Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies

Harry Potter and the Book of Magical Maladies

CHAPTER 9 - A Pair of Aurors

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Some time later, he gave up. Ginny simply wasn't answering. Or perhaps she didn't know how. Harry realized that even he didn't really know how to answer it. Would they just suddenly appear in the mirror seeing what was on the other side? Harry quickly turned the mirror over so that the only the dull back was visible. Only Ginny and Lupin should be able to use it, but he didn't want to take the risk.

He kept reading the letter over and over again. Ginny certainly seemed upset, but that was when she thought that she'd was in trouble. Now he felt confident that she wouldn't be punished for helping him, and that Dumbledore and Lupin were trying to help her, even if she didn't realize it yet. If only she would just pick up her Mirror. He finally put the letter down, and looked to Hedwig.

"I'm afraid you're not going to be delivering any letters for a while," he told her. "But I don't want to keep you cooped up here, so I'll let you out for a while. Do what you like. I'm sure Ron and Hermione will take care of you if you want them to."

Hedwig hooted.

"Thanks," he said, not sure what Hedwig would have meant by that. "Hopefully you can come back in a week or so. I'll be waiting."

Harry went to the window and opened it. He looked out the window and saw the Aurors still hiding in the bush behind the bench. Hedwig hooted as she glided past Harry and out the window. As he expected, one of the two shapes he knew to be Aurors vanished suddenly.

He tried to imagine what the Aurors would think, but stopped as he thought of an idea that could help relieve his boredom, frustration, worry, and curiosity. He closed the window and turned out his light. He grabbed his Mirror, and used it to look out the window. In a few minutes, a shape popped into existence on the pavement near the bench. It crouched low to the ground and quickly moved behind the bush.

Harry slowly put down his Mirror and grabbed his wand and invisibility cloak, he crept downstairs and out the back door. He slipped on the cloak, noticing that it wasn't nearly so baggy as it used to be. He held his wand firmly in one hand, and pulled the cloak over his head with the other.

He slowly stalked off into the backyard of one of the neighboring houses and quietly walked around to the front of the house. He decided he should see if he'd be able to use magic without the Aurors detecting it, so he pointed his wand at a stone laying nearby in a flower garden.

"Accio Stone!"

The stone flew to his hand silently, but the Aurors didn't move. It seemed he was free to use magic. He crossed the street quickly and silently with his heart beating faster as he got closer to the Aurors. He had never been able to actually enjoy this sort of thrill. Only the excitement of Quidditch felt like this. It was much different from running from Death Eaters or fighting Basilisks. Without the fear of his gruesome death, it became just another game to play.

Harry paused when he got to the side of the street the Aurors were on. He hoped there was no reason to be afraid. The Aurors wouldn't use Unforgivable Curses. He paused as he tried to convince himself of that. After a moment, he smiled and decided that he wouldn't give them a chance.

He crept along the pavement, sticking to the grass until he could make out the shapes of two wizards casually sitting behind a bush. They were facing away from him so he simply moved in behind them until they were almost close enough to hear him stepping through the grass. Harry tossed the stone he had summoned high into the air over the street.

It landed seconds later with a loud Clack, and then proceeded to bounce toward the Dursley's home. Both Aurors were standing in an instant, their wands drawn and looking for the source of the noise.

"You'll want to put those away. There are still Muggles around at this hour," Harry said calmly.

The two Aurors jumped back and trained their wands on him instead. He was sitting right where they had been, and was looking up at them with an expressionless face and his wand held loosely in his hand.

"How'd you do that?" one of the Aurors asked as he backed away from Harry.

The other gave a hearty laugh and walked toward Harry. "I don't know how you did it, but you certainly got both of us. Shacklebolt's not going to like hearing this."

"If you're not more careful, you'll both be picked up as burglars," Harry warned.

"The Muggles don't see us," the first one said. "Distraction Charm, of course. They always think we're just tricks played by shadows and fog."

"Well, unless they work during the day, you'll have to be a little more discrete. Even my uncle noticed you. Where did you get those clothes?"

The taller of the Aurors looked insulted. "My mother was a Muggle, she bought these for us. They've worked just fine for over ten years now."

Harry laughed and shook his head. "Well, I think I'm going for a walk in the park. It's pretty late, so it should be empty. I assume you'll be joining me?"

"We aren't supposed to leave our post."

"Well, I'll be at the park. I don't see how you'll know what I'm doing if you are still here."

Harry started walking toward the park. A moment later the two Aurors were walking on either side of him. They walked in silence for some time before Harry finally needed to say something. The taller of the two seemed to like him, so Harry tried to start a conversation with him. "You two obviously know me," he said to the taller one. "You can call me Harry. What am I supposed to call you?"

"Nothing," he replied. "We're supposed to watch you, not chat over tea."

Harry glared at him. "We're the only wizards for miles. I'm bored and you want answers. But then, I've been bored for weeks, so what's another night--"

The large one interrupted. "I am Magnus Montnor, and this is Clarence Stafford. You can call us Magnus and Clarence."

"See, now that wasn't hard, was it?"

"So, you'll answer our questions?" Magnus continued.

Harry paused to think. "I'll talk to you. I won't answer all your questions. I don't think I even have all the answers, but over time--"

Clarence interrupted him before he could finish. "How do you know you don't have the answers if you don't know what the questions are?"

Harry stopped walking and faced him. He looked the Auror in the eyes, and noticed for the first time that he was only a inch or so shorter than Clarence.

"I don't know why Voldemort picked them. It doesn't make sense to me either." Harry waited for a response. "That was one of the questions, wasn't it?"

Clarence was starting to look a little intimidated, and Harry continued in a slightly louder voice. "I don't know why Bellatrix said they would be coming in by Floo when it seems they never actually intended to do that. And I don't know why they didn't cast the Dark Mark."

Magnus was quietly laughing behind Harry. "That's a pretty good start. Maybe you should give him a break, Stafford." He slapped Harry on the back and pulled him along the pavement toward the park. "Clarence here, he can be a bit skeptical."

Harry looked at Clarence. "Fine. Ask your questions." They had reached the park. Harry sat on one of the nearby swings, and the two Aurors stood in front of him. However, instead of asking any questions they both just looked at each other, and then at Harry.

"Well?" Harry prodded. "Here we are, a nice private place for you to interrogate the dangerous Harry Potter. Here, I'll even put my wand on the ground."

Harry took his wand from his pocket and placed it in the grass near his feet. This seemed to shame the two Aurors more than comfort them. Even Clarence started to look as if he didn't want to do this. Harry shook his head as he looked at the ground.

"It's really late. You two can guess what kind of day I've had. Either ask your questions, or I'm going home to a restless night dreaming of the screams of a dying family."

"Did you kill that family?" Clarence blurted out. Magnus gave him a disgusted look, but Clarence looked as if he already regretted asking.

Harry's voice was flat and mechanical. "No. I was here. I sent an owl to Arthur Weasley as soon as I could." It wasn't really the truth, but it wasn't so far from the truth, either.

"Did you watch it happen?" Clarence asked.

"Yes. In a dream."

"You weren't there?"

"It felt like I was, but that's not how it works."

"How what works?" Magnus asked.

"This," Harry replied, lifting his fringe and pointing at his scar. "I took some of Voldemort's power, and in exchange, I occasionally have to see what he's doing." Harry didn't want to explain anything more about this connection, and tried to lead them away from that topic. "I watched, but I couldn't do anything about it. I didn't even see him kill anyone."

"So how much did you see?"

Harry gave a frustrated sigh. "I saw everything up to the point when I stopped seeing things, didn't I?"

"What was the last thing you did see?"

"I don't know," Harry said as he stared into the night sky in mock thoughtfulness. "There was quite a bit of pain. I suppose it would have been Voldemort's eyes as my head felt like it was exploding, but before that was a lot of screaming and a familiar green flash." The Aurors sat in shocked silence. "What else were you told to ask me?"

Clarence looked into sky in frustration. "Have you been to the cottage?"

"No," Harry said flatly. "If I knew where it was, you wouldn't have wasted two days trying to find it."

"Have you read anything about the attack?"

"No, the Muggles aren't big fans of the Daily Prophet."

"Who were you sending the owl to?"

"No one," Harry said as he glared at them. "With you two reporting back to the Ministry every time an owl passes through my window, I figured I'd let Hedwig have a holiday. I have no idea where she is."

"Is there anything you haven't told us?"

Harry looked at Clarence directly. "Yes." He stood, and then began walking around the two Aurors slowly. "I have some questions for you."

Clarence raised his hand to stop Harry. "We're not allowed to--" Harry ignored him.

"Has anything else like this happened since June?"

"No," Magnus responded despite glares from his partner.

"Have you found any reason for the attack?"

"No, a few of us--"

"The wizard, he hadn't done anything to anger Voldemort? He wasn't a Ministry employee? He didn't have any connection with Albus Dumbledore?"

Clarence looked puzzled. "What are you getting at?"

"He's trying to figure out why V--" the older Auror seemed to struggle over the next word "--why he picked that family so he can anticipate who might be next." Montnor stared at Harry. "Aren't you?"

"It looks like he did it just to show that he can," Harry explained as he kept pacing. "He just picked someone out as if all he wanted was someone who wouldn't be found immediately. It doesn't make sense. If this was just a random attack, why are you two here?"

"There's nothing special about the family. They've been looking for something all day."

"There must be something," Harry mumbled. "There was so much anger and hatred... It was an old anger. He knew them." He looked back at the Dursley's. It was getting late.

"I'm leaving. Feel free to follow me."

Harry started walking back to Number Four Privet Drive, and the Aurors quickly followed. As he began to cross the street across from his destination, he stopped and faced the Aurors.

"I'm sure you'll see me soon," he told them. "You'll discover this place to be quite boring."

When Harry got back to his room he tossed his invisibility cloak on his desk and reached for his Mirror. After looking out his window quickly and seeing the two Aurors talking animatedly to each other, he pulled the drapes across the window and sat on his bed. He held the Mirror directly in front of him, and said with a clear voice: "Ginny Weasley"

The mirror shimmered, and slowly darkened to blackness, but when the shadows lifted he was looking at himself again. He flopped down on his bed. Hedwig was gone. And even if she were here, she would only be tracked to Ginny. And Ginny didn't seem to know he was trying to talk to her.

He was isolated again. His only comfort was the mirror in his hand. He turned the mirror over again, seeing his fathers initials carved into the back of it. It was somehow comforting to recover yet another reminder of his parents. He still kept the mirror Sirius had given him. It, however, lay broken and wrapped in an old shirt at the bottom of Harry's trunk. Harry's Firebolt was the only other thing Sirius had given him.

Now Sirius was gone. His parents were gone. Dumbledore was busy, and very few people knew where he was at any moment. He certainly hadn't talked to Harry. Ron and Hermione were together at Grimmauld Place with the rest of the Weasleys, the closest thing Harry had to family. He looked at the picture of his parents he kept by his bed. His mother gave him a consoling smile as she waved.

Everyone was being taken from him. Sirius. His parents. As his mothers hair shone in the sun his mind wandered to Ginny. Now he was separated from the only person he felt he could talk to. Maybe she was being punished. Why had they let her send the mirror? They didn't seem to be letting her use it.

He threw himself down on the bed and tossed the Mirror into his trunk with Sirius' mirror. Both were equally useless so far as he was concerned. Why had Lupin even given it to him?

Harry suddenly sat up in his bed. He walked to his desk and read the note Ginny had sent with it. When he was finished he walked to his trunk and retrieved his father's mirror. If Ginny was right, he wasn't completely isolated. He looked in the mirror and said in a clear voice:

"Remus Lupin"

Again, the mirror shimmered and faded to blackness but when the shadows were swept away, Harry didn't see his own face. Instead, he saw a lamp with a flickering light before the view spun to show a wizard with grey flecked hair.

"Harry?"

"Professor Lupin!" Harry exclaimed.

"Harry! What's wrong? Do I need to wake the others?"

"NO!" Harry almost shouted. "No. I-- I just wanted to er-- make sure this thing worked."

Harry wondered how much he could trust his old professor. Would he ask about Ginny? He quickly decided that it didn't matter. Ginny said that Dumbledore had told Lupin to send the Mirror, and while Harry had not talked to Dumbledore at all since he had revealed the horrible prophecy Harry was a part of, he trusted Dumbledore to not betray him that way.

Lupin's face shrank in the mirror as he apparently leaned back in his chair. He seemed to relax as he looked around the room then turned back to the Mirror.

"I must admit that I would not have imagined that I would be the one you'd choose to test our Mirrors on, Harry."

"It seems I don't have any other options," said Harry dejectedly. "The Aurors are only amusing for so long."

"You spoke with them?"

"Yeah, Clarence Stafford and Magnus Montnor. They were... inquisitive."

"Be careful around them, Harry," cautioned Lupin, "They might work for Kingsley Shacklebolt, but we don't know who they are loyal to."

"I introduced myself and let them ask their questions. It's not like I could tell them anything they might find interesting, considering how much information the Order shares with me. I'm actually hoping that I can trick them into telling me something. Anything, really. Even Quidditch scores would be an improvement."

"Harry--"

"They are the only link I've got with the wizarding world," said Harry in a sullen voice. "Of course, if they aren't to be trusted, the easiest solution is to let them become my friends so they stop talking to me as well."

"That's not fair--"

"Maybe, not, but it is ingenious," Harry cut him off. He'd had a long day and his patience was wearing thin. "Should I be at all concerned that the only person who actually wants to share information with me also wants to rule the wizarding world? I figured that would be bad."

"We're not--"

"No, wait for this!" Harry interrupted with feigned excitement. "Perhaps I should face Voldemort more often. The fact that he murdered my parents might not be the best foundation for a deep friendship, but with a little dedication I'm sure we could get it to work. Then, once he was really close to me, he'd either die or ignore me. At least then I could sleep." Lupin looked puzzled and a little hurt.

"But, you know that..." Lupin paused to look over his shoulder again, "...that I gave one of these to--" Lupin's voice dropped to a whisper "--to her."

"Yeah, and I'm sure the Order has nothing to do with the fact that she's not using it. It's probably locked away already."

"No..." Lupin said quietly, "I just gave it to her. It must still be in her room."

Harry felt a glimmer of hope, yet he remained frustrated. "Yes, well, she wasn't all that happy with you, was she?" Harry said in a harsh whisper. It seemed neither of them wanted to wake any of their house-mates. "She almost smashed it right in front of you. I doubt she was any happier when she wrote me." Harry paused, relaxed, and looked back in the mirror. "Whenever I ask the mirror for her, all I see is myself."

"You're afraid that she broke it?" Lupin asked.

"Aren't you?" Harry said, "After all, it is your mirror. Why else wouldn't she be using it?"

Lupin looked serious. "I think I'd find it a small price to pay for such a valuable lesson. You should have been honest with us. Both of you. I think it would only be fitting that your second chance be taken away because of rash actions." Lupin's voice had started to rise, but he stopped and seemed to relax. "In the end, it didn't really matter, but what if she had been keeping really useful information a secret?

Harry just listened quietly. He was starting to think this had been another bad idea. If his only connection to his friends would be the occasional row over not being the Order's puppet, then perhaps he should just get used to loneliness. He tried to relax, but his disappointment turned back to anger and built inside him. He wanted to yell back at Lupin. He wanted to tell him how he felt betrayed and used. Instead he forced his mouth to remain shut and tried to ignore the light throbbing in his head.

Lupin noticed Harry's silence, and his face became blank and surprised. "Look, I'll check to see if ...er... the other Mirror still works. It shouldn't take long, and then I'll be back."

Harry's Mirror went dark, then cleared to show his reflection. He saw in his face what Lupin had seen. He recoiled at the anger and frustration in his own face. He dropped the Mirror on his bed as if it had burnt him. He had to relax. He sat on his bed and closed his eyes, like he often did. He emptied his mind of emotion. He felt his anger flowing away, replaced by an empty calm.

"Harry!" Lupin's voice called urgently.

Harry immediately reached for the mirror, but found it already in his hand. He scowled at it, but looked in it squarely to see his old professor's worried face.

"What were you doing?" said Lupin curiously, "I called for you several times, and you just suddenly appeared."

Harry looked away from the mirror. "I was practicing Occlumency. You startled me."

"I see," Lupin said, though he sounded unsure. "Well, I guess you'll be glad to hear that--" Lupin paused to look over his shoulder yet again, '--the other mirror is working."

"Really?" Harry said louder than he intended. "You talked with her?"

"No," Lupin said slowly, "not really, but I can tell that her Mirror is working."

"Oh," said Harry dejectedly, "she just doesn't want to talk with me."

"I wouldn't say that," Lupin replied with a chuckle. "You were quite right. She is not at all pleased with me or Albus' gift. In fact, I think it's quite possible that the Mirror is at the bottom of a waste bin under several drafts of letters explaining just how horrible a person I am."

"Well, it doesn't matter now, does it?" responded Harry. "She doesn't know how to use it tonight, and by tomorrow I doubt anyone will let her ever use it."

"Only you, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and I know about the Mirror, Harry," Lupin said with a smile. "So long as she doesn't make a fool of herself again, I don't think anyone else ever need know. In fact, I'd urge you to keep this a secret from as many people as possible."

"But-- Wait," said Harry as he ran his hand through his hair. "You aren't telling anyone?"

"Well, I plan on trying to explain it to... her," Lupin said, "But, no, I won't be telling anyone else. Especially not any of our Auror friends."

"Why?"

Lupin's expression softened, and he looked almost sad. "I believe that everyone in the Order has a job to do. Some of us are trying to make sure Voldemort is stopped--"

"--Moody--" interrupted Harry.

"--Yes. Some of us are just trying to protect you, even when you don't want it--"

"--Hermione--" Harry interrupted again, smiling a little.

"--And Molly. Everyone has a job. You already know what yours is. Moody-- Well, he knows what needs to be done and he--"

"What's your job?" Harry asked.

Lupin smiled. "I don't know what my job is yet. But I think I'm learning it. A more important question would be what young Miss Weasley's job is."

"I don't know," Harry said quietly. Both of them were silent for some time but the question echoed in Harry's mind. Why was she doing it? She had only said that she was doing it because Ron and Hermione wouldn't.

A small smile flashed across Lupin's face, and was quickly replaced with a look of passive seriousness. "Harry, have you told Ginny anything else that you haven't shared with us?"

Harry tensed up. What would Lupin say if he knew the truth? What if he knew the truth already? Harry didn't even know how much Ginny had said. Had she told them about all the things she had told him? What had she revealed that the Order didn't know? Harry quickly tried to decide how much he could tell Lupin.

If Lupin already knew everything, he'd know if Harry was lying. But if he didn't know, Harry might make the situation worse by getting Ginny in even more trouble. He didn't like having to choose, but the choice seemed obvious.

Harry looked calmly at Remus Lupin's face in his Mirror.

"No, I haven't."

Lupin stared back at him. "Has she told you anything that she wasn't supposed to tell you?"

Harry tried to look surprised. "No, we've only talked about Quidditch other than that one letter."

Lupin smiled back at him. "Your father often did the same thing for Sirius and I. It's late, Harry. Try to get some sleep. I'll see what I can do to make sure that Ginny isn't punished too severely for such a minor mistake, and you might want to keep your Mirror handy tomorrow night."

The Mirror faded and soon Harry was left looking at his own face again. This time, however, he saw a look of questioning surprise.

Lupin was helping him. And Ginny.

As he lay on his bed waiting to fall asleep his mind wandered between all the unanswered questions. What did the mark mean? Why is Lupin suddenly helping him, when he wasn't before? What is Lupin's job in the Order?

And what was Ginny's job?