Chapter 301
At the time, the Alley was bustling with
shoppers enjoying the warm morning
escorting children and purchasing their
supplies for another year at Hogwarts.
However they arrived there, the small
group of Death Eaters were soon walking
up the Alley firing dark curses about, and
were outside Florean Fortescue's Ice
Cream Parlour when the three teens
confronted them. The Death Eaters had
already injured a number of upstanding
wizarding citizens and not a few
muggleborns. One such had been killed by
the killing curse shot at him by one of the
Death Eaters only moments before the
three teens confronted them.
Mr Potter and his wives quickly subdued
the Death Eaters and waited on scene for
the arrival of the aurors. It was some time
before they arrived.
Some credit the Potters with saving their
lives with their rapid and effective
response to the emergency. "I had already
been hit with what felt like a bone-breaker
to the leg. If it wasn't for Harry and his
wives I'd be dead," claimed one elderly
wizard.
However, not everyone had praise for the
Potters. "They were brutal!" exclaimed
one witch who witnessed the whole thing.
"Potter and his wives didn't even ask them
to surrender before cutting them down."
However you viewed it, the Potters
worked fast and efficiently. From the
moment of first confrontation to the end
was less than thirty seconds. And nine
Death Eaters were stopped in their tracks.
It was the evening before the train ride
back to Hogwarts when Harry entered
their room growing concerned about the
amount of packing he heard was coming
from within. Walking in Harry saw the girls
were almost finished packing and now
had five trunks to take with them when
they returned to Hogwarts.
"What in Merlin's name?" asked a shocked
Harry, looking at the pile - two by two with
one on top.
"The top one is your clothes and some
books," said Hermione, pointing. "The
next one down on the left is books, and
below that is writing supplies, pet supplies,
potion tools, telescopes, ladies make-up
and a few other things. The two trunks on
the right are mine and Daphne's clothes.
And we think we're going to need to add
another trunk yet."
"We're only supposed to be allowed one
trunk each!" he exclaimed.
"Well, that might be fine for
an eleven year old, but it's definitely not
fine for a married woman," said Daphne.
"We could have purchased mokeskin-lined
trunks with space expansion charms to get
past the one trunk per student limit; but,
since we have our trunks brought to the
castle by house elves, and we don't share
a dorm with others, that rule shouldn't
apply to us."
Harry just sighed. "Fine," he grouched.
"I'm just thankful I don't have to move
them all."
He was about to leave again when he
asked, "Just where did the extra trunks
come from, anyway?"
"Storage," replied Daphne. "They're old
school trunks belonging to my parents and
other relatives from their time at
Hogwarts."
When Harry returned down to the public
part of the house, Matthias asked him,
"What has you, apparently, annoyed?"
"Six trunks," he replied with a frown.
"Six!"
With a knowing smile Matthias replied,
"Then I think I know what Deece and I can
buy you three for a Yuletide present; a
mokeskin-lined trunk."
"If I'd known we'd be taking so much I
would have bought one while we were in
the Alley the other day," grouched Harry.
Both Sirius and Remus turned up at
10:00am the next morning to side-along
apparate all four teens to Platform 9¾ at
Kings Cross.
And, with last minute hugs goodbye, the
four boarded the train.
The three bondmates immediately sought
out a vacant compartment near where
they knew their friends would attempt to
track them down, and settled in; while
Astoria headed towards the front of the
train in search of her own friends.
They'd only been in the compartment for
about fifteen minutes when Tracey walked
in holding hands with Blaise.
"What's this?" asked a smirking Daphne.
Tracey immediately blushed and said,
"We... decided to see if we could be more
than just friends."
"It might sound cliché," said Hermione.
"But, it's about time, you two."
Both looked a little relieved hearing that;
and more fully entered the compartment
to take seats.
"Where're your trunks?" asked Harry.
Blaise just smiled and tapped his pocket.
"We decided to follow your lead. If
luggage is being diverted between the
train and our dorms, then we're not going
to allow our possessions to be pawed
through."
"Wise move," said Daphne.
"What about yours?" asked Tracey. "Did
you shrink yours too?"
"Nope," replied Harry. "We left them in
our room at Greengrass Farm. Dobby will
transfer them all once we're there."
"He'll use that time to scan through our
rooms for tracking and monitoring charms
while he's at it," said Hermione.
"Do you expect there to be such?" asked
Blaise.
"Not this time, no," shrugged Harry. "I'm
expecting the ward scheme we set in
place outside the door to our rooms to
deny access to those who try to get in
without our permission."
"But, better safe than sorry?" asked Blaise.
"Exactly," he smiled back.
They were soon joined by Luna, Horace,
Neville... and Draco.
Surprised to see the blonde boy, Harry
asked, "Coming out of the shadows,
Draco?"
"It's time," the other boy firmly replied. "I
doubt there is many in Riddle's ranks who
don't know, by now."
Possibly noticing Horace for the first time,
Draco looked at him and asked, "We're...
not going to have trouble, are we?"
"No," Horace firmly said. "I only wish I was
as brave."
"Slythindor!" coughed Harry, behind his
hand.
"You'd know, Gryfferin," snorted Draco
right back with a mock sneer.
"What did you two call each other?" asked
Horace, clearly confused.
The two ex-nemeses grinned at each other,
before Draco turned to Horace. "Potter,
here, calls me a Slythindor. He thinks I'm a
Slytherin with Gryffindor tendencies."
Chapter 302
"And in return," added Harry. "Draco calls
me a Gryfferin; a Gryffindor
with Slytherin tendencies."
"In other words, two sides of the same
coin," smirked Daphne.
"We are not," both boys scoffed together
with a level of synchronicity not seen
outside of the Weasley twins.
The shock of them doing so had everyone
else in the compartment laughing at the
two, now embarrassed, boys.
After a few minutes to allow them to get it
out of their system, and near-desperately
wanting to change the subject, Harry
asked the others, "Alright. So, who here
received a Prefect badge? Or, knows who
did?"
"I did but sent it back," said Draco. "I
thought Zabini should have it, and sent
with it a letter stating so."
"And I got it," said Blaise. "Thank you for
that, Malfoy."
Draco just gave a small nod back.
"I think Pansy got the other one for
Slytherin," said Tracey.
"It should have been you," retorted
Daphne to her friend.
"I didn't," said Neville. "I just hope it's not
Ron Weasley. It will mean he wasn't forced
to repeat the year, after all."
With snorts and scoffing sounds from
everyone else, Harry said, "I think it's safe
to say everyone agrees with you."
With a nod and small smile, Neville said, "I
know Hannah got the female one for the
'Puffs. I'm not sure about anyone else,
though."
"I thought you'd get one, Potter," said
Blaise. "And the other for Ravenclaw
would be either Daphne or Hermione."
"One was me," replied Hermione. "I
turned it down and suggested Lisa Turpin
for the role. She was the only girl in our
year that didn't pick on Luna. I don't think
bullies should be given such a responsible
position."
"It will be Lisa and Terry," Luna said quite
matter-of-factly.
"As Luna says, so it is," said Hermione.
"Huh?" asked Tracey, quite confused.
"We've learned when and where to take
Luna's word for it," explained Hermione.
"If she says its Lisa and Terry, then its Lisa
and Terry."
The rest of the ride passed with the teens
talking about their summers. The three,
by mutual agreement, refused to state
where they'd spent their two week
honeymoon; even when pestered.
However, they were more than willing to
speak about the rest of the summer.
Neville, after doing a bit of muggle
handyman work on the Granger residence,
was now more than willing to put in the
hard work in building a large deck onto
the rear of Longbottom Hall. However, it
had taken him quite some time to
convince his father of the utility of such a
deck. But, he got the permission shortly
before he departed for Platform 9¾ with
his parents. He was now looking forward
to organising and building it; and asked
Hermione if he could ask her father to
help design it.
Hermione smiled and said, "I think he'd
like that, Neville."
They were nearing the final half hour of
the trip when the door of their
compartment was yanked open by a
furious Ron Weasley.
"This is your fault, Potter," he snarled.
"What the hell is your problem, Weasley?"
shot back Daphne.
"McGonagall's trying to force me to repeat
the year," he snarled. "I'm not putting up
with it. Mum's been speaking with
Professor Dumbledore to make sure her
decision is overturned.
"If it wasn't for Potter and Granger I
wouldn't have had such a hard time and
failed the year."
"Oh, bullshit!" scoffed Harry. "You failed
because you're a lazy git. And, as per usual,
you want to blame everyone else for your
lot in life. You failed because you prefer
spending all your time playing chess and
reading Quidditch magazines. If you want
to pass pick up a bloody school text book,
occasionally."
As Harry berated the other boy, Weasley's
face turned redder and redder. Once
Harry finished he then immediately made
a snatch for his wand.
As soon as his wand came into view,
Daphne simply reached over and snatched
it out of his hand, before then throwing it
over his shoulder and back out into the
passageway.
"Why, you filthy...!" the prat said, stepping
forward with his hands coming up.
Harry hit him with a banishing hex and
blasted him back out into the passageway;
where he immediately collapsed to the
floor after bouncing off the opposite wall.
"Idiot!" Harry sneered at his ex-friend.
Daphne slammed the door shut, and
Harry hit it with a door sealing charm.
When the train pulled into the
Hogsmeade station Weasley was well and
truly gone again.
When the group arrived at the castle they
were met by Professor McGonagall.
"Mister Potter, the Headmaster asks if you
wouldn't mind having a word with him,"
she said. "It is a request, this time, rather
than a summons."
Seeing the look on her face, he said,
"Irrespective of the wording, I still refuse
to be in his presence alone."
With a sad sigh, she said, "You need not
worry about him any more, Mister Potter.
The Headmaster is in the infirmary. It is
likely he'll never leave it alive."
Realising what had happened, Harry
turned to his wives and silently asked if
they should attend the manipulative old
man.
Turning back, he said, "We shall visit with
him after class, tomorrow, Professor."
McGonagall nodded back and moved
away.
As they moved to sit at the Ravenclaw
table, Hermione was furiously thinking
about something. It had to be big as she
was nibbling on her bottom lip over it.
Harry thought it was such a sexy thing she
did he just wanted to dive in and kiss her.
As they sat, she leaned in to Harry and
whispered, "The timing's about right.
From the time the old man went after the
ring to today matches well enough to
when he thought he'd die in the old time."
"Yeah," he replied. "That's what I figured,
too."
As the tables settled down, the three
looked to the front of the Hall to see the
Headmaster's 'throne' empty. However,
Professor McGonagall was sitting in the
chair alongside. Seeing her there, Harry
frowned and wondered who was bringing
the new firsties in. And that was
immediately apparent, as the seat
adjacent to Professor McGonagall's seat
was empty. That was Professor Flitwick's
chair.
Chapter 303
A further scan of the tables gave Harry a
shock. There, grinning back at him was his
godfather.
"Bloody Hell!" he whispered.
"Language!" snapped Hermione, quietly.
"What brought that on?"
Turning to her with a grin, he said, "Take a
look at who's sitting in the Dah-Dah
Professor's chair next to greasy old
Snivellus."
Both Hermione's and Daphne's eyes
snapped to the head table. And Hermione
gasped in shock.
"Sirius is the new Dah-dah Professor?" she
asked, completely surprised.
"It... appears so," said Daphne. "And I've
not seen in a long time that expression of
extreme displeasure on Professor Snape's
face."
Hermione appeared about to ask another
question when Professor Flitwick came
walking in, followed by the new crop of
first years. Most of them actually stood
much taller than him.
It was also a little humorous to watch him
reach up with the Hat to place it on the
head of the first student called to the stool;
Euan Abercrombie.
As soon as he managed to place the Hat
on the child's head, he immediately cast a
conjuration and created a step platform to
stand on. He'd just mounted it when the
Hat called, "Gryffindor!" And he was able
to pluck it back off young Mister
Abercrombie's head.
From there, the sorting went much as
expected. Harry was even able to
remember which House some of the
students were sorted into from the
previous go-around.
The next morning, as the three were
seated in the Great Hall for breakfast,
Professor Flitwick moved down the table
handing out class schedules. When he
reached the three he handed them their
schedules and said, "The Headmaster is
asking after you again. He wonders if
you'd mind visiting him before class,
rather than after."
"We said after, it will be after, Professor,"
replied Daphne. "But, thank you for
passing on the message."
The Professor simply gave a slight bow
back before continuing on down the table
handing out schedules.
"Pushy old... so-and-so," growled Harry
almost sotto voce.
After a morning of Double Potions, where
Snape appeared to be even more the
teacher he could be rather than the
mongrel he was in their first three years,
the three headed to the Great Hall for
morning tea. Then it was straight on to a
double of History of Magic. A full morning.
By the time they joined Luna at the table
for lunch they knew they were studying
for their OWL year. Snape made sure they
knew that with his usual first lesson spiel;
with this one saying how he believed most
of them would fail and that it would be to
the betterment of society if they did.
First class after lunch was a single for
Ancient Runes, where Harry was
introduced to the rest of the small class,
then a double for DADA.
Walking in, the three made sure they had
their wands out before walking in the
door and ready to cast shields. Thankfully,
it was not necessary. Sirius was sitting
perched on the edge of the Professor's
desk quietly watching everyone file in.
This year, the class was with the
Gryffindors.
As everyone found their seats and sat
down, Sirius didn't move except for a very
small smirk towards the three bondmates'
direction.
Though everyone was sitting, a few in
Gryffindor... plus Mandy Brocklehurst and
Padma Patil... were still chatting between
themselves.
Sirius calmly drew his wand and fired a
cannon blast towards the ceiling. That
caused a few who weren't paying
attention to scream in fright and try to
dive under their desks.
He waited a few moments, as they
realised there was no threat and returned
to their seats, before he almost softly said,
"When you enter my classroom I expect
you to come in ready to learn. If you want
to chat, get out. This is not your afternoon
knitting circle and gossip fest."
That had their attention. "My name is
Professor Sirius Black."
That earned him a few quiet gasps.
However, Sirius continued on as if he
hadn't heard anything, even though Harry
knew he did. Excellent hearing was a
positive side effect of his animagus form.
"I am, of course, this year's Professor of
Defence Against the Dark Arts.
"For those unaware of my background, I
hold a Mastery in Defence; and NEWT
Outstandings in Transfiguration, Charms,
Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Potions. I
am an 'ex' Hit Wizard, and served as such
in the previous war. I have fought dark
wizards in battle and killed. And, it is with
that experience, I am going to teach you
the basics you need to defend yourself if
you are attacked.
"If I discover you have taken my teachings
and used them to attack innocents, you
can expect I will personally hunt you down
and deal with you for the insult. If
necessary, I will use lethal force. Do not
make me do that."
He allowed his eyes to roam about the
very silent and very still room, making
sure to stare at every student for a
moment as he did so.
"I have reviewed the work of my
predecessors over the previous four years
and am, frankly, appalled. With the
exception of Professor Lupin in your third
year - and, surprisingly, the fake Professor
Moody last year - your instruction has
been sorely lacking. We are going to work
hard to rectify that.
Without even looking down, he picked up
a sheet of parchment and quill off the
desk alongside him. "When I call out your
name, respond with a 'Here'. If someone
doesn't respond with such, I will want to
know why.
"Boot, Terry..."
"Here, Professor."
"Corner, Michael..."
"Here, Professor."
Harry was very amused when Sirius called
out, "Granger-Potter, Hermione," and
then, "Greengrass-Potter, Daphne."
Sirius didn't allow his expression to
change one iota as he read them out and
moved on.
Once he'd finished calling the roll, he
placed the parchment back down on his
desk and stood. He looked around the
room once before his gaze zeroed in on
Seamus Finnegan.
"Mister Finnegan," he called. "What is the
best defence against someone casting a
curse at you?"
"Ummm..." stuttered the boy. "A...
protego?"
"Are you asking me or telling me?" Sirius
immediately asked right back.
"Telling, Professor," replied the Irish lad,
more firmly that time.
Chapter 304
"Better," said Sirius. "But, also
nowhere near fast enough. By the time
you figured out to cast a Protego shield
the curse would have been close enough
to hit you before you got your shield up.
"Mister Boot," he next asked. "Is he
correct?"
"Yes, Professor," Terry immediately
replied.
"I like your confidence, Mister Boot," said
Sirius. "But, as I never defined what the
curse was that was cast, there's a good
chance you're wrong.
"If the curse was red, would your shield
charm have worked?"
"Yes, Professor," the boy replied.
"Why?"
"Because you cast a stunner at me," Terry
confidently replied.
"I did not," replied Sirius. "I cast the
Cruciatus curse at you. It is the same
colour as the Stunner but cannot be
completely blocked by a Protego. I hope
you like pain, Mister Boot. You're currently
suffering from a lot of it.
"However, you weakened the curse with
your confidently cast Protego. Five points
to Ravenclaw.
"Missus Greengrass-Potter, what should
Misters Finnegan and Boot have thought
to do first?"
"Stepped out of the way, Professor,"
Daphne confidently replied.
"Correct," said Sirius. "Stepping aside
should always be your first choice, if it's an
option. Stepping aside allows you to cast
your own attack, rather than hold a shield,
and won't drain your magical reserves.
The more you have left in reserve,
compared to your opponent, could be the
difference between you staying alive or
winding up dead. Five points to
Ravenclaw."
Just as the class ended, Sirius asked the
bondmates to stay back.
They calmly sat at their desks as the rest
of the class filed out, chattering excitedly
about what they'd learned.
When the last one passed through the
door, Sirius cast an underpowered
banisher to carefully but firmly slam the
door shut.
As soon as he did, he slumped where he
was, leaned back on the front edge of the
desk and sighed. With a chuckle he looked
to the three and said, "Damn, that was
scary."
The three laughed back and Hermione
said, "You shouldn't be. That was the most
brilliant class we've ever had in Defence."
"It's kind of you to say so," he replied with
a small smile.
"No, she's just telling the truth," said Harry.
"You really were brilliant. You'll be the talk
of the tables at dinner, tonight."
"You had them in the palm of your hand
within seconds of casting that cannon
blast charm," said Daphne. "Merlin! I
thought a couple of them were going to
pass out from lack of oxygen with the way
they were all intensely holding their
breaths, afraid to miss even the tiniest bit
of information. They were enthralled."
Sirius gave a little nod of acceptance
before he took a breath and asked, "Now,
is this your last class of the day?"
All three nodded back.
"Dumbledore asked us to stop by in the
infirmary, though," said Harry. "We told
Professor McGonagall we'd visit him after
class today."
"In that case, I'll come with," he said,
standing up. "He's dying. But, I still don't
trust him not to try anything. It's why I
accepted the post."
As they walked to the infirmary, Harry
looked to his godfather and said, "I
noticed Ron Weasley's name wasn't called
out when you took roll. Neither did he
attend. What's going on there?"
"Mister Weasley, the youngest, was failed
for his fourth year and forced to redo it,"
smirked Sirius. "I have a feeling the
number of howlers Dumbledore received
about that over the break may have been
one of the reasons he's now in the
infirmary."
While the three snickered or giggled, as
the case may be, Sirius continued, "Molly
tried to force the issue. Dumbledore went
to Aunt Minnie and said he was going to
override her decision to hold the boy back
a year, so Minnie then let him have it. I
think Dumbledore realised he had to
share a castle with her, so finally relented
and was forced to tell Molly that Ron
either repeated the year or she could
withdraw him from Hogwarts.
"Molly even went to the Board of
Governors to get them to overrule
Dumbledore and Minnie but they backed
Minnie to the hilt. As such, Ron's again in
fourth year this year."
Trying to muffle his own laughter, Harry
had tears in his eyes and a red face before
he finally said, "I... I bet he really
appreciates that. And I can see him trying
to force his sister to do his homework for
him now."
"That won't work," smirked Sirius. "I'm
told his brothers and sister read him the
riot act on the train. Apparently, the
argument was so loud Prefects had to be
called in to ensure 'Ronnikins' made it to
the castle on his own two feet."
"The twins were that hard on him?" asked
Hermione.
"No; Ginny," replied Sirius with a grin.
"The twins were, on one hand,
threatening Ron with vile retribution;
while also holding Ginny back from hexing
him right into the infirmary right there
and then."
When the four walked into the Infirmary a
few minutes later, they guessed that
Dumbledore was in the bed at the end;
what with the screens around the bed and
him not in any of the others.
Sirius then led them down the length of
the ward, told them to hold a moment,
and ducked in through a gap in the
screens. A moment later, he poked his
head out and said, "Come in."
When the three filed in and around the
foot of the bed it was to see the old man
lying under his covers with a grey pallor to
his complexion. It also appeared he'd lost
some weight. And Harry also noticed the
dark edge of the withering curse on the
side of his neck.
"Ah, Harry," said Dumbledore, quite softly,
"Thank you for coming." He then turned
to Sirius and said, "Thank you for bringing
young Harry, Sirius. You may go."
Sirius just snorted back and said, "I'm not
going anywhere, Dumbledore. You may
die before anyone can get you into a
defendant's chair; but, that still doesn't
mean a trial for your actions is not on the
books."
Chapter 305
Dumbledore frowned in annoyance and
tried a different tack. "I need to discuss
some matters with young Harry that are
both of a sensitive nature and confidential.
I'm sure you can see your way to allowing
us a little privacy for a few minutes."
"Nope. I can't," replied Sirius. "I stay; or
we all leave."
With another sigh, Dumbledore tried
again. "In that case, I'm afraid I must insist
that you give an oath that what..."
"No," Sirius firmly said, glowering back.
"No oaths, no unbreakable vows, no
nothing. This is now your last chance,
Dumbledore. Say what you need to say, or
you never see any of these three again."
Dumbledore was clearly shocked by the
vehemence in Sirius's snapped
interruption. He looked from Sirius to
Harry and on to his two wives. All looked
back resolute. There would clearly be no
speaking to Harry alone.
With a sigh, he said, "What I need to talk
about cannot be mentioned to others. If it
gets out, through any means - potions,
Legilimency, Imperius curse, compulsion
charms, whatever - it could spell the
doom for the entire world. That's why I
insist on magical oaths. This information
could trigger what the muggles refer to as
Armageddon; the end of the world."
With a snort Harry snarked, "Wow! You
almost have the impression of thunder
and lightning, the screams of the souls of
the damned, and other such imagery. In
other words, you've set your scene. And, I
must say, I'm utterly unimpressed."
Harry turned to Hermione and asked,
"Would you mind throwing up some of
your ward specials, love? I'll conjure us
some stools."
While Hermione and Daphne threw up
some powerful wards - Notice-me-not,
silencing, avoidance and the like - Harry
conjured four padded stools with seat
backs for the four of them. He chose
stools so they wouldn't be sitting in a
position where they would need to look
up slightly to see Dumbledore. That subtle
little power play of height equals power
was robbed of the old man.
Once everyone was sitting down,
Dumbledore tried to begin. "Harry, what I
have to tell you is..."
"Irrelevant," Harry rode over the top of
the old man. "How about I tell you all your
secrets relating to me and you tell me
where I'm wrong."
Not waiting for Dumbledore to agree or
disagree, Harry said, "You want to tell me
that Riddle made horcruxes. That you
believe there are six or, possibly seven, of
them. And that you believe Riddle created
an accidental horcrux and that it resides
behind my scar. How am I doing so far?"
The look on Dumbledore's face was
priceless. It even had both Sirius and
Daphne snickering at the look on the old
man's face.
"I see I have you absolutely astonished,"
said Harry. "Oh, and for your information,
there's no such thing as an accidental
horcrux."
"Next," said Hermione. "You want to tell
us that there's a prophecy that states that
Harry and Riddle have to face one another
in battle. And that Harry has some
mystical sort of power that will help him
defeat Riddle. And, finally, that that power
is the power of love."
Daphne took it from there. "The last little
piece of knowledge is that, because of the
so-called accidental horcrux behind
Harry's scar, Harry has to die in order for
Riddle to be defeated."
"How're we doing so far, Dumdum?"
asked Harry.
"I... you're..." tried Dumbledore.
"Well, spit it out," said Sirius, choking back
laughter.
"How do you know all this?" gasped
Dumbledore.
"Because we know things you do not,"
said Harry. "And, we also know that you're
close to the truth. But you're far enough
away from it that, if steps hadn't been
taken because of your utter foolishness,
the future you supposedly
foresaw could have happened would have
come to pass.
"You, Dumbledore - because you didn't do
the right things from the get-go - would
have caused the destruction of the
wizarding world to occur some time in the
first decade of the twenty-first century,"
Harry continued. "Through your
foolishness, without outside interference,
you'd have utterly destroyed the magical
world worldwide, and caused the death
of billions of people."
"Wh... what?" stuttered Dumbledore.
"But... my plans... it was all..."
"For nought and doomed to fail," said
Harry. "Since September last year, we've
been working hard to correct all the
mistakes you made, to get everything back
on track."
"Wh... what do you mean?" asked the old
man.
"First, you've obviously studied horcruxes
and how they're made," said Hermione.
"You know Riddle had to perform a ritual
to prepare his soul to be split. You also
know the vessel he wanted to use to store
that soul fragment also needed to be
prepared through a ritual. So, let me ask
you this; just when did Riddle prepare
Harry's head to become a horcrux?"
The four sat there in silence as they
watched the old man try to figure it out.
When his eyes widened as he figured out
the truth, Hermione smirked at him and
said, "I see you've figured it out.
It never happened!
"So, as a result, there is no way Harry's
head could be a horcrux. As such,
Harry doesn't have to die to ultimately
defeat Riddle. You would have sent Harry
on to his death, for no reason!"
"Now, you were correct in that a small
piece of Riddle's soul lodged behind my
scar," said Harry. "However, it was inert. It
lacked any power to do anything, and my
own magic held it safely cocooned to stop
it trying to take me over, unlike what
happened to Ginevra Weasley with the
diary."
"And Harry is using past tense because it's
now been dealt with," said Sirius. "It has
been removed. It's gone!"
"But... this is good news!" said
Dumbledore. "That means we can plan on
how you..."
"We're not finished!" snapped Daphne.
"That wasn't the only mistake you made.
Not by a long shot."
"Your next mistake was in guessing the
number of horcruxes made," she
continued, once Dumbledore immediately
shut up. "You believe he'd make six to split
his soul seven ways; or make seven. You
were banking on Riddle's belief in the
magical power of seven.
"In a way, you were right. We believe
seven was what he was aiming for.
However, you didn't even take the time to
consider that Riddle hadn't reached the
number seven when he was killed in
Godric's Hollow."
Again they went silent as they watched
Dumbledore figure that out for himself.
Chapter 306
When it appeared he did, Hermione
continued. "At the time he attacked the
Potters he had only made five. He was still
looking for an artefact from Gryffindor to
make his sixth. And he was aiming to
make seven.
"The five he made were, in order: his diary,
the Peverell ring, Ravenclaw's diadem,
Slytherin's locket and Hufflepuff's cup. We
believe he was planning on making Harry's
father's wand as one - or, something else
belonging to the Potters - while he was
looking for the Gryffindor artefact.
"He now more than likely knows Harry
found Gryffindor's sword and used it to kill
the basilisk - and suspects you have it in
your office - so, he will want to hold off on
making his final horcrux until he has the
sword in his possession."
"That still leaves one," said Dumbledore.
"I believe he will still want to make a
horcrux belonging to the Potters or me."
"You're a bit up yourself, aren't you?" said
Daphne. "He already made it. It was his
familiar; a magical venomous python he
named Nagini. It's now dead, destroying
the horcrux in the process."
After a few moments where he was deep
in thought, Dumbledore said, "That is
excellent news. We should begin the
search for the other containers
immediately."
"Gods, you're daft!" said Sirius in
exasperation. "Stop making plans
and think, you old fool. How do you think
it is these three know... not
believe... know... what the other
horcruxes are?"
Dumbledore frowned as his eyes
unfocussed and he furiously thought
about it. When his eyes, again, widened
he looked back with shock. "You've
already found them!" he gasped.
"Found them and stripped the soul
fragments out of them," said Harry. "With
the last of his horcruxes destroyed, Riddle
is now mortal again. Of course, you
already knew I'd destroyed the diary in
our second year. It's what led you to
understanding Riddle had actually made
horcruxes.
"And you went after the ring when I gave
you sufficient enough clues to lead you to
it. I trust you've since destroyed it?
Probably with the basilisk venom-imbued
sword of Gryffindor, correct?"
"I..." began Dumbledore, before he clearly
decided to be honest about it. "Yes. I
destroyed it, as you surmised." With a
slight start of another shock, Dumbledore
fixed his eyes on Harry and said, "You
knew! You sent me after the ring, on
purpose!"
"Yes; but you also foolishly donned it
before you dealt with it, didn't you?"
replied Daphne. "That's what's currently
killing you. A withering curse, right? And,
it's your own stupid fault."
"Yes," sighed the old man. "I... there were
enchantments on the ring. A compulsion
charm tied to a withering curse. I... was a
fool."
"Anything else you want to tell us about
the ring?" asked Hermione. She was
hoping the old man would now come
clean; completely. Alas, she was
disappointed.
"No," said Dumbledore.
Harry just sighed and shook his head.
"Still with your stupid secrets, old man?
You're very soon going to die and you
still insist on holding on to secrets that
are not yours to hold."
"I... don't know what you mean," he tried.
Even then, he knew it was futile.
"We've known for quite some time that
the stone affixed to the ring was the
Resurrection Stone; specifically, the
second Hallow. We also know my cloak is
the True Cloak of Invisibility."
As Dumbledore's eyes widened in surprise
again, Harry then held up his right hand in
a grasping gesture and firmly said, "Mine!"
The Elder Wand, where it lay on top of the
bedside table, suddenly leapt off the table,
soared through the air, and smacked into
Harry's hand.
"And we also know this is the Elder Wand,
and that I won it's allegiance off you when
you attacked me with Legilimency back
last September," said Harry, as he
pocketed the wand. "You've known ever
since then that the wand now rightfully
belonged to me; and yet you did nothing
about that. Shame on you."
"That means..." stuttered the old man.
"That I'm now the rightful possessor of
two of the Hallows," said Harry. "And,
when I go to your office, I'll have the third.
And, I am the rightful owner of all three,
as you well know. I'm the last descendant
of the Peverells. That makes them family
heirlooms of my family.
"However, I will not become the Master of
Death, as legend would have you believe.
The three Hallows are merely very
powerful enchanted artefacts; nothing
more."
"How do you know all this?" asked a very
shocked Dumbledore.
"That is information you are not privy to
know... yet. It's covered under family
magics," said Harry. "You will, soon
enough. And, it'll be at a time when you
can't use it to make further plans; or,
should I say, manipulations. Your days as
the great chessmaster of the wizarding
world are at an end; thank Merlin!"
"You've been played, Headmaster," said
Daphne. "You... who is always quick to
manipulate others for some stupidity you
call The Greater Good... has had the tables
turned on you since the beginning of the
school year, last year.
"Remember that big scene in your office
when Harry lost his temper with you and
demanded you snap his wand? Harry
was never going to leave the magical
world. That was simply to make you think
you had to dance to our tune, for a change.
You were forced to make changes because,
if you didn't, you believed Harry was going
to leave. And you desperately needed him
to stay because of the prophecy."
"I... you... what?" spluttered the old man,
completely shocked.
"The next one was the Goblet of Fire
incident," said Daphne, ignoring
Dumbledore's protestations. "We already
knew that wasn't the real Mad Eye Moody.
We already knew he was the one who
submitted Harry's name; just as you did.
And, just as you did, we let it play out."
"I didn't..." tried the old man again.
"And don't try to tell any of us you didn't
know he was a fake," she continued, riding
straight over the top of him. "The man
was supposed to be your friend of five
decades. And, you couldn't tell he wasn't
the real Moody?" She snorted. "You're
either the most naïve man alive, or you
knew. We know it was the latter."
Dumbledore just lay there, propped up on
his pillows and looking completely
gobsmacked.
"First year; that whole Philosopher's Stone
nonsense," said Hermione. "We may not
have known it was a bull-manure test for
Harry back then. But, we know all you had
to do was put the stone under the Fidelius
charm to keep it safe. You could have even
left it sitting on a bookshelf in your office
under the charm and it would have been
safe."
Chapter 307
"Then there was how you supposedly had
to go to the Ministry the night Quirrell
made his play for the stone," said Daphne.
"Supposedly, you left for the Ministry on a
broom. Really? A broom? When you have
a perfectly good fireplace connected to
the Floo network in your office, a magical
familiar that could phoenix flash you
directly to the Minister's office, the ability
to create portkeys that go right through
both Hogwarts's and the Ministry's wards,
and the ability to apparate from within
Hogwarts directly to the apparation point
in the atrium at the Ministry. And you
expect us to believe you decided, in
Autumn, at night, for a seven hour trip on
a broom, to fly there? Ha!"
Harry cut in and said, "You gave yourself
away on that one, old man, when you said
to me, once I woke up after killing Quirrell,
'You did do the thing properly, didn't you?'
That was one of your unintentional
slip-ups that gave you away. It wasn't the
only one, though. And it proved the whole
thing was a test, for me."
"No! I..."
"Second year," continued Hermione.
"I figured out it was a basilisk in only a
couple of months, and with only eighteen
months of magical education under my
belt. You, with all your knowledge of all
creatures great and small, knew what it
was when young Mister Finch-Fletchley
was petrified, at the latest! Moaning
Myrtle was killed by the same petrification.
The only beasts that can do that without
leaving a mark are the medusa and the
basilisk. Even I could then figure out it was
the latter. After all, Slytherin and snakes
go together so easily, don't they?"
"No... no..."
"When I was lying on my hospital bed
having the bones in my arm regrown after
Flophart vanished them, you brought
young Mister Creevey in. He'd been
petrified. When you opened the back of
the camera, Madam Pomfrey mentioned
how the whole insides of the camera had
been melted. Professor McGonagall asked
you what it meant. You replied, 'It means
that the Chamber of Secrets is indeed
open again.' Which would mean you
knew exactly what was causing the
petrifications, or you were trying to make
yourself seem more knowledgeable than
you were, and was actually full of shit. It
was easy to work out it was the former."
Dumbledore wasn't even able to say
anything, so deep was his shock now.
"Which raised the issue why you never
arranged for Hagrid to be properly tried
when Riddle claimed it was him who
caused the death of young Myrtle," added
Daphne. "By stating, once Colin was
petrified, that the destruction of the
camera meant the chamber had been
reopened, meant you also knew Hagrid's
pet acromantula didn't cause the death of
Myrtle. Which begs the question, why
hadn't you worked to see Hagrid's name
cleared? After all, as Chief Warlock, it
was well within your powers to do so."
"And don't get us started on third year,"
huffed Hermione. "You knew... or, at least,
strongly suspected... Sirius was innocent.
It was even your idea for me to use the
time-turner to go back to save him. So,
why didn't you take the time-turner off
me and go do it yourself? No; you just
wanted Harry to have another adventure
and, if he failed, he'd blame himself. It was
yet another of your part test part training
of Harry."
"I couldn't!" stuttered the old man. "There
wasn't enough time for me..."
"Liar!" snorted Harry. "We're talking about
a time turner here, remember? You sent
two teenagers to go and do the
job you should have done. After
all, you were part of the reason Sirius was
sent to Azkaban in the first place. It
was your error. Yet, you abrogated the
responsibility to fix it to two teens. One
would think you actually wanted them to
fail. Then, when they amazingly
succeeded, you did nothing to get Sirius
the trial he deserved. You allowed that
idiot Fudge to accuse us of being
confounded. And, in doing so, denied
Sirius justice. Again, as Chief Warlock, it
was well within your power to see he got
it. It was clearly yet another deliberate act
on your part."
"I... No! I... There..."
"What we've also learned and come to
understand is that the greatest threat to
the magical world, especially wizarding
Britain, isn't Tom Riddle," said Harry. "No.
The greatest threat is a meddling old fool
who thinks he's God's gift to the wizarding
world. He is... was... a self-absorbed idiot
who was supposed to have taken a
prophecy and done the right thing.
"Instead, this fool decided to hide it from
everyone. He decided to keep what he
knew to himself. Instead of training the
prophecised child together with Sirius
Black and Remus Lupin for his future
conflict with the Dark Lord, he decided to
hide the boy away in an abusive
household. That abuse led to a weakening
of the boy's magic due to malnutrition. A
weakening, which was enough for the
Dark Lord of the prophecy to be able kill
the boy. That fool's name is Albus Wulfric
Dumbledore."
"Surprised we know that Percival and
Brian aren't actually part of your name,
Albus?" asked Hermione with a smirk
directed at the very shocked old man. "It
wasn't hard to figure out, when you think
about it. Neither your brother, nor your
sister, had more than a single middle
name. And your father hated muggles.
After all, he did torture a group of muggle
boys simply because they teased your
sister. So, why would he saddle you with
two extra middle names; and for both of
them to be muggle names? He, of course,
wouldn't do such a thing. But you knew
that, with the extra names and them
being muggle ones, you'd look more
important than you actually were at the
time."
"However, your worse crime is that you've
been manipulating things around Harry's
life since before he was even born," said
Daphne, cutting him off yet again. "We
highly suspect you knew all along how he
was treated at his aunt and uncle's place.
That makes you a child abuser by proxy.
You placed him there, and you kept
demanding he go back. You're a child
abuser, Albus. One of the most despicable
of crimes someone could possibly commit.
And it'll soon be time you faced ultimate
judgment. I don't think your
looked-forward-to 'Next Great Adventure'
is going to be all that pleasant for you."
"Actually, that time is now," said a new
voice.
All eyes turned to where the voice had
come from. Standing there, just inside the
entrance between the curtains, was
obviously another angel. The robes were a
dead giveaway. He appeared elderly, tall,
of African-American descent with a very
short-cropped greying balding frizz, and
plenty of freckles across his cheeks and
nose
"Hello," said Hermione. "And who might
you be?"
"You may call me Morgan," said the angel.
"Who are you and how did you get in
here?" asked Dumbledore quite firmly and
a little angrily.
The other four practically snickered.
Ignoring Dumbledore for a moment,
Morgan said, "Alright, you four, Albus
Wulfric and I need to have a chat."
"I... take it you're... his?" asked Hermione.
"I am," replied Morgan with a small nod.
"And you four have just made my job both
somewhat easier, and a little bit more
difficult."
"Ooh!" said Harry. "May I be the one to
introduce you to him?"
With a sigh, Morgan said, "If you must."
"Thank you!" he exclaimed. Turning to
Dumbledore he said, "Albus; this is
Morgan, your Grim Reaper. Also known as
the Angel of Death."
Seeing the horrified expression of shock
pass over the old man's face, the three
teens and Sirius laughed.
Chapter 309
As the four stood and made to leave the
curtained off area, Hermione sing-songed,
"Al-bus is in... trah-ble!"
"Out!" snapped Morgan as he moved to
sit on the same stool Sirius sat upon.
As the four left, Harry heard Morgan say,
"Now, Albus Wulfric, as Hermione Jean
bluntly put it, you're in trouble. And, yes,
I'm your Grim Reaper."
The four had been long enough in the
Infirmary talking with Dumbledore that it
was almost time for dinner. Foregoing the
short time they had left to head back to
their apartment and drop off their book
bags, Sirius suggested they head back to
his office.
Once they were ensconced within, he
turned to them with a wide grin. "That
was fun watching that."
"I thought he was going to have heart
attack, a couple of times there," giggled
Hermione.
"So, Morgan is his... Grim Reaper?" asked
Sirius.
"Yes," said Daphne. "According to Della,
when a person is slowly dying, often their
Grim Reaper will come and share their last
moments as mortals. If Morgan is here
now, Dumbledore doesn't have that much
longer to live."
"Well, yes," said Sirius. "I was told he was
down to his last few weeks."
"I think it's more like his last few days,"
said Daphne. "If that."
"Do you know what the... Morgan will talk
to him about?" he asked.
"I think Morgan will talk to him to help
ease his soul towards Heaven," said
Hermione. "But, I think a lot of it will also
be about where Dumbledore went wrong
in his life. It's so, when the old coot dies,
he'll be able to do so when he realises
everything he did wrong and shows
remorse. At least, that's what my religious
lessons taught me."
"So, off the maudlin subject matter," said
Sirius giving himself a little shake. "I meant
to ask you earlier. How has your animagus
training been coming along?"
All three grinned back and suddenly
shifted into their forms. The speed of the
transition was as fast as Sirius was able to
transition into his own form.
With a grin, he declared, "Excellent! I
think the three of you are now worthy of
being granted your Marauder names."
All three changed back and Hermione said,
"Please, don't make it something I'll not
like."
What Hermione and Daphne didn't know
was that Harry had been in
communication with his godfather and
honourary uncle, and told them of
Hermione's fear. He even sent Hermione's
own suggestions along, so they'd have
some idea of what she'd like.
"It won't be," said Sirius in a calming
gesture. "I promised Moony he'd be here
when we announced them; so, you'll have
to wait until tomorrow night to find out
what they are. We'll do it straight after
class, tomorrow."
As all three nodded, he said, "Good. Now,
it's almost time for the meal to be served
in the Great Hall. You may as well head
directly there. I'll be along in a little while.
As the three made to leave, Harry smiled
back and said, "Thank you, Mister
Padfoot."
Sirius grinned and said, "You're not getting
it out of me that easily. Now, scram!"
As they'd anticipated, the talk along the
tables at dinner was all about Sirius's
DADA classes.
"He's effing brilliant! Blood scary, though,"
said Kevin Entwhistle. "It scared
the crap out of me when he fired off that
cannon blast. But, he clearly really knows
his stuff!"
"We've got him first thing in the morning,"
said a sixth year, clearly interested. "What
do you recommend?"
"When you enter his classroom, as he put
it, be ready to learn," explained Entwhistle.
"Don't sit there chatting with your friends.
You won't like the consequences."
"He speaks in that slow, soft cadence
Snape uses," added Stephen Cornfoot.
"And has that same stare. But, he's
nothing like him. He doesn't sneer. And he
doesn't insult you, either."
The three bondmates were amused by the
exchanges.
Harry took a look around the room and
saw others also talking and looking
towards Sirius where he sat next to Snape
at the head table. For his part, Sirius
seemed to be having fun ignoring Snape
and watching the byplay at the tables.
When he looked over and saw the twins
and Neville, they also looked quite
amused by what others were saying about
their new DADA Professor. Neville caught
his eye and grinned back.
Harry turned to Hermione and softly said,
"I think those who know Sirius are as
amused as we are about his little
performance during class. I think he must
have adopted the same attitude in his
other classes today."
She nodded back and grinned.
The next day, the three, after a single of
Herbology to wind up the day, made their
way to the DADA classroom. They didn't
know if Sirius had the last class of the day
as a class or a free period like they did, so
went there to find out.
When they realised he had a class, they
decided to take a wander back outside
instead of just waiting outside the
classroom; but, had returned as the final
class, one of Slytherin and Gryffindor
firsties, exited while excitedly chattering
between themselves in their separate
Houses.
The three all walked in with big grins on
their faces. As the last of the firsties left,
Daphne closed the door.
"I hope you didn't scare the crap out of
them, as one of our Housemates said you
did for us," said Daphne.
"Nope," grinned back Sirius. "I used a
whole different form of intimidation for
them. I didn't want to make them cry...
yet."
"Well, you'll be pleased to know you're
considered scary, brilliant, knowledgeable,
intimidating, won't put up with crap, and
speak softly but firmly with a measured
cadence," said Hermione.
"Good," he replied. "That's what I was
aiming for. If you want to stay ahead of
being pranked, you have to be considered
too scary, too smart and well-respected to
be a target."
"The twins'll see it as a challenge,
though," said Harry.
"I'm looking forward to it," he replied, a
little gleefully.
Everyone turned to the door as it opened
again, without a knock. Remus stood in
the doorway with a wide grin before he
casually walked in.
"So, Professor Black," he smirked. "How
was your first couple of days as part of
The Establishment?"
"Fun!" Sirius immediately shot back. "I
think I'm going to enjoy this gig. Now I
know why you enjoyed it so much."
"Wait till you have to grade assignments,"
said Remus. "I'll ask you again, then."
"So, animagus names?" asked Hermione.
"Missus Granger-Potter appears most
eager, Mister Padfoot," smiled Remus.
"That she does, Mister Moony," replied
Sirius.
Sirius waved his wand and caused the
front desks to slide back and away. With
them out of the way, he then conjured up
five seats in a circle.
"Take a seat," he said.
Once everyone was sitting down, he and
Remus glanced at each other with grins.
"Who's first?" asked Remus.
"Me, please!" a very fidgety Hermione
quickly said.
"How could we be surprised by that," said
Sirius. He turned to Remus and asked,
"Mister Moony; would you do the
honours?"
"Mister Moony accepts the honour," said
Remus, before he turned to Hermione.
"Hermione Jean Granger-Potter, your
Marauder name will be... Pouncer."
Hermione gasped in shock and blurted,
"That was one of my first choices!" She
then winced at her exclamation. "I mean,
if there was one to choose, that would
have been one of the names I wanted.
Thank you."
"Mister Moony accepts your thanks, Miss
Pouncer, and asks who's next?" said
Remus, with a wide grin.
"I'll go next," said Daphne.
"Ah, the delightful Missus
Greengrass-Potter," said Sirius. "Mister
Moony and I took quite some time
thinking of a name for you. Eventually, we
came up with... Tracker."
Daphne seemed to think about it for a few
moments before she said, "I like it. Thank
you."
Both older Marauders grinned back and
nodded. Sirius said, "Mister Padfoot
thanks you for your appreciation, Miss
Tracker, and hands back to Mister Moony
for our last inductee."
"Harry was both the hardest and easiest,"
said Remus. "We had his name right from
the start and didn't realise it. Our alpha
male of his own pack will be henceforth
known as... Hunter."
"Nice!" said Harry. "I like it. Thank you.
That is, Mister Hunter thanks Mister
Moony and Mister Padfoot for his
Marauder name; and likes it."
"Mister Moony..."
"And Mister Padfoot..."
"... Acknowledge your thanks and are
relieved you all do."
"Is there also a secret handshake, or
something?" asked Hermione, a little
cheekily.
Both adults looked back before both burst
out laughing.
Sirius said, "Miss Pouncer gets in the first
snap prank seconds after induction." With
mock tears and sniffles he said,
"I'm sooo proud."
A couple days later, just before the
evening meal was to commence, Professor
McGonagall stood to make an
announcement.
"Students," she said, as the hubbub from
the tables died down. "It is my sad duty to
inform you all that Headmaster
Dumbledore... passed away from a long
illness, this afternoon."
With gasps and not a few tears from some
of the students - and looks of pleasure
from some on the Slytherin table -
McGonagall raised her hand and waited
until silence again descended. "As this was
expected by a select few, who were aware
of the Headmaster's declining health,
steps have already been taken. The School
Board have already appointed me as
interim Acting Headmistress, and I have
accepted control of the wards of the
school. The interim Acting Deputy
Headmaster is Professor Filius Flitwick.
"With the amount of work ahead of me
for the foreseeable future I have put out
feelers for a temporary Professor of
Transfigurations. In the mean time all
Transfiguration classes, except for fifth
and seventh years, are suspended. I will
continue to teach those until a
replacement is found. You will be
informed, in advance, when classes in
Transfiguration recommence.
"A memorial service will be held for
Headmaster Dumbledore on Sunday
afternoon on the lawn near the
greenhouses. Those who wish to attend to
pay their respects may do so. We ask that
those who do not choose to attend please
avoid the area or, if you need to be nearby,
please be quiet.
"Headmaster Dumbledore will be interred
in the Dumbledore family plot in Godric's
Hollow sometime next week. Unless by
special invitation, and due to the current
uncertainties surrounding personal safety
and security, you will be unable to
attend."
As she was talking, Harry perused the
head table. Professor Snape was looking
like he'd been sucking on Dumbledore's
lemon drops all day, so pursed were his
lips. Harry suspected he felt his tenure
was very soon coming to an abrupt end.
Sirius was, of course, quite calm. The
arrival of Morgan meant Dumbledore's
end was closer than the rest of the staff
thought it to be.
Professor Babbling was gently weeping,
and was dabbing at her eyes with a small
lace handkerchief; Professor Babbage was
looking quite concerned; Professor Sprout
was sad and just a touch teary; Professor
Flitwick looked a little sad, but that was all;
Professors Vector and Sinistra were all
'stiff upper lip' but red-rim eyed; Professor
Grubbly-Planck was just sad; Hagrid was
all but bawling and looked like a
blubbering wreck; and Professor
Trelawney looked as if she didn't know
anything out of the ordinary was going on,
and was looking around a little confused
and trying to comfort Hagrid.
Harry, Hermione and Daphne were all
actually quite relieved, now that the old
fool was out of the way. Privately, each
wished it wasn't necessary. But they also
recognised he was far more a hindrance
than a help.
After dinner and just before curfew a lone
Slytherin student carefully made their way
to the owlery. A short message was tied to
the leg of a non-descript school owl and
sent on its way.
The note said, 'Dumbledore is dead. The
old fool died today. Do I still go ahead with
the plan for the cabinet?' There was no
sender or recipient name on the note.
Sitting in their apartment, with the Map
laid out on the coffee table between them,
the three watched the names play across
the parchment through the evening.
They watched a few students make their
way to the owlery after dinner; but, it was
just as curfew approached, they watched
a lone name make its way to the owlery.
Theodore Nott.
As Nott left the owlery, the three looked
to one another. Daphne muttered with a
growl in her voice, "That is really no
surprise."
"This time it's Nott's father who has the
displeasure of Riddle in his home," said
Harry.
Hermione asked, "So, what do we do?"
Chapter 310
The three continued to attend classes and
had a much better time of it. Without the
threat of Dumbledore they were even
finding they were enjoying it. At least, it
was far more relaxing.
During the evenings they continued to
watch the Map, taking turns as they each
ploughed through their assignments.
"Nott's out and about," said Harry, during
a period when he was watching the Map.
The girls put down what they were doing
and moved closer to also peer down at
the Map.
They watched the footsteps with the
name 'Theodore Nott' immediately above
them as they made their way up to the
seventh floor. In a dead end corridor, they
watched as the boy hesitated for a few
moments before he walked back and forth
three times. On the third pass the boy
stopped, turned to the wall and appeared
to disappear through it.
"Well, that answers that," said Hermione.
"Even though Dumbledore's dead they still
want to enter the castle on a raid. I
wonder who the target is, this time."
"Me, of course," said Harry. "The only two
people Riddle feared were the
Headmaster and, now, me."
"Well, you did smack snot out of him in
the graveyard, dear," smiled Hermione.
"While Draco took almost the entire
school year to repair the vanishing cabinet,
last time; we can't rely on Nott being just
as bad. So, it's either destroy the damned
thing; or set up traps to trap them as they
come through," said Harry.
Daphne had been quiet and thinking while
her bondmates chatted. Eventually, she
said, "I think I need to have another look
at this cabinet."
"Got an idea, have you?" asked Hermione.
"A few, actually," she replied. "I'm a
Slytherin, remember? We don't operate
off just a single plan and hope for the best.
That's a Gryffindor. We have multiple
plans with fallback plans as many deep as
we can go."
"And what have you come up with so far,
my lovely little snake?" asked Harry, with a
little smirk.
He expected a little retaliation from her;
but, didn't expect a whack to the arm
from Hermione. "Hush, you," she mock
growled.
After a little laugh at Harry's expression,
Daphne explained, "We need to install
those runes and the control rune panels in
the aisle immediately outside the cabinet,
or outside the room."
"Ah!" said Harry. "Shall we duck outside
for a few moments to check a few things
out? I, too, have an idea that may dovetail
in with what you're thinking, quite nicely."
"You want to check something?" she
asked.
"I do," he calmly replied.
"What?" asked Hermione. "What are you
on about?"
"Come outside and see," he said.
The three of them rose from their seats
and walked out into the corridor outside
their room.
Standing in the warded area right outside
their door, Harry said, "First things first. I
want to know if I can cast an invisibility
charm on myself." He raised his wand and
lightly tapped himself on the top of the
head expecting the runny egg feeling of
the properly cast invisibility charm. He felt
it.
"Yes," said Hermione.
He removed the charm. "Pity. That might
have helped us to ensure the incoming
DEs don't get to disillusion themselves
when they attack."
"They won't," said Hermione. "You cannot
engender fear if you're not seen. And I
don't remember them being invisible last
time through."
"She's right," said Daphne.
"Next," he said, holding a finger up.
"Dobby!" he called.
And Dobby appeared within the field, "Yes,
Master Harry?"
With a grin, Harry said, "Dobby, could you
do that finger-snapping thing you do, and
make a small coffee table appear right
here?"
"Yes, Master Harry," replied the elf. A
quick finger-snap and a coffee table did
appear.
"Ha!" said Harry. "Now, would you mind
removing it again and popping me... down
near the Ravenclaw Tower entrance,
please?"
"Certainly, Master Harry," replied the little
elf. A finger snap and the table was gone.
Dobby then reached up and took Harry by
the hand before elf-apparating him down
to in front of the Raven entrance to
Ravenclaw Tower.
The little elf had effectively apparated
Harry out of one magic suppression field,
across where such a field didn't exist, and
into the next one.
As Dobby looked at him like he must've
been sick, or something, Harry grinned
and said, "Thank you, Dobby. That was
most informative."
"Thank you, Master Harry," said Dobby
before he popped away again.
Harry then walked back down the corridor
to join his wives outside their apartment.
He had a grin from ear to ear.
"Why did none of us think to check if the
ward interfered with house elf magic?"
asked Hermione a little upset. "I mean,
we're lucky it doesn't. But, we still should
have checked when we were installing this
first one."
"It doesn't and that's the main thing," said
Harry. "And, we can use it."
"How so?" asked Daphne.
"When the bad guys come in through the
vanishing cabinet, if we want to
even let them come in, I want us to have
already installed one of these fields the
full length of the corridor outside the
Room of Requirement," explained Harry.
"Then, as soon as they step out the door
of the room, any notice-me-not or
invisibility charms they cast on themselves
will be negated.
"Next, I also want to install such a field in
a nearby unused classroom. In there, we'll
place already conjured bindings and
hoods with hard and sturdy wooden
chairs.
"Then, when Nott finally gets the cabinet
working, as each of the DEs step out into
the corridor, we'll get house elves to
elf-pop them direct to the unused
classroom we've already prepared. We'll
be waiting for them in the classroom. We
might not be able to use magic on them;
but, we'll know that and they won't. All
we'll have to do is bonk them on their
heads, or something, and we can secure
them."
Daphne snorted and actually rolled her
eyes at him. "I forget, sometimes, that you
were raised in the muggle world."
"Oh-kay," said Harry, a bit wary. "I've said
something wrong, haven't I?"
"You've said something wrong, yes," she
replied.
"I think I know," smiled Hermione.
"Please, enlighten this poorly raised
scallywag," said Daphne, with an airy
gesture towards Harry.
"You forgot about potions," said
Hermione.