Finally Home by Weasley Mom
A/N: All of the characters contained herein are the property of Ms. Rowling.
For the next few weeks, a slight awkwardness existed between Harry and Neville, although Harry was much to busy to do anything about it. Quidditch tryouts had been held. Ginny, as Harry had expected, was by far the best of those trying out for chaser. Colin Creevey had turned out to be suprisingly good as well. The team was rounded out by Natalie McDonald. Though only a third year, she was what Ron called a power chaser, meaning her short, stocky frame was capable of taking quite a beating. Harry was greatly reminded of Angelina Johnson when he watched her fly. All in all, he was feeling very confident of the team's chances of keeping the House Quidditch Cup in Professor McGonnagall's office for another year. Harry's only real concern was with getting Kirke and Sloper up to scratch. To this end, he had enlisted Fred and George Weasley to help out in their Saturday morning practices and the two beaters were starting to show some improvement.
In addition to quidditch, D.A. classes were progressing nicely. The younger group was very quick to learn the spells Harry was teaching them. Most of those in this group could now perform the leg locker curse quite well. He had some concerns with his older group, however. He had discovered very quickly that there was a marked skill difference between those who had been in the D.A. the previous year and those who had not. In the end, Harry had decided to break the older class into two smaller groups by their skill levels. Remus worked with the less skilled group, helping them to catch up. This freed Harry to work with the returning members on their Patronuses and other, more advanced spells.
Harry had also met a couple of times with the group of students he had picked to assist him in acting as intelligence for the Order. Aside from the obvious inclusions of Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna, it had been a difficult choice for him to choose amongst the D.A.'s members. He wanted people that he knew were reliable and that most people felt comfortable with. After a great deal of thought, as well as some consultation with his freinds and Remus, Harry chose Padma Patil, Susan Bones, Hannah Abbott, and Ernie MacMillan. All five of them could, he felt, blend easily into almost any crowd and would not necessarily be considered a threat to anyone recruited by Voldemort.
Their first meeting had been conducted in the Room of Requirement under the guise of a special project for the D.A. He had not really been sure how much to divulge about their mission. He did not want all of the Order's secrets spread around the school should his instincts about the people he had chosen prove incorrect, however, he wanted to make sure that they all understood exactly what they would be doing and the reprecussions it could have. He had finally settled for a version as close to the truth as he could get. He let them know about Dumbledore's concerns that death eaters would try to infiltrate the school and recruit students. He then went on to tell them that he had been asked to put together an unofficial group of D.A. members to act as the headmaster's eyes and ears amongst their fellow students. He made it clear that they could all refuse should they choose to, none of them did, although Ernie and Hannah were clearly frightened at the thought of death eaters in Hogwarts. Padma and Susan seemed to take the information in stride, both asking a few pertinent questions about what exactly was expected of them and how they were to go about relaying information to Harry, who would then inform Dumbledore. Luna had reacted in her typical dreamy way.
"Of course I'll help Harry," she had said. "It's too bad that Father and I weren't able to capture a crumple horned snorkack this summer, though. They are very sensitive to the prescence of evil, you know."
"Errrrr... right. Thanks Luna," Harry had said as, much to Ron's chagrin, she had begun to hum Weasley Is Our King.
It had been Neville's reaction which had affected Harry the most, however. His friend had looked Harry in the eye and straightened to his full height.
"Harry, I've already promised you that I would do anything I could to help. This is something I know I can do. I only wish that neither of us had to deal with him," Neville had solemnly stated. Harry had only been able to nod, knowing that Neville was referring to the prophecy and their oddly intertwined fates. Hermione had then handed out coins to the group. They were similar to those which had been used for the previous year's D.A. meetings, only these bore the symbol of a pheonix on one side.
"If everyone would please press your thumb to your coin," she had asked. Harry had felt a warm surge in his thumb and his coin flared briefly.
"These are now set to respond to you and only you. Should you have something significant to report, merely press your thumb to it and Harry will know. Under NO circumstances are you to act on, or try to prevent anything which you might overhear. Contact Harry as soon as possible. He will alert the headmaster to deal with it. Harry, your coin is the master coin. Like last year, you'll be able to set a meeting time and place should we need one," Hermione had said briskly.
The meeting had adjourned shortly after that. Thus far, no one had anything of significance to report, although Ernie Macmillan had noticed large groups of Slytherins out close to curfew on several occassions. Harry had relayed their names to Dumbledore, just in case.
With all that had been going on, it wasn't until the end of the third week of school that Harry manged to find time to visit with Hagrid. Harry felt extremely guilty about this. Hagrid had been Harry's first friend in the wizarding world. He did not want him to think that Harry had forgotten him. He, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione arrived at Hagrid's hut to find their friend in his garden tending to the school's giant pumpkins.
"Bout time you lot came down fer a visit," Hagrid smiled.
"I'm really sorry Hagrid," Harry said frowning.
"No need fer tha' Harry. Ginny told me how you was busy with quidditch and your defense lessons and things. Got you runnin ragged from what I hear. C'mon in an' I'll make us some tea," he said ushering them inside. Fang trailed along behind.
"So... how've ya been?" Hagrid asked, once they were all seated with a cup of tea and some of his infamous rock cakes. Harry and the others filled Hagrid in on all that they had been up to. He congratulated Ginny on making the quidditch team. As a former Gryffindor himself, Hagrid was quite pleased to hear that the team's prospects for the upcoming season were good. Ginny thanked him before relaying a story about Colin accidentally casting a tickling charm on Professor McGonnagall. He had been aiming for Marcus Parkinson apparenly, but had missed badly.
"Remind me we need to work on Colin's aim," Harry said laughing. Hagrid clapped him on the back, tears in his eyes.
"It's good to see ya laughin again Harry. I was startin' to wonder if we ever would after last year and then with what happened to Sirius and all," Hagrid shook his shaggy head sadly. Harry sobered instantly and looked down.
"I still miss him, Hagrid," Harry said. Hagrid sighed.
"O' course ya do. He was a good man Sirius. I'll never forget the first time I caught those four scamps up to mischief. They was in me pumpkin patch trying to nick one," Hagrid said chuckling.
"Stealing?" Hermione said disapprovingly. Hagrid nodded smiling beneath his beard.
"Ya shoulda seen them. They knew they was caught. Poor Remus was scared to death, stood his ground though. 'Fraid of dissapointin' Dumbledore more than anything I suspect. Peter o' course ran off like he always did. James an' Sirius though, they stood up straight an' tall. Tried ta convince me tha they weren't really stealin' it. They was more borrowin' it an it was fer a good cause."
"Why were they 'borrowing' it, Hagrid?" Ron asked grinning.
"Well now, they claimed they was goin' ta send it ta Remus' poor sick mum. Course I knew they weren't plannin' nothin of the sort," Hagrid grinned. "I gave em one anyway an told em to jus' ask next time."
"Hagrid, what happened to the pumpkin?" Ginny asked, her eyes twinkling mischieviously. Hagrid chuckled again.
"I heard it ended up in the Slytherin common room. They carved it up an' enchanted it to try an' kiss whoever happened by. It was particularly fond of Professor Snape, followed him around makin' kissin' noises, it did," Hagrid finished as the four teenagers burst into laughter.
"Never thought they'd end up they way tha' they did. James dead, Peter a traitor, an' Sirius well... he was never the same after losin your Dad Harry, and it wasna' just Azkaban," Hagrid said sadly.
"What do you mean Hagrid?" Harry asked.
"Well it was me as Dumbledore sent to fetch tha' night Harry. I'd just pulled ya out of the ruins when Sirius arrived on that flyin' motorbike of his. Pale and shakin' he was. I think he knew even before he saw 'em what'd happened. I never saw anythin' more heartbreakin in me life as Sirius holdin' yer dad and sobbin'...howlin' really. I did me best to comfort him. Reminded him tha' at least you were still alive. Tha' sort of snapped him out of it. He wanted to take ya with him, but Dumbledore said I was to bring you to him. Sirius argued with me about it, but in the end he gave me his bike an' made me promise tha' you'd be safe. After that his eyes went sort of flat and dead, like he'd died with James. I didna see him again until after Azkaban, but he still had the same look in his eyes," Hagrid sighed and shook his head.
Harry blinked back tears at Hagrid's words. He'd always assumed that it was Azkaban which had put the haunted look in Sirius' eyes, now he knew that there was more to it then that. As he fought to reign in his own grief for Sirius and his Dad and all that had been lost to Voldemort, a curious memory flitted through his mind.
"I think I remember that motorcycle," Harry said slowly as he tried to recapture the image. "I used to have dreams about riding on it when I was younger. Whatever happened to it Hagrid?"
"Oh... I've got it in me shed. Would ya like to see it Harry? Reckon it's yours now anyway," Hagrid said.
"Yeah," Harry smiled, excited not only to have something that was important to Sirius, but to change the subject back to something less emotional. Harry and the others followed Hagrid outside and around to the back of his hut where the shed stood. After some banging and a few loud thunks, Hagrid wheeled the motorbike out.
"Wicked!" Ron breathed. Harry could not have agreed more. The bike was all gleaming chrome and black leather. The initials S.B. and a familiar, large dog shape had been etched in silver on the black gas tank. For Harry, it was love at first sight.
"I don't know," Hermione, who had never gotten over her discomfort with flying, said. "It looks sort of dangerous." Ginny rolled her eyes.
"Oh lighten up Hermione. I think it's sexy," Ginny said mischieviously.
"Ginny!" Ron said, scandalized. Ginny just grinned at her brother, while Harry did his best to hide his smile.
"Does it still run Hagrid?" Harry asked. As if in answer, Hagrid stepped aside allowing Harry to sit on it. He then showed him how to start it. As the powerful engine roared to life, Harry felt an answering surge in his blood. His green eyes lit with pure joy and Harry almost reverently reved the engines slightly.
"Well that brings back memories," a voice behind them said. "I'd wondered what had happened to that."
"Remus!" Harry said turning to see his guardian. Lupin was looking rather pale, as the full moon was fast approaching. A smile was on his face however.
"Good morning all," Remus said by way of greeting. He reached out and turned the engine off. "I see you've met Sirius' pride an joy."
"Yeah," Harry said. "Isn't it beautiful?" Lupin chuckled.
"I might've known you'd feel that way. You loved it when Sirius took you on it with him," Remus smiled, remembering.
"He used to take me for rides on it?" Harry asked. Lupin nodded.
"Scared Lily to death. She wasn't a keen flier to begin with, and Sirius tended to drive rather fast. You loved it though. You would shriek with laughter at just the sight of Sirius flying into the yard. James figured out, fairly early on, anytime they couldn't get you to sleep, all he had to do was hand you over to Sirius. Fifteen minutes on there and you'd be out," he said grinning.
"What was Harry like as a baby?" Ginny asked curiously. She was enchanted by the vision of tiny baby Harry wrapped securely in Sirius' arms on the motorcycle. Lupin chuckled.
"He was a bit of a handful, actually. Then again, Sirius didn't help. He taught him how to nick biscuits from the tin when he was just a year old. Harry would distract Lily, and Sirius would grab them. Then they'd sneak off and share their ill-gotten gains. James wasn't much better. He had Harry on a broom before he could walk and was constantly slipping the snitch and quaffles into Harry's crib. You should've seen James when Harry actually caught the thing once," Lupin said chuckling.
"No wonder you were the youngest seeker in a century, mate," Ron laughed.
"Of course, I was your favorite," Lupin said, his eyes twinkling.
"You were?" Harry asked. Lupin nodded smiling.
"All I had to do was walk in the room and you'd reach for me. It used to drive Sirius mad. He never figured out that it was because I always kept chocolate in the pockets of my robes for you," Lupin grinned. They all laughed and continued talking for a while before taking their leave of Hagrid and heading to the castle for lunch.
Harry watched, with a look of concern on his face, as Remus made his way to the staff table. Despite his guardian's jovial mood, he was clearly feeling the stress that the full moon brought. Harry sighed.
"Are you allright Harry?" Hermione asked, laying her hand gently on his arm. Harry nodded.
"I'm just worried about Moony," he replied. Hermione gave him a comforting smile, but he could tell that she was concerned as well.
"It's hard to see him face this every month, but hopefully he won't have to be alone much longer," Hermione said comfortingly. "We're making really good progress."
"Yeah, I've finally got my feet right. Even to Hermione's standards," Ron said teasingly. Hermione let out an indignant humph.
"Next time I'll just let you forget the claws then, although they're fairly important for a lion," she whispered. Ron grinned. He loved enraging his girlfriend nearly as much as she enjoyed besting him in their arguments.
"I think we should try to get some practice in this afternoon," Harry said solemnly. Ginny grimaced, scratching absently at the scar on her forehead.
"I don't know if I can. I have an essay due tomorrow for potions. I'm having alot of trouble with it. I also have to write twelve inches on the difference between telephones, telegraphs, and television for muggle studies," she said.
"I can help you with the muggle studies one, love," Harry volunteered.
"And I'll help you with your potions one," Hermione offered.
"I have an even better plan. Hermione can help you with both and Harry and I can work on quidditch plays," Ron said, smiling mischieviously at Hermione. Instead of the usual argument he expected to get however, she merely nodded, her eyes twinkling.
"You may be right. I've read Harry's essays after all," she deadpanned.
"Hey!" Harry protested, sending his friends into a fit of laughter at his expense.
"As long as you don't mind helping me Hermione, we can practice this afternoon and then work on the essays this evening," Ginny said once the were back under control.
They finished eating and, after a brief stop in Gryffindor Tower to retrieve the Marauders' Map, made their way to a deserted classroom on the third floor. They were originally working in the room of requirement, but too many people knew about because of the D.A. After two seventh years were caught in there, the teachers began to watch it pretty closely. To further insure their privacy, they always brought the map to these sessions. They would take turns watching it and working on their transformations.
Following the guidelines in the book that Harry had found in his library at Grimmauld Place, they were making good progress. According to the guide, there were two keys to animgaus transformation. First, a wizard had to have the power to do it, which they all did. The other critical skill was to be able to visualize the animal shape you wished to take and sort of pour yourself into it. It was this step which allowed the wizard to become the animal. It was also this step that most wizards could not perform. The image had to be detailed and nearly perfect, forgetting even the smallest thing could be disasterous.
The book suggested breaking the animal down and practicing transforming just one part of yourself at a time. This helped to ensure that all the details were just right. They had so far managed to transform their hands and feet into paws, or in Harry's case hooves. All of them had also managed to do their ears, teeth, and fur. They were now working on their faces. After that it would be legs and tails, and then full body transformations.
Harry's legilemensy skills were serving them well in these endeavours. While his friends did their best to fix the image of their animagus forms in their minds, Harry would look at them and offer suggestions. While he had no one to do this for him, Harry found that it didn't seem to matter. Whether because of some genetic ability from his father, or some facet of the powers he had received from Voldemort, Harry seemed to almost innately be able to transform. All of his attempts had succeeded on the first try. He suspected that he might have been able to fully transform already, but did not wish to leave his friends behind.
Ron and Ginny were sitting on the floor in front of him with their eyes closed,concentrating. Harry carefully probed their minds, examining the images that they were working on.
"You forgot nostrils mate. You're going to want those eventually," Harry grinned. While Ron muttered under his breath and scrunched his face in concentration, adding the nostrils. Harry switched his attention to Ginny. Her image was nearly perfect.
"Excellent Ginny. You're missing whiskers, however," he said.
"Damn," she murmured, before carefully adding the whiskers to her image.
"Allright," Harry said after rechecking them both one last time. "You should be ok to try it now. Ron, you go first."
He stepped back and watched as Ron slowly morphed. His red hair became longer and took on a tawny hue. His teeth lengthened and sharpened as his face stretched and darkened into leonine features. When he opened his eyes, they were the liquid gold of the deadly predator he was trying to become. His jaws opened in a wide yawn. Harry looked at him carefully, and could find no flaws.
"Very good. You remembered your nostrils," Harry grinned. Ron snarled a very lion-like snarl, before transforming his face back to normal.
"I cannot wait until we can do whole body transformations," Ron said enthusiastically.
"Ok Gin, your turn," Harry said. Ginny nodded and carefully concentrated on the image in her mind. She felt her ears lengthen and point, and her face stretch into the delicate features of a ginger colored cat. Harry watched her, smiling. He reached out and gently traced the white blaze, which marked where her scar lay. Ginny purred and nuzzled his hand in a decidely feline manner.
"Great job, love" Harry complimented as she too transformed back to her normal self.
"Allright, Ron why don't you take a turn on the map. Hermione can work on transforming now. Ginny, why don't you..." Harry began when, without warning, his scar seared with white hot pain, sending him to his knees.
A/N: Whew... long chappie. Hope you liked it. I'm still not able to respond to reviews unfortunately, however, I am checking them regularly. Thanks go out as always to Danielle for moderating, my son Will for being my beta, and all of you for reading and reviewing.