Soul Searching/End Game
SS Chapter 16 - Aftermath
By Chem Prof
Chapter 16, Aftermath
The other five were still teasing Ron as they approached the Great Hall. Along the way there had been some discussion on where to keep the dagger until they were ready to attempt to destroy it. After briefly considering the Room of Requirement, they decided that McGonagall would take it to the Headmistress’s office and inquire from Dumbledore’s portrait what he had done with the ring, and do the same.
Ginny was still clutching Harry’s hand, with Hermione casting worried looks in her direction. Ginny’s mood hadn’t been improved by Ron’s offhand remark while they were discussing the Horcrux, “Hey, it can’t be too dangerous, Ginny carried the diary around all year.”
McGonagall excused herself as they entered the Great Hall and the rest made their way to the lone table. It was much like Harry remembered from the Christmas breaks he had spent at Hogwarts, with everyone together at one table. Once he had gotten over his nervousness at eating with the professors, he had found that he liked it better than the forced separation of house tables.
Madame Pomfrey eyed him carefully, as though it was so commonplace for him to require her professional services that she expected it. Without comment he held out his hand to her with a smile. “I wouldn’t want to disappoint you, Ma’am”. She merely shook her head at him as she quickly healed it. Then she noticed how pale Ginny was and turned to her. After hearing a carefully edited version of their morning adventure she scowled at Harry and declared that Ginny would need to rest for the afternoon and dispatched a house elf to bring her a calming potion. The remainder of the meal passed in ordinary conversation, and their foray into the chamber wasn’t brought up again.
-ooOoo-
That afternoon the trio decided to visit Hagrid, stopping on their way to pay their respects at the white marble tomb that was the final resting place of Albus Dumbledore. Their friend saw them coming down the hill to his hut and greeted them warmly, and soon they were seated at his table with cups of tea. After a little catching up, Hermione got down to business. “We’ve heard that you were the one who rescued Harry the night his parents were murdered. Could you tell us what happened?”
Hagrid replied, “Not much ter say. Dumbledore told me he had a special mission for me. I was to get yeh Harry an’ take yeh to the Dursleys. Dumbledore knew he could trust me with important stuff like that. Good man, Dumbledore. . . .” Hagrid got quiet and looked off into the fire.
After a moment, Harry said, “Hagrid, I need to know what happened to my parents. How you found them, what happened to their bodies, what the scene looked like when you found it.”
“Well Dumbledore called me ter his office, explained that You-Know-Who had finally found your parents and gave me hand-written instructions on how to get there and what needed to be done, includin’ a note ter get me past the charms.
“When I got there, they were still there, but I didn’t let myself think about them; I had to protect yeh. Yeh were just lyin on the floor, cuddled up by yer mum. I just took yeh out as quick as I could. Outside yer house I ran inter Sirius. He was all upset about it all. He had a look in his face, like he felt guilty about it. He held yeh while I went back in ter bring out yer parents.
When he saw James and Lily, somethin seemed to snap. When I told him Dumbledore’s instructions he jus gave yeh back ter me without sayin anything, then took off. He tole me I could take his moterbike and so I bundled yeh up and we were off. I had to keep yeh during the day cause Dumbledore wanted me to bring yeh to the Dursleys after dark. I expect yeh know the rest better’n me. I think Dumbledore arranged to have yer parents buried quiet like in the family plot.
-ooOoo-
Upon returning to the castle, they were informed that Ginny was still sleeping and Ron suggested that they stay overnight. Molly was none too pleased when he flooed home to check with her, He assured her that they had not done anything dangerous, but that Ginny had been tired out and was having a nap. Molly reluctantly gave in only after receiving McGonagall’s assurances that the girls would be sleeping in separate quarters from the boys, utterly embarrassing her son and his companions. She was still suspicious about Harry and Hermione’s living arrangements and was not about to let Ginny get mixed up in such things. She insisted that Ginny come home first thing in the morning.
That evening Ginny was feeling much better and the four were gathered in their familiar places in the Gryffindor Common room. As the others told Ginny of their visit to Hagrid, Hermione noticed how the younger girl was snuggling up more and more to Harry.
“Ron,” she said jumping to her feet. “Let’s go to the library. I have something I want to take a look at.”
“Aw, Hermione, come on. Can’t it wait until morning?”
“No, Ron, I really think we should go look at it now,” she insisted, tugging him to his feet. Once she got his attention, she glanced deliberately over at Harry and Ginny on the couch.
“Oh, right,” said Ron, finally catching on. He smirked as he let Hermione lead him toward the portrait hole. “I guess we’ll see you two later.” He silently congratulated his brainy friend on her plan to allow Harry and Ginny some time alone together.
Suddenly he came to an abrupt stop and frowned. Did he really want to leave Harry and Ginny alone together? This thought was rudely interrupted as Hermione practically yanked his arm out of its socket. She knew exactly what he was thinking.
“Ron,” she hissed. “For heaven’s sake, you can trust your best friend and your sister. Now come on!” He glared at her but gave in and allowed her to drag him through the opening.
Once outside, he quickly became conscious that she was still holding his hand as they walked down the corridor to the library. When Hermione noticed what he was looking at, she flushed slightly and let go, rolling her eyes and continuing down the hall. As they walked, Ron studied his long-time friend more closely while she began a conversation about something or other. She really was rather attractive, he concluded. He wondered why he hadn’t noticed it before. Perhaps he should consider asking her out sometime during the school year.
By any objective standard, Hermione was more attractive this summer. It was all due to how she felt about herself. She had never considered herself to be anything but plain, and that attitude had been self-fulfilling. But knowing that Harry thought that she was attractive, even if he was only a good friend, had begun to convince her that she was attractive. Consequently, she carried herself better, took a little more time to make herself look nice, and acted more sure of herself. Plus, she was smiling more than she usually did. The overall effect was quite noticeable.
Back in the common room, Ginny was delighted by her friend’s maneuver. She had some things she wanted to say to Harry (and do with Harry) without her brother around. She gathered up her courage and began.
“Harry,” she said softly, turning both of them so she could look into his eyes. “I really appreciate that you asked me to come today and what you’re trying to do for me. Even though it was frightening, I’m glad I got to see everything that happened.”
Harry gazed at the girl in front of him, taking in her fiery red hair, her creamy skin, and those deep brown eyes. He was also acutely aware of her hand stroking his arm as she expressed her gratitude.
“Ginny, I … I’m … I mean I … I was glad to do it.” He really had trouble stringing thoughts together when she was looking at him like that. “It … it was nothing, really,” he finished lamely.
Ginny smiled broadly, loving the effect she was having on him. “Well, it certainly wasn’t nothing from my point of view. I wouldn’t even be here now if not for you.” She leaned forward, causing his heart rate to quicken, as she moved her hand from his arm to his chest, continuing her stroking. “I don’t think I ever thanked you properly for saving my life.”
As always, Harry was uncomfortable with being thanked for things like that. She could feel him tense up as he mumbled, “You don’t have to do that. I just did what I had to do.” He looked down, unable to meet her eyes.
Ginny hesitated. What she was about to say could either move their relationship forward or set it back. “Harry, why are you so uncomfortable with people thanking you for things? People want to be able to express their gratitude when you do nice things for them.” Harry only shrugged and she could see that he was holding something inside. She pressed on.
“Look at me Harry.” She moved her hand to his chin and lifted it up to look him once more in the eye. “What is it? You can tell me. You know, Hermione’s not the only one you’re allowed to tell stuff like this to,” she finished with a smile, trying to lighten the mood.
Harry smiled back briefly. Hermione had been trying to tell him the same thing. He hesitated, then decided. He had to learn to trust more people, and the girl in front of him cared deeply for him. “I guess … I mean it’s just …” He stopped and started over. “I’m not comfortable with it because that’s just the way I was brought up. No one ever thanked me for anything at the Dursleys. Nothing I ever did was good enough.” His head fell again.
Ginny took both of his hands in hers and tried to prompt him. “So with the way they treated you they convinced you that you never deserved to thanked?”
“I guess so.”
Ginny’s heart was pounding as she heard these words. On one hand, she was thrilled that Harry had opened up to her about something so personal, but on the other hand she was horrified at the way he had been treated growing up. She resolved to put that aside for later and try to keep the moment positive.
“Well, Harry, I’m just going to have to convince you that you do deserve to be thanked.” With that, she leaned forward, brown eyes locking with green eyes. She stopped just inches away from his face. “Thank you Harry,” she breathed softly. Then she brought her lips to his and let her feelings flow into the kiss. One hand found his hair, the other his back as she pulled herself tightly against him.
Harry quickly lost all coherent thought as she deepened the kiss. His hands mirrored hers, one entwining itself in her silky hair, the other caressing her back as his arm wrapped itself around her slender frame. He gradually fell backward as she pressed forward, molding her body to his and she eventually ended up lying on top of him, never breaking the kiss. As his back hit the couch her hand moved up and caressed his face, then dropped to his chest. Harry’s hands seemed to have minds of their own, roaming up and down her back and into her hair.
When they finally broke for air he gasped, and as his mind returned he became acutely aware of all the places where their bodies were in contact, his heart pounding against both his chest and hers. As she broke away she raised her head and gave him a knowing smile.
“Wow!” Considering his state of mind, Harry decided that was as eloquent as he could get.
Her smile broadened. “So, don’t you agree that sometimes gratitude can be a good thing?”
Her words brought his mind back to the subject of their conversation and he grinned. “Well, I’m glad you waited.” At her puzzled look he explained. “I don’t think I would have appreciated that nearly as much when I was twelve and you were eleven.” Ginny smiled happily. She had rarely seen this teasing side of him. It had been a struggle just to get him to relax most of the time while they were dating at school.
She giggled and kissed his nose, then dropped her head to his chest as he wrapped his arms tightly around her. “Mmm, I agree. Much better this way.” She raised her head back up and smiled at him again. “I was so in awe of you back then I don’t think I could have managed anything more than a quick peck on the cheek before running away in embarrassment.” She pulled a hand free and touched a finger to his lips. “Now I’m not afraid of you at all.” She punctuated this solemn statement with another giggle.
“Oh no? Maybe you should be afraid of me, “Harry said with an evil gleam in his eyes. He moved his hands to her sides and she grew wide-eyed as she realized what he was about to do, just before he started tickling her.
“Harry! Stop!” she shrieked, squirming as she tried to get away from his fingers. Soon she was out of breath from laughing so hard. All at once he stopped, going very still, suddenly aware that his hands had accidentally moved up under her loose tee shirt and were on soft, warm skin. Her eyes widened as she looked into his, very much aware of where his hands were and wondering if they were going to go any higher.
To her disappointment, he slowly removed them, never taking his eyes off of hers. Not wanting him to be uncomfortable, she broke her gaze from his, laying her head back down on his chest and purring contentedly. After awhile, by some unspoken agreement, they sat back up and she curled up under his arm and they sat there just holding each other.
-ooOoo-
“Ron, relax!” Hermione gave up trying to read the book she had found about Ravenclaw and glared up at her friend pacing back and forth in front of her table.
“Don’t you think it’s … well, it’s probably time we were getting back, right?”
“Ron, we’ve only been gone a half an hour. What do you think is going to happen?” Ron had been thinking of all kinds of things that might be happening. In fact, he was trying very hard not to think of the things that he was thinking might be happening. He was also quite sure that he didn’t dare say all of that to Hermione. She just shook her head and sighed. “OK, I guess they had time to talk about whatever they wanted to talk about. Let’s get back. I’m not getting anything done here with you stomping around like that.”
“I am not stomp … did you say talk? Do you think they’re just talking?”
“No, Ron, I don’t think they’re just talking,” Hermione said pointedly. This did not improve Ron’s mood any. “Look Ron,” Hermione said exasperatedly. “You’re the one who wanted them to get together. Why are you having such a problem with this?”
Ron’s mouth opened and closed a few times before he answered. “I wanted them to get together, I’m just not sure I want them to be together, if you know what I mean. You know, doing certain things together,” he finished lamely.
“Ronald Weasley! Harry is the most honorable person I know. I can’t believe that you seriously think that he would …” Hermione broke off as she glared at him.
“Harry? Harry wouldn’t know what to do with a girl if one hopped onto his lap half starkers. Ginny, though, I’m not so sure about.”
“Stop. I don’t want to hear any more.” Although she wouldn’t say this to Ron, Hermione had a higher opinion of Harry’s romantic competence than that. She was sure, though that he would behave honorably. On the other hand, she was slightly uneasy about what Ginny might want to do. “If you’re that worried we’ll go back. You can just deal with Harry when he’s ticked off that we interrupted him.”
“No problem, as long as you deal with Ginny.”
“Prat.”
-ooOoo-
“Oooh, Hermione! We did it!”
To Ron’s relief, the couple had only been cuddling together on the couch when he and Hermione returned to the common room. Sometime later, they had all headed up to bed. Now Hermione had to deal with an enthusiastic Ginny in the girl’s dormitory. The girl was almost bouncing off the walls and Hermione suddenly had a very uneasy feeling in her stomach. She was pretty sure she did not want to hear this next part. Had she misjudged Harry that completely?
Ginny stopped bouncing up and down and ran over and hugged Hermione. “We did it. I got him to talk to me! He actually told me something about himself. I got him to talk about why he doesn’t like people thanking him.”
Hermione’s relief was palpable. She returned the hug of the excited girl. “Oh, that’s wonderful.” This was just what she had been hoping for. But why did she suddenly feel a little saddened by the news? I guess I’m just a little jealous because that’s always been something that Harry’s only done with me.
“It has to do with the Dursley’s right?” Somehow, Hermione couldn’t stop herself from saying this.
Ginny deflated just a little. “I guess he’s already told you about it, huh?”
Hermione immediately felt guilty for what she’d said. She shouldn’t have tried to spoil Ginny’s success. “Oh, no, he’s never said anything. I was just guessing.” Ginny brightened up again.
Hermione couldn’t help smiling as the two changed for bed. Ginny was so pumped up that there was no way she was going to get to sleep any time soon. “Come on, Ginny, settle down. Either Madame Pomfrey or your Mum will kill me if you’re all worn out tomorrow.”
Ginny turned toward Hermione from the bed. “But I haven’t told you the rest yet. After that I told him I was going to thank him properly and then I kissed him.” The younger witch fell back into her bed and sighed. “And then …”
“Ginny, I don’t think I really want to hear a play by play description about my best friend’s love life,” Hermione interrupted. Why am so uneasy about this? I’ve certainly listened to enough about her romantic escapades in the past. Why should it be any different with Harry? This line of musing was interrupted by Ginny.
“I thought I was your best friend,” Ginny asked teasingly.
“You’re my best female friend. But you know I’ve been friends with Harry for longer than I’ve known you, and I do more things with him.”
The next question was almost automatic. Even though Ginny already knew the answer, she was curious how Hermione would respond. “What about Ron?”
“No, I think I’m probably closer to Harry.” Hermione evidently had taken the question seriously, and began to catalogue a list of reasons. “We have more in common, with our backgrounds. Ron and I argue too much; there’s a lot of things we don’t see eye to eye about. Harry’s nicer to me, and he’s easier to talk to. And I’ve been spending a lot more time with Harry this summer and …”
“Hermione!” Ginny broke in before she could continue her dissertation. “It’s OK. I understand, really.” There was really no denying that friendship, envy it though she might. She wondered if her otherwise brainy friend really understood how lucky she was to be so close to Harry. But that wasn’t going to affect her mood tonight. Still pulsing with delight, she crawled under the blanket and hugged her pillow.
Hermione blocked out the contented sighs and occasional giggles coming from the other bed and tried to get to sleep. But something wasn’t quite right. There was something missing. She reflected back on the last thing she had said to Ginny. To say she had been spending more time with Harry this summer was an understatement. Suddenly she realized what hadn’t felt right. After a brief deliberation, she reached out into her bag and carefully pulled out a mirror. Realizing that Ginny was certainly still awake, she grabbed her robe and went into the bathroom.
“Harry Potter,” she whispered into the mirror. Nothing happened, then she tried again a little louder.
“Hermione Granger?” Harry clearly hadn’t been expecting this call. The mirror cleared and she saw his puzzled face.
Hermione smiled tentatively. “Hi.” She hesitated. Why exactly had she decided to do this?
“What’s up?” Harry didn’t look or sound upset, so she went on with it.
“I wanted to say goodnight.”
“You called me on the mirror just to say goodnight?”
“Yeah. Can you talk?”
“Sure, Ron’s asleep already. Can you hear his snoring?” Hermione giggled. She could hear a loud buzzing sound in the background. “What about Ginny?”
“Oh no, she’s still wide awake. I’m calling from the loo.”
“You called me from the loo to say goodnight,” Harry stated as though confirming a fact. Hermione gulped. When he put it that way, it sounded pretty silly. But she noticed that he was smiling.
“Well, um, I just felt like it. I’m so used to talking to you in the evening before going to bed that I guess I just missed it a little. You know, we really didn’t get much chance to talk tonight. I mean, just the two of us. You seemed to be a little busy.” Hermione added a little tease at the end, in an attempt to even things out a little.
“Well, you had something to do with that as I recall.” Harry’s smile grew. “Thank you, by the way. I owe you one.” Hermione relaxed and smiled back. “You’re right, though,” Harry added after he thought a little. “I missed talking to you too. This is a pretty good idea.” Hermione’s smile grew. “I’m not sure about the loo part though,” he teased. “Now if you wanted to call from the shower …” he raised his eyebrows and smirked.
Hermione turned bright red. Oh, I’m going to get him for that one! “Be careful what you wish for, you might get it.” She smirked back and raised an eyebrow of her own, silently reminding him of the pool incident two weeks previously. To her surprise, he just smiled back.
“OK, what did you want to talk about?” They proceeded to talk a little about their day, as they had become accustomed to doing in the evenings.
Just as they were about to conclude Hermione added, “You made Ginny pretty happy tonight.”
Now it was Harry’s turn to blush. “Oh. Uh, well, we did … I mean she …”
Hermione decided it would be a good time to step in before he got even more embarrassed. “Not that, Harry. Although I imagine that part was pretty good too, I don’t need to hear the details. I mean what you said to her.”
“What did I say to her? I don’t remember talking that much.” Harry had a blank look on his face. Hermione rolled her eyes. Honestly, boys! Is that all they thought about? She huffed and started to explain when she noticed that he was grinning at her. He had been putting her on!
“Oh! You prat! I can’t believe I let you fool me like that.” She glared at him but couldn’t hold it. He was just grinning too much and she couldn’t resist joining in.
“Yeah I took your advice and opened up a little. You were right, it felt good. Thanks for that too.” He paused and turned serious. “You really are great at helping me know what to do.” She could see the gratitude in his eyes and smiled back at him. They wished each other good night and signed off.
As Hermione settled back into bed she stared at the ceiling for a while. That had been what she had urged him to do. It was the best thing for him. So why did she keep getting this uneasy feeling about it?
Harry likewise laid awake thinking. Part of him had wanted to say something to Hermione about what had happened with Ginny, but he wasn’t sure he could. He had been very aware of where his hands had been and how his body had responded to her wiggling as he was tickling her. The way she had been looking at him, he was pretty sure she wanted him to go further than he had.
This hadn’t been supposed to happen. He had broken up with her to keep her safe, and to keep himself from getting distracted from what he had to do. Now she was getting to him again. He sighed. Nothing was ever simple with his life. He wanted to get closer to her, but he knew he couldn’t let her get too close or she would insist on getting more involved. He would have to limit his time with her for the rest of the summer. He had no idea what would happen if he came back to Hogwarts in the fall.
He looked around the boys’ dorm at the empty beds. Every other summer at this time he absolutely couldn’t wait to come back here. Now he wasn’t sure he would ever be back in this dorm. And surprisingly, he found that that thought didn’t bother him too much. It was as though he knew it might be time to move on.
And for once, he wasn’t unhappy with where he was or what he was doing with his summer. He really had no urgent desire to end it. He was quite content right now, living with Hermione and training and searching for the Horcruxes. He tried to think of what he might rather be doing, but couldn’t come up with anything. It was very strange. For the first time in his life, he wasn’t wishing to be somewhere else or doing something else. He yawned. Definitely …very … strange.
-ooOoo-
The next morning Ginny took Hermione’s portkey back to the Burrow, and Ron left to go back to work at the twins’ store. Harry and Hermione decided to stay another day or two, since they still had their meeting with McGonagall, and they wanted to use the library. Shortly after breakfast they made their way back up to the Headmistress’ office.
McGonagall greeted them warmly, and to their surprise, seemed a little nervous as she motioned them to sit. She first reported that she had secured the dagger in a locked compartment in the inner office, which Dumbledore’s portrait had assured her was perfectly safe. Then she got down to business.
“Mr. Potter, Miss Granger,” she began in a more formal tone, “I was quite disturbed to at what you said yesterday. I’m going to be very frank with you.” They glanced at each other uneasily. “For the good of the school I need for both of you to come back to Hogwarts in the fall. Whether we can open or not may depend on your decision.”
Hermione looked at her in disbelief, which gradually lessened as she began to realize the point that the headmistress was making. Harry’s look was more one of annoyance. This had the appearance of his being manipulated again, just as Dumbledore had done last year with Slughorn. McGonagall took in both of their expressions, correctly interpreting each. Accordingly she addressed her next comments to Harry.
“Mr. Potter, like it or not, you are not only the best known student at this school, but one of the most respected. I estimate that as many as half of our students’ families will be influenced by your decision as they decide whether to send them back in the fall. I have actually been told this by most of the Gryffindor and not a few of the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw families.” She paused to let this sink in, then added in a less serious tone. “Even two Slytherins.” She noted his grimace but pressed on. “What can I do to change your minds?”
Hermione looked at Harry and waited for him to meet her eyes. When he finally did she nodded her reassurance to him and turned back to the headmistress. “First of all Professor, Ron, Harry, and I are in this together. Whatever we decide will affect all of us.” McGonagall noted the challenge in her favorite student’s voice. They would not tolerate any attempts to play one against the other.
“Secondly, as you saw yesterday, we have a task that we feel is more important than our continued education. To the extent that our schooling interferes with this task, we will not hesitate to give it up.” McGonagall managed to keep her thoughts to herself this time. In light of yesterday’s reaction and the definitive statement Hermione had just made, any further objection on her part would only serve to alienate them further.
“I understand what you are saying even though I may not agree with you. And Albus,” here she nodded to the slumbering portrait of the previous headmaster, “has persuaded me to extend you some rather unprecedented privileges. It should come as no surprise to you that you are to be named Head Boy and Head Girl and …” She broke off at this point due to the reaction of the two before her. While Hermione had the delighted expression that she had anticipated, Harry’s was one of sheer astonishment. She was briefly at a loss for words at his reaction. Had he really not expected this? “Really, Mr. Potter. Why are you so shocked? Who else did you think would be Head Boy from your class?”
Harry studied his feet briefly before Hermione’s hand grabbed his and he looked up to see her beaming face. “I … I don’t know. I never thought it would be me. I mean, I wasn’t even a prefect.”
McGonagall bristled and glared briefly at Dumbledore’s portrait. “Well, you certainly would have been if my recommendation had been followed.” Harry felt Hermione squeeze his hand at this statement and glanced at her again. This time her face showed the pride she felt for him, but it was contending unsuccessfully with her I-told-you-so look. He couldn’t help smiling back at her before turning his attention back to McGonagall.
“Don’t worry about it Professor. The headmaster explained that to me last year. But Head Boy …” His mind whirled. His father and mother had been Head Boy and Head Girl. He felt a return of the sense of loss he had felt at Godric’s Hollow. Before he could get too down about this Hermione, who could read him like a book, tugged on his arm to bring his thoughts back to the present.
“I’m sorry,” he said as he returned his attention to McGonagall. “This is all overwhelming right now. But I still don’t see how we can come back.” He winced at the crestfallen look on the headmistress’s face. “We’ve been working full time on this all summer and we’ve only found one so far. We have at least two more to find.” He felt terrible about what he was saying. McGonagall really needed his help and he knew Hermione had dreamed about being Head Girl ever since she had come to Hogwarts. Maybe she could come back and he could continue the search. He glanced again at Hermione and was startled to see her glaring at him.
“Don’t even think it Potter,” she growled.
“How … how did you know what I was thinking,” he gasped in surprise.
“Because I know you. You were about to go noble on me again. You know very well that if we work on this together we’ll find them a lot faster and we can get on with things, including school. And we still have more than a month left of the summer. Let’s see what our options are.”
She turned to McGonagall. “You mentioned some concessions you were willing to make. What did you have in mind?” Harry was amazed with the no-nonsense tone she was taking. He wasn’t the only one who had gained confidence this summer, he realized. Hermione would never have talked that way to a professor before. He suddenly recognized that he was in a similar situation to his meeting with Scrimgeour. McGonagall needed him and he was in a position to dictate the terms.
The headmistress cleared her throat and began. “You will be given a private suite of rooms. This is customary for the Head Boy and Head Girl, although they are not usually together.” She gave them a stern look before proceeding. “I expect you to behave responsibly about this. You will be permitted to leave the castle whenever you deem necessary – all three of you,” she amended before Harry could say anything. “You will also be permitted,” here her face clearly showed her distaste for the next statement, “to miss classes if necessary.”
She forced a smile and looked over at Hermione. “I am not worried about Miss Granger abusing that particular privilege and I trust that she will not tolerate it from the other two of you either.” She returned her attention to both of them. “I am also open to any suggestions the two of you may have regarding any other changes that you feel may be helpful.”
“What about security?” Hermione asked immediately. “You need to persuade families that it’s safe to send their children back here. I hope you have something more in mind than just announcing that Harry Potter is returning.”
McGonagall was clearly taken aback. That remark must have hit a nerve, Hermione thought. Or maybe that really was all the reassurance that she had planned.
“Hogwarts is certainly safe, Miss Granger,” she snapped. “This is one of the safest places in Britain. The wards on this school …”
“Safe?” Harry spoke for the first time. Hermione recognized the low menacing tone in his voice. This was not going to be pleasant. “Hogwarts is so safe that I’ve almost died every year I’ve been here.”
“Really, Mr. Potter. I hardly think …”
“I have been repeatedly attacked here by professors and students.” Harry interrupted coldly. “It may be safe from outside attack but what about those already inside?” McGonagall began to respond again but he ignored her.
“My first year, a professor let a troll into the castle that almost killed Hermione. He tried to knock me off my broom during a quidditch match. Finally he attacked me directly and tried to strangle me. All year long he was hiding Voldemort and no one here did anything about it.”
“My second year a professor tried to memory charm me, then I almost died fighting a basilisk. The same basilisk nearly killed several students, including Hermione. That basilisk had been here in the castle for a thousand years and had killed a student fifty years earlier.”
“My third year Hermione and I were almost killed by dementors, which had been allowed to wander onto the grounds with the full knowledge of the professors here.”
“My fourth year another student and I were sent to Voldemort by a professor who turned out to be a Death Eater. The other student was killed and I barely survived.”
“My fifth year other students and I were tortured by a professor, and at the end of the year I was tricked into a taking a bunch of friends into a trap because no professor bothered to explain the visions I was having.”
“Last year I had to watch while a professor, who everyone knew was a Death Eater, killed the headmaster.”
“With all due respect, Headmistress, we have not found Hogwarts to be a particularly safe place. If you expect me to reassure students that it is safe, something is going to have to change.”
McGonagall had gradually shrunk back in her seat under the onslaught from Harry, whose eyes were blazing in fury by the time he was finished. Now she pulled herself together and attempted to reassert control. “I am truly sorry Mr. Potter. You have surely experienced more than your share of unfortunate events. And I admit that the record of our defense professors is disgraceful. Some of them should never have been hired. But it has been a most difficult post to fill.”
This time it was Hermione who lashed out. “So you knowingly hired questionable people. Then what did you do? Did anyone ever check to see what they were teaching? It shouldn’t have been too difficult to see that something was wrong with Quirrell and the fake Moody. It should have been obvious that Lockhart, Umbridge, and Snape were totally incompetent teachers. You should have known that Snape and Umbridge were abusing and torturing students.”
“Miss Granger and Mr. Potter, I know that you have put up with a lot of abuse from certain professors, but don’t you think torture is an exaggeration?”
“No, I do not!” snapped Hermione. She angrily grabbed Harry’s hand and thrust it under the astonished headmistress’s face. “What else would you call this?” Harry tried to cover up the scar with his other hand but Hermione slapped it away. The letters were faint but could still clearly be seen if you looked closely. I must not tell lies. McGonagall had a stunned look on her face as Hermione went for the kill. “And I suppose that casting the Cruciatus curse on a student is a standard disciplinary practice?”
McGonagall’s head snapped back as though she were slapped. “Cru … Cruciatus?” she asked weakly. Harry noticed that Dumbledore’s portrait was now awake, but remained quiet. He was startled to see an anguished look on the portrait’s face that he had never seen on the headmaster in life.
“Umbridge was about to Crucio me when she caught us in her office trying to find out about Sirius before we went to the Department of Mysteries. Hermione managed to stop her just in time. She used the blood quill on at least two other students in detention besides me that I know of.”
McGonagall slumped back in her chair, totally defeated. “What … what else do you want us to do?”
“Hire competent teachers and pay more attention to what’s going on in the classrooms. And figure out a way to keep ALL of Voldemort’s supporters out of Hogwarts, professors and students.” Hermione was barely repressing her anger by now. Harry was also fighting to keep his temper in check. Making a quick decision Harry rose from his chair and with a glance Hermione followed suit. With an effort he managed one more statement. “We all need to settle down and think about this some more. We’ll be in the library for a while. We can discuss this some more later.”
McGonagall, still in a daze, simply waved them away and watched silently as they left her office.
Finally she spoke. “Albus, what have we done?”
“We have failed them, Minerva.,” the portrait responded. “It is painfully obvious that I lost sight of the primary purpose of this school. If we cannot regain their trust and convince them that things will change I fear they will not return.”
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