FicWad

Harry had continued to keep an eye on Luna. There wasn’t much he could do to help her because not only did she deny that anything was wrong, but his mere presence seemed to make her worse. Harry sometimes watched her invisibly and saw that her behavior was often strange but often perfectly normal. Whenever he talked to her or even visibly sat near her, she dropped straight into bizarre.

“There’s a problem here, Hermione. Luna’s got a real problem and no one’s doing anything. Flitwick blew me off again and Pomphrey just said she’s not a mind healer and that I should talk to her head of house if I was worried.”

“The problem is this school and the ministry and the wizarding world, Harry. I get so tired of it all sometimes.”

“Yah, I know. I sent a letter to her father. Remember I told you that everyone says he’s crazier than she is? They’re right. He wrote back that his ‘little turnip would sandpole the opportunity, never you fear’.”

“Ah, are you sure you read that right? Many wizards have poor handwriting and worse spelling.”

“No, it was written neatly, filling in part of a crossword puzzle. Here, look.”

Hermione confirmed that Mr Lovegood’s answer, indeed, made no sense. “I don’t know what else we can do, Harry. Keep an eye on her and make sure she’s not being bullied. Make sure she doesn’t wander off into the Forbidden Forest. Have you contacted St Mungo’s and asked what their mind healers can do?”

“Oh, right, I forgot to mention that. I wrote them and said I had a friend who needed help. They sent back a form letter saying that mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of and that I can approach them directly without pretending I had a friend. And someone hand-wrote a note that said they never believed what the Prophet was saying about me and that I shouldn’t believe that I’m crazy just because everyone said so for a year.”

Hermione sat and absorbed that for a moment. She was irritable today anyway and this just added to her impatience with idiocy everywhere she turned. “Harry, do you ever think about getting away from all this? Walk away from the magical world and all the crazy people here? Keep doing magic, but get away from the people?”

“Sometimes. Not as much as I used to. There are some people here that I’d hate to leave.”

Hermione nodded as she bit back a biting remark about him thinking with the wrong head. She’d set up a teenage boy with someone who’d give him as much sex as he could handle. It wasn’t surprising he didn’t want to give up someone who’d give it up.

The Marauder’s Map became a standard part of Harry’s table clutter when they worked in the library or common room. A simple befuddlement charm prevented others from paying any attention to it. Harry kept an eye on Luna’s location and who was with her, as well as his other friends. Even if nothing ever came of his watching, he felt better, keeping an eye on them.

Meanwhile, Draco Malfoy was becoming increasingly upset that Harry was ignoring him. Between his relearned emotional control and his effective nemesis, Harry rightly viewed Malfoy as nothing more than a childish pest.

“You’d better watch your step, Potter. Not only am I a prefect and a pureblood, but I will control the Malfoy fortune in just a few months. I’ll be able to buy and sell you and your Mudblood without noticing the cost.”

“We’re not for sale, Malfoy. I’ve heard your mother is, though. Are you going to put in a bid for her affections?”

After they’d walked away from the apoplectic twit, Hermione remarked, “I should chide you for that response, Harry. You’re supposed to remain friendly and polite regardless of provocation. However, that was too funny, and I must admit I’m getting tired of him and his insults and his prejudice and his threats.”

Harry had had more detentions this year than previously, even more than under Umbridge. Between Astoria’s efforts and his hardening and less compliant attitude, he spent at least one evening a week in detention with various teachers.

As such, Hermione didn’t think much of it when Harry did not study with her one evening shortly before the Yule break, though his missing dinner was unusual. He pulled her aside in the common room when he finally came in.

“It was Luna. I mean, it was a few bullies and Flitwick and Dumbledore. Here’s what happened...”

..-. .-.. .- ... .... -... .- -.-. -.-

“Professor!” The last Charms class of the day would have just finished and Flitwick should be straightening up the classroom before heading down to dinner. Harry dashed in, Luna in his arms and three other girls bobbing in the air behind him.

“What is the trouble, Mr Potter? What’s wrong with Ms Lovegood?”

“These three” -- Flitwick hadn’t noticed the silenced, trussed, and floating girls still out in the hallway -- “attacked her. They took her clothes and left her stuck to the wall with just this towel. And look, they even put a ‘Pull Me’ note on a string on the towel.”

“Did you see the attack yourself?”

“No, I caught them after. I found Luna, then chased after them and caught them in the next corridor.”

“Release the three young women, Mr Potter. I understand your concern for your friend, but you had no right to cast spells on any student who was not attacking you. I won’t assign you any punishment because I am sure your head of house will see to that, but you must release them now.”

Harry complied, scowling. “So I was supposed to let them go and get rid of the evidence? They had Luna’s clothes and book bag. And what about Luna? Was I supposed to just leave her there, unconscious and naked and stuck to the wall?”

“I’m not the enemy, Mr Potter. I’ll thank you to mind your tone of voice. And, no, of course you should not have left Ms Lovegood alone. In the future, I suggest you stay with her until a professor or prefect comes by. Don’t interfere with anything you find, so that a neutral, responsible person can judge the situation.

“Now, ladies, what do you have to say for yourselves?”

“We didn’t do anything!” “We were walking back to the tower when we were stunned from behind and then we woke up here.” “Potter attacked us for no reason!”

“Miss Lovegood, what do you have to say about this incident?”

“Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun the frumious Bandersnatch.”

“I’m afraid that doesn’t do us much good, Ms Lovegood. Can you tell me anything more pertinent to the situation?”

“The brown recluse has come to our shores. Its coloring has changed to suit the terrain but its bite is just as deadly. You never see him before you die.”

Flitwick frowned. “Thank you, Ms Lovegood. As for you three, bullying is not tolerated. If I ever catch you bullying another student, you can expect quite severe punishment. Now be off with you. Dinner will be over in half an hour.”

“That’s it? No detentions? Not even any kind of investigation? They attacked Luna and set her up to be humiliated or, or worse, and you don’t do anything?”

“What do you expect, Mr Potter? You did not see the attack, no person in authority saw the attack or the aftermath, Ms Lovegood was not forthcoming, and the alleged attackers denied any wrongdoing. The rules are in place for a reason, and you did not follow them. There is nothing I can do.”

Luna had stayed in the office, holding tight onto Harry’s arm. Fortunately, she had stayed quiet rather than further disrupt the conversation with confusing, off-topic comments. Her eyes had become sharp, not dreamy, when Flitwick let the girls off without punishment.

Harry nodded, then stuck his wand out the still-open office door. The thundercrack sent the three girls tumbling. He didn’t concern himself overly much. Magic could do amazing things. It would probably let the bullies hear again.

Flitwick had flicked his wand faster than the eye could follow. His disarming spell hit only the used parchment that Harry flipped into its path. “What was that, Mr Potter?”

“I was asking Dumbledore to come to your office.”

Sure enough, the headmaster arrived a minute later. “Ah. Mr Potter. That explains the tumult. Do you have an explanation or shall I proceed directly to assigning detentions?”

“What is the school policy on attacks on students, Headmaster? The answer will determine how this conversation goes and what punishments are to be handed out.”

“I will not have terms set in my own school, Mr Potter. However, to answer your question, every credible report of attacks or abuse is investigated and, if it is substantiated, appropriate punishment will be meted out. The same applies to other disruptions and violations of the school rules.”

After Dumbledore had been filled in on the afternoon’s events, he nodded and said, “It is as I suspected. Mr Potter, you will serve one week of evening detentions with me. You should count yourself lucky that you have not been arrested for attacking and kidnaping the other three students. You had no authority to act against them.”

“I have no authority to fight Voldemort, either. I’m not an auror. I’m not even an adult. So why should I lift a finger to fight him when I’ll probably be arrested the minute I ‘vanquish’ him?”

Dumbledore put on his Regretful Grandfather look, overlaying his still-visible Annoyed Grandfather look. “Alas, the prophecy overrides normal considerations. You must fight Voldemort. You cannot avoid it. Normal considerations apply to his followers, however, because they are not covered by the prophecy. As with the matter of the alleged school bullies, you must follow the directives of the duly-appointed authorities.”

Harry looked at Dumbledore levelly. Luna’s grip on his arm must be helping him to keep calm. “Even when the authorities are corrupt or incompetent? Does this mean you’ll be disbanding your own little gang of vigilantes?”

..-. .-.. .- ... .... -... .- -.-. -.-

“It kept up for hours , Hermione. None of us were giving an inch. Dumbledore was getting upset that I wasn’t doing what he told me to do -- he’s the headmaster and this is his school, Mr Potter. When I told him I wouldn’t do any detentions unless I agreed I had done something wrong, he started threatening me, but I told him I’d be perfectly happy to be expelled, same terms as before, see you around, have fun living under Voldemort’s rule.”

“I’m sure you didn’t do yourself or anyone else any good, Harry. You can’t fight the entire world. Even you can’t. You have to learn to deal less contentiously with your opponents.

“Harry, what would you think of taking lessons from Astoria? You must have noticed how smoothly she operates. I don’t know what she would want in exchange, though.”

“I’ll think about it. I really don’t know if I can fit any more lessons in, unless I start skipping classes. And it might be a problem paying, depending on what she wants. I’ll think about it.

“But I didn’t finish my story. The whole time, hours, Luna held onto me and just looked at everyone who was talking, like she was at a tennis match. She didn’t say a word but I think she was following it all. Her eyes were focused and she looked at our faces, not over our shoulders. You’ve seen how she normally is, right? And it’s been worse lately, when she sees me. She wasn’t like that at all today. I wonder if it’s because she realized she was in danger and she didn’t have the luxury of being able to be loony.

“So at the end, when we didn’t really agree on anything except that I wouldn’t be going to detention, Dumbledore asked me to step out for a moment so he could talk to Luna without me biasing her statements. I didn’t believe that he just wanted to talk -- if he wanted her ‘statement’ he should have gotten it at the start, not after she’d heard us argue for two hours -- so I stepped out, then came back with a notice-me-not. Good thing I did. Dumbledore was really surprised when I disrupted his obliviation. That kicked off another argument about secrets have to be kept and I don’t know what. And Luna definitely was following this. She still didn’t say anything but she looked angry, and Luna never gets angry.

“So finally it all petered out. I brought Luna to Ravenclaw Tower, gave her the password for Gryffindor Tower, and told her she could come to me day or night. Then I came here and found you. The end.”

Hermione needed a few minutes to absorb all that.

“They’re all incompetent or corrupt. All they care about is their own power and making sure no one shakes things up so they have to do something. I get so tired of it.”

“I know. I think about leaving, too. I’m not quite ready. Things aren’t quite bad enough here.”

“You need to watch your back, Harry. Dumbledore’s not going to like you interfering and not letting him get his way. Remember last time you defied him, when he set Snape on you. And remember the prophecy. We still don’t know who the Dark Lord of the prophecy is, and this makes twice that you defied Dumbledore, I believe.”

Harry needed a few moments to absorb that. “Put together a bag, something you can carry, can travel with, with clothes and food and medicine. Emergency supplies in case we have to get away. Money. I’ll provide galleons if you can provide pounds. We’ll stash our bags someplace, maybe the Shrieking Shack, in case we have to get away. I’ll do what I can do for Luna. What about Daph and Stori? They seem happy enough here. Do you think Daph will be safe if I’m not here to protect her?”

“I don’t know, Harry. I could make an argument either way.”

“I’ll ask her. Them. I’ve always had people making decisions for me. I’m not going to do it to them.”

A few days later, Dobby brought Hermione’s and Harry’s emergency bags to the Shrieking Shack. The Greengrasses declined. “I agree that there are problems, Hermione, but this is all I’ve ever known. I’m not going to leave it. Where would I go? And I can count on Father to come and get us if there ever is a real problem and we’re in danger.”

Hermione and Harry exchanged frustrated grimaces. “We tried.”

Luna was another matter entirely. A few days later she was back to her normal, carefree self.

“Luna, now that you’ve seen that the headmaster and your head of house won’t do anything about your being bullied, do you want to come with Harry and me if we decide to leave Hogwarts early?”

“What do you mean, Hermione? I haven’t spoken to the headmaster since last year, and I’m not being bullied. I’m very glad of that. On top of the pranksters hiding my clothes and books, I don’t think I could handle bullies as well.”

Harry nodded when Hermione told him. “Of course Dumbledore obliviated her. I don’t know why I thought that stopping him once would be enough.”

“I know. We’ll continue to watch out for her. And ... maybe you can prank Dumbledore. I’ll help you think of something appropriate.”

...ooo000ooo...

Hermione went home for Christmas, as usual. Harry was staying at the castle. He had put his name in to be leaving for the holiday but McGonagall had questioned him closely about his plans, not believing that he would willingly spend more time with the Dursleys. Harry being Harry, the new Harry, defiant and intolerant of the shortcomings of people in authority, questioned her on questioning him.

“She got angry when I asked her what she knew about how the Dursleys treated me and why she was pushing me to go back there when I left the castle. ‘Never in all my years, blah blah blah, detention for disrespect, blah blah blah’. I guess she didn’t get the memo. You thought she was mad before, you should have seen her after I told her I didn’t do detentions anymore. Her lips were pushed together so hard she didn’t have a mouth anymore and her face was as white as paper. No, it was more like parchment, kind of yellowish. She is really old, you know. Dealing with teenagers must be too much for an old witch like her.”

“Really, Harry, grow up. She’s not evil. Yes, she makes a lot of mistakes, but she isn’t deliberately trying to hurt you, I’m almost sure. Childish taunts and defiance aren’t accomplishing anything.”

“But Hermioneeee, this is the only chance I’ve ever had to be childish. The old fart and his minions made sure of that. So isn’t it fair that I’m the biggest, loudest three-year-old they’ve ever seen?”

“Hmmph. Think about this, Mister. Three-year-olds are much too young for sex. Should I tell Daphne to keep her distance lest she be accused of child abuse?”

“Hey! That’s hitting below the belt.”

“Exactly.”

Harry was staying at the castle, permission to leave having been denied. Hermione had expected him to report yet another row with the headmaster or McGonagall over that but he simply told her it wouldn’t be a problem, then winked and told her, “See you soon.”

“Make sure to practice every day, Harry. Without classes, you should be able to get through most of the extra reading you haven’t gotten to. I’ll be checking on your progress when I get back. You don’t want to disappoint me.”

“Yes, Mistress Hermione. Are you sure you don’t want a dominatrix outfit for Christmas? I could ask Winky to put it under your tree Christmas morning.”

“Don’t you dare! Oh, very funny, Harry. Do take care of yourself, and do keep up on your work.”

Two days before Christmas, both Winky and Dobby appeared in the kitchen, giving Mrs. Granger quite a fright. Luckily, Hermione was there, getting an early breakfast. Months of waking up at five left her unable to sleep in despite her fatigue.

“Winky! Dobby! What are you doing here?”

“Winky is here to clean for youse, Mistress. Mistress’s Harry told Winky he will stay in the Come and Go Room until Mistress tells Dobby to return.”

“And Dobby is here to cook for youse today and tomorrow and tomorrow, Mister Harry’s Grangy. Dobby is good cook, youse very happy.”

Hermione’s mother had never seen house elves before but quickly picked up on the important part. “A Christmas without having to cook or clean? Happy Christmas, indeed. Thank you, Hermione, and Winky and Dobby. And please thank Mistress’s Harry for me, as well.”

Harry appeared on their doorstep late Christmas morning, bearing a wrapped gift. “Am I interrupting? I can just drop this off if you have comp- oomph ” Hermione stopped his babble by crushing his rib cage and then dragging him inside.

“I’m pleased to finally meet you, Harry. I’m Bettina Louise, or Betty-Lou, Hermione’s mother, of course. Before this year, every other paragraph in Hermione’s letters mentioned you. This year, every other sentence is about you. Just on that basis I’d like to talk to you, to find out more that hasn’t been filtered through my daughter’s clearly biased viewpoint. I also need to thank you very much for sending the elves. They’ve been a god-send.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too. You can just thank the elves. They’re doing all the work and a little praise and thanks is like gold to them.”

“And I’m Baalzebub. Yes, my family has a tradition of unusual names, as Hermione’s name might suggest. Just call me Bubba. As my daughter is clearly obsessed with you, I think I’m supposed to pull you to one side now and make vaguely threatening statements while cracking my knuckles, but...” He held up his hands and Harry saw that the man’s hands were long and thin, exactly what you’d want in a man who stuck his fingers in your mouth but not at all intimidating. “You see the problem. I don’t think I’ve ever known a man who actually threatened his daughter’s boyfriends, anyway. I think that happens only in cliched stories about over-protective parents and rebellious teens. Let’s chat over a cider and we’ll call it close enough.”

“Thank you, sir. I’d like that, but it’ll have to be a short glass. I need to get back to Hogwarts before lunch starts. The staff have been making head counts at every meal.”

Hermione was belatedly puzzled. “How did you get here? Walk off the grounds, take the floo from Hogsmeade, and then apparate? Will you have time to get back before they look for you?”

“Don’t worry, it won’t take me too long to get back. As to how ... Magic!”

Hermione wasn’t deterred by her parents’ presence from swatting Harry’s arm, but he did manage to avert her righteous wrath by holding out her present. It was a hand-made desk plaque. #1 Coach .

“I do appreciate everything you do for me, Hermione. You’re my best friend.”

Hermione hugged him before grabbing his hand and dragging him to the stairs. “Come on up! I’ll give you your present in my room.”

She didn’t need to see the shared glance between her parents. “Keep that door open, young lady!”

“I was going to give you this after morning training when I got back, but it goes too well with my plaque.”

Harry opened a fancy parchment certificate. Let it be known to all that Harry J Potter has successfully completed Phases I and II of the Granger Survival School. “I appreciate you working so hard and doing more than I ask of you. You’re my best friend, too.”

Their hug and very pleasant kiss was rudely interrupted by a camera flash. “I knew it! I knew that was just an experimental phase with Kathleen.” Hermione pushed the door closed on her mother’s cheerleading, then went back to her friend. Her friend who was a boy . After Harry apparated away on presumably the first leg of his return to the school, Hermione rejoined her parents. The feel of Harry’s lips on hers would help her to endure her parents’ good-natured ribbing.

...ooo000ooo...

They got back into the swing of training sessions and classes very quickly once school resumed in January. Harry had been training every day in the Room of Requirement, harder than when school was in session. Hermione had been working very hard, too, developing training plans and researching anything that was potentially useful. The resumption of classes was almost a break from their workload.

One evening near the middle of January, Hermione was working in the library with Harry, when he stiffened as he glanced at the Marauder’s Map.

“Hermione! Grab my stuff, fourth floor, west wing.” He dashed off before Hermione had a chance to do more than blink.

Hermione gathered up their books and papers and quills and ink and book bags and hurried as fast as she could. This was not the first time Harry had gone running off. Once he had gone because a group of Slytherin girls had cornered Daphne, though that encounter had resolved itself nonviolently without his needing to reveal his presence. The other time he had saved Luna from some bullying by her housemates. Avoiding the “mistakes” he made the last time he saved Luna from bullies, Harry had told the other Ravenclaw students to stop what they were doing, intimidating them with his glowering presence. He’d summoned “responsible” witnesses with a series of crackling booms in the corridor while reassuring the paralyzed Luna that everything would be all right. Prefect Granger arrived just as McGonagall and Dumbledore did, and witnessed the slap on the wrist for bullying -- Five points each. Honestly! -- and the fifty-point loss and the public chewing out Harry received for frightening younger students.

It was unfathomable to her what was going through Dumbledore’s mind. If he were trying to raise a generation of bullies who did not fear or respect authority and of sheep who were afraid to do anything without authorization, what would he be doing differently?

This evening, in January, by the time she got where Harry had directed her, it was all over. Harry was holding a crying Astoria. Crabbe, Goyle, and the fifth- and seventh-year Slytherin male prefects were unconscious and stuck to the walls. And Malfoy seemed to have been crushed. Literally, physically crushed, pressed flat into the wall.

“What happened? No, forget that. It’s obvious what almost happened. How did it happen?”

“Hermione, I think that can wait.” Harry blasted the sole portrait frame in the room, preventing its normal occupant from returning. “The teachers will be here any minute. Do we need to get our stories straight?”

It took Hermione only a moment to switch from being Harry’s trainer and homework leader. Harry was tops in an emergency, with instincts much better than her own. She’d follow his lead.

“I don’t think we do. No, wait. People saw you run from the library. You have to explain that. Can you say you have communications mirrors, or perhaps an alert bracelet?”

“Dobby! Please get me the broken communication mirror from my trunk. It’s wrapped in a blue towel and should be toward the left side. Don’t let anybody see you.” It took Dobby just moments to return. “Thank you. Put the pieces outside this classroom, like someone knocked it from Astoria’s hand. Thanks, Dobby. After that, go back to what you were doing, like we never called you. Okay, the portrait over there disappeared right after I came in and stopped these idiots. I’m sure it went to tell Dumbledore, or maybe Pomphrey. It’ll report Astoria was --”

Dumbledore came rushing in, followed momentarily by Snape and Pomphrey. “Harry, what have you done? To kill a fellow student, before he could redeem himself...”

True to form, though quite reasonably, Pomphrey went to check on the crushed student, ignoring the living students and in particular the innocent near-victim. True to form, Dumbledore took care of the unconscious Slytherin boys first, releasing them and making sure they were lying comfortably on conjured cots. True to form, Snape rounded on Harry after a perfunctory glance at the situation.

“Potter, you’ve finally done it. Murdering a student will see you in Azkaban before morning. Give me your wand now. After putting up with your arrogance for six years, I deserve the pleasure of breaking it myself.”

“Nothing doing, Snape. I know how Slytherin works, how you have your favorite students and you let them attack others and you cover it up to protect them. This time you’ve gone too far, Snape. You’re going down.”

Snape drew his wand to menace Harry. Harry’s wand was in his pocket and he was seated on the floor with Astoria in his arms, but Snape felt the need to posture more dramatically. Or perhaps the Death Eater planned to attack a helpless opponent.

Foolish Snape, so focused on humiliating or harming Harry that he’d forgotten Hermione. She stunned him from behind just as Dumbledore “took notice” of the altercation.

“Miss Granger, I cannot accept students attacking professors, especially in my presence.”

“He was about to attack Harry in your presence. You ignored Snape’s insults just like you ignored him drawing his wand. And you haven’t said a word about how you found a fourth year girl crying in a room with six older boys. If Harry hadn’t stopped them, would you have let Snape cover that up just like everything else?”

“It is yet to be ascertained just what happened in this room, Miss Granger. All that is certain is that I found you, Mister Potter, and Miss Greengrass in a room with four unconscious students and another student who had been murdered. In the past few minutes I heard you insult a professor before and after attacking him. This is not the behavior we at Hogwarts expect of a prefect. I’ll have your badge, Miss Granger.”

Hermione slammed the prefect badge down on a desk. “I hope that anyone foolish enough to take the position after me loses it directly. If you won’t allow a prefect to do her job, then you should be forced to do it yourself.” It wasn’t a formal curse. Driven by her controlled rage and the amount of magical power at her command, who knew what might happen.

Frowning, Dumbledore revived Snape who, predictably, immediately verbally attacked Harry. Hermione had stunned him, but he could see only the offspring of his childhood nemesis. “Potter, you’ll be in detention every night for as long as you’re at Hogwarts. You’ll regret the day you met me.”

“Drama queen, much? I don’t do detentions, Snape, especially not with Death Eaters.”

“That is hardly helpful, Mr Potter. We all are attempting to find the truth of what happened here. Some level of trust in and tolerance of each other is necessary.

“Miss Greengrass, as you were apparently at the center of the matter, please relate to me the sequence of events before Prof. Snape and I arrived.”

“I want my father here. I am fifteen years old and entitled to have my parents present when I am questioned on any non-academic matter.”

“It is late and, as you appear unharmed, I am sure your father would not appreciate being forced to come up to the castle at this hour. I am sure that tomorrow is soon enough to notify your parents. In the meantime, we here can arrive at the truth if you will cooperate with my request.”

“Snooty!” A uniformed elf, presumably belonging to the Greengrasses, appeared. “Tell Father I have been attacked by Hogwarts prefects and professors and he should come immediately.”

Dumbledore’s lightning-quick wand work prevented Snooty from carrying out her orders. “Before we allow in any outsiders who may muddy the situation, it is incumbent upon us to first determine what has happened. I’m sure your family elf can find work here to keep her busy until that time.”

As Dumbledore orated, Hermione had conducted a rapid, silent conversation with Harry. Hopefully he understood and would relay the instructions to Astoria as Hermione said, “Headmaster, are you saying that, despite the death of a student, you do not plan to call in the DMLE? And that in spite of an attempted rape by Malfoy and these others you will not allow the intended victim to speak with her parents?”

“Miss Granger, you are grossly mis-stating the situation. I need to know exactly what happened so that the investigators from DMLE can be steered in the correct direction and so that students who do not merit charges with serious crimes may, as necessary, be assigned appropriate in-school punishment. However, if you truly feel that I or Hogwarts do not meet your exacting standards, I will regretfully accept your withdrawal papers.”

The three students exchanged glances. “I have nothing to say to you, Headmaster Dumbledore, except in my father’s presence.” “I saw nothing.” “I’ll talk to aurors -- real aurors, not your pets -- but not to anyone else.”

Harry escorted the girls out of the room, ignoring Dumbledore’s response. He carried Astoria’s pack as well as his own and put an arm around her shoulders. Hermione hmmphed slightly as she and Snooty followed them, but she couldn’t really object to the favoritism or to having to carry her own book bag. Harry’s one arm was full with two book bags and Astoria was shaken and needed the comfort of his other arm.

A corridor away, Harry coated the only nearby portrait with half an inch of ice to prevent spying. “Stori, do you want to go home? I can get you out of here, but it will cause problems tomorrow when they find out.”

“If you’re not too upset, Astoria, it would be better for you to stay here. I would rather not give away more of our capabilities then we have to.”

“I’m half upset and half frightened and half angry. I can stay here tonight and think of a way to inform my father.”

“Is this your first brush with danger? That is, the first time you’ve been in danger of death or physical injury by violence?”

“It is. I have led a quiet, responsible life.”

“You should expect mood swings and physical shakiness in the next few hours as the adrenaline comes down and emotional shock goes through you. Don’t be surprised if you start weeping or shouting in rage. A Calming Draught would help, but I don’t think going to Madame Pomphrey is a good idea right now. Maybe your elf can help you there. You shouldn’t be alone tonight, either, as nightmares would not be unexpected.” Hermione had a fair amount of knowledge regarding shock and its aftereffects, gained both from books and from unfortunate personal experience.

Hermione saw a bit of pink come up on Astoria’s cheeks as she stood there, still in Harry’s protective arm. “Could I spend the night with you, Harry?”

Plans flickered through Hermione’s mind. “If you possibly can sleep with someone else tonight that would be better. Temptation and scandal aside” -- and the girl’s cheeks went from pink to flaming red -- “there is something else Harry has to do tonight.” She mouthed the word later to Harry in response to his puzzled frown.

It being decided that her sister was the next-best choice, Astoria sent Snooty to find Daphne and have her meet them by the Slytherin dorms entrance so she could explain what had happened.

“Malfoy had his goons hustle me into a classroom, then all of them stood all around me. They were all so much bigger than I, even if Malfoy hadn’t already broken my wand.”

Hermione nodded to herself but didn’t break Astoria’s narrative. Physical intimidation worked . That’s why people did it the world over.

“Malfoy was going on and on about how Harry was his and I couldn’t have him and he had put in his claim before I was even a student. He kept touching me and saying he was going to teach me a lesson because I had taken what was his. Don’t worry, Harry, he was talking about pranking and harassing students from other houses, a Slytherin tradition. It was nothing sexual.”

“Or maybe it was”, Daphne put in with a light-heartedness that seemed inappropriate to Hermione. “Draco was a pureblood and maybe he wanted to keep it all in the family with his cousin.”

“I warned you, Daphne. Now I have to do terrible things to you.” The target of Harry’s ire was singularly unintimidated, if the tongue circling her lips meant anything.

“Ahem! Excuse me, you two. Daphne, Astoria needs comforting more that you need Harry. Harry, you have work to do. Astoria, I’m so sorry for what you went through, but I’m glad you came through almost unscathed. Daphne and Astoria, you could help us by mentioning in front of other students or a portrait that Harry promised to find a way to contact your father.”

Heading back to Gryffindor Tower, Hermione steered them into a nook with no portraits. “Harry, I hate to bring this up. You told me before that you thought you had a way to get to the Malfoys at home. If you are not too upset about Astoria and you are not too tired, if you can get to Narcissa, you should. As quickly as you can, before she can make a new will.”

Harry looked at her steadily for a moment, then nodded sharply. “Dobby! Good evening, Dobby. Please bring me a thermos bottle of very strong coffee. I’ll be going up to my dorm to change my clothes and grab my broom; you can meet me there. After that, find the Greengrass elf named Snooty somewhere here in the castle and find out how to get to the Greengrass house. Hermione will give you a message to take to Mr Greengrass. Hermione, I’ll see you in the morning.”

The morning brought two aurors and Mr Greengrass. Dumbledore was not happy to see them but the Greengrass girls had met their father at the main entrance and the headmaster could hardly deny them entrance at that point.

“Welcome to Hogwarts, gentlemen, though I regret the tragic necessity. Aurors, I’m certain you will wish to interrogate Harry Potter as the central character in Mister Malfoy’s demise. He was not in his dorm last night but we may hope that he is the castle somewhere, contemplating his actions which resulted in another student’s death. Mister Greengrass, you will wish to comfort your daughter. May I offer this anteroom? Do please be careful not to taint her testimony before the aurors interview her.”

“We know how to conduct an investigation, Headmaster. We would appreciate you not interfering.”

Hermione spoke up. “Would that be the anteroom with the portrait which has another copy in your office, Headmaster? Wouldn’t that raise problems with confidentiality of interviews?”

“I’ll thank you not to interfere, Miss Granger. As you are no longer a prefect and have no business here, be on your way.”

“Hermione was a witness to Snape’s attack on Harry while you stood and watched, Headmaster. I would think the aurors would want to talk to her, as well.”

Hermione saw the aurors exchange sour looks. She didn’t blame them. She hoped that they were assigned to this case because of competence and ability to resist Dumbledore’s pressure rather than because they were incompetents who had annoyed their boss.

“Thank you, Headmaster. We’ll find a classroom with no portraits and will be very careful with our privacy charms. Anyone trying to listen will be very unhappy. Ladies, if you would accompany us, please? Miss, ah, Granger, you may be accompanied by your head of house or your parents if you can get them here.”

As it happened, Astoria whispered to her father and then Mr Greengrass volunteered to sit with Hermione during her interview. She had little to say about the primary investigation, as Draco Malfoy was dead by the time she arrived. The aftermath, which she was a major part of, was a different story. The aurors were very interested in Snape’s and Dumbledore’s actions and words. Perhaps there were a few worthwhile people in the magical world after all, even some worthwhile people working for the ministry.

Confirming that notion, Harry told her during lunch that the aurors were not exactly deferential, but certainly respectful. Without saying so, they gave the impression that they knew of some of his accomplishments and respected them. Ever suspicious, Harry assumed they were lulling him into complaisance, but they never tried Legilimency or even trapping him into damaging admissions.

The Dark Mark found on Draco’s arm might have played some part. Aurors were dark wizard catchers, after all.

The aurors accepted Harry’s tale of how he learned that his friend Astoria was in trouble when she was grabbed while talking on a communication mirror. He rushed in and stunned most of the boys from behind. Malfoy had put up a shield and was firing lethal spells. Harry cast a strong banisher to break the shield, but Malfoy’s shield dropped just as the banisher reached him and it smashed him into the wall. After getting away from Dumbledore and Snape and taking Astoria to her sister, Harry took his broom and flew down to England to tell her father. He had returned just in time for the aurors to find him.

After getting caught up, they checked on Astoria and Daphne, and then Hermione watched as Dumbledore stopped Harry as they were leaving and the student yet again defied the headmaster.

“Yes, I left the Hogwarts grounds without your permission. Someone needed to contact DMLE about a death occurring in the course of an attempted rape. You were covering up what Malfoy was trying to do when he died and you were keeping law enforcement away until you arranged the story the way you wanted it. In a civilized country, that would be called interfering with justice and would make you a criminal. You were also preventing the victim’s parents from finding out what happened. I don’t know if that’s criminal but it’s reprehensible. No, I do not regret it and no, I will not do any detentions for it.”

Once again, Hermione wondered if Dumbledore was senile or insane. Or if his brain was rotting from whatever dark magic permeated him. She was able to detect it easily now and she wondered how long he’d be able to keep it a secret. Whatever the cause, repeatedly confronting Harry in public and repeatedly coming out second best had to be the stupidest thing in the lengthy list of stupid things she’d seen him do.

Hermione brought Harry to the Room of Requirement right after dinner and before a regularly scheduled group study session in the library. Despite their extra-curricular tasks, they were still students, education was still important, and she insisted they keep up on their homework. She’d been avoiding coming to the room when other people were awake and about because she wanted to keep others from noticing that she was using it. Selfishly keeping it reserved all the time for her own purposes, in fact. It would be better for everyone to think the room was broken or that Dumbledore had locked it. However, the Room of Requirement had better privacy protection than any place else in the castle and she just knew this was going to be a dangerous conversation.

“Is the job done?”

“It’s done. Better than we had hoped.” Harry took her hands. “Hermione. I killed Dolohov. I cut his head off and left it lying on the ground. He’s not coming back.”

Hermione gasped, then threw herself weeping into his arms. She was still a target, still in danger, but Harry’s words loosened a fist that she hadn’t even realized had been gripped around her heart.

“Thank you, Harry, thank you, thank you.” She kissed him gratefully on the cheek several times, and if a few of the kisses missed and got him on the lips, neither of them was going to mention it.

“Very well done. Let’s hear your report, Harry. You know the drill: give me all the details you can, especially concerning things that went wrong, and we’ll look at how we can make things better and safer for next time.”

“Yes, General Granger, Ma’am.” The cheeky bastard would ride her that way. Hermione smiled. If nothing else, Daphne was good for his self-esteem and self confidence. The cheek she could do without, but it was a good trade-off. “The first step was finding Malfoy Manor. You were there and I’m sure you remember that Dobby was not able to tell us where the manor was because of the house elf bond magic. What you don’t remember because you weren’t there for was I asked Dobby who the neighbors were to the east and south and west and north. Two of the neighbors’ addresses were in the public records and Dobby was able to legally get copies of the records for me. Don’t worry, I disguised him first.

“Next, I went there to look at the wards. I’m pretty sure I could have just blasted through them but that would let everyone know I was coming. I made a map of what I detected. I didn’t finish it, but I can give it to you if you want it.

“I looked at buying a magic disrupter like I read about somewhere or other, but the shopkeepers just laughed at me when I asked. I don’t know what that’s about.

“So then I had another idea. I just dropped a rock on the manor. Next to the manner, more like, but still in the center of the wards. And, it being so close to Christmas, you know, it was a big lump of coal that I dropped.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask. How big a lump of coal?”

“A square -- a cube, I mean -- about seven feet across.”

“Are you telling me you dropped five tons of coal on Narcissa Malfoy?”

“Closer to ten. I looked it up when I was calculating how big a lump to steal. So anyway, I shrank it and lightened it, flew up about a mile over the manor, then followed it down when I un-shrank and un-lightened it and dropped it. I put up a shield just in case of chunks coming up at me and at the last second put a silencing spell on my head. It’s a good thing I did. I’d have been killed by coal and rocks coming back up and even through the silence spell the bang of the wards breaking was really loud. I was half-deafened. The sound broke all of the windows in the house. It knocked out their house elf, too. I’m glad it did. I wouldn’t want to have to kill their elf just because its owners ordered it to attack. And with Dolohov and the elf and Narcissa all attacking me, it might have been too much.”

It didn’t occur to Hermione then, but it struck her later, just how much Harry had shrunk and lightened his “lump of coal”. The usual weight-reducing charm reduced weight to perhaps a fourth of its normal value. Harry had achieved closer to a four-hundredth, and similarly with the bulk. Not for the first time, Hermione marveled at what she had accomplished with Harry.

“Once I was on the grounds, it was mostly easy. I found Dolohov right away. He came running outside to see what happened and I cut his arms off before he knew I was there. We need to put that in our training notes. I don’t think I’ll forget that but it’s important: Don’t run into a dangerous surprise without checking it out first if you can. So anyway, I cut off his arms so he couldn’t attack me, then cut off his head once he was dead because I thought we could drop it at the DMLE offices or maybe you would want it as a souvenir. But I forgot to grab it when I left and it’s too late now.

“Narcissa was harder to find. I used the find people spell but I must’ve been doing it wrong. It was just luck that I found her before she found me and that she didn’t notice me when she was getting ready to floo out. I was disillusioned but I was tracking coal powder everywhere I went. I blasted the jar of floo powder out of her hand, but that was a bad shot because I was aiming for her head. So she turned around to fight but I got her wand before she even got it out. I don’t know why I didn’t kill her instead of summoning her wand. Maybe because she’s a woman. We need to work on that, Hermione. Not many Death Eaters are women, but they’re just as dangerous as the men. So she finished turning around and saw who I was. I think she was going to insult me but then she realized she was helpless. So instead she said I’d caught her but she could make it worth my while to let her go and she dropped her robes before I could say anything.”

“She didn’t!”

“She did. She got mad when I told her I had better waiting for me back at the castle. I was going to say that, even without Daphne, there wasn’t enough soap to get her clean enough for me, but I didn’t get a chance. She got mad and started to shout some really filthy insults but I hit her with a bone breaker and her body fell into the fireplace and disappeared. I guess some of the powder went into the fire when I shot the jar and I just didn’t notice the green fire.”

“Oh, Harry! I’m so sorry you had to do that. I know it’s my fault for pushing you to train for --”

“Stop it, Hermione. It may have been your idea, but I agreed with you. You didn’t force me to train and you never could have forced me to go to Malfoy Manor.

“We’re in a war. You know that, I know that. All I did was kill enemy soldiers. Narcissa had the Dark Mark right on her arm. I saw it when she got naked. I didn’t get around to mentioning that. We’d thought so but weren’t sure. So all I did tonight was kill enemies. If I’d fought them ‘fairly’ there’s no telling how many innocent people would have been hurt. And there’s no telling how many innocent children they would have killed and tortured before the fair fight. Really, I’m fine.”

Harry was lying, Hermione was sure of it. Or at least he was fooling himself.

“Even if you’re ‘fine’, you shouldn’t be left alone tonight. Do you want me to stay with you here in the Room of Requirement? Or would you rather spend the night with Daphne? I don’t know her schedule or her plans, but I’m sure she’d be happy to slip you in tonight.”

Her small joke got a small smile out of Harry. “I’d like to be with you, if that’s okay. You understand me best. You’re still my best friend.”

Hermione was glad. Harry had done the deed but she was the one who sent him out to murder a woman in cold blood. She needed comforting herself.

After a mostly platonic night --- Hermione was fairly sure that Harry was asleep when he groped her, though his ability to unbutton the front of her nightdress cast some doubt upon that notion --- they resumed their discussion before breakfast.

“You’re sure Narcissa Malfoy is dead? You said so at first last night but when you described the fight all you said was she went into the floo.

“Pretty sure. I hit her with a bone breaker as hard as I could and got her right in the neck. Her head exploded and her arms went in two different directions and her body and legs went into the floo. That’s probably the best we could hope for without her head. I didn’t think of it before, but if she died but no one noticed it, not officially, anyway, no one noticed it for a few days, someone could make a fake will leaving all of the Malfoy money to Voldemort. Or to Scrimgeour, for all we know. But with her body popping out of the floo somewhere, we can at least hope that someone will notice it and report it and recognize her. Ah, maybe that will work. I don’t know if anyone would recognize her by her butt or her boobs.”

Hermione bit back a catty remark. Harry was right, this was about the best result they could have hoped for. Possibly Harry should have dropped Narcissa’s and Dolohov’s arms and Dolohov’s head in the middle of Diagon Alley, but that was the only improvement that occurred to her.

“That’s horrific to think about and it must have been worse to see. Even if you think this isn’t affecting you, Harry, I’m afraid it must be. In fact, I’d be more afraid if it isn’t. Soldiers are sometimes trained to dehumanize their enemy in order to let an ordinary person kill without being tormented by the lives he takes, but it’s very easy to take it too far.”

“You’re right. Of course you are. But think of my whole life. My whole life I’ve had to do hard things. When I was eight, I had to start hand-washing Petunia’s underwear. Compared to that, killing a woman who wants to kill me is nothing.”

Hermione gave Harry the stink eye. “That’s not funny, Harry.”

“No, it wasn’t. And I wasn’t really joking, just a little. All I’m saying is, my whole life I’ve had to do a lot of bad things, whatever I needed to do to survive. I can do this, Hermione.”

She kept her peace, but Hermione resolved to keep an eye on Harry. It was a fine line to walk, making Harry hard enough to do what he had to do but not so hard that he’d be a threat afterward.

Through it all, she did understand what Harry was going through. She, too, was doing things that she hated to do but had to do. She hated manipulating her best friend, but it was necessary . She would do whatever she had to do and cry at night by herself.

...ooo000ooo...

Two days after Malfoy’s attack on Astoria and his subsequent and consequent painful death, and the day after the auror interviews, Hermione was doing her homework in the library. Astoria was doing the same with a few of her year mates at the next table. Hermione and a few others had been keeping an eye on the younger girl. With no wand and not being big enough to be a brawler, Astoria was almost helpless in a school in which attacks on students were often ignored. Harry had begged off this duty, claiming that he would just make problems worse because he had been the one to kill Malfoy.

And, speak of the devil, here came Harry, trailing a group of students in Slytherin ties.

‘Miss Greengrass, I’m sorry that you were caught up in Malfoy’s so-called rivalry with me. I don’t know what he hoped to prove by attacking you instead of me, but whatever it was, you didn’t deserve it.”

Astoria looked momentarily puzzled, but played along. “Your apology is unneeded but welcome, Mr Potter. We were both caught up in Mr Malfoy’s power games.”

“That’s true, but it left you hurt and without a wand. I’ve hired a few of your classmates to watch out for you at least until you get another wand. You know Duane and Eveline, of course. They’re in all of your classes. They’ll watch out for you during class. Vin and Greg here have years of experience as bodyguards. They’ll walk you between classes and watch out for you at meals and such. I understand that you might, ah, have some doubts about them working with you, considering a couple of nights ago. I’ve talked to them about it, and it was strictly business. They were working for Malfoy then. They’re working for you now. And I made sure everyone knows there’s, ah, a substantial penalty for betrayal of trust.”

The younger girl nodded slowly. “Misters Crabbe and Goyle, are you willing to promise that you will not work against me without at least one week’s notice?” The two nodded without speaking. “I can accept that.”

“I’ve hired them all for you until June, if you want them that long. Even if you don’t, please keep them at least until you get another wand. I’d hate for anything more to happen to you.”

The prices charged by the bodyguards varied, as Harry described it to Hermione. The Fourth Year students wanted a bit of tutoring, a bit of money, and cordial relations with Harry on the chance that he defeated You-Know-Who. Crabbe and Goyle wanted money but their main pay was Harry’s promise to try not to kill their fathers. Hermione was skeptical about their loyalty when Harry told her the details, but it seemed that Draco’s erstwhile followers hadn’t liked him at all and did his bidding only because the Malfoy family had kept their fathers out of prison and paid the sons’ Hogwarts fees. As for the younger bodyguards, their attempts to play it smart, helping the proclaimed Chosen One but not declaring themselves opposed to the proclaimed Dark Lord, persuaded Harry that they were clever enough to be useful.

Hermione was impressed that Harry had been able to arrange all this not only without her help but without her noticing and in only one day. She felt slightly annoyed, to be honest, that he had done it without her. They were working together and he should let her know everything so that they could make maximum use of their resources. But to be completely honest, Hermione had to admit to a tiny sense of loss that Harry didn’t completely depend on her anymore. She told herself to grow up and promised not to let bad thoughts in when Harry was doing so well.

Two days later, Harry told Astoria’s bodyguards that he’d be responsible for her until she returned to the Slytherin common room, then he took her to get a new wand. This wasn’t exactly a trip sanctioned by the responsible adults, but the castle was completely lacking in responsible adults so Harry didn’t worry about it. They both had a free afternoon and she was crippled without a wand. Afterward, they met with their friend and sister so she could show it off.

“Snape should have taken me or arranged for someone else to do so. It’s one of his responsibilities as head of house. But of course he told me, ‘I am much too busy dealing with the aftermath of your associate’s unpunished murder of a fellow student. You will have to do without.’ ”

Of course that was just an excuse. Snape was being his usual childish self. Everyone over the emotional age of six understood that.

“Harry took me off the school grounds and --”

“How? How did he do it? I’ve been after him for weeks to tell me, but he just says ‘Magic!’ ”

“I’m sorry, Hermione. Harry made me promise not to tell.”

“Honestly, Harry! You did that just to annoy me, didn’t you?” Harry just winked at her, leaning back and looking very pleased with himself.

“It’s not a super power only Harry has. Believe me, when you find out how he does it, you’ll kick yourself.”

That only made it worse! Damn him anyway!

Astoria showed off her new wand, from a lesser-known craftsman off the main alley. Holly, eleven inches long. It was outwardly identical to Harry’s Ollivander wand except for the signs of six years of use.

Harry’s wand, taken out for comparison, showed six years of use and indifferent care. “Yah, the wand maker gave me some grief about that and made me buy this wand care kit.”

“Don’t I polish your wand enough for you, Harry?” And, right in front of her sister and Hermione, Daphne proceeded to give his wand a spit-shine that any young wizard would be proud of.

“The core is different,” Astoria continued as Harry watched. He couldn’t be jealous of his wand, could he? “His has a phoenix feather but mine has a feather from a magical snowy owl.”

That stumped Hermione. None of the symbolic or mystical meanings of owl feathers fit Astoria very well, so the only sense that she could make of it was the relationship to Harry’s pet. Or perhaps it was simply a coincidence.

“Thank you again, Harry. I’ll pay you back as soon as I get more money. I don’t want to have to ask my parents for more,” she explained to Hermione, “because I’m supposed to be learning to budget, including keeping some aside for emergencies. My expenses this year were much higher than expected. Given that my expenses were higher because I was working to make your life miserable, Harry, I feel awkward accepting a loan from you.”

“I told you before, it wasn’t a loan. Even though you’re doing your best to make me miserable, it’s helping me, so I’m glad to help you. And even without that, I -- Ah, never mind. Anyway, you shouldn’t have had to pay for a replacement wand. Malfoy should have had to, but he couldn’t because I killed him.”

“As if Snape and Dumbledore would have made him pay regardless.” Hermione was disgusted. Even after his death, Malfoy got special exemptions from the rules.

“I’m jealous, Harry. Why haven’t you ever taken me out on a date?” Daphne’s tone was light-hearted, but Hermione thought she saw a glint of something in her eye.

“Ah, well, it never really came up. You never said you were interested and that you were just in this for the fun and we’re not really dating, are we, just working together and having fun, a lot of fun, and I was in detention for the only Hogsmeade weekend since we started working together and this wasn’t a date, I just took Stori to get a wand.”

“Relax, Harry. Breathe. Daphne was just kidding, weren’t you, Daphne?”

“Ah, yes. Of course.” There was no mistaking it, that something was glinting again. Was Daphne really jealous? She’d mentioned many times over the weeks that this was just a lark to her, a safe way to have fun, a way to help her sister, nothing more, nothing serious. Perhaps she was convincing herself more than Astoria and Hermione?

Harry leaned over to Daphne and handed her a package he’d pulled from his pack. “It wasn’t a date, but it wasn’t right to only buy Astoria something when I’m, ah, sleeping with you. No, don’t open it now!”

Too late. Daphne had torn into the wrapping paper like a wood chipper. “The gift for the woman who has everything? How thoughtful, Harry.” She held up a set of wrist and ankle restraints, a high quality leather set with comfortable fur lining. “Who wears them, you or me?”

“Ah, the book suggested taking turns and see who likes what.”

“Book? What book?”

“A book Hermione loaned me. It has lots of suggestions and she marked the ouch !”

“I’m sure no one needs to hear the details, Harry. Just let Daphne enjoy what you’re learning.”

Daphne looked curious about the book. Harry looked as if he weren’t sure she liked her gift. Daphne looked as if she weren’t sure she liked her gift. “Right. Moving right along, I thought it wasn’t fair to buy Astoria something practical and Daphne something fun --” He was interrupted by snorts from at least two of the three young women with him. “-- something fun, so I found something fun for Astoria. Don’t worry. It’s safe to open.”

Astoria daintily opened the wrapping to find a cute little bracelet. “Thank you so much! I wasn’t hinting for you to buy it for me when I admired it on Diagon Alley, but thank you.” She held out her wrist for Harry to fasten on the jewelry, then hugged him in appreciation.

“It’s not just fun, there’s a charm on it to detect potions in food. It detects helpful potions, too, so it’s not perfect, but if you’re not expecting anything it’ll keep you from being surprised.” Astoria beamed, then gave him another hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“But then I thought that Daphne could use something, too.” Another package was handed over and swiftly shredded. “The shop didn’t have another bracelet but these earrings will buzz if a spell is cast behind you. If you have good ears you can tell if it’s heading toward you or not, the shopkeep said.” Daphne gave Harry a warm and appreciative hug and a brief grope. She wasn’t exactly his girlfriend, but as the girl who was sleeping with him she could take liberties which would be inappropriate for her sister, and the earrings made up for the handcuffs.

“But then I thought that Daph had gotten two real presents and Stori got just one because the wand is a tool, not a present, so I got Astoria this package of sugar quills she likes so much, but while I was in the sweets shop I got Daphne some of the chocolates she likes. And then I just gave up trying to keep things even.”

“Harry, I hope there’s a present in there for your oldest friend. Your friend who’s been with you through thick and thin? Your friend who hasn’t received a gift today?”

“Of course, Hermione. What do you take me for? I got a big bag of owl treats for my best girl while I was out.”

Hermione’s growl set Harry to laughing. She suppressed her irritation because it wasn’t fair to Harry, nor to Daphne or Astoria nor even Hedwig. She wasn’t dating him and had no real claim on his affections.

On the other hand, it was understandable that Hermione thought of him as hers. Except for his one date with Weepy McHosepipe, Hermione had been the only girl in Harry’s life for five years. She’d unconsciously accepted this as the natural state of affairs, but it wasn’t fair for her to be jealous of the others, especially since she didn’t want him for herself, not even if he was her best friend and was becoming quite impressive as a man and as a wizard and really was quite attractive, for a boy, and the nights she had spent with him had been the best sleep she’d had in ages, and the love-making really was quite nice, for a boy. She definitely did not want him for herself, even though he was the only man she could see herself with.

“Don’t worry, Hermione.” Harry’s voice pulled her out of her muddled thoughts. “I got you presents, too. On the practical side, a pair of earrings like Daphne’s and a set of books on coaching. There was a whole section of them in the non-magical bookstore. I’d never have guessed. And, yes, I know you know how to detect spells by casting a spell but this way you don’t have to do that all the time. And I think the earrings would look good on you even if they weren’t magic. For the fun side, I didn’t get you sugar quills because you’re always nagging at me about the sugar I eat, so I got you a pre-paid cell phone. You have to go to the far side of the Black Lake to get a signal but it does work. I already checked.” Hermione’s hug made up in crushing power what it lacked in accompanying kisses and gropes.

“And there’s one more present for all of you. Two presents, really.” Harry now had the full attention of all three girls. All of his presents so far, except maybe for the sex toys, had been well thought out and much appreciated. “The hair place in Hogsmeade, Miss B’s, has a special room in back. Spa treatment something-or-other, she called it. I paid for all three of you to get their top treatment next Hogsmeade weekend, as a thank you for all you’ve done to help me. They can only fit in two at a time for some of the things, so I’ll walk around Hogsmeade with whoever’s not getting the treatment, wherever you want to go, even Madame Puddifoot’s.” All three girls piled on Harry and he got a full day’s quota of hugs, gropes from an indeterminate number of hands, and kisses, though only Daphne’s tongue found its way into his mouth.

“How’d you get to be such a good boyfriend, Harry? None of us is even your girlfriend and you’re treating us all better than any of the boys in the castle are treating their girlfriends.”

“You taught me, Stori. A bit of Hermione and Daph, too, but it’s mostly you. Pay attention to the people around you, pay attention to what they want, and offer it to them or keep it from them. I like all three of you and I want to thank you, so of course I’m giving you what will make you happy.”

Hermione was gob-smacked. Harry had learned practical psychology and politics? But then she kicked herself. Just because she had been unable to learn it, didn’t mean Harry was unable.

It was getting near curfew, so the group headed toward the Slytherin dorms first.

“Tell me, Harry, how ever did you manage to get all this? You were with me the entire time we were gone.” Astoria had eyes only for her bracelet. Rolling her own eyes, Daphne took her sister’s elbow and steered her around obstacles.

“Think about what I’ve been learning, Stori. If I can get into someplace without anyone noticing, I can leave someplace without anyone noticing. Well, I think the wand maker saw me leave and come back, but he’s just as creepy as Ollivander anyway. Normal people like you don’t see me if I don’t want you to. And I can apparate and move really fast, so I only needed to be gone a couple of minutes at a time. Dobby helped, too. He found Daphne’s first gift. I’d never seen an elf blush before.”

“Traumatizing your house elf aside, are you telling me you can apparate all the way from London to Hogsmeade? Or did you floo?” Hermione was flabbergasted. Most wizards could apparate fifteen or twenty miles easily, fifty or so with effort and increased risk of splinching. She’d never heard of anyone able to go four hundred miles, even taking it in smaller steps.

“I apparated in one jump. And yes, before you nag me about it, Little Miss Curiosity Box -- ouch! -- I know that’s a lot farther than most wizards can go, and no, I wasn’t tired when I was done. And yes, I side-alonged Astoria to London and back.”

Hermione thought about this. Amazingly powerful apparation couldn’t be “the power he knows not”, could it? She’d think of ways he could use it.

Parting ways in the dungeons, Daphne hugged Harry and stage-whispered, “Come to me tonight. I have a new toy that needs to be broken in.” She made sure to whisper it loudly enough for Astoria and Hermione to hear, the bitch. Hermione might not have any interest in quite everything that Daphne got up to with Harry, and certainly not anything involving restraints, but that didn’t mean she wanted to spend every night alone. Perhaps she should ask him to come to her bed every now and again, not for sex, just to share a bed. He’d been having trouble waking up in time for their morning training sessions, he was so busy and so tired lately. If they slept together she could get him up in time. And if he wanted more, well, he was her best friend. She wouldn’t mind doing him a favor.

Astoria looked as if she were having her own thoughts about Daphne’s whisper. One moment she would look quite cross at her sister and the next she’d have an uncharacteristically dopey smile as she looked between Harry and her new bracelet. Yet another thing to watch out for, Hermione thought as she dragged Harry out of Daphne’s arms and headed toward Gryffindor tower. Harry might be able to get around undetectably, but she had to be in the common room by curfew.

Safely back in the Gryffindor common room, Hermione pulled Harry to a quiet corner to interrogate him about yet another thing that was bothering her. “Harry, why did you buy Astoria a wand? Sneaking her out of the castle and buying a wand is a bit excessive for a favor for a casual friend. And that’s on top of the bracelet. Are you feeling guilty about Astoria’s wand being broken?”

“No, not at all. That was all Malfoy, not my fault at all. I know what you’re thinking. At the beginning of summer I really beat myself up over Sirius’s death. I thought of every mistake I made and everything I could have done differently and I convinced myself that it was all my fault.

“But after a couple of weeks I stopped feeling sorry for myself. I stopped feeling and started thinking . Long story short, even before Dumbledore came to visit, I realized that the Dursleys had brought me up to take the blame for everything that went wrong. I don’t know why I didn’t realize it years ago, but the people who always blame me are all jerks: the Dursleys, Snape, Ron when he’s in one of his moods. Even Dumbledore, sort of. Jerks. Why should I listen to them? They’ve never given me a fair break and they’re not looking out for me even if they’re supposed to. To hell with them all.”

“That’s very mature reasoning, Harry. I’m surprised. Oh, I’m sorry! That didn’t come out quite the way I intended. But if you don’t feel guilty about Astoria’s wand, why did you buy her a replacement? It’s not a trivial amount of time and money. For that matter, neither was her bracelet. Harry, are you feeling attracted to Astoria?”

“No! No no no no no. She’s just a friend. It was just a thank-you for helping me. Exactly the same as for you and Daphne, nothing more.”

The laddy doth protest too much, methinks, Hermione thought, but let it drop. “What about Daphne? You’re sleeping with her. You’re sleeping with her tonight, if you accept her invitation. Harry, it’s perfectly normal to develop feelings when you sleep with someone. It would be unusual if you did not. And I’m virtually certain she’s developing feelings for you even if she denies it.”

“No, she doesn’t. She told me. Daphne’s just a friend, too. A very fun friend, but just a friend. I talked to her a while ago because I was getting, you know, feelings, just like you said. She set me straight that this is just for fun, so I should enjoy it while it lasts and not look too deep.”

“I don’t know if I quite believe that, Harry. Just be careful. Don’t get hurt, and don’t hurt Daphne. And don’t hurt Astoria, either. You’re the boy, the young man, she’s worked with the most in her entire life. I know for a fact that she respects you tremendously. She’s just the right age to develop her first serious romance on an impressive, slightly older boy. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking about possible love triangles when I arranged for training with the Greengrass sisters. Do please be careful, Harry. Any of you could be hurt.”

Hermione didn’t think to mention the effects of a romantic triangle on Harry’s training, which would have possible effects on her safety. To her credit, she was thinking only of possible heartbreak if three girls were interested in the same boy. Two girls. Three people. If two girls were interested in one boy.

Harry thanked her and gave her a quick hug -- getting “touchy” with Daphne had helped him in that regard, at least -- and headed up to clean up and change his clothes. He wasn’t headed for a date, exactly, but according to both himself and his “date” they were satisfied with it.

Hermione was a little jealous of Daphne. She admitted it in the quiet of her own mind, then ruthlessly stomped on it.

...ooo000ooo...

The boink bunnies arrived together, smiling and bouncy, toward the end of breakfast, sat close together at the Hufflepuff table after a brief glance around the room, and ate ravenously. Harry had made it to training that morning but Hermione let him leave early. “Harry! Pay attention! That last fire blast would have taken your face off if I hadn’t shielded it for you. Watch your opponents, not the door. Oh, never mind. Just go. I’m sure she’s waiting for you.”

Hermione stopped by the Hufflepuff table briefly before she headed to class. “Is something wrong with your wrists, Daphne? I’ve noticed you rubbing them as you eat.”

Daphne didn’t answer except for a blinding smile before she returned to wolfing down her second plate.

“I take it you decided you like your present? Qualms all assuaged?”

“Best boyfriend ever!” Daphne proclaimed before catching herself. “Ah, that is, he’s not ...”

“Mr Potter, can you explain to my satisfaction why you did not spend the night in your bed?” McGonagall’s strident tones cut off Daphne’s back-tracking.

“Bed checks for sixteen-year-olds? Performed by an unmarried woman? That’s disturbing. Ugh. Does Snape do bed checks of the Slytherin girls? That’s really disturbing.”

Daphne’s look of horror was mirrored on the faces of the Hufflepuff girls watching the conversation.

“Professor McGonagall, I really need to know: do the heads of house perform bed checks? Does Professor Snape?”

“Calm yourselves, Ladies! Mr Potter, there was no need for you to provoke your fellow students. There is no need for you to cause trouble every day this year.”

That was a mistake. Hermione knew it even before Harry’s face hardened. Dumbledore wasn’t the only adult in this school who was senile or insane.

“You just told me that you came looking for me in my bed last night, and I’m the one causing trouble? I’m still waiting, Professor? Did you come to the boys’ dorm last night, expecting to be able to look at me while I was sleeping?”

“That’s ten points and detention tonight with me, Mr Potter. Never in all my years have I been so insulted!”

Harry smirked at her. “I caught you doing something immoral, you’re embarrassed at being caught, and now you give me a detention?”

McGonagall’s tight face showed was angry but controlled herself. “The headmaster sent me to fetch you to his office to explain your absence yesterday afternoon. The fact remains that you were not in your bed last night. School rules state that students are to sleep in their beds unless they are in the infirmary.”

“Why did the headmaster want me so late? Asking me about that could have waited until morning. It’s almost like he’s trying to interfere with the education I’m paying for. But, anyway, it’s all right. I didn’t sleep last night, so I didn’t need to be in my bed.”

“I do not appreciate your working to find loopholes in the rules, Mr Potter. The rules exist to promote a good education and to protect the students. Subverting those goals is not in anyone’s interest. The school rules also have morality clauses to protect the virtue of the young women entrusted to our care by their families. Perhaps we need to check Miss Greengrass’s whereabouts the next time you claim to have had a sleepless night.”

Harry took a deep breath while Daphne gasped as McGonagall raised the stakes. “I have never been caught in a broom closet with any of my friends. So far as I know, neither has Daphne Greengrass. You are coming very close to unforgivable insult to one of my friends. Draco Malfoy was the last person to do that.” And now it was Hermione’s and McGonagall’s turn to gasp as the stakes were raised again.

Luckily, Harry’s training in keeping his temper let him reign it in. “But we aren’t there yet.” Another deep breath. “I’m interested in this rule book. I’m sure we’d find all sorts of interesting things. Things like sending firsties into the Forbidden Forest at night, professors insulting students and destroying their work, covering up evidence of crimes. All sorts of things. Hermione, would you be interested in helping me with some research?”

“No, Harry. I’m not going to help you find ways to break rules and annoy the professors or get them in trouble.” As McGonagall gave her a tight-lipped nod of approval, Hermione continued, “Though if you find any on your own, I encourage you to share your research with other students. Rules are rules, after all, and must be followed even if they are inconvenient to the professors.”

Hermione continued to watch everything as the confrontation petered out with no real conclusion. McGonagall was very angry at Harry’s refusal to bend to her will, but she had nothing to threaten him with. Years of finger-pointing and lies -- tolerated by the Hogwarts staff and the ministry -- had left him utterly indifferent to what people thought of him. He had no real need to stay at Hogwarts, other than to be with his few friends. Without peer pressure and the threat of expulsion, the professors’ toolbox was almost empty.

For his part, Harry was completely unyielding and he deliberately increased the conflict whenever confronted by authority figures. The latter was understandable, given that he’d been let down by authority figures his entire life and yet they continued to attempt to exert their authority over him. The unyieldingness was good when training and in a fight. He pushed himself harder than anyone could ask and had the results to show for it. When life wasn’t on the line, however, it was a bad trait.

It was a difficult balancing act. Hermione had encouraged Harry to be hard as part of getting him ready to defeat Death Eaters and Voldemort. It might let him win but caused problems in day-to-day life.

With any luck, Harry would have a quick victory. If she could persuade him to return to Hogwarts next year, she could work to make him a better-adjusted individual, suited for ordinary society rather than war. She could bring in Astoria to help. Astoria was a smooth operator, getting things done without banging heads, and Harry liked and respected her.

Plans made as best she could, Hermione accompanied Harry and Daphne to class. Daphne was quiet and kept a bit of distance from Harry, not brushing hips as when they’d entered the Great Hall.

“McGonagall’s threat about morals clauses wasn’t just a threat. There are stories about girls who were pulled from school by their families for causing a scandal. That’s probably what happened to Sally Perks.”

Sally-Anne Perks had been an early bloomer and even as a firstie had quickly developed a reputation with the older boys. Then one day she was gone and none of the teachers ever mentioned her again. It was as if she’d never existed past her sorting.

“If you’re pulled out of Hogwarts and are living a life of shame because of me, I’ll take care of you. I can’t put you in a manor house but you’ll have food and clothes. Well, not when you’re chained to the bed.”

“La la la! I can’t hear you!” Hermione exclaimed, covering her ears. It wasn’t that the topic was disturbing to her delicate ears -- in fact, she and Astoria would no doubt grill Daphne for all the sordid details later -- but the sweet sincerity of Harry’s offer rubbed in the fact that she was sleeping alone. Or not-sleeping alone.

Work. She could focus on her work. She had training plans to prepare. She could do it tonight. When she was alone. Dammit!

...ooo000ooo...

Harry came storming into Astoria’s dorm room very early one morning. He stormed silently, of course. Months of practice made stealth second nature.

Hermione knew why he was so angry. She sympathized with him, really she did, but this was all a part of his training. He had to be strong enough and hard enough to do anything necessary, no matter how terrible, no matter how stomach-turning, to defeat Voldemort. Still, what Astoria had done was vile. Beyond the pale. Unhygienic.

Flipping wandless stunners and silencers at the dorm’s other occupants, Harry went straight to his sleeping nemesis. He was intimately familiar with her bed, of course, from prior adversarial encounters. He shook her shoulder roughly, in no mood to wake her gently.

“Good morning, Nemesis. I knew you’d be able to do it.” Astoria pulled his head down and took the wind out of his sails with a smoldering kiss.

“Break! Swap in the stunt double.” Hermione interrupted the action just in time. Astoria was dragging Harry into bed with her and Harry wasn’t resisting as much as he should, considering that she was still under-age and that she had previously stated her preference to abstain from premarital intimacy and that he was being watched by the woman he slept with regularly and the woman he slept with occasionally.

“C’mon, loverboy. Let’s get you cleaned up, then we can get dirty.” Daphne was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed even at this hour. Anticipation, no doubt. Hermione and Astoria exchanged grumpy glances. They weren’t getting any this morning.

As she left the dorm room to doss down in the Slytherin common room, Astoria told Daphne, “Remember to have the elves change the sheets this time. Do you know how disgusting it is to climb into bed and have the sheets be sticky? When it was your own sister who got them sticky?” Wasted breath. Neither Daphne nor Harry was listening.

Hermione chatted with Astoria for a while before heading up to her cold bed. “How did you get Harry’s wand into Snape’s dirty underwear pile? Did you reach in and just stuff the wand in?” She didn’t really want to think about it but couldn’t not ask.

“Ewww! Ewww! Gross! Don’t say that! I never touched it! I borrowed Harry’s cloak and just followed Snape into his quarters. Considering how much everyone hates him and would like to see him hurt, he has no sense of security. Harry gave me a wards map of Snape’s rooms, but I didn’t need it. The traps were only on the door and a few desk drawers. And I’m sure Harry would not have given either to me, had he known why I needed them. Once I was in, I waited until Snape went into the shower -- and that sight has scarred me for life, I am sure -- then simply levitated all of his dirty drawers out of the clothes hamper and tossed the wand under them.”

“What was the purpose of doing this? I could understand if Harry were really your enemy, but you’ve shown no sign that you hate him and every sign that you like him very much.”

“Put up a privacy charm, please. The real reason was that I hoped Harry would kill Snape, out of horror or because it was the only way to get his wand back. Or even because the safe opportunity was there. Frankly, I didn’t care why it was done so long as it was done.”

“Why would you want Harry to kill Snape? Aside from the obvious, that is.”

“Because of his ‘Defense’ classes. Both Eveline and Duane have been badly injured in the constant duels. Eveline lost an eye to a dark cutter from one of Snape’s pets and Duane breathed in some acid mist for which Snape ‘just happened’ to run out of antidote. I’ve been injured as well, though not as badly. Harry has been giving me some private lessons, which helped enormously. I did consider ambushing Snape myself in his quarters, but I’m sure I’m not good enough to beat him even by surprise.”

Setting aside her wonderment that Harry actually found time in the day to give Astoria private lessons, Hermione was not happy. “Astoria, please do not go around using Harry as your personal weapon. Harry is, in fact, a human being with his own thoughts and desires. And he hates, utterly hates, to be used and manipulated.”

The hypocrisy burned. Hermione kept it off her face.

“Furthermore, Harry and I are conducting a campaign to remove Death Eaters. I am attempting to schedule and arrange the deaths so Harry will not be blamed. Extra operations like this endangers the entire campaign.”

“I understand. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. I will apologize to Harry as soon as Daphne is done with him.”

“I wouldn’t. He might not have noticed you were setting him up, and bringing it to his attention will only increase his distrust. Apologize if he mentions it. I’ll send him to you if he says anything to me.”

“Thank you. To change the subject, how did you get Harry’s wand away from him?”

“I just told him to give me his wand because there would be a test where I didn’t want him to have it. I’m worried that he’s still trusting enough to trust me like this, but it’s helpful in his training.”

“Don’t worry. You’re the only one he trusts that much. He certainly won’t trust me after this. I wish... Well, I won’t abuse what you tell me. I want Harry trained up to kill You-Know-Who just as much as you do.”

“Maybe even more? I saw that kiss. Are you going to be able to keep your focus as his designated nemesis?”

“Yes. I agreed to help him win, and a Greengrass always does her duty.”

Credits: The kernel idea for this story did indeed come from Rorschach’s Blot’s Odd Ideas . See FFN story 2565609, chapter 112, then search for “Rivals”.