“Feel like some company, Harry?” Neville asked.
“Sorry Neville, but I’d like to be alone for a while,” Harry said.
“It’s Okay Harry. I understand,” Neville said as he backed out of the compartment.
Harry stared out the window of the carriage as the train slowly pulled out of Hogsmead station. He didn’t know if he would ever be back this way again. He didn’t know exactly what he was going to do. His plans to visit Godric’s hollow and to start searching for the remaining Horcuxes that held the evil bits and fragments of Lord Voldemort’s black soul were very vague. He didn’t want to think about it. How could he learn more about Voldemort without Dumbledore to teach him? How could he find those Horcruxes without Dumbledore to guide him? How could he survive when the most powerful evil wizard of the century wanted to kill him and Dumbledore couldn’t protect him anymore? Harry didn’t want to think about it.
He could hear Neville’s voice, out in the corridor, telling other students to move on down to the next carriage, telling them the compartment was full. That was a bit of a white lie since Harry was alone in the compartment. And it was a bit of a nuisance too since the train was quite full. There were not only students on board but also a lot of people who had attended Dumbledore’s funeral. But Harry didn’t want to be with anyone just now. He stared out the window as the train moved south through the Scottish Highlands. They passed mountains and woods, pastures and villages, lakes and rivers and Harry stared out the window and saw none of it.
An hour later the train slowed down as it passed through Edinburgh. Harry wondered what the Muggles saw. Surely not a bright red antique steam engine pulling old fashioned passenger carriages loaded with sorrowful wizards. They probably see a goods train pulled by a modern diesel locomotive, he thought. Would their world be disrupted if he was killed and Voldemort took over? Would the Death Eaters be free to do as they pleased to Muggle women and men if Harry failed? He didn’t want to think about it.
There was a knock on his compartment door and then it slid open. Harry was expecting Ron and Hermione but Professor McGonagall stepped into the room.
“Are you alright, Potter?” she asked.
“Yes, I’m fine,” Harry muttered looking away from her.
“You’re not a very good liar, Harry,” McGonagall said gently. “I have an important matter to discuss with you.”
“Okay,” Harry sighed.
“You need stay only a fortnight with the Muggles Harry, and then we’ll help you move to your own house at Twelve Grimmauld Place. But the safety of your house has been compromised by the defection of Severus Snape. He knew the location of the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix,” she explained. “We must put a new Fidelius charm on your house. Professor Flitwick is aboard the train. He’ll help us with the charm.
“I didn’t know Professor Flitwick was in the Order of the Phoenix,” Harry said in surprise.
“He hasn’t been,” McGonagall said. “Dumbledore tried for years to convince him to formally join the Order, but he was afraid of getting involved. However the recent attack on Hogwarts, with Professor Snape attacking him, has pushed Professor Flitwick right over the edge. He’s not sitting on the fence anymore.”
“That’s good,” Harry said flatly.
“You need to think about who you want to be your secret keeper,” Professor McGonagall said. “Choose carefully.”
“Dumbledore used to be the secret keeper,” Harry said thoughtfully. “Who is going to be the new leader of the Order of the Phoenix?”
“We haven’t decided that Harry,” McGonagall said with a sigh. “Alastor Moody and Remus Lupin both say they don’t want the job. Kingsley Shacklebolt has a very important job with the Ministry of Magic and can’t take on the leadership of the order. I certainly don’t want the job. But your secret keeper doesn’t have to be the leader of the Order, or even an adult. One of your most trusted friends would be appropriate.”
“You think I should choose Ron or Hermione to be my secret keeper?” Harry stated.
“You must choose someone who is willing to die to keep your secret safe,” McGonagall said sternly.
“I don’t want any of my friends dying for me!” Harry stated emphatically.
“Of course not, Potter,” McGonagall said bluntly. “You wouldn’t even want a Muggle auror, or bobby, or whatever they’re called to die while protecting you. But you need a secret keeper who is serious about the job. You want someone whose loyalty is unswerving, who’s smart enough to avoid capture and who won’t be organizing surprise parties at your house and telling a lot of people how to get there.”
“Loyal…Smart… No parties…You think that I should choose Hermione to be my secret keeper. Don’t you?” Harry challenged her.
“As much as I like Ronald Weasley, I do think Hermione Granger is the more reliable of the two,” McGonagall confirmed.
“I’ll think about it,” Harry said.
As Professor McGonagall left, Harry had to admit to himself that she had a point. Perhaps he would ask Hermione to be his secret keeper. He didn’t want either of his two best friends to be in danger. If he gave Hermione the responsibility of being his secret keeper, it would force her to keep herself safe. She couldn’t take any crazy risks if she had to avoid the danger of being captured. Ron on the other hand was more easily distracted. If Harry didn’t want Ron following him, it would be easier to trick him.
About a half an hour later the door of his compartment slid open again and Ron came in.
“Harry, have you seen Hermione?” Ron asked.
“No I haven’t,” Harry answered feeling a bit worried. “Wasn’t she patrolling with you and the other Prefects?”
“She was in the meeting when the train pulled out of Hogsmead,” Ron replied. “But as soon as we started patrolling the corridors she dodged into the loo and I haven’t seen her in over an hour.”
“She wouldn’t be in there that long,” Harry said. “She must have come out, and you just missed her. I’ll help look for her.”
“Thanks Harry,” Ron said. “I’ll search the carriages to the rear. You search the carriages to the front. I’ve already searched the whole train once, but I could have missed her.”
Harry moved methodically towards the head of the train, looking in every compartment as he passed. He found her in the second carriage ahead of the one he was riding in. She was sitting in a compartment with Lavender Brown, Katie Bell and Demelza Robins. She looked up at Harry when he entered. He could see that she had been crying. Lavender was patting her on the back.
“You can talk to her later,” Katie said sharply as she pushed Harry back out into the corridor and shut the compartment door behind her.
“What’s going on?” Harry asked her.
“Hermione’s very upset about Dumbledore’s death,” Katie explained. “She needs a little while to pull herself together.”
“Hermione’s still friends with Lavender?” Harry said in disbelief.
“They have been room mates for six years,” Katie exclaimed. “Of course they’re friends.”
“But… I thought… you know… Ron…” Harry stammered.
“Lavender is still very upset about breaking up with Ron,” Katie informed him. “But she’s not mad at Hermione anymore. It’s not really her fault, you see.”
“I don’t get it…” Harry said in confusion.
“You and Ron are both good Quidditch players,” Katie said. “But I don’t see how you do it, seeing as you’re both blind!”
Katie abruptly turned her back on Harry and went back into the compartment with the other girls, shutting the door firmly as she went. Harry looked up and down the corridor in confusion, wondering what he had missed. Why was Katie so angry at him? Girls…he thought. They’re all mental. He turned to head back to his own compartment but had moved only a few steps when he heard the door of the girls’ compartment open behind him.
“Harry!” Katie called.
Harry turned around to face Katie again.
“Be careful this summer,” she said, her face etched with concern.
He trudged back to his own compartment wondering what was up with Katie. Why was she angry at him one second and concerned about his safety the next? That was too complicated to worry about. What was up with Hermione? He trusted her to not talk about the Horcruxes. They were all upset about Dumbledore’s murder. Snape was a treacherous bastard. Maybe Hermione was worried about the possibility of Hogwarts closing.
Ron returned to Harry’s compartment a few minutes after Harry got there.
“She’s not in the back part of the train,” Ron said anxiously. “Did you find her?”
“Yes, I found her,” Harry said. “You can stop worrying about her. She’s hanging out with some other girls. I guess she doesn’t want us around while she’s crying.”
“She’s still crying!” Ron said in surprise. “The funeral was hours ago. I’ll go see what’s bothering her,” he said as he got up and edged towards the door.
“Stay here Ron. She’ll be alright with those girls,” Harry said forcefully. “Lavender was patting her on the back.”
Ron abruptly stopped moving and slowly turned towards Harry with a grimace on his face.
“Lavender’s patting her on the back?” Ron said in disbelief, as he glumly sat down.
“They have been room mates for six years. I guess they’re friends,” Harry said dubiously. “Parvati left before the funeral. Maybe Lavender doesn’t have anyone else to sit with.”
“I wonder what they’re talking about,” Ron said in dread.
“You’re probably better off not thinking about it,” Harry said grimly.
They sat in silence for several minutes.
“I talked to Ginny,” Ron said.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Harry said forcefully. “I have my reasons.”
There was another long and awkward period of silence. Harry realized that if he waited long enough, Ron would bring up some subject like girls or Voldemort or Horcruxes that he didn’t want to talk about. It would be better to head him off.
“How about a game of Wizard’s Chess?” Harry asked as he got out the box.
“I don’t feel like playing chess now,” Ron muttered.
There was a knock at the compartment door.
“It’s alright,” Harry said unenthusiastically. “You can come in.”
Harry didn’t know who to expect, but he would never have expected Percy Weasley.
“Hello Harry… Hello Ron…” Percy said politely as he entered the compartment and sat down next to Ron, across from Harry. He seemed totally oblivious of the fact that both Harry and Ron were looking at him as if he was a particularly large and disgusting cockroach. “It’s been a dreadful turn of events,” Percy said shaking his head. “How are you doing Harry?”
“Are you here on official business?” Harry snarled, while Ron just glared at Percy.
“Very astute,” Percy replied. “I am acting under orders from the Minister of Magic, but it’s a friendly visit.”
“I’ve got nothing to say to you Percy,” Harry said bluntly. “Mr. Scrimgeour talked to me after Dumbledore’s funeral, and I had nothing to say to him.”
“You should be more polite to Mr. Scrimgeour,” Percy said. “He is the Minister of Magic.”
Harry just grunted.
“Would you like a Butterbeer?” Percy asked, as he pulled several frosty bottles from a pocket in his robe that showed no sign of being filled with such bulky items.
“No thank you,” Harry said coldly. He thought Percy was being unusually casual and friendly. Scrimgeour probably told him to act like that.
“Your caution is quite understandable,” Percy said, pocketing the bottles. “You don’t know who you can trust. You-Know-Who has spies everywhere, even in the Ministry of Magic. Mr. Scrimgeour understands that. Dumbledore kept his cards close to his chest and so must you. How do you even know that I’m really Percy Weasley? I could be a Death Eater just trying to get close to you. You should ask me a question that only the real Percy Weasley could answer, just to be sure that I am who I appear to be.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier for us to just throw you out?” Ron asked bitterly. “Then it wouldn’t matter if you’re the real Percy or not.”
“Ronald, that is no way to talk to a brother who is trying to help your best friend,” Percy said pompously.
“Last year you sent Ron a letter,” Harry interrupted. “What did you advise him to do?”
“I… well… I told him… to confide in Dolores Umbridge…” Percy stammered, “and to sever ties with you.”
“Dear Sweet Dolores,” Harry said angrily. “Dolores Umbridge sent Dementors to kill me in Little Whinging and she tortured me to try to keep me quiet and yet she still has a nice job at the Ministry.”
“All right!” Percy said loudly, holding up his hands as if in surrender. “Ms. Umbridge was acting without authorization when she sent the Dementors after you. She wasn’t arrested for that offense because there’s not much evidence against her. You haven’t made a public stink of it. And I wouldn’t advise you to do so. It would come down to her word against yours, and she has friends on the Wizengamot. And as for the rest of it…well…we made a mistake! The official Ministry position at the time was that you were lying about You-Know-Who coming back. I was loyal to Mr. Fudge. I’m sorry about that letter.”
Harry didn’t know what to say, so he just turned his back on Percy.
“Look, I’ve apologized,” Percy said. “It’s a difficult thing to do, you know. But Mr. Scrimgeour suggested that if I had offended you I should apologize. He wants things to be smooth between us.”
“Your boss ordered you to apologize?” Harry said with a sneer. “Isn’t he the fellow who’s still chums with Fudge and Umbridge?”
“Mr. Scrimgeour is keeping Mr. Fudge and Miss Umbridge at the Ministry so he can keep a close eye on them,” Percy explained. “They’ve both suffered demotions. Ms. Umbridge works in the Art Department now. She prepares illustrations for Ministry brochures. She’s lost her big office. It’s my office now, but I haven’t been permitted to change the decorations. All those damn kitty-cats are supposed to remind me that I could be tossed out of that office very quickly.”
“Why are you here Percy?” Harry asked with a snap.
“I’m just here to talk to you,” Percy said. “Mr. Scrimgeour wants to help you. We want to keep a channel of communication open. That’s all.”
“Fine. You’ve talked to me,” Harry said impatiently.
Percy reached over and took the Wizard’s Chess box from Harry.
“How about a friendly game of chess Harry,” Percy asked abruptly.
“I don’t feel like playing chess now,” Harry said irritably.
“I’ll teach you a variation of the game,” Percy said coldly. “I’ll be the dark forces,” he said placing the black king on the board. “You-Know-Who is the king. I’ve got some Inferi to help me,” he said as he set up a row of pawns. “And I’ve got the Death Eaters,” he stated as he put the black castles on the board. “And I’ve got werewolves and giants on my side too,” he placed the black knights and bishops by his king. “Now who is the black queen?” Percy asked. “There’s no evidence that You-Know-Who cares about any woman, although he might occasionally perform unnatural acts with a large snake…”
Ron snorted in an attempt to a choke a laugh.
“But I think we’ll say the black queen represents his spies,” Percy concluded.
“Her Royal Highness the Queen, Severus Snape,” Ron snickered.
“You’re the good guy Harry,” Percy said ignoring Ron. He put the white king on the board, facing the black pieces all alone. “Tell me about your army. Do you have anyone to help you or do you like the way the board looks now?”
Harry said nothing.
“Where’s your castle?” Percy asked holding up a white rook. “The Dursley’s house?”
“I can’t tell you,” Harry said thinking of Professor Flitwick and the old Black family home that was now his.
“You’re always welcome at the Burrow,” Percy said putting the rook back in the box and picking up the white queen. “Ginny would be happy to see you. But of course, you broke it off with her.”
“Who told you all that?” Harry demanded to know.
“Gossip about who Harry Potter snogs or invites to parties, travels very fast and very far,” Percy said. “There are dozens of women working in the Ministry who follow every bit of gossip about Harry Potter like it mattered to them personally. Some of them are almost old enough to be your grandmother. And as for you breaking up with Ginny, I saw you talking to her after the funeral and just guessed about what you were saying.”
“It’s none of your business,” Harry scowled.
“The queen’s an important piece, powerful, she has to be used and sometimes sacrificed,” Percy said deliberately. He pondered the white queen for a moment. “You don’t want to endanger Ginny. It’s not Luna Lovegood or Cho Chang… Hermione Granger perhaps?”
Percy ignored Ron’s snarl.
“I don’t need a girlfriend,” Harry said bitterly. “I don’t want a girlfriend! I don’t want to endanger anyone. And it really is none of your business!"
“Well at least you’ve got Ron on your side,” Percy said tossing the white queen back into the box and putting a single white pawn on the board.
Ron jumped to his feet and held up his fists.
“Oh alright, settle down. We’ll let Ron be a knight,” Percy said in exasperation, replacing the pawn with a knight. “It’s still a rather uneven game, isn’t it?”
“I don’t want to play games with you Percy!” Harry said angrily. “Just get to the point and get out! I want to be alone now.”
“There are people in the Ministry of Magic who want you to win Harry,” Percy said as he dumped the chess pieces back into the box. “That’s all that I have to say.”
Percy left the compartment without saying anything more and Harry said nothing else to him.
“Git!” Ron exclaimed after the door closed behind Percy.
Harry stared out the window and ignored Ron. Percy’s point was painfully obvious but Harry simply couldn’t trust anyone at the Ministry of Magic. Percy admitted that Lord Voldemort had spies there. If Voldemort learned that Harry was searching for the Horcruxes, he could move them. He could hide them in places that were even worse than the cave by the sea. He could use one as bait to lure Harry into a trap. Even if Harry found and destroyed all of them, if Voldemort found out about it before Harry could finish him off, he might make some more. Harry couldn’t trust Percy or Scrimgeour because they would tell people in the Ministry and one of them might be a spy for Voldemort. Harry had to keep the fact that he was looking for the Horcruxes an absolute secret. Dumbledore had never told Tonks or even McGonagall what he was up to and Harry had to be just as secretive. Harry didn’t like Percy and Scrimgeour anyway.
“Ron,” Harry said to his friend, after casting a Muffliato spell. “You must never tell anyone, including Ginny, anything about Horcruxes. Don’t even say the word. Let’s call them chamber pots from now on, because of the awful stuff that’s inside them.” Harry carefully explained to Ron why absolute secrecy was essential. He planned to have the same conversation with Hermione even though she had probably thought it all out already.
Harry sat in silence all of the rest of the way back to London.
Ron got bored after a while and went to look for Luna and Neville, but he returned to Harry’s compartment shortly after the train passed Cambridge.
The sun was getting lower in the west and the train was approaching the outskirts of North East London when Hermione came into the compartment. She gave Harry a sad sort of smile and sat down next to him.
Authors Notes:
In chapter 24 of HBP (pgs. 513 “ 514 of the American edition), Hermione grabs Ron’s arm. She does this to stop him from thoughtlessly drawing attention to the three of them while Harry is talking about Voldemort’s Horcruxes during Charms class. Lavender glared at her and Hermione immediately let go of Ron’s arm. This does not sound like a girl who has finally gotten the boy of her dreams to notice her. It sounds like a girl who does not want a misunderstanding with her roommate.