Chapter 52
The Contingency Plan
Both Professor Sprout and Madam Pomfrey were waiting for them when they tumbled from the hearth. Once the residue Floo powder cleared in the air, Harry saw that they had been transported directly to the seventh-year common room. He noticed the anxious faces of Ron, Hermione, Neville and Luna in the background as he was engulfed in a huge hug by Ginny.
“We’ve been so worried!” she breathed in Harry’s ear as the others crowded around.
“Time for updates later,” the deputy headmistress announced in a cheery no-nonsense tone. “First order of business for Harry: you must go downstairs for supper in the Great Hall. It’s essential that you be seen tonight, that everyone thinks there is nothing out of the ordinary going on. It’s not unusual for you to keep to yourself during the day doing research or the like, but you need to be seen in the company of your friends tonight. Now go, before the dinner hour is over!”
Harry changed into a comfortable sweatshirt and tugged off his hiking boots with a sigh. Before ducking through the sconce, he hazarded a backwards glance in Tonks’ direction. She seemed a shell of her normal self, a drab child chatting with the robust figure of Professor Sprout while Madam Pomfrey hovered in the background.
Catching the import of his gaze, Professor Sprout smiled in Harry’s direction. “Don’t worry about us girls. We’ll be fine dining up here in private. Let’s see if my newfound rank can get us any special favors. Is there anything you fancy in particular, Tonks, dear?”
Confident that Tonks would be well looked after, Harry joined the others waiting for him on the grand staircase.
After the forced quietude of St. Mungo’s, the Great Hall seemed like a seething mass of unruly animals. The four of them found a corner at the Gryffindor table while Neville joined Luna with the other Ravenclaws. To his surprise, Harry found that his stomach was much hungrier than his brain had been telling him; he was soon too occupied with his food to be much involved in the conversations around him. He chatted briefly with all those that he saw but politely declined any invitations for customary Thursday night activities in the main common room.
“I’ve a huge project due next week that I’ve left on the back burner for far too long,” Harry moaned yet again. Nods of commiseration were the standard response he received.
Back in the common room, he found Tonks and Professor Sprout still lingering over a small table that had been set up in the far corner. Harry pulled Ginny down next to him on the nearest sofa but they enjoyed only a few minutes of peace before the sconce admitted Ron and Hermione, followed in quick succession by Neville and Luna back from their early rounds.
“If you don’t mind sharing, there’s a fair amount of the pumpkin crème brulée remaining,” the deputy headmistress suggested as she placed the ceramic dish accompanied by a handful of spoons on the low table before the hearth.
True to form, Luna got there first but it wasn’t long before they were all digging heartily into the creamy custard hidden beneath a smoky crust of crunchy caramel. Clearly this was another offering that was not generally available in the Great Hall. Tonks provided them with a brief summary of Lupin’s condition while the last drops were licked lovingly from their spoons.
“I don’t have to remind you that this information is not for general consumption,” Professor Sprout cautioned them. “From hence forward, all conversations concerning Professor Lupin’s health are to be confined to this common room or to a private office. Is that understood?”
“Excuse me, Professor,” Neville remarked, “but you make it sound as if Professor Lupin’s done something wrong.”
“Not wrong, Neville, but still inexcusable in certain people’s eyes, unfortunately.” At the blank expressions around her, the deputy headmistress elaborated softly, “He had the misfortune of becoming a werewolf through no fault of his own. Hogwarts’ Board of Governors does not need to be reminded of this or they may wish to rethink his appointment.”
“That would be grossly unfair!” Hermione cried defiantly.
“The world isn’t ruled by fairness, my dear,” Professor Sprout returned. “We must approach this in a realistic manner or others will think they can make decisions for us.”
“There’s a very distinct possibility that we will be forced to discontinue Remus’ medication for a short period of time,” Tonks volunteered. “Although everything will be sorted out before the next full moon and no real danger is involved, it cannot become common knowledge. Each day that he fails to take that potion, he’s in violation of his employment contract with the headmistress.”
“I can’t believe Professor McGonagall would impose such a hardship as a condition of employment!” Ginny declared.
“I don’t think she did,” Professor Sprout acknowledged in a sympathetic voice. “But the Board of Governors would have insisted upon it. Professor McGonagall argued his case long and hard before them… Other than ourselves and Madam Pomfrey, this will not become common knowledge to the staff, either. Just so you’re prepared, Madam Pomfrey will not discuss anyone else’s health issues and Professor Lupin will consider it extremely unsporting to be reminded of something that has been the bane of his existence.”
“Why tell us then?” Ron questioned with an exaggerated shrug.
“Because the six of you are vital to the contingency plan. You will be taking over the Transfiguration and Dark Arts classes in the absence of the professors.”
“How long do you expect that to be?” Luna’s soft voice inquired.
“Hopefully, not more than a day or two. But the headmistress and I agreed that just canceling their classes would create too much of an illusion of chaos within the school. As you can see, while Professor McGonagall was able to take over the Transfiguration classes today, she will need to recuperate tomorrow from her vigil.”
“Just tell us where you want us to be,” Ginny acknowledged her willingness to help.
They listened eagerly as the deputy headmistress outlined the plan that would assign Hermione and Ron to take over the Transfiguration classes with Professor Flitwick observing in the background; Ginny, Luna and Neville would be leading the Dark Arts classes with Hagrid as their enforcer. Hagrid was also to assume any emergency duties that might fall to the Gryffindor Head of House although he was to keep Professor Sprout informed at all times.
“Are you sure about Hagrid, Professor?” Harry cautioned. “His heart’s in the right place but he does have a way of letting things slip accidentally.”
“Your point’s well taken, Harry,” returned Professor Sprout. “We have made allowances for Hagrid’s shortcomings. He has been informed only that the professors were called away for a family emergency; that’s the line that everyone else has been given also. No details to Hagrid about Professor Lupin’s health issues, please. Everyone needs to be clear on this.”
“What about Harry?” Hermione inquired. “Doesn’t he have any duties?”
“The headmistress preferred that he continue to accompany Tonks--”
“”act as her accomplice, more like,” Ron scoffed.
“Call it what you like, Ron.” Professor Sprout sighed wearily. “I hardly think Harry’s stint at St. Mungo’s today was the lark that you seem to think it was, but the moral support he provided to Tonks was immeasurable. Harry, Minerva also suggested that the final decision should be yours. I’m sure that the Dark Arts classes would be glad of your assistance since you’re already a familiar face for many of them.”
Harry felt all heads swivel in his direction, awaiting his response. How could he tell them that he would feel like a deserter if he let Tonks shoulder the burden all by herself? He looked towards Tonks for some guidance, wishing he possessed some of Lupin’s innate ability to deflect matters that were too personal.
“Don’t I have a say in the matter?” Tonks weighed in. “Harry’s assistance with the antidote preparation was invaluable today. He kept me on an even keel when I probably would have been half-crazed from worry and lack of sleep. Let me be a little selfish and take him with me tomorrow, as well. As a special favor to me, Harry?”
Harry nodded never taking his eyes from Tonks’ face, admiring her ability to unveil her vulnerability without appearing weak.
Professor Sprout accepted Harry’s decision and added, “You must make sure that you go down to breakfast in the Great Hall tomorrow before you leave then, even though that is not always your habit. Make sure that they see you at breakfast and no one will question why you’re not there at lunch. Understood? Tonks, on the other hand, should not leave these suites for any reason other than to return to St. Mungo’s. Access your private quarters via Floo to retrieve any personal items you may need. Hermione, are you sure that you don’t mind sharing your room with Tonks tonight?”
“If that’s what she prefers, it’s fine by me. It will be just like a girls’ sleep over.”
“The headmistress will be by first thing in the morning to give you an update on Professor Lupin. Trust that he will be fine in her capable hands tonight. For those of you who may feel a need to do a bit of exploring--” Professor Sprout looked directly at Ron, Harry, and then Tonks, “”she warns that the Floo connection to St. Mungo’s will remain disconnected until she returns in the morning.”
Once Tonks and Hermione could be heard talking softly from the next room and Ron offered to assist Neville and Luna with their rounds, Harry finally found a few quiet moments to share with Ginny. The fire was dying down but the soft glow felt more soothing to his tired eyes. The silken touch of Ginny’s hand on his cheek made him feel that he was safe and secure “ at least for now.
“That was a very brave decision to go with Tonks tomorrow,” she whispered.
“Ron didn’t seem to think so.”
“He can be a prat sometimes.”
“You don’t think I’m deserting you by not helping with the Dark Arts classes, then?”
“You’d only upstage me anyway.”
Harry laughed softly. “Thanks for understanding, Gin.”
“How could I not? I love him, too.”
It was not until early afternoon the next day that Harry was allowed to visit Lupin. Healer Hudson had come to fetch them from the waiting area, advising them that the patient was finally awake. He insisted on limiting the number of visitors to two at a time so Tonks’ parents indicated that Harry should accompany Tonks for the first round.
The private room where Lupin rested could only be described as austere; nothing more than a bed, a metal nightstand and a few chairs that had probably only been brought in for their visit. Still, it was an improvement from the windowless cell in which he had spent the previous night. Harry found the resemblance to the Closed Ward that housed the incurable cases to be extremely unsettling. Not for the first time, he wondered how people were expected to recuperate in such surroundings. Perhaps their goal was to inspire patients to seek the escape that only renewed health could guarantee.
Lupin was in a cheerful mood, trying to coerce the attendant to bring him another glass of pumpkin juice. He provided a stark contrast to the surroundings, propped up on a mountain of pillows and dressed in neatly pressed pajamas that bore the Dior logo stitched over the pocket. He smiled broadly when he caught sight of them.
“I’d wish you a ‘good morning’, but I’ve just been dutifully informed that it’s afternoon,” he offered.
“I’m glad to see that you’re feeling better,” Tonks returned as she walked over to this bedside. “You were only interested in sleeping the day away yesterday.”
“Definitely feeling more like myself,” Lupin admitted as he clasped Tonks’ elbow and drew her close for a lingering kiss.
The look that he gave Harry after Tonks broke away was so mischievous that Harry could only break out in laughter.
“I’ll just settle for a simple hug, if you don’t mind,” Harry quipped in response.
“You both are just incorrigible,” Tonks observed happily as she drew her chair closer. “The headmistress seemed rather worn out when she returned this morning. Did you manage to lead her on a moonlit romp through the deserted streets of London?”
“If only.” Lupin sighed. “It was a long and sleepless night, cherub. Please thank her for me; I wouldn’t be in such good shape today without her companionship.”
“I will, Remus, but you will probably get the opportunity yourself. The Healers are predicting that your body may seek an encore this evening.”
Lupin nodded ruefully. “They told me much the same thing. You think Minerva will be willing to stand by me again?”
“I think you’d have to forcibly restrain her to keep her away,” Tonks supplied.
“You should have seen the headmistress stand up to the Healers yesterday,” volunteered Harry. “Her eyes were like daggers!”
Lupin chuckled. “They’re not the first to underestimate her, although many have thought that it would be their last action on this earth.”
“You are aware that the Order has placed a guard?” Tonks reminded him.
“Kingsley filled me in after you and Harry left yesterday,” Lupin concurred. “They’re enforcing the no deliveries option that was agreed upon?”
“Absolutely,” Tonks replied. “The headmistress’ contingency plan should take care of a lot of that as well.”
Harry shuddered at the memory of the poor patient who had been assassinated by a deadly plant that was smuggled in as a get-well gift. Even more disconcerting was that he was fairly certain he had witnessed the delivery at the over-worked front desk when he had been visiting Mr. Weasley. No one had noticed that it was a Devil’s Snare plant until Broderick Bode was found strangled in this bed the next day.
“Dad’s having a hard time understanding why he can’t just bring you a few bottles of cognac as an aid to your recovery, though,” she added with a small curl of a smile.
Lupin laughed outright. “The Healers will surely accuse him of trying to bring a bit of cheer to the establishment. Please ask him to send the bottles to the school directly and offer him my regrets that I won’t be able to join him in a toast this time around.”
“Not to worry, Remus,” came Ted Tonks’ hearty tones. “Alastor here remembered to bring his hip flask!”
The familiar face of Augustus Pye was peeking around the three newcomers that stood in the doorway.
“Forgive me, Remus, Tonks,” Augustus offered with a smile. “They forced admittance at wand point. Just kick them out if you get too tired, Remus. I will make sure that Jeremy is occupied with enforcing his capriciousness on those who will truly appreciate it.”
Harry offered his chair to Andromeda so that he could clap Moody with a hearty hello.
“I see you’ve all met, then,” Remus remarked.
“Oh, yes,” Tonks assured him. “My dad and Alastor have been trading stories most of the morning.”
Harry smiled, recalling the outlandish tales the two had bandied back and forth. From the sheer scale of the adventures that each claimed, it was remarkable that they had not already achieved world renown.
“I’m sorry I missed that,” Lupin exclaimed with a twinkle. “Let me make a guess here: Ted brought back more artifacts, but Alastor left a longer trail of broken hearts. Right?”
By the laughter and slightly embarrassed expressions that broke out among the visitors, Harry could see that Lupin had hit it right on the mark.
“Well, I was a bit of a rake in my younger years, back when I had me looks,” Moody muttered, giving Andromeda a sly wink with his normal eye.
Pleased that he would be able to report that Lupin had been in fine spirits, Harry made his quick farewells in the waiting room. He agreed to be the first to return to the school in order to allow Tonks a few private moments with her parents. Hestia Jones arrived to relieve Moody and joined in conversation with the headmistress almost immediately.
McGonagall stopped for a brief word with Tonks before she allowed herself to be escorted to the secure area to join Lupin.
“Are you certain you wish to go through this again, Minerva?” Tonks insisted.
“Yes, dear, I’ll be just fine,” the headmistress assured her, although Harry detected a note of apprehension in her tone. “It won’t be as much of a shock now that I know what to expect.”
“The Healers are predicting that tonight’s episode will probably be much shorter, if that’s any consolation.”
“I’ll be sure to take a few cat naps, then.” McGonagall smiled. “You need to get some rest tonight yourself. Hermione said you were up half the night worrying about the contingency plan.”
“How did things go today?” Tonks asked anxiously.
“Famously, or so Pomona reports. I confess I slept most of the day away. I’m sure she’ll fill you in on the details over supper. I put in a special request for the Dover sole.” McGonagall’s smile widened as she saw Tonks’ eyes light up at the mention of the menu. “I’m sure Pomona will enjoy a glass of that delightful wine of yours.”
With a final glance in their direction, Harry released his fistful of Floo powder in the grate to allow himself to be whooshed back to Gryffindor Tower.
The Great Hall at dinner was even more boisterous than Harry remembered, mainly due to the next afternoon’s Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Harry couldn’t believe he’d forgotten all about it “ especially since it had been the major reason he’d hardly seen Ginny for the past few weeks.
Remembering to refrain from discussing Lupin at dinner, Harry simply listened as he was regaled with tales of the classes that the other five had valiantly helmed during the course of the day. The ingenuity that each had displayed would make for great retelling tomorrow, he thought, then realized with a pang of regret that he would probably be missing Ginny’s Quidditch match in the bargain.
“It’s too bad the match couldn’t be rescheduled,” Harry commiserated with Ginny once they were alone.
She shrugged in resignation. “It would blow the contingency plan, wouldn’t it?”
“Just think of your accomplishments with the Dark Arts classes to bolster your spirits tomorrow. How bad can a team of seven players be in comparison to facing an entire classroom of rowdy second and third years?”
“I won’t have Hagrid’s bulk behind me, for one.”
“He’ll be rooting for you in the stands. You can always hear him over the other voices.”
“It’s a shame you won’t be there as well,” she added wistfully.
“I’m sorry. I wish it could be otherwise, truly,” Harry returned, grateful that she understood.
The late nights were beginning to take a toll on Lupin. He looked much more wan and listless than before even though the Healers reported that his episodes had been only intermittent the previous night.
“I just think he’s anxious to get back to his usual routine,” Augustus assured Tonks privately. “Nothing beats curling up in your own bed, being close to loved ones, feeling like you’re no longer an over-sized laboratory rat.”
Tonks giggled in spite of herself. “When do you think they’ll spring him then?”
“If he doesn’t have a relapse tonight “ which is not expected, incidentally “ then probably tomorrow.”
“Have they told him yet?”
“You know they won’t make any promises ahead of time, Tonks. I’m just giving you a heads up because we’re friends.”
Harry smiled to think that this ordeal might soon be over as he pulled up a chair to Lupin’s bedside.
“I have news about the true goings on at Hogwarts yesterday,” Harry began in a conspiratorial tone. “They didn’t want me to tell you. Claimed your head might explode if you laughed too much, but I felt that it was my sworn duty.”
“You mean there’s a chance they may charge you with sedition if you continue?” Lupin grinned with a boyish twinkle in his eye.
“Worse. They’ll make me play Quidditch for Slytherin. Have you ever tried to ride a broom in a make-shift toga? It’s as if the wind is determined to unwrap you like a--”
“We get the picture, Harry,” Tonks interrupted as she pulled up a chair as well. “Will have a hard time cleansing it from my brain, as a matter of fact!”
Lupin was already chuckling at their outrageousness.
“Hermione and Ron were in charge of your Transfiguration classes,” Harry resumed, trying to remember the deluge of little details they had confided to him. “They were somewhat rowdy to begin with--”
“Was it Ron and Hermione that were rowdy or the students?” Ted quipped from the sidelines. “Forgive my manners. May I play, too?”
Harry barely contained his smirk as he continued in an affronted tone, “The students were a bit rowdy, not realizing that Professor Flitwick was waiting on the sidelines. So Ron whispers to Hermione out of the corner of his mouth, ‘Too bad you can’t do that cat transformation trick of McGonagall’s.’”
“Everyone can hear him with the acoustics in that room,” Lupin interjected with obvious amusement.
“Precisely. But Hermione takes it as a challenge “ you know how she is. So she climbs up on your desk to get everyone’s attention which just starts the class sniggering. Flitwick is already half-way down the stairs from the observation post, his wand clutched grimly in his hand--”
“I can just picture it.” Tonks was clutching her side.
“Hermione gets that determined, fiery look in her eye “ the one that should come with a warning label. She announces that there had been a change in lesson plan for the day and that they will be conjuring canaries out of thin air. She quickly demonstrates as if she were batting her eyelashes.
“ ‘And to show that I mean business, my canaries will be acting as the enforcers for today’s class,’ she tells them.
“The laughter begins slowly and then builds as the total absurdity of her statement sinks in. She just stands there with a ring of yellow canaries twittering around her head, Ron looking up at her like she’s totally lost her mind.”
“ ‘Mental,’ he always says,” supplied Lupin with a large grin.
“Exactly. She looks everyone squarely in the eye to catch their attention, and then she hesitates--”
“Cue drum roll offstage,” Tonks volunteered.
“”she hesitates just that one second more to sweeten the pot and then intones ever so softly, ‘Oppugno,’ and points her wand lazily at the canaries. The canaries fly into formation and with a grand flourish--” Harry demonstrated with an exaggerated windmill motion, “”directs them to attack the bulletin board at the back of the room.”
“Kamikaze canaries! You expect us to believe that?” Andromeda scoffed.
“Are you familiar with the spell?” Harry asked archly, turning in her direction.
“Not personally, no,” she returned defiantly. “What possible function could such a thing serve?”
“I’m sure Ron would be happy to fill you in as Hermione used it when she caught him snogging another girl last year. He still has faint scars on his arms, I kid you not!” Harry demonstrated a cringing Ron as he covered his head to ward off the canary attack.
As the laughter passed its zenith, Tonks remarked to Lupin. “Face it, darling, she totally upstaged you!”
“And by the way, Professor,” Harry added, “Hermione wanted me to inform you that every single student in all three of your Friday classes mastered conjuring canaries. She promised that you would teach them how to transform them into miniature dive bombers when you returned!”
“You know what the worst part is,” Lupin choked out to the group at large, “neither Ron nor Hermione are my direct students anymore so I can’t actually punish them for sheer cheekiness. Not when they’re ostensibly doing me a favor!”
“So what happened in Dora’s classes?” Ted urged, getting into the spirit of the thing.
“It’s not so easy to upstage a Metamorphmagus,” Andromeda supplied.
“No, it isn’t,” Harry admitted. “That’s why, in her wisdom, the headmistress assigned Neville, Luna and Ginny to take over her classes.”
“You remember Ginny, don’t you Mum, Dad?” Tonks urged.
“Of course, dear, she struck me as such a nice girl at the time.”
“You may have to revise your estimation of her, Andromeda,” Lupin commented. “Ginny’s Patronus is a fire lizard and you will find that it suits her perfectly.”
“So now you’re telling this story…” Harry intoned playfully as he looked directly at Lupin.
“Actually, I am,” rang Ginny’s voice from the doorway. “The headmistress gave me permission to visit this afternoon.” Suddenly in the spotlight, she strode boldly in the direction of Harry’s chair. “Obviously to make sure that my good name wasn’t being maligned by this reprobate here.” She leaned over quickly and gave Harry a spontaneous kiss.
Harry felt the color rise to his cheeks as the laughter erupted around him. Never challenge Ginny, he made a mental note to himself.
Ginny settled herself comfortably in cross-legged fashion at the foot of Lupin’s bed and took up the tale. “Since the three of us knew that Tonks’ students were all accustomed to spectacle, we concluded that we’d have to really go out of our way to guarantee their attention. Luckily, she’d been teaching her classes about dueling with wands which put us all at ease. So taking a page from Remus’ book, I transformed the Room of Requirement into a Roman arena--”
“And how exactly did you achieve that, Ginny, if I might ask?” Lupin ventured.
“By intoning that I needed a place to demonstrate hand-to-hand combat of the most barbarous sort for a large herd of cut-throat peasants who needed to be taught their true worth. You know, the same mantra you used when you took us there for our detention.”
Amid the laughter, Harry swore he heard Tonks resolutely promise Lupin that she would get him for that later!
Catching everyone’s eye, Ginny continued, “So Hagrid herds the unwashed masses into their tiers, their little eyes wide as saucers, not knowing what to expect. He stands there with his arms crossed just daring them to misbehave, looking like the perfect Saracen bodyguard.
“Luna and Neville are flanking me and I walk up to the center of the arena and announce, ‘My name is Ginny Weasley and I am a gladiator!’
“Before the obligatory ooh’s and ahh’s die down, this one little witch stands up and proclaims, “Oh, you’re Harry’s--’ She pauses ever so innocently as Hagrid takes a menacing step towards her.
“ ‘Yeh’d better think carefully how yeh finish tha’ sentence,’ he warns.
“ ‘Let her speak, Hagrid.’ Neville steps forward.
“ ‘We can always use a volunteer for the second round,’ Luna adds in her dreamy tone.
“Then from the row next to her, this other little girl whispers very loudly, ‘Weren’t you going to say “boy-toy”, Sarah?’”
Harry buried his face in his hands as the laughter erupted once more. Of course it was Sarah, he thought, as he imagined himself writing her name in blood.
“Sarah’s infamous,” Tonks echoed, catching Lupin’s eye.
“Weren’t you a bit like that when you were her age?” Ted opined.
Ginny waited for the hilarity to die down slightly before she took up the reins once more. “So Sarah gulps noticeably as Hagrid’s vein starts to throb. You know the one on the right side of his neck, just past his beard. She looks around as if expecting someone to come to her rescue, as if everyone isn’t waiting with bated breath for her to finally get hers. Finally she says very demurely, ‘I don’t know what all the fuss is about, I was only going to suggest “ merely suggest, mind you “ that Ginny was Harry’s sparring partner.’”
At this point, Augustus Pye poked his head in the door and whispered, “You’re all having entirely too much fun for a serious place of healing. You’re just lucky that the rest of the ward is empty or I don’t think I would’ve had room to wrestle Jeremy to the floor.”
“He’s just jealous that my agent’s already booked these two for the Visitor’s Tearoom upstairs,” Tonks proclaimed. “I get a finder’s fee, you know.”
“Gus, perhaps you’re approaching this the wrong way,” Lupin remarked, motioning him over. “I can’t think of anything that would make me happier than getting booted out of this place. If having the wildest party in town will do it, I’m all for it.”
“If I thought that would work, I’d make a run for the Firewhiskey myself,” Jeremy pronounced with decorum. “How about giving the Healers a bit of face time with Remus here and then your troupe can come back for the second act. Maybe some costumes? Nice bit of voice work there,” he complimented Ginny as he motioned her away from the foot of the bed.
“By the way, Remus,” Ginny added as she threw her arms around his shoulders, “glad to see you’re feeling better.”
“How did the Quidditch match go, Ginny?” Harry asked her in the waiting room.
“Can’t you tell by how early in the day I was released?” She sighed. “We lost. I just couldn’t keep my attention on the game today. The headmistress actually felt sorry for me and asked if I’d like to visit Remus.”
“She saw right through you, then.”
“Actually she had an ulterior motive,” Ginny whispered. “She was hoping I could coerce you into attending the Ravenclaw victory party. It’s scheduled for later this evening.”
“I suppose it’s part of the contingency plan?”
“Would I ask otherwise? The headmistress said she’d be by around teatime.”
“It’s about that time now.”
“She did her best to hold up her end of the bargain by attending the match personally. With the Gryffindor debacle, I’m glad she had some extra time to rest before her presence was required here.”
“Why, Ginny Weasley, you don’t mean to say that there’s something in the world more important than Quidditch, do you?” Harry gasped.
“I believe you have me confused with someone else,” she replied coquettishly.
True to Ginny’s estimation, the long hours of the last few days weighed heavily on McGonagall’s features. There were moments when it seemed as if she was holding herself together by sheer will alone. Her voice, however, had not lost its vibrancy or note of authority.
“I don’t want to hear anything else about it, Tonks. I’m keeping Remus company tonight “ even if dozing by his bedside is all that it entails,” she intoned with quiet power. “I cannot leave him alone if there’s any chance that my assistance may be required. Harry has agreed to return to Hogwarts to do a last bit for the contingency plan. You, on the other hand, are free to accompany your parents this evening if you wish. It’s the weekend, lass.”
Tonks made as if to protest but then changed her mind. Instead, she settled for, “Thank you, Minerva. Your generosity is incomparable.”
“Just plan to relieve me in the early morning so that I can return to Hogwarts myself,” the headmistress responded. “Harry, you do understand that once you return to school this evening, you won’t be able to come back tomorrow. Is that acceptable to you?”
Harry nodded slowly. “Are you still expecting Professor Lupin to be discharged tomorrow?” he asked tentatively.
“We certainly hope so,” Tonks reassured him. “But I’ll make sure that you’re informed if anything changes.”
“I’ll provide you an update in the morning if you like,” the headmistress offered, “although it may be quite early. Are you certain that you wish me to wake you up?”
Harry nodded as he quickly hugged everyone goodbye. Ted insisted on clasping his hand and eliciting a promise that Harry would join them on their next hiking expedition after the end of term. Harry overheard Andromeda having a last minute conversation with Ginny about clothing, but he could not make out the details.
With a last wave in the direction of Hestia Jones who was standing guard again this evening, he allowed the Floo powder to return him to his common room. He quickly scrambled out of the way so that Ginny wouldn’t tangle herself with him. She almost lost her balance anyway, but he caught her in a tight hug at the last minute to keep her upright.
“Ummm, that’s the best landing ever,” she cooed before realizing that there were others present in the room.
“If you’re back to join the consolation party, it never really got off the ground,” Ron moped.
“No one was really in charge,” Hermione expounded. “And Neville’s feeling somewhat compromised this evening.”
“We’ve been instructed to attend the Ravenclaw party ourselves “ by order of the headmistress,” Harry returned, feeling a bit like a traitor.
“Part of the contingency plan?” Hermione inquired as Harry nodded.
“Perhaps we can do a bit of commiserating in the main common room in the meanwhile,” Ginny suggested brightly. “What do you think, Ron, Harry? Anyone else with me? It’s not like Gryffindor is totally out of the running for the Quidditch Cup. There’s still that match with Slytherin.”
“I can’t get used to McGonagall jumbling all the matches this year,” Ron commented. “Doesn’t Hufflepuff play Ravenclaw next month?”
Ginny nodded sagely. “She’s saved our match-up with the Slytherins for last. Could just as easily work for us as against us. It all depends on how prepared we are.”
“Well, if it’s a no holds barred, free-for-all practice you’re looking for, I’m sure Harry and I can be coerced,” Ron offered gamely as he poked Harry happily in the ribs.
Hermione cleared her throat. “Back to the subject at hand,” she asserted. “The start of the Ravenclaw party is hours away. We can still throw something together for the Gryffindors.”
With a quick huddle, they agreed that it might just work if Harry could contact Dobby to provide them with some impromptu refreshments. A quick glance in Hermione’s direction assured him that she wasn’t going to accuse him of taking advantage of the house-elves.
“We need something along the lines of the black rosettes that Slughorn handed out when Slytherin lost,” Ron suggested.
“Wait, I’ve just the thing!” Hermione threw over her shoulder as she dashed into her room. They heard the sounds of frantic scrambling before she returned, holding a battered box triumphantly aloft. It was filled with old S.P.E.W. badges.
Harry left them to their project while he retired to his room to change into a Gryffindor tie and plead his case before Dobby.
When he returned to inform them that everything was arranged, he found the three of them wearing luridly flashing badges that read: It Ain’t Over ‘Til Our Fat Lady Sings!
Harry laughed in spite of himself.
“It’s a bit corny, I know,” Hermione admitted. “But it was the best we could do on short notice.”
“You’re sure the Fat Lady isn’t going to take that as an endorsement of her singing career?” he asked with a smirk.
“Oh, we hadn’t thought of that.” Ron was chagrined. “Perhaps the sound won’t carry up the stairs this far.”
“Where does that leave me?” Ginny cried. “I’m the one who has to deal with her on a daily basis.”
“Neville, too,” Ron added.
“Well, it serves him right for dropping the ball with the party planning, then,” Ginny concluded. “I will try to flatter her. If she’s wearing it in the portrait, you’ll know I was successful. Otherwise--”
“”we’ll send flowers,” Ron finished for her. “What’s the password, Gin?”
“Humilité,” Ginny responded without hesitation. “The headmistress changed it herself immediately after the match. Here, let me write it down for you so you can practice; just remember that the ‘h’ at the beginning is silent and you’ll be fine.”
To her credit, Ginny took the ribbing for having deserted a sinking ship rather well. She admitted to her need to pout and then kick something and then pout some more so believably that she had people actually thanking her for not taking out her frustrations on the rest of them. By the time the refreshments arrived, everyone was laughing and sporting a button as the room quickly filled up to capacity.
As acting Head of House, Hagrid was fetched from his cabin to lead toasts to their ineptitude although he seemed a bit disappointed that only butterbeer was available. Fang was decked out with a Gryffindor tie and allowed to mingle in the common room for a short period of time, until it was determined that a large boarhound and the Crane twins in the same room were a lethal combination. Hagrid quickly took Fang back to the cabin for his own protection.
Neville was summoned on the pretext of an emergency and he arrived wide-eyed through the portrait hole, wearing a lopsided Ravenclaw ‘noose’ around his neck that was quick adorned with a Fat Lady button.
“Geez, Harry, we missed you at the Quidditch match today!” offered a third year that Harry remembered from one of Tonks’ classes but could not recall by name.
Noticing that a number of others quickly gathered, Harry responded, “Sorry, guys. I was making headway on my project in the headmistress’ library and totally lost track of the time. Seems like the match was over almost before it started.”
“Yeah, it didn’t take Ravenclaw too long to clobber us,” the third year commiserated.
Hagrid leaned over and offered sympathetically, “If yeh didn’t want ta feel like a third wheel wit’ Ron an’ Hermione, yeh coulda sat with me.”
Harry started to smile in response only to be assured by Leah, “You could’ve sat with us,” as her obligatory followers all nodded their heads in unison.
At the Ravenclaw party, however, he soon found himself fielding unexpected variations.
After establishing his customary excuse, a very pretty sixth-year replied, “Don’t you think you’re going at it a tad too obsessively, Harry? I mean: Hermione, I could understand…” The knowing look she gave him made Harry think she might be offering a bit more than sympathy.
Harry shrugged in return. “I didn’t want Lupin to come back and wonder what I’ve been accomplishing with my extra time.”
“Professor Lupin’s never struck me as being that much of a strict taskmaster,” another girl opined as she wormed her way into the conversation.
Harry smiled at her indulgently and commented, “He never used to give detentions, either, but I had to find that out the hard way.”
“That was a bit of a letdown, to be sure. Why exactly was he so bummed out with you, anyway?”
Ah, yes, the personal questions, he thought to himself. Harry quickly donned a sheepish expression to accompany his reply. “I’m embarrassed to admit the true details. Let’s just say that he thought I wasn’t taking him seriously enough.”
“Well, at least it wasn’t misplaced ego like it always seemed to be in Snape’s case,” commiserated a third girl.
Harry finally caught Ginny’s eye from across the room where she was laughing among another group. She quickly removed the paper crown the Ravenclaw captain had bestowed on her for being the single most important reason for their victory.
“Do you feel like we’re secretly celebrating Remus’ recovery?” Ginny whispered in Harry’s ear as she pulled him aside.
“I was about to suggest the same thing to you,” Harry breathed back. He resisted the urge to indulge in a stealthy kiss, knowing that he would not be inclined to stop after just one or two.
Lupin’s return the next day was a very low key affair. The headmistress had seen to it that the Floo Network was connected to her office as usual so it was a bit of a surprise to find him suddenly standing next to the stone sconce.
“I just came from the main common room,” he offered with a wink as he flashed the Fat Lady button that had been pinned to his shirt. “They said I might find--”
The rest of his words were drowned out as he was engulfed in a flying hug by Hermione and Ginny. Ron did his best to wind his way around Hermione while Harry just took the obvious choice and hugged Lupin across the back.
The stone sconce opened to admit Neville and Luna who joined in the group hug as well.
“The headmistress suggested we would find you here.” Luna smiled.
Harry soon lost track of the multiple conversations that Lupin seemed to be carrying on all at once with the others. He was just content to observe that much of the usual color had returned to the man’s face and that he no longer looked as exhausted as he had at St. Mungo’s.
“Ladies, gentlemen,” Lupin protested weakly as he finally managed to extricate himself. “I have no words to thank you for all you’ve done for me these past few days.”
“You, at a loss for words?” Hermione joked.
Lupin shrugged with a sheepish grin as Ron handed butterbeers all around. “I’m even enjoined from awarding any house points due to the secretive nature of everyone’s involvement,” he admitted.
“Let me suggest this then,” Ron offered, raising his bottle high. “To Gryffindor!”
“I really shouldn’t stay too long--” Lupin began but the sound of the sconce opening cut off his words. The headmistress entered followed closely by Tonks. Harry’s heart gladdened to see that Tonks’ hair had returned to a brilliant cornflower blue, a color that always brought out the hidden flecks in her eyes.
“I see that all the usual suspects are already assembled,” McGonagall observed as she smoothed her long skirts regally on the sofa. “Remus, I believe you and Tonks need to hear the rest of the story about what happened on Friday afternoon while you were away. It seems that Ginny conveniently omitted that part.”
“Not exactly,” Ginny admitted. “The Healers kicked us out of the professor’s room before I could get that far.”
“That’s true,” Harry added his support. “They actually accused us of having too much fun! They promised we could visit again later but we didn’t get a chance before it was time for us to return to Hogwarts.”
The headmistress scrutinized them carefully before focusing on Lupin. “You can imagine my concern when I woke up from my long nap on Friday afternoon and no one in the entire school appeared to be where I expected them to be. They were all in the Room of Requirement, teachers included.”
Harry could just visualize her consternation when her Map was empty of all dots save her own.
“Seems word of the staged gladiator battle had spread throughout the entire school and everyone had been invited back for a ‘grudge match’ between Ginny and Luna,” the headmistress elaborated.
“Neville and I volunteered to be the warm-up act,” Ron supplied with grin.
“Yes,” McGonagall replied sagely, “I assumed that when this little first year Ravenclaw lad stops me in the hall this morning and asks me when the clash of champions will be rescheduled. Seems he’s worked out exactly how to calculate the handicaps for each of the contenders and is only too happy to show me his chart.”
“In all honesty, Headmistress, we didn’t teach them that,” Hermione volunteered in their defense.
“I know, dear.” McGonagall gave her a brief smile. “Those culprits have already been identified. But none of you did anything to curb the carnival atmosphere that soon developed, either. If I hadn’t stepped in to stop you when I did, the poor house-elves would’ve had to re-cook dinner as the lot of you would’ve totally forgotten about the hour…. Remus, please tell me that is not a smirk on your face!”
Everyone’s attention whipped in Lupin’s direction as he quickly attempted to regain his composure. “Forgive me, Headmistress, I must’ve been thinking of something else,” he mumbled in apology.
Harry didn’t dare catch Tonks’ eye for fear that both of them would no longer be able to contain themselves. He felt Ginny start to bury her face in his shoulder to stifle her giggles.
“Due to the extreme popularity of the event, however --” McGonagall paused ominously. “-- I have decided to allow it to be rescheduled for the weekend. Saturday afternoon at two, to be exact. What were you thinking holding such an event when Professor Tonks was unable to attend? She’s the one who’s been instructing these students on dueling methods. Not to mention the personalized training that the five of you have received from either Professor Lupin or Harry himself! How could you be so inconsiderate?”
“So this is to be a punishment?” Neville asked timidly.
“That’s a good question, Neville,” the headmistress acknowledged. “I can’t really offer any house points to the winners since all the houses are not being represented equally.”
“Besides, we wouldn’t want to entrench ourselves in the amateur class!” Tonks added with a twinkle.
“I also understand that this same arena was used for detentions in the past,” McGonagall continued. “Is that not so, Remus?”
“I, too, was attempting to avoid the amateur stigma,” Lupin replied candidly.
“So you say. Since I’m reshuffling the order of the events so that all five of you are included, I will leave you to your own conclusions whether this is a punishment or an opportunity.” The headmistress motioned to Tonks who handed out the revised schedules.
Harry read the diagram over Ginny’s shoulder:
“We’d be glad to include a fourth round where you take on the winner of round two, Harry,” Tonks suggested.
“Thanks for the offer but I think I’ll decline.” Harry chuckled. “It’ll be a relief to not be the center of attention for once. Besides, I wouldn’t want there to be any confusion about just who is being punished.”
“Very wise.” The headmistress nodded as Lupin and Tonks could no longer hide their amused smiles.
“I can’t turn my back on you for one minute without you getting creative!” Lupin commented with mock seriousness.
“What did you expect, Remus, when you invoked a scaled-down version of the Coliseum for their detentions?” the headmistress charged with a broad smile.
Lupin started to say something in return then thought better of it as he just shook his head ruefully.
“Just so you know,” the headmistress added with a wink, “Professors Flitwick and Vector will be manning the butterbeer concession for the event. I understand there was already talk among the Slytherins about who would head up the refreshment committee.”
“But why--” Neville started to ask, only to have Luna whisper urgently in his ear.
“Really?” he whispered back, his eyes wide in shock as Luna nodded mutely.
“Amateurs!” Ron complained. “Fred and George would’ve found a much better angle.”
“Educate us, please,” Lupin urged gamely.
“They would’ve had souvenir T-shirts prepared with the names and photos of the contenders!” Ron offered with pride.
“There will be no student concessions of any kind!” the headmistress cautioned.