money from it, so please Mrs. Rowling if you read this
don’t sue me. A comment or two would be welcome
though.
Please, if you read, take two minutes to review.
Harry lay awake late into the night.
Why can’t I find it? he screamed in his head. After the revelation three weeks ago of what Ginny had found and gone through for him, Ron and Hermione; Harry was desperate. He and Ron had just spent another night, fruitlessly searching, wracking their brains for the answer to the death curse. Harry didn’t know how, but he knew that this was the spell he was supposed to develop.
It wasn’t the spell he would need to defeat Voldemort. But, while he figured out how he was going to kill Voldemort, it would give the world, his friends and his family a true chance to defend themselves.
The current defense was poor at best. Hide behind an object, or if you were brave enough, you could stand out in the open fighting, while throwing objects between you and the death curse, often enough the deflected spell hit your friend standing next to you.
Harry needed something simpler. Something that would seek out the death curse as it came at you. Seek it out and absorb it. He knew it would be difficult magic for people to learn. But if he could find the spell, he might buy his friends just one day. With Ron and Hermione getting married now, he was despairing over giving them as much time together as possible.
What’s the use? the voices screamed in frustration back at him.
The death curse has been around since Morgana LeFay. Hundreds of sorcerers smarter and more powerful than us couldn’t find the answer. Merlin himself couldn’t find the answer. Why should we be able to do it? they continued to rage at him.
BECAUSE MY NEED IS GREATER! Harry thundered back at them. Slamming his fist against the hard stone wall, not even registering the pain it caused him. Almost like they were afraid to upset him more, the voices fell silent.
Rather quietly, considering his mood. Harry grabbed his invisibility cloak and left the dorm room. He had no clue where he was going as exited the portrait hole and began to wander aimlessly about the halls, but he needed to walk. As he did, his mind began to drift.
Harry found himself floating, looking down on the scene below him. Two people; one looking more like a dead body, lay on the ground. Harry watched curiously as the smaller person tried to lift the body of his fallen friend. The struggle was ended a moment later when they were surrounded by dementors.
Harry watched intently as the young boy, he wasn’t much smaller than Harry was now, tried to fend them off. His Patronus charm held for a moment before he was overwhelmed by the shear number of dementors surrounding him. There must have been two dozen or more. The dementors began to circle in closer sucking the memories out of the two fallen bodies.
Harry was screaming at them to get up and fight. Willing them to move, it could be done. Harry himself had done it. But it was too late. The soul of the larger person began to lift out of its body. And then the dementors began to flee.
Harry’s eyes snapped to see what had happened. Charging across the lake from the opposite shore, a glowing white stag appeared. Chasing the dementors into the shadows it stopped near the bodies of the two fallen people. Harry felt himself glowing.
Harry shook his head trying to clear it.
“Prongs,” he whispered under his breath. He looked around and then focused on the locked door he had been trying to get through.
What did we think of that for? the second voice asked.
Where are we anyways? the first asked a moment later.
We haven’t been here since first year, the second voice said as Harry got his bearings.
We saved Sirius that night, even though we had never done it before, because we saw ourselves do it. It didn’t make sense then either. But it worked, the second voice told him excitedly.
All we need is a clue, Harry replied cautiously. Do you think it would work?
Do you think he left it there? the voices asked together.
“Alohamora!” Harry said quietly, and pulled the door open.
Harry walked cautiously up the steps. He could see the bottles strewn about on the floor. Fluffy had been gone, but the Devils Snare was still at the bottom of the trap door. The winged keys, no movement to be discerned from them, had been lying on the floor of the next chamber. As he warily walked across the board, the chessmen had only watched him. The troll, except for what looked like a giant dried pile of boogies, that stank so bad Harry was concerned he might pass out, was gone. This, the ring of fire was the last obstacle. He wouldn’t know if the spell was still in place until he stepped onto the landing. Harry already knew there were no potions left to take.
We can always summon our broom to get out of here if we need to, the voices said. Harry took a deep breath and stepped onto the landing. He walked quickly across and descended down the stairs on the other side. It was still there.
“Please let this work,” he pleaded softly. Fully expecting to see his parents again or maybe Sirius, he stepped in front of the mirror. Instead, he saw Fawkes. Harry walked closer to the mirror. As he had once done with the image of his mother’s hand, he reached for the image of Fawkes.
The image changed. Voldemort was standing over the fallen bodies of Ginny, Hermione and Ron. He was laughing, raising his wand. A green light leapt from it towards Hermione.
“Nooo!” Harry screamed stumbling back, his heart in his throat. Ron’s head was rising. His arm came up and a flame leapt from his wand. A mouth appeared in the flame, opening wide it closed on the green bolt of the death curse, swallowing it. The red flame extinguished, turned to black smoke and then almost instantly, burst into flame again in the form of a phoenix. The image shifted back to Fawkes again. The whole scene began to repeat itself. Harry’s heart was pounding.
“She’s not dead. The mirror wouldn’t show me that,” he whispered willing himself to believe his words. Harry felt his heart start to beat again. Swallowing deeply, as he watched the scene replay again and again, his throat unclenched.
“How?” he asked, almost inaudibly.
“Fawkes, will you come to me?” Harry whispered a moment later. Harry turned at the sound of Fawkes’s song. The brilliant red bird flew into the chamber. It landed across from him, turning its head slightly as if to ask Harry what he needed, the bird stood there a few feet away from him.
Harry stepped tentatively forward and sank to his knees in front of the bird. Fawkes hopped towards him as Harry held his hand out.
“What do you do, Fawkes?” Harry asked softly as he stroked the length of the birds back. The bird tilted its head further to the side.
“May I just rest my hand on you?” Harry asked. Fawkes let out one loud piercing note. Then before closing his eyes, the bird settled down on the floor next to Harry. Harry closed his eyes, and then clearing his mind, he took his wand out, holding it lightly in his fingers. Harry had no idea how long he sat there. It could have been seconds our hours, even days.
“You find life from death don’t you Fawkes….The death of all creatures leads to life for another….But you hold the life in your death and start over young again….Your love of life is that strong. I can feel it, Fawkes,” Harry spoke the words calmly, quietly, searching his mind for an answer. The image of the green bolt of light that comes with the death curse flamed in his mind.”
“It’s there, Fawkes!” Harry whispered urgently.
“Phoenix!” Harry said firmly, his mind focused intently on an infinitesimally small spark of white within the green bolt of the death curse. He felt his wand grow hot, followed by the familiar force of a spell erupting from the end of it. Harry opened his eyes. He could see the back of a flaming bird in front of him. It was searching, looking for the death it expected. Finding none, it sat waiting a moment and then faded. Harry scrambled to his feet.
“Phoenix!” he said pointing his wand at the top of the steps. The spell erupted from his wand again and settled on the top of the landing. It started to fade a few moments later.
“Maintain it,” Harry snapped at the voices.
We’re trying, it’s hard to keep our focus that tightly.
“Don’t give me that. Ginny won’t take it and neither will I,” Harry snarled out loud. The spell faded slightly again and the began to flame brighter.
“It doesn’t take much power,” Harry said lowering his wand, though he could feel the voices in his head focusing intently. They seemed to be helping each other.
“Two, stop helping him,” Harry told the voice. He saw the spell begin to fade again, then grow stronger.
“That’s it, we’re learning,” Harry said quietly.
“Divide it now, One. Make two of them.” Harry watched as the flaming shape of the phoenix grew larger and then separated into two.
“Switch, Two, you maintain it. One, don’t help him.” Harry felt the second voice take control of the spell.
“And both of you drop it.” Harry took over control of the spell himself, maintaining it for a full two minutes before letting it go.
So will it really work, or is it just pretty? the voices asked.
We’ll have to test it, Harry replied calmly. Dumbledore will know a way, he added before they could ask how.
“Fawkes, will you tell him I’m coming?” Harry asked a moment later. The bird let out a piercing note and bounded into the air heading for the trap door. Harry looked around the chamber, his eyes falling on the mirror again.
“What could it hurt to see them again?” he asked.
We know we’re strong enough to walk away. Let’s look, just for a minute, the voices said. Harry stepped in front of the mirror. His heart leapt the same way it had the very first time he looked into it. His body trembling, he reached his hand out to the surface again. It was as cold and disappointing as he remembered it to be.
Times up, the second voice said firmly. Harry dropped his hand and backed away from the mirror. He turned his body and began to walk. As he reached the top of the steps, he turned his head once more. He could just see the image in the mirror.
Let’s go. Bury it. It’s just mirror, the voices said firmly. Remember the spell. Harry turned his head again. He started to walk faster, and then he was running.
Fawkes apparated into Dumbledore’s office, an explosion of light accompanying him.
“Yes, I know he is coming. He is exhausted and will only be able to duplicate the spell if he truly feels threatened. Quickly, above the door, you must take the blast if the spell fails.” Fawkes let out another piercing call and flew up above the door. He floated there, gently flapping his wings, until he was needed.
“You all may want to take cover,” Dumbledore said in a grave voice to the pictures surrounding him. “I do believe my office is about to be destroyed in a manner that makes last spring look like a gentle storm.”
The people in the different pictures began to scramble out of their frames crowding into one large picture above the door to Dumbledore’s office. Self-preservation was one thing. To see this however, they were not going anywhere far.
Harry sprinted towards the stone gargoyles, which upon seeing him coming leapt out of the way. The spiral stone staircase began to move, Harry took the steps two at a time and burst through the door into Professor Dumbledore’s office.
“SIR!” his eyes grew wide.
RUN! screamed the first voice. Harry spun reaching for the door that was slamming shut behind him.
FIGHT! roared the second voice. Harry continued spinning, reaching for his wand, and ducking down at the same time.
“AVADA KADAVERA!” Harry heard Voldemort’s voice yelling.
“PHOENIX!” Harry roared. His wand then flicked at the desk throwing it between himself and Voldemort. His second voice then began raining stunning blasts down on his nemesis.
Harry had dove to the side when he sent his first spell. He was still in the air when the second, third and forth were sent. He saw Fawkes swoop down in front of him ready to take the death curse that had been sent at him.
It never got to Fawkes. Swallowed up instead by Harry’s spell, which flamed out into smoke then burned again into life. It sat, waiting for the next curse to consume. The desk flew across the room between Harry and Voldemort. Un-hit by the death curse it slammed with a tremendous crash into the wall. Glass broke into hundreds of pieces as picture frames fell shattering everywhere. A trail of debris from the objects that had been on top of the desk scattered across the room, the desk crashed to the floor a second later.
Coming up with his wand ready, his shield up, the phoenix spell holding and then dividing into four surrounding him, Harry rolled to face Voldemort. He saw his first stunning spell deflect into a cabinet, lifting it into the air while blasting the contents of it into the room. In slow motion, it began to topple to the floor. He continued to send stunning blasts at him.
Dumbledore? the voices asked in confusion. He wasn’t fighting back. The force from Harry’s spells was pounding against him. Bolts of red light as big around as Harry’s arm were staggering him against the wall. Dumbledore continued to defend himself. Other than that, he just stood there; taking everything Harry could give him.
Everything going to defense, Harry stopped attacking. His last crushing spell ricocheted off of Dumbledore’s shield into the desk. Splitting it in two and leaving a pock mark in the stone wall where it expended the last of its energy.
Harry extended his proximity detection spell into the room. Searching, he could feel two presences in the room. One where Dumbledore was standing and one, Harry quickly glanced down at Fawkes, keeping his wand trained on Dumbledore the whole time, and back up again. Fawkes flew to Dumbledore’s shoulder.
Harry watched intently for some trick. Dumbledore’s eyes and body were alive with power. Unlike the Ministry last year he did not seem angry. Dumbledore reached up and put his hand on Fawkes’s head.
Keeping eye contact with Harry he moved his wand hand slightly.
“Don’t!” Harry yelled, but then watched as Dumbledore dropped his wand to the ground.
“Accio Wand!” The wand flew into Harry’s hand. He caught it and slowly lowered his own wand.
“Good lord what a mess.” Harry spun around to locate the source of the voice, his wand coming up again.
“Lookout!” dozens of voices screeched from the picture frames. Harry turned back around to face Dumbledore.
We needed a test, I guess that should suffice, the voices said in quiet awe to Harry.
“Sir?” Harry asked.
“Yes it is me, Harry,” Dumbledore replied kindly. Harry just stared at him blindly. He let his defensive spells down and sank to his knees.
“I am sorry, Harry,” Dumbledore said quietly. Not getting a response he added. “I thought it best to see if the spell really works.” Dumbledore’s eyes surveyed the damage to his office.
Quite the impressive display, the voices remarked in Dumbledore’s head. Dumbledore’s mouth twitched ever so slightly into a smile.
“Yes, sir,” Harry replied weakly.
“Do you have the strength to explain how it works, Harry, or do we need to wait for later?” Again, Harry didn’t respond right away.
“Harry?” Dumbledore prodded quietly, he had not moved from where he had been standing.
“Wha….Oh sorry sir.” Harry’s head cleared slightly. “Fawkes sir, he takes life from death. It is a natural cycle. Death brings new life. There has to be life in magic, even the death curse, for it to exist. The phoenix spell takes your love of life and finds the life in the death curse….It doesn’t block the death curse. It uses the life in the curse to extinguish it. The death curse is born of anger and hatred sir. The phoenix spell is born of love and compassion, both stronger emotions than the others,” Harry finished.
The door to the office burst open. Harry spun again, he was still much to keyed up. His wand leveled on Professors McGonagall and Professors Snape.
“Oh my,” Professor McGonagall gasped, clutching at her chest. And then she noticed Harry’s wand trained on her. She stopped dead in her tracks. “Albus, what happened?” she asked, glancing back and forth between Harry and Professor Dumbledore. Harry dropped his wand again.
“Sorry, Professor Snape sir, Professor McGonagall, I am a little tired of surprises for today,” Harry replied sincerely. Snape eyed him warily. Harry was much to drained to care.
“Headmaster?” Snape asked carefully.
“A test Severus, Minerva, a wonderfully successful test,” Professor Dumbledore said happily. The two of them looked between Professor Dumbledore and Harry, who was rapidly loosing all ability to function properly.
“Minerva, will you escort Mr. Potter to Hermione and Ginny’s room. See that they, along with Ronald stay with him all day. Lock them in if you must. Oh and class is canceled for the day,” he added a moment later. “Severus, come we have things to discuss.”
“Yes, Albus,” Professor McGonagall replied. “Shall I return when I’ve finished?”
“Yes, Minerva, we will have to come up with some good reason for lessons to be canceled today.”
“Harry, I am afraid I can give you only five points for this. If I were to award you what you truly deserve the chase for the house cup would be over for the year. I must keep things on a level where all the houses have hope.” Harry looked up, confused.
“I only care about my friends. Not some silly house cup,” he replied.
“Yes, Harry, I understand that….That is why you have accomplished something that the magic world has been waiting for, for more than a thousand years. Set a meeting for your DA tonight. I will be there.”
“Yes sir,” Harry replied as Professor McGonagall led him out of the office. He didn’t even notice Snape staring at him, completely confused.
Professor McGonagall escorted Harry into the common room. There was no one up yet as it was still early. She steered Harry into Hermione and Ginny’s room. Hermione was sleeping, but Ginny was up studying Ron’s chessboard. She looked up and saw Harry’s white face.
“Harry!” she shrieked rushing over to him.
“What happened!” she demanded as she caught him in her arms. Ginny’s eyes were burning and it caused Professor McGonagall to suck her breath in. Hermione woke up in a flash of movement, and rushed over to help Ginny.
“Oh my, what happened to him?”
“I don’t rightly know. I believe that he is merely tired,” Professor McGonagall replied kindly. “Hermione put him on the couch. Ginny, go get Ronald….quietly,” she added. Ginny didn’t move fast enough for Professor McGonagall.
“Now, young lady,” she snapped at her. Ginny glared back, but hurried out of the room.
“That girl, is sometimes frightening,” Professor McGonagall, mumbled as she helped Hermione get Harry on the couch.
“You have no idea professor,” Hermione replied.
“Harry, have you set the meeting for tonight?” Professor McGonagall asked firmly trying to get his attention.
“Wha….Here, Mione, you do it,” Harry said fishing his galleon out of his pocket and handing it over to her as he lay down on the couch.
Ron and Ginny came crashing into the room.
“What happened?” Ron demanded. Ginny simply rushed back to Harry, sat on her knees on the floor in front of him and began to stroke her hand on his forehead. Harry reached up and took her hand.
“It’s ok, Gin. I’m just tired. Need to sleep,” he whispered to her.
“You three will stay with him the rest of the day,” Professor McGonagall said. “Class has been canceled for the entire school,” she added noticing the look on Hermione’s face.
“I do not know what happened. I suspect you will find out when he wakes. Whatever he tells you is to be kept secret….Hermione, set the meeting for 7:00 pm tonight.” Hermione nodded her head.
They all jumped a moment later when Fawkes apparated into the Room. Professor McGonagall read the note, then cursed under her breath when it burst into flames on her.
“I do wish. He wouldn’t do that.” It was all Ron could do not to laugh.
“Harry?” Professor McGonagall snapped. Harry’s eyes flew open again.
“Wha…”
“The Headmaster would like to know if he can have his wand back?” Ron, Hermione, and Ginny gasped at the question. Harry looked at his left hand he still had both wands. He took Dumbledore’s in his right and held it out to Professor McGonagall. When she reached to take it Harry held it firm.
“Only if he promises never to do that again,” Harry said quietly but forcefully. Professor McGonagall furrowed her brow at him.
“I will deliver the message, Mr. Potter,” she replied curtly. Harry let go of the wand and was asleep before his arm hit the couch. Professor McGonagall waved her wand at the table. A large plate of food and drinks appeared.
“I will be seeing you this evening. See that at least two of you are with him at all times,” she said before heading out the door.
Ginny stood up she walked over to get a blanket off her bed and spread it over Harry.
“Engorgio!” she snapped, widening the couch and then climbed over the back of it so she could lie down next to Harry. She wrapped her arm up over him, pulling him in tight to her. Ron watched her, not sure what to think.
“Gin, Harry is not exactly comfortable with that in here….And usually he is sitting up with your head in his lap,” he said cautiously. He knew his sister had gone into full protection mode. He didn’t want to anger her right now, but he felt sure Harry would object if he wasn’t dead to the world at the moment.
“Come off it, Ron, McGonagall just ordered us to stay in here with him. We’re both fully clothed with a blanket between us. You, Hermione, and Harry sit with me all the time.” Ron opened his mouth to point out that she wasn’t exactly sitting. He thought better of it when he saw the dangerous flash in Ginny’s eyes.
“Ginny,” Hermione said softly, “I know you just want to help Harry but….well,” Hermione seemed to be searching very carefully for the right words.
“Spit it out, Hermione,” Ginny snapped at her.
“Well Harry is wiped out. And, well it takes a lot out of Ron and I when we sit with you,” she said in a rush. Ginny’s eyes seemed cloud over.
“I know that. Why do you think I only let you each once a week?” she said in a defeated voice. “I’m not going to sleep. I just wanted to hold him so he might feel like he was safe. Like you three do with me. I wanted to return the favor.” Ginny’s eyes were beginning to well with tears.
Ron and Hermione had gotten to see a side of Ginny, ever since her confession last November, most didn’t. Ginny was tough. Right up to the point where she failed to protect the people she cared about. And then, she was a mess. It was plainly evident that she hated asking them for help, when she knew it hurt them. It caused her anguish each time she asked one of them. They found it worked much better when they simply told her they were going to sit with her. Now, watching her struggle, they were both at a loss for words to comfort her.
“It’s ok, Mione, doesn’t hurt me like you and Ron when I sit with her.” Harry mumbled from the couch. “If you just sat up here though, so I can put my head in your lap, I would feel better Gin,” Harry added to her.
“Harry,” Ginny gasped as Ron and Hermione quickly rushed over to them sinking down on the floor in front of them. Ginny moved up on the couch near Harry’s head letting him use her lap for a pillow.
“Harry, what happened?” Ron demanded. Harry looked down at his friend. He reached out his hand and clasped it around Ron’s.
Ron and Harry had discussed, back at the beginning of the year, what they wanted to do. It seemed ludicrous to even think about. But Ron had surmised from Dumbledore’s comments about the death curse, when he was teaching Ron how to create the Recognition charm that this was what they were supposed to try and work on. Saying that if he was going to find the answer to an impossible task, he didn’t want to waste it on a spell that could make his hair behave, Harry had agreed.
“I did it, Ron. I beat the death curse,” Harry said in a calm quiet voice. Ron blinked. Harry’s words couldn’t have been what he had just heard. They had just been working on that last night, and every night for the last three weeks, failing miserably to even get their wands to emit so much as a spark. Ron and had given up in frustration and gone to bed, he thought Harry had too.
“You did what?” Ron asked in disbelief. “How?” But Harry had fallen asleep again.
“Did he just say what I think he did?” Ron asked looking at Hermione and Ginny. The expression on both their faces was all the answer he needed.
Dumbledore furtively watched Professor Snape as he helped him try to right the disaster that was his office. It didn’t appear that much of anything had escaped damage. Besides throwing the desk across the room, Harry had unleashed six stunning spells and one crushing spell that had been deflected in what seemed every direction possible.
Dumbledore gazed towards his private quarters and was glad he had decided to put a shield on the door. There was a three inch deep six inch diameter gouge in the solid stone wall next to it. He didn’t want to think about what might have happened if his pensive had been destroyed.
Such power, he is truly starting to rival Tom, the voices commented.
The only thing he is lacking at the moment is knowledge, Dumbledore replied silently to them. We just need more time to arm him and his friends, and then he may be able to do what he needs to.
Perhaps this will help give him the time he needs, the first voice said hopefully. It will make it much easier to push back the Death Eaters. Tom will be reluctant to come to their aid if he knows the death curse is so easily defeated.
It’s not as easy as you might think. We have been trying to duplicate the spell for an hour now, without much luck, the other voices commented dryly.
“Phoenix!” Dumbledore muttered pointing his wand at the desk again. Dumbledore felt his wand grow hot and then watched as a weak red flame shot out of it. It disappeared without forming into a phoenix.
“That’s better,” he muttered under his breath. “Harry did sit there with Fawkes for over five hours before he cast the spell.”
His self control is fairly remarkable. He must be going batty wanting to know what happened in here, the second voice remarked, as Dumbledore watched Professor Snape wave his wand and set the desk back in its rightful place. Broken trinkets began to fly off the floor and reassemble themselves. Those that were damaged beyond repair went into the garbage.
Yours would be too if you had seen the horrors that Severus has, Professor Dumbledore remarked dryly.
“Fawkes, take this to the Ministry. I think the best course of action would be for this discovery to look like it came from the department of mysteries. We do not want Tom knowing that Harry is developing spells of this nature.” Fawkes took the note in his claw and was gone in a blinding flash.
Professor McGonagall walked back into the office.
“Albus, are you going to explain what happened here? Why Mr. Potter leveled his wand at myself and Professor Snape? Why he had this?” she asked in her normal curt voice, while holding his wand out to him.
“Ah yes, thank you, Minerva,” Dumbledore said taking the wand and tucking it into his pocket. When he didn’t go on, Professor McGonagall prodded him.
“Albus?”
“Well I was really angry last night after we finished, Ron. The voices in my head were screaming back and forth. It was kind of like one of the fights you and Hermione used to get in,” Harry started. Hermione and Ron glared at him.
“Ok, sorry. So I grabbed my cloak, and went wandering the hall. I’m not sure why, but I started thinking about the night I fended off all the dementors from myself and Sirius down by the lake. You know, Hermione, when we watched them to attack me and Sirius.”
“Wait a second. I never knew Hermione was there for that,” Ron broke in.
“I couldn’t tell you, Love,” Hermione said and launched into a long explanation of the time turner and how she and Harry had saved both Sirius and Buckbeak.
“So even though you had never done the spell correctly, you knew you could, because you had seen yourself do it?” Ginny and Ron asked together.
“I know. It didn’t make any sense then either. But it worked,” Harry replied. “The point is, I kind of came out of a trance in front of the door where Hagrid kept Fluffy during first year and I remembered the Mirror of Erised. It is supposed to show you your heart’s greatest desire. First year it showed me how to get the Sorcerer’s Stone. So, I figured maybe, it might give me a clue to stopping the death curse.
“I didn’t know if Dumbledore had left it down there or not. But I knew I could get by everything except the potions if I had too. I know, Hermione. There weren’t any potions left to take if I got trapped,” he added noticing the look on her face. “I would have turned back if anything but the Devils Snare had still been functioning, but none of it was.
“The whole point is, that the mirror showed me the key to beating the death curse. I looked into it and the first thing I saw was Fawkes. Then the scene shifted to a field with you, Ron, along with Ginny and Hermione lying on the ground. Voldemort was standing over all of you. He sent the Death Curse at you three.” Ron tensed at this news. Harry gave him a second to recover.
“But before the curse hit any of you, you had lifted your arm and a bolt of red flame leapt out of your wand. A mouth formed which swallowed the death curse. The red flame extinguished into smoke. It then reignited into the flaming form of a phoenix. You saved them Ron. The death curse never reached either of them.” Ron’s ears turned bright red.
“But how, Harry?” Hermione asked.
“Look, life and death are a natural cycle. Death in one place leads to new life somewhere else. The phoenix takes the life in its death and is reborn again. Magic is the same way. In order for it to exist, even the death curse, there must be life in it,” Harry finished triumphantly. His friends all had blank looks on their faces.
“Come on, don’t you see?” he asked excitedly. “Here, let me show you.”
“Phoenix!” Harry pointed his wand at the bed behind him. The spell erupted from his wand and then spread, surrounding them with ten of the flaming phoenix forms.
“Wow,” Ron said quietly, turning around in the center of the circle.
“Come on Hermione. I know you can figure it out,” Harry said needling her.” Harry watched her. Hermione’s brow was furrowed in that way she always got when she was concentrating very hard. He could almost see the wheels turning in her head. Her face began to brighten, followed by a smile.
“The spell must find the life in the death curse and block it some how,” Hermione said, almost as excited as Harry.
“Close, it extinguishes it. No deflected blast to kill your friend. The spell is just gone,” Harry corrected her. “Remember I told you, the unforgivable curses are born of anger and hatred, that you have to want to cause pain for them to really be effective, not so much with the death curse as the other two, but it still has its roots in those emotions. This spell is born of love and compassion. It is important to remember that when you try and cast the spell. It doesn’t take much power but you really have to concentrate until you learn how to focus on the tiniest spark of life that is in the death curse.” Harry looked around and smiled at his friends, his green eyes dancing brilliantly. They still seemed skeptical.
“Harry, how do you know the spell works?” Hermione asked tentatively. Not wanting to bring him crashing to the ground. Harry smiled; walked over to the table, grabbed a sandwich and took a bite out of it. He turned around to look at them again.
Oh this is going to be good, Ginny will go nuts, the voices said to him. Harry smiled again. His friends looked at him, waiting to see if he was going to answer.
“Because Dumbledore tried to kill me with the death curse this morning,” he said as calmly as possible.
“WHAT!” Ginny roared. “And you gave him his wand back? Are you insane? What if he comes in here?” she continued to rage at him. Harry smiled at her and took another bite of his sandwich. Ron and Hermione were staring at him.
If their eyes get much bigger they’re going to look like house elfs, he thought to himself.
“That’s not funny, Harry,” Hermione said quietly.
“No, but it’s true….At least partially anyways,” Harry replied calmly.
“You better explain what you’re talking about, Harry James. And it better be good, because if it’s not, I am going to kill you,” Ginny snarled at him.
“Oh, I think you’ll like this part of the story,” Harry replied. And then launched into a long-winded explanation of the battle he had with Dumbledore that morning.
“He could have killed you!” Ginny was still fuming twenty minutes after Harry finished telling them about what had happened. Her attitude towards Harry wasn’t much better.
“I babied you all day. Brushed the hair off your face, got you blankets. And you play a mean joke like that on me,” she huffed with her back turned to him, her arms crossed over her chest. Every time Harry tried to walk around in front of her she turned away from him. If he tried to touch her arm she would shrug him off.
“Come on, Ginny. I said I was sorry. I only did it to get a rise out of you. Help me out here will you, Ron?” Ron opened his mouth but shut it quickly when Hermione stepped on his foot.
“I think that we all need to stop with the practical jokes. They are hitting a little close to home lately,” Hermione said softly. “I scare the heck out of Ron on Valentines day. My little joke on you for buying me a wedding dress has you ready to fight for your life. And with a less levelheaded person than you, could have gotten me killed. And now, you scare Ginny half to death. I think we all mean a little more to each other than this. I’m not saying we can’t joke with each other. But the reason Fred and George are so good at it, is because no one ever really gets hurt.”
“Thank you, Hermione,” Ginny sniffed quietly. Harry stared at the floor. Ginny turned around and wrapped her arms around him.
“You all think I’m so tuff, but I’m not. Oh, I could fight Tom and an army of his Death Eaters and never show fear….Until it was over and I had won, but looked around to see even one of you dead. It would take every fiber of my being to not walk through the veil to find you again.” Ron and Hermione joined the two of them.
“I’m sorry, Ginny. Hermione’s right, that went too far. I promise not to do that to you again, any of you,” Harry said quietly. Ginny crushed Harry in her arms. Harry didn’t care that he couldn’t breath; he had her forgiveness, what were a few broken ribs.
“Harry, does the spell really work?” Hermione asked breathlessly.
“Yeah, Mione, it does. Dumbledore is going to be at the DA meeting tonight. Hopefully he has some sort of demonstration set up.” One a little less stressful than this morning, I’ve never expended energy like that before.”
“But you fought this time, Harry. Last year in the Ministry, Dumbledore had to save you. This time you saved yourself. I’m proud of you, Harry James.” She smiled up at him, her brown eyes dancing with the light.
“Thanks, Gin,” Harry whispered to her.
“Mr. Potter, I should tell you that there will be a few more people at the meeting tonight than you are accustomed to seeing, important people,” Professor McGonagall said to him as he was about to walk into the room.
“Erm….thanks for the warning, Professor,” Harry replied, wondering just who she could be talking about.
“I assume you have told your friends?” she asked eyeing him warily.
“Yes, I have.”
“I understand that Mr. Weasley has been helping you with this?”
“Yes, he has. So have Hermione and Ginny. Actually the whole of the DA has.”
“Gracious in victory as always,” Professor McGonagall replied, her eyebrows arched at him. “Five points to Mr. Weasley for setting you on the path.”
“I’m not much concerned with points either anymore, Professor McGonagall,” Ron replied. “But thank you anyways.”
“You four have been through a lot. You’re much older than your age. A bit of advice, small things, like winning the house cup or beating your older brother to the snitch, are just as important as what was achieved last night. Do you understand what I am saying?”
“I think we do, Professor,” Ron replied.
“Good, I think you should get in there then. I’m not sure I will believe it until I see it,” she said, smiling kindly at them. Harry was surprised he had only seen her like that once or twice in the past six years. He started into the room again.
“One more thing, Mr. Potter,” Professor McGonagall stopped him. Harry turned around to look at her.
“Please, the next time you come in my office….Leave your wand outside.” Harry smiled and walked into the room followed by his friends.
He was glad he had been warned, because otherwise he might have turned and walked out. Every member of the DA was there. Along with; Snape, Professors Lupin, and Tonks, Mad-Eye Moody along with what Harry had to assume were a number of other Aurors. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Charlie and the new Minister of Magic Amelia Bones, who was flanked by three people Harry didn’t know. In all there was probable close to seventy-five people in the room.
“You really know how to pack them in, Harry,” Ron remarked, as he clapped him on the shoulder. “I hope this works,” he mumbled to himself. Ginny shoved him forward.
“Don’t disappoint me, Harry James,” she said sharply. Harry smiled and started forward again. A few steps later his path was blocked by Professors Lupin and Tonks.
“Wothcer, Potter.”
“I don’t know what you did, Harry. But,” Remus looked around the room, “all I can say is wow.”
“Stick around Professor Lupin. I think you’ll be even more impressed,” Harry replied calmly. Harry and Ron were enveloped a moment later by Mrs. Weasley. She grabbed Hermione and Ginny too.
“Thank God you’re all ok. When we got the message to come to the school for something that involved all of you….Well, you all just seem to attract more trouble….And not like the twins. I mean real trouble.”
“Geroff, Mum,” Ron and Ginny managed to extract themselves, along with Harry and Hermione from Mrs. Wesley’s embrace.
“Well then, Harry, Ronald, shall we begin?” Professor Dumbledore asked from behind them. Harry jumped.
How does he do that? the voices yelped at him.
“Me?” Ron yelped, “I can’t perform the spell yet.” Dumbledore leaned over and whispered in Ron’s ear.
“You are his General, come up with a demonstration.” Dumbledore stood back up. The look in his eyes seemed to be daring Ron to fail. Harry looked at Ron, who went from shock to resolve in a blink.
“Come on, Harry,” Ron said stalking away. Harry hurried to catch up.
“Stupid, whining about whether it works or not, could have used my head and found out an hour ago,” Ron was muttering to himself.
“Ron, what are you talking about?” Harry shot at him.
“Just shut up and help me find a couple of spiders will you? Bloody hell, they’re all over the school when I don’t want to see them, now I can’t find one.” Ron yanked open a closet and went digging into the back of it.
“Here, immobilize it will you?” he asked, tossing a spider that was as big as the palm of Harry’s hand, over his shoulder.
“Imobulus!” Harry hit the spider with his spell. It stopped dead in its tracks. Ron, holding a second, slightly larger spider by one leg, crawled out of the closet.
“Imobulus!” Ron tossed the spider on the floor with the other.
“Engorgio!” he said, pointing his wand at the two spiders, which grew in size to that of the acromantualls that had roamed the maze in the third task of the Tri Wizard Tournament. Harry watched all of this in shock. Barely noticing that a number of the people in his DA club were uncomfortably shifting in their seats or had just decided to get up and move away from the spiders.
“Ugly things, aren’t they,” Ron said to him, giving an involuntary shudder. Harry regarded him carefully.
“I give you my word, Ron; I will fight to my death for the two of you.”
“Just make sure you save her first, Harry. And don’t feel guilty about doing it either. She might be able to live with you if I was gone. I can’t live without her.” Ron scowled at the thought.
“I told you I don’t think of her like that anymore, Ron,” Harry replied quietly.
“No, but without me maybe you could, just save her first, Harry,”
“That’s what you would want, Ron?”
“If that’s what it comes too, then yes.” The two of them regarded each other for a moment.
“Looks like Dumbledore is going to get started,” Ron said with a nod.
“Good, I didn’t want to have to give you a hug in front of all these people,” Harry replied, Ron smirked. “Looks like we’re front and center, as those are the only two chairs left,” he added.
“To bad they are not a little further away from the spiders,” Ron remarked as he and Harry took seats near Amelia Bones, and her three bodyguards, who, Harry noticed, were eyeing he and Ron with great interest.
“So, you are all here now,” Dumbledore began. “Some of you already know what you are about to see. My little speech is for the rest of you. What you are about to witness, is one of the greatest achievements in the last thousand years or more of magical history. The rest of the world will believe that it was developed by the Department of Mysteries, specifically by the Unspeakables. The reason for this is we do not wish Lord Voldemort----”
Taking great pride in the fact that not one of the DA members flinched at the name, Harry watched the room closely. He hadn’t had many takers on people willing to say the name for a long time. And then Ginny had lit into Bridgette, who had then lit into the rest of the DA. Within two weeks everyone was using Voldemort’s name without fear.
“----to know the true source of this development. You few, I believe have earned the right to know the truth.” Ron nudged Harry and nodded at the Minister.
“Doesn’t look like she is too happy about Dumbledore’s last comment,” he hissed under his breath.
“It was not easy to convince the Minister to allow me to tell some of you, specifically those of you in the DA----”
At this, Harry fixed his eyes on Amelia Bones. Challenging her to stop him, he leaned towards Ron.
“Bet she’s really unhappy that you knew before her.” Harry felt Ron smirk and noticed a small smile play across the Minister’s mouth.
“----For that reason this information is being placed in the trust of a secret keeper. When you leave the room tonight, you will find yourselves knowing the truth, but unable to tell anyone what it really is, without the permission of the secret keeper. You will however, once the Ministry makes its announcement. Be able to talk freely about this wonderful new development from the Unspeakables. How else, will be able to learn to perform the counter charm to, Avada Kadavera?” Dumbledore’s words were greeted with absolute silence.
Harry scanned the room. He could easily pick out the people who knew beforehand what the announcement would be. They were the ones who were looking at him and Ron already. Well, mostly him. Others, who were looking around the room in shock, began to follow their gaze and focus on the two of them.
“Harry, I don’t deserve any credit for this,” Ron whispered urgently.
“I couldn’t have got there without you Ron. Don’t bail out on me now,” Harry hissed back.
“Most of you know that Ronald Weasley, with my guidance, a few months ago developed a new charm, Recognition. That spell is now being used by ministry Aurors, members of the DA and the Order.----”
“Oh bugger,” Ron groaned.
“What? That’s great, look how much good will come from that spell,” Harry replied.
“Snape, look at him. He knows it was us now,” Ron hissed. Harry felt his insides churning as he looked at his potions instructor. He forced himself to return the evil glare coming from Snape.
“I’m just not even going anymore. Seamus and Dean can tell us the lessons and we’ll do them with Hermione by ourselves,” Ron said firmly. Harry looked at Hermione. He could tell she was thinking the same thing. Harry tuned back into Dumbledore.
“----Ronald, was able to take the knowledge gained, and following the same process, his instruction has led Harry Potter to develop a spell he calls Phoenix. Harry, the floor is yours,” Professor Dumbledore said turning to him. Harry stood up feeling very nervous. Professor Dumbledore leaned down and whispered in his ear.
“You are just teaching a few more people Harry. Tell them how the spell works. What they need to do to perform it. And demonstrate it for them. Ronald has provided you with two targets; one that can be killed if necessary and one that you can save with the spell. Do not tell them you used the Mirror of Erised.” Harry nodded his head and plunged in. He wasn’t nervous anymore. He had been teaching for over a year. And he was good at it.
“Phoenix!” Harry said pointing his wand towards the two overgrown spiders. The spell erupted from his wand. The now familiar bolt of red flame that turned into a flaming phoenix bird settled near the spiders and waited.
“The idea came to me when I remembered the battle in the Ministry last year between Professor Dumbledore and Voldemort,” Harry started. He noticed many of the adults in the room, including Amelia Bones, the Minister of Magic, shift nervously at the name. He smiled; apparently it was one thing when Dumbledore said it and another when a child did. He was sure that some of the people in the room thought of him that way. Harry let the spell drop.
“Don’t like that do you?” he asked looking around the room. He noticed Dumbledore whispering to Ron.
“George, who are you fighting against?” Harry asked loudly.
“Voldemort,” came the reply. Harry heard Mrs. Weasley gasp.
“Bridgette?”
“Voldemort!”
“Katie?”
“Voldemort!” Harry turned to look at the Minister.
“Susan?”
“VOLDEMORT!” the Minister’s niece yelled from the back of the room. Harry watched her aunt, the Minister of Magic, jump in surprise.
“Any one else want to tell me who you fight against?”
“VOLDEMORT!” the DA roared back at him. Harry turned back to the crowd and continued talking.
“I don’t generally like to criticize or embarrass people. I think if you ask most everyone here who knows me, they would agree with that statement. And that is not what I am trying to do to any of you. For what the opinion of a sixteen-year-old boy and his friends is worth to you. We have great respect for anyone who will stand up and fight against the Dark Lord. But a wise man once told me. Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself.” Harry turned to face the minister again at this point.
“So I along with the rest of the people in the DA ask the rest of you, what we have all asked ourselves. How do you intend to stand and fight when he comes for you if you are afraid to even say his name?”
“I warned you Minister,” Dumbledore said quietly. Harry gazed intently at the Minister for a moment.
“You tolerate this from your students?” the Minister asked evenly, without breaking eye contact with Harry.
“Actually, this particular bit of insolence, I encourage.” Professor Dumbledore replied casually.
“You don’t have to decide now. It took some of us a lot longer than others to decide we were done being afraid of the name,” Harry said firmly never moving his eyes from hers.
“I fight Voldemort, Harry,” she said smiling back at him. Harry turned back to the rest of the crowd.
“As I was saying, the idea came to me when I remembered that Fawkes, Professor Dumbledore’s phoenix, swallowed the death curse that Voldemort sent at him. He burst into flame and died, yet rose again as baby, alive and well.
“Life and death are a cycle. The death of one thing provides the life of another. Magic, all magic is the same way. For any spell to exist, even the death curse, it has to have life in it. The Phoenix! spell,” Harry said recasting it, “finds the life in the death curse. It extinguishes the death curse, dies itself and is born again. Just like the real phoenix.
“The spell doesn’t require a lot of power to be effective like a stunning spell does. But it is hard to find the focus in your mind on the tiny little spark of life that exists in the death curse. It might be necessary to have actually seen the death curse in order to perform the spell. I don’t know how else you will be able to recognize the spark of life that exists in it.
“Something to keep in mind while you are trying to perform the spell, the unforgivable curses are born of anger and hatred. In order for them to be really effective, you need to want to cause pain, to like causing it. That applies to Crucio and Impervius more than Avada Kadavra. Dead is dead. The Phoenix spell is born of love and compassion. They are both much stronger emotions than the others.
“Ron, are you ready to give me a hand here?” Harry asked turning to him.
“Actually, Harry, I think it might be better if one of the Unspeakables performs the death curse. People might wonder if I am helping you out by somehow sabotaging my own death curse.”
So that’s what Dumbledore was telling him, the voices said to Harry.
“I think I might appreciate that,” Professor Snape said, icily from the corner. Harry considered for a moment, but figured he couldn’t possible be in any more trouble with Snape than he already was.
“You should be happy Professor. One of the greatest headlines of the last thousand years or more, even Professor Dumbledore says so. And the golden trio, as you like to call us, won’t get the credit,” Harry said calmly. Snape glared at him.
“Get on with it, Potter,” he said in a slightly less hostile voice. Harry turned around again to the Minister. He noticed that Professor Dumbledore was looking at the ceiling and appeared to be trying not to laugh.
“I assume that these three with you are the Unspeakables?” Harry asked.
“Yes, we are” the smallest of them replied. The other two just nodded.
“So is there a volunteer then?” Harry asked.
“To do what, exactly?” the same man asked
“To kill the spiders of course, I have already had the killing curse sent at me once today. I would prefer not to have you aim it at me again. But if you insist, I am more than capable of defending myself,” Harry said lightly while playing with his wand. Harry heard Mrs. Weasley gasp and a general mummer of concern ripple through the crowd of people. Ginny and Hermione were out of their seats in an instant.
“Oh no you don’t!” they both screamed together. Only Hermione was yelling at him, while Ginny went after the Unspeakables.
“There is such a thing as bravery. And then there is stupidity, Harry James Potter!” Hermione screamed an inch from his face. Harry paled in the face of her anger.
“If you three, so much as even think, I’ll let you point your wand at him I’ll kill you all myself,” Ginny hissed, her wand pointing at the three Unspeakables.
Ron had jumped up to stop both of them but now found himself dealing with two very irate young women. As she had gone into a towering rage that actually had the Minister and the three Unspeakables showing concern. He decided it best to deal with Ginny.
“Ginerva Molly Weasley,” Mrs. Weasley growled at her daughter. Ginny ignored her.
“I think it will be more than sufficient if Harry’s spell saves the lives of the spiders,” Professor Dumbledore said forcefully enough that he got both Ginny and Hermione to stop for a moment.
“Yes, that would be enough of a demonstration for us,” the smallest of the three Unspeakables said calmly.
“I think it would be more than enough for all of us,” Mad-Eye growled from the back. Hermione glared at Harry again, stuck her nose up in the air and sat down in her chair, still obviously put out with him. Ginny wasn’t quite finished yet; she shrugged Ron’s hand off her shoulder and rounded on Harry.
“Just had to go and pop your mouth of again, didn’t you?” she snapped at him. Then jabbing him in the chest with her finger she added, “Just so you know, you can bet your sorry arse, whatever punishment my mother comes up with for me over this you will be doing it with me.” If Harry had paled at Hermione’s words, he had now gone white.
“Sorry,” he said meekly.
"Not even an hour for that promise, Harry James," she said to him the hurt plainly evident in her voice. Harry gulped visibly under her continued glared. Finally, satisfied with his response, Ginny sat back down but continued to alternately glare daggers at Harry and the Unspeakables. As Harry recovered and turned his attention back to the Unspeakable, he could hear Ginny continuing to mutter under her breath.
“And you Headmaster, are also lucky you didn’t hurt him today.” Harry could see that Dumbledore had heard her, but chose to ignore the remark. The Unspeakable who had done all of the talking so far watched Ginny sit down, turned to the other two and raised an eyebrow at them. They both smirked at him and nodded their heads once. The man then turned to Harry.
“I’ll send the killing curse first. How do you want to do this?” he asked Harry, while standing up and taking out his wand.
“Well, I can stand behind you and cast my spell first. Or, I’ll have to stand off to the side and slightly in front of you if you want me to intercept it.”
“I’m not taking any chances with your life, or mine for that matter. We’ll start with you behind me. Go ahead and cast your spell.”
“Phoenix!” Harry said firmly, while pointing his wand at a point between the Unspeakable and the spiders. The spell leapt out of Harry’s wand and a second later the flaming bird was waiting for the death spell.
“Shouldn’t it be facing this way?” the Unspeakable asked. Harry could tell he was being tested.
“It faces out because it is protecting me. I don’t think it will matter if you hit it in the back.” The man glared at Harry. Harry returned his stare for a moment.
“Give me a second,” Harry said. He closed his eyes, and in his mind, mentally turned the bird to face where the death curse would come from.
“There, that should work,” Harry said. He opened his eyes again to see the bird had turned as he wanted it to. The Unspeakable looked at Harry, fascination on his face. Harry could hear the crowd murmuring with excitement and could feel the tension in the room growing.
“You realize if your spell fails and I miss that spider, the spell will hit the wall and could blast anywhere in the room.” Harry closed his eyes again.
Okay, divide it like before. Defend the people in the room, Harry told the voices. He opened his eyes again and watched as the phoenix swelled and divided again and again. A wall of ten phoenixes, protecting all of the people in the room but himself and the one Unspeakable, now arrayed themselves behind Harry.
“That’s about the best I can do right now. I suggest you make sure you are going to hit the spiders. Not that it matters the spell won’t fail,” Harry replied.
“Cast you’re spell, Unspeakable,” Dumbledore said quietly. “Harry did not lie when he said he faced the death curse earlier today. It was I who sent it at him. His spell will not fail.”
“AVADA KADAVRA!” roared the Unspeakeable as he spun to face the spiders, his wand rising to aim at them. Harry heard several people scream from behind him. And then he watched, as the bolt of green light erupted from the man’s wand, fly towards the spiders and be meet by the streaking phoenix. There was a flash of black smoke and then the phoenix was flaming again.
“AVADA KADAVARA!” The process was repeated.
“AVADA KADAVARA!” Again. Harry dropped the array of defensive birds behind him and spread the one defending the spiders into three. The two other Unspeakables jumped to their feet drawing their wands as they did.
“AVADA KADAVRA!” the three Unspeakables roared together. All three of their death curses were consumed by the three defensive phoenixes.
“AVADA KADAVRA!” they roared again only to fail once more. In an instant Harry dropped his spell and attacked with both voices and his conscious self.
“EXPELIARMUS!” he roared hitting all three Unspeakables within the blink of an eye. The three Unspeakables were knocked off of their feet, their wands sent flying.
“Accio Wands!” Harry said firmly. The three wands flew into Harry’s out stretched hand. People around the room looked on in stunned silence.
“Sorry,” Harry said, reaching out his hand to help the first man up.
“Not at all, suppose we deserved that,” he replied, shaking his head. “A wizard should never challenge someone and then be unprepared to defend himself, now should he?” Harry handed the man his wand back.
“That’s what Ginny says too. She hit me once and she was on my own side. I had a head ache for a week.”
“Who is Ginny? Is she here right now?”
“She’s the one who threatened to kill you, if you even thought about raising your wand at me.”
“That was Arthur Weasley’s daughter, the one who had you shaking in your shoes?” Harry felt his face heating up as he turned red.
“Yeah well, Harry is pretty much adopted,” Ron said as he joined them. Ginny and Hermione arrived a second later. “Ginny pretty much does that to Harry once a week,” he added with a laugh.
“You choose to have this girl as family?” the man asked in a shocked, teasing voice. “Those articles in the paper last year were right about you being a Nutter.” Ginny whirled on the man, but before she could get a word out Harry grabbed her in his arms.
“I may be. But I wouldn’t trade Ginny, for anything,” Harry replied. He then leaned down and whispered in her ear.
“Did I live up to expectations today, Gin?”
“For today, Harry James,” Ginny replied softly as she settled into his arms with her back against his chest.
“By the way, I have been trying to get her to say the name since she became Minister,” the Unspeakable remarked looking at the four of them with respect. “I am always looking for good sorcerers in my department. You will be hearing from me when you finish school. All of you.”
“Thank you sir,” Ron replied for all of them.
Harry didn’t really get much of a chance to speak with many of the DA members that night. He spent the next couple of hours being grilled by the Aurors and the three Unspeakables, about every little detail he could think of that he went through to perform the spell.
Dumbledore had hung around him the whole time. Not letting anyone push Ron, Hermione or Ginny to the side. He seemed to want to make sure that they got every bit of information about the spell they could. The one thing he did remember vividly was Dumbledore saying it had taken him two hours of trying, to perform the spell for the first time.
Harry had thought that that was pretty good. He knew the spell was difficult. If Dumbledore could master it in a few hours it shouldn’t be too bad for the others. But then one of the Aurors had sighed deeply. Saying that if it took Dumbledore hours to master, it was going to take him weeks. And he didn’t appear to be joking. Harry was starting to wonder just how good Dumbledore really was.
Aurors were supposed to be some of the best. Dumbledore had had no concerns about taking on all of them last year at the Ministry. Well, a lot of them anyways when it looked like Fudge might give the order for them to take him. Harry had the feeling they were lucky they hadn’t tried.
The four of them had finally made it back to the common room, where Harry had been assailed by the Gryffindor DA members. He finally convinced them to leave him alone for the night by agreeing to set a DA meeting for the next day. Now he sat on the couch with Ginny leaning on him. Hermione was on the floor in front of him, leaning back against the couch and his legs, with Ron’s head in her lap. As the fire burned down lower and faded to embers, it didn’t look like any of them were going to make it to their beds.
I’m getting used to sleeping sitting up anyways, Harry thought to himself.
Says the guy who doesn’t have to deal with the pain from the crick in his neck, the second voice groaned.
What are you talking about? I feel that too, Harry replied
I know. I just felt like complaining, the voice replied.
Well shut it and go to sleep will you? We’ve got quidditch practice tomorrow morning, Harry told the voice. And then he too drifted off to sleep.