章 11: Chapter 11
The days went by swiftly and now Harry was beginning to get a good grasp of the Dark Arts and Blood Magic. He was still learning the basics, but was getting a good foundation on these difficult subjects. Hermione was years ahead of him in Runes having taken that class since third year, but in the Dark Arts and Blood Magic Harry was far advanced, mainly as his magic was compatible to them and hers was not.
In Runes, she had the advantage as Runic magic was one of her gifts as she had the advantage of two years of hard study compared to Harry. Nevertheless they had begun to understand the basic concepts of all magic. Dueling was Harry's favorite and while he could never defeat Snape or McGonagall, he could push them to their limit simply by the sheer power in his spell casting.
Harry was beginning to see auras once in a while clearly, but hazily all the time if he wanted to. He was concentrating as Snape told him and made him read texts on that as well, but this was one subject that was more practical than theory.
Snape would wake up Harry at five in the morning and they would walk around the mountains for an hour, sometimes talking softly about the Dark Lord, Dumbledore, the Order, School and even the Dursleys and Regulus and their plans for the future. At other times they would walk with the wind sometimes caressing them softly and sometimes whipping around them loudly whistling in glee that was very loud in the otherwise silence of the mountains a silence that was so content and peaceful with only the green mountains and the lovely lake that would reflect the mood of the wind at all times.
Both Harry and Snape cherished this time together; the time where there was only them and Mother Nature in all her glory. Harry especially connected to the wilderness and the peace and the calm the morning walks gave him, along with Snape when he could just be Harry without the pressures of Voldemort or the betrayal of Dumbledore, Ron and Ginny and Remus or the impending war weighing him down.
He loved it when Snape would put his arm around his shoulder as he giggled at something sarcastic and outrageous the potions master would say and he would revel in the singular attention that Snape would give him. That part of the day belonged to him and Snape and Harry was very jealous and possessive about it.
Snape had finished with the Occlumency shields in about a week, a week that was very painful and traumatic to both of them. Seeing these memories together also made them bond closer and healed Harry a bit. Snape though was reduced to a helpless anger most of the time and Harry healed a little every time he saw Snape's eyes shining and sometimes burning in anger for his sake.
Sirius and the Department of Mysteries was the hardest of them all and his memories of Sirius were very bittersweet for Harry, who openly cried and clung to Snape as he saw the open affection and concern in his Godfather's eyes and the final battle of his life when he was pushed into the veil. Harry was very bitter at the way Sirius had been treated by the people who should had have ensured his freedom in the first place. Snape had held him once again and soothed him.
The Order was a bloody failure in Harry's opinion as they were not capable of knowing or finding out about the guilt or innocence of anyone. Sirius should have never gone to Azkaban, should have not needed to wait until his death for his name to be cleared.
A week before his birthday came their OWL results that had Harry and Hermione in a state of flustered nervousness. Hermione need not have been anxious at all as she cleared her OWLS and got an Outstanding in every subject except Defense against the Dark Arts. Harry failed History and Divination, got an Outstanding in DADA, an Exceeds Expectation in Transfiguration, Potions, Charms and Care of Magical Creatures and an Acceptable in Herbology and Astronomy.
On the 30th of July Harry waited until midnight for his birthday in a very happy frame of mind. He was lying on his bed and going through his shields automatically as was the case now-a-days, the process of continually strengthening them becoming spontaneous.
"Happy birthday Harry." Three voices sounded on the gong of midnight when Harry turned sixteen.
He turned sharply to see Snape, McGonagall and Hermione standing there, beaming at him. Well Hermione and McGonagall were beaming at him and Snape was smiling.
"Thanks." He beamed back as Hermione dragged him to the dinner table that now had four chairs instead of two and was enlarged at meal times. On the table was a small but beautiful chocolate cake with sixteen small candles on it.
Harry grinned happily at that and then blew out the candles and cut the cake and gave a piece to Hermione, Snape and McGonagall and then took a piece himself.
"It's great. Thanks a lot all of you, you needn't have bothered. Thanks, thanks a lot." He said shyly happiness radiating from his face at the first birthday cake and party he had in his life.
Hermione hugged him as did McGonagall. Snape threw an arm around him and handed him a gift that looked like it was a book. Harry tore open the gift to find it was a diary that had the words "Property of James Potter and Sirius Black. Whoever tries to open it may do so at their peril."
He looked up in amazement at Snape. Snape shrugged. "I stole it from Potter a few weeks before we left School. It was funny the way they searched for it. But I could not open the book and so I never returned it. Now it belongs to you."
Harry gazed at the book in wonder. Then he took out his wand and said solemnly, "I promise I am up to no good." The book glowed for a moment and then lay still. Harry turned the cover and it opened harmlessly. He looked up grinning from ear to ear at Snape who was scowling at the stupid password, and crushed him. "Thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to me."
"Oh but I do Harry. I know just how much it would mean to you. That was why I gave this a birthday gift." Snape said softly his scowl all gone and his eyes shining as he saw Harry's happiness.
McGonagall had given him a complex book on transfiguration that was actually using basic and complex spells in battle. Harry thanked her and opened Hermione's gift that was also a book, though it was on runes.
All of them spent some time eating and chatting and then McGonagall and Hermione went to McGonagall's house.
"Harry today you get the day off. Both of us will come in at lunch time and we will plan an outing in disguise to Diagon Alley where we can look around and buy your School things at the same time. Severus?" McGonagall asked Snape.
Snape nodded his head in agreement and then all of them were off to bed.
Harry went to bed and opened the book. Inside were the words, James Potter and Sirius Black proudly present the Marauder's Book, assisted ably by Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.
Inside there were pages upon pages in his father's and Sirius handwriting about pranks of all types and all the students and professors they had pranked successfully.
Harry sat long into the night softly caressing the writing of his father and Sirius as they proudly wrote and signed the pranks that had originated from their brain.
The result of their pranks was written at the bottom and was divided into outstanding, good, acceptable and poor depending on how successful they were. Around 80 of their pranks were against the Slytherins and the rest were divided into a general category where they pranked each other and their own House and the other two Houses in Hogwarts.
It was almost dawn before Harry could keep that book away and slowly he settled down to sleep.
Harry woke up at around lunch time to see Snape was frowning no scowling about something.
"Hey," Harry said softly as he went to the bathroom to have a wash. He came out in ten minutes all clean and fresh to find tea, stew and sandwiches all placed under a warming charm. He looked enquiringly at Snape and Snape shook his head. "I have had my meal already Harry. I will have a cup of tea, though." He was still frowning as he poured himself a cup of tea.
Harry silently filled his plate and looked up at Snape who had sat down in front of him.
"A patronus from Albus." Snape told him abruptly.
Harry's face clouded. "What is in it?" he asked as the fireplace turned green and Hermione and a second later McGonagall flood into the cottage.
Both of them were smiling as they came in and Snape' frown and Harry's face made their smiles falter. Hermione rushed to Harry.
"What is it Harry?" she asked him with concern as she looked between Harry and Snape.
Snape answered her and McGonagall as they sat down and helped themselves to the tea. "Albus has sent a Patronus Minerva. He wants Harry to go to Diagon Alley at four in the afternoon for his books. He will be escorted by a few members of the Order and the Weasleys. This will also provide a general outing for Potter from being cramped with me. I am to come along with this merry party as well and bring back Potter to the cottage."
"Hermione will not be able to come." Harry burst out feeling that his birthday was turning sour.
"I have not been called Harry. Hermione and I will come along in disguise and who knows we may pick up something."
Harry did not brighten up. "I don't want an outing Severus. I don't want anything. Let us all stay right here."
"We can't do that Harry. Albus will become suspicious. We should go. There is no arguing on that. You know that, I don't have to tell you how important it is to keep him in ignorance." Snape told him sharply, deeply disappointed as Harry, Hermione and McGonagall.
All four of them had planned to go in outrageous disguises and really let their hair down so as to speak and it was terribly disappointing. Snape sent a Patronus answering Dumbledore and smiled reluctantly at Harry. Harry shrugged his shoulders and scowled at Snape.
"I will not go to Grimmauld Place Severus. I will not."
Snape nodded his head and straightened his shoulders. "Harry this will be your first and the most important test. I will set out your exam for today and we will take it from there. You will peep into both the Weasleys' minds and see if you can get a hold of their plans. I want you to act sulky and remember if I do insult Black or your father not to feel hurt inside."
Harry smiled reluctantly at that. He was feeling very down as the day he had been looking forward to, was ruined. He shrugged. It was time for the start and he only hoped he could go through the whole thing successfully.
The mood of happiness was gone as all of them were pretty disgruntled about the coming afternoon. Soon Minerva and Hermione left and Snape cast the de-scenting charms on both of them so that if Remus was there he would not smell McGonagall or Hermione on either of them.
Then Snape and Harry dressed up and Harry armed with his resentment and Snape sneering for all he was worth, checked Harry's aura and then left for Diagon Alley by floo.
Remus, Tonks, Moody, Dumbledore, Ron, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley were there waiting for them to arrive. The moment Harry stepped out of the floo he was taken into a bone breaking hug from Molly Weasley who then held him at arm's length and scrutinized him.
Harry had grown a foot taller with all the nutritient potions that Snape had insisted he take with his meals and his happy living in the cottage. His hair was still messy and his eyes brilliantly green. He was still on the thin side, though not scrawny anymore. He smiled at her and she realized how handsome he had become. He was a beautiful combination of his parents' and he had inherited their best features and she realized once again, their better qualities.
Ron's face was contorted with jealousy before he wiped it off his face. He was taller than Harry but did not seem to carry himself with the same grace as Harry did, though unconsciously. Ginny's eyes gleamed as she thought that her task would be fun and she couldn't wait to start. She grinned at him and he smiled a little at her and then turned to Ron and smiled a little wider at him.
"Hey Ron, how are you? Are you fully healed?" Ron nodded grinning widely, "Yeah Harry I am fully recovered now and so is Ginny." He lowered his voice and asked glancing at Snape who was sneering at Ron and glaring at Harry looking as if he wanted to hex Harry, "How was time with the greasy git Harry? It must have been terrible mate."
Harry's shoulders sagged, a change that everyone noticed and reacted in different ways. Dumbledore and Moody were pleased while Remus was feeling very uncomfortable with that. The reconciliation with the wolf inside him had only just begun and Remus was slowly beginning to heal.
"Harry my boy how have you been?" Dumbledore asked him kindly.
"Fine Sir, and you?" Harry asked him sulkily, looking down at his shoes, "Do I have to go back there Sir?"
Dumbledore smiled, "Yes Harry you must. You realize that what you are attempting to learn with Severus is very important don't you?" and he turned to Snape who was glaring at Harry in a way that promised retribution the moment they got home.
"Severus you have been quite alright? Miss Granger told us Harry had changed the galleon all of them used last year for their Dark Arts and so we were worried. But I let it be as there was nothing from you."
Snape turned to Harry and enquired of him silkily, "Did you Potter?" his black eyes glittering.
Harry shrugged, "Yeah, it was the day you really probed so hard it was extremely painful in your so called Occlumency class. I can change a galleon if I want to can't I?" Harry ended belligerently.
Molly Weasley was promising retribution to one and all afterwards as her stance turned aggressive and she glared furiously at Snape who smirked back at her, exasperating her further.
"Harry, how are you now dear? Was the Occlumency so bad all the time?' asked Mrs. Weasley as she glared at Snape again.
"Not really," he mumbled as he thought of how truthful those words were and grinned to him self. He looked around as though he wanted to draw the attention away from him self and saw Remus standing very stiffly there. Snape would be astounded at the quality of forgiveness in Harry and scold him soundly later on and beam inside with pride, but all that was in the future.
"Hello Remus, how have you been?" Remus smiled a strained smile at Harry. "Fine Harry. It is I who should be asking you that. You have grown taller and all that but how have you been… coping?" the last word came out very quietly as Remus almost swallowed as he spoke.
"Not too well. I feel so guilty most of the time and well, there isn't anything I can do about it now." his voice turned very bitter as he thought of Sirius and how he had been imprisoned in Azkaban for thirteen years and imprisoned again in that blasted house Grimmauld Place for another two.
"It was Sirius's own fault Harry." Remus said heavily making Harry look up sharply in shock at him. Remus nodded his head sadly, "Yes Harry fighting a person like Bellatrix; you have to be more serious and that is not a pun. But he was laughing and playing with a mad woman who makes killing her business."
Harry not knowing how to answer that nodded looking very sad and uncomfortable and Molly not able to see the sadness in him clapped her hands and shooed all of them into Diagon Alley.
Harry received an assortment of gifts from a Chudley Cannons poster from Ron to some home made mince pies from Molly Weasley. Dumbledore and Remus gave him books on defense and Harry thanked all of them nicely.
Dumbledore had pulled Snape aside and was talking softly to him. Snape had his worst sour face on and Dumbledore seemed very happy. They soon followed the others who had gone ahead chattering and laughing. Well Ron, Ginny and Tonks were very happy, while Harry and Remus were quiet and smiling a little here and there when it was needed.
"Ron," Harry was about to ask him something as they went to Gringotts for money from their vaults, but forgot in the panic he indulged in when he realized he had not warned the goblins to pretend as if they did not know him, but his fears were unfounded and they went safely down where Harry took a lot of gold from his trust vault.
"Ron," Harry asked him as they were being measured for their robes, "where is Hermione? She is not with you guys at headquarters?"
Ron's face fell very comically, "She should be Harry but she has gone off to France once again with her parents'."
Harry nodded his head trying to peep into Ron's mind, but it was more difficult that he had thought it would be. They went shopping for almost everything and Harry paused by Eeylops, thinking of Hedwig for a minute; he had asked her to fly to Hogwarts and stay there for the summer when he had left and now he went in and bought a lot of owl treats for her, hoping to pacify her when he went to School.
They walked into every store buying all their stationery, clothes, books and the like. Harry spotted McGonagall and Hermione who had come as mother and daughter and were doing their purchases at the same time as Harry and keeping a discreet eye on everyone. No one except Snape and Harry really knew who they were; their combination of muggle and wizard disguises fooling everyone.
After they finished with their purchases they went into the new shop of the Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes and were greeted by an enthusiastic Fred and George, who dragged Harry to the back and showed him many pranks in various stages of completion.
"How are you?" Fred asked him very seriously, so seriously that Harry was taken aback.
"If the git is doing irritating stuff, then partner of ours all you have to do is send word."
"We will take care of him completely from head to toe; he will never worry you ever again. Promise."
Harry was touched. He shook his head, "You have a fabulous place here guys, Snape is fine as irritating as ever but not really harmful. He wouldn't dare; Dumbledore would kill him." Then softly, "If you need more money for expansion all you have to do is mpghn…" two hands closed Harry's mouth not allowing him to finish.
"We are doing fine Harry. Thanks a lot." George told him grinning as he started showing Harry the various things they had been developing and how it all worked. Soon all three of them were engaged in a discussion of pranks. Harry slightly hinted at a few pranks he had read in his father's and Sirius's books and the twins went into rapture as they built correctly on the scant information Harry had given them and they talked excitedly with each other.
"Harry you have the making of a superb prankster." Fred clapped him on his back making Harry feel a fraud and just a little bit sad that he could not just yet share that book with the Twins openly as it would arouse Dumbledore's suspicions. Harry, after all was not allowed to have anything of his parents' stuff other than the invisibility cloak and the photo album that Hagrid had given him in his first year.
Harry accepted a carton full of pranks as his birthday gift from the Twins and walked out to the front of the store to meet the others.
They said their good byes to the Twins and walked back leisurely to The Leaky Cauldron where old Tom was thrilled to see so many people who were actually going to stay and have something instead of just passing by as was the case since Voldemort had made an appearance in the Ministry of Magic a month or so ago.
Now people used The Leaky Cauldron only as a floo point to hurry into Diagon Alley, finish their purchases and hurry back home.
Snape had sent a Patronus to Albus in the morning saying that Harry did not want to go to Grimmauld Place right now and was kicking up an unholy fuss about it and he was tempted to silence the boy forever, and Albus wishing to concede small things had agreed immediately and had arranged for an early dinner after which Harry would leave with Snape.
All of them sat there for a long time having dinner and chatting about inconsequential things. Ron and Harry got into a heated discussion about Quidditch, but if you noticed him carefully you would see the strain around his eyes as he smiled and laughed with Ron.
Ginny kept butting into the conversation and Harry just nodded his head or shook it to answer to any question she put before turning to Ron with another point that had apparently struck him about the Chudley Cannons.
By the time dinner was over Ginny was gritting her teeth and could have hexed Harry and Ron. Ron noticed it and frowned but Harry did not seem to notice Ginny was there in The Leaky Cauldron at all. As that was the way Harry had been behaving all along, only he had been doing it unconsciously then and now he was being deliberate about it no one noticed anything except Molly Weasley.
She saw the way Ginny was trying to get the attention of Harry and the way Harry would answer her queries politely and turn back enthusiastically to Ron and talk Quidditch and smiled a little to herself. She would have been thrilled if her Ginny and Harry whom she thought of her son in everyway would get together, but she instinctively knew that would not happen.
Harry had not even looked at her as a person or a friend, let alone in another way. She sighed as she knew these things had to happen on their own. She looked fondly at Harry and felt a wave of compassion when she realized all that he had gone through.
Sirius had been right last year in wanting Harry to have proper and important information regarding the link and the Prophecy. But everyone except Snape had shot him down, including herself. Now she repented all that yelling and shouting at Sirius for if only Harry had known that You-Know-Who could plant false memories and harm him through the mind-link Harry had with him, Sirius could have been saved as Harry would have acted more cautiously.
At that time Snape suddenly caught his left forearm causing a flutter and muttering his apologies and he bit out as he left, "Potter you wait at headquarters with Mrs. Weasley and I will take you to the cottage after I come back. Did you understand Potter?" Harry nodded his head not daring to show his concern or cautioning Snape to be careful. Snape looked deep into Harry's eyes nodded once and strode outside and apparated.
McGonagall and Hermione had gone back to the cottage when Harry and the others had entered The Leaky Cauldron. Snape apparated to the cottage and told McGonagall briefly what had happened and asking Hermione to stay in the cottage, he asked McGonagall to go to Grimmauld Place and stay with Harry there. McGonagall only stopped long enough to ask Hermione to be careful and then she left as Snape apparated to Voldemort.
Meanwhile the Dumbledore quickly asked everyone to move to the floo, the moment Snape had left. "Harry, you go first to headquarters and all of us will follow." Harry nodded his head hating the thought of going back to Grimmauld Place but now was not the time to argue.
Harry took the floo and threw a pinch into the fire when there were twenty pops and ten seconds later there was twenty one pops and Harry was gone. Dumbledore could have cursed himself. He should have realized the moment Snape was called Harry should have been sent to Grimmauld Place, instead he had waited for Snape to leave and somehow death eaters had come and taken Harry with them.
Dumbledore roared over the babel of noise everyone was making, "SILENCE. All of you to headquarters right now." he lifted his wand and sent a general message to everyone in the Order and asked them to assemble at Grimmauld Place at one.
In ten minutes everyone was at Grimmauld Place. Molly Weasley was crying helplessly and McGonagall was terrified even though Snape was there. It could mean that both of them were in danger. Remus was horrified; first it was Sirius and now Harry. He had not even explained to Harry about being so distant with him and now Harry was in the clutches of Voldemort.
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Voldemort had had a lousy two months. He was almost coming to the conclusion he was going to lose even with his horcruxes. The fight at the Department of Mysteries was a total failure and now he was never going to get any respect or fear until the bloody Boy-who-Lived became the bloody Boy-who-Died.
It was at time a lowly death eater who worked in the Ministry of Magic came with news that Potter would be roaming the Alley on his birthday that was three days away. Voldemort had asked Malfoy, Snape, Rookwood, McNair and a few others who were in public offices of one kind or the other to stay away. Snape had asked permission to leave for the Isle of Mann to rest in solitude and Voldemort had given it telling him to report if Dumbledore ever called him for meetings.
"Come to me after the meetings and any chores he gives you Severus and inform me. Other wise you are free to go. Make sure your hands are clean. Be careful, I do not want to rescue you from prison as well." He had said glaring at Malfoy all the time.
That summer had seen the marking of Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Zabini, Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode, Daphne Greengrass, Theodore Nott and Terry Boot who was the lone Ravenclaw.
When the death eater from the Ministry had bought the news Voldemort had taken a day off on muggle baiting and chewed on this. The next day he had called Bellatrix, Avery and Mulciber and spoke to them and then dismissed them.
And then Voldemort had waited.
This time he would be careful and he would not make the mistake of giving Potter's wand back to him. The end would come swiftly and without much yelling and screaming and frustration.
The waiting came to an end on the night of the 31st of July.
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