Harry nodded at Dumbledore's explanation, the Professor had not really told him anything he didn't already know or couldn't guess. He also remembered from what Daphne had told him about her family that Dumbledore had approached both her father and grandfather asking them to join his group but had been turned down on both occasions. Would Dumbledore try again? And how would Daphne's father, Daniel Greengrass, react to the 'Leader of the Light' this time around? Harry didn't know, but thought they would be important questions in the near future.
"Harry I do something to request from you." Dumbledore said, bringing Harry's attention back to their conversation. "I would like permission to view your memory of tonight's events. Perhaps it will give me some insight into Voldemort's plans." Dumbledore pulled an empty vial out of his robes and presented it to Harry.
"Ok, sir." Harry said. He had done this before and was therefore familiar with how it was done. Thinking clearly about what had happened today, including everything from the time he first entered the maze to when he reappeared on the stage with Wormtail, Harry pulled the memory out of his head and used his wand to place it in the vial. Dumbledore smiled brightly as he capped the glass tube and placed it back in his robes.
"Thank you, Harry." Dumbledore said gratefully. "I would like to discuss this after I have had a chance to view it and you have had a chance to sleep, if that is acceptable." Harry nodded at the suggestion while Dumbledores eyes twinkled. "Excellent. Then I shall leave you to rest, something that the rest of you might consider doing as well. Tomorrow promised to be an exciting day as well. Good night."
With that Dumbledore turned and walked out of the infirmary. As he left Harry wondered what Dumbledore might see in the memory that he had missed, but he would just have to wait and find out later. He turned and looked towards his friends to gauge their moods. Neville looked as if the amount of information had overwhelmed him and his mind was working overtime in an attempt to process it all. Daphne was trying her best to keep a brave face on for Harry's benefit, but he knew beneath the surface she was probably scared and worried like he was. Hermione was the hardest to figure out though. She had been shocked, like everyone else, when she heard he had been hit with another Avada Kedavra. But her shock had turned into something else. Harry stared at her for a moment, wondering what it was, and eventually it hit him. Hermione had the same look on her face that she got when she thought she did poorly on a test, although her case she almost always did better than she thought.
"Hermione," Harry said softly "Are you ok?"
"Me?" Hermione replied in surprise. "Of course. But what about you? You died tonight Harry! And we were here, doing nothing."
"There was nothing you could do, Hermione." Harry assured her. "You know that."
"No, I suppose there wasn't." Hermione agreed. "You need your rest, Harry. I'll come see you tomorrow, ok?"
"It'd be nice if they let me out of here tonight, but I guess there's no chance of that happening is there?" Harry said with a sad smile.
"No, probably not." Hermione answered. "Good night everyone." Hermione turned and walked out of the room with a look of determination on her face that Harry couldn't explain. Once again he regretted letting their friendship be overlooked the past few weeks. Once they had been so close he could tell what she was thinking just from the look on her face, but now? Now he had no idea what was going on inside her head.
"I guess I'll go, too." Neville announced. "I'm glad you're ok, Harry. Oh, and congrats on winning the tournament."
"Yeah, I guess that did kind of get overlooked." Harry said with a laugh. "Thanks, Neville." Neville nodded and turned to leave the room, leaving Harry and Daphne alone. She was still sitting on the bed next to him holding his hand. "Daphne? What's wrong?"
"I don't remember giving you permission to die, Harry Potter!" she said finally. A tear she had been holding back began to fall from her eyes as she looked at Harry. His story had obviously affected her differently than it had the others. Harry wasn't sure how to answer her, so instead he pulled her into a hug and held her.
"It's ok, Daphne. I'm fine now." Harry told her. "I'll do better next time, I promise. I won't let Voldemort hurt me, or you."
"You better not." Daphne said as she lifted her head off his shoulder. "I guess I should probably go…"
"Don't." Harry said. "Stay here with me."
"I don't think Madam Pomfrey would approve." Daphne answered.
"We're in a hospital bed in the middle of the infirmary, she will know nothing out of the ordinary is going to happen." Harry replied. "I just want you to be here with me."
"Ok, but don't act surprised when she kicks me out in an hour." Daphne said as she laid down in the bed next to her boyfriend.
"Thank you." Harry said gratefully. "Daphne, I… I love you." Harry watched to see her response, even though he had been growing more and more sure of his feelings for her over the past months he had never said it out loud. Partly because he was worried she wouldn't feel the same way. His fears were greatly eased though when he saw her smile and felt her scoot closer to him on the bed.
"I love you, too." she answered softly, but loud enough for Harry to hear. That night Harry went to sleep with a smile on his face, despite everything that had happened that day. Fifteen minutes later, Madam Pomfrey found them both asleep and cuddled up next to each other. Technically, she knew, she should tell young Ms Greengrass that visiting hours were over and she needed to leave. But Mr Potter had obviously had an awful day and would probably appreciate the company… In the end Madam Pomfrey didn't say anything and left the couple alone to rest together.
...
Hermione, however, did not go to bed after leaving the infirmary. Rationally she knew Harry was right and there was nothing any of them could have done to help him tonight, but that still did not help her feel any better about the fact her friend had been alone going face to face with Voldemort while surrounded by Death Eaters . Worse than that, Harry had actually been hit by the killing curse. Again. Even Harry's luck was bound to run out eventually if he kept getting into dangerous situations like that.
The war had begun again tonight, that much was certain. Harry, and all those close to him, would be targets for the reassembled Death Eaters and their master. They would need every advantage they could get their hands on. In other words, she would also need every advantage she could get to protect herself and those she cared about. Despite the training she had been doing for the past few months she knew she was not ready to face a skilled Death Eater alone and certainly not more than one. She worried for her family as well. During the first war Voldemort had a habit of attacking the homes of muggleborns even if they had done nothing to oppose him, how much more danger did her parents face because of her friendship with Harry?
'There is something I can do about it though…' she suddenly thought, but immediately tried to ignore the thought. It would not go away however. She had the knowledge and supplies needed to complete the Ritual of Heron. It was dangerous to attempt an unknown ritual, but on the other hand no one that had studied it believed it was a particularly dark ritual. She had struggled with decision since she began studying the ritual, but the bulk of her reason for wanting to do it then was to satisfy her curiosity. Now it had taken on a greater significance to her. It had come to symbolize all of her hopes of making it through the second war with Voldemort. Harry's 'death' had pushed her over the edge and convinced her that the ritual was necessary.
....
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