Chapter 5 Moving On
On Saturday morning Mr. Granger, Hermione, Ron and Ginny arrived at the Dursleys’ house. Hermione and Ginny used magical levitation to move things from Harry’s room to the front door while Mr. Granger, Harry and Ron loaded Mr. Granger’s car without using magic. It didn’t take long to put Harry’s possessions into Mr. Granger’s Range Rover. Harry said a quick good-bye and a thank-you to his Aunt and Uncle. He then left the Dursleys’ for what he hoped would be the last time. The Range Rover was too crowded for all of them to fit into it so Mr. Granger and Ginny traveled in the car while Harry, Ron and Hermione apparated together.
Since apparation is a much faster way to get across London than driving a car, Harry, Ron and Hermione had some time to sit in Harry’s kitchen and talk while they waited for Mr. Granger and Ginny to arrive with Harry’s possessions.
“Your birthday is July 31,” Ron began. “There’s an Apparation Test date on the first of August. Bill and Fleur’s wedding is the third. But the second of August is the key date of the whole summer,” Ron said enthusiastically.
“Your refrigerator’s almost bare,” Hermione announced. “And what’s in here should be thrown out.”
“See Harry, we don’t know if school will be open in the fall or not,” Ron continued. “So we might as well assume we’re done with school and get on with our careers.”
“I think Hogwarts will be open in the fall. Professor McGonagall has been complaining about tuition projections and getting approval from the board to hire new teachers,” Hermione said. “Harry you don’t have much food in your cabinets either, just a few cans of…dog food?... and some… more dog food?...and what’s this…it’s dog food! Sirius must have bought this stuff. I hope he was feeding it to Buckbeak.”
“I don’t plan on going back to school even if it is open,” Harry said dully.
“So on August second, it’s Professional Quidditch tryouts!” Ron said enthusiastically.
“Harry you should consider returning to Hogwarts. You’ve still got a lot to learn about magic and there’s safety in numbers” Hermione said earnestly. “You need to start a grocery list right now. I’ll start with trash bags, and of course bread and milk…”
“I don’t think I’ll be playing Quidditch Ron,” Harry said sadly.
“Do you have any Muggle money, Harry?” Hermione asked.
“You can make a lot of money playing Quidditch,” Ron argued. “You’ll need to find some source of income while you’re fighting You-Know-Who. Playing Quidditch would be an easier way of making money than working in a shop in Diagon Alley.”
“By the way, while I’m thinking about shopping, I have a list of things you need to buy in Diagon alley” Hermione said as she pulled an envelope out of her pocket. “Some of these ingredients will be very difficult to find.”
“A grocery list is not a bad idea Harry,” Ron said. “You need to have a proper house warming party.”
“I don’t much feel like a party…” Harry began.
Ron grabbed the grocery list from Hermione. “Let’s see, we’ll need: Butterbeer, Mulled Mead, a variety of wines…and…now that I’m seventeen, I can buy Firewhiskey!” Ron said in delight.
“Give that back!” Hermione demanded in a bossy tone. “We’re trying to keep Harry from starving here.”
“Alright!” Ron said, “add pumpkin pasties, caramel apples and cookies.”
Mr. Granger and Ginny eventually did arrive at Number Twelve and seven sixteenths Greenfield Way and Harry’s things were moved into his house within a few minutes. Shortly after Mr. Granger left there was a knock on door and Ginny went to answer it.
“Hi Dad,” they heard Ginny say.
Harry stepped out of the kitchen in time to see Mr. Weasley giving a big hug to a rather surprised looking Ginny. He held a canvas bag.
“Harry,” Mr. Weasley said nervously, “a word with you please.”
Mr Weasley pulled Harry into the drawing room, shut the door behind them, placed the canvas bag on the table and began pacing nervously.
“I’ve just come from a raid Harry,” Mr Weasley began. “We searched the house of a chap in Dumfries who specializes in making enchanted objects. Do you know what a slave collar is?”
“I’ve never heard of it, but it sounds like something used to control someone,” Harry replied.
“It renders the victim unable to do magic unless the owner of the collar allows it. One of them can make a poor witch as helpless as a Muggle. This fellow in Dumfries made some for the Ministry of Magic to use in Azkaban, but we got a tip that he was planning on selling some on the open market,” Mr. Weasley said in great agitation.
He opened the bag and showed Harry two boxes.
“Those two bastards are planning ahead” Mr. Weasley said bitterly. “They think You-Know-Who is going to win. To the victor go the spoils and they’re already picking out what they want to have when they’re in charge.”
Harry opened a box that was labeled For Severus Snape, inside there was a fancy collar with a name embroidered on it, Hermione Granger.
“A smart girl like Hermione could be forced to make complex potions and high level enchanted items,” Mr. Weasley reasoned. “Snape could make a profitable business of it. He could make her work all day and then he could use her at night too.”
The other box was labeled For Peter Pettigrew. It held a collar for Ginny Weasley.
“That filthy rat used to hide in Ginny’s room,” Mr. Weasley’s voice shook as he talked. “We thought he was just a rat…hiding from the owls! He watched her… dressing and undressing… when she was just a little child. That dirty pervert wants my Ginny…”
“I will never… let… that… happen,” Harry vowed grimly.
Mr. Weasley put his evidence back into the canvas bag, and turned to face Harry.
“I don’t know what Dumbledore was up to,” Mr. Weasley said. “We’ve all guessed that you’re going to continue doing whatever it was that he was working on. And we’ve guessed that it is extremely important. Dumbledore must have had a very good reason for such secrecy. But… if you ever need any help, anything at all, you ask me. Whatever it takes…This isn’t like last time, my children aren’t babies anymore…they can make it without me…whatever’s necessary …”
Harry didn’t know what to say. It was like Mr. Weasley was volunteering to go on a suicide mission and that he, Harry Potter, who was not yet seventeen, was the commander. The thought was ridiculous. Mr. Weasley was going bald and paunchy, but if he couldn’t run and carry things like a young man he could apparate and levitate with the best of them. To Harry it seemed more reasonable for Mr. Weasley to be the soldier than for Harry Potter to be the commander. Harry thought for a moment he might tell Mr. Weasley about the Horcruxes, but he quickly rejected the idea. Mr. Weasley worked at the Ministry of Magic. The hunt for the Horcruxes had to remain secret. Voldemort must not learn what Harry was up to.
“I can’t tell you all of my plans,” Harry said. “But if I need you, I’ll ask for your help. I promise I won’t use Ron or Ginny for anything dangerous if I can use you instead.”
“Thanks Harry,” Mr. Weasley said. “Thanks for not laughing at me. I know I’m getting old and paunchy and going bald. But better me than my kids. You’ll understand when you have children of your own. You’ll be a good father, some day, when this is all over.”
As they left the drawing room, Harry could hear the familiar sounds of Ron and Hermione arguing in the kitchen.
“Harry said he didn’t feel like a party!” Hermione said.
Mr. Weasley left almost immediately, taking Ginny with him in the Ministry car that he was driving. Ron was allowed to stay at Harry’s house for a while longer. Ginny protested vigorously, but unfortunately she was too young to apparate home on her own.
“Ron hasn’t passed his apparation test either,” Ginny argued.
“True, but he can apparate side-by-side with Hermione,” Mr. Weasley countered.
“But if you’re not nice to me, you’re going to have a long walk home, Ron,” Hermione threatened.
As soon as Ginny and Mr. Weasley were gone Harry turned to Ron and said in a rather serious tone of voice, “I think we will have that house warming party.”
“Oh Harry!” Hermione exclaimed in exasperation. “Is that wise?”
“You write the guest list, and then we’ll update the grocery list,” Harry said authoritatively as he passed a fresh piece of parchment to Hermione.
“Great!” Ron exclaimed. “Alright Hermione, start with yourself and then put down all of us Weasleys, except for Percy, and we’ll invite Seamus Finnegan, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood…the Gryffindor Quidditch team,…I like Dean Thomas but maybe we shouldn’t invite him…
“Oh really …” Hermione said in disgust.
“Scratch off Seamus and Neville and Luna and the team… and Ginny,” Harry said.
Ron looked at Harry in shock.
“Add Tonks and Lupin,” Harry said, “and Sturgiss Podmore, Dadelus Diggle…
“Lupin, Podmore and Diggle?” Ron said dubiously. “What kind of party are you planning? If it’s a stag party we shouldn’t invite Tonks. She might not appreciate the stripper.”
Harry ignored Ron and continued, “Professors McGonagall and Flitwick, Mad-Eye Moody, Mrs. Figg… who else? Hagrid of course! Is that all of them?”
“Harry’s calling a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix,” Hermione said proudly.
“Mundungus?” Ron asked.
“NO!” Hermione said forcefully.
“They cleared the traps out of my house, at great personal risk,” Harry said. “They deserve a party. And they need to pick a new leader and get back to business.”
“You had a much longer shopping list earlier,” Ron observed as the three of them walked to the nearest supermarket for some Muggle-style grocery shopping.
“The list got real short when I found out how much money Harry had,” Hermione said.
“Can we stop for some lunch? That Muggle sandwich shop sure smells good,” Ron suggested.
“Do you have any Muggle money?” Hermione asked. “I gave Harry all of mine. It’s going for groceries and nothing fancy at that.”
“I’ll get some pounds at Gringott’s when I go to Diagon Alley,” Harry said. “I’m not hurting for money I just don’t have any with me.”
“Daddy always complains about how the Goblins gouge him when he exchanges pounds for galleons,” Hermione said as they entered the store. “I’ll bet they charge a hefty fee for changing galleons to pounds too.”
“Why are we shopping for food at a Muggle store? Couldn’t we just go to Diagon Alley?” Ron asked.
“It’s safer for Harry to shop at Muggle stores,” Hermione explained. “He’s less likely to be seen by a wizard here. And there are so many more Muggle stores to choose from! Harry can vary his pattern. By shopping in different places at unpredictable times he can foil ambush plans. And just look at the prices.”
“They’re all in Muggle money,” Ron observed.
“Here are the noodles,” Harry said as he put a box into their basket.
“If you do the currency conversions you’ll see that prices for ordinary things like milk and bread and cheese are much higher in Diagon alley,” Hermione informed them. “Buy the brand that’s on sale Harry,” Hermione said taking the noodles out of the basket and replacing it with a different box. “You need to watch every penny.”
“So do you have enough money to buy all of this stuff?” Ron asked holding up the envelope and list that Hermione had given Harry earlier. “Acromantula venom, cobra venom, foxglove, ergot toxin, aflatoxin…”
“Ron! That list is for Harry!” Hermione snapped as she grabbed the list from Ron. “He can’t find any of those things in a Muggle supermarket.”
“How can the Muggles call this market Super if they don’t even have foxglove and cobra venom?” Ron asked. “What’re all those poisons for anyway?”
“Hold your voice down!” Hermione hissed at Ron. “Those are ingredients for a potion Harry needs to make.”
“What sort of potion?” Ron asked.
“A secret potion,” Hermione whispered.
“Oh!” Ron whispered knowingly.
The three friends finished grocery shopping, returned to Harry’s house and ate a simple lunch. After their meal, they prepared invitations for all of the members of the Order of the Phoenix, calling them to a Birthday party for Harry which would also serve as a chance for them to select a new leader and get reorganized. Hermione then took Ron home, but she returned just a few minutes later.
“I found a recipe for a nasty potion that can kill the soul when it is released from a Horcrux,” Hermione told Harry. “You need to buy all of those ingredients on that list I gave you. I’ll help you to prepare a batch of it. To get rid of the soul, we lower the Horcrux into the poison and then say the incantation that opens the Horcrux.”
“This is one seriously toxic brew,” Harry said as he read the recipe.
“We’ll have to be very careful about how we handle it,” Hermione admitted. “One drop on your lips and you’re dead. It strips the soul right out of your body like a liquid Avada Kedavra spell.”
“Is this the only way to destroy the soul in a Horcrux?” Harry asked.
“I found two other ways,” Hermione replied. “You can also let the soul suck most of the life force from a helpless victim. In the moments just before it regains a physical body, that soul becomes vulnerable and an attack with a strong poison will kill it.”
“That’s how I destroyed the diary in the Chamber of Secrets,” Harry reasoned. “Tom Riddle’s shade was sucking the life out of Ginny.”
“The connection between Tom Riddle’s soul and the Horcrux was weakening but his hold on his new body wasn’t strong yet. You must have used the fang at just the right moment,” Hermione concluded.
“It’s too risky to do it that way,” Harry said. “Ginny almost died.”
“You can also let the soul out of the Horcrux and let it occupy someone’s body, then kill the person that it possesses” Hermione said.
“That’s definitely harsh,” Harry said.
“I think that’s maybe the way Dumbledore destroyed the soul fragment in the ring,” Hermione said very thoughtfully. “I’ll bet the only person around was Dumbledore. Voldemort’s soul fragment would have had to fight Dumbledore for possession of his body. Maybe Dumbledore let Voldemort have an arm but stopped him at that point. Then he poisoned his arm to kill the soul fragment.”
“You think Dumbledore sacrificed his arm to destroy that soul fragment?” Harry asked in horror.
“It’s just a guess,” Hermione admitted. “But Dumbledore would never sacrifice a human life and he wouldn’t ask anyone to sacrifice even a limb if he had not already done so.”
“Alright, we’ll make the nasty potion,” Harry agreed. “Do you know the incantation to open a Horcrux?”
“That’s like really evil magic Harry,” Hermione said. “Access to those books is very restricted. I plan to start that line of research on Monday, but I have to come up with some believable excuse for asking to study the books about evil enchantments.”
“Your excuse will be in the Daily Prophet tomorrow,” Harry said. “The Ministry of Magic confiscated some illegal Slave Collars today. You can tell the archivist that McGonagall wants the new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor to know how to deal with evil objects like that.”
“Slave Collars!” Hermione said in horror. “That is so sick! But they certainly are evil objects that might be described in the kind of book that would cover Horcrux spells.”
Harry couldn’t tell her that the collars were intended for her and Ginny. The thought of Peter Pettigrew having his way with Ginny made Harry wish he had let Sirius and Lupin murder him when they had the chance. He could see why Snape would want Hermione, she really was very attractive, nice figure, soft hair, beautiful golden brown eyes and she had such a brilliant mind. If Snape could force her to work for him she would be a valuable piece of property. What could he do to her that would force her to cooperate?
“Harry,” Hermione said quietly, “you’re staring at me.”
“Sorry,” he said.
A few days later, as Harry was warming up a can of soup for dinner and beginning to think that Aunt Petunia’s cooking wasn’t all that bad, Hermione knocked at the door.
“I found the incantation for opening a Horcrux,” Hermione reported. “You wouldn’t believe the horrible things in that book! Deadly traps, terror weapons, torture devices…” she shuddered.
“I’ve managed to get most of the ingredients for the soul-destroying potion,” Harry told her. “Except for Acromantula venom, I’ll need to talk to Slughorn about that.”
“Very good Harry,” Hermione said in a business-like way. “We can apparate up to Hogsmeade tomorrow. Professor McGonagall told me that Professor Slughorn had agreed to stay on for another year. I also found a spell that you need to learn. It’s a type of elemental magic that will enable you to manipulate a body of fire. It might be the sort of spell that Dumbledore used against the Inferi in that awful cave by the sea.”
She gave Harry a scroll on which she had copied a detailed description of a spell for controlling a fire elemental. The incantation was Flamesse.
“Old Mad-Eye dropped by this morning,” Harry said grinning. “He’s coming again tomorrow morning. I’m learning how to say Bang and really mean it.”
Harry spent the last week and a half of July safely in his home, but he was rarely lonely.
Mr. or Mrs. Weasley dropped by nearly every day to make sure Harry was kept informed about the latest news. Mad-Eye Moody and Sturgis Podmore came by to help Harry practice defensive spells and to teach him how to shoot bullets by pointing his wand and saying “Bang”. And Hermione was there a lot of the time.
“You’re really getting the hang of controlling that ring of fire Harry,” Hermione said happily.
“It’s exactly what Dumbledore did to keep the Inferi away,” Harry said. “And thanks for repairing my sofa. You really are a very talented witch. I can’t see any signs of smoke or water damage.”
Hermione was at Harry’s house all day on his birthday, but it was strictly business. They had spent a week and a half preparing the hypertoxic soul-killing poison that was needed to destroy a Horcrux, and they had to rush to finish it and get it safely into bottles. There was just barely enough time to clean up the house and decorate for the party. They were both sweaty and disheveled when Ron arrived.
“What have you two been up to?” Ron asked suspiciously.
“Just helping Harry with house cleaning,” Hermione replied.
“I thought we had finished that up,” Ron said skeptically.
“That Kreacher was such a pack rat,” Harry said.
Soon the other guests began arriving for Harry’s Birthday Party. It was an unusual party for a teenager celebrating his coming of age. Most of the guests were much older than Harry and he had deliberately not invited his girlfriend. Needless to say, Ginny was very upset and she had made Ron promise to tell Harry in no uncertain terms that she was angry and hurt. They had food and drink and decorations with a Phoenix theme, but there wasn’t much informal socializing before Harry summoned them to gather around the kitchen table and select a new leader.
It had been a bad year for the Order of the Phoenix. A trusted member, Severus Snape, had turned out to really be a follower of Lord Voldemort. Albus Dumbledore, Emmeline Vance, Hestia Jones and Kingsley Shacklebolt had been killed and Bill Weasley scarred for life. But Professor Flitwick had joined the group.
They chose Professor McGonagall to be the new leader of the Order, even though she didn’t want the job. But as Headmistress of Hogwarts she had access to Dumbledore’s records, his Pensieve and all of the devices and paintings that came with the office. They all agreed that the mission of the Order of the Phoenix was to resist the growth of Lord Voldemort’s circle of followers and to distract the bad guys from Harry Potter’s activities. In a way, Harry was the real leader of the Order. McGonagall promised to report to him on a regular basis and to consult with him on the activities of the other members to make sure they did nothing that endangered his secretive mission. And of course, Harry’s house was their headquarters.
Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Fred Weasley, George Weasley and Fleur (soon-to-be Weasley) Delacour were formally made members of the Order. Plans were made to discretely approach former members of the D.A. like: Ernie Macmillan, Neville Longbottom, Terry Boot, Justin Finch-Flechley, Susan Bones and a few others to see if they would join.
By the end of July, The Order of the Phoenix had crawled out of the ashes of despair and was back in the business of fighting Lord Voldemort.
On the first of August Harry and Ron passed their apparition tests with no problem. Their examiner commented that they must have been practicing with an excellent teacher.
The second day of August was a beautiful sunny day that was warm but not oppressively hot. Harry knew that Ron and Ginny Weasley were at the Professional Quidditch League Tryouts and he hoped they both managed to get onto a team. Harry couldn’t be there because he had another activity to attend to.
Harry watched Hermione work. She wore a white lab coat from a dental office. Her hands were covered with blue latex gloves and her face was covered with a clear plastic shield even though Harry had cast an Impervioso charm on her. The caution was completely sensible. A truly noxious mix of several deadly poisons was gently bubbling in the large black cauldron that hung over a small magical fire in the middle of Harry’s darkened drawing room.
“I think it’s ready,” she said in a muffled voice, as she made a final stir of the Soul-killing potion.
Harry was similarly clad in lab coat, gloves and goggles courtesy of Granger and Granger Family Dentistry Inc. He figured it was overkill because the Impervioso charm on him had been cast by the best witch in the class, but it didn’t hurt to wear the Muggle gear and it didn’t hurt to be cautious around that nasty bubbling brew. He held the Horcrux over the cauldron using a good pair of tongs that had a gripping charm placed on them. He carefully lowered the Horcrux into the toxic solution. There was a bit of spattering of the poison but it was quickly cleaned up by a wave of Hermione’s wand. Harry laid aside the tongs and took out his wand. Hermione held up a scroll on which she had written in large clear letters the incantation that would open the Horcrux. He pointed his wand at the cauldron and read the words aloud.
The deadly liquid roiled and bubbled, a putrid green cloud of vapor rose from the cauldron. The vapor swirled like a coiling snake and then seemed to condense and take form. An image appeared in the smog above the bubbling pot, an ugly, spectral being, translucent, green and about two feet tall. The ghostly shade of Lord Voldemort surveyed the room with a scowl on his face. It pointed a bony finger at the end of a skinny little arm at Harry.
“Remove the Horcrux from the cauldron!” the fragment of Lord Voldemort’s dark soul commanded.
AUTHORS NOTES:
In chapter 15 of HBP (pg. 313 of the American edition), Hermione talks to Parvati in a most uncharacteristic fashion about going to Slughorn’s Christmas party with Cormac McLaggen. She mentions that she likes really good Quidditch players. Was this just a cynical remark that was meant to insult Ron, or was it the truth? Maybe her remark was intended for another Quidditch player, one who really is good. I find it interesting that this desperate move on Hermione’s part comes immediately after Peeves flies around the castle singing, “Potty loves Loony!” on page 312.
At the party (on page 317), a disheveled Hermione tells Harry she has “escaped” from Cormac McLaggen. She compares Cormac to Grawp. Why Grawp? Why not compare McLaggen to a gorilla or a baboon or an axe murderer? Harry is the only person in the world who would understand the reference to Grawp. She then tells Harry she is trying to annoy Ron. Is Ron at Slughorn’s party? Is it sensible to try to annoy someone who isn’t there? Is Hermione in the habit of doing senseless things? Is Hermione telling Harry the truth about who she wants to annoy? Maybe Hermione wanted someone to step in and protect her from McLaggen the way that particular someone once protected her from Grawp.