Harry Potter and the Light Brigade

Chapter 2

Preparations

Harry slept for almost twenty-four hours. When he finally came to, light was streaming through the one small window, illuminating the slumped bodies of Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. At some point in the night, they'd fallen asleep in conjured chairs opposite his bed. As Harry woke up, he wondered for a second where he was. And then it started to come back. All the years he'd spent, training, learning, working with Albus to figure out what he should do next. All those years in the white void, alone except for his headmaster. He tried to pull himself out of bed to look around, but he didn't have any strength in his arms. He could barely sit up. The sight of his two sleeping summer guardians brought a smile to his face. He looked around the room and saw his trunk, glad to know that he'd have access to his stuff without any hassle from the Dursleys. As he was trying to look at the calendar on his wall to figure out how long he'd been asleep, he collapsed back in bed, too weak to get up.

Sirius's eyes popped open when he heard the sound of Harry hitting his mattress. He nudged Remus before turning to Harry and asking,

"Are you okay?"
Harry grunted in agreement, too tired to put a coherent sentence together or even nod. Within seconds he had fallen back asleep. Sirius and Remus watched him, concerned.

"He's so tired; I wonder what on earth it was that they did," said Sirius.

"We should ask him when he's doing a little better," agreed Lupin. "And maybe we should get him some breakfast for the next time he comes around." He looked at the harsh planes of Sirius's face. "And maybe something for us, too."

<<<>>>

The two former Marauders found the Dursleys in the kitchen, eating breakfast and studiously ignoring them. They stood around awkwardly for a moment, until Vernon said,

"Well, don't just stand there. Look around and make yourselves something. You don't expect us to do it for you, do you?"

Sirius sighed and pulled out his wand. Petunia yelped, Vernon flinched, and Dudley continued eating, oblivious.

"A-a-all right. P-P-Petunia, could you fix them something?" She got up immediately and scurried to the stove. Sirius blinked.

"I was just going to look for some eggs," he said, grinning, "but if you insist.... How about something for Harry, too?"

"That lout having a lie-in, then?" muttered Vernon.

"I suppose you could describe something just short of a magical coma that way, yes," said Remus. "We'll bring it up for him."

When they returned to Harry's room, he was sitting up again, talking quietly to Hedwig. "Thanks for bringing my stuff up for me. Must have been a devil to get it away from the Dursleys," he said.

Sirius grinned. "Somehow I don't think they'll be troubling you so much anymore. Having an escaped convict under their roof seems to have worried them a little."

Harry laughed, and then sat back in bed. "It's brilliant to see you two again; it's been ages."

Remus looked concerned. "So long? Harry, it's only been a day. Are you feeling okay?"

Harry panicked silently, angry at himself for almost letting things slip. "I'm just really tired, that's all. And I know I saw you yesterday. But I hardly got to see you for two minutes before we used the spell and I passed out." His face fell. "Albus is dead, then, right?"

Remus nodded. "As soon as he finished the spell."

"I knew it was going to happen, but hearing it somehow makes it more real. I'm just glad he was able to go doing something he wanted, something to help us all."

"What about the weapon?" Sirius asked. "I didn't see anything; did the spell work?"
"It worked all right, but I'm not supposed to talk about it. The weapon's ready, though. I know how to get to it and use it. Or I will once I'm better, anyway. I never realized before that just sitting up in bed could be so hard. Could you pass me my wand? It's on the dresser."

Sirius handed it to him. "Do you need help with something?"

"Just checking something. Lumos." A wan light appeared at the tip of Harry's wand, barely brighter than a candle. He looked a little winded, as if casting such a simple spell had taken up what little energy he had. "I thought so. Helpless as a kitten, and probably for quite a while, too."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Sirius still looked a little worried. "Anything to help you get better faster?"

"Stay and talk to me. Albus said that I should try to stay awake as much as possible. My energy should recover faster that way. Keep me awake enough and I'll be fine."

Sirius gave him a strange look, but nodded. "I don't suppose there's anything you can tell us about the spell, then, is there?"

"Just that it worked, I'm sorry." Harry suddenly noticed the plate of food that Lupin had left on his tiny desk. "I don't suppose that's my breakfast, is it?"

"Of course it is. Now that we're around, we won't be letting those Dursleys starve you again." Sirius handed him the steaming plate of food. "Well, I guess we can't talk about that, then. How about you tell us about your year at Hogwarts. Not any of the Tri-wizard stuff, I mean what's really important. Met any girls?"

Harry almost choked. "I wish. There was this one girl I wanted to bring to the Ball, but someone else asked her first, and then they were a couple. Of course, she probably thinks I got him killed now so I don't reckon I have much of a shot."

Sirius looked appalled. He started to say something, but Remus quickly interrupted. "It wasn't your fault, Harry, and you should know that by now. You-Know-Who killed Cedric, not you."

"Don't worry. I know I'm not to blame, Albus made sure of that. But not everyone else knows, and a lot of students still blame me, especially outside of Gryffindor. There are a lot of people who don't believe my story about what happened in the graveyard, unfortunately."

"Fudge included," said Sirius. "He's been pretty tough on Dumbledore in the Prophet. I wonder what that rag'll have to say today."

Remus looked around. "I'm surprised it hasn't arrived yet. Maybe the wards are slowing the owl down." As he spoke, a small, winged creature started tapping on the window. "There we are." He opened the window to let the owl in, untied the paper from around its leg, and gave it an owl treat from the bag near Hedwig's cage. He looked over the headlines as the bird sped away. "Bloody hell, listen to this. 'Hogwarts Headmaster Dies at 155, Legacy Tainted.' And that's only the headline. The article looks like it's even worse."

"I'm not surprised," said Harry. "The Prophet's always been in Fudge's pocket. Even with Rita gone, I wouldn't trust what they print."

"What ever happened to her, anyway? She just stopped writing a while ago. I've never heard a reason why," said Remus.

Harry chuckled. "She offended Hermione, and you know what she's like when she's angry. I'm not supposed to say exactly what Hermione did, but let's just say that Rita's learned to keep her mouth shut."

Sirius looked at him and grinned. "I almost think you and your friends get up to more trouble than we did, back when we were in school with James. But you've got so many people after you, I almost don't blame the three of you."

"Were you really that bad? I've heard a couple stories about my dad, but they made him Head Boy. How much trouble could he really have gotten into? I think I'm going to take a little persuading." He grinned.

"I don't know about that, Harry," said Remus, shooting Sirius a look. "I'd hate to give you any ideas. You're pretty inventive as it is, and I only had you for one year. As for being Head Boy, well, I wouldn't count you out for that, even with all the trouble you've caused."

Harry sighed. "I guess I understand." He looked at the clock, and realized it was almost lunch time. "Wow, I'm starving. Another side effect of the spell, I think. If either of you could get me something, that would be super."

"Eating doesn't sound like such a bad idea," agreed Remus. "C'mon, Sirius, let's get him something."

"Both of us? I was thinking I would stay and keep Harry company."

"Harry, you'll be okay, right?"

When Harry nodded, Remus grabbed Sirius and almost pulled him out of the room. A minute later, he was asleep.

<<<>>>

The next time Harry woke up, he found that an owl had come from Minerva with information about Dumbledore's funeral. It was to be held on the Hogwarts grounds on Tuesday, two days away, and the reading of his will was to be the next day. Harry was not at all surprised to be invited to the reading, for Albus had spent some time explaining how and when to use some of his rarer magical objects. What did surprise Harry was that Minerva wanted him to speak at the funeral. He'd thought his training had prepared him for anything, but he wasn't sure he could do it. There hadn't been a crash course in public speaking, but even if there had been Harry wouldn't have been ready. The man who had taught him everything he knew, who'd helped him through his grief over Cedric, who had watched over him all his life; how could he do his headmaster justice?

Sirius and Remus helped him write a reply, turning her down. "I won't even be able to stand up, in two days. It would be a bad idea to draw attention to my weakness, especially now. If Voldemort realizes what an easy target I am right now, nothing'd stop him coming after me." It was true, but it was also a lie. Voldemort would try to come after him, but he'd be safe with Sirius and Remus, with the protections around his aunt's house. While he was with his awful Muggle relatives, he was safe. He didn't want to speak at Albus's funeral because he was afraid, not of Voldemort, but of the pressure of facing a crowd. Harry wasn't afraid of the most powerful and evil wizard in the world, but he had a definite phobia when it came to public speaking.

When Hedwig was able to deliver his reply to the headmistress, Harry realized that whoever had been blocking his post had stopped, and that he finally had the chance to send letters to his friends. It was tough deciding what to tell his friends, but he couldn't really tell them any more than he'd told Sirius and Remus, especially since he needed help with the letters; Harry could pick up a quill, but more delicate control over his muscles had vanished, and he couldn't write. With Remus and Sirius taking turns taking dictation from him for his letters, he couldn't tell Ron or Hermione any of the specifics, even if he wanted to. Harry probably wouldn't have, anyway. This secret was just too important, even for his friends.

With his letters sent, Harry wasn't sure what to do next. Outside, it was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, but he'd learned pretty quickly that standing up was out of the question, much less going outside. He wasn't sure what to talk to Sirius or Remus about, because the conversation kept turning to either the weapon, which he couldn't talk about, or the Triwizard Tournament, which he didn't want to talk about. Then Harry remembered his homework. He couldn't write the summer essays he'd been assigned on his own, and he didn't want to put either of his guardians through dictating them. And he couldn't do his new reading because he didn't have his new books yet, and Albus had taught him a lot more than what was in his textbooks, anyway. Or, he had for the subjects that were important in a fight: Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry did need to do reading for his other subjects, though, especially Potions, which he was very tired of doing poorly in. Severus Snape had always graded him unfairly, and Harry had always resented him for it.

And like so much else, Albus's training had changed that. Of all his agents from the first war against Voldemort, he had said that Snape was the most invaluable. He had risked his life again and again to bring back information that had saved lives. Dozens and dozens of people in the wizarding world, not to mention most of Dumbledore's agents, owed their lives to the Hogwarts Potion Master, and most of them never knew it. If Harry was going to start his own organization to counter Voldemort, he would need Snape on his side, and that meant trying to befriend the man, or at least gain his respect. And if working his arse off in Potions would help with that, then it was worth it.

Sirius looked a little surprised when Harry asked him to dig his old Potions texts out of his trunk. Harry had decided to review everything he'd learned so far, since he didn't have next year's book to work from. "Potions, Harry? I know it's important, but don't you think there are more useful subjects you should work on first?"

Harry smiled feebly. "I"m pretty far ahead in those, don't worry. It's my Potions that needs the work, so I figure I might as well put some time in while I'm too weak to do anything else. It's a pity I can't do any brewing here, but I'll get by. It's the theory that's always been tough for me, anyway."

Sirius shrugged. "I guess you'd know best." He looked slightly dubious, but he went digging in Harry's trunk anyway, and quickly found the texts that Harry had used for Potions that past four years. Harry grabbed the first one, opened it to the first page, and started reading. He was able to go for three hours and a little over half the book before he grew too tired to even turn pages, and passed out. Sirius and Remus took turns watching him with concern, as if he'd suddenly grown a third arm, but Harry had barely noticed. Sirius was on duty when he passed out, and so he took the book away, marked the page, and tucked Harry into bed.

<<<>>>

The next day, Harry managed six solid hours of Potions review with only a short break to eat. He'd raced through the first two years of the subject easily, but he was surprised by how many things he found that he didn't remember. For the first time, he began regretting accepting so much help from Hermione on his assignments. Sirius and Remus continued to watch him work, first with surprise and then with amazement. While they were making lunch for themselves and Harry, Remus finally decided to comment on it.

"I'm worried about Harry. This thing with Albus that he did, it's changed him so much I can barely recognize him as the boy I taught two years ago. He's always been bright, but I never could have imagined him sitting and reading Potions, of all things, for hours on end without a break. Even Lily wasn't that dedicated."

"You're right, he has changed. There's obviously something going on we don't know about, and I guess it's supposed to be that way. We could worry about it, but I hardly think that studying Potions is going to harm him. Just because he's changed, doesn't mean it's a bad thing. After everything that happened with You-Know-Who, can you blame him?"

Remus nodded. "I'm not saying we should do anything. I certainly wouldn't ban him studying Potions, after all. But we should try to keep an eye on him, even after he gets better. Something strange is going on."

Sirius nodded. "Definitely. Now, let's see if we can get wonder boy to eat something."

<<<>>>

The next day was far too sunny for Harry's liking; it didn't feel like the right day to bury a legend. Sirius and Remus woke him at ten in the morning, which felt far too early. Sirius conjured a wheelchair for him, since he was still too weak to stand on his own. The chair frustrated Harry. He hated not being able to do things for himself, hated having to impose on Remus and his godfather for everything, hated being unable to defend himself in case trouble happened. He didn't think Voldemort would dare attack a gathering of wizards so large, with so many Aurors present, but Voldemort had done the unexpected before. He was a sitting duck if anything happened. But he had no choice. He couldn't miss Albus's funeral.

The ceremony was going to be held on the grounds of Hogwarts, and Dumbledore would be put to rest in a small tomb reserved for Hogwarts faculty, near the lake. When Harry asked how they'd be traveling to the school, Sirius replied, "by Floo."

"From Mrs. Figg's fireplace?"

Sirius jumped. "How do you know about her?"

Harry grinned. "Albus explained a lot of things to me. Shall we head over?"

Sirius looked at Remus and tried to silently express his worry. They needed to figure out what was going on with Harry. "Let's go," Harry said, still smiling a little. Remus shrugged, and started levitating Harry and his wheelchair down the stairs. Sirius still looked worried, but he followed along, turning into a large, black dog just before they left the house. Remus pushed Harry's wheelchair down the street to Mrs. Figg's. He opened the door with a quick spell, and pushed Harry's chair over to the fireplace.

"She's out today," Remus explained. He threw a bunch of Floo powder from a pot on the mantle into the flames, and said "the Three Broomsticks!" before walking into the fire, pushing Harry's wheelchair.

The usual sickening whirl of the Floo network deposited Remus and Harry in the Hogsmeade pub, where a small crowd had gathered, early arrivals for Dumbledore's funeral. When the crowd noticed Harry, the sudden storm of whispering was almost deafening. Harry sighed, and looked up at Remus. "Can we get out of here?" he asked quietly. "And what about Snuffles?"

"Snuffles will be meeting us at the funeral, he had to Apparate. The Floo was a little too public for him." Remus pushed Harry out of the Three Broomsticks and down the main street of Hogsmeade, towards the gates of Hogwarts. Harry garnered more stares as they moved through the village. A familiar black dog was waiting for them at the gates, and began walking with them as they entered the school's grounds. The ceremony wasn't due to start for well over an hour, and so there weren't many people about. Harry felt relieved to be away from the gawking crowds; he knew he was stuck with them whenever he went out in public, for at least as long as he needed the chair.

"Why are we here so early?" Harry asked.

"The headmistress wanted to talk to you before things got started. I don't think she was too happy about your letter," Remus replied.

Harry winced. "I suppose we'd better get this over with, then. Before I forget, I should tell you that I'll need to stay after the funeral to take care of something, and I might need some help with it."

"Of course." Snuffles barked agreement. "She said we were to bring you up to her office, is that all right?"

Harry nodded. As they entered the castle, he noticed how strange it felt to be there during the summer, without the hundreds of students that usually thronged through the halls. It felt even lonelier than it did over Christmas break, when he was usually one of a handful of people left at Hogwarts. Briefly he wondered who the new Defense teacher would be, and if whoever it was would try to kill him, the way all the others had. That reminded him of Mad-Eye Moody, and he mentally added the real Mad-Eye to the list of candidates he and Albus had compiled for his organization, the still-nameless successor to the legendary Order of the Phoenix. He needed to come up with a name for his group before he started trying to recruit people, but he didn't get a chance to think on the subject, because he suddenly realized that Remus was levitating him up the stairs to Albus's old office, which he knew must now be Minerva's.

Inside, the office was practically unrecognizable. All of Albus's delicate little contraptions were gone; they would be Harry's after the will was read. All the portraits of old headmasters were still there, with a new companion. The portrait of Albus Dumbledore was sleeping quietly when Harry walked in.

"Hello, Mr. Potter," said Minerva McGonagall. "Remus and 'Snuffles' have told me what they know about Albus's death, and your involvement. And while they seem to be quite satisfied to allow you to remain silent about what exactly he was up to, I'm afraid I must demand some answers. What is the nature of this weapon that Albus created?"

"Remus, Snuffles, could you leave the room? There are important reasons why Minerva needs to hear about this, but I can't let it go any farther." They looked questioningly at the Headmistress and waited for her to nod before getting up.

"Send me a message when you're ready for us to pick him up," said Remus.

When they had gone, Minerva looked at Harry appraisingly and said, "Minerva, now, is it? That's a change, certainly. What exactly is going on, Harry?"

"I can't quite tell you everything, of course, because it would both endanger the war effort and be unfair to Albus. But we agreed that there are a number of things that you, and you alone, need to know. First, about the spell he cast, which is what killed him, as I suspect you've heard. It was a spell called Tempus Doctare; there is no known name in the vernacular, which is not terribly surprising because it had not been used for nearly four hundred years when Albus discovered it. Put simply, the spell places the caster and a target in a place outside time, where they can act freely but are unable to interact with the real world. It lasts for approximately ten years of subjective time, which Albus took advantage of to instruct me in a wide variety of things. While my body will turn fifteen on the 31^st of July, my mind will be twenty-five."

Minerva stared at him. "What... what did he teach you?"

"Many, many things, most of which you do not need to know about. You should know, however, that I have completed my education in Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts to a point far beyond N.E.W.T. Level, and that it would be best if I did not take these classes next year. My other classes will all have things to teach me, I think, though my grasp of magical theory is strong enough that they shouldn't present much difficulty. I will be using all this extra time to do a number of things vital to the war effort against Voldemort. If you agree, of course. And you should also know that Albus instructed me to speak with Hagrid after his funeral. He would like me to become Keeper of the Keys."

The Headmistress has recovered her poise somewhat as Harry spoke, but she lost it again when she heard Harry's last sentence. Shaken, she said, "One thing at a time. What about your O.W.L.s? If I permit you to drop those three classes, which would unprecedented, I should add, what would you do about tests? Those grades are vital to your future employment, you know."

"I'll sit the tests without taking the classes, if you wish. It shouldn't be any great difficulty."

"Very well, I will consider it. Now, that other business. Keeper of the Keys? I can't believe Albus would even tell you about that, much less ask you to take it on. It means so much to Hagrid, I think it might break his heart to have it taken away from him. Why is it necessary?"

"I will try to be gentle; you are not alone in caring for Hagrid's happiness. It isn't well known, but there is more than a symbolic significance to the title. It isn't known at all, in fact, except to Albus, and now me. And as Headmistress, you should know as well. The Keeper of the Keys of Hogwarts Castle can, if he is sufficiently knowledgeable about the magic guarding the castle, also become Keeper of its wards. This would give me a number of rather helpful defensive abilities, should Hogwarts ever be attacked. And with Voldemort returned, I believe that is only a matter of time."

"You understand that this is rather hard for me to believe, don't you? You still look like the fourteen year-old boy who left the school only a few weeks ago. And what you're asking is so extraordinary that I need some confirmation. I won't deny that you seem to have a great deal of knowledge I would never have expected you to have, but I can't just take your word for it."

"I understand. You have no reason to believe me, other than my word. If I were in better shape, I would demonstrate something for you and settle it that way, but at this point I'm quite unable. Did you have something in mind? Veritaserum?"

"I was thinking of asking for Professor Snape's assistance, yes, but not in that way. If what you say is true, I imagine Albus touched on Legilimency?"

"Of course. A good idea for a test, I should have thought of it myself. My body and my magic are weak, but my mind is functioning at its normal levels, as I would hope be obvious."
"I'll send for him, them?" Harry nodded agreement, and Minerva produced her wand. "Expecto Patronus," she said quietly. A tabby cat appeared on the desk in front of her, a silvery, washed out version of her Animagus form. She whispered in its ear for a second, and then it was gone, racing through the wall of the office at an incredible speed. A couple minutes passed in silence before Severus Snape, Potions Master of Hogwarts, appeared from the fireplace.

"You needed my assistance, Minerva? Potter," he acknowledged grudgingly.

"Ah, thank you for coming so quickly, Severus. Harry has shared a rather fantastic story with me just now, and I was wondering if you would be so kind as to legilimize him for me."

Snape smirked. "I'd be glad to. What am I looking for?"

"You'll know it when you see it, I'm quite sure." Without further preamble, Snape stared directly into Harry's eyes and began the assault on his mind. What he found surprised him, to say the least. It was like running into a brick wall where he had expected an open door to be.

Snape staggered back. Minerva looked on, not at all surprised. "Thank you, Severus. You've confirmed my suspicions. If there's nothing else, I will see you at the funeral."

"If there's nothing else? Nothing else?! Where did this boy learn Occlumency? Who taught him?"
"Unfortunately, these are things I'm unable to explain at the moment, for security reasons. Surely that's a concern you understand?"

Snape scowled and vanished into the fireplace without another word. Minerva smiled, one of the few times Harry had ever seen her do so. "I don't believe I've ever seen Severus so flustered. I will make sure that you are exempted from those three classes. Now, if you don't mind, I have a few things to attend to before the funeral. Shall I summon Remus?"

Harry nodded. Minerva again summoned her Patronus, and sent it on its way. Less than a minute later, Remus and Snuffles were there. "Ready for the funeral, Harry?" asked Remus.

"I don't think I ever will be."

Author's Notes:

1. Updates will probably come more rapidly, now that my finals are over and I've had some time to recuperate.

2. This chapter was updated on 12/27/06.