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 7
Privileges
Harry's first day back at Hogwarts dawned grey and misty. A quick look out the mullioned tower window was all the convincing that he needed to burrow down among the warm bedclothes and go back to sleep. He sighed contentedly as he remembered that the headmistress had not set their first appointments until half past ten today.
He was awakened sometime later by an insistent tapping on his window. A flick of the heavy, red curtain revealed Hedwig's fluffy, white head through the iron grille. The daylight was slightly brighter but still filtered through a thick layer of mist. He sat up and undid the latch so that the window swung outward to admit the owl. She settled briefly onto the open lid of Harry's trunk; then once he fed her an owl treat flew off impatiently into the mists. She must be eager to stretch her wings after yesterday's long journey, he sighed.
Harry casually glanced at the dial of his new wristwatch which lay on the nightstand. With a jolt, he realized that it had stopped sometime in the night, the magical currents within the castle having rendered its battery ineffective. Luckily its paralysis was only temporary as it would start up again once he left school grounds. Somewhere in the bottom of his trunk he would need to excavate his trusty wind-up watch and alarm clock that had served him throughout his years at Hogwarts.
Without bothering with slippers, Harry raced across the cold flagstones and ventured a peek at the clock in the common room. With the curtains drawn and the fire down to its last embers, he could not distinguish the dial from across the room. Disgusted with his own negligence, he threw a robe hastily over his nightclothes and crossed into the common area, resisting the urge to tip-toe even though it was so abnormally quiet.
The clock face revealed that it was only a few minutes past nine. No point in going back to sleep, he concluded, and run another risk of over-sleeping. Harry found that a tea kettle seemed to materialize on the table at his elbow. Pouring himself a generous mug, he took a preliminary sip, then added sugar and lemon. A small milk pitcher appeared next to the pot, but dissolved almost instantly when it failed to capture his attention. He sighed audibly and sank down into one of the armchairs to savor his good fortune.
Last night's welcoming feast had been a combination of tradition and innovation in the hands of the new headmistress. Harry hardly remembered the sorting ceremony as it seemed as if it was over almost before it had begun. New enrollments at Hogwarts were definitely down this year but that was to be expected in these uncertain times. She had begun with a few remarks that stressed that her tenure would take Hogwarts into new directions. Harry concluded that he must have dozed inadvertently at this point as he could not remember any other details of her welcoming speech -- until she got to the part where she introduced the new teachers, that is.
He remembered that despite the Professor's best attempts to remain unobtrusive, the whispered anticipations had begun almost from the moment that Lupin had slipped into the empty chair next to Professor Flitwick. He had ushered Tonks in before him and everyone had ample time to notice her bright, violet hair as she made her way to the empty seat between Hagrid and Professor Trelawney.
The announcement that Tonks would be assuming the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts generated much enthusiasm as Professor McGonagall introduced her as: "Nymphadora Tonks, on temporary leave from the Ministry of Magic, Auror Division." Although dwarfed by Hagrid's great bulk, her high voltage smile made sure that she was noticed by all. Harry was gladdened to see that the applause the other teachers gave her was not marred by the sour expression that Severus Snape seemed to have reserved especially for such occasions.
The thunderous applause that greeted the announcement of Remus Lupin as the new Transfiguration teacher was quickly eclipsed by the announcement, Professor McGonagall's voice visibly straining, of his assuming duties as Head of Gryffindor House. And it was not just the Gryffindors that were pounding on the tables, Harry was gratified to note.
Everyone was still in high spirits when the last vestiges of dessert were whisked magically away and the headmistress dismissed them for their dormitories. Lupin was practically engulfed in a sea of students all wishing him a fond welcome back as he stepped down from the head table to assist Neville with rounding up the Gryffindors. His initial modesty over the undue attention soon melted into genuine enthusiasm as he was slapped on the back for the hundred and twelfth time that night.
In the end, Harry, Ron and Hermione had stepped in to assist Luna with shepherding the Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and even a few Slytherins back to their own groups. Neville had abandoned any attempts to organize an orderly procession by the time that the great mass of Gryffindor House surged up the grand staircase in the wake of Professor Lupin. It was only when he noticed Lupin trying to catch Tonks's eye apologetically that Harry realized that no announcement of their marriage had taken place.
Harry, Ron and Hermione had been the last to climb the tower stairs after returning from the other corners of the castle. They had found the headmistress waiting for them at the portrait hole.
"Sorry we missed the password, Headmistress," apologized Harry.
"I suppose Neville is still within," she responded, motioning towards the portrait of the Fat Lady that led to the Gryffindor Common Room. "No matter, I'm sure Professor Lupin will send him along later." Then turning on her heel, she remarked curtly, "Follow me, please."
The Fat Lady stared at them in dismay as they passed her by. To their bewilderment, the headmistress led them around the tower gallery until they were on the far side from the portrait hole. Then tapping the banister at a slightly discolored spot with her wand, she summoned a narrow staircase that led to a small stone sconce on the opposite wall. With a brisk step, she led them upward. The sconce appeared to magically increase in size and then opened of its own accord as the headmistress reached the last few steps. There was hardly any landing at all so she put protocol aside as she stepped through and waited for them to follow. Once they were all inside, a corresponding sconce on the inside swung shut soundly.
"Welcome to your new quarters," she said with a rare smile. She proceeded to pin a tiny gold lion to the school emblem on each of their robes. "No passwords needed as long as you have the amulet with you at all times. The staircase will respond to the tap of your wand automatically."
Harry looked around appreciatively. They were at the topmost floor of the Gryffindor Tower so the ceiling came to a very high point with the chandeliers hanging on extra long chains. Around the apex of the ceiling were a number of small glass windows that would allow for natural light during the day.
"For those of you who are fond of broomsticks, I might add," she looked pointedly at Harry and Ron in turn, "the skylight windows do not open." She opened one of the four doors that were spaced out among the walls. "The windows in the bedrooms can be unlatched; but I warn you that you are at one of the highest points in the castle walls. Please do not venture for a walk among the parapets; they are enchanted to prevent falls, but do not risk it anyway. And yes," she looked at Harry and Ron again, "the charms will prevent anyone other than an owl from launching off the tower window."
Hermione quickly composed her face as the headmistress turned to address her in turn. She ushered her into a room on the far side of the cheerfully glowing fire, "This, my dear, is your room. You will notice that the furniture is more in keeping with the needs of a young lady." Harry craned his neck past the door frame as much as he dared, remembering the repelling charms from the girls dormitory below. Although clearly made of the same materials as in the boys' rooms, the furniture was scaled differently with more elaborate curves and sinews. The four-poster bed was familiar from their previous dormitories but Hermione's had been hung with sheer silks and taffetas instead of heavy velvets.
Tapping lightly on the wicker basket that was poised on the settee, Professor McGonagall magically released the lid so that Crookshanks could survey his new domain. He quickly jumped to the windowsill and meowed to indicate that he was ready for his evening prowl.
"Is it safe for a cat?" inquired Hermione.
"I believe so. There is a twelve inch stone ledge that runs around the tower right at window height," confirmed McGonagall with a very unusual twinkle in her eye. "Cats generally have few problems with heights. This one in particular has shown remarkable common sense." She patted the ginger fur delicately and raised an instant purr. "Just remember that he won't be able to trip the entrance or the staircase by himself. No, not even if you attach your lion amulet to his collar so don't even think in those terms."
They heard the hollow noise of the stone sconce opening in the outer room to admit another. A rather disheveled Neville was staring in awe around him. Harry had the distinct impression that Professor Lupin had waved briefly before being swallowed up by the wall. Suddenly he felt just as tired as Neville looked, and allowed his body to collapse gratefully into one of the armchairs nearby.
"It's so much to take in," gushed Hermione, never at a loss for words for very long. "I don't know what we ever did to deserve such luxury. None of this was ever mentioned in Hogwarts: A History."
"Well, my dear," replied the headmistress, "not everything is to be found in books -- at least, not all the time."
With a flourish, she handed them each an ornate silver key on a chain. She demonstrated how the length of the chain magically adjusted if one chose to wear it as a necklace, as a bracelet and even as a belt.
"Pretty hard to lose," she explained and turned pointedly to Neville. "This will allow you access into a special private bathroom." She opened the doors to a huge wardrobe that stood between two of the boys' rooms to indicate the secret passage. "The key will be hot to the touch if the facilities are already occupied -- but I recommend that you lock the door nevertheless."
She chuckled amicably as Ron wrapped his key chain into a make-shift turban.
"You might find that the weight will give you a headache, Mr. Weasley," she added. "Both the lion amulet and the key are charmed to resist loss. However, remember that both your Head of House and myself have access to these suites, so please report any mishaps. We can magically trigger either the key or the lion to dissolve remotely, even if you can't remember where you left it. We can't risk such things falling into the wrong hands."
Hermione roughly shook Ron by the shoulder as he was beginning to nod off in the chair next to her. Harry noticed that she had propped her hip on the arm of the same chair to keep from swaying on her feet.
"I can see you are all tired," concluded Professor McGonagall in a sympathetic tone. She snapped her fingers and four small parchment rolls tied with red ribbons appeared on the sideboard. "Review the guidelines at your leisure. I will see you all outside my office at half past ten tomorrow morning for your advisor assignments."
With that she had gone through the sconce in a flash.
Bringing his thoughts back to the present, Harry walked over to the window and threw back the sash to allow a sullen bit of light into the circular room. He noticed that in his exhaustion he had worn the ornate washroom key to bed the night before.
Time for a hot shower, he yawned languidly, as he opened the wardrobe doors wide. He had to stand aside briefly to allow a noticeably damp Hermione to pass, still toweling her hair dry. The look of pure bliss on her face indicated that he was in for a treat.
Nevertheless, he was showered and dressed in record time at the insistence of his stomach. He found that Ron and Neville had waited for him before descending to the Great Hall. Hermione caught up with them breathlessly and the four of them descended the last flight of the grand staircase together.
The vast hall was virtually empty as most other students were already in class. A few house-elves were in the process of removing the last of the breakfast trays and tiding things up.
Noticing the late-comers, one particularly tiny elf bounded up to them. "Are you the students from the Seventh Form?" she beseeched them.
Ron's stomach growled in protest. "Sorry," he mumbled sheepishly.
"The headmistress warned me to be on the lookout for you this morning," she squeaked. "The breakfast things are generally put away by now, but seeing as she could not meet with you until later today, she asked us to linger 'specially in case you wandered in."
With a snap of her nimble fingers, four plates of bacon, sausages and eggs appeared on the table to their right. A basket of scones with tiny pots of butter and marmalade materialized in the center just as they finished seating themselves. No further conversation ensued as they all heartily tucked into their food.
"I hope everything is to your liking," offered the elf genially. Then leaning over in a whisper she added, "You can have your breakfasts delivered to your tower. Just pull on the velvet cord next to the fireplace. We often have additional offerings that do not appear in the Great Hall."
With a parting wink and soft "pop", the diminutive elf Disapparated. She reappeared almost instantly to usher in another late-comer on the far side of the hall.
Before Harry had a chance to greet the other student, Hermione jumped up from her seat and exclaimed, "Will you look at the hour! We're going to be late for our first appointment with Professor McGonagall!" She hastily gathered up her things and shot out through the doors.
Harry rolled his eyes in sympathy as Ron shoved one last forkful of sausages into his mouth. Neville had the foresight to grab the basket of scones as they followed in her wake.
As they rounded the last corner before the headmistress's office, Harry realized that they had not been given the password necessary to bypass the stone gargoyle at the entrance. Before they had a chance to consider their next step though, Professor McGonagall came striding purposely from the other direction.
"No time for meetings now; we've had a last minute change of plans," she said brightly as she herded them in the direction of the nearest staircase. Leading the way down several flights she added, "You are in for a special treat today. You have been invited to participate in the fifth-year Defense Against the Dark Arts class with the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff groups. Professor Tonks has added some new content this year that I am sure you will recognize from my opening remarks last night."
Harry and Ron exchanged rather glum looks to indicate that their seventh year was not exactly starting in the manner that they had anticipated.
McGonagall halted the small procession around the corner from the familiar first floor classroom, just out of sight of the streaming fifth-year students.
"Just in case I don't get a chance to do this later," she said as she passed out small white cards to each of them, "here are your advisor assignments for the individualized curriculum that we discussed. I have taken the liberty of setting the preliminary appointments for you."
Harry quickly glanced at his card. He was set to meet with Professor Lupin at two o'clock this afternoon.
He saw that Ron had a two o'clock appointment also but his was with Professor Flitwick. Neville's delighted expression could only indicate that he had been assigned to Professor Sprout. A quick glance to Hermione, however, showed that she was less pleased with her assignment.
She cleared her throat nervously, "Er, Headmistress, I had assumed that you would serve as my advisor."
"I thought so too, Miss Granger," McGonagall replied in an apologetic tone, "but there are just too many items on my agenda at this time. Think of it as a temporary assignment until I can find a bit of space on my calendar."
"But Professor Hooch is nothing more than the wizarding equivalent of a physical education instructor," Hermione pleaded.
"No, no," soothed McGonagall, taking her aside. "I'm really not allowed to make any formal announcements at this time," she whispered, "but by next week, I hope to have Professor Hooch teaching -- " The remainder of the statement was unintelligible to anyone other than Hermione but the effect was immediate.
"Come, come," urged Professor McGonagall as she herded them into a classroom that had often reminded Harry of a cathedral. She steered Hermione away from her customary spot in the teacher's primary line of sight. "I've been told that the best seats are in the back," the headmistress whispered enigmatically.
Seeing that the four of them were comfortably installed in the last row, McGonagall glanced briefly at the miniature hourglass that she wore on a neck chain and turned to go. As the last moment, she caught sight of the basket that Neville had perched on his desktop.
"How thoughtful of you to bring refreshments, dear," she smiled. Then lifting the basket into her arms, she was gone is a swirl of long, tartan robes.
Harry Potter and the Hero's Lament by L A Moody
Chapter Notes: The trio plus Neville settle into their new digs in Gryffindor Tower and experience the first wave of changes that the new headmistress has implemented.