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 27
Wolf Among the Flock
Hermione was not surprised at all that McGonagall had placed new restrictions on the use of the Room of Requirement.
“I was wondering how she would insure that the school was not breached again,” she affirmed. “Frankly, I’m surprised she didn’t just board the room up!”
Harry’s heart involuntarily skipped a beat, but he was immediately hearted to hear Ron reply, “Ancient magic is not so easily thwarted, Hermione; I would think you would recognize that by now.”
“And McGonagall hasn’t announced it to the entire school because she’s not entirely certain which of the students know about the room and which do not,” Neville added with flawless logic.
“So you think it might be some sort of a trap?” Ron inquired.
Harry shrugged his shoulders as Hermione rebutted, “If that’s so, then wouldn’t Lupin be undermining the headmistress’ authority by telling us about it?”
“Hermione, Lupin knows that we hold practice sessions in the Room of Requirement. I told him as much -- and he applauds our initiative,” Harry explained. “I think he stuck his neck out to give us a heads up, let’s not betray his trust in us.”
“But what about poor Winky?” Hermione asked, changing directions like a weather vane. “Doesn’t Dobby have the Room of Requirement transform itself into a nice secure place when Winky needs to sleep off an excess of butterbeer? I know he talked about how there were even little elf-sized beds. What will the room make of that request?”
On that note, Harry excused himself for the night and quietly closed the door to his room. He could still hear them but he no longer felt an obligation to participate in the conversation. The hypothetical discussion was finally brought to a close when Ron reminded everyone that house-elves were bound by a magic different than theirs; and consequently, there was no predicting anything to do with them in the first place. Harry concluded that Ron was to be commended for keeping the exasperated tone in his voice to an absolute minimum.
Leave it to Hermione to be concerned about the feelings of a house-elf when they were counting down to a confrontation with an evil the likes of which no one had previously encountered. It was all fine and good that she was willing to stand up for the rights of the downtrodden, Harry mused, but if the Order of the Phoenix did not prevail in the upcoming struggle, the house-elves would be lucky if they even survived.
With a weary sigh, Harry slid between the warm covers of his bed. It had been a frantic afternoon but in the end his panic had been unfounded. The Room of Requirement had opened and he had been able to verify that his prized volume of Advanced Potion-Making was undisturbed.
Before they knew it, November had rolled into December and it was time for Gryffindor to face Hufflepuff on the Quidditch pitch. Lupin and Tonks had apparently decided not to let their marriage stand in the way of their House allegiances and were each unabashedly supporting different teams. Neville reported that he thought Professor Sprout was secretly trying to win him over to her side even though he kept tactfully reminding her that he would be lynched in the Gryffindor common room if she did. To her credit, McGonagall was trying to remain impartial; although after reigning over Gryffindor for so many years, it was often rumored that she actually bled in red and gold.
The day of the match dawned grey and overcast, the low cloud cover giving the feeling that the sky was conspiring to keep them low to the ground. The cold rains from the week before had barely ended, leaving the air with just enough moisture to feel like an icy knife working its way through all manner of clothing.
Harry was awakened by someone abruptly shaking him by the shoulder. He tried to focus on Ron’s blurry face as he fumbled for his glasses on the nightstand. He found them right next to the alarm clock that he had sworn he had set the night before. Once everything was back in focus, he distinguished the concerned face of Hermione watching anxiously from the doorframe.
“Harry, I know I heard your alarm ringing earlier this morning,” she began. “Did you fall back to sleep?”
“I must have,” concluded Harry. “The match hasn’t started yet has it?”
“Not yet, mate,” Ron assured him, “But you haven’t much time if you want to make the opening whistle. Hermione’s taking some muffins and butterbeer in her rucksack to save you a bit of time with breakfast.”
“Dress warmly,” Hermione reminded him from the doorway. “I’ll use my rucksack to save you a space so we won’t be so crowded this time.”
Harry got dressed in record time and grabbed an extra jumper that he tied around his neck as a back up. He hesitated at the door to his room then doubled back for a quick peek at the Marauder’s Map.
He intoned the required incantation to release the magical map of Hogwarts castle contained within the parchment. The entire school seemed to be emptying out the doors and out to the Quidditch pitch, a line of black ants all traveling in tandem. He quickly scanned the empty halls, looking for anyone that might be engaged in questionable activities. Other than Professor Trelawney in her tower and Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing, the school was empty except for the small dot labeled “Harry Potter”. He found Filch and Mrs. Norris, his cat, patrolling the back lawn but there were too many dots superimposed on the viewing stands and field itself to be able to distinguish anyone in particular.
Harry was about to wipe the surface when an errant thought occurred to him. He traced the requisite pattern with his wand and then commanded, “Map, show location of Severus Snape only.” Harry was not surprised when the castle hallways and rooms remained blank. He was about to fold up the parchment for storage when he caught a small movement near the edge. There approaching the Quidditch pitch, where he would be hidden among all the spectators, was a dot labeled “Severus Snape.”
Suddenly energized, Harry fumbled hastily through the bottom layers of his trunk, finally locating the Omnioculars that he had purchased at the Quidditch World Cup. He strung the strap around his neck, not bothering to tuck them under his jacket as they were not likely to arouse anyone’s suspicions. Hastily refolding the Map into his pocket, he was halfway down the grand staircase before he remembered to tap it with his wand and whisper, “Mischief managed.”
Harry raced to the Quidditch pitch, arriving just in time to catch the opening whistle from the sidelines. He stopped momentarily to catch his breath and scan the stands with the Omnioculars. Almost immediately, he located Lupin seated near the front of the Gryffindor stands with Hermione and Ron nearby. He took off at a trot and tried to climb the stairs at a steady pace to allow his breathing to return to normal. He was only partially successful, and finally had to stop on one of the deserted landings to allow the spots to clear from his vision.
When he was certain that nothing in his outward demeanor would betray the turmoil within, Harry serenely climbed the last short flight of stairs and emerged onto the reviewing stand. Trotting down the few steps to the bleachers as if he didn’t have a care in the world, he slipped into the empty space next to Lupin and waved to Hermione and Ron who were seated on the Professor’s other side. Hermione motioned to the contents of her rucksack and handed it over by way of Neville who was seated just in front.
Lupin turned and greeted Harry warmly. “You just missed the opening whistle, no score yet.”
“Caught it from the sidelines,” Harry replied nonchalantly as he strained to catch sight of a play at the opposite end of the field. He lifted the Omnioculars to his eyes and leaned forward, using the opportunity to lay a hand on Lupin’s shoulder for balance. He sat back down but left his hand lingering on Lupin’s shoulder for emphasis. He could tell from the way that Lupin’s body had momentarily twitched that the signal had been understood.
Gryffindor scored a goal and they took the opportunity to rise to their feet with the others. Lupin used the jubilation to cast a surreptitious muffliato charm so that they could at least talk freely, even though their motions could still be observed.
“Tell me what’s happened, Harry,” Lupin urged as he leaned over casually, maintaining eye contact with the match before them. “This cloak and dagger stuff is making me extremely uneasy.”
“Just make sure you keep a neutral face, Professor,” Harry cautioned. “I took a quick look at my Map before heading down here and it revealed that Snape was lurking among the crowds on the Quidditch pitch.”
Harry felt the shock radiate from Lupin as he did his best to remain impassive. Lupin made to borrow Harry’s Omnioculars and took the opportunity to ask, “Where was he exactly?”
Hufflepuff scored a goal as Harry replied, “Just on the other side of the changing rooms. That area was mobbed right before the start of the game. Should I check the Map again?”
Lupin timed the shaking of his head with a missed goal by Gryffindor, but Harry would have been hard pressed to recall the clumsy player’s name. “It’s not a good idea to let anyone else know you have that Map, either. Security measures are such that the headmistress would want to confiscate it for her own use.”
“Surely, you don’t intend for us to do nothing?” Harry asked, beginning to be a bit bewildered.
“No, but I don’t want to start a wide-spread panic, either. Nor do I want to alert our quarry that he has been discovered.” They stood up once again to cheer as Gryffindor scored another goal. “Next time you get an opportunity, scan the Ravenclaw spectators: locate Professor Flitwick-- he is your goal. Then find someone else you know that you can use as a pretext to visit the stands. Stop by for an impromptu word with Flitwick, a last minute thing as you are turning to leave. Tell him that I have caught a glimpse of someone who looks suspiciously like Snape hanging around the pitch, add the details from your own observation, explain that you have loaned me your Omnioculars so that I can keep a lookout from the stands.” Gryffindor scored another goal. “Let Flitwick take it from there. I expect that he will alert the others, including Neville and Luna; but since it is their function to patrol normally, no one will suspect that anything out of the ordinary has occurred.”
Harry took a long swallow of butterbeer to wet his suddenly dry throat and then set off. He encountered Flitwick just coming down from the reviewing stands and made as if to pass him, then doubled-back as if he had remembered something. Flitwick nodded curtly to indicate that he understood the situation and walked away in his usual purposeful manner. Harry stopped to chat with a few others that he met along the sidelines before returning to the Gryffindor stands, hoping that Lupin would be pleased with the improvisations that had been necessary.
Assuming the same nonchalance as before, he slipped into the empty space next to Lupin and casually asked for an update on the score. Lupin indicated that Hufflepuff was ahead 90 to 50 at this point.
Realizing that he was suddenly cold, Harry shrugged into his back-up jumper and then back into his jacket.
“I have some hot cocoa, if that will help,” Lupin offered companionably. He held up an ordinary thermos container and joked, “Medicinal purposes.”
“I’m actually more curious about the thermos,” Hermione whispered, leaning over.
“A gift from Arthur Weasley,” Lupin explained. “From back when he was in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. It’s been jacked up to keep things at a constant temperature indefinitely.”
“I could really use some coffee,” Harry mumbled, as Hermione took his half empty bottle of butterbeer and suddenly changed the contents to a deep brown color.
“Here,” she offered, handing the bottle back to him, “but I warn you that it always seems to come out as espresso when I do it. I really haven’t got the proper wrist action, or so Professor McGonagall always tells me.”
Empty mugs arrived from the depths of Hermione’s rucksack and hot mochas were passed around among the four of them. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry noticed Luna walk down to where Neville was seated in the next row and whisper something in his ear. Neville immediately got up and followed her to the exit.
The second half of the game passed more pleasantly than the first. Harry was finally able to concentrate on the match, and with Robert’s expert commentary, he was soon caught up on all the action. Hufflepuff had amassed an impressive lead of 150 to Gryffindor’s 70, mainly due to the shortcomings of the Gryffindor Keeper.
Lupin was having great fun with the Omnioculars, mastering the use of all the special features. Harry noticed that he often watched the far Hufflepuff stand where Tonks was reigning supreme as the unofficial team mascot. Even without magnification, Harry could see that she was in high spirits, jumping up and down continually in her fur-lined parka, a miniature Eskimo in a roiling mass of yellow and black stripes.
The bleachers beneath him seemed to sway with a collective groan as the Hufflepuffs scored yet another goal. The Hufflepuff stand erupted in cheering, just as a blur of movement on the far side of the field caught Harry’s attention. Harry grabbed Lupin’s sleeve and pointed. It was Ginny with the Snitch. Gryffindor had managed to come from behind!
Flitwick shook his head as they approached to indicate that the intruder had not been apprehended. A barricade had been erected around the Quidditch pitch as a precaution, but the general consensus was that their quarry had escaped.
Teachers were being called to the front of the line to assist so Lupin hastily handed the Omnioculars back to Harry and whispered, “Thanks. I saved you some bits to replay later.”
Once Harry, Ron and Hermione had produced Patronuses for Flitwick, he asked if they would assist with checking through some of the others students. Tonks’ recent classes on the Patronus Charm had apparently been very successful, although that meant a lot more students to be checked through one-by-one.
They agreed, but Harry asked if he could have a moment with Professor Lupin first. Flitwick took over Lupin’s post momentarily while Harry walked a short distance away for a spot of privacy.
“Professor, I’ve just had the germ of an idea,” Harry began tentatively. “Would it be possible to get a copy of that list that shows the Patronuses for all the teachers?”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Lupin agreed although Harry could tell that the man was dying to ask a whole bevy of follow-up questions. “Do you need the one for the students as well? I believe it’s quite extensive.”
“Just the sixth and seventh years if you can, but that’s not as important as the other.”
Lupin nodded, then in a voice loud enough for the immediate vicinity he added, “Of course, Harry! You know I wouldn’t dream of missing the Gryffindor victory party! What kind of a Head of House do you think I am?”
With a curt wave, Lupin returned to his post and Flitwick turned Harry over to the capable hands of Professor McGonagall. She handed him a clipboard and showed him the charm that would bring forth the data for each year, then how to locate the House; after that, everything else was alphabetical. If the chart indicated that a student could not do the charm at all, he was to direct them to the far line where Filch was checking them over with the Secrecy Sensor. If they could produce only a non-corporeal Patronus”this was by far the largest group, McGonagall explained-- he was to send them over to the line where Neville and Luna were checking for the silver smoke in groups of three or four.
“Any discrepancies, no matter how minor, please report to Professor Tonks or myself,” finished the headmistress.
Harry identified a number of discrepancies, but they all turned out to fall into one of two categories. There were those students who were producing first time Patronuses which had not yet been documented by Tonks, and those that had been previously successful but had become suddenly shy under close scrutiny. After watching Tonks assist one of the shy ones, Harry found that he could handle these himself by just giving them an extra bit of personalized attention.
With all of them working diligently, it still took them nearly two hours to check everyone through. The Quidditch teams were the last to arrive at the checkpoints, the Gryffindors lagging behind even more along with a small group of revelers. Ginny timed it so that she was the last one through Harry’s station.
She looked around carefully before sidling up to Harry and boldly whispering, “Isn’t there any other way I can convince you of my identity?”
Harry remembered only too well the heady feeling that a Quidditch victory created and he regretted that he was going to have to disappoint her. “I could suggest that you go through Ron’s checkpoint -- I’m sure he won’t be too angry about having to retrieve his clipboard from the headmistress.” Harry’s arm indicated the general direction where McGonagall and Flitwick were collecting all the checkpoint data.
The motion must have attracted Lupin’s attention, as he eased over and inquired, “Is there some sort of problem here?”
“Ginny wanted to know if there was some other way she could prove her identity to us?”
“I see,” Lupin replied, “lost your wand, have you?... Here, take mine. You’re talented enough to be able to perform the charm with someone else’s wand “ or at least the real Ginny Weasley would be…”
“Oh, you’re incorrigible!” Ginny replied, pretending to be miffed. She whipped out her wand and issued forth the silver fire lizard that was uniquely hers. “My way would have been much more fun.” She pouted for Harry’s benefit as she flounced off.
Harry shook his head and tried unsuccessfully to hide his smile. “I’m having second thoughts about that victory party,” he confided to Lupin.
“Just wait until Tonks gets there; you know how it is when they get together,” Lupin noted wryly.
Harry had forgotten about Tonks. “She’s not going to commiserate with the Hufflepuffs then?”
“Not initially, anyway. We had a bet going and she’s going to have to deliver.”
Harry decided that things were looking up after all: Ginny wouldn’t try to put the squeeze on him unless they were pretty much alone and the presence of Tonks guaranteed that it was going to be a boisterous party. He couldn’t wait to find out what the wager had been.
Harry Potter and the Hero's Lament by L A Moody
Chapter Notes: The match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff draws uninvited spectators as Lupin and Tonks unabashedly support different teams.