Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Moments in Love	By : Gandalfs-Beard Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Harry/Hermione Views: 175861 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 14
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. All rights belong to Rowling. Nor do I make any money from the story.

Chapter List
- 66
- 67
- 68
The Scarlet Claw's Greatest Hits

The bedclothes rustled as he drew nearer to his wife.
“I still think something’s going on,” he said quietly, a finger twirling one of her locks as he lay beside her.
“What?”
“With Dora...”
“Oh hush,” Andromeda rolled her eyes. “Go to sleep dear. Try not to read so much into things.”
“...and the Potters...”
“You can’t seriously be implying...?” Andromeda gave her husband a withering look. “That’s absolutely preposterous! For one thing Ted, in case you haven’t noticed, one of the Potters is decidedly of the wrong persuasion for her...”
“She’s young...” Ted retorted, shrugging. “She could still be experimentin’... checkin’ things out...”
“Yes... but... Don’t be ridiculous!” Andromeda snapped, suddenly feeling strangely flustered. “I mean... really! What’s got into you Ted? ... Nymphadora’s got a girlfriend - the French girl - and you think... the Potters? ... with both of them? ... I’ve never heard of anything so tawdry...”
“I’m just sayin’.... You remember the time we caught ‘er with the Gilmour’s girls in the attic don’tcha? ... all three of them! ...” Ted raised his eyebrows and smirked. “Eh? ... Come on... you’ve got to admit...”
“For heaven's sake! I hardly think that amounts to the same thing...” Andromeda waved her hand dismissively. “Four young girls discovering themselves at that age... just reaching puberty... it’s only natural for everyone to be having a look. What you’re suggesting is completely different...”
“Is it? ... Is it?” Ted Tonks dropped his teasing expression and gave his wife a serious look. “Maybe that Skeeter article was onto something...”
“Oh... Now I know that you’ve completely lost your mind! I’ll be checking you into St Mungo’s Mind Healing ward first thing in the morning...”
“That’s not what I meant...” Ted rolled his eyes and tickled his wife’s vulnerable waist.
“Haha... Ted! Stop... stop being silly....”
Ted grinned and his fingers came to a halt.
“Of course I don’t believe all that secret harem rubbish,” he said. “But think about it. The Delacour girl was all over the Potters at the end of the Second Task, and not long after, Dora’s together with Delacour, and then all four of them off to London together...? Well... eh?”
“Yes... but... for the Trial...” Andromeda faltered, feeling unsettled.
“All four of them?” Ted retorted. “Dora... yeah! Of course she’d be there... Like you said, she was doin’ her job. Dora had a reason to go to London with the Potters.... But Delacour? You saw those pictures from the end of the Second Task! That was more than just friendly kisses the girl was givin’ the Potters... And then after London our girl, she goes all quiet on us...”
“Do you really think...?” Andromeda peered at her husband, the spark of something long buried flickering in her eyes. “You really think it’s possible?”
“That our girl could be mixed up in some sort o’ weird foursome?” Ted chortled, shaking his head. “Is it really so difficult to believe?”
“Don’t be silly! Of course it isn’t! I meant... is it possible that I might eventually get to be a grandmother after all?”

~o0o~
Hermione tossed and turned first one way, and then the other. Seeing Harry staring at her, his eyebrows raised in befuddlement, Hermione sighed and rolled back over again. She stiffened a little, then trembled at Harry’s touch when he slid up behind her and took her gently in his arms.
Hermione let out another sigh, this one more contented, as she relaxed slightly and nestled into Harry’s warm embrace.
“What’s wrong Hermione?”
“I...”
Uncharacteristically, Hermione was at a loss for words. How was she supposed to tell Harry how she felt without upsetting him? Harry always hated talking about that sort of thing. But she had to be honest with Harry. Finally, Hermione took a deep breath and decided to go for broke.
“I... you... Harry...” Hermione’s voice crumbled and a few stray tears rolled down her cheeks. She pulled herself together and tried again.
“This morning... for a moment - just a brief moment - it looked like you in those chains, being beaten and tortured by Alecto Carrow. And now... now I can’t get that image out of my head. I can’t stop thinking about you suffering like that all those years with your Uncle....”
“Woah... woah, Hold on...” said Harry quickly, sounding panicked. “Look... Yeah, it was horrible. But it was nothing like that Hermione... I promise!”
“I saw them Harry... the nasty bruises, the welts - the ones you tried to hide from me after Ron and the Twins helped me rescue you from the Dursleys. They were horrible. I’m surprised your ribs weren’t broken like Neville’s...”
“Bruises always look worse than they really are,” Harry cast around wildly, trying to think of something to stop Hermione obsessing. He knew she’d always taken his mistreatment at the Dursleys’ hands very hard. “Really... What happened to Neville - what Alecto did to him - it wasn’t as bad as that at the Dursleys...
“Okay... yeah, I suppose there was the one time I got a hairline fracture from falling off a wall while running away from Dudley’s gang, and yeah, I did get a few cuts and skinned knees and elbows as well as the bruises from their pummelings... maybe a few black eyes and split lips... but that was about the worst of it...
“And yeah, okay... Aunt Petunia slapped me and pulled my ear a bit, but it didn’t hurt that much... and the one time with a frying pan - more than one time actually - but I dodged it all those times, and in retrospect I could tell she wasn’t really trying to hit me with it...
“And yeah, Uncle Vernon was horrible when he got angry. But even so, it could’ve been way worse. He’d only... er... ‘box-my-ears’ a bit, or give me a sharp whack on the shoulders, or grab me really hard and squash me against a wall... punch me a bit... sometimes his belt...”
Hermione turned back over in bed and stared at Harry as he babbled, horrified at the nonchalant way he was listing and diminishing all the awful things his family - especially his Uncle Vernon - had done to him.
“Harry!” she said sharply, cutting him off. “Don’t you dare try and tell me how your suffering wasn’t as bad as Neville’s. Okay, so maybe your Uncle Vernon didn’t lock you in chains and dangle you by your feet, but he kept you locked up in a little cupboard - and put bars on your window - caged you like an animal.
“And maybe he didn’t hit you so hard that he knocked all your teeth out and broke your ribs... But he beat you a lot over the years, and am I supposed to pretend it’s alright then, just because Vernon didn’t hurt you so badly all in one go that he’d be caught out and sent to prison? ...”
“No,” Harry groaned, “That’s not what I meant...”
“Harry, you always try and act like your suffering isn’t as bad as - or as important as - someone else’s suffering,” Hermione asserted. “It’s one of the things that makes you such a kind person - one of the things I love about you - but sometimes you take it too far for your own good. It’s one thing to put someone else’s feeling’s ahead of your own, but you shouldn’t minimise your own experiences!
“And even if you can forget about it, I can’t! When I saw Neville looking all broken in there, it was just too much... and I just couldn’t get past it. I... I’m really sorry it’s all come out like this... I know you don’t like talking about it. I didn’t mean to bring it all up for you again... I really didn’t... I’m sorry Harry...”
“Don’t apologise Hermione,” Harry sighed, pulling her closer again and kissing her forehead. “I asked you what was wrong, and I’m glad you told me! I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to minimise your feelings about what the Dursleys did to me, and... and you’re right, I do sort of downplay my own experiences. I don’t really know why - I’m not sure if there’s just one reason or a lot of them.
“Part of it might be a guy thing too I suppose... you know, trying to tough it out... I dunno...” Harry snorted mirthlessly.
“Look at me... I’m a mess. I really haven’t sorted it all out yet, have I!?” he sighed. “I probably ought to try and talk about things a bit more, I just don’t... I can’t burden you with that Hermione, and there’s really nobody else I can talk to about these sorts of things...”
“It’s never a burden for me Harry,” Hermione quietly interjected, her forehead leaning against his. “I love you. That’s what love is... sharing the good bits and the bad bits together...”
“Yeah... yeah it is,” Harry agreed, gazing greenly into Hermione’s eyes. “I love you too Hermione...”

~o0o~
Dumbledore brought the meeting in the staff-room to a close and the professors stood up, all preparing to get on with things and make sure the school was all in order before the end of the Christmas Holidays. Slughorn gave Snape an apologetic smile.
“I’m dreadfully sorry Severus,” said Professor Slughorn. “I certainly didn’t intend to steal your thunder, nor your position as Head of House...”
“Not at all Horace,” Professor Snape interjected; his nearly inscrutable expression inexplicably bearing a hint of relief. “I am restored to my position as Potions Master, but my work for the Order will keep me too busy to focus my attention entirely on the students.
“As Alchemy Professor and the former Head of Slytherin House, you were the obvious choice for the task, Horace... and you will no doubt continue to be called upon to fill in for me on occasion for the foreseeable future.”
“Speaking of restored positions, I’d best be off to see what sort of mess Alecto Carrow has made of Defence Against the Dark Arts,” sighed Professor Lupin. “I don’t suppose anyone’s learned much the last couple of months while she’s been running the class...”
“Well in any case, we’ll be changin’ things up a bit, Remus,” Moody growled. “Don’t be too quick to revise the Defence syllabus until after our meetin’ with the Potters’ friends this afternoon - we’ll hammer out the details for the class after that.”
The mangled ex-Auror turned and grimaced at Slughorn and Snape. “Right then... if either of you two see Krum, make sure he’s at that meetin’... Longbottom too...”
“Longbottom is still in the hospital wing and shouldn’t be moved,” McGonagall stated firmly.
“Right!” Moody grunted. “We’ll let him know whatever he needs t’know after then. Now, what about the Weasley girl? She’s a real firecracker that one is...”
“Unfortunately, I have not come across Miss Weasley yet this morning, Alastor...” sighed Professor McGonagall. “I did not see her at breakfast...”
“Nor are you likely to Minerva,” Dumbledore interjected. “However do not worry yourself. I have it on good authority that our young Miss Weasley is in good hands...”
“The Potters...” McGonagall gasped, throwing up her hands in exasperation. “Miss Weasley sneaked out of the castle to stay with the Potters and the rest of their friends, didn’t she? If she wasn’t going through so much turmoil in her life right now, I’d be of half a mind to give her detention...”
“I have a far more appropriate plan,” said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling. “Unfortunately it means that I must confront Molly Weasley, and change her mind. A daunting prospect indeed...”
Lupin patted Dumbledore on the shoulder and chuckled. “I am sure you are up to the task. Best of luck, Albus!”

~o0o~
Red hair, freckles, button nose... Ginny Weasley looked so cherubic and peaceful lying asleep on the sofa, hair strewn across a cushion, that nobody had the heart to wake her when they found her in the parlour early that morning.
Ginny finally woke when the smell of bacon hit her nostrils. She turned pink and grinned sheepishly when she spied Luna sitting beside her on the sofa with a plate of breakfast on her lap and a neutral expression on her face.
“‘Morning Ginny. There’s a plate for you too. Dobby’s keeping it hot,” said Luna nonchalantly, as if nothing was unusual.
“Er... Good Morning?” Ginny squeaked, biting her lip.
“Oh yes... It’s getting late, but it’s still morning, and it’s sunny outside,” said Luna airily. “I don’t know if in and of itself that qualifies as ‘good’ but today sunny does feel good... probably because it’s so cold with all the snow around...”
Ginny couldn’t think how to respond to that.
Moments later the door to the parlour swung open and Dobby arrived with a breakfast tray for Ginny. As she quietly ate breakfast, Ginny peered at Luna worriedly. Luna looked as annoyingly serene as ever. Ginny wondered how cross she might be. Sighing, Ginny finished the rest of her crumpet, washed it down with some tea, and decided to get it over with.
“I’m sorry,” said Ginny in a small voice, casting her eyes down. “I should have told you what was going on at Hogwarts... about what I did to Goyle - I just forgot to tell you... what happened with Ron and Susan and Neville - I didn’t want to worry you...”
Luna’s big silvery grey eyes widened slightly, looking concerned. “McLaggen... Towler and McLaggen...”
“Wh...what?” Ginny swallowed anxiously.
“Tell me about McLaggen,” said Luna gently, “about him and Towler this time, and the time before...”
“Or don’t tell me. That’s alright too,” Luna quickly and very earnestly added. “I’m here for whatever you need Ginny - someone to talk to - or someone to just be with and not talk to - either way...
“I think it’s very sweet that you don’t want to worry me, and I’m not cross at all that you tried not to. But I’ll always worry about you when I’m not with you anyway - because I love you! I really don’t care that you didn’t tell me what was happening at Hogwarts.
“But I do care about what’s happening with you... I want to know if someone hurts you, or if you feel bad because someone’s trying to hurt you, or if someone tried to hurt you and you feel bad because you had to hurt them to stop them from hurting you...”
Luna paused when Ginny winced.
“Anyway... you don’t have to talk about any of those things if you don’t want to - I know that’s difficult, which is why I haven't pressed you on what happened with McLaggen until now - but if you feel up to it, I’m always ready to listen. ... And don’t be afraid to tell me something because you think that I don’t want to know, because I’m telling you that I do want to know... If it has to do with how you feel, then I want to know everything.”
“I... It’s just too hard... I don’t understand,” said Ginny, wiping at the tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. “I get why I feel guilty for cutting off McLaggen’s willy - that was awful - but I don’t get why I feel too ashamed to talk to anyone about why I did it...” Ginny trailed off, her demeanor suddenly shifting.
“Why should I feel ashamed and dirty for what he tried to do to me?” Ginny spat angrily. “It’s not fair. He’s the one who should feel ashamed, not me! And now... now I can’t even have that, because I just feel guilty about what I did to him... It’s not fair...”
Luna wrapped her arms around Ginny, pulling her into a tight embrace. The sound of Ginny tearfully mumbling, “...It’s not fair...” grew muted, muffled by the fabric of Luna’s jumper as Ginny sniffled into her chest. Luna held Ginny and let her sniffle quietly for a bit before saying anything.
“Well... if it’s any consolation,” Luna began, in a tone which had the ring of journalistic authority, “in a completely scientific poll of everyone who knows the whole story of what happened to Ginny Weasley on the day of the Arrest of Dumbledore and the Hogwarts Riot, and of what happened to her last year, one hundred percent of all poll respondents agreed that Cormac McLaggen got exactly what he deserved...”
“D...don’t be silly,” Ginny let out a teary little giggle.
“It’s true. Daphne, Fleur, and Dora filled the rest of us in on the bits we didn’t know last night - the bit you told them in the hospital wing about McLaggen having a go at you last year - and we all agreed.”
“Really? Even... even Harry? ... and Hermione?”
Luna’s Mona Lisa smile broadened slightly. “Especially Harry and Hermione.”
“That... that does make me feel a bit better actually.” Ginny dabbed her tears and smiled wanly. “I suppose I’ll eventually get over it. But... but it would be easier if I could just stay with you guys. I can’t stand being at Hogwarts without you Luna... Please say I can stay. I belong here - with you and the others...”
“...A conclusion which I have also reached, Miss Weasley,” said a completely unexpected but very familiar voice.
Ginny’s hotly blazing face momentarily became indistinguishable in colour from her hair when she spied Dumbledore standing in the doorway. She should have guessed someone from Hogwarts would come after her.
“Oh no!” she squeaked with embarrassment and anxiety, looking for a place to hide from the headmaster’s cool crystal blue gaze. “I’m in so much trouble, aren’t I!?”
“Please, calm yourself Miss Weasley,” said Dumbledore gently. “I am not here to bring you back to Hogwarts clapped in irons. Quite the opposite in fact...”
“Wait...” Ginny gasped, “You mean, you’re letting me stay?”
“Oh, I am doing much more than that Miss Weasley...” Dumbledore’s eyes began to twinkle as he retrieved his wand from within his robes. “And believe me, the magic I am about to perform, complicated though it may look, is nothing compared to the effort it took to convince your mother that this was a necessary step to take in ensuring your long-term safety.... Though admittedly, it was much easier to convince her than it might have been before your brother was taken...”
Ginny’s mouth gaped in bewilderment as Dumbledore prepared himself to perform some sort of spell. Out of the corner of her eye Ginny spotted Harry and Hermione and the others, who had all apparently come to watch whatever was happening.
“What I am about to do is magic of a highly advanced nature,” said Dumbledore, launching into lecture-mode as he began waving his wand. Ginny gasped when she found herself at the centre of a web of light - multicoloured luminous filaments surrounding her.
“This is a spell-matrix... the basic structure of a tracking charm to be precise. In some sense this is similar to what muggle computer programmers call ‘source-code,’ and visually speaking it ironically is not unlike what a holographic projection of a microcircuit might look like...”
Having recently watched TRON for the first time when he had discovered the videotape in Jennifer’s collection, Harry thought that was a fairly good description of what he was seeing. Pleased that he was actually so far following one of Dumbledore’s lectures on theory, Harry listened intently.
“A spell-matrix is not generally visible to the naked eye, and the spell to reveal it is far beyond NEWT standards... Though I think that should not be taken as a note of discouragement for this particular group of students,” Dumbledore said wryly, winking.
“In any case, once it is visible, the spell-matrix can be adjusted or even broken altogether by someone with the right skill sets and levels of expertise... filament, by filament...”
Dumbledore began weaving strands of light - silvery, golden, green, and violet - between the red, blue-white, silver, and orange filaments of the spell-matrix surrounding Ginny.
“For those of you more familiar with muggle technologies, what I am doing can be viewed as similar to ‘hacking’ a computer system... or to defusing a bomb,” Dumbledore continued. “And with a spell, both can be true at the same time. To be able to do this requires detailed knowledge of a highly specialised branch of Alchemy... a branch known as Metaphysicorum...”
“That puts me out of the running...” Harry grumbled under his breath into Hermione’s ear.
“...And contrary to popular belief, to work in such a highly specialised discipline as Metaphysicorum in the manner in which I am working at this very moment is as much Art as it is Science,” said Dumbledore pointedly, as if in response to Harry’s whispered remark. “Only someone with the skills and dexterity of a calligrapher or painter can really accomplish this in practical terms...”
Hermione nudged Harry and grinned. “Between me and you, Harry,” she whispered, “we could do this - together. I know we can.”
Harry returned Hermione’s grin and kissed the top of her bushy head. “If you say we can, then I believe it.”
“...and there, that ought to do it,” said Dumbledore as he threaded his wand like a needle one last time. A glowing strand of violet twisted around one of the silver filaments of light surrounding Ginny. Dumbledore gave his wand a gentle tug; there was a very brief flash and it was gone... the spell-matrix had vanished.
“Well Miss Weasley, you are now free of the Trace,” Dumbledore added sprightly. “And you are now also free to be where you belong... with your friends...”
“R...really? That’s it? I can do magic anytime I want now, without being tracked down? And I can stay?”
“Well, though this does technically void your status as a minor, I would suggest that you do not push your luck with your mother. She only agreed because she could hardly deny at this point that this was the most effective way of keeping you out of Ministry hands.
“And as to taking a leave of absence from Hogwarts and staying here with your friends, it is best for your own sake that you do. There are very few at Hogwarts who can relate to the experiences of those who have seen war at its ugliest. Most are too young...” Dumbledore sighed, briefly looking his age.
“And to my mind it is perhaps preferable that is so. You are among the few of those your age today who now have the dubious distinction of being caught up in the thick of war - not merely as civilian bystanders or casualties, but as active participants... as warriors yourselves.
“And yes Miss Weasley... please rest assured that the violent acts committed against you - the acts to which you were responding - can be considered as acts of war, albeit on a very personal level. It does little good to second guess decisions taken in heat of battle which prevented someone from causing you great harm, or to bear the burden of a transferred sense of guilt. And you were correct... for that continued assurance you will need your friends.
“Indeed, you will all be relying heavily on one another to learn how to cope effectively with your experiences on the field of battle, as I know you already are. It is my hope that affairs of state are settled in a timely manner, and that you may all eventually resume your education with as much semblance of ‘normalcy’ as is possible.
“In the meantime however, look after each other well. And on that note, I must be off, back to Hogwarts. Just one final thought before I depart, I believe that you will all find the evening news on the Wiz Vision to be a most edifying experience tonight. And Miss Weasley, may I say that your performance was outstanding...”
Ginny blushed deeply again as Dumbledore winked and bade all farewell. For a moment he looked as if he had something more to add but thought better of it, and then he was gone. When Luna and the others all looked at her questioningly, Ginny groaned.
“The interview I did with Skeeter yesterday. You’ll see soon enough...”

~o0o~
“Alohomora,” muttered Ron, waving his hand at the locked door for the hundredth time.
He tried the brass handle and swore when it still refused to open. Ron had another go at the latched window, and it wouldn’t budge either. Ron knew it was a long-shot that he’d ever be able to pull off a wandless spell; they were supposed to be incredibly difficult even for the most experienced adult wizards, and he knew that he was only an average fifteen year old wizard at best. But he had to try.
Ron angrily flung himself back on the bed, glowering at the cold scrambled eggs and bacon and the congealed porridge sitting on the breakfast tray. Ron was starving; it was almost noon and Ron hadn’t eaten a thing since dinner at Hogwarts the night before last. Percy had brought him plenty of food, but Ron had furiously rejected every meal.
Ron ripped his eyes away from the cold breakfast and stared at the pink ceiling, guiltily doing his best to squash the bitter feelings which Percy had stirred within him again in an attempt to make him turn against Harry. The words still echoed in his mind.
“Just think Ron,” Percy had said, “if Dad had taken a higher paying position at the Ministry instead of tinkering on experiments for Dumbledore, and put aside his ridiculous muggle obsession, you could’ve had everything that Potter has: gold, new brooms, a girl...
“We could have lived in a proper house with house-elves instead of in that miserable hovel - and you could have been proud of our family’s name and status...”
Percy had kept at it most of the day yesterday, but Ron had refused to give in to his old envies. Sure, Ron had to admit to himself that he still felt the occasional pang of jealousy that Harry was rich and famous, that Harry was better at magic than Ron, and that girls seemed to like Harry more than him; but it didn’t seem anywhere near as bad as before.
Ron had been surprised to find that it no longer had any hold over him, and he didn’t really know why. He supposed it might be because he was good at quidditch now and people had seemed to notice him a lot more since the match against Slytherin... including a number of very attractive girls.
But all Ron really knew for certain was that he had been a lot happier since he and Seamus had become best friends. Seamus really seemed to get him, and just accepted Ron without judgment - warts and all.
It didn’t matter so much to Ron that he wasn’t best friends with Harry anymore. Ron knew that Harry still liked him a bit, and that was enough.
When he saw that he wasn’t getting through to Ron, Percy had finally had enough of it and simply imperiused him. Ron could only recall a few fuzzy vague snatches of what had followed, his memories of late afternoon yesterday muddled and foggy.
If Percy hadn’t made Ron watch the news last night, Ron probably wouldn’t have even recollected enough to feel guilty for betraying Harry on the WVN news. Mostly Ron just remembered that the rest of this house seemed to be as disgustingly pink as the guest room in which he was imprisoned.
The gnawing emptiness ached in the pit of Ron’s stomach. Finally deciding that his hunger strike was over, Ron picked up a piece of bacon and savagely tore into it with his teeth as he considered his options. He had been taken somewhere else by floo to make his statement on camera, and it was possible that Percy might make him do it again.
Maybe Ron could catch Percy off guard the next time - steal his wand and escape somehow before they flooed away. Fred and George had taught him a few fighting spells along with the rest of the quidditch team and Seamus. But Ron couldn’t do any of that if he was imperiused; he would have to try and convince Percy - pretend that he’d finally come around...

~o0o~
Neville glanced up from his bed, peering over Hannah’s head, when Fred and George entered the hospital wing. Hannah separated her lips from Neville’s, sensing his distraction, and turned to see who had interrupted their kiss. The Twins smirked as Neville’s face reddened and Hannah’s eyes narrowed.
“Don’t mind us.” Fred grinned. “We’ll only be a moment. You can carry on to your heart’s content when we’re gone.”
“We just came to let you know that we’ve all been invited to a meeting with Lupin and Moody in the Staff-Room this afternoon,” George added. “Well... to let you in on it anyway. You’re supposed to be resting up in here, but we’ll come back later and tell you what happened at the meeting.”
“What’s up?” asked Neville, frowning pensively.
“According to McGonagall, Dumbledore wants to make sure we’re all keeping on learning to fight properly,” Fred replied. “And to start training up more students...”
“...probably to prepare us all to defend ourselves and Hogwarts if the Ministry attacks,” continued George. “You two, us, Lavender, Padma Patil, Krum, Susan Bones - anyone who was training with Harry - we’re all supposed to be at the meeting - we're probably going to be assisting in training up the other students.”
“What about Hermione and Harry and the others? Aren’t they coming back then?” Hannah queried, glancing anxiously at Neville.
“Dunno really,” Fred shrugged. “I suppose we’ll find out at the meeting.”
“I’m sure they’ll be back eventually, Hannah.” George gave her and Neville a reassuring smile. “They’ll all probably be too busy catching up their own studies and going on missions for the Order when they do return to help teach everyone else how to fight.”

~o0o~
Even if Dumbledore hadn’t suggested watching the Wiz-Vision’s evening news, Harry’s near obsession with keeping up with what the Ministry was saying might have compelled him to in any case.
Hermione was less sanguine about turning on the Wiz-Vision again at first, but she was hardly about to miss the pirated broadcast. Thankfully, they didn’t have to watch much of William O’Hannity; the official news was interrupted within seconds by the Order’s programme.
“Blimey!” gasped Harry. “Is that...?”
“...Rita Skeeter?” Hermione’s jaw gaped open. “No... it can’t be...”
The woman on the screen looked utterly unlike the woman they knew. The transformation was worthy of a metamorphmagus. Rita looked quite different with only a modest amount of makeup and straight mousy-blonde hair falling naturally around her shoulders. She could have passed for a BBC documentarian.
In fact the entire production had the polished earnest look of a BBC documentary: clean graphics, high production values but shaky camera-work in just the right places, and crisp, clear interviews.
The first interview was with Neville. Everyone winced when Neville appeared on-screen, battered and bloodied in the hospital wing at Hogwarts. His eyes were swollen shut, and he was badly slurring his words like a savagely beaten boxer who had lost fifteen rounds.
“...Alecto Carrow, the Inquisitor, she did this to me...” Neville was telling Rita Skeeter on-camera, “Harry Potter saved my life...”
“Zey must have filmed this yesterday morning right after ze rescue, before Neville was allowed to rest,” Fleur muttered.
Though Neville’s serious injuries and interview were a big focus of the hacked broadcast, Rita certainly didn’t end it there.
“...that was of course Neville Longbottom, scion and heir to the House of Longbottom,” said Rita as she addressed the camera, “one of the ‘Sacred Twenty-eight’ still listed in the ‘Pureblood Directory.’ Is this how Minister Umbridge means to restore an openly Pureblood dominated Order in Britain? By beating Purebloods who oppose such efforts into submission?
“And moving on, another who can tell of the Inquisitors’ reign of terror at Hogwarts is Susan Bones, niece of the highly regarded former head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement,” Rita continued.
“I... I only asked a s...simple question in class,” sobbed Susan convincingly, “and... and Inquisitor Carrow v...vanished my c...c...clothes. Sh...she m...made me go to all of my classes n...naked...”
Harry raised his eyebrows at Hermione who was giggling.
“It looks like Dumbledore is putting Rita’s talents to good use,” Hermione chortled. “She must have coached Susan a bit.”
“Look, it’s you,” said Luna with a grin, unnecessarily pointing at the screen when Ginny’s recognisable features appeared on the Wiz-Vision. Slumped on the sofa, Ginny groaned and buried her face in her hands.
Rita Skeeter placed great emphasis on the fact that Ginny’s family was also listed in the Pureblood Directory among the Sacred Twenty-Eight before launching into the interview. Ginny’s weeping was as convincing as Susan’s had been and drew rave reviews - not to mention a few chortles and giggles - from the rest of the Coven.
“Th...they kidnapped Ron from his dormitory in the n...night,” the Ginny on-screen sobbed. “They’re probably t...t...torturing him too. He would never t...turn against H...Harry otherwise. I just d...don’t understand wh...what happened to Percy... how he turned out so horrible... how he could do that to his own brother...”
“And what can you tell us about the night that Draco Malfoy was allegedly killed by Harry Potter?” Rita Skeeter asked pointedly.
The tears which might only appear somewhat dubious to those who knew Ginny well dried up, and a very real flare of anger sparked in Wiz-Vision Ginny’s eyes as they narrowed.
“Harry wasn’t even there,” Ginny spat. “He was being held prisoner in the dungeon when that happened. I was with Daphne Greengrass and Fleur Delacour. We came across Draco Malfoy as he and his mates tried to rape Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet - Draco had been given permission by the Carrows to rape Gryffindor girls.
“When we stopped him, Draco Malfoy tried to kill us. We were only defending ourselves... and we didn’t really have a choice, as he was acting with authority given to him by the Minister herself. If he was still alive, I don’t doubt that being paraded naked in front of the school would have been the least of Susan Bones’ worries!” Ginny concluded.
“So, this then is our current Minister’s legacy,” said Rita Skeeter as she began her closing remarks. “Her dedication to ‘Law and Order’ going only as far as those laws she makes herself - laws which hearken back to a time of medievalism and savagery - wherein only the ‘noblest’ bloodlines have any rights, and children may be beaten within inches of their lives and raped if they belong to the ‘wrong’ families.
“...and if you are muggleborn in the Minister’s regime, then even beating and raping children is not the least of the punishments to be expected. Those of you who were watching several nights ago saw what the Minister’s administration is ultimately capable of - torture and mass murder on a scale which would make Grindelwald proud, and make Voldemort himself green with envy.”
At this point, quick-cuts from the footage of the raid on the Ministry’s Death-Camp flashed on the screen in a montage behind Rita as she continued to speak.
“Voldemort! ...” Rita’s eyes narrowed as she peered into the camera with earnest conviction, “the scourge of the wizard world who was finally defeated once and for all last summer by none other than the Boy-Who-Lived and the Headmaster who taught him! Voldemort... a Dark Wizard who thought nothing of murdering and raping children! A Dark Wizard whose many one-time supporters are now committing these very same acts again - these vile affronts to humanity - in the service of the Ministry!
“One might think that Voldemort himself had actually won and achieved his long-time objectives, given the Ministry’s current alignment and activities...” As she continued, Rita's voice began to rise with passion.
“And yet, there is one crucial difference - Minister Umbridge’s careful campaign of deception has achieved what Voldemort could not have done through terror alone... by convincing much of the wizarding public of the justification for such methods... by giving credence to the utter falsehood that the Pure of Blood are the victims... and through the LIE that the wizard world is in danger of extinction if drastic measures are not taken against the muggleborn... measures which threaten to extinguish the lives of those such as Harry Potter’s beloved wife.
“And THIS is what Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore stand against... they stand against the same horror and violence which they have always stood against, from the day that the Boy-Who-Lived brought an end to the first Wizard War, to the day that the Boy-Who-Lived ended Voldemort’s Second Reign of Terror!
“And now... now Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore mean to put an end to Voldemort’s Spirit, which lives on in Minister Umbridge’s Reign of Terror today! ... And if you stand against killing and raping children... if you stand against torture and mass-murder... then you must stand with them... you must stand with Harry Potter... and you must stand against the Minister and her corrupt regime!
“This is Rita Skeeter, reporting from Hogwarts, where the children are now safe, and the Spirit of Voldemort’s Ministry can no longer reach them!”

~o0o~
Minister Dolores Umbridge struggled mightily to contain her rage when the regularly scheduled programming resumed on the Wiz-Vision. She had wondered for months what had become of Skeeter, the best propagandist the Unspeakable Office had ever produced. Dolores had been beginning to think that someone had accidentally stepped on Rita Skeeter while she had been surreptitiously covering the Third Task... and now Dolores desperately wished that someone had.
The Minister’s deputy glanced at her, his freckles standing out against his ashen face. This response was the last thing that Percy had expected when he had imperiused Ron and made him go on the Wiz-Vision. And Percy instinctively knew that Ron’s lacklustre performance, and the stagey delivery of the WVN newscasters, couldn’t hold a candle to what he had just watched.
“Lies!” Percy Weasley blurted out vehemently, as the colour rushed back into his cheeks.
“Dumbledore obviously put Skeeter and Ginny up to it. He must have kidnapped Skeeter at the end of the Triwizard tournament, and... and he’s been brainwashing her ever since, just waiting for a chance to spin it all around and turn things back on us. We have to find out how they’re breaking into the broadcasts and put a stop to this, Dolores!”
“Indeed, Percy!” Dolores nodded, fuming as she spoke through grinding teeth. “I already have Unspeakables in the Research and Development division of the Department of Mysteries working on it around the clock...”

~o0o~
“Wow!” Parvati gasped. “Wow!” she repeated, unable to articulate anything but shock and awe at Rita’s devastatingly sincere and rousing presentation. The rest of the Coven had been rendered even more speechless as they sat gaping in silence.
Harry’s eyes bulged and his head was spinning as his world tilted. Even though he was perfectly aware that Skeeter had switched sides and was working with Luna’s father - and that she had even fought in the battle against Voldemort - it was still hard for him to process that this was the same woman who had blindsided him and Hermione over a year ago.
Harry was utterly flummoxed, and yet he also couldn’t help feeling a surge of excitement and giddiness. For the first time in his life, he felt ready to take up the mantle of the “Boy-Who-Lived,” not as a glorious title promising him fame and fortune, but as a promise to tyrants everywhere that their days were numbered.
Hermione was equally flabbergasted, but she couldn’t help feeling a thrill course through her as Rita’s electrifying rhetoric - backed up by the powerful on-screen evidence - fired up her senses.
Harry’s bewilderment only increased when he suddenly realised that Hermione was sitting on his lap, purring, affectionately nuzzling his neck and planting a big kiss on him.
“Wh...what’s going on?” Harry managed to gasp when Hermione’s lips wetly released his own.
Hermione had to think about it for a moment. It was true that something about Rita Skeeter’s impassioned oratory had stirred her, but Hermione wasn’t quite certain why.
“Oh... of course!” said Hermione with a naughty golden gleam in her eyes when it hit her. “Arousal can be a sympathetic nervous system response to inciting rhetoric...”
“Yeah Harry,” Parvati giggled. “Skeeter’s speech was just exciting... Not to mention convincing!” Luna and Ginny both nodded vigorously.
“I’ll say,” Dora chortled. “Loads of people will be ready to fight the Ministry after that...”
“Oui, zat is so!” Fleur agreed.
“It certainly got my blood pumping,” said Daphne a bit breathily.
“Good,” said Jennifer, grinning as she grabbed Daphne’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “Because I think I’m ready for an early night of it...”
- 66
- 67
- 68
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Moments in Love