Harry Potter and The Crestfallen Star

    Harry didn't get to hear the other men's conversation because someone began to call out his name. "Harry! Harry!"

He searched for the source of the sound and found that the strange glow was back. Letting his curiosity get the better of him, he stepped forward into the pale radiance.

    Darkness.

     Someone began to shake beckon him in the distance, “Harry! Harry! Come On! Get Up!”

    Harry felt one final tug before snapping his eyes open. He stretched and adjusted his glasses so that the giant, fuzzy figure became Ron.

     “Harry, I didn’t mean to wake you, but I was won---”

    He stopped mid-sentence when Harry ran to the study.

    “Did you see it Ron? Just now. In there. We need to get help now! Kingsley might be in trouble!”

    Ron merely and stared at him.

     “I couldn’t sleep, so I started looking through some pictures, and Sirius started pointing, and there was this light-”

     “Harry. What are you talking about? It was probably just a bad dream-.”

     “It wasn‘t a dream! I’m trying to tell you I just saw something that proves that Kingsley is in danger! We need to act NOW!”

     Ron turned sickly green, “I’m going to signal everyone.”

    He quickly left the room, leaving Harry to dwell on the night’s events. Sitting back at the table, he realized just how dizzy and light-headed he felt. A knock was heard at the door not more than ten seconds later. He recognized Mrs. Weasley’s voice immediately.

     “Ron! We got your message! What’s wrong?”

    He heard a muffled struggle.

     “Er! Mum! Get off! It’s not me! It’s- (he began to whisper) it’s Harry.”

     “What! What’s wrong? Is it his scar?”

    Her concerns were interrupted by a loud knock on the door. At once, Harry could hear a commotion start in his living room. The conversation died down as soon as they started when Arthur Weasley remarked, “I think it’s time we made our way toward the kitchen so we can ask Harry what’s wrong.” After several quick whispers, they all piled into the room. Harry looked up; appearing before was: Remus Lupin, Kingsley Shacklebot, Mad Eye Moody, Neville Longbottom, Fred, A very much pregnant Angelina, George, Bill, and Mr. And Mrs. Weasley, Nymphodora Tonks, Gabriel Mercout, Dean Thomas, Doris Thatcher, Lavender Brown, Severus Snape, and Albus Dumbledore.

    Snape’s piercing voice filled the room as they took their seats around the table.

     “Can someone please explain to me why we are here? Something inevitably having to do with Mr. Potter here,” He glared at Harry, “Have a bad dream I suppose?”

     Harry gave Snape a look that would’ve made Sirius proud, “As a matter of fact I did. Only it wasn’t a dream.”

    He then proceeded to tell them about the three strangers and their discussion, all while they sat listening closely. When he finished, Harry felt as if a giant weight had been lifted off his shoulders, only to burden all the rest. In the silence that followed, Lupin was the first to speak.

     “Harry, are you absolutely sure this is what you’ve seen?”

     “Yes.”

     “Harry dear?” It was Mrs. Weasley, “What do you suppose this all means? I’m sure seeing--”

    She was interrupted by Snape.

     “Molly, do not waste your time. Indeed Mr. Potter here has a certain knack for imagining things that put him and others into dangerous situations. I daresay we have all seen the result of one of his little rescues.”

    Harry was furious.

     “I’M NOT IMAGINING ANYTHING! I’M TRYING TO GET OTHERS OUT OF A DANGEROUS SITUATION!

    He continued to yell while Ron repeatedly vied for his attention.

     “IT WASN’T MY FAULT!”

     “Harry?”

     “NOT THINK FOR ONE S-”

     “Harry?”

     “DO YOU THINK THAT I’M TR-”

     “Harry!”

     “WHAT! RON! WHAT?”

     “I think you have some mail.”

     Harry turned toward the window and found that more than a dozen owls waited patiently outside. He opened the window and as if they could sense the tension, the flock flew inside, discarded their letters, and quickly left. Embarrassed of his temper loss, Harry shut the window and quickly sat down while the others began to rummage through the messages. He briefly made out words written in Hagrid’s sluggish handwriting before Dumbledore stood.

     “Perhaps, Severus, Harry here did in fact see what he says. If so, then there is a lot more at work here than Voldemort.”

     It was Moody’s turn to comment.

     “Hastling you say? Hmm, interesting…”

     “How so?”

     “That sounds like old Goddard’s boy. I’m not sure if you’d remember him or not, but I believe he was on the jury at your trial a few years back. He helped put away a lot of dark wizards. Good man, Goddard.”

     “Yeah, well his son is a git,” said Fred.

     “That’s what troubles me.”

     Mr. Weasley finally decided to ask what everyone else was wondering, “What do you suggest we do about this?”

     There was a brief silence and Harry managed to glance at Dumbledore, who was twiddling his thumbs while staring thoughtfully out the window.

    Lavender sighed and nervously commented, “Well, Kingsley could just not go.”

     “No,” added Kingsley, “it’ll look too suspicious if I don‘t show up. I‘ve already told Eugene that I‘d be there.”

     “He’s right.”

     “I suppose we should alert the others,” said Lupin

     Dumbledore began to speak in his usual serene tone.

     “Alert alone will not prepare them against Voldemort’s followers. They have way of achieving their ends when it seems quite impossible.”

     “Well then what do you suggest we do?” asked Angelina.

     Harry was very surprised to hear himself say, “I’ll go.”

     Immediately everyone sat up, disbelief and concern showing in their faces.

     “Come again?”

     “I said I’d go to the party.”

     Mrs. Weasley wouldn’t have it.

     “Nonsense Harry! Complete nonsense! To think we’d put you in such a situation! Absolutely ridiculous.”

    Lupin sighed, “Harry, she’s right. What you’re suggesting is suicide.”

    Without skipping a beat, George said, “Suicide? Not very convenient for us, but I’d suggest swallowing pixie droppings.”

    “Slow, but sure,” added Fred.

    Mrs. Weasley was fuming, “Don’t encourage him!”

    A wave of relief went through Harry when he noticed that Dumbledore was smiling.

     “Yes, I said I’d go. I’m the only one who knows what these men look like.”

     Ron looked unusually pale. “But what if Vo-Vol- he is there? I mean, he would know it was you regardless of disguise.”

     “Yes Ron, he would know,” said Dumbledore, “but Voldemort would not chance appearing where so many Ministry workers reside.”

    Mrs. Weasley was still muttering her opinion under her breath when Dean brought up the Polyjuice option.

     “Harry would have to wear a disguise right? So why doesn’t he just use Polyjuice Potion?”

     Remembering years ago, Harry quickly squashed the idea.

     “Polyjuice potion would take too long to make, plus it would only last an hour.”

    Dumbledore agreed with Harry, “There are other ways of concealing your identity, the problem is who is available and willing to go under Voldemort’s surveillance.”

     Gabriel Mercöut did not hesitate, despite his broken English, “He can use my-my face. I am afraid that I am not very vell know here.”

     “Well that’s settled,” said Bill who was getting up out of his chair.

     “Not so fast,” added Tonks, who’d stopped feeling Angelina’s belly, “I believe this little shindig is invite only.”

     Bill wasn’t finished. “Tonks, do you have a companion for this party?”

     “As a matter of fact I don’t.”

     “Well, that settles it. Harry will go with you.”

     “Oh. Okay,” she shrugged.

     “Kingsley, you will go as promised, just like the others,” said Dumbledore, “Harry you will go, as Gabriel, with Tonks, and various others will be there to keep watch.”

     “Well, now that that’s established, I think it’s time we left,” said Fred.

     “After all, time is galleons,” said George.

    On that note, Fred, George, and Angelina left. Almost simultaneously, everyone else began to stand and leave. Dumbledore and Snape traveled back to Hogwarts while Lupin and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stayed around to make sure Harry was okay. After much reassurance, they left, leaving Harry and Ron by themselves.

     “Good luck with that bunch, mate. Mum and Dad took me to one of the Christmas party’s once, and I ended up seriously considering jinxing myself sick.”

     “Thanks for the advice, Ron.”

     “Hey, do you reckon your dream had something to do with V-Vol- him?”

     “No,” said Harry, while staring down at the closed photo album, “but whatever Sirius was pointing to, I’m gonna find it.”