Chương 40: Dumbledore's Warning
Harry watched his past self unsuccessfully attempt to talk his way out of the confrontation, all the while silently critiquing his actions. Professor Dumbledore watched the memory much more intently than he had the last one, which Harry thought was normal considering this was his memory and therefore this was the first time Dumbledore had seen it. Harry wasn't particularly happy with his performance in the duel. He had panicked a bit and fallen back on using familiar, less effective spells as a result. Crouch had clearly underestimated him, a fact that may have been the deciding factor in their duel.
Next time they faced off Crouch would not underestimate him again, so Harry knew he would have to be prepared. Dumbledore did not seem to share his disappointment, in fact he looked positively delighted when they got to the part where Harry transfigured a chair into a wolf and commanded it to attack Crouch. Neither of them were particularly happy when they saw Crouch cast the Cruciatus curse on him. Soon it was over and Professor Flitwick was rushing into the room to confront the impostor. Upon seeing it again Harry was even more impressed with his Charms professor than he had been before, his speed and technique were truly amazing. The memory continued on until Harry, Moody, and Flitwick reached the infirmary and met Professor Dumbledore. Once done the two spectators were once again sent back to the office.
Upon returning Dumbledore sat down in the chair behind his desk and motioned for Harry to take a seat as well. Harry nodded and sat across the desk from the Professor, waiting for him to voice his thoughts on what he had seen.
"Harry, it is clear that you are unhappy with how you handled yourself in the duel with Barty Crouch Jr. You need not be, you did very well. I am more sure of that now having witnessed the fight than I was when you described it earlier. Your use of transfiguration in a duel was very impressive, a trick that I might have used in your position in fact."
"Thanks, Professor." Harry replied. "I just feel like I could have done better, that's all."
"There is no doubt in my mind that you will continue to improve yourself, Harry. You have developed a surprising drive to do that this year, perhaps a positive outcome from your unfortunate participation in the Triwizard Tournament. If you ever need my help the door will be open for you." Dumbledore said to reassure him. Harry nodded and offered a small smile in response. "There is however, one more issue I wished to discuss with you this evening." Harry looked up sharply at this, from the sound of Dumbledore's voice it was not going to be something that would make him happy.
"What is it, sir?" Harry asked.
"The Minister of Magic has reacted as we expected to the news that Barty Crouch Jr is alive and free, which is to say quite poorly. Word is starting to trickle out about the event, despite Fudge's best efforts to prevent it. Minister Fudge has decided to increase security in what he has deemed high risk locations." Dumbledore answered.
"So what exactly does that mean?"
"He has no authority over Hogwarts, so no changes will be seen here. More Aurors will patrol Diagon Alley and a much smaller contingent will be placed in Hogsmeade. It is the patrol around Hogsmeade that I wished to warn you about, however."
"It's Dementors, isn't it?" Harry asked. "Fudge is sending Dementors to Hogsmeade."
"Correct, Harry." Dumbledore answered with a hint of frustration in his voice. "They will not be in the town itself, but stationed on the outskirts. I advise you to stay away from them if at all possible. The Ministry's control over those vile creatures is not at all assured. A change is coming, the animals in the forest can sense it on instinct. I believe the Dementors know it as well."
"Is Hogsmeade safe, sir?" Harry asked, still in shock that Fudge would endanger students with Dementors again.
"Most likely, although I would ask you not to stray from the village itself. I know you can cast a Patronus, but do not go looking for trouble."
"I understand." Harry said with a nod.
"Good. In that case I shall bid you good night Harry. Thank you for allowing me to view your memory, it was quite enlightening." Harry nodded and left the office headed for the Gryffindor dorms. He considered the danger that he could be facing in Hogsmeade the next day, but quickly realized that he would be less at risk than anyone else, especially since he would be with Daphne who could also cast the Patronus charm successfully. Harry frowned, realizing that he had not thought to teach the spell to Hermione and that there would not be time to do it before tomorrow. She, like the rest of the students, would just have to stay close to the village.
In the back of Harry's mind he was beginning to get the feeling of impending danger again. It was a strange sense of worry that seemed to always be there, but became more intense when he was going to be put in a life threatening situation. Perhaps that little feeling was the full extent of his abilities as a seer, but it was nice to have. It was awakening now, telling him to be careful. Though with Dementors on the loose, he already had that part figured out.
...
Harry met Daphne at the large entrance doors to Hogwarts shortly after 11 AM. The town had been open for a few hours before that but both of them agreed that the idea of sleeping in sounded more appealing. They did not appear to be the only ones leaving late, apparently the idea of getting out of bed to walk around outside was not popular on this cold February morning.
"Hey, you ready to go?" Harry asked as he walked up to meet Daphne.
"Sure, there is another carriage leaving in a few minutes. Let's go." she answered and they headed towards a waiting carriage. Harry reached out and took Daphne's hand and was rewarded with a smile in response. The carriage ride was fairly short due to the closeness of the village to the castle, but Harry still enjoyed the time he had to sit in peaceful quiet with Daphne and watch as the familiar scenery rolled by. Soon the journey was over and they had arrived at Hogsmeade. On weekends when the students were allowed to visit it almost seemed like there were more students there than residents, and that was the case today. Although the crowds had not yet reached their full size a large number of students could be seen happily walking from shop to shop and enjoying the day.
Dumbledore's warning had caused Harry to be more alert than he might otherwise be. He had not seen any Dementors on the way over and assumed that they were being kept away from the well used roads and paths. That was a small comfort to him, perhaps if he were lucky he could avoid them completely. He hoped for desperately for that because he hated the way the creatures made him feel.
"Harry, look. Aurors." Daphne said, interrupting his thoughts. Daphne was pointing to a pair of people in blue Auror's robes. One was a large and intimidating black man who seemed to radiate a feeling of strength and experience. His partner was a younger girl, clearly in her early twenties, with wild pink hair and a large grin on her face. She seemed to be joking with the other Auror, although he wasn't laughing like she was. Harry had told Daphne all about his conversation with Dumbledore and she had merely frowned at the news that Hogsmeade would be host to Aurors and Dementors. She had worked regularly on her Patronus charm since Harry taught it to her and now felt confident in her ability to use it, however that ability had never been tested against an actual Dementor. Harry had toyed with the idea of bringing in a boggart for her to practice against but quickly realized that the plan had several problems with it. First, he had no idea where he would find one. And more importantly, Harry had a strong suspicion that the next time he faced a boggart it would not turn into a Dementor. His fear of them had greatly lessoned after his encounter at the end of third year and he was in no hurry to see what would replace them as his top fear.
"I wonder how many of them are here." Harry replied. So far those two were the only ones that were visible, although he suspected that there were more waiting in less obvious places. "How about Honeyduke's first?" he asked, bringing her attention back to more entertaining topics.
"Now that you mention it, I could use some more sugar quills." Daphne agreed and they began walking towards the candy shop. For the next hour they visited the various shops in the small village, sometimes making purchases but more often just browsing. They both felt that they had spent too much time in the castle and were enjoying the chance to do something different. They were in Zonko's Joke Shop when Harry noticed someone sneaking up behind them. Harry spun around with his wand ready, only to find Fred and George Weasley laughing at his reaction.
"Careful there, Fred!" the twin that must have been George said. "Dark Lord Potter almost blasted your head off."
"Too true, my handsome brother. And a lovely head it is." Fred agreed. Harry had lowered his wand and was now looking at the twins in amusement.
"Hey guys." Harry said.
"A good afternoon to you." Fred replied.
"And to you, our dear Dark Lady." George added, after which both twins bowed theatrically.
"It's good to see someone showing me proper respect." Daphne said. "I suppose I might forgive you for sneaking up on us. Just this once."
"How gracious of you!" Fred answered excitedly. "Now Harry, you aren't seriously considering buying something from this pathetic establishment are you?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Harry asked. "I thought you two loved this place." The twins shared a glance between themselves and then leaned forward, as if to tell Harry and Daphne a secret.
"We're going to put this place out of business one day." George claimed with a large smile on his face. "Take one of these. We call it a Canary Cream. Normally I'd charge you seven sickles, but you get the Dark Lord discount for today." George handed him a small candy that looked like a custard cream.
"What does it do?" Harry asked suspiciously, holding the candy up to his face for a better look.
"Nothing dangerous, we promise." Fred answered. "Just use it wisely, and come see us if you want some more." With that the twins moved on and started talking to another one of Zonko's customers. Harry laughed when he realized they were attempting to advertise their line of joke products in their competitor's own store. 'Not a bad way to raise interest.' he finally decided.
"Are you hungry?" Harry asked Daphne as they left the joke shop. "I was thinking we could eat lunch at the Three Broomsticks."
....
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