebolt, Ginny on Harry's.

Ginny was holding onto a wrapped package, the shape obviously one of a broom. She tore off the wrapping to reveal a Firebolt. "I had a feeling this was what it was. I love it, but why did you do that? You know how I feel about brooms."

"I didn't buy it for you for the same reason I did for him," explained Harry, gesturing to Ron. "With you, it's for a few reasons. One, because we'll be flying together sometimes, hopefully for a long time, and it's better if we have the same kind of broom. Another reason is just that it's nice." Ginny handed the wrapping to Ron, who Vanished it. She exchanged Harry's broom for the new one, and handed Harry his as he talked; Harry mounted it, and hovered on it as Fawkes disappeared.

"The other big reason," continued Harry, "is that I still think there might be an attack on the castle. It's less likely now, because we got part of that artifact, but it could still happen. I decided to buy this before we got the artifact, but I still think it's a good idea. I've been thinking about, if that happens, what do we do about me."

"You mean, who's with you," said Ron. "I was thinking about that myself. It's hard to decide, because you're both the one that needs to be protected at any cost, and our most powerful offensive weapon. It's like if this were a chess game, you'd be both the king and queen."

"I think Pansy would find a joke in there somewhere," said an amused Harry, as Ron nodded. "But yes, that's right. I accept that I need to be protected, but I also have to have maximum maneuverability. I can't have a group of ten people surrounding me, I'd be too easy to catch. Obviously, once they identify me, they'll gang up on me if they can. So what I want is just the two of you with me. You can watch out for me, let me concentrate on whatever I want to do."

"Because we're good enough fliers to stay with you," said Ginny, "and with the Firebolt, I'll be able to keep up with you at top speed."

"Not to mention that if I tried to tell you to go somewhere else, you'd tell me where to go."

"And not very politely, either," she confirmed. "Glad you understand that."

"I have managed to learn a few things, being with you for most of a year. So, that was part of the reason for this. It just seemed like a good idea overall. And it's not your Christmas present. I didn't want it to be this, because I wanted to get it for you anyway, and I know you didn't want one that badly."

"I will enjoy having it, though, that's for sure," said Ginny happily, as she flew in a few circles around Harry and Ron. "Do you want to join us for a while, or go somewhere I can thank you properly?"

Harry chuckled. "First the first thing, then the second."

"Can you imagine if we three were the Chasers?" asked Ron, impressed at the idea. "We could score at will."

Ginny smiled. "Harry can already-"

"Yes, I know, I saw that coming as soon as I said it," interrupted Ron, rolling his eyes. "It's obvious where your mind is. Really, you two can go, I'll be fine."

"We will, I just want to fly a little first, now that I'm out here," said Harry. "C'mon, I'll fly around and try to lose you, you try to stay with me."

"You'll never lose me," Ginny assured him as he flew off, with her and Ron right behind him.

* * * * *

The next day, he and Neville had their usual daylong training with the Aurors; Harry asked to focus on tactics he could use against giants and airborne Death Eaters. They worked on area-effect spells, though Kingsley warned Harry that they wouldn't work on giants. The Aurors taught them how to extend the Lumos spell to work like a flashlight, and to Kingsley's surprise, Harry was quickly able to shine a tight beam of light onto a target at a distance of thirty yards, with more brightness than any of them could do. Kingsley felt that it wouldn't do any actual damage, but would distract and anger a giant, which could be useful. He encouraged Harry to practice the spell, to see if he could increase its strength even more.

The day after that, the Burrow emptied somewhat: it was the day before Christmas, and Hermione and Neville went to Hermione's parents' house to spend the afternoon and evening. Ron and Pansy did the same for Pansy's parents, somewhat more reluctantly. Harry and Ginny hung around for most of the day, Harry leaving only for a short time to talk to Snape in the morning. "He's doing much better," he reported to Ginny on his return. "The discomfort's almost totally gone. Apparently he's been spending most of his time reading, or just sitting there, enjoying the fact that the old state is gone."

Everyone was back for Christmas Day, including Fred, George, Bill, and Charlie. It took over an hour to open all the presents, and as was the case the previous year, Harry had a wonderful time. He spent most of the day talking to Ron and Ginny's brothers about their jobs, and answering their questions about his life ("what we don't read in the Prophet, that is," clarified Bill). Hermione and Neville went to St. Mungo's in the afternoon to visit Neville's parents. Harry, Ron, Pansy, and Ginny offered to come along; Neville thanked them, but preferred that it was just he and Hermione.

While they were gone, Ron asked the others to join him on brooms, including Fred and George. Charlie and Bill came along, curious what they were up to. In the backyard, Ron faced Harry and Ginny. "I was thinking about what we were talking about, with the three of us having Firebolts now. What if we actually did what I mentioned, have the three of us be Chasers? I really think we could crush everyone, and for the first match especially, it would be a hell of a surprise. Ravenclaw wouldn't know what hit them."

"Would we be any good, though?" asked Harry. "After all, Ginny's the only one here with Chaser experience."

"We have flying experience, Harry," said Ron. "It's not that different. Not that being a Chaser is easy," he added hastily, noticing Ginny's indignant look, "but look at what we did the other day. You were doing all kinds of maneuvers to shake us, but we kept with you pretty well. The hardest part of being a Chaser is the coordination while flying, and we can already do that well. Harry and I would just have to practice passing at high speed, and shooting. If we could do that even halfway decently, we could just take the match by the throat. I really think we should think about this."

Harry and Ginny exchanged a grin, amused by Ron's enthusiasm. "I'm game," said Harry, as Ginny nodded.

"Great," enthused Ron. "Fred, George, Charlie, I want you to be opposing Chasers, and Bill, the Keeper."

"But our brooms are nowhere near as good as yours," protested Fred.

"Our opponents' won't be either," said Ron. "It'll be realistic."

"I'm up for the challenge," offered George. "Of course, we may have to use sneaky tactics."

"I'll get our old Beaters' clubs," volunteered Fred, turning toward the house.

"You're going to be Chasers here, not Beaters," pointed out Ron.

"Yes, that's what makes it sneaky," explained George innocently.

"No clubs," said Ron firmly. "I brought a Quaffle, that's all we'll need."

"Well, that's no fun," sulked Fred. "But we still need hoops."

Harry kicked off the ground and flew thirty feet into the air. He then conjured three hoops, setting each one in place with a Hover Charm. Flying closer to the ground, he shouted, "Do the positions look all right?"

"They look fine," Bill shouted back. "How did you do that?"

Harry didn't see why conjuring a few hoops should be so difficult. "We've learned not to ask him that question, he can never explain it," said Ron. "Ready?"

They all flew up into the air, except for Pansy, who stayed on the ground and watched. Since Ginny was the only one with real experience as a Chaser, they were roughly equally matched in terms of skill. Harry would have preferred that they had some practice passing the Quaffle unimpeded, but he knew that the other Weasleys weren't usually available, so it was better to use this opportunity. While not a Chaser, Harry knew the standard attack formations, and was able to execute them well.

At the end of an hour, Fred and George pronounced themselves impressed. "You may not have experience, but I've seen worse Chasers than you and Harry," said George to an obviously pleased Ron. "With those brooms and a little more practice, you'll be unbeatable. The only way anybody would have a chance would be if they got the Snitch in the first five minutes. So, if you do this, who's going to be the Seeker and the Keeper?"

"If we got out to a big lead, like three hundred points, I'd send us back to our original positions," said Ron. "Until then... Katie, Andrew, and Jack all graduated last year, so we have one Chaser and two Beater openings. When we do tryouts for those, I'll have people try out for every position, even Keeper and Seeker, saying that we're thinking about next year, who could move into the positions when Harry and I graduate. I'll also have Dennis try both positions. When the match starts, I'll have Dennis and the new Chaser change positions with Harry and I. We won't practice this at Hogwarts, won't even tell our team until just before the match."

Bill smiled. "Got it all worked out, I see."

"Tell you what," added Charlie. "We'll all be back here on New Year's Day, and so will these two, with Diagon Alley closed for the holiday. You three practice this week, we'll do this again then, see how much better you are."

"Now, that sounds like a good holiday project to me," said Ron enthusiastically. Harry and Ginny nodded in agreement. It wasn't quite so important to Harry that they be certain to win at Quidditch, but he liked the idea of spending time with Ron and Ginny, doing something he enjoyed so much.

* * * * *

The next night, to Harry's surprise, they were joined for dinner by Kingsley, Cassandra, and McGonagall. He wondered whose idea it had been to invite them, but didn't want to ask anyone. About halfway through the meal, the subject of the Death Eater executions came up. At least I've made my decision, he thought, I don't have to agonize over it any more.

"They've picked a date," Kingsley was saying. "December thirtieth."

Harry was startled, as was Hermione. "That's only four days!" she exclaimed. "How are they going to have trials for all of them by then?"

"That's easy," said Kingsley. "There aren't going to be any trials."

Hermione's mouth hung open, and Arthur now looked startled. "No trials? I must say, Kingsley, I don't like this. Bad enough that we're killing them, but to not even have trials... whose decision was that?"

"Bright's, actually," said Kingsley. "I know what you mean, Arthur, but it's actually a principled decision, in its own way. I was in the meeting where it was discussed. One of the undersecretaries was saying something about how many trials we'd have to schedule each day. Bright just said, 'No trials.' The other political people just looked at him; the one who was speaking started to say that it would make it look better, as if justice had been done.

"Bright interrupted him, kind of irritated. He said, 'Yes, I was born longer ago than yesterday, I understand that. But as long as I'm Minister, we aren't going to have any trials where there's only one possible verdict.' He asked me if I was confident that everyone we had in custody was either a Death Eater, or guilty of attempted murder in the service of Death Eaters; I said I was. He told the undersecretary that a Legilimens would check each of the prisoners sometime before their execution, that he would be satisfied with that."

"Now, that's not going to be a fun job. Who's he going to get to do it?" asked Arthur; Harry winced internally as he wondered whether Bright intended to do it himself.

"I didn't ask right then, of course," said Kingsley. "But I stayed back after everyone had left, and asked him. He was vague, he just said there was someone he had in mind. I was kind of concerned. I said, 'It isn't anyone I know, is it?' He knew who I meant, of course, since there's only one person that he and I both know is a Legilimens. He said, 'Of course not. If he came in here volunteering to do it, I'd tell him to get lost.' I got the feeling he was disappointed in me for thinking that he might ask."

"I'm sure he knew that you were just looking out for Harry," said Molly.

"He does like me, Kingsley, just so you know," Harry assured him. "I've checked him enough to know that. He wouldn't ask that of me, but I appreciate your making sure."

"Ministers of Magic aren't exactly known for looking out for anyone's best interests but their own," pointed out Kingsley. "I didn't really think he would do that; my impression was also that he liked you, but I was just being careful."

"Well, I do see what you mean about the trials," conceded Arthur. "What he means, rather. I had wondered how that would work; to have real trials would take a long time for so many people, and the whole point of doing this is to get rid of them soon. It is principled, in an odd sort of way. It's as if he's saying, 'let's face up to the fact that we're doing something we shouldn't be proud of.' I can respect that, even if I don't agree with the whole thing."

"There's also the security aspect of it, the executions being so soon," added Kingsley. "Four days is hardly any time for the Death Eaters to gear up for a rescue attempt, and we've got three times the usual number of people watching the prisoners. They aren't going anywhere, but the longer we try to keep up that kind of security, the harder it is."

"Who's going to perform the actual executions?" asked Arthur. Harry realized he hadn't thought about that aspect of it.

"They'll be done by various anonymous people," replied Kingsley. Startled by a sudden thought, Harry unconsciously reached out with Legilimens, then looked at his plate as casually as he could, taking another bite of his food. He wished he hadn't found out what he had, that Kingsley had volunteered for the duty. The flash of memory Harry had seen had also told him that Kingsley hadn't especially wanted to, but had felt it was a kind of duty, as he had approved of the executions, and there weren't that many wizards who could do the Killing Curse.

"Bet there was no shortage of volunteers," commented Ron.

"I believe you would be right about that," said Kingsley. "I don't even know the names, of course, that information is being very closely held. But it wouldn't surprise me at all if some of them were relatives of people the Death Eaters killed."

"It wouldn't surprise me, either," muttered Molly. Arthur gave her a questioning glance; she sighed. "No, I probably wouldn't even if I knew the Killing Curse, but I should. It seems... cowardly to approve of the killings but not be willing to do it myself." Harry understood that this was Kingsley's reason for volunteering.

"I wish you wouldn't put it quite that way," said Ron uncomfortably.

"She didn't mean you, obviously," said Arthur.

"Of course not, dear," added Molly, now looking as though she regretted having said it.

"But I am seventeen," Ron pointed out. "If it applies to everyone, it should to me as well. Of course, I don't think I could actually do it, because of the energy of love. If Harry had never discovered that, though, I might have been able to do it, if I could have got Malfoy in particular. But now, even that idea seems... unappealing."

"I think the energy of love gets you into a certain way of thinking, and then you get used to it," suggested Hermione. "Obviously, approving of something being done and doing it yourself are two very different things." Harry caught Ron giving Pansy a meaningful look, and understood that while Ron found the idea of killing personally to be highly unappealing, he would kill Malfoy himself if that were the only way it could happen.

"It is a very interesting question that Molly raises," said Cassandra. "Should we have to be willing to do this ourselves so that we, in good conscience, can approve it being done on our behalf?"

"It is interesting," agreed Arthur. "On the one hand, we rely on government to do all sorts of things for us so we don't have to, and one of those is to keep order. One could argue that doing morally objectionable things is sometimes necessary to keeping order. On the other hand, if you wouldn't do it yourself because it's wrong, or harmful, how can you condone someone else doing it so you don't have to?"

"I'm curious, Harry, how would Dumbledore have felt about this?" wondered Cassandra.

"That's a pretty easy question, at least, if you've been talking to him almost every night for the past... wow, it's been six months since he died, I hadn't really thought about it like that... anyway, he would have definitely not asked the government to do anything that he felt was wrong, no matter how much it benefited him, or anyone else. He would have felt that that was the right way to be... for him. He wouldn't have said that we shouldn't do that, just that he shouldn't. He wouldn't have made any judgments about what other people should think, what they should feel was right."

Sitting across from him, McGonagall gave him a little smile. "I cannot tell you, Harry, how many times I heard him say that. 'People must make their own judgments, Minerva.' This usually happened, of course, when I was complaining about some judgment someone had made which I felt was wrong." Now smiling a little at her own expense, she added, slightly conspiratorially, "I remember one occasion when he said that, and I wasn't in the mood for it. I was irritated, and I said, 'What if one of my judgments is that other people should not make the judgments they make?' Just as calm as ever, with that smile that was often in his eyes, he said, 'You must, of course, make that judgment yourself.' And then we both laughed."

Harry was laughing himself. "I can just see it. The strange thing is, I don't think it would be that funny if it was anybody but him, I don't know why."

"Yes, I think you're right," agreed McGonagall. "It was typical of his sense of humor, which was gentle, just like him. He was making fun of both of us, in a way." Glancing down the table, Harry noticed that while some others were smiling, only he and McGonagall had laughed. He wondered if perhaps it was only funny if one had spent a certain amount of time around Dumbledore.

After dinner, they all sat around and talked for a while; one group in the kitchen, and one in the living room, as it was a little difficult for eleven people to sit comfortably in the living room. Arthur showed Kingsley and Cassandra the computer, and the wizarding websites; they discussed how ironic it was that while they posed a threat to wizarding secrecy, they had also been a factor in saving dozens, perhaps hundreds, of lives. Had Dudley not been chatting with residents of Hogsmeade at the time, no one would have arrived there until it was too late. Recalling that Dudley's involvement had been mentioned in Hugo's article the next day, Harry wondered whether Petunia had been sent that article, and if so, what her reaction had been.

About an hour after dinner had ended, the people in the kitchen came into the living room, including Neville and Hermione. They walked up to Harry, who was sitting at one end of the sofa, next to Ginny. "Harry, there's something Neville and I would like you to do for us." She looked a little nervous, and was speaking more loudly than usual, as if everyone needed to hear.

"Sure," he replied, baffled at her manner. "What is it?"

Neville answered. "The Joining of Hands."

It took a few seconds for the request to register, then Harry broke into a wide smile. "I'd love to."

Around the room, people were smiling. "Oh, my goodness," squeaked Molly happily. "I'm going to cry, I know I am."

"It's all right, Molly, we don't mind," said a smiling Neville. Turning to Harry, he added, "You did learn it, right?"

As Ron, Ginny, and Pansy laughed, Harry fought the urge to pretend he'd forgotten; he didn't want to make jokes about something like that. "I did, in fact, in the last two weeks of the summer." He had wanted to be ready in case they had decided to have it done on Hermione's seventeenth birthday. "You want to do it right now?"

"Whenever you're ready," Hermione encouraged him. Harry wondered why her parents weren't there, but then remembered a conversation they'd had over the summer, in which Hermione had told him that she didn't plan to have her parents witness her Joining of Hands with Neville, as they would think she was too young, despite being an adult in the wizarding world. She planned to include them in her wedding, which she felt would be more meaningful to them anyway.

He stood at one end of the living room, the computer desk behind him; the sofa was moved toward the wall, so there would be more room for people to stand. As everyone stood behind Neville and Hermione, Harry suddenly realized why those particular dinner guests had been chosen. Cassandra and Kingsley were clearly there at Neville's invitation, and McGonagall, at Hermione's. As if on cue, Crookshanks came bounding down the stairs, and Fawkes and Flora suddenly appeared, perching on the end of the sofa nearest Hermione and Neville.

"Well, now that everyone's here..." said an amused Harry. "I assume you've decided..." He trailed off as, facing each other, they held each other's left hand.

Harry wondered what he should say, then decided he should just say whatever came to his mind, since he hadn't had a chance to prepare. "When Ginny and I did this, in the spring, Albus said it was an honor to do it, since it was the last one he would do, and that it was for Ginny and I. Well, you can imagine how I feel now. This is the first time I've done it, and I get to do it for you two. I'm very, very happy to be able to do this. I'm sure it'll be as much of a joy, and a comfort, for you two as it has been for Ginny and I."

He paused, about to continue, then received an impression from Fawkes; he gasped slightly, trying to keep his composure. "I was just about to say something about the group of people here being small, but Fawkes has just reminded me that this is a larger gathering than... than is apparent to us. Albus is here, of course. And through Albus, then Fawkes, then me, Frank and Alice want it to be known that they're here as well. They said..." Harry paused as he felt a tear roll down his cheek, and he could see that he was far from the only one so affected. Struggling to keep his voice steady, he continued, "They're asking me to thank Neville and Hermione for telling them first, yesterday afternoon. And to say that they couldn't be happier."

Both now crying freely, Neville and Hermione stepped forward and hugged each other, heads on each other's shoulders. Molly, Cassandra, and Harry's friends were all crying as well, even Ron; Kingsley, Arthur, and McGonagall weren't, but seemed to be making serious efforts to avoid doing so. A few more tears escaped Harry, who then smiled as he got another message. "Alice says that if she were here physically, she would be crying, so she appreciates that we're doing it for her."

This was met with laughter, and people stopped crying. As Hermione let go of Neville, Pansy stepped up to her and joked, "I bet you don't have enough tissues for everyone." Hermione laughed, and Molly passed around a box of tissues.

After a few seconds, Harry said, "Okay, I think we're all okay to continue... Neville, Hermione, do you want to..." Neville and Hermione held each other's left hands again, holding them at about shoulder level. Harry took a few seconds to look at both of them, enjoying the love he saw in their eyes. Remembering the instructions in Dumbledore's book, Harry concentrated as he waved his wand over their heads twice, around their hands once, and then very carefully touched the tip of his wand to the sides of both their hands simultaneously. Lowering his wand, Harry simply gestured to them to go ahead and look. They did, and looked as entranced as Harry was sure he and Ginny had. Then they looked at each other, beaming, then stepped forward and kissed each other as the assemblage applauded.

Neville and Hermione turned to Harry; Hermione stepped forward first, and wrapped her arms around him. "I bet Flora and Fawkes loved it," he whispered.

"I bet they did," she said, laughing. "Thank you, so much."

He kissed her on the cheek as he let her go. "Thank you, for asking me." He turned to Neville, who took a step toward Harry and hugged him.

"Thanks for that, and for the message," said Neville with emotion. "Also, thank Albus and Fawkes for me."

"I will," Harry assured him, patting Neville's shoulder as they separated. "And, congratulations."

Ginny hugged Neville, having just finished with Hermione, and then stood next to Harry. They put their arms around each other as they watched Neville and Hermione make their way through the guests, hugging everyone. Ginny leaned into Harry and whispered, "I'm waiting to see what happens when they get to McGonagall."

"You're mean," he whispered back, chuckling.

"Tell me you're not curious too," she responded.

"Well, now I am," he admitted as she laughed. In a few seconds, to Harry's mild surprise, McGonagall hugged both Hermione and Neville. He and Ginny exchanged impressed looks, and they continued enjoying the scene. I don't often get a chance to be this happy, he thought. May as well make the most of it.

* * * * *

Winter holiday continued to move along quickly, much too quickly for Harry's taste. There were two Auror training sessions in the second week, and Ron tried to get Harry and Ginny outside on brooms twice a day when Harry wasn't training.

On the afternoon of the thirtieth, Molly and Pansy were out shopping; Harry and Ginny suddenly appeared in the living room, holding each other and Fawkes. Sitting on the sofa, Hermione and Neville greeted them, and they sat next to each other in chairs.

"I was going to mention this this morning, but I forgot," said Hermione. "You've said that for your Joining of Hands, there's only one... volume for contacting each other, right? Your hand tingles at just one level of intensity? We've discovered that if we focus, the tingling can get more intense."

"Oh, good," said Harry. "I'm glad it worked."

The others were surprised, especially Ginny. "You did that deliberately?"

Harry nodded. "It was a thought I had when I was reading what Albus wrote about it, that it would be nice to be able to do that, to wake the other person up if you wanted to. When I was doing the spell that night, I added that to the... visualization, I guess you could say. I made it part of what I wanted to do. I wasn't sure whether it would work or not, though."

"You can do that?" asked Ginny, looking at Hermione as well as Harry. "Just change a spell, even a complicated one?"

Harry shrugged. "He can, anyway," said Hermione. "Somehow I don't think I could. I can't even do that dog spell, and he learned it in one minute. I think it's partly because he can't explain how he does it, he just does it. The energy of love does seem to affect him differently than the rest of us."

"I've told you exactly what Albus told me," protested Harry.

"Yes, and it doesn't work," said Hermione, as if Harry were responsible for the fact. "Maybe he knows you're different and that it would work for you, I don't know. But it can't be an energy-of-love thing, because the rest of us can't do it."

"Not that we don't appreciate what you did," put in Neville, with a glance at Hermione. "We think it'll be really helpful."

"Yes, obviously," agreed Hermione. "I wasn't suggesting otherwise. I was just commenting on the other thing."

"You're just unhappy that Harry doesn't show his work in Transfigurations," Neville teased her.

"Well, that too," she admitted. "It's just annoying that I have to know every last detail of how a spell works before I can get it to work, and he can just make them up."

"I wonder if Voldemort can do that..." mused Harry. To the others' surprised expressions, he added, "Well, remember that part of the prophecy, about my being his equal. What if this doesn't have to do with the energy of love, exactly, but just works better with it? What if he has some ability to come up with spells out of the clear blue sky, and I just got this from him?"

"If that's true, I'd say you're using the skill a lot better than him," joked Ginny.

"It's an interesting idea," said Hermione thoughtfully. "There's no way to know, of course, but it makes as much sense as anything else. Maybe you should ask Snape, see if he knows of any unusual ability of Voldemort's. How's he doing, by the way?"

"Pretty well, I just talked to him this morning. There's really not so much to talk about anymore, about his condition, since the discomfort was gone a few days ago. Now, I try to think of things to talk to him about before I go. He can tell I'm doing it, and he's made fun of me for it a couple of times, but not in a mean way, and I don't care anyway. I think he's happy for the company, even if he'd pretend otherwise. I asked him how he felt about the executions, partly out of curiosity, and partly to see how he'd react."

"Like, would he be bloodthirsty, that kind of thing," said Hermione. "I assume he knew that you were doing that, too."

"He always has been pretty observant, so yes. The first thing he said was that they should die by the slowest and most painful method possible. I said that if he didn't want to tell me, he should say so. Then, he smiled-just a tiny one, and quickly, but I'm pretty sure he did. I think it was an, 'at least you're not so stupid that you figured out I was kidding' kind of thing."

Neville spoke as Harry was pausing. "Well, it's nice that you're so pleased that his insults aren't quite as scathing as they used to be."

Harry was surprised not so much at what Neville said, but at the way he said it. Usually when Neville made a comment intended to be humorous, it was said innocently, or with deliberate understatement. Here, Harry felt, there was an edge to Neville's tone, almost hostility. Not even conscious that he was doing so, Harry sighed. He almost started to explain why he was happy, then he realized that this had come up before, and that Neville simply wasn't all right with Harry being happy for Snape. I shouldn't bother trying to convince him of anything, thought Harry, I just have to let him get used to it. "Well, he's doing better, anyway," he said to Hermione as casually as possible, aborting the rest of the story he'd planned to tell. Hoping to avoid an awkward silence, he changed the subject. "I also saw Archibald while I was there. He said that with the executions today, the Ministry was practically shut down; lots of people were put on various kinds of guard duty, and even those that weren't, weren't concentrating much on their work. And, of course, some people are on winter holiday anyway."

Harry stopped talking as the fireplace lit up, and Ron walked out. "I would ask 'how'd it go,' but that doesn't seem very..." He shrugged, at a loss for a word.

Ron nodded. "I know what you mean."

"What?" asked Hermione. "Where were you?"

"They're doing them every ten minutes," Ron explained to Hermione somberly. "Malfoy's was at three-ten. I watched his."

Her eyes went very wide, as did Neville's. Harry and Ginny didn't react, as Ron had told them while practicing Quidditch the day before. "Why?" asked Hermione in disbelief. "It wasn't..."

"No, it wasn't Schaden-whatever," said Ron, seemingly annoyed that she would have thought it, but trying not to show it. "I felt like... like I owed it to Pansy, to see it happen with my own eyes, so I could be sure. They're checking everyone, as an extra precaution, with something Charmed to detect anyone who's used Polyjuice Potion. So, I'm as sure as I can be that it was really him. He's gone, I can tell Pansy that he is, and that's one less thing for her to worry about. Not that she was so worried, while she's here and with us, but you know what I mean. Just the idea."

Harry definitely knew, and thought it was very good of Ron to have done it. "What was it like?" asked Hermione, concerned for Ron.

"Not exactly fun," said Ron. "There's this strange feeling, when you're sitting there, and you know they're going to kill someone. Like it's not quite real. There were seats there for people who wanted to witness it, about fifty. Kingsley said that people were standing in line. Some were relatives of the people they killed. I talked to Kingsley yesterday, and he made sure I got a seat for Malfoy.

"Funny thing is, they didn't Silence them. I'd have thought they would have, but I guess they figured if they're going to kill people, they'll at least let them say whatever they want to say before they die. The condemned people are held in place, but they can move their heads. Malfoy looked out and saw me, and started on this rant, on all this stuff he was going to do to Pansy and I once they got him out. It was amazing, it was like he really believed Death Eaters were going to come bust him out of there at the last second. I think they give the person a minute or so to say whatever they're going to say. So, Malfoy's going on and on, I was wondering when they were going to decide he'd had enough time. He gets to this part where he says Pansy's going to like what he'll do to her. Then he says, 'I bet she never told you this, Weasley, but the day I left Hogwarts, the day I cut her up, she-' It was obvious what he was going to say-"

"Sick bastard," muttered Ginny disgustedly, obviously angry on Ron's behalf, for his having to be reminded.

"Tell me about it," agreed Ron. "But just then, they give the signal to the person doing the Killing Curse, in the next room, shielded so no one can see them. Malfoy sees he's not going to get to say what he was going to say, and gets frantic. He yelled, 'Not yet, not y-'... then the Curse hit him, and he dropped dead. Someone came in and checked him, to confirm it, and they levitated the body out of there."

There was silence for a few seconds, then Ginny said grimly, "No matter how awful a story is, it's always good when it has a happy ending."

Harry fought back an urge to glance at her reproachfully. Malfoy had tortured her too, Harry remembered well. He looked down, and she glanced over at him. "No comment about that?" she asked, in a tone that seemed both a challenge and an admission that she shouldn't have said it.

He shook his head. "Just because Schadenfreude is a bad idea in principle doesn't mean that it isn't sometimes... extremely understandable. You're more than entitled, any of us would be. I can't say I'm not glad he's gone."

"When's the last one?" asked Neville.

"Four-thirty," said Ron. "They started at eight."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "I didn't know they had that many. That's... every ten minutes..."

"Forty-six," said Ron. "An hour break at lunch. They also did the Muggles who attacked Hogsmeade."

Hermione was astonished. "They didn't just give them back to the Muggle authorities?"

"I think the idea was, they killed wizards," said Ron.

"Yes, but the reason for us killing them isn't valid, like it is with the Death Eaters," argued Hermione. "They would have just been sent back to Muggle prison, they were no particular threat. We killed the Death Eaters because they might have escaped and killed more wizards, but that wasn't the case with the Muggles."

Ron shrugged, tilting his head to one side. "That's true. I'd bet anything it was done because the relatives of the Hogsmeade dead wanted it. We only caught one of the Death Eaters actually responsible, and those people did fire the weapons."

Very unhappy, Hermione looked at Harry. "This is the slippery slope, Harry. It's a textbook example, it's exactly what Albus used to say. You do the first thing, and that makes it easier to do the second..."

"I know," he said. "I'll talk to Bright. Not that it'll do any good now, since this is done, but maybe I can... I don't know, get him to think about it, to make sure this doesn't go any further."

"Yes, he's a politician, so I'm sure he can be persuaded to do the right thing," said Neville; Harry imagined that Neville meant for the sarcasm to be less obvious than it was. Hermione looked at him sharply, and Ron and Ginny had mild looks of surprise.

Is this about the Snape thing, or is he just in a mood, Harry wondered. Trying to keep any emotion out of his voice, he said, "Stranger things have happened." He then turned to Ron and Ginny. "How about some practice?"

Ron nodded. "I was going to suggest it when I got home, actually." They all Summoned their brooms as they turned and walked to the door. As Harry walked out the door, without turning, he sent to Hermione: Please don't ask me about Snape anymore when Neville's around.

* * * * *

Two hours later, Bright's secretary gestured Harry into Bright's office. Foregoing the handshake, Bright gestured Harry to a chair. "You should be honored, Harry," said Bright wearily and, Harry assumed, mocking the pomposity of his office. "I've had a long day, and there aren't many people I'd see right now. But I know what you're here to say. I do deserve it, though I thought you might give me a day." Bright sank into the chair next to Harry. He really looks tired, Harry thought.

"Were you the one who went over them with Legilimens?" he asked.

Bright didn't react, though Harry sensed he was surprised. "That wasn't the first thing I thought was going to come out of your mouth. Yes, it was me. I did all of them, including the Muggles, two days ago."

"And this was just before it was suggested to you that the Muggles be executed too," guessed Harry.

Now Bright did raise an eyebrow. "For someone who supposedly doesn't think much, you can be pretty quick."

"On the other hand, I never stopped to think that you might have had a hard day," Harry admitted.

Bright nodded; every gesture he made reminded Harry that Bright was emotionally tired or physically tired, probably both. "You heard about the Muggles, got on your horse, and came over. Again, not that I blame you. I didn't listen to my conscience, so I get to listen to you. It seems fair."

Harry was surprised that Bright would put it that way. "If you can ignore your conscience, you could certainly ignore me."

Bright chuckled humorlessly. "My conscience hasn't performed numerous acts of extraordinary bravery. That's probably why I don't listen to it." Turning serious, he said, "This isn't intended as a defense, or an excuse... but two days ago, I spent hours going over the minds of people who've committed the most depraved, horrible acts. I saw Malfoy doing what he did to Pansy, torturing Ginny... I saw Lestrange, she and the others torturing Neville's parents, killing Sirius Black and taunting you about it... I saw the same or, if you can believe it, worse, in the memories of every Death Eater. And the Muggles were no saints either, believe me. All taken from high-security prisons, all had killed before, many multiple times. Whoever took them clearly had checked them with Legilimency to make sure they would kill without remorse or hesitation.

"I know that doesn't make our killing them right. But at the end of the day I'd spent doing that, I received a highly emotional appeal from the relatives of the Hogsmeade dead. I should have put them off, told them I'd sleep on it. But I knew without a doubt that the world would be better off without them, that is, the Muggles who attacked Hogsmeade. So, I said yes. Again, the politics of it were obvious, but this time, I would like you to believe that political expediency had nothing to do with my decision."

Harry decided not to apologize for the fact that he was checking Bright. "I sense that you'd like to believe it, too."

Again, a mirthless chuckle. "Yes, that is a problem in a situation where there are two reasons to do something, and one is political expediency: it's hard to be sure that the politics had nothing to do with it. But, still... the timing was amazing, they caught me at just the right time for their argument to be most effective. Once I made the commitment, that was that, I couldn't go back on it. I know what you're going to say, and it's all true. It's just... I shouldn't smile, the whole situation's so grim, but sometimes you just can't help it. I was just recalling that I told you last week that I was very good at separating my personal feelings from my political actions. It seems ironic that on one of the rare occasions that I let my feelings decide for me, it's in the direction of doing the morally questionable thing, rather than the morally right thing. That just seems like a real indication that I'm not cut out for 'doing the right thing.'" Bright paused, then added with a shrug, "So, that's it. I don't know what more I can tell you."

Harry felt his frustration with Bright dissipating. "Albus always told me to try to look at things from the other person's point of view. Doing that here... you say your conscience hasn't performed acts of bravery, but I'm not so sure. I assume it was what made you decide to do the Legilimency yourself. That's pretty brave, as far as I'm concerned."

"Thank you, Harry," said Bright earnestly. "That means a lot, coming from you. Of course, it's something I didn't truly appreciate until I actually did it. Reading about something in the paper, or a report, is one thing; seeing it in someone's memory is really another. I mean, honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if I had nightmares. And it makes me wonder about human nature, that people can be like that. Madeline... she's been occasionally frustrated with me that I would do such a thing, and mostly, doing anything she can to help, to be supportive. And even though you came here to give me a hard time about what I did, it's good to be able to talk to you about it, too. You're one of the few people I can tell, since it involves my Legilimency. While what I saw was impressive in its sickening volume, you've actually been in situations like this, as well as seen them. You know what this is about."

Harry nodded grimly. "You just get through it as best you can, and have the emotional breakdowns later. At least in my case, I've always had my friends to help get me through it. Funny, how Voldemort has no idea of that at all, that I have this enormous source of strength that he can't begin to imagine, even though it's very simple, in a way. No wonder love burns away at him."

"That reminds me, I was going to ask how Professor Snape is doing."

"Very well, now. We weren't sure at first, but he's really coming along. It's hard for me to say he's back to his old self, since I never knew his old self. But at least he says he's capable of feeling any emotion. I haven't really seen him actually appear happy; Professor McGonagall thinks it may be because it's happened so little in his life overall, it's not something that comes naturally to him. It just may take some time. But he's not angry all the time anymore, which is a huge improvement."

"You must be proud," observed Bright.

"I suppose I am," Harry admitted. "In a way, I'm just as happy that he got blown as a spy, so this could happen. You have no idea, Rudolphus, how hard it was for him, all those years. I've seen some of his memories, and I can barely believe it. It's amazing that he managed."

"I'm glad he's doing so well, both for you and for him. But... I really wouldn't mind getting home. It's been a long day, and I haven't had nearly enough sleep over the past two nights, a fact of which I've been reminded by at least a dozen people today. But I did sort of derail you from why you came here, so if there's anything you want to say that you haven't, go ahead."

Harry shook his head. "Just that... Hermione said this was a perfect example of the slippery slope, but I assume you know that."

"I do. I hadn't thought of it quite that way, but she's absolutely right."

"Well, it'll make her feel better to know this isn't a deliberate policy, anyway. It's interesting, I can't tell the other five the reason you did it, because it involves your Legilimency-"

"You can tell them," said Bright evenly.

Harry was amazed, as he knew how important it was to Bright that the information not get out. "Are you sure?"

"Harry... pretty much everything important that happened with Malfoy and Lestrange that involves you and the others, I saw. Better than before, I know what they've been through, what they've done. Really, it's all right. If I can know something like what Lestrange did to Neville, they can know this."

That made sense to Harry. "I'll make sure they know not to tell anyone. If there's one thing I know, it's that they can keep a secret."

Bright stood. "I know. And Harry, how's Neville doing? Did he get back from what happened last summer all right?"

Harry suddenly wondered if that had anything to do with how Neville was currently being about the Snape situation. "Yes, thanks. He had a hard summer, but he's okay now."

"Good," said Bright. Harry thanked him for his time, and left.

* * * * *

Two days later, the first day of the new year, Harry flew through the air on his broom on a cold, clear, winter day. He caught the Quaffle passed to him by Ron, then tucked it into his stomach to foil Charlie's attempted steal. Taking his Firebolt to full acceleration, he shot ahead towards the hoops. Approaching the far left hoop, he heard Ginny's voice in his head. "Eight," she said, as he entered the scoring area. Harry faked a shot on the left hoop, then in the same motion, not turning to look, he threw the Quaffle behind him and to his right. He flew down into a 180-degree turn, righting himself as soon as he got out of the scoring area. He looked up just in time to see Ginny throw the Quaffle through the right hoop.

"All right, let's take a break," shouted Charlie, and they all set down. Charlie regarded Harry, Ginny, and Ron with a mix of admiration and suspicion. "As a practice, what's going on here is fine. As a competitive match, it's a farce. Harry, I really want to know how you're doing that. You've made a dozen blind passes to Ginny, and every one has been exactly on target, or very close. Did you put some spell on yourself to give yourself eyes in the back of your head?"

"No, but that's not a bad idea. Hermione, maybe you could research that." Hermione and Neville had, to Harry's surprise, joined Pansy to watch. "This is all Ron's idea. You know, of course, that the hard part of one Chaser bearing down to score and then passing off to another is that you have to turn and look to see who's where, and who's open. With the Firebolts, we can be pretty sure that we'll be open. As for location... Ron's divided the playing area into nine sections, or lanes; three left, three center, and three right. Ginny flies about five seconds behind me, in a specific lane, and tells me on her hand which lane she's in. If I have an easy shot, I'll take it; if not, I'll pass off to her, without having to slow down or turn to look. As Bill's noticed, the Keeper has to respond to my fake, and by the time he's finished reacting, Ginny's in the scoring area, and has a clear shot. We've been working on this all week."

Fred and George exchanged a grin. "Using the Joining of Hands to advantage in Quidditch," said George, clearly impressed. "I like it."

"Very devious," agreed Fred. "We're very proud of you, Ron, for having thought of it." Ron rolled his eyes, but Harry could tell he was pleased.

"Is it legal?" wondered Bill.

"I checked the rules," said Ron. "There's nothing that says you can't do this."

"Amazing," chuckled Charlie. "I really am impressed, Ron. It makes me want to visit Hogwarts on the day of the first match and watch. It should be something to see. I don't think they could stop you even if they knew what you were going to do. They're just going to be spectators, their Chasers, anyway."

"And what makes it worse is that their Keeper graduated last year, so they'll have a new one," said Ginny sympathetically. "I feel sorry for him, or her. First match... it won't even be funny."

"Believe me, I know what that's like," said Ron. "But that's the way it is in sports."

"Good attitude, Ron," said George approvingly. "No mercy. Heaven knows we never had any. And Harry, that was some nifty passing, for a beginner. Why only you to her, though, not her to you?"

Ron answered. "It's because Harry has the stronger passing arm. Ginny's also a slightly better shot, but Harry's getting better. It could go either way, I just picked this way, to focus on for practice. Besides working on the passing, the main problem has been the timing; Harry has to get out of the scoring area before Ginny enters it. But I think they've got that down okay, now."

Charlie shook his head in wonder. "I definitely have to see this. Fred, George, can you think of any ways to stop them?"

"You mean, that don't involve mayhem?" asked Fred.

"Ideally," replied Charlie.

Fred and George exchanged a look, then shook their heads as one. "There's just nothing we can do," concluded Fred. "Even double-teaming wouldn't help, since they can just fly faster. What we should do now is let the three of them practice defense. The brooms will allow for more chances for stealing the Quaffle, not to mention intercepting passes. The Gryffindor Keeper won't be experienced either, so Ravenclaw's only hope will be to score often enough to keep it close enough to allow time for their Seeker to get the Snitch. So, let's see how you do."

They practiced defense for a half hour, after which Charlie predicted that that Gryffindor would take at least twice as many shots on goal as Ravenclaw. As they headed back to the house, Harry and Ginny's arms around each other, Harry thought about how strange it would be to practice as a Seeker for the next month, knowing he wouldn't be playing the position.

* * * * *

The end of another vacation, thought Harry, as he carried his trunk downstairs. It went by too fast, especially when things went well, which they had after a rocky beginning. He thought about how, this year, he would often think in terms of things being the last time, during his student years at Hogwarts. His last ride in to Hogwarts on the Hogwarts Express, his last Halloween feast, his last Christmas vacation... and soon, his last Quidditch match. Okay, he thought, not until June, but it's still too soon.

He sat at one end of the sofa, next to Ron. Ron looked up in mild surprise, and asked, "What are you going to do if Ginny comes down?" referring to the fact that Ginny wouldn't be able to sit next to him.

Remembering what had happened before they left for Hogwarts at the beginning of the year, Harry casually said, "Oh, she can sit on my lap."

Hermione and Pansy laughed. Ron looked around nervously-Harry assumed it was mostly for Pansy and Hermione's amusement-then moved over to the other end of the sofa. Laughing again, Pansy said to Harry, "She might sit on your lap anyway, of course." She then got up, walked to the sofa, and sat in Ron's lap.

Now Harry and Hermione laughed, as Ron tried not to look discomfited. "Well, now that it's my lap that's getting sat on, it seems all right to me."

"Amazing what a change of perspective can do," said a smiling Pansy, who then leaned in and kissed Ron.

Harry and Hermione exchanged a smile as Ginny came down the stairs and into the living room. "Everything's as usual down here, I see," she said, grinning. "Ron, you're so shameless."

Harry and Hermione laughed again. Ron broke off from the kiss to say, "I'm not going to dignify that with a mmf-" Pansy kissed him again, cutting off his response.

"Apparently not," said Hermione, amused. She looked at Harry, and Harry got an impression of Neville upstairs, wanting to talk to him. Included in the impression was the idea that he had told her on his hand.

Harry wondered why she hadn't said it verbally, then guessed that it was something Neville didn't want people asking about. He kissed Ginny, got up, and went upstairs. Neville was in the boys' bedroom, sitting on his bed, packed trunk next to him. Harry sat on Ron's bed, opposite Neville. "I was just thinking, after I asked Hermione to have you come up here, that if for some strange reason I needed to get a message to Ginny without the pendants, I could... through four intermediaries."

"True," said Harry. "It could get garbled in the phoenix translation, though."

"You and Hermione seem to do okay with that," observed Neville. Harry nodded, but said nothing, wondering where Neville was going with this. "It's interesting, she's told me that there can be difficulties when you're trying to get across standard human ideas, communicate facts... but when the subject is feelings, there's never any doubt, and some things can be communicated that would be very hard to do with words. I admit, sometimes I envy you that. Don't worry, that isn't what I wanted to talk to you about, I'm just thinking out loud. It doesn't bother me like it does Ginny."

"I assume she's talked to you about it," guessed Harry.

"Of course, I was the first one she did. Then after that thing the day you found out about Blaise, we had a long talk about it." Harry understood that Neville would be the natural person for Ginny to talk to about her feelings, since he was in the exact same position that she was. "I think I helped her a bit, she said I did, anyway."

"I'm glad," said Harry sincerely.

"I know. You didn't ask for this, and it would be ridiculous to ask you not to use it. If you can help each other with it, then you should. And thinking about that reminds me... she told me what you sent her the other day."

"I didn't mean for it to be insulting," said Harry, unable to tell from Neville's manner whether he was offended.

"She told me that," said Neville. "She spent a few minutes trying to describe your mood; she said that you were mainly frustrated. That you could understand why I'd have a problem with it, but that you felt I was taking it out on you for something that wasn't your fault. Also, that I was raining on your parade a bit; here you'd done something incredible, difficult, and stressful, it came out well, but you couldn't enjoy it if I was around."

"She could tell all that from what I sent her?" asked Harry, surprised. "I hadn't even thought about my mood in that much detail."

"She can tell your mood from anything you send her. Didn't you know that?" Harry shook his head. "You should mention it to her, I think she thinks you can do the same with her. She says your mood is in the background, at least, of everything you send, the phoenixes send it along.

"Anyway... the reason I asked her to send you up is that I wanted to apologize for how I've been with you recently. You don't deserve it; you did deserve a holiday as relaxing as possible, especially after that teachers' meeting, and the business with the executions. Instead, you have to listen to me being snotty with you. I'm sorry about that. I... obviously still have lots of issues with Snape, but I'll try not to put them onto you."

"I appreciate it, Neville. I know this isn't easy, it was hard for me to get past this kind of thing when I started changing how I dealt with him. But, you know, the irony is-and I'm not trying to defend him-that in a way, the person you have issues with doesn't exist anymore. The only connection he has with that is that the whole person chose to be Cleansed, and so much has happened since then, he's a very different person than he was before he was Cleansed."

"I know that, in a way... but in a way, it doesn't make a difference. I don't think this is something you can just decide like that. He harassed me so badly all that time, I don't think I can change the way I think about him until I see it for myself, and that doesn't seem likely, since I'm not taking his class. I'll just graduate, become an Auror, and never have to deal with him again."

"There might be Hogwarts staff social events," pointed out Harry. "Your wife will be his co-worker, there'll still be some contact."

Neville smiled. "I just realized, I think that's the first time anyone's ever used the words 'your wife' when talking to me. I like the sound of it. But I suppose you're right, I hadn't thought of that. Oh, well, it was a nice thought while it lasted."

Harry almost said, 'Give him a chance, he might not be so bad now.' At the last second he changed his mind, realizing that Neville had to deal with the situation in his own way, and the best thing Harry could do was stay out of it. He just nodded. "So, ready to head back to school?"

"I guess so," said Neville, tapping his trunk to lighten it, then picking it up as he stood. "It'll be nice to have the Joining to be able to use, for talking from bed. I'm always too self-conscious to use the pendants for that, because of the volume you have to talk at. Do you still talk to Ginny before you go to sleep?"

"For at least ten minutes or so, it depends on how much we've talked during the day. It's very nice, but we're still really looking forward to being able to sleep in the same bed."

"So are we. I feel kind of bad for you, you have to wait a year longer."

"Ginny jokes about dropping out as soon as she reaches seventeen," said Harry, as they started down the stairs. He knew she wouldn't, of course, but the idea definitely sounded good.

* * * * *

The next day, Harry was back at Hogwarts, which was the same as ever. The main difference was that Quidditch practice could start in earnest, and the Slytherin second years wasted no time getting out to the pitch in the afternoon, Harry was told later by Ron. Harry knew that Ron was itching to get out to the pitch, but the Gryffindor tryouts wouldn't be held until Wednesday afternoon.

In the staff room after lunch, Harry kept a close eye on Snape to see if he would behave any differently; to his disappointment, Snape was as quiet as usual. The only difference was that the anger was gone from Snape's eyes, and Harry doubted the teachers would notice that. Snape rewarded one of Harry's glances with a sardonic expression, silently needling Harry for hoping for or expecting what he did. Harry gave Snape a tiny shrug in response, and tried not to look at him again. Soon afterwards, as Hermione walked with him to Charms, she said, "I'd guess that he's specifically trying not to let a difference be seen; it'll be a big enough difference that he's not being totally nasty with people most of the time. I think he wants to avoid questions about why his character suddenly changed. If it's more gradual, people won't wonder so much." Harry could understand that, but he still wished Snape would be his natural self, whatever that was at the moment. Then Harry thought, I guess his natural self doesn't want this to be noticed.

After his sixth-year Defense Against the Dark Arts class finished at four-fifty, a Hufflepuff girl named Cindy Barton approached him as the other students left. "Professor, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure," said Harry. "Let's go into my office." He looked up and saw Ginny leaving the classroom, looking at her hand. In a second, he heard Ginny in his head, telling him that she'd be in Gryffindor Tower.

He closed the door behind them and took his seat, gesturing Cindy to hers. "Was Ginny just talking to you?" she asked.

Surprised, Harry nodded. "How did you know?"

"You nodded a little as you walked in here. I felt a little bad for asking, because I know you usually go to the couples' places with her after this class," she said with a shy smile. "It's just hard to find another time to talk to you."

"No, now is fine," he assured her, slightly surprised to find himself not embarrassed at her mention of the couples' places, and by that time, not especially surprised to find that many people knew that. "We weren't going to go today anyway, since we just had two weeks to be alone if we wanted to. So, what can I do for you?"

Her expression dampened as she focused on the reason she was there. "It's about my mother. Well, my parents, but especially my mother. They went to that parents' meeting; and they hadn't known you were teaching combat flying. They told me they don't want me joining the ones who go out to fight if the castle is attacked."

"That's fine, obviously," he said. "I said at the meeting that I didn't think everyone would. If anyone doesn't want to, they shouldn't."

"Well, I want to," she clarified, unhappily. "My mother just doesn't want me to, and she says she can tell me not to, since I'm not seventeen. She also doesn't want me even taking part in the flying part of the lessons," she continued, now indignant. "She wants me to just tell you I'm not joining that part of the lesson, and if you have a problem with it, you could talk to her. My Dad doesn't agree, he thinks it can't hurt for me to be trained in that. My Mum is afraid that if I know how, then I'll go and do it anyway, even though she told me not to."

"Will you?" he asked, ready to check her answer.

She answered honestly. "I don't know. I'm tempted, I'd really like to. I think most of the sixth years intend to go, some, even though their parents told them not to. But I'm their only child, and I know that anyone who goes could get killed. So, I'm afraid of what that would do to them, if that happened."

"You really shouldn't go, then," he urged her.

"But my birthday's in April!" she protested. "I'm so close to seventeen, it's stupid that I can't make my own decision because of a few months. I'm not going to feel any differently then."

Remembering something Dumbledore had once said, Harry repeated it as best he could. "If we don't agree with a law, then we shouldn't follow it, if we're ready to accept the consequences. But if we agree that a law makes sense, then we should follow it, even if we don't like it right then. There's a good reason why children aren't allowed to make decisions like this. They just had to pick an age, and seventeen is the one they picked. Do you think the first years should be allowed to go out and fight?"

"Of course not, but this is different... okay, I see your point," she reluctantly admitted. "If the age is sixteen, then fifteen-year-olds would say, why not us, and it would keep going down. I really don't like it, though."

"I know," he said sympathetically. "But you're right, we do have to think about the effect it has on the people we love. I mean, Ginny suffers a lot every time I get involved in something, and a few times it's been by my own choice-"

"But she signed that scroll," said Cindy. "I did, most of us did. She knew what she was getting into."

"Yes, she did. But that doesn't make it easier when it happens. There have been times when I haven't thought about that as much as I should. Obviously you've thought about it a bit, which is good. I guess I would say, really try to put yourself in their position. Imagine what the rest of their life will be like if something happened to you."

"But your parents fought Voldemort, they were killed, and that affected you a lot. I read that article..." Harry tried not to roll his eyes, but she could obviously read his expression. "... and I know you said it wasn't right, but I know it wasn't that wrong, either. I've heard things. But even if your childhood was good, you know what I'm trying to say."

"I know, and you're right. It took a lot away from my life." He looked at her intently. "Cindy, this is the hardest thing about this kind of situation, deciding whether to fight or not. I fight, and a lot of my friends do, but I've seen a lot of death. I know what can happen, and I wouldn't blame anyone who didn't want to fight, or didn't want their children to."

"But if nobody fought, then Voldemort would win," she pointed out.

"Yes, he would. That's why it's such a hard decision. Professor Dumbledore once told me that the... collective intent of a community, I think is what he said, is what ends up deciding situations like this. Each person's decision adds up, and the more people decide to fight, the better off we are. But each person's decision to fight is a terrible risk. Professor Dentus decided to fight, and lost his wife, who he should have had many more years with. Who am I to tell someone they should risk that? People have to make that kind of decision for themselves." He chuckled inwardly, thinking that Dumbledore would be pleased that he'd said that. "Or, they have to make it for their children, if their children aren't seventeen."

"But you've said, we have to fight. That was the whole point of your getting people to say Voldemort's name."

"That's a good point," he admitted. "I guess it's that I was saying, the community has to fight him. I felt okay about saying that, because it was obviously true, but I somehow feel differently about telling any specific person, you should fight. I don't think I've ever done that."

Harry could see the concern in her eyes. "Maybe because if you did and they got killed, you'd feel responsible."

He nodded slightly; he had never thought of it that way before, but it sounded right. He doubted that was the only reason, however. As he was opening his mouth to answer, his pendant vibrated. He reacted with surprise; Snape hadn't used that to call him since their sessions had ended. "Professor?"

"I would like Messrs. Weasley and Longbottom, and yourself, to meet me in the Potions classroom, as soon as possible," said Snape. Cindy's eyes went wide at hearing Snape's voice.

"I'm kind of in the middle of something, Professor."

Harry could almost hear Snape stifle a sigh. "And how long do you and Miss Weasley plan to be?"

Cindy giggled, then covered her mouth in embarrassment. "If you must know, Professor, I'm in my office, talking to a student in my capacity as a teacher. But don't feel bad, that's what she thought I'd be doing too," he added dryly.

"I see," said an obviously discomfited Snape. "At... at your earliest convenience, then." The line went dead.

Eyebrows high, Cindy pointed at the pendant and mouthed something. "It's okay, he can't hear us anymore," he assured her.

"He was embarrassed!" she exclaimed. "I can't believe it! A few of the fourth years were saying in the common room that he seemed different, like, not nasty, like he usually is. That's so strange!"

Harry nodded, and hoped not to be asked a direct question about it. "So, getting back to what we were talking about... are you going to stop coming to that part of the classes?"

"No," she said. "Who knows, maybe my mother will change her mind. Or, maybe the attack will happen after my birthday. Anyway, I want to learn this."

Harry wasn't about to tell her she had to leave a class if she didn't want to. "Okay, good. I really should go, though."

She nodded. "That's okay, I think I said everything I wanted anyway." As they stood, she said, "You said we could do this anytime. It isn't for class, though, but just because I want to." She stepped closer and hugged him. "Thanks for... everything you said."

"No problem," he said. As she left his office, he wondered what in the world Snape could want.

"What do you think he wants?" asked Ron ten minutes later, as the three of them approached the Potions dungeon.

With a glance at Neville, Harry responded, "Like I told Neville when he accused me of making the worst joke of my life, I don't know."

Neville grunted. "Now I just wish it had been the worst joke of your life."

They entered the dungeon; Snape emerged from his office at the other end of the room. "Please sit down," he said politely, and they did; he took a seat facing the three of them. "It is my understanding that you, Mr. Longbottom and Mr. Weasley, wish to become Aurors. I am sure you are aware that one cannot do so without a Potions N.E.W.T., or the equivalent. My purpose in asking you here is to offer you private tutoring, with the goal of your learning enough to achieve a N.E.W.T. by the end of the school year."

Harry wasn't sure which of the three of them looked most surprised, but then guessed it had to be Neville. Ron was the first to speak, managing to ask, "Why?"

"I have recently recognized that my previous classes did not offer an ideal environment for learning," said Snape evenly; Harry struggled not to giggle at the absurd understatement. "I believe you both would do better in such an arrangement as I offer, provided that you applied yourselves. For most students, missing out on the opportunity of a Potions N.E.W.T. is not crucial, but for you, it may be."

Harry was stunned; this was, by Snape's standards, an apology for how he had conducted his classes in the past. He was also impressed that Snape would take on the extra work, but then he supposed that now that Snape was no longer a spy, he had to do something to keep occupied. Neither Ron nor Neville responded, so Harry asked a question. "Could you really get them ready, in such a short time?"

"I suggest two lessons per week, of three hours each. In the six months remaining, that would amount to the equivalent of nearly eighteen months of normal classroom lessons, which I believe should be adequate. I emphasize, do not accept this offer if you do not plan to put in the required out-of-class work; I do not propose this to waste my time."

Harry chuckled at his own expense. "This wouldn't be such a bad idea for me, actually."

"Yes, that is the reason you are here," said Snape, with an amused glance at Harry. "Your performance in the regular Potions class is... adequate, but there are definitely areas in which you could use a refresher. I would be happy to inform you when those areas are coming up."

Harry couldn't help but grin. "Well, if it'll make you happy..."

With a long-suffering air, Snape replied, "It is just an expression, which you know perfectly well."

"An expression you wouldn't have used before," countered Harry.

Snape sighed, then turned his attention to Ron and Neville. "The lessons would be on Wednesday nights at six-thirty, and Sunday afternoons at three o'clock. I would expect, Mr. Weasley, that you would schedule Quidditch practices around those times. Do either of you have any questions?"

Neville's tone was, for him, almost hostile. "In what way exactly would the 'environment for learning' be better?"

Harry saw Snape swallow his irritation. "I cannot believe you do not have enough information from him," gesturing to Harry, "to know the answer to that question. However... there will be no hostility, attempts at intimidation, harassment, or derogatory comments."

Harry was impressed that Snape would say that much, but Neville clearly wasn't. "You just made a derogatory comment to Harry a minute ago."

"He does not take offense," Snape pointed out. "As a fellow professor and Head of House, I allow him to take certain liberties. I believe that Professor Potter and I... understand each other quite well."

"We should, after all that time together," mused Harry. "So, what do you guys think?"

Still looking surprised, Ron said simply, "I'm in."

Harry tried not to look at Neville; there was a silence. Finally Snape said, "If you would like to take some time to think it over, you may, until Wednesday evening."

Neville shook his head. With what appeared to be great difficulty, he said, "No, that's okay. I'll do it."

Harry silently applauded; he knew that hadn't been easy for Neville. "Very well," said Snape. "One other thing... if you know of any other seventh-year students who strongly wish to become Aurors, or join some other profession which requires a strong grounding in Potions, but did not achieve the sufficient result to join the N.E.W.T. Potions class, you may inform them of this. If they are interested, I will interview them to determine their suitability." Translated, thought Harry, that meant: I'll use Legilimens on them, and they'll only get to join if they're serious about it. Harry couldn't fault him for that, though, since Snape was giving up his free time to do it. "In the meantime, I suggest that you promptly send away to Flourish and Blotts for the proper textbook."

"Okay, thanks," said Ron, in a far friendlier way than he would have ever spoken to Snape before; Harry wondered whether Ron was trying to set an example for Neville. Ron then glanced around, as if wondering whether they were done.

"You guys go ahead, I'll meet you at dinner," said Harry. After Ron and Neville had left, Harry turned to Snape. "What made you decide to do that?"

"I had an attack of conscience," replied Snape, deadpan.

"Uh-huh," said Harry, his tone making it clear that he knew Snape wasn't serious. "Does this mean you'll be changing your standards in the future?"

"I would prefer not to; I feel that the inclusion of weaker students only slows down the stronger ones. However, I should recognize that not every student is like Professor Granger is, or like I was, and not everyone knows by the beginning of their fifth year what career they wish to pursue. I will probably keep the 'Outstanding' standard, but make individual exceptions as I choose, based on interviews.

"Professor," continued Snape, now slightly uncomfortable, "I should not have-"

"Don't worry about it," interrupted Harry, not wanting Snape to feel that he should apologize, though he wasn't sure whether Snape actually would have or not. "I wasn't bothered, and Ginny and I are pretty regular about Mondays at five, so I could see why you'd think that. Actually, we wrapped that up pretty quickly; I was later than I would have been because just when I was leaving the office, someone else came to see me: Ellen Turpin."

Snape nodded. "I assume she wished to apologize for her father's behavior." To Harry's impressed look, Snape added, "I overheard a conversation relating to it earlier. She was apparently mortified at her father's actions."

"Yes, that was basically it," agreed Harry. "She told me that she had to beg, scream, threaten, and so on just to be allowed back here, that he wanted to pull her out. She wanted me to know that she didn't blame me, even though he did." After a short silence, looking at Snape's expression, Harry said, "I assume you don't have a whole lot of sympathy for his position."

"Are you asking because you wish to know if my feelings on this sort of matter have changed?"

"No, it was just a comment. I assume they haven't. I mean, your problems have been so huge that anyone else's are going to look small by comparison."

"I had not considered it in quite that way," said Snape. "I was more recalling what the headmaster used to say. If everyone were like Turpin, we would lose. Each loss you have suffered has only intensified your desire to fight."

"Well, yes, but as Albus also used to say, and still does-"

"'People must make such decisions for themselves, and we should not judge them,' I know; I heard it even more than you. His patience, or stubbornness, was remarkable; he knew I could never accept that point of view, but continued to espouse it to me anyway. I still do not accept it; I still feel that it is perfectly reasonable that we judge the actions of others. If we take his attitude, we absolve others of responsibility for their actions, and we all suffer as a result."

"But he never said that people weren't responsible for their actions," said Harry.

"Not judging them almost amounts to the same thing," argued Snape. "Turpin's attitude may be understandable, but it is destructive to the community, and should be judged accordingly."

"You could have been judged, in the same way, over the past seventeen years."

"And I was, and I deserved the judgments I received," agreed Snape. "No one judged me more harshly than I did; it was part of what motivated me to continue, despite my hardships. People who judged my behavior did not know that I had undergone the Cleansing, but it did not matter; since I had chosen that, I deserved to be judged for the consequences of it."

"But if Albus had judged you, he never would have helped you the way he did."

Snape nodded thoughtfully. "It may be more accurate to say that if he had been the type of person to judge me, he would not have been the type of person who could have helped me as he did. You are quite right; I suppose it is an irony of the situation. However, the knowledge does not persuade me of the rightness of his position."

"It's funny," said Harry, "I want to be like him, but in more than one way, I can't quite manage it. Cindy's parents-she was the one who just came to see me-don't want her defending the castle, and I was telling her I didn't blame them. That was true, but I think I implied that I didn't judge them... but that's a lie, I think I do judge them, even if I might not want to admit it. I want her defending the castle, I want anyone who would be useful defending the castle. Everyone who doesn't fight increases the danger for those of us who do."

"It will not surprise you," said Snape seriously, "to know that I feel that what you say is exactly right. That has been your attitude from the beginning, when you started your campaign to say his name; you simply did not state it exactly like that. You did say, in the Prophet, 'there's nothing else to do but fight him.' A logical extrapolation is that it means everyone shares that responsibility. If Miss Barton's parents do not want her joining such a battle, perhaps they should consider joining it themselves."

"I hadn't thought of that," mused Harry. "Well, I should go, it's almost time for dinner." He stood, and a thought occurred to him; he decided to air it, even though it seemed likely to annoy Snape. "Professor... this isn't part of some... testing of you, I'm just curious... did you do this partly to make it up to Neville?"

The corner of Snape's mouth curled up a bit in amusement. "No, I did not. I am not sure how I feel about the notion of personal debts; it seems quaint, in a way. What Mr. Longbottom suffered from my actions was partly due to his particular weakness of character, and partly him involuntarily sharing a tiny part of my burden, as you did. I almost could not but act as I did, given my situation, and some of those around me shared my burden, the headmaster most of all. I see it as an inevitable aspect of the situation, and something I need not apologize for, or make up for.

"I suppose one could say, however, that a small part of my motivation was the notion that Mr. Longbottom deserved an opportunity to... perhaps the phrase 'confront his demons' is too strong, but something along those lines. I respect his bravery, as well as that of all the others-to whom, needless to say, you are not to repeat a word of this. It is ironic; he still quails at the sight of me, despite having faced far more formidable adversaries. I remind him of what he used to be; I evoke his feelings of powerlessness and fear. It is not I that he fears, but what I used to be; he knows this, but cannot simply accept it. It is an adjustment for him, such as we each had to make when you replaced the headmaster in assisting me in July. This will give him the opportunity to make this adjustment."

Harry nodded, glad that Neville would get the chance. "Well, thanks for answering the question. See you later." Now, I wouldn't mind spending some time alone with Ginny, he thought as he headed off for dinner.