Disclaimer: The fine tapestry of plot and characters belongs to J.K. Rowling. I am merely pulling threads at will and weaving my own design in counterpoint to hers.
Chapter 14
A Last Minute Reprieve
True to their word, Harry’s new attire arrived three days later. He found the package resting on his pillow when he returned from his lesson with Lupin. Hermione had left him a note to let her know if there were any problems so it was clear she had delivered it personally, but he had no idea how she had levitated it past the barrier.
The fit on the jacket was suitable enough and the trousers were the right length, although somewhat loose in the waistband. The shirtsleeves were a bit short, but pulling them down by the cuffs made them passable. He was determined he was not going to have Ginny poking his body with her wand in plain view of everyone. And the thought of Hermione with her pin cushion was even more off-putting. He would just make do.
He checked that his tie was still in good condition and that he still had his box of white shell studs for the shirtfront. Taking a quick count, he realized that either he had lost a few of the studs, or a longer shirtfront called for more studs than he had originally been allotted. He would have enough if he left the bottom buttonhole open when he tucked in his shirt, but he did not have any for the cuffs.
He stopped by the Costume Office on his way to an early dinner and found that a Ravenclaw girl he did not recognize was busy setting up appointments for both Hermione and Ginny. There was a long queue of students waiting to be assigned a slot.
“Oh, hi, Harry,” the Ravenclaw girl greeted him in a friendly manner. “Hermione said you’d probably be by today. She’s in the middle of a concept meeting right now, but Ginny’s not taking any more appointments today so you can just go right in. Or did you prefer to see Professor Tonks?”
“Ginny’s fine,” Harry replied as he made his way to the far partition. Turning the corner, he found Ginny leaning back in her chair with her eyes closed. He felt like he was intruding and turned to go.
“Is that you, Harry?” she said without opening her eyes.
“How could you possibly know that?” Harry asked.
She smiled languidly and then opened her eyes to look up at him. “You have a particular step,” she replied softly, and then as if she thought he might think her mad, she added, “I must have heard your voice from the next room.”
“Since when do you rate a secretary?” he asked lamely.
“Oh, you mean Melanie? She’s actually Tonks’ assistant, but she loaned her to us when it became evident that we were going to have to parcel out our time more efficiently. She’s been making appointments for Tonks all along.”
Realizing that he was still standing in front of her desk like an awkward first-year, Harry drew one of the chairs to him and straddled it. “So where is Tonks? I haven’t seen her in ages.”
“She’s probably helping someone sort through their closet. It’s not unusual for her to help an entire floor in one visit.”
“How does she find the time?” Harry inquired innocently.
“I suspect Lupin is a very understanding man,” Ginny remarked, momentarily surprising Harry with her candor. “So did you get a chance to look over your order?”
“Oh, yes,” he replied as if he’d totally forgotten the purpose of his visit until just now. “Everything fits well enough, but--”
“ ‘Well enough’ just won’t do,” insisted Ginny.
“It’s really just an extra pair of cuff links that I need,” Harry confessed.
“Simple enough. But Hermione will be very displeased if the fit were not absolutely perfect; you know what a stickler she is for details.”
“Ginny, I can’t impose upon your time for a few minor alterations…” He was trying to be as diplomatic as possible.
“Don’t be silly,” she maintained. “Formal dress robes deserve to be fitted by a professional tailor “ it’s included in the price. You just march yourself over to Gladrags and have them see to it.”
“And just how do you propose that I convince Filch to let me past the school gates to visit Hogsmeade?”
“Haven’t you seen the notices? McGonagall announced that she has cancelled classes on Friday the thirtieth to allow for an extra Hogsmeade visit. Perfect for all those eleventh hour errands. I suspect that I’ll be socked in with last minute first and second years, but I’m sure Hermione will see that you have a good fitting.”
The morning of the thirtieth was cold and crisp with a definite bite in the air. Harry folded his new formal attire into his book bag as neatly as possible after first checking for any errant ink bottles. He rushed through breakfast to catch up with Ron and Hermione who were lining up to be checked out by Filch. As the Head of Gryffindor House, Lupin stood nearby double-checking that he had permission slips from everyone who was being passed through.
As they neared the door, the air seemed to grow progressively colder until it was practically painful to draw a deep breath. He was glad that he had brought an extra warm jacket to throw over his jumper. Many students were doubling back to their dormitories for warmer clothing. A scowling Filch checked Harry’s book bag over with his Secrecy Sensor and mumbled something about “more clothing” “ then he was free.
He could see his breath in front of him now and the grass crunched under his hiking boots, but the fresh air smelled exhilarating. He waved to Lupin who was bundled up in a thick jumper and scarf.
“Will we see you later in the village, Professor?” he called out.
“Absolutely,” Lupin replied with a broad smile. “Madam Rosmerta serves bangers and mash on Fridays!”
Harry set a brisk pace down the inclined meadow that had Ron and Hermione struggling. He turned around briefly to allow them to come abreast of him and noted wryly that they would have less trouble keeping up if Hermione didn’t insist of tucking her hand into Ron’s jacket pocket to keep it warm.
He spied a small figure bundled up in a bright down vest waving to them from the base of the hill. With a start he realized that it was Ginny! Without a second’s hesitation, he trotted down the rest of the way to meet her.
“How did you ever get away?” he breathed.
“Professor McGonagall arranged a special dispensation for me since I’d been working so hard the past few weeks. She had my mum come via Floo early this morning to take over my appointments. I don’t know who was more surprised: me to see my mum or Mum to realize that I had actually put all of those dreadful alteration charms to good use!”
Harry found her carefree laugh totally intoxicating as he joined in.
“I suppose I will have to endure a few ‘I told you so’s’ later, but it will be worth it!” Ginny sighed happily.
Ron and Hermione had caught up by now and Ginny briefly recounted the circumstances of her reprieve for their benefit.
“Professor Hooch offered to take over some of my appointments as well,” Hermione remarked, then added in a knowing whisper, “And I heard that the headmistress herself was going to mind the costume repository so that Tonks could also have some free time.”
“By the way, thanks for the scarf, Hermione,” said Ginny as she fingered the wooly boa that she had wrapped twice around her neck. “It’s just perfect on a day like this.”
Harry noticed for the first time that Hermione was wearing a similar scarf in a more muted color scheme. Catching Ron’s eye, he commented, “You’re awful quiet, Ron. Not wigging out on us are you?”
“Who can get a word in edgewise?” he joked.
After being waylaid by a group of third and fourth years, Hermione agreed to help them “ albeit briefly “ with their last minute costume issues.
“Now you realize that today is my day off,” she admonished them with a smile. “I have some preparations of my own to make but I will get you started. Make sure to insist that any needed adjustments be completed right here in Hogsmeade while you wait. You may have to pay a little extra for this. Remember there is no guarantee that we will be able to accommodate you back at Hogwarts.”
Turning briefly to Ginny, she beseeched, “You wouldn’t mind supervising Harry’s fitting, would you? I’ll take care of all the items that we need from Fred and George. Ron should be able to help me carry everything.”
With a quick wave, she allowed herself to be herded down the High Street towards Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes and the costume annex. Ron flashed Harry an indulgent smile before following in her wake.
Ginny led Harry doggedly down one of the side lanes to the porticoed door of Gladrags Wizard Wear. In the shadow of the eves, the temperature seemed to have dropped considerably and it was a pleasure just to duck inside the warm store.
With a few practiced flicks of his wand, an elderly wizard completed the necessary adjustments. Harry surmised that the tape measure draped around the wizard’s neck must be just for ceremonial purposes. Looking at his image in the long mirror, Harry concluded that the fit was pretty near perfect. He caught Ginny watching him with an appraising look that he didn’t quite recognize and smiled back at her in the reflection. In a matter of moments, he had picked out some additional shirt studs and the wizard was handing him a large bundle that had been carefully wrapped and tied with a string.
They hurried along through the bracing cold to their next stop, Scrivenshaft’s Quill Shop, where Ginny located the small parchment note cards that she needed. Errands completed, they started to work their way back down to the main thoroughfare. By mutual agreement, they were going to skip Fred and George’s shop and go to the Three Broomsticks instead. Harry suggested they go around the back way to minimize the risk of being ambushed.
As they neared the end of one of the lanes close to the pub, Harry noticed that the cobblestone streets were practically choked with students. Ginny grabbed him by the arm at the last minute and pulled him back into the shelter of the narrow alley. Directly across from them was the entrance to the Three Broomsticks.
“Looks like they’re holding court, doesn’t it?” Ginny whispered, motioning to the small throng that had gathered around the figures of Lupin and Tonks.
They were too far away to hear any of the conversation, but Tonks’ purple hair was unmistakable as she gestured animatedly. Next to her, Lupin had thrown his head back in laughter. It was such a joyous scene, so different from the tortured glimpses of Tonks and Lupin that Harry remembered from last year, that he couldn’t help but smile.
“How can they honestly think that anyone who sees them together won’t instantly realize what they mean to one anther?” Ginny quietly noted. “I mean, you can just tell by the way they’re standing “ even though each of them is carrying on a different conversation “ that not two seconds before they were walking arm in arm.”
Harry was amazed at her powers of observation. “Hagrid says that students are so caught up in their own concerns that they don’t see half of what’s in front of them,” he offered.
“Hagrid shouldn’t generalize so much.”
As she leaned around him for a closer look, Harry was startled to realize that Ginny’s hands were wrapped around his arm in much the same manner that she had just attributed to Tonks. Stepping quickly out of her reach, he intoned in his best Lupin voice, “Have you totally lost your mind? What will people think?”
Ginny giggled and immediately tucked her hands into her vest pockets to hide her embarrassment. Harry started laughing, too, and before long they were leaning against the brick walls of the alleyway to keep from sliding to the ground with sheer mirth.
Startled by a small noise behind him, Harry looked up to find Fred (or was it George?) standing a few feet behind them in the alleyway.
“How long have you been standing there?” he asked warily.
“Long enough to realize that you do the worse imitation of Remus Lupin that I have ever seen!”
“If it’s so bad, George, how did you realize it was Lupin?” Ginny pointed out.
George made a small face at Ginny and then said, “I saw you two sneak by when I went to the stock room. The place is an absolute zoo today! Hermione asked me to remind you, Ginny, that you’re having your hair styled at three today.” Message delivered, George Disapparated with a hollow pop.
“Oh, I almost forgot!” Ginny declared. “Do you know any short-cuts back to the castle, Harry?”
Having trekked through most of the neighboring woods during his lessons with Lupin, Harry was only too happy to oblige.
As Harry and Ginny hiked up the last rise, they could see the spires of Hogwarts castle on the horizon. There was a lengthy queue of returning students waiting to be admitted through the gate by Filch. By the slow rate at which they were advancing, it was clear that he was taking ample time inspecting all of their packages thoroughly.
Nearly half an hour passed and they had barely inched forward. Ron and Hermione drew abreast, clearly short of breath from trying to out-walk those who were still clamoring for extra costuming assistance.
“Oh look, they’re starting a second queue!” Hermione cried as she craned her neck to see.
The tiny figure of Professor Flitwick was making his way down the queue referring to his clipboard at regular intervals. When he spied Hermione and Ginny, he waved them forward, then nodded to the boys to indicate that they should follow as well. As they approached the impromptu station that had been set up on the other side of the gate, Filch looked up from his inspection and cast Flitwick a nasty look. Flitwick smiled indulgently in return.
“Looks like you girls are both down for afternoon appointments,” Flitwick began. Gesturing for them to place their packages on the small table, he quickly went over them with his wand. “No hexes here,” he announced brightly. “Before I let you through, though, the headmistress requested that I do a Patronus check “ part of the extra security for the Halloween Ball, I’m afraid. I am correct that each of you is able to produce a corporeal Patronus?”
Flitwick motioned them over to the side so that they would have more room. Making sure that he was out of Filch’s range, he whispered, “I guarantee you that this will be much less painful that Mr. Filch’s tactics. I got word that he was threatening to use his Probity Probe to expedite matters.”
“Excuse me, Professor, but isn’t that rather extreme?” Hermione inquired in an urgent whisper. “Who issued him such a device?”
“Claims it was an anonymous Christmas present. Right proud of it he was, too,” confided Flitwick. “He’s been waiting for just the right opportunity for months.”
Ron bent over and spoke directly into Flitwick’s ear. “Doesn’t he know that Probity Probes are manufactured by Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes?”
Flitwick’s eyes grew larger as he muffled a chuckle into a cough. “Is that so?”
“I think I have a catalogue; give me a second,” Ron added as he riffled urgently through his jacket pockets. He pulled out a rumbled flyer and pointed to a line drawing of the Probity Probe.
“Do you think I could borrow this?” Flitwick asked as he darted a quick look to make sure that Filch was otherwise occupied. “Now what was the name of that Quidditch magazine that you boys like so much?”
“You mean Which Broomstick?” Harry offered.
“Exactly!” Flitwick quickly transformed the flyer into an old issue of Which Broomstick and tucked it into the inside pocket of his school robes. “My secret weapon,” he announced softly as he allowed himself a small smile. Raising his voice to a more normal level, he added, “Now for the Patronuses?”
Harry’s mood was such that he instantly produced a silver stag that went cantering around the fence line. Ron’s terrier easily gave chase, barking silently all the way. The sleek otter that Hermione produced actually gamboled right up to Flitwick before scampering off towards the lake.
“Now, my dear, what shape does your Patronus take?” inquired Flitwick turning to Ginny. “The chart only says ‘bird’, but I really need to update that to something more specific.”
“I think it’s a phoenix,” Ginny answered softly as she crouched down to speak more directly to the Professor.
“Could that be?” Flitwick inquired with interest. “I mean now that Dumbledore’s gone, I guess it’s possible. When did you first learn the Patronus Charm?”
“I was a member of the Dumbledore’s Army group during my fourth year,” she answered honestly.
“Of course, I forgot that you were part of the brave resistance front,” Flitwick mused as he motioned her forward. “It won’t be a phoenix then, but why don’t you demonstrate?”
Ginny’s wand began to glow brightly and a winged shape shot out of the tip. Harry could see that it was clearly wreathed in flames.
“Excellent!” Flitwick pronounced as he made some notes on his clipboard. “I can see why you’d be confused with all the flames. That, my dear, was a fire lizard “ a very rare and very dangerous beast indeed.”
“But aren’t fire lizards a myth?” Ginny inquired anxiously.
“Oh, no; they just inhabit the most remote regions of the planet,” Flitwick assured her. “Practically extinct, they are “ but not imaginary by any means. It makes my heart glad to see that your Patronus has chosen that particular shape; it proves that fire lizards have not yet died out.”
As they hurried up the inclined lawn to the main doors of the castle, Harry couldn’t help but wonder who had given the Probity Probe to Filch.
“Do you think Umbridge gave it to him?” Ron asked as if he had read Harry’s thoughts.
“Well, he certainly was a fan of her disciplinary methods.”
“I think it was Fred and George,” Ginny announced with conviction. “Tricking Filch into actually using a banned product sounds like just the type of twisted joke that would appeal to them.”
As everyone burst out laughing, Harry couldn’t help thinking that Fred and George were bloody brilliant!
Harry Potter and the Hero's Lament by L A Moody
Chapter Notes: A last minute trip to Hogsmeade village in preparation for the Halloween Ball; Ginny identifies the shape of her Patronus.