Harry Potter and the Last Goodnight

Chapter Eighteen: The Rebirth of Dumbledore's Army

Nora met up with Harry the next day. He was standing in line with his permission slip in hand to go to Hogsmeade at noontime. She gave him a small box that was quite heavy and wrapped in plain brown paper with a string tied tightly in a neat little bow. There were a two letters shoved between the strings for safe-keeping.

He felt butterflies in his stomach. They were annoying. He wished they would go away. It would be a lot easier to approach Eva if he wasn't so nervous.

Ron and Hermione thought he was anxious because of D.A. The only thing that he was worried about was if he spent too much time with Eva he'd be late for the meeting.

He must have changed his clothes five times that morning, and was now regretting the plain, white polo shirt he was wearing beneath his cloak. If it got wet, it would be ruined, and everyone would be able to see right through it. He didn't want to look like a drowned rat. Plus, he was wearing his only pair of khaki pants he'd ever owned in his life. There would be mud all over the streets and they'd be ruined. Maybe if he had time, he could scourgify them a little before going to the Hog's Head.

When they finally did reach Hogsmeade, Harry had a hard time finding an excuse to separate from his friends. Hermione wanted to talk about D.A., but he quickly made an excuse that he had to go and mail the package he got from Nora.

"Why didn't you have Hedwig do it?" Ron questioned.

"I wanted it post-marked in Hogsmeade," Harry quickly replied. Neither of them questioned him. It would have made sense if he was mailing something secret. Like a letter to Sirius. But he certainly didn't have to worry about that anymore.

"We'll go with you," Hermione said. "I should check the price on international mailings."

"No!" Harry exclaimed. "I, er, I mean... I just need to take a walk. Alone. I need to clear my head. I'll see you at the meeting," he added, and quickly took off.

"That's odd," he heard Ron say. "The post office is the other way."

Smooth, Harry thought sarcastically. Real smooth. They don't suspect a thing. How was he going to keep himself together in front of Eva when the mere thought of seeing her turned him into a jackass in front of his friends?

When he finally reached the Hog's Head, he took a moment to collect himself before going into the pub. He felt under-prepared. Should he have bought her flowers or something? No, that was too suggestive. A nice gesture, but way too overbearing. Why did he want to give her flowers anyway? It's not like he owed her. If anything, it was the other way around.

But after her letter, Harry felt that he owed Eva a lot. If anything, it seemed to wake him up inside.

He took a few deep breaths and quickly walked inside of the Hog's Head. His muddy pants long forgotten, he stepped up to the bar, despite weird looks from the even weirder customers.

"What can I do for you?" The bartender, though somewhat intimidating, had never struck Harry as a scary man. He had wild white hair, but his eyes were very kind.

"I'm looking for Eva Finnigan," Harry announced. It came out as more of a bark than he intended it to be.

When the bartender shrugged, Harry feared that maybe Nora had told him the wrong inn. However, one of the barmaids appeared from somewhere behind the counter. "She ain't here," the younger-looking witch said. She had long, greenish hair and oval-shaped glasses. "Let's see, it's about midday now. She's probably just left the Ministry and headed to the Royal."

"The Royal?" Harry questioned.

The witch ignored him. "Imagine workin' all day at the Ministry, the Royal at night, and servin' drinks here until with wee hours o' the mornin' when the bad crowd's around." She shook her head. "Never knew Muggles had such a work ethic."

"Do... do you know when she'll be back?" Harry questioned, feeling silly for getting worked up for nothing. She wasn't even there. He should have realized that she was at work somewhere. She wouldn't sit around waiting for visitors.

"Probably not 'til after midnight," the witch replied. She eyed the Gryffindor patch on Harry's cloak, then searched his forehead for his scar. "Not when you're out an' about." She gestured to the package he was holding. "Yeh got mail fer her, or somethin'? I'll see that she gits it."

Harry didn't trust the barmaid. He quickly hid the package behind his back. "Uh, no thanks." He took a backed away from the bar and left the Hog's Head Inn.

When he stepped outside into the rain, he found the downpour only fitting. He felt obligated to get the package to Eva somehow. Maybe this was a cause for a small adventure outside of Hogwarts. Tonight, he could break out the Marauder's Map, which he could use to follow the secret passage way into Hogsmeade. Under the cover of his dad's old invisibility cloak, he could sneak back into the Hog's Head and give the package to Eva.

He was determined to see her again. He had gotten his hopes smashed by her absence that afternoon, but he would be back.

Now the only question was what to do with the package in the meantime. Hermione and Ron would just be even more suspicious if they saw it again after he'd said he was going to the Post Office. He hastily shoved it underneath his cloak before it was soaked by the rain.

"Hey, Harry!"

Harry turned around and saw Seamus running towards him with a bag full of candy from Honeydukes. "Hi Seamus," he greeted.

"On your way to the... eh, the meeting?" he asked quietly.

Harry checked his watch. It was already ten to one. "Yeah. Are you coming?"

"'Course I am." Seamus sounded insulted. "I know that last year... Last year it was an awkward time between us. I hope you won't hold it against me."

"Of course not." It was Harry's turn to feel insulted. "I guess I'm just surprised. I mean, you only came to the last meeting."

"It's just that I realized something," Seamus said, stopping besides Harry. Harry stopped as well. He looked apologetic. "No matter what me parents say, I know a battle on the way. You can feel it in the air, ya know? I had best be prepared. And I know that they might not trust you to teach us what you've been teaching us, but I know that I trust you." He grinned. "Besides, it'll be a great way to get me grades up in Defense Against the Dark Arts. That Professor Leurre has been on my case about practicing my counter curses."

Harry laughed. But he found it odd that Seamus was so observant. Was there really a foreboding sense of war in the air? He had always had his personal battles with Voldemort, but had the time come for the whole wizarding world to be involved?

And where did that leave the Muggles?

He ignored the shiver that ran down his spine as he and Seamus headed towards the Three Broomsticks. He still didn't know what to do with the package. It was too big to fit in his pockets. Maybe he could try some sort of charm to shrink it, but not with Seamus watching.

"What have you got there, Harry?" Seamus asked.

Harry sighed. It was no use. He took the package out from behind his back and tried to shelter it from the rain. "I was supposed to deliver a package."

"Oy, is that me letter?" Seamus grabbed the box out of Harry's hands and flipped it to the bottom where the letters had been shoved between strings. "What are you doing with this?" he asked. He seemed to put two and two together. "You were supposed to deliver this to Eva?"

He nodded. "Nora asked me to."

"You know Eva?" Seamus questioned suspiciously.

"I, um, I escorted Nora to St. Mungo's after Eva had been in that accident. I met her there."

"Accident?!" Seamus cried. "What accident? What's a Muggle doing at St. Mungo's?"

It hadn't occurred to Harry that Seamus wasn't aware of what was going on in his cousins' lives. Thinking back to when he was in Dumbledore's office, he remembered what Nora had said when Harry suggested that Seamus should be the one to take her to St. Mungo's. She won't see him.

Why didn't Eva want to Seamus? Was there something going on in their family?

Seamus seemed embarrassed that he didn't know what was going on. Harry briefly explained about how she had handled the Devil's Snare at the plant shop. "She's fine now. Nora wanted me to deliver this to her."

"Here?" Seamus said. "She's living here?"

Harry nodded. He wasn't sure if he should have shared this information with Seamus or not. "She's got a room on top the Hog's Head."

"Hog's Head? That's a nasty place." Seamus eyed the package again. "Do you want me to take it for the meeting, Harry? And then afterwards we could deliver it together?"

"She's not going to be back at the inn until late tonight, according to the barmaid," he replied. "But if you could hold onto it during the meeting, that would be good."

"Oh. All right." Seamus took the package and put it inside of his bag of treats. "Do you mind if I ask why you're the one delivering it?"

Harry shrugged. "Nora said that there weren't any owls in the school Owlery, so she asked if I could take it." This seemed to make sense to Seamus. Perhaps he had also witnessed the empty Owlery. Not wanting to talk about it any further, Harry headed towards the Three Broomsticks for the D.A. meeting. "We'd better get a move on. We're going to be late."

"Wait, Harry," Seamus said suddenly. "If you do see Eva, please tell her to read my letter. Maybe coming from you..." His voice trailed off.

Harry nodded. Silently, the two of them stepped inside the pub. Ron and Hermione were already there, along with Colin and Dennis Creevy and Luna Lovegood. They motioned for Harry and Seamus to join them at a nearby table.

"I know that Dean and Neville are coming too," Seamus said, taking a seat next to Colin.

"Gin's bound to round up a few more," Ron added. Hermione, however, looked skeptical.

"I think we're going to have a few less than last year," she said. "Due to special circumstances."

Harry sank into his seat. He doubted that Ginny's old boyfriend, Michael Corner and his friends would show up, or Cho and her friend Marietta Edgecombe, who had betrayed them last year, would either.

With only a few minutes to spare, Ernie Macmillan and Justin Finch-Fletchley strolled inside out of the rain. So did Hannah Abbott, Padma and Parvati Patil, along with Susan Bones, Terry Boot, Anthony Goldstein, and Zacharias Smith. Ginny and Neville rushed in at the last second.

"Sorry," Neville apologized, pulling over a chair from an empty table. "Long lines at the post office. Everybody's there. Can you believe that all of the owls at Hogwarts have gone missing?"

Harry frowned. There was something fishy going on. But there was no time to dwell on it. Hermione pulled out a slip of parchment with everyone's name on it, which appeared to be the same slip that had gotten them into so much trouble last year. Marietta Edgecomb's name had been crossed out.

Harry took a deep breath and checked his watch. It was already a few minutes past one. "It looks as though everyone's here." He straightened up in his chair. "I'd like to welcome you all to the first unofficial meeting..."

The front door opened and shut quietly. He glanced towards the entrance. Cho was standing there, alone. She looked a little frazzled by the rain and a little embarrassed to be late, but gorgeous nevertheless.

Harry tried to ignore the flip-flop his stomach did at the sight of her. He didn't know she could still do that to him. She hastily made her way over to the group.

"Sorry I'm late," she said quietly. "Can I still...? I mean, is it okay if I...?" She glanced up at Harry.

He sighed. He didn't know that he could really trust her again. Although, it did take guts to come back to D.A. He glanced at Ron, who just shrugged. Hermione looked thoughtful. Ginny looked positively furious. Did Cho have her heart in the right place? Was she there to learn, or to merely make life a living hell for Harry?

He hoped he wouldn't regret it as Harry pulled up another chair between him and Seamus. "Have a seat. You're just in time."

Cho smiled and sat down, ignoring the murmurs around her. Harry continued. "I know we're a little smaller this year, but that doesn't mean that we matter any less. We must double our efforts. We need to recruit more. For all of you know just as well as I do that the battle against Voldemort has just started."

Some winced at the sound of his name. Hermione spoke up. "I'd just like to say," she said, staring directly at Cho, "that this year I've added an extra precaution to our contract." She held up the slip of parchment. She'd crossed off the names of the students who had graduated from Hogwarts, as well as those who hadn't show up for the meeting. "I've added another curse. If anyone has a problem with this, please let me know and we'll cross off your name you can leave immediately."

All eyes were on Cho, who looked defiantly back at Hermione. "I'm staying," she declared.

Harry thought he should have felt relieved, but he didn't. "Our first meeting will be next weekend," he said quietly. "Usual place, at ten o'clock."

"Are you sure it's okay to do this?" Dennis Creevy questioned. "It's not going to turn into a huge fiasco like last year?"

Harry shook his head. "Professor Dumbledore has given us permission. Although, I'm sure there would be certain teachers who would have no problem suspending our little club, so we all need to be careful. Umbridge may be gone, but there are dark eyes and ears everywhere." He glanced around the pub. It was mostly empty, except for a couple huddled in a corner together.

"Is there anything we should read up on?" Hannah Abbott asked. "What are we going to work on first?"

"We ought to review a little first," Harry said. "I think we could all use some work on our Patronuses. And counter-curses," he added, grinning in Seamus's direction.

Seamus returned the smile, but Harry got the impression he wasn't really paying attention. In fact, if he didn't know any better, he would guess that Seamus was still thinking about Nora and Eva. Throughout the rest of the meeting, even Harry's mind would sometimes travel to the sadness on his face. Something horrible must have happened in their family. And for some reason, he wanted more than anything to know what that something was.

* * *

The common room was bustling with energy once everyone got back from Hogsmeade. The first and second years were enviously eyeing all of the goodies that people bought. Nora had met up with Harry and asked about the package, but Harry said that she was working and he didn't trust the people in the pub at the Hog's Head.

"I'll use Hedwig," he told her. "She's due back any day."

Nora looked disappointed. "But that means you won't get to see her."

Harry grinned. He didn't want to tell Nora that he'd be sneaking out of the castle to see her tonight. He felt it would only encourage some rule-breaking on her part. "Maybe I'll write her a letter," he told her, and she seemed to brighten up a little. "Hey Nora," Harry said gently, "could I ask you a question?"

She nodded. "Sure."

"I know this probably isn't any of my business, but why don't Seamus and Eva get along? I sort of ran into Seamus today with the package..."

"Oh no," she interrupted. "Did you tell him where she was living?"

"It sort of slipped out," Harry replied.

"Oh well, he was bound to find out sooner or later," Nora said. "Better for Eva to get mad at you than me."

"That's just it," Harry said. "Why don't the two of them get along?"

Nora looked down at the floor. "Well, it's a long story, and it's not my place to say." She took a deep breath. "It's just family business, that's all. They've never gotten along. And not just Seamus. I mean, Eva doesn't really get along with anybody."

Harry found that hard to believe. Eva seemed like a very kind person to him. However, it was odd that she didn't have any friends, and even odder that she didn't get along with her family. But there were times when Harry felt that Seamus's family was a little different. There was the fact that his mother didn't tell his father that she was a witch until after they were married. Not to mention that, up until recently, Seamus's mother thought that Harry was pulling crazy stunts for attention.

"I understand," Harry replied. With relatives like the Dursleys, Harry could sympathize with Eva's position.

"You do?" She sounded surprised.

"Not everyone comes from a perfect family." He grinned. There was still a curiosity building inside of him about Eva's history with the Finnigan family, but he didn't want to make Nora uncomfortable so he dropped the subject.

Nora turned in and as ten o'clockrolled around, most of the common room began to clear out. He was waiting until everyone went to bed before setting off to Hogsmeade. He planned to leave at midnight.

Only Ron and Hermione remained with him. Time crept by slowly. After a few rounds of Wizard's Chess with Hermione while Ron finished up some last minute homework, the two of them looked rather sleepy. It was Sunday night, and the next day brought a whole week's worth of classes with it.

"I think I'm going to turn in," Hermione said, covering her mouth as she yawned. She was staring at Ron with such an intense stare, Harry felt as though he were invisible in the room.

"Oh. Right." He cleared his throat, his face bright red. "Well, I'll walk you to the door."

Harry looked from Ron, to Hermione, and back again. The girl's dormitory door was only about ten feet away. Boys were not allowed to go up the stairs. Had he missed something?

The two of them stood up and walked stiffly over to the dormitory stairwell. Hermione leaned against the door frame, as though she were waiting for something. Ron looked frightened, but as he took a step closer to Hermione, his expression changed. He looked excited.

Harry knew what was coming next. He knew that Ron was going to kiss her, and the thought of watching the two of them snogging in front of him made him uncomfortable, but for some reason he couldn't look away. It was like watching something grotesque - painful, yet so interesting he had to watch.

Ron leaned closer to Hermione, and her eyes fluttered shut, her lips parting. Ron tilted his head to the side, and their lips met.

Harry finally looked away. How did they make it look so natural? All of the kissing he'd experienced had been awkward and rushed. He would tilt his head wrong or forget to breathe. And it was always over so quickly. It seemed that Ron and Hermione were taking ages to kiss each other good night.

When they finally did part, Hermione, looking frazzled, whispered. "Good night." Ron's gaze followed her up the stairs. It was almost as if he was seeing her as a woman for the first time.

Ron sighed and sauntered back to where Harry was sitting in shock. "What the hell was that?"

He shrugged. "When you went to the post office, Hermione and I went to Madam Puddifoot's for some lunch. And well, we just got to talking. And then we got to hand-holding. And then she leaned over and kissed me, right out of the blue."

That seems to happen a lot, Harry thought. "You know, Madam Puddifoot's must have some romantic magic in it or something. That's the same place where Cho took me on Valentine's Day last year."

"To tell you the truth," Ron replied, "it did look like it was Valentine's Day inside. Everything was pink and they were burning these incenses that just made your head fuzzy. Not that I'm complaining," he added. "Did you know that's the place where everyone goes when they want to snog in Hogsmeade?"

Harry laughed. "It is?"

"Yeah, according to Ginny. Hermione asked her about it. Apparently, she was planning this." Ron tried to sound upset, but Harry could tell that he was overjoyed at the prospect of being seduced by Hermione. "Imagine: my little sister, the cupid of Hogwarts."

Harry grinned. He had no trouble picturing Ginny playing cupid. In fact, Harry had witnessed firsthand what a seductress she could be. Didn't anybody leave the romancing up to the man in the relationship anymore?