Harry Potter and the Veil of Mystery

Chapter 10

Fawkes

Harry walked into Gryffindor Tower to get dressed, then went back to the Great Hall, where breakfast was underway. Harry saw a large group of first years at the Gryffindor table; he realized it was all the Gryffindor and Slytherin first years. He knew that the five male Gryffindors were busily spreading the word.

He walked to his usual spot, where he saw Ernie Macmillan and Justin Finch-Fletchley talking to Ron and Hermione. To his surprise, on seeing him, Ernie and Justin both shook his hand and patted him on the shoulder; Ernie a bit awkwardly, Justin more naturally. Harry was touched by their support, and thanked them.

"I have to say, Harry," said Justin, "if this is part of what being Harry Potter is all about, then you're welcome to it."

"Is it really worth this, Harry?" asked Ernie. "Is it really worth suffering like this?"

"It absolutely is, Ernie," Harry said vigorously. "We have to stop being afraid to say his damn name. Look what he's doing, he's really feeling threatened. If I have to suffer a bit to be a poster boy for saying the word 'Voldemort,' then I will. It's worth whatever happens, even if only on principle."

"Poster boy?" Ernie asked.

"Muggle expression, I'll explain later," replied Justin.

"Well, the Sorting Hat sure did its job when it put you it Gryffindor, Harry. You're as brave as anyone I've ever met," said Ernie solemnly.

"Thank you, Ernie, I really appreciate that."

"You know, David told me that he said the Hat almost put him in Slytherin," said Justin.

"Really?" Ernie was dumbfounded.

"I pleaded with it not to," confirmed Harry. "Thank God, it listened to me. It said I would do well in Slytherin, but I'd already met Malfoy, and I didn't want to be anywhere near him. A close call."

"I'll say," sympathized Ernie. "Well, you have our support, Harry. If there's anything we can do for you, let us know."

"There is one thing, actually." He gave Justin a knowing look.

Justin got it. "You'd like us to say 'Voldemort.'"

"That's it. Would you like some points for Hufflepuff?"

Justin chuckled. "That's all right, I'm not in your classes. I might as well be, though; my brother won't shut up about you."

Ernie cleared his throat, and said, "Well, I would encourage all the Hufflepuffs to say the name..." he took a deep breath, "Voldemort... but I think our first years are doing it already."

"Thank you, Ernie, and you, Justin, I appreciate the gesture. And Justin... David's a good guy. We're lucky to have him in Gryffindor."

"Thanks," said Justin. They walked back to their table, and Harry sat down.

"That was really good of them," Hermione commented. "They went out of their way to come over here, to be supportive, and they even said 'Voldemort' when they were both uncomfortable doing it."

"You're right, I can use all the support I can get right now," Harry agreed.

Just then, Luna Lovegood walked up; Harry hadn't talked to her yet this term, and was looking forward to saying hello. She walked up to where he was sitting, leaned over, kissed him on the cheek, and walked away without a word.

Harry gaped in surprise in her direction as she walked away; Ron and Hermione giggled and tried not to laugh out loud. Ron got himself under control and said, "Well, who needs words, anyway."

Hermione shrugged. "She got her point across, I'd say."

"Hard to argue with that," Harry agreed.

They were able to eat in peace for a while before the Slytherin first years, apparently now fully briefed by the Gryffindor boys, walked up to Harry, with the five Gryffindor girls behind them.

"Are you all right, Professor?" asked David Septus, anxiously.

"Yes, I'm all right, thanks. Ron woke me up, and I was all right soon after that." He added wryly, "It was the part before I woke up that was the problem."

Andrea Creevey looked at him anxiously. "David said that Professor Dumbledore said that it's a..." She struggled to remember.

"Hideously painful torture," supplied Hedrick.

"Yes... and you're going to face that again, and again, just to keep saying his name? How can you do that?" She was almost pleading.

"How can I not?" he replied. "Nobody seems to really understand this, but-"

"I understand," interrupted Helen Clark. She faced the others. "It's part of what he was telling me yesterday in his office. I told you all this, but it's true for Professor Potter's situation too. Voldemort is trying to stop what Professor Potter is doing. He's trying to hurt Professor Potter to make him stop us saying his name, to make us want to stop saying his name. But even if he hurts one person, or more, we have to keep fighting, because if we don't, Voldemort wins. We just have to keep fighting." The rest fell silent.

Harry was bursting with pride. He looked her in the eyes and said, "You took what I taught you about your situation, understood it, and recognized that it worked for my situation, too. What more could a teacher ask of a student?" She blushed.

Harry glanced around and saw that a lot of people were listening; all the rest of the Gryffindor sixth years, Ginny and most of the fifth years, and various Hufflepuffs, including Justin and Ernie, who were still in hearing range. Harry was glad, he wanted as many people as possible to understand this.

He looked around again, this time to see Draco Malfoy approaching; oddly, without Crabbe or Goyle. The Hall seemed to quiet down. He gave Harry his usual sneer. "So, you've got quite a crowd, Scarhead. Bet you love that."

"That's Professor Scarhead to you, Malfoy." Harry remembered the joke he'd mentioned to Dudley, and thought he had to try it. "Say, Malfoy, where's Moe and Curly?"

Hermione, Justin, Dean, David, all three Creeveys, Eric, and a few scattered others burst out laughing; the rest, including Malfoy, looked confused. Looking at Malfoy's confusion only made some laugh harder; Hermione was holding onto a very bewildered Ron to try to steady herself. Harry enjoyed the scene. Even though only a minority were laughing, Malfoy was still upset not to know what they were laughing about.

"Anybody who doesn't get it, ask someone who's laughing now, they'll explain it to you later," said Harry helpfully to the others. "Now, did you want something, Malfoy?"

Warming to his topic, Malfoy regained his smugness. "So, you said his name one too many times, and look what happens. Tortured in your sleep, from miles away. You can't get away from the Dark Lord, Potter. Still claim to not be afraid of him?"

"Who, Voldemort?" Malfoy blanched. "Are you talking about Voldemort, Malfoy? Is it Voldemort to whom you're referring? If it's Voldemort you're talking about, Malfoy, then why don't you just say..." Harry intended to stretch out the pause for dramatic effect, but his plan was changed when before he could say the name, ten Gryffindor and ten Slytherin first years shouted, as one, "Voldemort!"

Malfoy practically jumped out of his skin, causing laughter all around. Harry looked at the students and said, "I've never been so proud." Some smiled, some laughed, and some blushed.

"Are you stupid, Potter? You woke up screaming a few hours ago! Have you forgotten that already?"

Harry stood and stared directly at Malfoy. "No, Malfoy, I remember it quite vividly. And it will motivate me to keep saying the name 'Voldemort' for as long as I breathe. I don't give up. I know you can't understand this. If it had happened to you, you'd be crawling around, trying to find out whose boots you could lick to make it stop, to get on their good side. You can't understand any other way to be. That's how you were raised, and for that, I feel sorry for you. But you're wasting my time, so get back over there and enjoy spending time with the people who'll agree with anything you say. It's only there that you can be comfortable." Harry pointedly sat down and took another bite of his food as a way of dismissing Malfoy. Malfoy cast another disgusted look, shook his head, then turned and left. A round of applause went up, which included, Harry noted, some Slytherins.

"See, Malfoy and his crowd, they don't stand up for each other," said Ron. "Where were Crabbe and Goyle, when they could have been standing next to Malfoy looking, you know, big and stupid? Could've really helped him."

"Well, then I couldn't have made the Three Stooges joke," Harry observed.

Hermione burst out laughing again. "Oh, Harry, that was so hysterical! It was the best joke I've ever heard you make! And the best part was, he didn't even understand it!"

"Lot of us didn't either, though," pointed out Ron. "It's a Muggle thing, I assume?"

"Yes, it is," said Hermione. Harry got back to his food as she explained it to Ron and others around them.

Dozens of owls suddenly appeared in the Great Hall. Harry didn't take much notice; this happened every day, and there was almost never anything for him. But today there was; one letter dropped onto the table in front of him, then another, then two more, and more still. By the time the owls had gone, nine letters lay in front of him. Ron and Hermione were wide-eyed.

"Wow, you must be popular," said Helen. "Do you always get this much mail?"

"In fact, almost never," replied Harry. He opened one and started reading. He glanced up at the Slytherins in front of him, looked back at the letter, and looked up again. He opened another letter, read it quickly, then opened a third one and skimmed it. He looked at the Slytherins. "I will read them all later, believe me, but just for now... do they all say more or less the same thing?" Nine Slytherins nodded. "Does she know?" Harry asked. They shook their heads.

"What are you guys talking about?" asked Helen, in confusion and annoyance.

"Helen, last night, when you were telling them about your meeting with me... did you tell them how you were willing to be singled out, to have your name used so we could catch Malfoy, even if it was dangerous for you?" She nodded. "Well," he continued, his voice choking up with pride, "your nine classmates each wrote me a letter, saying much the same things you did, about Malfoy's behavior and about the candies. They did it because it meant that if I used your letter as evidence, it wouldn't be just your letter, it would be all ten of you. They divided the risk among themselves, so it wouldn't only be yours."

Helen was silent for a moment, then tears started trickling down her face. Harry glanced at Hermione, who looked like she might start crying herself. Helen walked toward her classmates, clearly overwhelmed, and started touching people randomly and thanking them between tears. A few girls got out tissues for her. Finally she said, "Thank you all so much... I don't know what to say."

Harry got up and knelt next to the Slytherins. "I'm really, really proud of all of you. I mean that. I know how she feels. They've," motioning toward Ron and Hermione, "done stuff like that for me many times. It's great to know that you have friends, people who'll share the difficulties with you. It's one of the best things about life."

He looked at the clock; it was getting close to when they had to leave for their respective classes. "Look... we don't have much time left, and I wanted to say something, about what I said to Malfoy when he came over here. Everything I said was the truth, but I don't want you to have a wrong impression. The phrase Professor Dumbledore used, that it's a 'hideously painful torture,' is very accurate, and I'd be lying if I said I'll go to sleep tonight not thinking about what might happen in my sleep. It'll be really bad. My point is, I don't want to make it seem like it's no big deal. I don't want you to ever walk into danger without understanding what you could be getting yourself into. Don't be casual about it, understand it, accept it, and face it. I've done the first three, and the fourth comes later. All I can do is, like Ron said to you," gesturing to Helen, "is not to think too much about it."

Ginny knelt by Harry. "We would do it with him if we could."

Hermione added, "We would do it for him if we could."

Harry looked at them with gratitude, then said to the first years, "But because of this," moving his hair to show his scar, "they can't. Only I can do it."

Hedrick said, "David tried to explain it to us, but there's still a lot we don't understand, about how Voldemort can get to you. I know there's no time now, but..."

Harry nodded. They had become close to him in a very short time; he would give them what time he could. "Ron, what time are the Quidditch tryouts?"

"Six-thirty," answered Ron.

Harry quickly calculated times. "Okay, I have a class until four o'clock. If you want to come to my classroom then, I'll answer questions and explain anything you want. How about that?" They nodded eagerly and thanked him. "Okay, you'd better get going, and so had I. I have a class, too." They moved off.

Ginny started to stand up, but Harry grabbed her wrist. "Ginny, wait... I still have to figure out what to do about the Slytherin fifth years and the Snackboxes. You've been in classes with them. What's your impression of them? What kind of people are they?"

"It's almost hard to say; I haven't really talked much with any of them. None of them seem to have much of a strong personality. All I know for sure is that there are no Malfoys, no one who obviously gets off on power and being mean. I'd be willing to bet that at least some don't like him because he probably treats them badly, since they're younger. I'm sorry I can't tell you more than that."

"That's enough for what I need, thanks. We'd better get going."

By the time they reached the classroom, all the other students were already there. As Ginny took a seat and Harry walked up to the front, applause suddenly broke out. Harry reflexively looked around, as if trying to work out who the applause was for, which generated some laughter. He put his bag down on the desk, and faced them.

"Thanks, but I'm kind of wondering, can someone tell me what that was for?"

There was silence for a moment, and a Slytherin girl with long, dark hair raised her hand. "I'm not sure I can say for everyone, but I think for two things. One, we've never seen anyone talk to Malfoy like that, and I for one loved it." Voices murmured their agreement. "He's done nothing but push us around since the day we got here. Two, I don't know all the details, but I know the basics of what happened last night. I have an uncle who was once subjected to the Cruciatus Curse. He told me how horrible it was, how words can't begin to express the pain involved. Even thinking about it still scares him. So, the idea that you went through that a few hours ago, and you're willing to do it again, just so we can say... V- Voldemort... well, I know Gryffindors are supposed to be brave, but this is beyond bravery, it's like..." She groped for a word, then finally said, "Well, you know what I mean."

He looked at her sincerely. "Thank you, Juliet." He paused. "Was that the first time you ever said Voldemort's name?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, that's twenty points for Slytherin."

Ginny said, "Damn, I should have said his name as soon as we walked into the room. I know you only give the twenty points once."

"Sorry, Ginny, you wouldn't have gotten it anyway. It's only for people who haven't said the name before, and I know you have."

"Well, that hardly seems fair." she pouted.

Harry smiled. "Now, let me take the roll, before I forget." He walked over to the podium and did so. When he got to Colin Creevey's name, he said, "Colin, I taught your sister on Monday. I really like her. She's very spirited."

Colin smiled. "Yes, sir. But Dennis and I like her anyway."

Harry chuckled. "Yes, Colin, I can see how that could be annoying at times." He glanced at Ginny as he said it, recalling that she could be described as spirited too, and that it probably annoyed Ron from time to time. He finished calling the roll.

"If I remember the last names right, two of you Slytherins have brothers or sisters who are first years, is that right?" He saw two heads nod. "Well, you should be proud of them. They're a great group."

A short-haired blonde girl raised her hand. "My brother's told me all about what's happened. I'd really like to help him."

"You can," Harry pointed out. "You can support them, help them out when they need it, help stand up for them. They could use the help of older students. They're brave, but it's hard for them because they're so young."

A dark-haired Slytherin boy at the back named Thomas Dalton raised his hand. "Professor, I think you know, I think the whole school knows, that Malfoy gave us candies from those Skiving Snackboxes and told us to take them to get out of your class, like a few of the third and fourth years did." Harry nodded. "Well, he jinxed a few of those that didn't, and he made some nasty threats against us if we don't. One thing you learn in Slytherin, sir, is to take Malfoy's threats seriously. I think most of us are afraid not to do what he asked. He's talked to each of us about this, like three times, he's really serious about it."

Harry nodded. "I understand, and I sympathize, I really do. But I do have to give you all detentions if you do, I really have no choice."

"I understand that," said Thomas. "But we also heard that you know he's doing it, and you threatened to give him an hour of detention for every one of us that skives, is that right?" Harry nodded. "So, I was wondering," Thomas continued, "why is Malfoy still pushing us to do this? When he'll get tons of detention?"

"I can't be sure," Harry said, "but I think there's a few reasons. One is that it's me, Harry Potter, who he hates. He's furious that I've been made a teacher, as you saw at the feast, and he really wants to do something to hurt me. Now he's even more furious that the first and second years like me..."

"It's not only them," said Juliet. "I've heard third and fourth years say it too. They just don't say it very loudly."

"I understand. Anyway, so his anger at me is at an all-time high, which is really saying something. He wants to get me really bad. That's why he was gloating about what Voldemort did to me, he loves it." He saw many dark looks, from all students regardless of house. "Secondly, he thinks he can get away with it. I have no firm proof, since it's all things he said, he thinks he can deny it, and since he's a prefect, get away with it. He's used to getting away with whatever he wants, and his hatred of me may be blinding him to the risks he's taking."

"Can he get away with it?" asked Thomas.

"No," answered Harry, deciding at the last second not to equivocate. "The other teachers are going to support me, they approve of the threat I made to Malfoy. He's making a deliberate attempt to undermine a Hogwarts teacher, and they take that seriously. He's made a huge mistake, he just doesn't know it yet."

"So, if we use the Snacks, he gets ten hours of detention, and we get one each?" Harry nodded, as did Thomas. "Seems like a fair trade to me." Everyone laughed

"You understand I can't officially approve of this," Harry pointed out, choosing his words carefully. "If I approve, it becomes all right, and nothing happens to Malfoy. So, I officially disapprove of you using the Snacks. Is everybody clear on that? Now, if you should at some point not feel well," he continued humorously, "you should go down to Madam Pomfrey's, and stay there until the end of the class time." He looked at the Slytherins expectantly.

There was silence for a few seconds. Then, understanding what Harry was waiting for, Thomas exclaimed, "Well, I'm not going to do it now. I don't know about everyone else, but I want to see the lesson. I'll do it with fifteen minutes to go."

Harry made sure no one else intended to take theirs immediately, and proceeded with the lesson. More than the others, he modeled it on what he had done with the D.A., because as fifth years they already knew a lot of the spells he would be emphasizing for personal defense. The lesson focused on Protection and Disarming; Harry told them that he knew they already knew them, but he wanted to be sure they had the fundamentals before moving on.

With fifteen minutes to go, suddenly Thomas developed a nosebleed. "That's a nasty nosebleed you've got there, Thomas. You'd better get down to Madam Pomfrey's." Some students chuckled as Thomas picked up his bags and left; suddenly three students vomited, three fainted, two developed fevers, and there was one more nosebleed. Harry Vanished all the blood and vomit on the floor as the last of the Slytherins left.

"Well, I didn't think teaching was going to be such a messy business," he said. "Let's give them a few minutes to get down there." They continued practicing for a few minutes. Harry then said, "Okay, I think they're all there by now. I have to let Professor Dumbledore know. This shouldn't take long."

He pulled out his wand, and waved it as Dumbledore had shown him. "Fawkes," he said. A second later, Fawkes came bursting into view. There was a gasp; most of the students had never seen Fawkes before. Harry grasped Fawkes's tail and said, "Professor Dumbledore's office." Suddenly, he was there.

"Ah, Harry, I was wondering where you were," said Dumbledore genially. "I gather this means that the Slytherins felt it necessary to use the Snacks to protect themselves from Mr. Malfoy, but their hearts were not in it, since they stayed for most of the lesson?"

"That was my impression, Professor," Harry confirmed.

"Very well, then. I will head over to Madam Pomfrey's; you go ahead back to your class." He headed out the door, Harry said, "the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom," Fawkes took off, and he was back in the classroom.

The remaining ten Gryffindors broke into applause, which Harry understood was for Fawkes, not for him. "Yeah, he's pretty great," Harry agreed.

"I'm amazed that Professor Dumbledore let you use him!" enthused Ginny. "I've never seen a teacher do that before."

"Oh, you mean I was supposed to ask?" Harry joked. "Well, I told him I didn't want to be gone too long, so he let me use him." He noticed that Fawkes had perched on his shoulder; he reached up and stroked him. Fawkes's feathers were amazingly soft, like silk. Harry had to make himself stop. Turning his head to look at Fawkes, he said, "Fawkes, you can go back to Professor Dumbledore's office." He waited a minute. "It's okay, Fawkes, I'm done. You can go back." Fawkes continued not to move. Harry waited another few seconds, then said, "Or, you could stay here a while longer." Most of the students grinned, amused at his predicament.

They resumed their practice, and Harry called a halt shortly before the bell. "Now, there's just a few minutes left, so why don't we just stop here. You can get an early start to your next class, and I can figure out what to do with Fawkes here."

"No, just keep him there," urged Ginny. "Then in your next class, Luna Lovegood will say, 'Excuse me, Professor, did you know there's a phoenix on your shoulder?' And you should deny it, of course."

Harry smiled. "See you all next week," he said, and headed back to his office. He sat down in his chair; Fawkes hopped onto the desk and regarded Harry, who started petting him. "I'd love to know what this is all about, Fawkes." he said. He thought about traveling back to Dumbledore's office and trying to leave Fawkes there, but he knew that phoenixes were extraordinarily magical creatures, and that in the end, Fawkes would do what he wanted. Harry would just have to wait until he could talk to Dumbledore

The next class went well, despite the slight distraction of Fawkes' presence; Luna did manage to tell an improbable story that her father once published about a phoenix. The class was good, partly because it had the highest number of D.A. members of any of Harry's classes. After the class, Harry headed off to lunch. As was usual when he taught, Ron and Hermione were there first.

"Cool, Harry! You stole Fawkes!" joked Ron. "You're not hiding him very well, though. Kind of conspicuous."

Harry explained what had happened. "I just have to wait until I can talk to Professor Dumbledore, I don't know what's going on."

"Phoenixes are really smart, Harry," said Hermione. "I'm sure he has a very good reason for doing this, you just don't know what it is."

"Well, I'll be interested to find out. I attract enough attention without having a phoenix on my shoulder." Harry paused and looked up. "It's kind of nice having him around, though. He's nice, and his feathers are really soft."

Hermione said, "We want to know the whole story of the dream, of course, but we know you're going to tell your first years at 4:00. We thought we'd just join you then, so you don't have to do it again." Harry said that sounded fine.

The rest of lunch was uneventful. Parvati and Lavender came over to admire Fawkes, as did Hannah Abbott and a few others. At about 12:40, as Harry was considering heading over to the staff room, a golden dog entered the Great Hall and headed for Harry. He jumped up into Harry's lap, and buried his head in Harry's chest. Hermione smiled radiantly; Ron looked curious. "Well, I don't want to keep him waiting," Harry said, and got up. With a phoenix on his shoulder, following a golden dog, Harry headed to Dumbledore's office.

Dumbledore's office door was open. "Harry, thank you for coming. Ah, there he is. I was wondering where Fawkes had got off to."

"Couldn't you have called him, Professor?"

"I prefer not to unless there is a real need. I don't like to disturb him."

"Sorry, Professor. When I got back to my class, I told him he could go ahead back to your office, but he just stayed. I was wondering what to do, but I just decided it was better not to argue with him, and wait to talk to you."

"A wise move, Harry. Phoenixes tend to know what is best. If one does a certain thing, he is bound to have a good reason."

"So, why has he done this, sir? Why does he stay with me?"

"Fawkes has decided to care for you for the duration of your crisis. He will stay with you, almost twenty-four hours a day, until the danger from Voldemort has passed."

Harry knew enough about phoenixes to know that this was a very good thing. "That's great, sir. Is this something you told him to do?"

"One does not 'tell' a phoenix to do something, Harry, one requests it," Dumbledore explained. "One does not 'own' a phoenix, one cares for it, or serves as a companion to it. I could have requested that Fawkes do this, but it would have been highly presumptuous of me. It would be a bit like telling a person whom they should love."

Harry didn't see how the analogy worked. "I don't understand, sir."

"Fawkes will stay with you and care for you, Harry. He will sing to help you to sleep, and throughout your sleep, to assist you in your struggle with Voldemort. This is not a task a phoenix undertakes lightly. It is a serious commitment, and phoenixes are very discriminating creatures. They will not do this for just anyone, to put it mildly. I am pleased that Fawkes has chosen to do this for you, but as I said, it is such a serious thing that it was not for me to suggest."

"Is this going to hurt Fawkes? Will he suffer like I will?"

Dumbledore smiled proudly. "You are very worthy of his attention, Harry. You are undergoing a terrible ordeal, but you are still worried about Fawkes, as you would for anyone following you into a dangerous situation. To answer your question, he will suffer no discomfort. He will mainly have to... concentrate harder than usual, I believe would be the human equivalent. To put it another way, he is joining you in your fight. We fellow humans can give you emotional and moral support; Fawkes can do more. He will be of great help to you."

Harry had no difficulty believing that. He turned his head to look at Fawkes. "Thank you, Fawkes," he said, petting him. "This means a lot to me."

"It means something else that is not critical for you to know just now, but I will tell you anyway, because you would want to know. As I said, phoenixes are highly discriminating. What he is doing with you is a form of bonding, and phoenixes only bond with those they feel would be good custodians or companions. What I am saying, Harry, is that by doing this, Fawkes is indicating that he has selected you to be his next companion, after I am gone."

Harry felt stunned. His first reaction was that he didn't want to contemplate Albus Dumbledore being gone. He had come to depend on Dumbledore, especially recently. He hoped he would not be inheriting Fawkes for a very long time. His next reaction was to feel honored. A phoenix chose him as a companion? It was a lot to get used to. He voiced his first reaction.

"Sir, I really don't want to think about you being gone."

Dumbledore nodded. "No, we do not wish to think of that about those for whom we care, and I am honored that you feel that way. But we cannot ignore facts, either. I do not mean I will die tomorrow, or next month. But I am quite old, already a distance past normal life expectancy. Fawkes knows this. I have for some time been urging him to think about the future, and he has chosen you. After this crisis is over, he will still be my companion, but he will also be yours. It is a kind of changing of the guard, so to speak. He will spend time with each of us as he feels is appropriate, or where he feels the need is greater. It is normal that the phoenix spends more of this interim time in the presence of the older custodian, but it can vary from phoenix to phoenix."

"Wow... sir... I'm really stunned. I mean, this is very serious. This is a very big thing. I'm just really honored."

"It is indeed an honor, Harry. I am glad you recognize that. The worldwide phoenix population is not high, and not all phoenixes choose to companion humans. The percentage of those that do is estimated to be less than a quarter of all phoenixes."

Harry still couldn't quite believe it. He didn't know that much about phoenixes beyond what he knew about Fawkes, but it had always been his impression that only people of great stature, like Dumbledore, could attract them. "Why did he choose me, Professor? It can't be just because of this crisis, since he's going to be with me for the rest of my life, right? Why me and not someone else?"

"Were I to ask him, he would not be able to answer with any specifics. Phoenixes have a keen sense of intuition; they can know the best thing to do without knowing what we would refer to as the 'reason'. He simply feels, or knows, that you will make a good companion. It may help you to understand the nature of a phoenix's bond with its companion. Once the bond is well established, you and he will be able to communicate in certain ways without words; there will be a sort of mental link. Phoenixes are very calm; that will affect you on a consistent basis, and help you achieve the emotional control that we have discussed. The communication is two-way; he will feel what you feel to a great extent. This is why phoenixes are so selective; were a phoenix to bond with a chronically depressed or emotionally unstable person, the phoenix would suffer along with the companion. Phoenixes are very sensitive to anger and hatred; it affects them very strongly and negatively."

Amazed, Harry immediately wondered whether Fawkes had made a good choice. "But, sir, isn't he going to be in trouble, then? I mean, look at how I was last year, I was angry or upset a lot of the time. I seem like the least likely person for a phoenix to choose."

Dumbledore gave Harry a small smile, suggesting that he knew more than Harry did. "It is not your past that attracts Fawkes, it is your future. He would not do this unless he felt that you were, or would soon be, the kind of person that a phoenix desires as a companion."

Harry almost asked Dumbledore to repeat what he had said, so surprised was he. "Wow... I don't really know what to say to that. I... I guess I'll just try extra hard to make sure that happens. I don't want him to have to suffer."

Dumbledore nodded as if he had known Harry would say that. "That you feel that way is part of the reason he chose you. I do not want to say that phoenixes are never wrong, but it happens so rarely that one might just as well say so."

Harry exhaled, still stunned. "This is so incredible. I mean... I don't know, it's just been an amazing day."

"If today has been, or will be, an extraordinary day, it is because of your crisis," said Dumbledore. "The regard, affection, assistance, love, and support will flow from those who know you, in great quantities. They hope to fortify you in your time of need. You are on the front lines in a battle. They cannot be with you physically, but they want you to know they are there with you in spirit."

Harry felt overwhelmed. "I guess I see what you mean, everyone's been so concerned. Justin and Ernie came over, a few other people... and all of my first-year Slytherins... they still felt under threat from Malfoy, but after they found out what happened to me, they came over anyway, they didn't care. Oh, by the way, did you hear what they did?" Harry told him about the nine letters he got, the context of the situation, and how proud he was.

"Indeed you should be proud, Harry, because they were doing what you taught them, and showing real courage and solidarity. I firmly believe that they followed your example as well as your instruction. And that is why they braved Mr. Malfoy's wrath and visited you."

Shaking his head in amazement, Harry said, "I wouldn't have thought I could feel this close to them after only a short time."

"Your feelings were strongly engaged, as you said, because they were suffering for supporting you. You could identify with their struggle, similar in concept to your own, but you could not take direct action on their behalf. All that is bound to create a bond of closeness. The relationship you build with these students will last a lifetime."

Harry nodded; he felt Dumbledore was well equipped to understand such things. But the mention of Malfoy's name spurred another thought. "Oh, sir... how did it go, with the fifth-year Slytherins in Madam Pomfrey's?"

"You will not be surprised to hear that they truthfully reported that they felt coerced into evading your classes by using the Snacks, and that they would rather not have done so. There was also an amount of unprompted testimony of a history of abuse by Mr. Malfoy; they did seem to have a lot to get off their chests. I am satisfied that they are blameless, and if you wish to rescind their detentions for that reason, I would support that. As for Mr. Malfoy, I will interview him tonight to determine an appropriate disciplinary action. His Head of House will be present, as will you, as this involves your class."

"Do you mean you're going to decide if my punishment will be enforced?"

"Oh, no, that is already done. Teachers have great discretion in such matters. In addition, even if he had not coerced them, as a prefect, he shared responsibility for their actions, which you pointed out to him. No, the meeting tonight will be to determine whether, and what type of, further sanctions are warranted. What they may be, and how severe, will depend on Mr. Malfoy's testimony."

In other words, if he lies, he'll be in big trouble, thought Harry. Harry doubted that Malfoy knew that Dumbledore was a Legilimens, and so would lie ever more earnestly, not knowing he was digging a hole deeper and deeper. Harry found himself looking forward to it, but then looked at Dumbledore, and realized that such reactions were not something to be proud of.

"I understand, sir. What time will this meeting be? I have Quidditch at 6:30, and Occlumency with you at 10:00, so my evening's a little tight."

Dumbledore smiled. "Yes, it is a busy day. Let us make it 9:15, then. That should allow more than enough time."

Harry thought of leaving, and tried to decide whether there was anything else he should ask. "Professor, I realize that becoming a companion of Fawkes's is really important. Is there anything else that I should know about phoenixes that I don't know, especially thinking of the next few days?"

"Only that, in addition to their song having magical powers, their mere presence has a calming effect, as I referred to earlier. You may already have observed this; it will help you get to sleep tonight, and stay calm and focused for as long as this crisis lasts. He will also leave for short periods of time, mainly to get food. You do not need to feed or water him; he takes care of that himself. All you have to do is treat him with respect and appreciate his presence."

"I can do that without trying," Harry assured Dumbledore. Turning to Fawkes, he added, "Thank you again, Fawkes. I'm honored that you chose me." A thought about why he might have been chosen came into Harry's head. "Professor... does Fawkes know that I'm the Boy Who Lived? Do phoenixes think in those terms?"

"No, Harry, they do not. They know emotions, and words to describe people and motions, and as I mentioned, are highly intuitive. For example, Fawkes knew when to come to you in the Chamber of Secrets without being specifically told. He did not 'know' the situation exactly as we did, but he knew what to do. In any case, Fawkes would not concern himself with such matters as abstract as your status. He chose you because he can see inside you, after a fashion. We often radiate our feelings from our face, especially our eyes. We always radiate our emotions, in ways phoenixes are sensitive to. A phoenix can tell exactly what kind of person you are simply by being around you. That is another part of how you were chosen."

Harry found that hard to accept; he had never thought of himself as exceptional, except for managing to get into trouble. He wondered what it was that Fawkes saw that he didn't. "I'm still pretty amazed, sir... well, I suppose for now I shouldn't think about it too much, just enjoy his company."

"Yes, that is an excellent idea, Harry."

Harry thanked Dumbledore, left, then went to the Great Hall to meet Ron and Hermione before their lesson with Dumbledore. They were still at the table, but now studying, not eating. Harry sat down, Fawkes becoming a permanent fixture on his shoulder.

Without preamble, he explained the situation with Fawkes. Ron and Hermione gaped. "Oh, my God, Harry!" Hermione squeaked. "That's amazing! I've read that only one in ten thousand wizards ever have a phoenix in their lives. That's wonderful!"

"You're going to have to learn all about them now," Ron pointed out. "I'm sure Hermione can point you to a good book or two." Hermione made a face at him. Then, he said, "Seriously, mate, that's great. Can't think of anybody who could use it more than you."

"Well, it'll be nice to go to sleep to phoenix song," Harry agreed.

"Yeah, that'll be cool, I'll get to hear it too." Ron said enthusiastically.

"That reminds me, should I even be sleeping in our dormitory, until this thing is over? I mean, I'm just going to wake you up again."

"Yeah, it's so inconvenient to wake up early because your friend is being tortured, better to throw you out instead," Ron mocked him. "I mean, come on."

"Dean and Seamus might not feel that way," Harry pointed out.

"Dean and Seamus should stay someplace else, then," Ron asserted. "I'm going to go talk to them, see what they think." He got up and headed down the table.

Ron was gone for ten minutes, coming back just before they had to leave for Dumbledore's class. "Okay, I've fixed it," he said, sitting down. "I talked to Dean and Seamus, then McGonagall. Dean and Seamus will stay in guest quarters until this is over. Hermione, if you want to, you and Ginny will be sleeping in their beds." Ron happily took in Harry and Hermione's amazed looks; he seldom got to surprise them.

"Girls sleeping in a boys' dormitory? How did you get her to agree to that?" asked Hermione, very impressed.

"I told her that it would be very helpful to Harry to have his closest friends nearby," Ron explained. "I think the fact that we're prefects helps. When she said, 'Mr. Weasley, there is a reason that girls' and boys' dormitories are separate,' I got all indignant... 'Professor, with what's going on, how could you even think-', and she interrupted me and said, 'All right, all right.'" He smiled; it was the first time he had won an argument with McGonagall.

"Well done, Ron," said Hermione. "Of course I'll be there, Harry. I'm sure Ginny will, too."

"But you're not going to get a lot of sleep-" Harry started to point out.

"Oh, shut up, Harry," interrupted Hermione. "You would do it for us, don't deny it. Losing some sleep is minor compared to what it is for you. Of course, if you'd rather not have us there..." She raised her eyebrows.

"C'mon, Hermione," he said, a bit annoyed. "It's fantastic that you'll be there, you know that. And I get your point, I shouldn't worry about you when I'm way worse off. Anyway, thank you. It's very good of you."

"See, now, that was what you should have said in the first place. Come on, we'd better get going, we don't want to be late for Dumbledore's class."

As they got up, Harry looked at Ron and said, "Thanks, Ron."

Ron nodded. "No problem."

Most of the students were already there when Harry, Ron, and Hermione reached the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Fortunately, there were three empty seats together near the front, which they took. On Harry's right was Justin Finch-Fletchley, with Ernie Macmillan in front of him.

"Say, Harry," asked Justin, gesturing to Fawkes, "What's up with this?"

Harry had decided that when explaining about Fawkes, he wasn't going to specifically include the fact that Fawkes had chosen him as a permanent companion. "Fawkes is going to stay with me while this is going on. Professor Dumbledore told me that his being around will be helpful."

"I don't doubt it," said Ernie, turning to join the conversation. "Phoenixes are seriously magical. I assume he's going to sing you to sleep?" Harry nodded. "Good, that's good. I'm not surprised that Dumbledore thought of this."

"Actually, he told me he didn't," Harry explained. "It was Fawkes's idea. He knew I was in trouble, and decided he wanted to help." Justin and Ernie exchanged impressed looks.

Albus Dumbledore strode into the room, and all conversation ceased, as if on cue. He carried no books, only his wand. He stood at the front of the class, to the left of the podium. "Good afternoon, and welcome to your N.E.W.T. Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Before we begin, so you will not be overly distracted, I would like to say a few words about Harry's companion."

Dean raised his hand. "What companion is that, sir?" The whole class laughed, including Dumbledore.

"Yes, indeed, Dean, he is rather difficult to miss. I believe you have not yet gotten to phoenixes in your Care of Magical Creatures classes, but I am sure many of you know that phoenixes have calming and healing abilities, especially their song. So, Fawkes has decided to stay with Harry until the current situation resolves itself. He is with Harry all day partly because his mere presence his helpful, and partly as a bonding process. He is getting used to Harry's... aura, if you will. For those familiar with the Muggle world, it is like tuning a radio to the strongest point possible. He is becoming comfortable with Harry. He is very well behaved... yes, Seamus?"

"You mean Harry, or Fawkes, sir?"

"Both, I hope," answered Dumbledore as the class laughed. "He should not be much of a distraction. And I am again referring to Fawkes, Seamus, not Harry," as the class laughed again. Harry looked around. Most people were looking at Fawkes admiringly, but Hannah Abbott had a look of astonishment. She must know about phoenixes, she must know what this means, Harry thought.

"Now, let us proceed with the class. As Harry is doing in his classes, I will be focusing here on things which will be highly practical. But before we do any actual spells, I would like to discuss the mental element of spellcasting, which I feel is too often ignored.

"It is our mental energy, not our words, which works in conjunction with our wands to give effect to our magic," Dumbledore explained. "This is shown by the fact that it is possible to do spells while remaining silent, which we will be studying soon. We give voice to our spells because it makes them stronger, but they are not made stronger by our voices per se. It is rather that vocalizing them causes us to focus our mental energy more strongly on the spell. Most wizards' spells are not as effective when they are silent, but there are a few wizards whose mental energy is sufficiently highly focused that their spells lose nothing from a lack of vocalization. My intention is to help you learn mental disciplines which will help you do spells silently and effectively, and improve your overall spellcasting abilities."

"Sir," asked Hermione with her hand raised, "why is it that we've never been taught this, nor is it in any of our books? It doesn't seem like the kind of thing that's so advanced that it should have to wait until N.E.W.T. classes."

"You are correct, of course, Hermione. I have long felt that the mental aspects of spellcasting have gone underappreciated by the magical community. People seem rather attached to saying the words, and tend to think that the words are the important things. What I am saying cannot be demonstrated by proof, but I am confident that it is true nonetheless.

"The most important aspect of this, and of spellcasting in general, is to focus your mind. It is particularly helpful to think, not so much of the spell you want to cast, but of its intended result." Dumbledore took a small blue ball out of his robes, and tossed it to one side of the room. "So, if I want to Summon the ball, perhaps I will hear the word 'Accio' in my mind, but I will more be focusing on a mental image of the ball flying into my hand," as the ball did just that. "Now, I will go into various details of how to achieve this focus, and then we will try some practice." Dumbledore talked for the next half hour, interspersed with periods of silence.

Harry could not recall being so interested, so engaged, in a lesson. He felt hyper-aware, filled with confidence. He wondered if that was Dumbledore's influence, or Fawkes's, or something else entirely. He didn't want to question it, but just enjoy it. He found that he intuitively understood Dumbledore's message, and eagerly sought to apply it.

After his explanations were finished, Dumbledore said, "Now, we are going to give this a first try. I want everyone, in turn, to come to the front and try three spells silently. First, turn a classmate blue. Second, Summon the ball. Third, do any spell of your own choosing which is not harmful. Lavender, why don't you start off."

Lavender successfully turned Parvati a light shade of blue, but could not Summon the ball, and her attempt to levitate it failed as well. The next three students did no better. Neville, however, turned Ernie a deep shade of blue, successfully Summoned the ball, and caused a book on his desk to rise and fall. He got a healthy round of applause from everyone, turning a bit red as he sat down.

The next seven students had varying degrees of success, though none was as successful as Neville until Hermione took her turn. She turned Ernie blue, Summoned the ball, and caused the end of her wand to light up like a flashlight. She sat down to applause. "Harry, your turn," said Dumbledore.

Harry got up, full of confidence and focus. He pointed his wand at Ron, imagining him a deep shade of blue, which then happened. He Summoned the ball, wishing it into his hand. He had already planned his third spell; he pointed his wand at Hermione, concentrating. Then he said, "Hermione, have you ever read, 'Hogwarts, A History?'" Harry saw her look indignant, and start to respond, but no sound came from her lips. As soon as she realized what he had done, she looked even more indignant, put her hands on her hips, and gave him an unhappy look. The class roared its approval as Harry silently performed the counter-curse, and gestured to Hermione that she could speak again.

"You would find a way to do your spell and make fun of me at the same time," she said. Harry smiled broadly, and feeling very happy, got another idea. He closed his eyes, concentrated, thought of the support he'd gotten today from nearly everyone at Hogwarts... and a large silver stag erupted out of his wand, and started galloping across the room. The class watched it with astonishment for a few seconds, and applauded loudly. Even Dumbledore looked surprised.

"Thank you, Harry, most impressive indeed. And lastly, we have Ernie." Ernie got up, his body language suggesting he hoped to make as impressive a display as Harry's. He pointed his wand at Harry, and nothing happened. He looked confused, then tried again. Finally, he adjusted his wand's direction, and Harry turned blue.

"What was the difficulty, Ernie?"

"I was trying to turn Fawkes blue, but it didn't work." Some people chuckled.

"Well, you see, phoenixes are highly resistant to magic," explained Dumbledore.

"I can't say I didn't learn anything today," muttered Ernie. He Summoned the ball, then made it hop between his desk and Hermione's. He sat down.

"Now," said Dumbledore, "we will measure the effectiveness of your silent spells in a more concrete way. I will put a spell which has unique properties on myself. It functions as a kind of measuring device. Each of you will silently turn me blue. The spell I put on myself will identify the intensity of the spells you do, in the sense that it will be able to tell how effective the silent spell is compared to a vocalized spell. It will report a number, displayed in the air. If, say, the number is 62, then that person's silent spells are 62% as effective as their vocalized spells. I chose that number because it is the average for early attempts. The average for fully qualified wizards is 82%, and one cannot become an Auror without a minimum score of 90%. A very few wizards, of whom I confess myself to be one, have scored 100%, meaning the effectiveness of the vocalized and non-vocalized spells are the same." People looked very impressed, but not surprised.

"Sir," asked Ernie, "would... Voldemort be another of those with 100%?"

Harry glanced approvingly at Ernie, who nodded in acknowledgment.

"It seems highly likely, but we cannot know for certain, since he will likely not submit to a test," said Dumbledore. "When he was tested at Hogwarts... he was known as Tom Riddle then, of course... he scored 91% on his first measurement, which is highly exceptional. Do not worry overmuch about your score. It does not measure natural ability per se, but just what percentage of it can presently be accessed without vocalization. A low score simply means that more practice will be necessary. This is just to give you an idea of where you are. Shall we?"

He pointed his wand at himself. "I have cast the measuring spell; now I will do a test." He pointed again, and this time a gold number 100 showed up in the air next to him. The students applauded.

Neville stepped up. "79. Quite excellent, Neville, it is obvious that it will go much higher before long," said Dumbledore as Neville stepped back, clearly very pleased.

Parvati stepped up; "60" flashed in the air. Ernie took a turn, and got 64. He looked distressed not to have done as well as Neville.

Seamus was next, with 54, followed by Dean, with 58. Justin scored 69, then Lavender a 52. Hermione took a turn, and was rewarded with an 85. She grinned proudly as she stepped back. Ron took his turn, and got 85 as well, as well as a few gasps from the class, who hadn't gasped for Hermione, accustomed as they were to her getting the best score on everything. Ron looked quite satisfied to have done as well as Hermione. Harry stepped forward, intently focused. He pointed at Dumbledore, next to whom a gold 100 suddenly lit up. There was a huge gasp; Dumbledore's eyebrows rose.

Harry was quite startled himself. He was feeling very confident, but not quite that confident. He glanced at his shoulder, and a thought occurred. "Sir... is that because of Fawkes? You said that phoenixes have a calming effect, and they help you focus. What we're doing is pretty much trying to focus, right?"

"I cannot say for certain whether Fawkes had anything to do with your score, though it is entirely possible that he did. But since he has only been with you for about five hours, I would be surprised if he had a dramatic effect.

"But keep this in mind, Harry: Fawkes or no Fawkes, what that score means is that at the very least, you have the potential to score 100 in the future even if you have not been around Fawkes for a while. You will reach a point when the only reason to vocalize your spells is to let others know what you have done. This is a unique situation; no wizard has ever been bonded to a phoenix at such a young age that they were taking this test for the first time."

"So, if I took the test after I hadn't been around Fawkes for a few days, my score might be lower."

"Indeed it might, Harry."

"I know you don't know, but if you had to guess... how would I have done?"

"My guess is that Fawkes is affecting your score, but I would be very surprised if your natural score was less than 90," Dumbledore said.

"Sir," asked Justin, does that mean that any of us could know our full potential, if we spent a few hours with a phoenix?"

Before Dumbledore could answer, Hannah cut in. "It doesn't work that way, Justin. Phoenixes don't bond with just anybody, and when they do, they do it for life."

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, Hannah, I saw your expression earlier, I realized you knew."

Ernie said, "Wait a minute, does that mean..."

"... that he's with Harry for life, yes," replied Hannah. There was another gasp.

Seeing that this was a topic of great interest, Dumbledore spent a few minutes telling the class what he'd told Harry earlier about phoenixes. "But I am afraid that we must get back to the planned topics of the lesson now," said Dumbledore, to a few chuckles. Some people were still staring at Harry. As before, he didn't blame them.

The last few students took their turns, nobody scoring higher than 70. Dumbledore closed out the topic by saying, "Again, this is only a baseline against which to compare later efforts. The next time you try, you may find that your score has improved significantly."

"Yeah, Harry," teased Justin, "you might get 120 next time."

"Before we move on, I would like to point out one aspect of this, which may be unique to this class. We have Harry with 100, which even with the aid of a phoenix is quite amazing; his unassisted score is almost certainly in the low nineties, which is rare even for fully qualified wizards. Hermione and Ron both scored 85, very high scores indeed for first tries. Neville's 79 is also exceptional. Now, has anyone any ideas of why this would be? Is there an explanation other than coincidence for the fact that these four students happened to get high scores?"

Unsurprisingly, Hermione's hand shot up. Dumbledore surveyed the students; after a few seconds Ernie raised his hand as well. "Yes, Ernie?" prompted Dumbledore. Disappointed, Hermione lowered her hand.

"They've all been in dangerous situations, Harry the most, Neville the least."

"Was that what you were going to say too, Hermione?" Dumbledore asked. She nodded. "Yes, you are quite correct, Ernie. On several occasions, Harry has had to depend on his magic to save his life. That tends to focus the mind considerably. Ron and Hermione have been in similar situations, though fewer, and Neville, one. There is a high degree of correlation to their scores.

"Now, I would like to introduce a new spell, one which is highly useful in certain defensive situations. It is called the Diffusion Shield. It absorbs and to an extent dissipates almost any kind of spell. One cannot cast it on oneself, only on others, to protect them. The more people casting it, the more effective it is. It is most useful, naturally, in combat situations, particularly when one member of the party has become wandless."

"Couldn't you just cast the Protection Charm instead?" asked Dean.

"The Protection Charm works well enough on the protected party, but not at all on the one doing the protecting. The Diffusion Shield provides protection to all under its influence, though more to the one who is the focus of the spell. So, the Diffusion Shield is far more useful in this situation."

"Does it work on Unforgivable Curses?" asked Neville.

"Not so much is known about that, Neville," answered Dumbledore. "There have, thankfully, been relatively few instances in which anybody could consider attempting to mount such a defense. And since the Unforgivable Curses are illegal and immoral, testing as such cannot be done. What little anecdotal evidence exists is mixed. One party of three is said to have died trying to ward off a Killing Curse; a party of five is said to have survived, though greatly injured. A group of four trying to ward off the Cruciatus Curse were all nonetheless incapacitated; a member of this group later said, 'there was enough pain in that to take out ten people.'"

Neville, sitting behind Harry, muttered, "More like twenty."

"You're not wrong," agreed Harry, turning his head.

Dumbledore continued as if he had not heard, though Harry was sure he had. "The incantation is 'Diffusia,' and we will practice it now. I want everyone in a group of four. Each group will take turns having one member be the recipient of the spell, which I shall cast. Blue, of course. The other three will try to Diffuse it ."

Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Neville practiced for a while, doing fairly well. Dumbledore explained that whichever of the group was the darkest blue was the best with the spell, since the others couldn't protect him as well as he could them. It was agreed that Harry was the bluest, with Hermione a close second.

After they were done, Harry asked, "Can we try that against a more real spell, like we'd see in combat? How about the Stunning Spell?"

"That spell can be rather uncomfortable, Harry," said Dumbledore. "If the Diffusion does not work properly, the recipient could be knocked unconscious."

"Well, I'll be the recipient, then," Harry volunteered.

This was followed quickly by a storm of protest. Neville said, "No way," Hermione said "Are you joking?", and Ron said, "Absolutely not!", all at the same time.

Dumbledore smiled. "I think your friends are saying, Harry, that now is not the time for you to be a test subject of any sort."

"I'll be the recipient," Ron said. "Hermione's always telling me I've got a thick head. Besides, with you three behind me, I probably won't feel a thing."

"Very well, Ron, although I will not want to be the one to tell your mother about this," Dumbledore said. Harry and Hermione laughed.

"Well, I sure don't plan to," said Ron. Turning to the others, he said, "I'm ready when you are."

"There's nothing you have to do to get ready, Ron, other than get stunned," pointed out Hermione. Harry, Hermione, and Neville nodded to each other to confirm their readiness.

"I would like there to be two people each near Harry, Hermione, and Neville," said Dumbledore, "to keep them from being thrown off balance." Each was backed up by two classmates.

"I will count down from five, vocalizing the spell when I reach zero. As I start to vocalize, cast the spell. Five, four, three, two, one, Stupefy!"

"Diffusia!" they yelled.

The red ball seemed to hit something a few inches in front of Ron's chest, and it split into four. The smallest part hit Ron, and he was knocked back a step, but quickly recovered. The other three headed for Harry, Hermione, and Neville, and hit them simultaneously. They were knocked back a couple of steps, and quickly caught. "Thanks," Harry said to Ernie and Justin, who were backing him up.

"That went as expected," Dumbledore informed them, "with Ron taking the least of the damage, which means that you three performed the spell quite well.

"Now, we seem to be out of time. That went excellently; thank you for your effort and attention. I will see you all next week." The class applauded; Dumbledore nodded and headed back toward the office. The classroom emptied after a minute, but Harry asked Neville to hang back.

"I told the first years I'd explain more about my dream and how they happen, and Ron, Hermione, and Ginny are going to stay and listen too. If you want to, you're welcome," said Harry.

"Thanks, Harry, I would. I want to know what's going on."

"Hey, Neville," said Ron, walking up to them, "I forgot to tell you... Seamus and Dean are going to sleep in guest quarters for a while. Nobody's going to get a full night's sleep in our dormitory. You can join them if you want."

Neville glared at Ron, as though he'd been called a coward. "No way, I'm staying with Harry. Besides, I'm the only one who totally knows what it feels like."

Ron gave Harry a 'what did I do?' look, nodded to Neville, and stepped back. Harry patted Neville on the back. "Thanks, Neville. Thanks a lot."

"It's nothing, Harry, really," Neville said, though happy to have Harry's obviously sincere thanks.

Dumbledore, having retreated to Harry's office, came back out again. "I thought I would stay for a few minutes, Harry, if you don't mind."

"No, of course not," Harry said, as a group of first years walked through the door. They appeared a bit startled to see Dumbledore, who smiled at them.

"Ah, you must be the Slytherin first years that Harry's so fond of," he said kindly.

Some smiled, some blushed, some looked down. "You mean he's told you about us?" Helen asked, as though she couldn't believe they were worth mentioning to a headmaster.

"More than once; he has been very concerned about you. He feels in a way responsible for your situation."

"How could he be responsible? All he did was teach us a great class!" said Helen, as the others agreed.

"You are correct, of course," Dumbledore allowed. "But he feels responsibility because it is your admiration for him which caused you to be threatened. In truth, he is not responsible at all, but it is understandable that he feels this way."

"Things are starting to get better," reported Helen, who turned to Harry. "Of course, the first years of all the other houses are totally with us. Some of us have been talking to some second years in Slytherin, and they seem to feel like we do. So we're pretty happy about that."

"I'm really glad, Helen. You're all doing a great job," Harry said.

"Is that a phoenix? I heard you had one, but I don't know much about them. He's really pretty."

"Yes," Dumbledore said, "he is. I will be explaining the situation after everyone arrives, as I understand it a bit better than Harry."

Ten Gryffindor first years walked in, and were greeted by their Slytherin counterparts. Ginny walked in a few seconds later. Andrea Creevey said, "The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff first years wanted to be here too, but they have a class now. So they made us promise to tell them everything."

Dumbledore took the floor, took a few minutes to explain the situation with Fawkes, and emphasized that everything that could be done for Harry would be. "Harry is fighting a battle that only he can fight," Dumbledore said in conclusion. "But we can help him, and we will."

"Sir, why can only he fight it?" asked Andrea. "I heard it was something about his scar?"

Harry gestured to Dumbledore. "You're the one who told me about it, you may as well be the one to tell them." Dumbledore took a few minutes to do so. "So, his mind is connected to Voldemort in a way that we do not truly understand, and that Harry certainly would not wish. But since Harry is the first to survive a full-strength Killing Curse, his situation is unique.

"Now, I am afraid I must go, I have other business. But I am glad to have been able to talk to you all." He acknowledged their thanks and left by the back door.

"There," said Harry to the group after Dumbledore left, "is someone you really want on your side. Now, I guess I'll just tell you about the dream, and then you can ask questions if you want to afterwards, okay?" The students nodded.

Ron walked over to Harry, holding the Marauder's Map and motioning Harry to be silent. He pointed to where they were, and then to just outside the room, where a dot bore the name Pansy Parkinson. They exchanged raised eyebrows, and Ron mouthed 'keep talking' to Harry, who did. Ron quietly walked towards the door, looking around, drawing puzzled stares from the first years. Finally he saw what he was looking for: the ends of a pair of Extendable Ears. He walked back to Harry and said the word silently, making gestures near his ears to emphasize the point. Harry stopped talking for a moment, looked for the Ears, got out his wand, and focused on the Ears flying into his hand.

They heard a fairly loud shriek of surprise from outside the room, and the Ears flew into Harry's outstretched hand. The students gasped in surprise.

"She's running away, really fast," Ron reported. "We'll never catch her, so no point trying." To the class, he added, "That was Pansy Parkinson outside the door. She was trying to listen to us using this," taking the Ears from Harry and holding them up. He explained how the Ears worked, and where they were from.

"What with this and the Snackboxes, Fred and George are getting a lot of gold off Malfoy, at least," Harry pointed out. "What do these cost, three Galleons each?"

"Five, I think," corrected Ron.

"Oh, and well spotted, Ron," said Harry. "I hadn't thought of that. Thanks for keeping your eyes open." Ron nodded. Harry stepped back and checked with Ron that nobody else was anywhere near the classroom. After Ron gave the all-clear, Harry told everyone about the dream. The hardest part to explain, and the only part he was not inclined to give total disclosure about, was how he drove Voldemort from his mind. At the same time, he knew it was important. First he explained what Dumbledore had told him about Voldemort's vulnerability to love, and the reason for it. Then he told them what he had done in the dream, leaving out only the details of the images he summoned.

Hermione smiled and said, "Thank you, Harry, that's sweet, it makes me feel really good. I promise we won't tease you about it."

"No, of course not," Ginny agreed.

"Well, I don't know if I can make that kind of promise," said Ron, still a bit embarrassed at what Harry had said. Ginny and Hermione, standing on either side of him, simultaneously whacked him on the arm closest to them. "Ow!" exclaimed Ron, as the students giggled.

"Believe me, I'm not totally comfortable talking about it either," admitted Harry to the group. "It's kind of hard to tell someone that you love them, never mind talking about it to a group of twenty-five people. And this has never been easy for me, especially, anyway. But this is about fighting Voldemort, so I'll deal with my embarrassment."

He was just about to start talking again when Ginny walked over to him. She looked him in the eyes, and said, "I love you, Harry."

Harry felt overwhelmed. He managed to say, "Thank you. I love you too." She beamed, hugged him quickly, and went back to where she was before.

Harry smiled, and turned back to the group. "She did that, you may have noticed, so I wouldn't be so embarrassed. If I have to be embarrassed, then she would be too. And I knew she loved me anyway, but I hadn't realized how nice it was to hear someone say it."

"Well, I'm a girl, so it's easier for us," Ginny said to the first years. "Boys aren't encouraged to say things like that, but they still feel them. I mean, I know Ron loves Harry too, but he'd never, ever say so." She grinned wickedly at Ron; the students giggled.

"I knew you were going to drag me into this at some point," Ron muttered to more giggling and laughter.

"I know this focus on love may seem kind of strange," said Harry to the group. "I didn't really understand it at first, when Professor Dumbledore told me about it. But now I've seen it work, so I understand it better. And it makes sense. All Voldemort is, is evil. So it makes sense that love would weaken him, mentally at least. Normally, my reaction to this topic would be just like Ron's. But if you're trying to fight off Voldemort, you take any weapon you can get, and in this case, love is a good weapon."

He finished telling them about the dream, ending with as accurate a description of the pain of the Cruciatus Curse as he could. The students looked pale, several of them cringing. "The only one I know of at Hogwarts who's experienced this, besides me, is Neville," Harry continued, gesturing to Neville. "It happened to him in the Department of Mysteries, after he came into a room with ten Death Eaters to try to save me. Do you think I described it okay, Neville?"

"I think you described it as well as it can be described with words," Neville replied. "Which is not very well."

"I see what you mean. Anyway, Ron shook me awake, but he had a hard time."

"That's putting it mildly, I was beginning to wonder if you'd be able to wake up." To the students, he said, "I yelled at him, touched his arm, even shook him, and finally he woke up. I was scared to death," he admitted. "But what was worst was the look on his face. To have that much pain... I don't think I'm going to be able to forget that look for a long, long time."

"Okay..." Harry started again, not knowing what to say to what Ron had said. "Now you know what happened. Is there anything else that you'd like to know?" Harry spent ten minutes answering questions, until there were none more.

"Well, I guess we're finished... I need to go have dinner and get ready for the Quidditch tryout, or else our captain will get annoyed at me," he said, clapping Ron on the shoulder as he said the word 'captain.' "And one last thing... thank you all for your support, it means a lot to me. And yours too," he added, turning to Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville.

As the first years headed out, a few lingered to admire Fawkes, then everyone was gone. "Well, it's been a busy day, not to mention a long one," said Harry to his friends. "I think I'm going to have a lie down for a few minutes before dinner. See you at six in the Great Hall?" The others nodded, and they all left together.

Harry lay on his bed, and found that once there was nothing in particular to occupy it, his mind went straight to remembering last night's trauma and imagining the one tonight. He tried to work through what he might do, think of ways he might breach whatever defenses Voldemort had. Fawkes remained at his side, sometimes on his chest or legs as he lay in bed. At one point he pet Fawkes for fifteen minutes straight while thinking about what to do to Voldemort. In what seemed like no time at all, the clock on the wall showed five minutes to six.

After a quick dinner, Harry, Ron, and Ginny headed off to the Quidditch pitch. The position open for tryouts was Chaser; two Chasers had left Hogwarts last year. One Chaser position was taken by Ginny, moving from Seeker, where she had substituted for Harry when he was thrown off the team by Umbridge. To Harry's surprise, and Ron's, the position was won by Dennis Creevey, whose brother Colin and sister Andrea were in the stands cheering him on. Harry and Ron were surprised because he did not strike them as the athletic type, and because he was Muggle-born; Muggle-born students didn't tend to make Quidditch teams all that often, because they hadn't been flying throughout their childhoods as the others had.

When he was told, Dennis was quite excited, and ran over to the stands to tell his brother and sister, who were equally excited, if not more. Harry walked over to congratulate Dennis, and was warmly greeted by all three Creeveys.

"Great job, Dennis. We're glad to have you on the team," Harry said.

"It's so cool that I get to play Quidditch with Harry Potter," Dennis enthused.

"Yeah, Dennis, but you might not get to play much if he catches the Snitch too fast," joked Colin.

"That would be all right," said Dennis.

"'Fraid not... I've only once caught the Snitch in the first two minutes... that was my first year, I think. You'll get plenty of chances to play, Dennis. Colin, how come you didn't go out for it last year?"

"I'm not that good on a broom, as it turns out. But I'm a big fan, though. Learned all about it, read up on it, even picked a pro team to support. Did I tell you, Professor McGonagall is going to let me do the play-by-play, now that Lee's graduated?"

"Great! Good for you," said Harry. "Did she give you a lecture on how-"

"I have to be fair and neutral and so forth, yes." Colin acknowledged. "I may have promised more than I can deliver. We'll see."

"Well, she'll be sitting right next to you, ready to yank the microphone away."

Colin grinned. "Yeah, I remember the time Lee swore, and she did that. As long as nobody whacks Dennis with a Beater's club, I should be fine. I thought I'd do a bit of research, to drop in bits of information here and there. For example... 'And Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin Seeker, dives for the Snitch. Malfoy, whose father is in custody pending charges of supporting Voldemort, has failed to secure a Quidditch Cup victory for Slytherin in four years.' How's that?"

"No, Colin, I'm sure she won't find that objectionable at all," kidded Harry.

"Harry, could I ask you a favor? Now that we're all three here together, my parents wanted to get a picture of all of us. But I also wondered, since we're all in your classes, if you'd join us in one." Colin looked a bit anxious.

"Sure, Colin, I'd be happy to," said Harry. Colin beamed and got his camera.

"Oh, yeah... last time I saw that thing, I was burping up slugs," Ron recalled, having just joined the group.

"I kind of wish you had let me take that picture, it would have been a really good one," Colin said, half-seriously.

"I have a feeling you wouldn't think so if you were burping up the slugs," Ron pointed out.

"I guess so. Anyway, this is a different camera. The other one was ruined when I was Petrified. It saved my life, though, so I can't really complain. Okay, here we are. Harry, could you take the first one?"

"Sure, how does it work?"

"You're Muggle-raised, it's just a regular camera, nothing special."

"Yes, but raised by people who never would have let me touch one of their cameras."

Colin looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Harry, I didn't mean to... I forgot, Ginny told me that your Muggle relatives don't treat you very well. I guess that's why you're so humble, you were never raised to think you were anything special."

"The childhood I had was a pretty high price to pay for not being full of myself."

"Yeah, from what Ginny said, it's amazing that you weren't all messed up. But it would be so easy for you to get a big head, I mean, just being Harry Potter would be enough to do it. Can you imagine what Draco Malfoy would have been like if he'd been born Harry Potter? He'd have thought it was his rightful role to be the leader of the wizarding world. He'd have been insufferable."

"Now, there's a nasty thought," agreed Ron. "Of course, then his parents would have died, so some good would have come of it. Here, why don't I just take both, since I don't know any less than Harry does about it. I'll tell my Dad about it, he'll be excited."

Colin showed Ron what to do, and Ron took the pictures. Harry assured Colin that his photographic self would stay firmly in the picture this time. "Do you still have that one of me and Lockhart?" Harry asked.

"Yes, and you never stay in the frame for more than a second or two," Colin said.

"Good," smiled Harry.

It was 9:10, and Harry was walking to Professor Dumbledore's office to witness the meeting at which matters with Malfoy would be decided. He didn't know what Dumbledore was contemplating doing, but as long as it was something, he thought he would like it. He was especially hoping for something that would help protect the Slytherin first years, but was not optimistic, given that that was not the behavior for which he was to be judged.

Harry walked into Dumbledore's office; Snape and Malfoy had not yet arrived. Harry said, "I think I'm getting more accustomed to Fawkes being around. Sometimes I start forgetting he's on my shoulder, which is kind of strange. He flew around the field while we were doing Quidditch, but stayed out of everyone's way. It was neat."

"I am glad that you are enjoying his presence, Harry."

"Can I ask you, sir... do you miss him, since he hasn't been around all day?"

"No, not specifically, Harry. You see, Fawkes does sometimes remain elsewhere for periods of time, up to a few days at a time. Perhaps one could liken them to vacations, though it is not 'work' for him to be in our presence. Perhaps the phrase 'a change of perspective' would describe it better. During these times he is, of course, available at any time should the need arise. You need not concern yourself with how his absence is affecting me, though it is typical for you to do so.

"In fact, if I may make an observation, Harry... ah, Professor Snape, Mr. Malfoy, please come in." Malfoy stood in front of Dumbledore's desk, with Harry to Dumbledore's right, Snape to his left, nearer the door.

Harry sensed that Dumbledore was about to start, but he wanted to say something to Malfoy in front of witnesses, and this was a good opportunity. "I'm sorry, Professor, but before you start, there is something I need to mention to Mr. Malfoy, so if it's all right..." Dumbledore nodded his assent.

Harry turned to Malfoy. "Okay, this is about how you've referred to me when we've talked. You know, Scarhead, get stuffed, and so forth. Now, just for myself, even though I'm a professor, I don't care. I'm so used to you addressing me like that that it seems normal. But the other teachers have been unhappy with me that I didn't give you detention when you did that. They say it doesn't matter if I don't care, that it affects all teachers if any student does that and gets away with it. And I can see their point. So, this is just to warn you. When I asked Professor McGonagall what how I should decide whether to do anything or not, she said I should take your behavior and imagine you had done it to her and not me. Now, I think that's a little harsh, myself," here Harry allowed himself a brief smile, "but I get her point." Turning to Dumbledore, Harry said, "That's all I needed to say, sir. Thank you."

"Professor Potter," said Snape politely but with a hint of his old attitude, "given your history with Mr. Malfoy, do you not think you could be biased when it comes to assigning punishment to him?"

Harry assumed Snape was doing this to put on a show of defending his prefect, trying to give Malfoy a little dignity. Malfoy appeared to be doing his best to be expressionless, but not very well.

"I don't think so, but I can't say it's impossible," Harry said agreeably. "If you'd like, I'd be willing to report whatever Mr. Malfoy does to Professor McGonagall, and let her decide what to do." Harry knew this was no bargain for Malfoy; she would be tougher than he was.

"That is not possible, Professor," Snape replied. "I simply suggest that you keep the possibility in mind."

Harry nodded, then said to Snape and Dumbledore, "Excuse me, I'm just wondering, why is it not possible?"

"A professor cannot abdicate any such part of his responsibilities; that is why they are called responsibilities," Dumbledore explained. "You will simply have to do as you see fit. Now, Mr. Malfoy... I wish that disrespect to a teacher were the least of our problems here today, but it is not. It appears that you have engaged in a campaign to undermine Professor Potter's classes by demanding that his students consume a candy designed to cause the symptoms of illness where no illness exists. Do you admit or deny that this is accurate?"

"I deny it, sir." Harry could have sworn he saw Snape roll his eyes. Malfoy's fate is sealed now, Harry thought. I shouldn't gloat, I shouldn't gloat. But I want to.

"Mr. Malfoy, I have interviewed a dozen Slytherins who say they were strongly pressured by you to avoid Professor Potter's classes in this way. I have letters from ten more who say they saw this or experienced it. Should I assume that all twenty-two are lying?"

"I guess so, sir," Malfoy said unconvincingly. His attitude still radiated the message of, you can't do anything, you've got nothing on me.

"Is it your feeling, Mr. Malfoy, that the school can take no action against you due to the fact that there is no documentary proof of your actions?"

This question seemed to take Malfoy by surprise. "No, uh, I mean, I don't know, sir."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Malfoy, that was actually a rhetorical question. This meeting was not to establish that you engaged in such a campaign. That has already been established to my satisfaction. This meeting was to determine whether you would take the opportunity to accurately report the facts of the matter, as is the responsibility of a prefect. You did not. Although a prefect, you threatened students if they did not eat the candy to evade Professor Potter's classes. You further ignored Professor Potter's explicit warning to reverse the instructions you had given, and instead, pressured the students even harder. It is therefore obvious to me that you have chosen not to conform to what the school expects of its prefects. You will hand over your badge now, please."

Malfoy's jaw dropped. Even Snape looked surprised. Harry fought to keep the elation off his face.

Malfoy was stunned and furious. "But you can't..."

"I fear you have left me little choice, Mr. Malfoy," said Dumbledore, appearing genuinely saddened to have to do what he was doing. "To say that you are unrepentant is putting it mildly. I must act to protect the integrity of classes at Hogwarts. Deliberate disruption of a teacher's classes is a very serious offense. Your badge, please."

Malfoy stared at Dumbledore as though he were seriously considering defying the request. For all the good it would do him, Harry thought. Finally, it seemed that Malfoy reached the same conclusion. Still furious, he reached up, took off his badge, and put it on Dumbledore's desk rather harder than he needed to.

"There are a few more things I must make clear, Mr. Malfoy. I have heard reports that you have cursed one or more of the younger students in your house. This is not what you are being disciplined for, but I take such reports very seriously. If I hear any more such reports, I will take further action. I strongly urge you not to curse, threaten, or abuse anyone.

"In addition, Professor Potter warned you that you would receive one hour of detention for every Slytherin student who ate the candies you provided. You will now report to Professor McGonagall to schedule those detentions. But his warning is still in force. There are reports that you have provided his first and second year students with the candies as well, and insisted on their use. You will, politely, request their return from those to whom you gave them, and rescind your previous instructions.

"That is all. Professor Snape, if you would escort Mr. Malfoy to Professor McGonagall..." An emotionless Snape led a fuming Malfoy away, closing the door behind him. Dumbledore regarded Harry for a moment, then said, "I would say, Harry, that your attempts to keep your feelings off your face were fairly successful."

"I tried really hard," said Harry with amusement.

"Yes, I did notice. As it happens, while you have many talents, masking your feelings is not really one of them. While not crucial, it is a good skill to have in certain situations. I do think it will come to you, as time goes by. I take it that you are satisfied with the sanctions I imposed upon Mr. Malfoy."

"Very satisfied, sir. I admit I hadn't thought of what you did, but it makes sense. He's always used that badge as, I think Ron said, a license to bully. I really hope this will make him less nasty in the Slytherin common room. I hate to think that he'll take it out on... it's funny, I was going to say 'my' first years. They're not really, but you know what I mean."

"Ah, but they are really, Harry. In the sense of the school regulations, they are not, but in a real sense, they definitely are. They have chosen you as their leader, the one whose example to follow, to trust. It is a great honor and a great responsibility, and I believe you have already experienced both aspects of that situation."

"Yes, sir, I certainly have. Well, I guess I ought to go back to Gryffindor Tower and start getting ready for bed, and for your Occlumency lesson. I'm getting kind of tired."

"It is not at all surprising, given your lack of sleep. There is one other thing, Harry: now that Hermione and Ginny are sleeping in your dormitory-which, by the way, you should realize is a very strong measure of Professor McGonagall's regard and concern; I am amazed that she allowed this-I thought it would be simpler to have the Occlumency lesson there. So, I will see you there at 10:00." Harry thanked Dumbledore and headed back to Gryffindor Tower, Fawkes still on his shoulder.

"Pepperoni pizza!" Harry said to the Fat Lady, and the portrait hole swung open. The common room was filled with activity, but most of it ceased as Harry came in. From Ron and Hermione, everyone knew where Harry had been, and all wanted to know what had happened.

Harry almost asked for everyone's attention, but then realized that he already had it. He could not keep a smile off his face. "Draco Malfoy," he announced to the room, "is no longer a Slytherin prefect." Huge cheers went up, the loudest being from the first years, who sympathized with the Slytherins in their struggle. There was nobody who was not very happy.

"Well, c'mon, tell us everything!", encouraged a fourth-year girl.

"I'm sorry; I'd like to, but I really can't. I was there as a teacher, and it's supposed to be private. Much as Malfoy deserves to have the details of his humiliation spread around the school," he grinned as there were more cheers, "I'd be violating Professor Dumbledore's trust if I repeated everything. But anyway, the details aren't important; the result is." He sat down with Ron and Hermione.

"But you'll tell us later, of course, right?" asked Ron.

"Obviously."

Harry talked with Ron and Hermione for a while, reveling in Malfoy's fall. Soon it was near 10:00, and Hermione suggested that they get into their bedclothes before the Occlumency lesson, so they could go to bed right after it. They headed off to their respective dormitories, Hermione gathering Ginny along the way.

Five minutes later, Harry and Ron watched Professor Dumbledore enter their dormitory room, followed by Hermione and Ginny in their nightclothes. "Bet you got a few stares," said Ron to Hermione.

"Not really, we had told most everyone what was happening already," said Ginny. "I was amazed that nobody made any kind of jokes about it. It's such an obvious target. People are really taking this seriously."

"Well, I believe we know why that is," Dumbledore said. "Now, let's have all four of you on Harry's bed, two sitting forward, two back." He went through the standard exercises, and introduced a few new ideas. Near the end of the time, he did a test, gently trying to slip into Harry's mind. Harry cleared his mind; in a few seconds, in his mind's eye, he saw the golden dog jumping on his lap, then Hermione talking with John when she was explaining the meaning of what the dog was doing, then Hermione hugging him and saying she loved him, then Ginny saying she loved him. The images stopped; Dumbledore put down his wand.

"Sir, that was strange... I usually get images of embarrassing or stressful things, but that time... I don't know how much you saw..."

"You received images of love and affection, yes," Dumbledore finished for him. "That was my intention. In any case, it was not easy for me to get in, even given the friendly welcome I received. It will be harder for Voldemort than it was last night, should he attempt it. This causes me to suggest, Harry, that you add this to what you planned to do to experiment. When you face him, do not give in to anger or rage, even if he taunts you. Keep in mind the images you saw. Come from a place of love. It will make things harder for him."

Harry nodded. "I'll try."

"I know you will. Now, since I saw this, I should mention it; I saw what the dog did, and of course I understand its significance. Hermione, do Ron and Ginny know?"

"Yes, I told them earlier," Hermione said.

"Good, that will save some time." Dumbledore looked at Harry; even though Dumbledore's expression didn't change, Harry was sure he could see affection in Dumbledore's eyes. "Harry... interestingly, I did not even realize that the dog could do what it has done. I tend to forget that I invest a lot of myself in my spells, and my emotional state is a part of them. So, I should not be surprised.

"It is true, as Hermione and John speculate, that I feel for you as one does for a close relative, such as a son or grandson. I never thought to mention it specifically because it did not really occur to me as a conscious thought; I cannot even say when it happened. I believe I unconsciously assumed you knew, as my actions may have indicated my feelings, but it is true that your childhood experiences may have left you ill-equipped to interpret such things correctly.

"So, this is an opportunity to clarify things. I love you, Harry. I care about you a great deal. I wept for you at your loss of Sirius, and I take great pride in your accomplishments, such as what you have done with the Slytherin first years, and the bravery with which you face this trial. If I had a son, I would have been proud for him to have been like you."

Harry choked up as he never had before; he was sure he was going to cry. He reflexively held it back. Instead, he impulsively moved off the bed and hugged Dumbledore. Dumbledore gently returned the embrace. Hermione was crying; Ron and Ginny looked as though they were trying hard not to.

After a half a minute, Dumbledore released Harry. "Thank you, Harry. I believe that now would be a good time to go to bed. Is there anything in particular you would like to be done, any instructions?"

"No, not really... I just hope someone will get to me as soon as possible if it happens. I don't know when I would have woken up without Ron's help, and... it was strange, just after it happened, Ron was holding my shoulders, and I just grabbed at his, I don't even know why. I just felt like I needed to touch him, to touch someone."

Dumbledore nodded. "That has been known to happen in such situations, though it is rare that it actually can be acted upon, as most people receiving the Curse are not in a position to be attended to immediately. But yes, in such a situation, we feel we need human contact. So, I suggest that when it happens, the person at your side hold you immediately, and continue doing so for a time. It will no doubt be helpful to a faster recovery. I daresay one of the girls would volunteer for such duty."

Harry smiled, unable to resist. "I was hoping for Ron, actually." Ron turned red and gave Harry a 'very funny' look. Ginny and Hermione howled with laughter.

Dumbledore smiled and said, "As you wish," making the girls laugh even more.

"So, Professor, what will happen?" asked Hermione. "I mean, if one of these dreams happens, Ginny or I will hold him, then what?"

"First, Fawkes will come and get me. In fact, Fawkes may recognize the dream as it is happening, in which case he will get me, and I will be here before the dream ends. In any case, we will then wait until Harry is prepared to give us an account of the dream, at which time I will have Fawkes bring Professors McGonagall and Snape."

"Snape? Why him?" asked Ron.

"Don't worry, Ron, it's okay," Harry said. "He's been laying off lately. He's been positively polite, for him."

"Professors Snape, McGonagall, and myself are key decision-makers for the Order, so it is important that all three of us hear the account firsthand. After we hear it, we will want to confer, to some extent in private. It will be necessary to discuss things of a high-security nature, so we must go elsewhere. Harry will simply need friendly faces by this point, and you can take it from there.

"I must be off now; I will send Neville in on my way out, and then you should all go to sleep, except for the whoever takes the first watch." Dumbledore took Harry's hand. "We will be here for you when you need us." He released it and walked out.

"He's amazing," said Ron. "I don't know how anybody can be like that."

"He sure is," agreed Ginny. "It was so sweet, what he said."

"Okay, Ginny," Hermione said, "we should split up the night between us. One of us should take the first half, like maybe up to 3:00, and then wake the other, who'll do the second part of the night."

"Sounds like a good idea," Ginny agreed. "So who does which part?"

"Let's flip a Galleon," Hermione suggested. "Dragon side I go first, phoenix side you go first." Ginny agreed.

It came up dragon, so Ginny climbed into Seamus's bed, and Ron and Neville into their own. Hermione took a seat in the chair Dumbledore had conjured not far from Harry's bed. She picked up a book she had brought, and opened it. As they got comfortable, Fawkes's song, which had been a pleasant background noise, increased in intensity. Harry felt more comfortable, and in a flash had the thought: phoenix song, my friends here... this would be great if it wasn't for the fact that I'm going to get tortured in a few hours. Then in the next instant, he thought, don't think about that. Think about the beautiful song, think about your friends, think about how lucky you are to have them. He opened his eyes a bit and looked at Hermione, who was already looking at him. She smiled, and mouthed 'I love you' as she touched her heart and made a gesture which he knew meant the same thing. He smiled at her and closed his eyes again. He reveled in the feeling for a moment, then started to do his Occlumency exercises. He was able to focus on them sufficiently that within twenty minutes, he was asleep.