Minerva came down to breakfast with a determined stride and a plan. She ate quickly and enjoyed a cup of tea while she waited. When she saw at least two students from each of the first four years she moved down to the Gryffindor table. She asked the first years to meet her in the Transfiguration classroom after breakfast, the second years before lunch and the third years after. She asked the fourth years to meet her at the end of the afternoon. Her summons delivered Minerva headed to her classroom. Last night had given her a lot to ponder and in the end she decided that a single observation might not be an honest reflection of the situation in the Gryffindor common room. She would be talking with the younger Gryffindors today and, if it proved necessary the older ones tomorrow.
Ten minutes after breakfast officially ended the door was hesitantly opened and Euan Abercrombie stuck his head in. Seeing his professor sitting behind her desk he opened the door fully and walked in followed by his yearmates.
"Please be seated everyone." Minerva said. She noticed that everyone sat down where they would if it was a class. The students all looked extremely nervous at being called in on a weekend. "Let me begin by reassuring you all that you are not in trouble." Several shoulders slumped with relief. Time for the first test Minerva thought to herself bracingly.
"I would even go so far as to say that you are performing at an exceptional level compared to other years. I will have a hard time choosing the prefects in three and a half years' time." She felt a keen sense of disappointment at the horror spreading on the dozen young faces in front of her. One of the girls raised a shaking hand. "Miss Albrighton?"
"Um, Professor, can you tell us what we need to do so we don't become prefects?" the young girl asked getting several nods of agreement.
"Ms. Albrighton, the prefect position is an honour, bestowed on the best students in the year." The looks of horror turned decidedly sceptical. "Why would you not want to achieve that?"
"I don't want to have to steal from other people."
"I don't want everyone to hate me."
"Would I have to kiss the boys' prefect?"
"I don't want to be a bully." The litany of complaints grew and grew. Minerva had decided to let them get it out of their systems but was starting to wonder if she shouldn't step in to at least defend the position if not the people. Quite abruptly the tone of the whole discussion changed on its own.
"I never wanna be a prefect. When I'm a fifth year I'm gonna be like Professor Potter! I'll be able to teach anybody anything!"
"I wanna be like Hermione! She's even smarter than the professor."
"I'm gonna be like Harry and learn all about the castle so I can show the new kids around!" Minerva could only watch as the children got excited about their chosen role-models. The best I can say is that I wanted to choose the same role-models for them.
"Alright, everyone. Quiet down, please." It was more than a little gratifying that she could still quiet a classroom that quickly. "I think it's time that I clarified some things about the prefect position." Minerva spoke at length about the qualities they looked for in prefects and the duties that came with the position. She explained that many of the qualities they idolized in Potter and Granger were part of what made a good prefect and that those who neglected these qualities were simply bad prefects. This inevitably led to questions about why Hermione and Harry were not prefects if this was the case. Minerva tried to answer these questions as best she could without completely throwing Albus under the bus. It wouldn't do for the students to not respect their headmaster. On the other hand she always tried to encourage critical thinking. The many nods of agreement when she told the group that Ms. Granger had refused the position when she heard that Mr. Weasley was to be her counterpart surprised her. Time to find out just how much of a hash has been made of this.
Minerva spent the rest of the allotted time interviewing the first years on the performance of all six Gryffindor prefects. The conclusion seemed to be that their performance ranged from ineffective to outright abuse of power. Minerva thanked the first years for their help and told them not to mention this to any older students as she wanted to hear their untainted opinions when she spoke with them later. The class seemed to sense that there was more at play here than just conversation and they all agreed not to mention this discussion until after Minerva finished all her meetings.
The rest of the day progressed in a similar manner even if the older students were a little more decorous and mature than the first years in expressing their distaste for the current prefects. Each of the first four years had a similar opinion of the students assigned authority over them. The sixth and seventh year prefects were not forceful enough to keep troublemakers in line and at the head of that list of troublemakers were the two fifth year prefects. She also heard many voices telling her that the only reasons there was any order in the Gryffindor common room were Potter and Granger. In fact the only dissenting voice all day had been Ms. Weasley's and Minerva felt that the young lady might be biased in favour of at least her brother.
At the end of the day Minerva's Dicta-Quill had recorded enough evidence for her to dismiss Brown and Weasley but she needed to know she could then give the badges to her chosen candidates. Albus could still overrule her choices and after he had done so the first time Minerva was anything but sure that she could make him see reason. Perhaps something might come to her tonight. Potter had made a good point last night that she couldn't take his and Ms. Granger's word for it, no matter how much she might want to, that the two fifth year prefects were engaging in the kind of hypocritical behaviour utterly unbecoming of a prefect. She could however investigate.
So it was that a once again Disillusioned tabby cat was sitting in front of the portrait that guarded the entrance to Gryffindor tower, her invisible tail flicking back and forth as she waited for her prey. She had checked the patrol roster before coming up here and she knew that the Gryffindor fifth year prefects were not supposed to be patrolling until Monday night. She had also noticed that they had not swapped patrols with anyone the day before meaning that whatever they were doing during these patrols, they weren't supposed to be doing it.
Minerva was unsure whether to be pleased or disappointed when the Fat Lady swung open and a laughing Brown and Weasley emerged. This might mean that she could point out to Albus that his choices had been ill made in the extreme. On the other hand, she had no desire to prove that about any member of her House. She quietly padded behind the two unsuspecting teenagers and listened in on their conversation.
"Want another Chocolate Frog, Won-won?" Ms. Brown asked. When Mr. Weasley responded Minerva could hear the smile in his voice.
"Why not?" She watched as he stuffed the chocolate amphibian in his mouth in one go and seemed to barely chew before swallowing. "I tell you, babe, this prefect thing is one fine gig. Free candy, no curfew and the professors don't come after us for anything." He finished his comment with a leer at the girl walking next to him and a swat to her rear. Ms. Brown just giggled. Minerva felt the first stirrings of anger. Free candy? No curfew? How blatant had their abuse of their position become?
"I suppose you're referring to our little prank on the first years?" she asked coyly. Minerva had to suppress a snarl as she remembered the first years being locked in their dormitories in their first week at Hogwarts.
"Wench!" Weasley growled out before pushing her up against the wall as the two started slobbering all over each other. Minerva was growing more disgusted by the minute and when she saw Weasley's hand hiking Brown's robes up around her waist she was already transforming back.
"Wait, Won-won!" Minerva stopped before she undid her Disillusionment Charm; perhaps Ms. Brown was simply being overrun in her prefect duties by Mr. Weasley. This was still an investigation after all. "Wait 'til we get to our room. Then we can have some real fun." Minerva's huff of indignation might have given her away if it wasn't for Ms. Brown's high-pitched tittering. She hesitated for a moment before changing back into her feline form. So far this had been very informative and she still had the aforementioned room to find. She was sure she could prevent anything too disgraceful from happening. Still, the level of hypocrisy on display here tonight was fomenting a righteous anger in the Head Lioness' belly.
She once again silently stalked the two soon-to-be ex-prefects. She watched as they slipped through the door to an unused classroom on the sixth floor. Minerva transformed back into her human form and walked up to the door. When she tried the door handle it wouldn't budge. Minerva drew her wand and cast a diagnostic spell at the door. The readings made no sense to the elderly teacher. There was one spell on there that was probably supposed to be a Silencing Charm, but it didn't look like any variation Minerva had ever seen before. The other spell on the door was even more unrecognizable. Considering what she had seen before her students went inside the room and the difficulty she had had with the door Minerva would have expected a locking charm. Taking a chance Minerva started with as Disspelling Charm aimed at the door. Another Revealing Charm told the Transfiguration teacher that there was no more active magic present. This was underscored when Minerva heard a grunt and a moan coming from the other side. She took the final step forward and flung open the door to the empty classroom.
There on the floor were Ms. Brown and Mr. Weasley, both with their robes hiked up around their waists, lying on a pile of cushions straight out of one of Sheherazade's tales. Judging by the dribble of male bodily fluid running down Ms. Brown's thigh the two had already copulated. But how? I wasn't outside for more than five minutes at most. Minerva shook herself and aimed her most disapproving glare at the two students who had frozen at her entrance and were gaping at her in wide-eyed horror.
"Cover yourselves!" Minerva snapped. If Albus hadn't interfered this never would have happened she thought bitterly. The two students in front of her scrambled to get their robes in order. "My office. Now." Minerva was keeping her commands short for now. Time enough to truly express her disappointment in their conduct in the privacy of her office. The last thing she needed was for Severus to happen by while she was berating these two; she'd never hear the end of it. Minerva led the way to her office, trying to bleed off some of her anger by marching at a fast pace. When she got there she opened her door and looked behind her to see Weasley and Brown red-faced and puffing with exertion. "Inside!" she barked and watched as the two Gryffindors scrambled to obey. She followed them in and let her door slam shut with an ominous thud.
:-:-:-:-:
The next morning there was a series of frantic whispered conversations up and down the Gryffindor table at breakfast as the House tried to figure out what had caused them to lose 160 points overnight. There was also the very visible irritation on Albus Dumbledore's face that fuelled the rampant speculation. Some of the older students looked at Harry first. It was overnight and unexplained after all, but his honest confusion on the matter convinced his interrogators that he truly didn't know anything about the mysterious point loss. It also cemented Harry's determination that he would not shun the poor buggers who had caused this without first hearing their side of the story. He wasn't given a chance to contemplate the matter in any kind of depth though as Professor McGonagall swept down from the Head Table and addressed him and Hermione.
"Potter, Granger, I need to see you in my office as soon as possible." She sounded extremely tense which for her was tantamount to screaming in frustration. Harry quickly checked with Hermione who daintily wiped her lips and nodded.
"We're at your disposal, ma'am." Harry answered carefully. He only got a jerky nod in return before McGonagall swept from the Hall. Confused and a little worried the couple told Luna they would find her later and left the Hall in a hurry. They had managed to catch up to their Head of House just before they reached her office and were shown into the room with a curt gesture. Once there, they settled down in front of the desk while McGonagall took her place behind it. Both Harry and Hermione sat quietly, neither wanting to start any conversation that had their teacher this agitated.
"Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger, I have called you here to discuss a serious matter." As she spoke Professor McGonagall laced her fingers and rested her arms on the desk in front of her. "Last night I came across Mr. Weasley and Ms. Brown engaging in the very activity they had accused you two of. Suffice it to say they have been punished." McGonagall took a deep breath, "I would like to take this moment to apologize again for the way I treated you two in that instance. I acted on the assumption that your hormones had finally caught up with the two of you. Also, I was so relieved to finally see some concrete evidence that Mr. Weasley and Ms. Brown were taking their position seriously that I didn't listen to you as I perhaps should have. I recognize now that their report was likely not motivated by any sense of responsibility, but rather simple spite." Harry and Hermione shared a look that communicated that this conversation was not exactly headed in the direction they had expected. Hermione cocked her eyebrow at Harry and he understood that she wanted to forgive her favourite professor. Harry looked across the desk at his Head of House; she did look honestly contrite. Harry barely restrained a sigh and let his shoulders slump. He gave Hermione a nod.
"That's alright, Professor. We know you take your duty towards the students seriously." Hermione spoke up cautiously. Professor McGonagall gave a serious nod at her words.
"The reason that I was investigating Mr. Weasley and Ms. Brown last night was that I had been having conversations with the younger Gryffindors because of...well because of something else that had come to my attention. It became clear very quickly that none of the younger students, with the exception of Mr. Weasley's sister, had a good word to say about the prefects. It also became abundantly clear that they do respect the two of you. Which brings us to the crux of the matter." Professor McGonagall opened a drawer in her desk and took out a pair of silver badges which she placed in front of Harry and Hermione.
"Mr. Weasley and Ms. Brown have lost their positions due to their abuse of power and their duplicity. I want you two to take up the badges as I had originally intended. You may be assured that the headmaster will not be interfering this time." McGonagall's expression turned downright bloodthirsty as she made that comment. When Harry and Hermione hesitated, their Head of House jumped in to convince them. "You have both been doing the job already from what I've seen and heard. It's time you had the recognition that goes with it. All I ask is that you take one patrol a week and ride herd on the rest of the prefects in addition to what you have been doing." She looked at her two best chances for redeeming the prefect position in the eyes of the younger years and didn't dare interrupt the silent conversation they seemed to be having. Eventually Hermione turned to her professor.
"We'll accept, ma'am." Professor McGonagall heaved a sigh of relief at those simple words of acceptance. She watched with some pride as the two pinned their badges to their robes.
"Congratulations to the both of you. It is my personal opinion that this is long overdue and I feel like that opinion will be shared by most of the school." She gave her two new prefects a slight smirk. "I nearly had to give our Head Boy detention when he came to me to vent his opinion earlier this year." Both teenagers looked a little abashed at that and Minerva McGonagall felt as if the world had tilted onto its proper axis again. "Off you go then. I do believe there are some people who will be wanting to congratulate you on this news."
Harry and Hermione left McGonagall's office still a little bit shocked at the turn the conversation had taken. Their professor's demeanour when they entered had led them to believe they were in trouble. This was about as far from trouble as they could get. The couple headed up to the Room of Requirement where they were sure they would find Luna.
Their blond friend's enthusiastic congratulations were somewhat expected. The reception from certain students in the Great Hall when they went down for dinner was not. It started with a loud whoop from Cedric Diggory who rushed over to make sure that his eyes were not deceiving him and the badges on Harry and Hermione's chests were real.
"This is great! McGonagall finally came to her senses, did she?" He exclaimed happily. Hermione promptly jumped to her professor's defence.
"That's not fair, Cedric. It was Dumbledore, not Professor McGonagall who insisted Weasley be prefect." Cedric just waved this objection away with a large grin.
"I'll make sure you are added to the patrol schedule and I'll hand you that and our scheduled meeting times at breakfast tomorrow, okay?" Without waiting for a response he clapped Harry on the back and headed back to the Hufflepuff table with a definite spring in his step. On his way there he stopped off at the Ravenclaw table and was clearly seen high-fiving Roger Davies a moment later.
The Gryffindors were just as happy, even if it took some of the younger years some convincing that practically very little would change in how Harry and Hermione behaved. In the end their trust in the people won out over their misgivings over the position and they were happy for their friends.
:-:-:-:-:
In the two weeks before the holidays Harry and Hermione quickly got used to their new duties. McGonagall had been right that there was really very little difference compared to what they had been doing before. This was also a great reassurance to the younger years. Just about the only difference the rest of the school noticed was that any couples looking for some late night privacy were learning to avoid Harry and Hermione's patrol time like the plague. Harry was sure the Marauders would hate to hear that their map was now being used to locate troublemakers, but the quicker they found everybody, the more time he and Hermione had to spend together themselves. They made sure not to be as blatant as Weasley and Brown had been and that they had completed their duty first, but being out late at night with just the two of them walking through the seemingly empty castle meant that they did make a stop in the Room of Requirement after they had finished flushing out any other students. Harry and Hermione were aware that they were being a bit hypocritical themselves since they were engaging in the very activities they otherwise disrupted. Hermione reasoned that they were at least doing their jobs first and not sneaking out on other nights to do the same. Harry felt that it was simply a matter of unfortunate timing that the end of their patrols was pretty much the only time left that they could spend together in their busy weeks and refused to consider the matter in any more detail than that. He was fairly sure he would hate what he found if he did.
When Professor McGonagall came around to take the names of those staying she smiled at Harry's declaration that for once he would be heading home for the holidays. When she came to Hermione the professor hesitated, uncomfortable with asking a student who, to the best of her knowledge, had no where to go what her holiday plans were.
"I'll be staying with Harry and Sirius, Professor." Hermione answered the unasked question with a sad smile. "There are some things I need to take care of in the muggle world anyway." Professor McGonagall gave her student a bracing smile and a nod.
"I understand Ms. Granger. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to send an owl." she responded. As their Professor moved on to the next cluster of students Hermione's shoulder's slumped. She felt an arm coming around her and gave Harry a weak smile.
"I hate lying to her." Hermione said with an air of resignation. Harry just nodded in understanding. They had discussed it with the adults and agreed that even though Hermione and Harry trusted their professor it was better to not tell her that the Grangers would all be at Sirius' place for Christmas. As Sirius had put it: "Even if you trust her, the more people that know a secret, the more likely it becomes that that secret will be revealed." It still didn't sit well with the teens, though, even if they could admit that the logic made sense. Harry once again resolved to end Riddle as soon as possible.
That week Harry had his last tutoring session with Neville before the holidays. He took the opportunity to discuss Neville's wand with him. Neville didn't think that his Gran would buy him a new wand. Harry grinned and asked if the other boy wanted to borrow his invisibility cloak so he could sneak out. After a long discussion turned planning session the cloak was determined to be unnecessary and Neville was looking determined to sneak out and buy himself a new wand with his pocket money over the holidays.
The evening before the Express was scheduled to depart Harry and Hermione checked with the first and second years that they had packed everything they needed for the holidays before settling in by the fire to listen to the excited chatter of everyone eager to go home and the twins' idea of carolling which included new lyrics, off key renditions and, for some inexplicable reason, fireworks.
Many of the students they had helped stopped by to wish them a happy Christmas. Some even gave little gifts as tokens of appreciation. They were especially touched when the first years showed up and gave them each a bar of Honeydukes' chocolate which they had all pitched in for. All in all most of the students enjoyed the experience of spending time together and getting a head-start on the festivities of the coming weeks.
On the express the next morning, Harry and Hermione left their trunks in a compartment with Luna and, for the first time, headed to the prefects' compartment at the front of the train. It took up one side of a carriage and was filled with comfy armchairs which made Harry think of a more luxurious Knight Bus. As the couple found seats near the rest of the Gryffindors they were enthusiastically greeted by most of the prefects. The notable exception was Malfoy who merely sniffed disapprovingly while Parkinson simpered all over him. His eyes never left the newest additions to the compartment though.
"All right you lot, settle down and we can get all the official stuff out of the way." the Head Girl, Hazel Stickney called out. "As most of you will know the times in the middle of the trip are reserved for the fifth year prefects, sixth years take the last patrols and seventh years will start the early patrols. I have your exact times here. We had relatively few problems in September so let's make sure this ride goes just as smoothly." There were a few more announcements about things to look out for but soon the meeting ended and the prefects lined up to collect their patrol schedules. Harry and Hermione saw that they were indeed scheduled to patrol half way through the trip and wished the others a pleasant ride before they headed towards the compartment where Luna was waiting for them.
The ride back was once again comfortable as they had their compartment warded and their only break in their time together was when Harry and Hermione left to patrol the train. They didn't find anyone misbehaving but they did notice that Weasley and Brown had a compartment to themselves and were either glaring at everyone coming by or just the new prefects in particular. Malfoy gave a disapproving sniff loud enough to be heard through the door, which Hermione suggested might do permanent damage to his sinuses. Harry didn't think that the world was suddenly going to be that fair.
When they got back to their own compartment Luna had fallen asleep with a book open on her lap. Hermione carefully picked the book up and marked the page before placing it to one side. Harry meanwhile conjured a blanket and tucked the little Ravenclaw in. They put up a silencing charm around their friend and cuddled on the opposite seats, speaking in low voices despite the fact that they knew they wouldn't be overheard.
They didn't wake Luna until they saw the outskirts of London racing past their window. The Ravenclaw was a little put out that her friends had let her sleep and even more so to hear that the blanket she had been tucked in would eventually disappear. She wouldn't let Harry Vanish it and instead carefully folded it and packed it into her trunk.
"If it will disappear eventually that means I should use it as much as possible for the time being." was her only comment when Hermione asked her why she was keeping it. The three headed off the train and Harry and Hermione said their goodbyes to Luna before they joined the other prefects in trying to regulate the chaos that was the disembarking of the Hogwarts Express. It felt like it took hours especially when several of the younger years started dragging their parents over and introducing them.
"Harry, Hermione, just move off to the other side of the platform. I think that's the best way to get some breathing room over here." Cedric called over to them. Taking the Head Boy's advice the two moved off to complete all the introductions now waiting for them at a more practical distance from the train. They were told over and over again that it was a pleasure to meet the faces that went with the names in the letters. It was clear that none of the parents they were meeting with had read the Daily Prophet, or if they had, they had chosen to believe their children instead.
When the last parent had gratefully shaken their hands Harry and Hermione were faced with a grinning Sirius Black who had apparently joined the queue. He grabbed Hermione's hand and started pumping it enthusiastically.
"I just wanted to thank you for taking such good care of my little Harry. He still wets the bed sometimes when he gets nervous in a new environment and knowing you were there to change his nappies has made all the difference." Sirius was speaking in an overdone imitation of Molly Weasley which was causing Hermione to break out in laughter while Harry jumped his godfather and started giving him a noogie and telling him to say 'uncle'. By the time Sirius surrendered and called out the requested phrase Hermione had tears running down her cheeks.
"I'm not sure how I'm going to put up with the pair of you for two and a half weeks." she gasped out as she tried to catch her breath. When she had, Sirius grabbed both the teenagers' arms and told them "Hang on tight." Harry felt the familiar nauseating feeling of side-along apparition and when it cleared away Harry saw a beautiful house sitting on a river bank. It was perhaps too large to call it a cottage but it wasn't excessive by any stretch of the imagination. As he looked around he saw a massive castle rising into the sky overlooking the river, a village across the river and what he supposed were farmer's fields as far as he could see on 'their' bank.
"Arundel Castle?! We're in Arundel?" Hermione's exclamation surprised Harry.
"You know where we are?" He asked in wonder.
"That's Arundel Castle, Harry. It's about a forty-five minute drive from our house." Hermione gave her explanation for her impressive knowledge of geography in a distracted tone of voice before her face fell. "I suppose it's 'the house we used to live in' now." Harry slipped his arms around her shoulders in an offer of comfort.
"Actually your mum and dad said that they're rebuilding the house so I figured if I wanted to see my godson at all during the summers I'd better find somewhere to live that wasn't too far from you." Sirius broke into the moment without a care in the world. "I asked your parents if there was anywhere around here that might be nice to live and they told me about this place. I just bought some land off a farmer, hired a magical contractor, warded it to hell and back and there you go: one family home that won't be desecrated by madmen." Sirius was speaking with a definite note of pride in his voice before Hermione returned the favour and ruined the mood.
"If you and Harry are going to keep acting like you were at the station I give the house five minutes before it's desecrated by madmen; and that's only because you don't count as a plural by yourself." Sirius made a big show of looking highly affronted.
"I'm telling." was his mature response and it got the eyerolls it deserved. "Can we go in now. I mean it's pretty and all but it's cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey; that and your parents will kill me if I take too long getting you to them." It suddenly occurred to Hermione that her parents were in that house and she took off at a dead sprint for the front door after a brief widening of her eyes. Despite Sirius' earlier complaints, he and Harry followed at a walk, allowing Hermione the reunion with her parents in peace.
"So, you made prefect, huh." Sirius asked with a look to the side that promised no good. "NEEERRRRRRDDDDD!" he suddenly yelled out jumping away from Harry and pointing his finger at his godson. Harry just cocked his eyebrow at his godfather.
"Would you like to see some of the things I've been learning to deal with Riddle and his clowns? I could use a practice partner." he asked casually. Sirius was about to reply when he remembered just what his godson had done and tempered his response.
"Nah, I'll just watch and give you pointers."
When the two men reached the front door of their new home it was standing wide open. As they stepped through it they saw a clump of people desperately hugging. They could hear some sniffles coming from the group and carefully closed the door before hanging their coats on the coatrack. Harry took off his shoes and carefully placed them under his coat. Sirius managed to let his left boot slip and it clunked down heavily.
The Grangers' heads shot up out of their huddle to find a guilty looking Sirius and Harry pinching the bridge of his nose under his glasses. Helen Granger was the first to let go and she quickly made her way over to the two men. Harry barely contained a squawk of surprise when he was drawn into a motherly hug.
"Thank you, Harry. You kept Hermione safe like we asked and you saved our lives as well. We owe you more than we can ever repay." She said as she squeezed him tightly. Hermione was still being hugged by her father and as far as Harry was concerned that meant that she was in no position to help him. Sirius was grinning like a madman at his godson's expression, ruling out any help from that corner either. Lacking a better course of action Harry gingerly returned the hug he was receiving. It went on longer than he was really comfortable with and was only broken when Winky popped in to announce dinner.
Harry's first meal in his new home was extremely pleasant. Hermione and her mother did most of the talking as each tried to catch the others up on most of the details that might not have been discussed over the mirrors. Harry understood that they were just trying to deal with the joy at seeing each other in the flesh again after the six months they'd had and didn't make any effort to break into the conversation. Mr. Granger likewise just sat and watched. Sirius didn't do well outside of the spotlight and kept making increasingly off colour jokes in an effort to draw the group's attention back to himself until Harry slapped him upside the head and told him to stop it. Both Richard and Helen were full of praise for Harry and Hermione making prefect and they were impressed by Hermione's stories of how Harry was teaching Defence; stories that Harry tried to downplay in vain. After dinner the company was shooed out of the kitchen by Winky and they retired to the living room to continue their conversations in front of the fire and over cups of hot cocoa. It was late in the night before they all went up to bed, the joy of Christmas an almost tangible thing in the house.