The first thing to wake her the next morning was the feeling of Harry's lips tenderly kissing the side of her neck. She felt his arousal poking against her bum and one of his hands softly caressing her right breast. It was the way she was meant to wake up, and after everything from the previous night, it was a huge relief for things to be so normal.
And normal with Harry meant that she was the constant recipient of his lascivious attention.
"That feels nice," she purred as she wrapped her hand around his own.
"You always feel nice to me," Harry agreed, pressing that much closer to her. "Good morning, sweetheart."
"How do you feel?"
"Can't you tell?"
"You know what I mean."
"I feel like having some fun. As I recall, you promised to shag me senseless after I finished the third task."
"You were supposed to come out safe and sound," she complained, and Harry felt her squeeze his hand.
"I'm okay now. Everything is going to be alright. So, I think that means we should celebrate."
"You always think we should celebrate," she giggled as his erection poked at her. "But I guess you're right this time."
"Good."
Pansy let him roll her over as his hands slid down her sides and she turned right into another kiss. She leaned back and looked down at him as she straddled his waist.
"I wasn't awake long enough to tell you how much I like this," Harry said as he ran his fingers over her babydoll nightgown. "You look good in purple. But you know what you look even better in?"
"Nothing at all?" she answered with a smile.
"You know me so well." Harry chuckled but it didn't stop him from raising her arms and lifting the lingerie over her head. His hands went almost automatically to her breasts and she purred happily as Harry licked one of her nipples. "So much better."
"I think you should probably let me handle things," Pansy said with a smile as she pushed him back down to the bed. "We can't have you overexerting yourself after last night."
"I don't see you wearing your sexy nurse's outfit."
"Want me to put it on?"
"I can't wait that long." His arms pulled her back down to him and she eagerly slipped her tongue into his mouth. "I am so hungry for you."
"Not for breakfast?"
"Food can wait. You're tastier anyway."
"Then tell me what you want, Harry."
"If you won't let me up, then you're just going to have to climb up here and sit on my face." His voice went deeper and grumbled out the last few words and Pansy felt herself growing wet just at that sound and the command in his words- she loved when he told her what to do. Something about playing with Harry in the bedroom often brought out her submissive side.
It probably didn't hurt that he always wanted her to do such fun things.
Before she was even conscious of moving, Pansy was crawling up over his body and then she looked down at him, happily noticing his hungry grin. But just as she was almost in reach, she turned around, wiggled her bum at him and then carefully set her knees on either side of his head. Harry was never one to be patient, but she didn't mind as his lips were instantly kissing and tasting her.
She didn't want him to get too much of a head start though, so she leaned down and took him in her mouth as well. For the next several minutes, they were in a race of tongues, each eager to drive the other to ecstasy. It was such a fun game, as regardless who came in first place, they both always won. Pansy thought she was in the lead, as Harry seemed to be getting close.
Then he had to go and cheat.
She wasn't sure what the hell he did, but she burst into an orgasm as his tongue started vibrating faster than she knew was possible. And he didn't stop either. She wouldn't remember later if that climax just lasted ridiculously long or if there was ever enough of a pause for it to be considered multiple orgasms. Whatever he was doing, it was amazing and also completely overwhelming.
She screamed out, but the sound was quite muffled since her mouth was full. And Harry seemed to like that a lot as it triggered his own orgasm. She had to pull herself off him as she was so out of control, afraid she might hurt him, bite down accidentally or something, and she was still screaming even as he came and it flew seemingly everywhere. Some of it got in her mouth, some on her face, and she was glad that she had her eyes clenched shut as a bit hit next to her right eye. If she could concentrate on what was going on, she probably would have been quite annoyed that there was even some in her hair.
But he still hadn't stopped.
"Aaah... oh fuck... Harry... stop... too much..."
His tongue finally slowed and she collapsed, her head against the top of his left hipbone. Pansy realized she still had his cock in her grip, and both it and her hand were very sticky. Thankfully a few of her fingers were relatively clean, and she used two of them to reach up and wipe away his cum that was nearly in her eye.
"Shit, Harry, you came everywhere," she panted out before breaking into a giggle. "What the fuck was that?"
"Parseltongue," he chuckled.
"Holy crap. Okay, it was amazing, but you should probably warn me next time. Especially if we're in this position. You really don't want me to bite down accidentally because you're driving me out of my mind."
"So, it was a mind-blowing orgasm then?"
"Definitely."
"Cool. I'm going to try it again." And before she could say a word of protest, Pansy felt Harry's tongue once again going to work on her.
Thankfully, he didn't jump right into it, but built things up somewhat slowly. She was still highly aroused though and apparently he could tell too. Just as she was closing in on another orgasm, Harry began doing that vibrating trick again and she saw stars.
"OH FUCK!"
It was every bit as powerful as the first time, and once again it stretched on for as long as he kept doing that. Part of her never wanted him to do anything else. But he just kept going on and on and the sensations became so overpowering that she began to whimper.
"Oh god... too much."
She felt him chuckle but he didn't stop hissing directly into her clit. An even more uncontrollable orgasm crashed like a wave over her and she screamed out again.
"Stop, stop... oh please... stop." Harry finally released her only to have that evil snake-like tongue of his slither inside her. He must have been drowning by now. "Oh fuck, Harry... don't. I feel like I'm going to pee."
He gave her one last long lick.
"Fine," he said with an overly dramatic huff that blew cool air over her pussy and bum. It felt so good on her drenched and sensitive skin. But before she could relax, she felt Harry moving again and then he was licking her arsehole.
"Oh fuck... Harry." She was too aroused and out of control to moan out anything more coherent than that. And of course, within moments he was hissing into her bum. It felt strange, but sort of pleasant at the same time. Then his hand reached up between her legs and he began to finger her while his thumb rubbed circles around her clit and it was soon all too much, bringing her to yet another climax.
"Aah..." she started to moan out, but then she saw that he was hard again, so Pansy decided it was time to take control of the situation. She pulled away from him, scrambling forward on her shaky knees until she was lined up over him and then she sank down.
Her back was still to him, and the different angle was really nice. It was similar to when she was on her hands and knees, and whatever nerves that were being hit felt incredible.
Harry seemed to be liking it too as she felt him squeezing her bum and moaning out while she rode him. Within a couple of minutes, she felt him spill inside her and she let out a pleased little sigh. She hadn't come yet, but after all the previous orgasms that wasn't a problem.
She wasn't sure if she even wanted another for awhile. She might need a nap after all this. Pansy hadn't let him overexert himself, so Harry in turn had apparently decided to make her a quivering wreck. She began to giggle and she felt him sit up, wrapping his arms around her. His hands cupped her breasts while he kissed his way up her spine.
"What's so funny?"
"You just- agh! This was ridiculous, and fun, but now I don't know if I'll be able to get out of bed today."
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Harry teased.
"Help me lay down. I can barely move a muscle because of you."
"Alright." Harry did as she asked, even going so far as to maneuver her legs into a more comfortable position before leaning them both back down and then turning them until they were spooning.
"Pull the sheet up."
"As you wish," he chuckled.
"Don't be so smug."
"I think I have a good reason to be smug right now."
"Maybe just a little," she admitted. "I don't think I want you to do that all the time though."
"Why not?"
"It's fine today because we don't have to get up and go to class. If we had Herbology in an hour, you might have to carry me there."
"I could probably manage that."
"I doubt Sprout would like it if I curled up in a ball and slept through her class."
"I suppose."
Pansy just murmured in approval as he snuggled in close and kissed the side of her throat.
"Before I pass out and forget, there are two things. Dobby?"
"Miss Pansy?" the elf yawned.
"Were you up all night, Dobby?" Harry asked.
"Yes master Harry. Dobby had to make sure you were alright."
"Thanks. You can hopefully get enough rest today."
"But first, I need you to do something," Pansy interrupted. "I need you to get a bottle of muggle mouthwash."
"Yes miss Pansy."
A moment later the elf had returned and set the bottle down on the night table beside the bed.
"Thanks Dobby. You should be able to take the rest of the day off, I think."
"Now then," Pansy said, sitting up after Dobby disappeared. "I assume you want to try anal one of these days."
"Maybe," Harry replied with a smile. "What gave it away?"
"The fact that you stuck your tongue up my arse?"
"You have such a cute little butthole."
"You're ridiculous, Harry," she sighed. "Alright, so two things. First, go rinse your mouth out before you try to kiss me again."
"Fair enough."
"Second, you're going to have to work your way up to it. Don't expect to just shove that thing up my bum one of these nights when we're having sex."
"Working my way up to it sounds like fun."
"I'm sure," she said with a smirk. She grabbed the bottle of mouthwash and handed it to him. "Go on you weirdo."
"If liking your arse is weird, I don't want to be normal." Harry was smiling as he headed to the bathroom.
"What time is it?" she asked a moment later, after the water in the sink had finished running.
"After eleven," Harry replied as he came back and climbed into bed, not giving her time to protest before a kiss turned into a snog.
"Minty fresh. Good boy," Pansy smiled once he gave her a moment to breath. "I should have enough time for a bath."
"That sounds like fun."
"No more fun this morning. Go take a quick shower. I'm going to close my eyes for a few more minutes."
"Alright, my love."
Not too much later, Harry awoke Pansy and led her into the bathroom. He had already gotten the water nice and hot for her and she thanked him as she sank into the tub. He got dressed and went out into the living room where he saw Sirius nursing a drink in a chair next to the unlit fireplace.
"Harry! Give me five!"
His godfather was smiling brightly as Harry walked over and high-fived him.
"What was that for?"
"You guys didn't use any silencing charms," Sirius replied as he waggled his eyebrows.
"We don't usually need them," Harry blushed as he sat down.
"Well, whatever you were doing, good job. It's never a bad thing when a woman is screaming out like that. I would know. And I notice that Pansy hasn't joined us yet either."
"She's taking a bath. I might have worn her out."
"You dog you. I don't think I've ever been more proud."
"Jealous?"
"I've got a blonde that I'll be seeing soon enough. I'll be fine."
"Do you want to be jealous?"
"What do you mean?"
Harry smiled and then hissed at him.
"I'm not a snake, Harry."
"Pay attention to the tongue, Sirius." And he hissed again.
"Oh, you fucking bastard. That's cheating!" Sirius barked out a laugh and then leaned back in his chair. "I needed that after last night. That's certainly a good morning, huh?"
"I think every morning should start with sex ideally."
"I couldn't agree more."
"Did you get any rest last night?" Harry asked.
"Yes, actually. I think your house-elf might not have given me the right potion because I passed out probably about two in the morning or so. I woke up and went in to check on you just after dawn. You and Pansy were curled up together. It was very cute."
"Cute huh?"
"Just be glad it was me. If your parents were around to see their teenage son sleeping with his girlfriend like that they might not have been so happy about it. Well, actually your dad probably would have been proud; I'm not sure about your mum though.
"By the way, the paper came. That bloody bird of yours nearly took my hand off this morning."
"You didn't have any bacon for her," Harry answered as he looked over at the Daily Prophet.
Dark Lord Returns? Dumbledore Claims You-Know-Who is Back!
"I'm guessing people won't be happy about that headline," Sirius said. "Dumbledore sent me a message late last night. He'd like for us to join him today to look over your memory of last night to see if he can determine anything more about what happened. I imagine Madam Bones will be there too."
"I'd like Moody to come as well."
"Not a bad idea. I know Mad-Eye's got a reputation for being paranoid, but he's caught more of those bastards than anyone else. It's almost time for lunch. I bet you're hungry- for something other than your girlfriend maybe?"
"Food sounds good," Harry replied, ignoring the teasing. "Are you going to stick around then?"
"For as long as you need me to."
"Thanks, Sirius."
"No problem. I'm going to go splash some water on my face in the other bathroom. You might want to check on your girl. I'm starving."
The midday meal was every bit as noisy as one might have imagined after the main story in the paper as a number of people came over to ask Harry if it was true. He decided just to tell the rest of Gryffindor that he would tell everyone what he could that night after dinner as he had a meeting with the headmaster that afternoon and he didn't know how long it might go on.
After they had eaten, Harry and Sirius walked together towards Dumbledore's office. His godfather kept trying to tease him about having a girl on each arm, but he just responded that he couldn't help it if Sirius was jealous.
In truth, neither Harry nor Pansy wanted to be far apart after the day before. They stopped by the gargoyle that led up to the headmaster and the girls went into a nearby room to talk and wait for Harry's return.
Moody was already there and Dumbledore had set his pensieve out on a small table.
"Madam Bones should be joining us in just a few minutes," the headmaster said. "If you would, Harry, please focus on your memories of everything that happened at the graveyard. We can then be prepared for Amelia's arrival. I believe she will appreciate it, as doubtless she has been very busy."
Harry noticed that Dumbledore and Moody both looked rather tired.
"Am I the only one that got a full night of sleep, sir?"
"You needed it the most, Harry."
"There's a lot worse things to lose than sleep, Potter," Moody added with a rough laugh. "Some of us had work to do."
The fireplace roared to life as Madam Bones stepped through.
"Ah, Amelia, excellent timing."
"Albus," she nodded at him as she joined them by the pensieve. "Is everything ready? I will doubtless be called away soon. We got to question Karkaroff, but an ambassador is on his way. Cornelius is already throwing a fit after the morning paper.
"And speaking of the minister, this is for you mister Potter." She handed him a bag of gold. "There should have been a ceremony to award you for winning the Triwizard Tournament, but Fudge was too out of sorts to handle it. Plus, the trophy itself is still evidence."
"I don't think I want it anyway. Not after that night. Maybe it could be put in the school trophy room when you're done with it."
"An excellent suggestion, Harry," Dumbledore smiled. "Well, to keep us from wasting any more of Amelia's time, let us begin."
They all leaned over and slipped into his memory.
The beginning was simple enough- Harry was transported to the cemetery, his scar burst into pain and he was overcome by Crouch. The adults, other than Moody, were horrified to see him awoken by the Cruciatus, and they were all shocked to see the hideous thing that Riddle had been before the ritual. Dumbledore in particular stepped closer to watch for any details of that dark ceremony as Voldemort was reborn.
Amelia was disgusted to see the supposed champion of pureblood supremacy admit to having a muggle father. Harry heard her muttering about the hypocrisy.
Sirius laughed and patted him on the shoulder for calling the Dark Lord out on liking to hear himself talk.
Moody and Bones were both disappointed as the Death Eaters arrived to find that only Crabbe senior was named, as it would have been much more convenient if they had others to start working on.
Professor Dumbledore frowned when Harry told Riddle that he didn't care what the public thought of him. The headmaster then sighed as Voldemort spoke of overcoming Lily Potter's protection but he seemed specifically interested in how the Dark Lord spoke of going further along the path to immortality than any others.
Harry had to wonder what that was all about. How did Riddle not quite die all those years ago? It was something that had bugged him before.
Sirius winced as Harry was once again forced to suffer the torture curse before the Dark Lord wanted to make a show of his death.
"Idiot," Moody growled when Harry started bantering with Voldemort before the duel.
His godfather still had his arm over Harry's shoulder and he began to squeeze as he saw Riddle deliver another Cruciatus followed by an Imperius to try to make Harry beg for death. He cheered when Harry roared out his refusal and began to fight back.
"What is this?" Madam Bones asked when the two spells collided and began to push against each other.
"I'll explain when we're done," Dumbledore replied and Amelia nodded.
They then got to the part where Harry made his escape. Sirius gasped when Harry cast the banishing charm, sending the ritual knife into Riddle's shoulder, while his wand was still occupied.
A moment later, they were all back out of the memory and Moody stomped over to Harry.
"What did I tell you Potter? Moron," he said as he slapped the back of Harry's head. "Never banter with the enemy. Especially not with the bloody Dark Lord himself.
"But good work, laddie." He then held his hand out for Harry to shake. "That was one of the best escapes I've ever seen. Badly outnumbered. Took out several of the bastards, and got away from the middle of a crowd without any further wounds. I'm proud of you, son."
"Thanks." Harry was surprised to feel a little choked up.
"Me too. You saying it was one thing, but actually seeing you get hit by all those Unforgivables," Sirius shivered in disgust. "Thank Merlin the killing curse didn't hit."
"It didn't hit Harry, you mean," Amelia added. "It appears that Bertram Bole died from you-know-who's killing curse after the linked spells were broken. What was that all about, Albus?"
"I have studied wandlore some in my years, although I would not call myself an expert. If secrecy were not so important at the moment, I would suggest we contact Garrick Ollivander, but from what I do know, I am fairly certain it is because the wands belonging to Harry and Voldemort contain matching cores. Tail feathers from the same phoenix."
"Hello Fawkes," Harry said as he swooped over to land on his shoulder and sang out a note of pride.
"This phoenix, to be specific," Dumbledore chuckled. "Someone must be feeling theatric."
"I wonder where he gets it from," Harry teased with a smile.
"I'm sure I have no idea what you're suggesting."
"Does this mean that this could happen again if Harry and Riddle come up against each other in the future?" Sirius asked. Harry was happy to have converted him to calling the evil bastard by his real name.
"I think it is quite possible, although they would both have to be casting spells at the same time and while facing each other."
"I'll just have to curse him in the back then."
"I'd prefer that," Sirius agreed. "Of course, I'd prefer that one of the rest of us do it instead."
"That sounds like a plan that I approve of," Harry nodded. "You all get to work on taking Riddle down. My summer vacation's coming up, and there's a beach calling my name."
"If only it were that simple," Amelia muttered. "On the other hand, you did help us out more than you know, Harry."
"Amelia, I don't think-" Dumbledore began but was cut off.
"He's proven that he can handle himself, and I don't believe in leaving people in the dark, headmaster. It's bound to come out in the paper anyway. When you cast that blasting curse at the snake, you also hit at least five other Death Eaters."
"Are they all dead?" Harry asked.
"Yes. At least those five are- if you hit any others they may have survived. You-know-who appears to have ordered the dead to be left behind as the Death Eaters had left before we got there."
"That's good I guess. Fewer of them out there right now."
"It saddens me to see how little those deaths affect you, Harry," Dumbledore sighed. "You are far too young to be so badly jaded."
"Whose fault is that?"
Harry scowled at the headmaster who looked mournful in response. Before the tense moment could be drawn out too long, Sirius piped up with a question.
"What were Riddle and his snake saying, Harry?"
"Nagini called the Death Eaters weak fools, and Riddle agreed but said they were his weak fools." Harry thought it over for a moment. "I guess even though we were in my memory you all still only heard the hissing?"
"Yes, pensieve memories are not subjective like that. If someone is speaking another language, only those who speak the language can understand it," Bones answered.
"Was that all they said?"
"Um... no, Riddle then said that he'd feed me to her after I was dead. I figured that with how much he seemed to actually like the snake that it meant something to him. More than his followers, at least. That's why I cast the blasting curse at it."
"That may have been the best thing you did, Harry." Dumbledore's mood was back to a more positive note. "Voldemort did seem to have some sort of bond with the snake, possibly a familiar even, and taking away that weapon was definitely a good idea."
"Thanks. I thought so too, based on how angry he was when I did it."
"So, what do we do now?" Sirius asked.
"That's the real question," Moody replied with a scowl. "With a useless idiot like Fudge in charge, we can hardly count on the ministry to prepare for war. I'd guess the coward will slink into the shadows and try to find more supporters."
"He mentioned breaking the Lestranges out of Azkaban," Sirius pointed out. "There are other Death Eaters locked away there as well. That would be a likely target."
"But not for some time yet, I think," Dumbledore suggested. "Knowing Voldemort as I do, I believe Alastor is correct in suggesting that he will hide his presence for the immediate future. An attack on the prison will likely come later, when our defenses are lowered. If there are no other sightings for awhile, many people will become complacent and that is where the real danger lies."
"The only things I can follow up on right now are investigating Karkaroff and Crabbe," Amelia said. "The former will likely get bogged down with politics. As for the latter-"
"That sounds like something for me to work on," Moody interjected. "It always was the part of the job I was best at."
"We'll have to talk more later. I've got to get back to the ministry."
"Good luck, Amelia. Do let me know if I can offer any assistance," Dumbledore said as he saw her off through the floo before turning back to the others. "I think it's time for us to reconvene the Order. Can I count on you both?"
"If a fight's coming, you know I'm in," Moody answered.
"Sirius?"
"I'm going to be staying with Harry for the time being, but I will probably have time to help this summer."
"Very well. I have many things to arrange and many people to contact, so I trust you three can see yourselves out. And thank you, Harry, for showing us everything that happened."
"You're welcome sir."
Sirius led them down the stairs from the headmaster's office, with Harry in the middle and Moody's distinctive gait clomping behind him.
"It's a good thing the term's basically over. I've only got a week to waste before I can go back to being officially retired."
"I thought you were going to help Amelia?"
"Aye, lad, but she's agreed to put me on reserve."
"What's that mean?" Harry asked.
"It means that I'll technically be back on the job but I won't have to do any stinking paperwork," Moody chuckled.
"Worst part of the job," Harry agreed with a grin.
"Exactly."
"Could I ask for a favor, professor?"
"Only one more week I have to hear that dreaded word. Go on then, Potter."
"I was hoping you could leave me some suggestions on what to do to work on being better able to defend myself. And others too, potentially."
"That's not a bad idea. Who knows who Albus will get to replace me next year. I'll think on it and get back to you before the end of the year."
"Thanks Moody."
"No problem. Black, I'll be seeing you."
As the old auror clomped off down the hall, Harry and Sirius knocked at the nearby door and the two girls emerged.
"Was it a productive meeting?" Pansy asked.
"Fairly, I think. What should we do for the rest of the afternoon?"
"I need to go back to my dorm," Luna replied.
"We can walk you back to Ravenclaw then."
"What did you beautiful ladies talk about while we were busy?" Sirius asked with a smile a moment later.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Pansy retorted with a smirk.
"Yes, I would." He grinned right back at her.
"I don't believe our girl talk is appropriate for your delicate ears," Luna suggested with a hint of... was that a smirk? On Luna? Pansy really was starting to rub off on her.
Harry could only laugh to himself.
When they reached the Ravenclaw tower, Luna hugged Pansy and then Harry.
"For the record, I don't think you're a weirdo Harry," she said before leaving them with a smile.
"What was that about?"
"None of your business, Black," Pansy growled irritably as she turned away. Harry hurried over and wrapped his arm around her while they walked.
"Come on, Harry, throw a dog a bone here," Sirius whined.
If only Harry knew how to conjure one...
'Right, so this isn't going to be awkward at all,' Harry thought as he stood near the front of the Gryffindor common room. He was glad for the bit of masonry coming out from the hearth of the fireplace- it gave him a few more inches to help see over the crowd. He wasn't the runt he had been a few years ago, but it still helped at the moment because it looked like every member of Gryffindor had packed in, and it appeared that some of them had brought in friends from the other houses as well. There were several Hufflepuffs, some of whom he recognized, and he had noticed at least four Ravenclaws including Parvati's twin Padma.
He thought he saw a bit of green somewhere in the back even. That was pretty surprising, but then again, the members of Slytherin probably had more than anyone to think about with the return of the Dark Lord. Harry wasn't sure how many of them might be related to one of the Death Eaters, but he had a feeling that it was bound to cause strife in the near future.
At least he had Pansy and Sirius standing up there with him for moral support. Luna was sitting right in front with Hermione and most of the other fourth years, although Ron was further in the back by his siblings.
Okay, so... where to start?
Harry cast a Sonorous on himself to make sure he didn't have to yell.
"I suppose you all want to hear about what happened to me last night." He paused for a minute as a number of voices called out in agreement. "Alright, I assume you were all there for the third task. To keep from this taking all night, I'll only cover the most important bits."
Harry noted a few grumbles at that statement but pushed on.
"After making my way through the maze, I grabbed the Triwizard Cup which had been turned into a portkey that was apparently programmed to activate when I touched it. A moment later, I found myself transported to a cemetery obviously far away from here. A robed figure came towards me, and unfortunately I was captured."
"How?" someone yelled out.
"You ever get banished head first into a tombstone? Not the worst thing I've had happen to me, but regardless, I woke up later and found the robed figure was a Death Eater named Barty Crouch Junior. His father was one of the judges of the tournament, and he was killed in the Forbidden Forest about a month ago. According to what I was told, the father had been talked by his wife into freeing his son from Azkaban as a sort of dying wish and he was then kept under the Imperius curse by his father. Once he broke free from his father's control, he rejoined the service of Tom Riddle."
"Who's Tom Riddle?" Hermione asked from nearby. He looked over and saw her wink at him- Harry knew that she already knew, but she obviously wanted to help him spread the news.
"Tom Riddle is the real name of the monster who calls himself Lord Voldemort." There were a few gasps and shudders at the name, so Harry drew his wand and repeated the trick the Diary spirit (or whatever the hell it was) used to reveal his true name and the anagram he had created as a teenager.
"How do you know that?" Angelina asked from where she was sitting with rest of the quidditch team.
"He told me," Harry answered with a shrug. "The cemetery turned out to be where his muggle father was buried."
"No way!"
He couldn't see who yelled that out, but there were obviously more than a few people who found that hard to believe.
"It's true. You can look him up, he was a prefect and then Head Boy back in the Forties.
"As for why a half-blood would lead the cause of pureblood supremacy? Simple enough, he wanted power. A lot of political power and wealth has always been concentrated in the older families, and many of them wanted to make sure they kept that power. The most fanatical of them hated not only muggles but also the witches and wizards who came from a muggle background. I don't know if Riddle personally hated muggleborns, but he certainly hated muggles, so I guess it was an easy enough movement to use for his own ends.
"He obviously never cared that much about purebloods though, based on how many of them he and his followers killed.
"But anyway, let me get back to the story. When I awoke Barty Crouch performed a ritual to return Riddle to his body. I won't describe it though; I don't want to give any of you ideas if one of you decides to become a Dark Lord some time in the future." That got a couple of nervous laughs. "Riddle got his body back, and it was just further proof that 'blood supremacy' meant nothing since he doesn't even look close to human anymore."
"What does he look like?" one of the Weasley twins asked.
"Well, he's basically shaped like a man if it was also part snake and part demon. He doesn't have any hair. Not even eyebrows. He doesn't have lips or a nose either. His skin is as white as chalk and his fingers are about three inches too long. Oh, and he has dark blood-red eyes. So yeah, I find it hard to believe he cares about blood supremacy when he looks more like a monster than a man.
"So, Riddle regained his body and summoned his Death Eaters. It looked like there were about twenty of them, although it was kind of hard to count. The only ones he named were Barty Crouch and Crabbe. Not the one in fourth year, obviously, but I'm guessing maybe his father. Since Malfoy and Goyle's fathers were both Death Eaters too, that's probably not a surprise."
"Then what happened?" Parvati prodded, and Harry was glad for it as he didn't want to go off on a tangent. People were probably already guessing at who the other Death Eaters were, and if any more of them had children at the school.
"Then Riddle gave a big speech about how he was disappointed that they had put away their Death Eater robes and hidden among the public for so long. He also had to taunt me about how he was going to kill me to end the legend of 'the boy who lived.'
"Oh, and one thing I should mention is that he had this huge snake. It was like twenty feet long. He seemed to really like the snake too. That will be important a little later.
"So Riddle decided to make a big spectacle of killing me in front of his followers so they would know that what happened when I was a baby was just a fluke. He had Crouch give me back my wand so that we could supposedly duel.
"As a side note, if a Death Eater ever offers you the chance to duel, don't expect them to follow any rules. They're likely to just start throwing the Unforgivable Curses at you, at least judging by what I've seen from Lucius Malfoy and his boss."
"Did Riddle use the killing curse on you again?" Hermione asked in a panicked voice.
"That comes later in the story. First he had to go through the other two."
Silence followed that revelation. Harry let it play for a moment.
"I know a lot of you had professor Moody's lesson on them, but I'd really have to recommend against being subjected to any of the three. The Cruciatus hurts more than words can express. Thankfully, Riddle wanted to use it to humiliate me, so he didn't hold me under it for too long. He then used the Imperius to try to make me beg for death. His version was more powerful than Moody's by quite a bit, but I was able to throw it off.
"Riddle didn't like my disobedience. He's used to everyone bowing down before him. That's what all his followers did when they showed up. They crawled on the ground and kissed the hem of his robe. It was pathetic. If anyone ever tells you that there's some sort of glory in serving a psychopath like that, ask them if they like groveling and being tortured. Because when Crabbe asked for forgiveness for not trying to find Riddle after his downfall, he cast the Cruciatus on him. That's how he treats his followers- like they mean nothing to him. I doubt anyone ever mentions that when they try to recruit new servants for the cause. Because that's all they are."
"You're getting off track, Harry," Pansy reminded him and he nodded.
"Right, sorry. So, Riddle got mad when I wouldn't beg for death. We cast a couple more spells at each other. I cast a Reducto that collided with his killing curse. But they didn't bounce off like you might think, they sort of got stuck and began pushing against each other. It was pretty strange; even Riddle and the Death Eaters were confused by it. He yelled at them not to interfere, that only he was allowed to kill me. It was a lucky break, and it gave me time to try to think of a way to escape."
Everyone in the crowded room looked to be on the edge of their seats.
"There was a knife that Crouch had used earlier that he had set down on one of the gravestones. I banished it into Riddle's shoulder, then fired a blasting curse at his pet snake, and used the distraction to escape."
"How?" Hermione asked.
"The cup functioned as a portkey to take me there, so luckily, a portkey could still take me away."
"Why are you telling us all this?" Neville asked. "I had guessed that professor Dumbledore or the people at the ministry would have wanted you to keep things secret."
"A lot of them probably do," Harry replied. "I don't think secrecy will help though. Riddle and his Death Eaters like to hide in the shadows, so I don't want to make it any easier on them.
"I know a lot of people here haven't believed me about things in the past." There were more than a few faces either blushing or looking away at that statement, including Ron who Harry spotted sitting over by his brothers. "We can't afford for that to happen now. Everyone needs to be aware that Riddle and his Death Eaters are back, and that sooner or later, we could all be in danger."
"So, what do we do?" Lavender asked.
"Warn people, for starters. Warn your families and friends. If any of you know anything about suspected Death Eaters, tell someone. I'd suggest professor Moody, but he won't be here next year. Contact the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Or you could tell Susan," Harry said, pointing out the now-blushing Hufflepuff sitting near the back of the room. "Her aunt is the head of the DMLE.
"We've gone to school with some of their kids. Someone must know something. Every Death Eater that gets arrested is one less murderer, one less terrorist. The less of them there are walking free, the safer our friends and families will be. The safer we will all be."
Several minutes later, Sirius followed Harry and Pansy back into the privacy of their quarters.
"I notice that you didn't stick around to answer questions," Sirius said as they all sat down.
"I told them all I was going to. I didn't want to give anyone a chance to start expressing disbelief. If they're stupid enough to do that, they can do it without me letting them have such a public forum."
"I heard a few people talking about learning to fight. Don't be surprised if they ask you about that."
"If they want to learn to fight, they should ask someone older. Ask Moody. Or their parents, most of them must have lived through Riddle's first rise to power."
"Most of the people that lived through it did so by not getting involved in the fighting," Sirius replied with a sigh. "Far too many of those of us who fought back ended up dead. Like it or not Harry, some of those kids are going to look at you and think that you could teach them to fight. Hell, a lot of them are probably young and stupid enough to want to fight."
"We're teenagers, Sirius. None of us should be fighting. Hell, I don't want to fight. I've had to, but I'd much rather Riddle and all his minions just drop dead tomorrow so all that I have to worry about is where to go on vacation with my girlfriend."
"I wish it were going to be so easy."
"Me too."
"Sirius is right, Harry," Pansy piped up. "It's not a secret that you got extra lessons with Moody, nor that you had Luna, Granger and I helping you train. Next year, people are likely to want to do something similar, and they're probably going to look to you to lead them. We should prepare for that happening."
"Ugh, just what I needed, more summer homework."
"Just think about what you might want to teach people, and who you might want to teach," she suggested. "A lot of them can go to hell for all I care, but I think we all know that you're going to end up helping at least some of them."
"Yeah, I guess so."
"Well, on a different note, do you think Hedwig would mind sending a couple of letters for me tomorrow?" Sirius asked.
"I think I could talk her into it."
"Good. You're not the only one who would like nothing more than to spend the summer relaxing with a beautiful lady by his side."
"I wonder where Riddle and his troops are hiding. Maybe a meteor will fall on them and we can all take the summer off."
"That would be nice."
The next morning's paper showed that Fudge was already trying to stick his head in the sand. The Daily Prophet revealed that the ministry's official position was that Harry's kidnapping was the work of suspected rogue Death Eaters. Dumbledore's previous statement that Voldemort was back was called "wild speculation."
Harry sighed at the stupidity.
Hedwig decided to stick around in order to eat all the bacon in sight before agreeing to deliver Sirius's mail. She even stole a piece off of his plate. He pouted about it through the rest of breakfast.
Pansy suggested learning to love sausage instead and Harry smiled as she took a very suggestive bite of a link. Sirius called him a lucky dog with a pat on the back.
At a different table, two girls read through a letter and looked over at Harry with trepidation.
When Harry's group finished eating and got up to leave, the Carrow sisters followed quickly behind them.
"Harry!" Hestia called out once they were away from the Great Hall. There were bound to be a few people that saw them interact in the halls, but this was far too important to worry about that now.
"Hestia, Flora, what can we do for you?" Pansy asked as they all turned around.
"We need to talk. In private."
"Alright," Harry answered and went looking for an empty room. That was one of the nice things about Hogwarts, with all the multiple floors and wings, there was almost always a nearby classroom that hadn't been used in decades. Meanwhile, Luna begged off saying she had some things of her own to do and that she would rejoin them at lunch. Within a couple of minutes, Black came across a viable room.
"This one should work," Sirius suggested as they all went inside. "No portraits. I figured that would be a good idea."
"Right. Privacy spells first," Flora said as she pulled her wand. Then they all found places to sit. "We need your help, Harry."
"Okay, what kind of help?"
"We got a letter today," Hestia began. "It's both good news and bad news. I mean, it's the same news but it has a good and a bad side."
"What is it?"
"You killed our parents." One would think the girls would be upset by that, but Flora looked relieved and Hestia was almost bouncing in her seat with delight. "They were some of the Death Eaters that were called to that graveyard. The rumor is that you fired a blasting curse into a group of them."
"That rumor is true," Harry admitted.
"Then thank you," Hestia said as she got up and came over to hug him. "This is a great relief to us. We were dreading this summer."
"However," Flora interjected, "Hestia and I also now have a different kind of problem. Namely that we're still only fourteen and we will need some form of guardian. With our parents dead, the next closest relative is a great aunt that we haven't seen in years.
"That wouldn't be so bad, but there was always an assumption that service to the Dark Lord was something to be passed down in families. Our great aunt Sabrina is in no position to be able to protect us if they try to pressure us into joining them."
"Since I can't count on Harry for the proper introduction, perhaps you would do the honors, Pansy?" Sirius suggested.
"Of course. Sirius Black, meet Hestia and Flora Carrow. Ladies, this is Harry's godfather, officially Lord Black."
"My pleasure," Sirius said as he gracefully kissed the backs of their hands. "I assume you were hoping that Harry could help you out, but might I suggest myself as a possible guardian for the two of you?"
"That's not a bad idea," Pansy agreed.
"Why would he be a better option?" Flora asked. "No offense intended, Lord Black."
"None taken, miss Carrow. For one thing, I know what it's like to have escaped from a rather Dark family. For another, I have access to a very large home that has a number of protections on it already and that will shortly be placed under even great secrecy. There would be no safer place for you this summer."
"Plus, being under the protection of the Black family might be a better option at this point compared to just Harry," Pansy added. "Sirius has more resources and options, not to mention the fact that he can apparate, and Harry's house is not that big."
"One other thing," Harry interrupted. "I know you two are purebloods, and I tend to spend a lot of free time in the muggle world, which could be hard to get used to. Especially at a turbulent time like this, you might feel more comfortable in a magical environment.
"I'm not saying no," he added. "But Sirius is probably a better option. Even with as much as I tease him otherwise, he's a good man."
"Can we have some time to think it over?" Flora asked. Hestia looked eager to accept help from either of them while her sister remained somewhat more reserved.
"Of course," Sirius replied. "I'll have my house-elf get to work cleaning up a couple of rooms for you, just in case. We've got a few days before you would need to decide."
"That is most gracious of you, Lord Black," Hestia smiled. "You as well, Harry. We'll let you know as soon as we can."
"Glad to help," Harry replied. "I appreciated the warnings you gave me this year."
"We've got some things to do," Flora said. "I'm sure we'll be in touch soon. We'll have to be careful though. It's too bad we don't have another Slug Club meeting to use for cover."
"If you're worried about being seen with Harry by other Slytherins, you could always use his owl," Pansy suggested.
"Hedwig would probably enjoy getting to deliver another letter for once."
"Harry, you made me bribe her with bacon!" Sirius objected.
"I'm not crazy enough to stand between an owl and her bacon. It's not my fault that you haven't learned that lesson yet."
"Ignore these two jokers," Pansy interjected. "Hedwig is pretty distinctive and as long as you remember that Harry has trained her to believe that she's the most glorious owl in the world, I'm sure she would be glad to bring him a message."
"She's the one who trained me."
"Alright, I think we'd better let you go before these idiots get us all distracted," Pansy said. "We can wait a few minutes if you want to leave without attracting any attention."
"Good idea," Hestia replied. "Thanks, Harry, Lord Black, for the offers."
"Call me Sirius. I have a feeling we're going to be seeing each other over the summer regardless of which choice you make."
"Now you're butting in on my vacation too?" Harry moaned. "I think we'll need to find a beach that doesn't allow dogs, Pansy."
"What kind of beach wouldn't allow dogs?"
"The classy kind."
Hestia was giggling at Harry and his godfather's banter but followed her sister out of the room. Once the door was closed, Pansy turned to Sirius.
"I appreciate you offering to step in like that."
"I think I can relate in a way. I know I would have been relieved if someone had killed my mother for me when I was their age."
A little while later, Harry and Pansy first met the rather unpleasant Black family house-elf named Kreacher. He and Sirius seemed to loathe each other, and it made all the more sense that Sirius had called for Dobby's help when he had been wounded in the fight against MacNair a few months prior. Kreacher would have likely done all he could to make sure his master had perished. As close a call as that had been, Harry was that much more glad he had Dobby on his side.
Sirius ordered Kreacher to clean and prepare a couple more bedrooms for possible guests, which left him grumbling until it was mentioned that they were proper pureblood witches from the Carrow family. The scowling elf would probably be happy to think that the guests were the daughters of Death Eaters.
Once that was done, the trio headed back up to their quarters. Harry said he needed to find someone because he had an idea of something to do before the end of term. He was planning on grabbing the map to locate Parvati, but he ended up not needing it. When they entered the Gryffindor common room, she and Lavender were just coming down the stairs from their dorm.
"Hey Parvati!" he said, waving them over. "I wanted to ask you something."
"What is it?"
"After warning everyone the other night, I figured it would be a good idea to specifically talk to a few people who could be in greater danger."
"And you thought of me? Why me?" she asked.
"Blame the Daily Prophet and Rita Skeeter. I know a lot of people probably realized it was just ridiculous gossip, but it did publicly connect you and I. That is something the Death Eaters might try to use. I wouldn't be surprised at all if my friends became targets some time in the future. So I wanted to check to see what you were doing this summer, to see if you would be safe enough wherever you live and everything."
"Oh, that's sweet of you," Parvati answered with a smile. "I should actually be safer than almost anyone else though. Padma and I are going to be spending most of the summer with our family back in India. Unfortunately, it will really cut into my social life, but at least this is one summer when it will have another benefit. Do you really think they might try to attack me?"
"Better safe than sorry," Pansy replied. "Almost everyone reads the Prophet, so Harry is right that you could be in slightly more danger than most as one of his friends. We should talk to Luna and Granger too."
"I was already planning on it. Lavender, I think this is one case where you should be glad that you weren't included in the silly harem rumors."
"Thanks. Unfortunately, my mum's a muggleborn, so I worry that she could be attacked. I'm going to tell her and dad everything you said when I get home."
"I hope nothing happens. You might want to keep your wand with you though. It would be better to get in trouble for underage magic than to let them hurt you and your family."
"Mad-Eye Moody has definitely rubbed off on you, Harry," Parvati grinned. "I think the two of you are right in this case, though."
"We were just going outside to enjoy our last free day," Lavender said. "Do you want to join us?"
"Sorry, I've got work to do. Pansy, you could-"
"No, I'd rather make sure you don't wear yourself out. I'm still on nurse duty after the other night."
"Well, don't have too good a time you two," Parvati teased. "I guess you do have a chaperone for once."
"Speaking of... where did Sirius go?" Harry asked.
"You'll never guess," Pansy answered, pointing over her shoulder to a loud group laughing on the other side of the common room.
"Ah, Fred and George. That makes sense. Let's go retrieve him. I actually do need his help for something."
"Those two are pretty funny guys," Sirius said when Harry dragged him off to his quarters. "You could take a few lessons from them about having more fun. You're way too serious most of the time, Harry. Believe me, I'm an expert at being-"
"Stop! No puns. Please. I'll hang out with the Weasley twins more next year, I promise. Right now, I need your help."
"With what?"
"I'm curious too. What idea have you come up with, Harry?"
"Hermione and Luna are my two closest friends, and that means I expect them to be at the top of the list if Riddle decides to go after someone I care about. Hermione's been my best friend pretty much since I started at Hogwarts, and Luna has been attached at the hip to both of us for the last year and a half. I want to keep them safe."
"So, what's the plan?" Sirius asked.
"I used runes to enchant Pansy's locket with several protective features. Most notably, I made it into a portkey that can be activated with a phrase. I was thinking I could make something similar for the two of them. Since none of us can apparate yet, it would give them a way to escape if they needed it."
"Where would you have it send them?" Pansy asked.
"I was thinking the safe house."
"What safe house?" Sirius wondered.
"A property that I don't think anyone knows of," Harry replied.
"That's not a bad idea. I should see about getting one of those. Maybe somewhere in the middle of nowhere." Sirius started to pace. "I wonder if I could... I suppose but... Right sorry, just thinking to myself. What do you need me to do, Harry?"
"I was hoping you could go buy a couple of lockets like the one Pansy wears." Pansy got up and walked over to show hers to Sirius. "It shouldn't be too hard for me to do the rune work since I've already done something similar."
"Enchanting things always was something I enjoyed," Sirius said. "I'm glad to see you following in my footsteps, Harry. Remind me to show you my motorcycle some day. It shouldn't take me too long to get a couple of lockets for you. I can go after lunch."
"Thanks, Sirius."
"So, what else is on the agenda for today?" Pansy asked.
"I'm wondering when the names of the other Death Eaters I killed at the graveyard will be released. Madam Bones told us that Riddle's killing curse must have bounced off and hit... what was his name? Something Bole?"
"Bertram," Sirius replied. "He was a friend of my father's. I was glad to hear that mean, old bastard died. Amelia mentioned that you got five Death Eaters with your blasting curse. Other than the Carrows, we don't know the other three yet."
"There were supposedly roughly two dozen at the Quidditch World Cup attack," Pansy interrupted. "We know that Nott was killed, Goyle and Avery were arrested there. Sirus then took out MacNair and Yaxley. Two dozen minus five would be nineteen, and Harry said roughly twenty were at the graveyard, so that sounds about right. If he had twenty Death Eaters and six died there, the Dark Lord could be down to only fourteen or so followers right now."
"Of those fourteen, we have names for Crouch and Crabbe," Harry added. "I know Crouch wasn't by the snake, so he's one of them. It's possible Crabbe survived."
"No, we know he did," Sirius noted. "Amelia said that he was one of the only leads she had. She wouldn't have said that if he was one of the dead."
"You're right."
"We also can add Gibbon and Rowle to that list," Sirius added. "The two names I got from Carina as people that worked with her husband."
"You should mention them to Moody."
"I will." Sirius barked out a laugh and sat down with a smile. "This feels so much better than last time. We have some names to work with and a bunch of the bastards have already been taken care of. Now we just need the momentum to keep working in our favor."
"It's too bad that Fudge seems determined to drag things to a halt."
"Useless moron," Pansy snorted. "Are all politicians as inept and stupid as him?"
"Every single one I've ever heard of," Sirius replied with a smirk. "At least this way if I do hunt down and kill another one, I can cast the Dark Mark and have it blamed on a rogue Death Eater."
"It would be funny for people to think there was a traitor in the Death Eater ranks wiping out their own forces."
"Might even make them paranoid enough to start going after each other," Pansy suggested.
"We should be so lucky."
Later that afternoon, Sirius handed over two silver lockets for Harry to get to work on. He spent several hours over the next few nights carving the runes as that was the only time he felt safe enough to ask Pansy to take hers off so that he could make sure he got everything just right.
After their last Arithmancy class, Harry went off to spend the rest of the afternoon with Hermione as Pansy was pulled aside to talk with Daphne Greengrass.
Once the usual privacy charms were cast as well as a couple more that Pansy hadn't seen before- Daphne must have been feeling particularly cautious- she noticed the grimace on her former dorm mate's face.
"Normally I would be loath to admit this, but I think I need your help," Daphne said.
"Now you've got my attention..."
It ended up being a scheme that Pansy was fully engaged in, but she left Harry out of it. He had more than enough requiring his attention at the moment. Moreover, she thought it would be doing him a favor to take care of the problem on her own.
Plus, some things were better left in the hands of women. Precision was more Pansy's strong suit.
Harry wouldn't find out about it until after the term was over.
Thursday afternoon saw the last Defense class that Harry had with Moody. The semi-unretired auror got up from behind his desk as the rest of the students filed out.
"When Albus asked me to come teach, I thought I would hate it," he snorted. "I haven't been very good with kids for a long time. But it wasn't as bad as I thought it might have been. You certainly kept things interesting, Potter."
"I don't think it's possible for me to have a quiet year here at Hogwarts."
"I got something for you." He tossed Harry a small notebook. "That should give you plenty to work on next year, even if they replace me with an idiot."
"Thank you, sir. I... This means a lot to me. I'll have to think of a way to repay you."
"Just try to keep yourself and your friends alive. That's the best you can do. It will prove that you learned everything I taught you."
"I will, sir."
"Call me Alastor, lad. I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of each other one of these days. You've done plenty of fighting. Heh, probably more than anyone else since I left my glory days behind. Now, go on with you. I've still got too much packing to do before I can leave here and get back to doing what I'm best at.
"Oh, and Harry," Moody called out just before they left the classroom. "Tell Sirius thanks for the tip on Gibbon and Rowle. With any luck, I'll be busy this summer hunting down the filth."
Harry's final lesson that year was in Potions with professor Slughorn. For the most part, the jovial teacher went over what he had assigned for the summer and the things they should expect for their upcoming OWL year. It didn't sound too awful, although that could be because Harry no longer dreaded the class the way he had when Snape was still around to torment all but the Slytherins.
Pansy told Harry she had an errand to run after the class, which was fine with him because he wanted to talk to old Sluggy before he left for the summer.
"Professor, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"
"Certainly, Harry. What can I do for you?" Slughorn motioned for him to come to the front of the class where he was sitting behind his desk.
"I don't know what all you've heard about what happened to me last week. We haven't talked since then."
"Oh dear. I assume you mean all the unpleasant business with the Death Eaters? Well, you might not be too surprised to find out that the headmaster made sure to go over everything with me last Sunday. Especially with the death of the Carrow girls' father, and the possibility of at least one of my other students having family involved, we are likely to have a rough time next year. It almost makes me wish I had stayed retired."
"I'm glad you didn't, professor. It's been a pleasure having your class this year."
"You know I've already submitted your final grades, Harry. No need to butter me up anymore," he chuckled. "But I concur, it has been a pleasant year for me as well. Now, what were you wanting to ask me about?"
"Actually, I was wondering about Tom Riddle." Harry could practically see the blood drain from Slughorn's face. "He told me his real name and I realized that you must have taught him. I know professor Dumbledore did as well. But, I guess you were his head of house, so you probably knew Tom better than the headmaster. I've been thinking about him a lot lately. No surprise there, huh?"
"Understandable, yes," Slughorn exhaled. "Do you have something specific you wanted to know about him?"
"I... I'm not sure really. Did the headmaster tell you about his diary?"
"D-diary? What diary?"
"A couple of years ago, Lucius Malfoy slipped Riddle's diary to a student. But it wasn't just a diary- it was alive, sort of. It was able to possess the girl and force her to open the Chamber of Secrets. Just as Riddle had done all those years ago, when Moaning Myrtle was killed. Although, I guess he was able to blame that on Hagrid at the time. Huh, you must have taught Myrtle and Hagrid too, now that I think of it. Wow, that's-"
"Don't go making me feel too old now, Harry."
"Sorry sir, it's not that, it just struck me that you must have taught a lot of people over the years. Didn't you say you'd taught for fifty years here at Hogwarts?"
"Fifty-one now."
"Did you teach McGonagall too? I'm not sure how old she is and, well, it isn't polite to ask a lady her age."
"Yes, I did," he chuckled merrily. "Let me see, Minerva graduated in 1954 I believe. She came back to teach within a couple of years. It wasn't too long before she was replacing Albus as both head of Gryffindor and Transfiguration. She was Head Girl in her time here as well. That shouldn't be too surprising, eh Harry? She was very driven, even as a girl."
"That does sound like her. I think it also explains something about why Hermione looks up to her so much. She's much the same way. Very driven. I imagine she's already got her eye set on becoming Head Girl herself in a couple more years."
"I think miss Granger has a good chance. Of course, she'll be pleased to be a prefect first."
"Naturally. I can't think of anyone more right for the job than her."
"Don't say I said anything," Slughorn winked conspiratorially. "Officially, no prefects for next year have been decided upon yet."
"I didn't hear a word, sir," Harry replied with a grin. "But I think it would shock most people if they gave it to someone else. I like Parvati and Lavender, but even they would probably tell you that Hermione should be the girl's prefect next year.
"We've gotten a bit off topic though. I wanted to mention Riddle's diary because I briefly had it and when I wrote in it, it answered some of my questions before showing me a memory. And then later, when I rescued Ginny Weasley from the Chamber of Secrets, she had the diary there with her."
Harry noticed Slughorn becoming paler by the minute but continued on with his story.
"Whatever Riddle had done to the diary, it was somehow draining the life out of her. I saw Riddle, or something like a ghost of him. Only more real than a ghost, and he was a teenager, the same age as when he made the diary. He told me things- things about how similar we were. Both with dead parents, orphans, raised in the muggle world. I didn't grow up in an orphanage like Tom did, but I think I would have been better off if I had. He also mentioned a few similarities between our personalities, and...
"I don't know if anyone told you, professor, but I'm a parselmouth, just like Tom was. The headmaster thinks that I got the ability because of him. That when he failed to kill me all those years ago and gave me this scar he somehow gave me some of his powers as well. I'm not sure how you learn a magical language through a scar, but magic doesn't always make sense to me.
"Anyway, the point of all this rambling is that I've been wondering what exactly drove Tom Riddle to becoming Voldemort. Because we do have similarities. He killed Myrtle when he was only something like sixteen. I've killed people too. I mean, obviously it's a different thing to set a basilisk on a schoolgirl compared to fighting Death Eaters, but I just can't help but wonder. Could I become anything like him? Where did he go wrong? I know that's not really an easy question. Maybe Tom himself couldn't answer, assuming he was sane enough to try."
"Harry, I don't know where Tom Riddle went wrong all those years ago," Slughorn sighed sadly. "I was not aware that he was responsible for Myrtle's death, but it does explain a few things, especially about how Albus never trusted him. As for what drove him to become you-know-who, I believe it was power at first. If there was something else, he hid those motivations from me."
"Did he ever have someone he loved?" Harry asked.
"Someone he loved? I don't remember any particular romantic interests of his, if that's what you mean."
"Yeah, I... I don't think I would ever want to take over the world like he did. That sounds like way too much work, if you ask me. But... I wonder if I could be driven to killing people. Not just when fighting Death Eaters, I mean. For... other reasons."
"Like if something happened to young miss Pansy, you mean," Slughorn finished his thought as Harry had trailed off. "You're not as mysterious as some people might think. Love has driven plenty of men to greatness, while grief and loss have driven just as many to do horrible things. Believe it or not, I was young and in love once too."
"Miss Carrow?" Harry asked. "I think I remember you said her name started with an A but..."
"Amaltheia," Slughorn laughed. "No, I had a crush on her, but she was a year older than me and always seemed so out of my league. Beautiful girl, but nothing ever developed between us. No, I was thinking of someone else. Someone I haven't spoken of in a long time..."
He sighed before drifting off, his eyes unfocused and distant.
"Her name was Grace," he said in a somber tone. "I loved her more than any man had ever loved a woman. At least, so I thought at the time. We were engaged to be married, you know. I can hardly believe it was so long ago."
Slughorn again drifted off, but Harry remained quiet on seeing the look of loss in the old man's eyes.
"She died," he whispered. "She was an auror, fresh out of training. She was assigned to work with a veteran while she learned the ropes. There was an attack on a young family by what was thought to be a single werewolf. When they tracked him down, it turned out there were two of them. Brothers. They had taken precautions, but they weren't prepared for dealing with two of them.
"They killed the bastards, but not before she..." Slughorn failed to stifle a sob. He wiped at his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. "When I saw her, the beautiful woman I loved, with her face mangled and one of her arms torn off, I wanted to hunt down and slaughter every werewolf in the world. For just a moment, that rage swallowed me. But then I looked down, and saw her engagement ring, and it suddenly hit me. Our wedding day would never come. We would never have children. I collapsed Harry. I wept for what seemed like hours.
"In the end, grief won over rage. It still led me into darkness. I delved into research, even the darkest arts, looking for anything that could possibly bring her back to me. I never found anything that would work. The closest was the old children's story about the Deathly Hallows, but not even the mythical Resurrection Stone could truly bring the dead back. Only a shadow of them, something like a ghost. I was miserable, Harry, but even a ghost of her would have been better than nothing.
"Believe it or not, Hogwarts is what saved me."
"How so, professor?"
"I had been let go from my previous job and was lucky enough for there to be an opening for a Potions Master," he chuckled. "For future reference, when someone says they were let go, it's a polite way of saying they were fired. Now Grace, she had spent much of her childhood in America, her father's work had taken them over there before she could start here at Hogwarts. We met about a year after I graduated. She had moved back to England with her mother. As much as I had enjoyed my time here as a student, the fact that this place was somewhere that didn't remind me of her- it was what I needed at the time."
"And then it turned out you were a great teacher," Harry added.
"I don't know if I was great at the time, but it was something that I quickly learned to love. Influencing young minds was incredibly rewarding. And it made things easier over time. Our children would never be born, but I could play mentor to so many others. It never replaced what I lost, but it gave me something else.
"Would you like to know a secret, Harry?"
"Sure, professor."
"My Grace, she had red hair. I've always had a preference for it ever since. Sometimes when I would see students come through here with red hair, it would make me think of her and wonder if one of our children would have looked like that. I admit, it's something that I've let bias me at times. Like with your mother, Lily. She had almost the exact same shade of dark red hair that my Grace had. It gave me a predisposition to like her. The years of teaching her made that even stronger. I was old enough by then that she would have been more like a granddaughter to me, but I liked to think that Grace would have loved your mother just as I did."
He gave Harry a sad smile and patted him on the shoulder.
"If I could channel my grief into something positive like teaching, then remember that you could too if it ever came to that, Harry. Let's hope things don't come to it though. You're still young, and hopefully you have time enough for love."
"Thank you, professor. I think that helps."
"I'm glad, my boy. Have a good summer, Harry. Try to let the adults worry about things for awhile."
Meanwhile, Pansy had gone down to the Beauxbatons carriage to track down Fleur Delacour. She was let inside and directed to a door, where she knocked and waited. The space expansion charms must have been very tricky to make this place so enormous on the inside.
"Bonjour," Fleur said when she answered. "What can I do for you, Pansy?"
"May we speak in private?"
"Certainly, please come in."
"Thank you." Fleur's room was as elegant as she expected from everything else she had seen and rather clean. Then again, they were scheduled to leave the next day, so maybe she had just packed earlier than some would. Pansy and Harry still had some of that to do. She pulled out a piece of parchment and handed it to Fleur. "That states that I am here on official business for House Potter."
"Yes, I see 'Arry's signature. What sort of official business do we have to discuss?" Fleur looked intrigued, especially at Pansy being sent as a negotiator. It was hardly a normal situation.
"You had agreed to go through the maze with Harry so the two of you could look out for each other as he did not trust Krum. You did this because of Harry's rescue of your little sister, correct?"
"Oui."
"And then Harry had to pull you out of the way of a killing curse when Mr. Crouch was murdered. Later, in the maze, Harry took out Krum when he had sneaked up behind you and already knocked you out with a stunner."
"Let me stop you for a moment. I do not owe 'Arry a life debt. I already checked even though 'e 'as not suggested wanting any rewards, but as a Veela, I was raised to be careful of predatory men. Not zat 'Arry is one, of course."
"True, but he did end up helping you, more than you might have helped him, right?"
"Yes. Where are you leading zis questioning?"
"I've learned that your father works in the French ministry. I don't know what you and he might have heard yet about what happened to Harry."
"At ze graveyard? Your government's official position is-"
"It's nonsense spouted by cowardly politicians. Harry told me everything that happened. The Dark Lord was there. And that's why I want your help. Or, your father's, really. If things get bad here, if the Death Eaters start up their attacks again, I want to have an emergency way to flee the country. With an imbecile like Fudge in charge of things, it would be for the best if it was done legally and above the board."
"We could certainly arrange something like zat. Gabrielle would be delighted if 'Arry came to visit anyway."
"I'm sure," Pansy said with a droll tone. "Your sister's crush on him is fairly amusing."
"It is not 'er fault zat your man is such a 'ero," Fleur replied, stifling a laugh. "Gabrielle's own personal 'ero ze way she tells ze story. I love my sister, but I can already tell what a terror she is going to be when she 'its puberty. You may 'ave to protect 'Arry from 'er some day."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"I believe ze easiest option would be to arrange for an unlimited portkey. Normally, travel between two countries is more limited, but I know it can be done. My parents 'ad one this year. A destination would be ze only trouble, but if you would not mind coming to the Delacour chateau, zen it should be no problem to arrange for my father."
"That would be much appreciated."
"It is simple enough, and you are right zat I do owe 'Arry a favor after everything. Is zere anything else you wish to discuss?"
"Officially no. But unofficially..."
"Yes?"
"Harry told me that you told him he should take the cup. That you felt he deserved the win more. Normally, this would have been a nice overture on your part, but as things turned out it led to him being captured, tortured, and nearly killed."
"Zat is 'orrible, but surely you do not blame me for ze trap."
"Harry is everything to me," Pansy said in a low voice. "You are a friendly acquaintance. If something worse had happened, I would very much blame you for not taking the trophy when I know that he didn't want it. He didn't even want to participate in the first place. As it is, I am still slightly cross with you."
"Zen what do you want from me to clear ze air between us?"
"Nothing major. Just a small favor you could do for me. It would only take a moment of your time."
"Color me intrigued."
Harry and Pansy met up again shortly before the Leaving Feast. Luna would not be joining them for the first meal in a long time, but she seemed to be in a good mood anyway, no doubt in part due to the fact that Ravenclaw had won the house cup. It was the first time in a decade that neither Gryffindor nor Slytherin won, but neither Harry nor Pansy particularly cared. House points matter very little when you've got things like Dark Lords and summer vacations on your mind.
The feast itself went well enough after Dumbledore gave a small speech about everyone being careful over the holidays. Knowing that Harry's speech a week before had already gone around the school like wildfire, the headmaster seemed less tense than he had the previous few days. Even if the ministry was downplaying the return of Voldemort, the students knew more than enough to warn their families.
Harry spent much of the meal talking with Hermione of things they wanted to do over the summer. They hadn't spent a lot of time together recently, and Harry was starting to regret that. He hoped that maybe they could get together once or twice while they were away from school.
After the feast, Harry quickly pulled Hermione aside while Pansy went to fetch Luna. They stepped into the nearest room once they were all together and Dobby popped in with two small packages that Harry handed over to the girls.
"Presents!" Luna beamed. "You shouldn't have, Harry."
"These are important, and I needed to make sure you both had them before we left school. Go on, open them."
Luna tore into hers and was delighted by the silver locket.
"It's just like Pansy's! Except the pictures are missing."
"Well, I thought you might like to put your own in there," Harry replied.
"Could you copy them from her locket?" Luna asked. "You two are my best friends, you know."
"I know that charm," Pansy said, so she took her locket off so that Luna could have a completely exact duplicate.
"There are runes on them," Hermione said as she examined hers. "I recognize some of them. Protective runes."
"Right, there are a couple of things like that, but the most important part is that I've charmed them both to act as portkeys that you can activate with a word as long as you're wearing them. Hermione, yours is 'quaffle' and Luna's is 'basketball.' I figured that neither of you particularly cared about sports, and I chose something from the magical world for you because I doubt you'd talk about quidditch while you're back in the muggle world, and Luna I picked something from the muggle world so that you wouldn't accidentally trigger yours either."
"What happens if we use them?" Hermione asked.
"You'll be transported to a safehouse."
"What if I'm with my parents?"
"As long as you're holding onto them, they'll go with you. It should work fine even though they're muggles as long as you're there."
"Where is this safehouse?"
"That's a secret. The only people who've been there are Pansy, Dobby, and I. I'd like to keep it that way for as long as possible, just in case. If you do have to use the portkey, call for Dobby and he can let me know what happened."
"This is very thoughtful, Harry," Luna said as she hugged him. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"I appreciate it too, Harry," Hermione agreed. "I wish I didn't think I might ever need such a thing."
"Yeah, me too. But I figure that you've been my best friend for four years now, and Luna, you've been with me and Pansy a lot ever since we met. Then, with Skeeter's gossip, you've both been even more publicly connected to me. That worries me because even Death Eaters must read the paper. I just want both of you to be safe, and until we learn to apparate, this seemed like the best way."
"I may never take it off, Harry," Luna replied. "This way I'll still have you and Pansy with me all the time."
"Well, hopefully we'll get to see you some time over the summer too. You'll just have to talk to your dad about what he's got planned for you."
"I'll wear mine too," Hermione added. "I hope I don't need it, but you're right. It's better to be prepared for problems. What are the other protections?"
"There are a few things. I can fill you in later if you don't mind. Luna needs to get back to her dorm, and we haven't finished packing."
"Alright."
"Just the train ride home then," Luna said as they started walking up the stairs towards the Ravenclaw tower. "Let's talk only about pleasant things tomorrow, okay? I don't want to spend the last few hours with you guys worrying about Death Eaters."
"That sounds like a plan," Harry answered with a smile. "I am so ready for summer."