Ron glared murderously at Harry. Even in the deep shadows, Harry could see Ron's face getting redder and redder, his nostrils flaring, his teeth grinding as his lips curled back from the gums.

There was an extendable ear dangling from Ron's pocket; Ron had come prepared to snoop on the others, just as Harry had.

That had to be the reason why Ron didn't shove him or curse him or start to yell. Harry, who knew Ron's every mood and expression so well, could see that Ron was making a monumental effort not to explode. He was silently gulping air; his fury was almost choking him.

"Thank you."

Harry didn't take his eyes off Ron, but he allowed himself to divide his attention. Hermione was speaking.

"I think I can put a warming charm on the stone, too."

"Don't," said Neville. "You know Snape said not to exert yourself."

"It's fine -- it's just a little spell."

"I can do it. Honestly, you two, stop ignoring me -- I feel useless enough."

"Oh, Ginny, I --"

"Never mind, just put it away."

There was a barely audible sizzling sound that Harry recognized as a heating charm, and then the sound of people shuffling around.

"There," Ginny said. "My charms still wear off early, but I can just recast it then. I still think this is an odd place to be meeting. What if that boy decides to skive off studying after all?"

A droplet of spittle glistened in the corner of Ron's mouth. Ron swiped at his lip with the back of his hand, looking like he would rather be using his fist on Harry's face instead.

"Never mind him," Hermione said. "We'd already brought Luna down and it makes no sense for Draco to have to come upstairs. I just wish you'd found Ron, Ginny. If he would just stand still a moment and let me explain --"

"But you haven't explained!" Ginny's voice rose a notch. "You haven't explained anything, Hermione. I don't know what's happening -- I'm just following along because you're my friends and I can't think to do anything else!"

A fuming huff escaped Ron's nose.

"I am sorry," Hermione said pleadingly. "Please, Ginny, just hold on a bit. I did say you didn't have to come this time."

"No. No, I won't leave Luna when I don't even know what's happening! Mum said --"

"Oh!"

Hermione's sudden exclamation was the last sound Harry heard. There was such a complete, lengthy silence, that even Ron's glare had time to settle into a glower.

Harry and Ron exchanged a look. By some bizarre mutual agreement, they dragged their eyes off each other and peered out from behind the column.

As far as Harry could tell, the five people sitting on the steps had been petrified mid-step.

Hermione's mouth was still open in a little 'O' of surprise, her hand stopped half-way through a familiar flutter up to her cheek. Neville had started to rise but never made it, lingering on the very edge of the step as though he might topple forward any moment. Ginny was standing utterly still. Malfoy was sitting with Luna on the bottom step, his cloak crumpled under them, and the look on his face was about as blank as the one on Luna's.

In the back of his mind, Harry suspected that only seconds had really passed.

Hermione's hand finished it's flighty motion, and she pressed it to her mouth. "Oh, Luna."

Harry looked at Luna again, since that seemed to be everyone's focus.

There was no difference that he could see, until he followed the curve of her bony shoulder and realized that her arm was stretched out, her hand resting on Malfoy's knee, grasping his fingers in a way that looked, even from a distance, like it could be painful.

"Do you..." Malfoy ventured faintly, "do you suppose she does hear everything?"

"Of course she does!" Hermione said, her voice thin and barely audible.

"I told you," Ginny said, choking up. "I told you."

Neville was patting Hermione's shoulder; Hermione looked to be crying silently, her eyes dry and wide open, her shoulders shaking. She reached for Neville's hand and stopped its movement, pressing it down.

In the next few minutes, as Harry watched, the five gradually rearranged themselves so that in the end Ginny was sitting off by herself on the top step, fidgeting with her wand, and Hermione and Neville sat down on the bottom step, Malfoy and Luna in between. They sat there, silently, all of them staring off into space.

Harry leaned his head against the damp, cold stone of the column, his neck and shoulders aching with tension.

Ron hadn't moved either; Harry could still hear him breathing irregularly on the other side of the column.

"Hermione, I'm really sorry, but --" Ginny bit her lip, trailing off for a moment. "But they'll come looking for us, you know."

Hermione seemed to give herself a little shake. She pushed back her hair, which had fallen into her face. "Yes. Yes, of course."

"I still haven't a clue --" Ginny said, her voice now trembling. "I haven't any clue what's going on, and you won't explain, and I --"

Hermione burst into sobs.

"I'm sorry!" Ginny cried, wringing her hands and almost dropping her wand. She stood up abruptly and stepped two steps down, but stopped short. "I'm sorry!"

It took a few minutes for Hermione to start to calm down, with Neville patting her uselessly and looking like he wasn't too far from crying himself; he was blinking and swallowing twice the normal number of times, and his eyes were very wide and wild.

Harry had seen Hermione cry before, of course, but it still shocked him to see it this time. He felt he was witnessing something he shouldn't be, and that thought crept over him until he could barely stop himself from averting his eyes.

"We just --" Hermione's voice hitched. "We wanted to get together -- all of us -- in one place -- because --"

"I think you need to take Luna back," Malfoy said, looking between Neville and Ginny before his eyes darted back to Hermione. "She shouldn't be here..."

Ginny came down the rest of the steps and gently lifted Luna up. Luna's arm was still extended, but her fingers slipped from Malfoy's and her hand dangled.

"Help me, Neville."

But Neville, who had just managed to stand up, sank down next to Hermione again. "Come on, Hermione. It's okay. We are together. We're all right --"

"We are!" Hermione gasped out. "What about --"

"Don't," Malfoy said hoarsely. "Don't. Don't."

"I can't believe -- they're really dead -- it really happened -- it happened -- it happened --"

Malfoy slid from the step, backing away from her.

"WHO IS DEAD?" Ginny said, her good eye going huge. "Who are you talking about?"

Harry had a terrible time following the disjointed half-thoughts that tumbled from Hermione's mouth, but what he did understand made his blood run cold.

"I was alone -- days and days in the dark -- they put Neville in my cell -- I was going to die when he left -- I knew I was going to die --"

The others were staring at her in frightened silence, except for Luna, who had collapsed a bit against Ginny's side and was still gazing unseeingly straight ahead.

"-- Luna -- Draco -- Vincent --" Hermione whimpered hysterically. "-- Gregory -- Vincent gave me food --"

Malfoy kept backing away until he hit the wall. The hand Harry could see was clutching at the stones behind him.

"They moved me -- someone was there -- too dark to see -- so cold -- had to say all those awful things -- I think he died -- writing all those lies -- they moved me again --"

Ginny, whom Harry had only seen take charge a few times, during D.A. practice, suddenly straightened, her shell-shocked expression turning fierce.

"Neville, take Luna -- NOW." Not waiting for him to do so, she pulled him up by the sleeve and pushed Luna into his arms. "Start walking, Neville, I'm right behind you."

Neville stumbled down the corridor like a drunkard, leading Luna with him.

"Hermione, we need to go. Mum will know what to do, but not if we're down here."

Ginny grasped Hermione under the arm and pulled her up much as she had Neville; Hermione made no protest, though she continued to rock back and forth, her fist in her mouth.

"YOU --" Ginny rounded on Malfoy, her voice commanding. "I can't leave you down here, so you're coming with us. We'll drop you off at your common room." She glared at him when he didn't obey. "MOVE IT."

Malfoy looked like he would rather slide down the damp wall and huddle into a miserable ball, but Ginny's yell got him stumbling after Neville.

Their footsteps died away into silence.

"Bloody hell... she lost it."

Ron's whisper jerked Harry out of his stupor.

Ron had left their hiding place and was staring at the stairs like he was seeing something that wasn't there anymore.

Harry tried to back away. His stomach was twisted into a knot; he knew he should have never been there to witness what had just happened.

Ron rounded on him. Harry expected Ron to lunge at him.

"I don't know what you think you're playing at," Ron ground out. "You slime! Why are you here?"

"You should talk," Harry said hotly. Blood pounded in his temples. He had a sudden, desperate need to not be standing there with Ron looking at him like he was a split hair away from pummeling him into the floor. If he had just taken the potion before leaving his room... "You came down here to spy on them, too."

Ron's eyes were crazed.

Harry braced himself, but while Ron's shoulder slammed painfully hard into his as he stalked by, he reckoned he had got off easy.

He had no idea when he started walking. At some point he found himself in an unfamiliar corridor, Malfoy's forgotten cloak dangling from his hand, and didn't know how he had got there.

He kept walking. The winding corridors gradually slanted upward and the lit torches on the walls grew less infrequent. At the next corner, he recognized the bust of William the Wronged.

He didn't know why he kept walking on past Snape's office rather than turn down the side corridor leading to his own room. His feet seemed to have a mind of their own, which he idly thought was a good thing, because his mind certainly wasn't working properly just then.

When he realized where he was headed, he stopped short.

Snape had said all the adults were working on something in the staff room. There might be no one upstairs; no one but the twins and maybe Percy, whom Harry hadn't even seen yet and who'd had to be hexed into coming to Hogwarts.

Harry forced his suddenly reluctant feet to start moving again.

It always did fall to him to do these sorts of things and get nothing but blame for it later. It was his 'saving people' thing.

He took a deep breath, which did absolutely nothing, and knocked on the staff room door.

He had expected Snape himself to yank the door open and start demanding what Harry -- or, rather, Hadrian -- thought he was doing interrupting a meeting. He had been told five separate times -- suddenly each of those five times echoed very clearly through his head -- to stay out of the way and not interrupt except in a dire emergency.

Only, this was an emergency.

Snape didn't open the door. It swung open all on its own, and then he was staring into the long, paneled room he had only seen the inside of a few times before.

The mismatched chairs were still there, and they were all occupied. Half a dozen pairs of eyes were on him. He had interrupted McGonagall mid-sentence. Snape was rising out of his seat, his chair scraping the floor and making the only sound Harry heard; Lupin was staring at him. Mr. Weasley and Bill were taking out their wands --

Snape pushed past him and the door shut silently, hiding the room and its occupants from view.

"Breathe."

Harry only suddenly realized there was darkness creeping in around the edges of his vision, just like the time Snape had force-fed him a calming draught when he had panicked over something stupid -- something stupid that didn't matter at all --

"Breathe!"

Harry let out a gasp.

"This had better be an emergency," Snape said grimly, his eyes narrowed and searching Harry's face. "If I find out this is some more of your usual nonsense --"

Snape's insult cleared Harry's mind when nothing else had.

"It's an emergency, believe me," Harry said. His voice cracked. "You need to check on Malfoy and Luna. Mrs. Weasley needs to get back right now."

Snape's eyes still burned into his for another moment, but then, without another word to Harry, he yanked open the staff room door and started issuing orders.

"Minerva, check the wards. Molly, do a head count and send a messenger. Lupin, do the same and take Hadrian -- you know where the calming draughts are. I will see to Draco first --"

Harry slumped in relief against a wall and didn't know anything more until someone grabbed him under the elbow and steered him back toward the dungeons. He wanted to say that there was no outside threat this time, but his mouth wasn't cooperating.

Lupin deposited him onto the divan and for a moment looked torn between the Map -- Harry saw him looking toward the bookcase where it was kept -- and the cabinet on the opposite side of the room.

"I'm fine," Harry said with effort. His own voice sounded far away.

Lupin looked at him like he had lost his mind, and went for the potion.

Harry's head began to clear again. He felt slightly as though he were floating just above the divan rather than lying on top of it, but at least he could think again.

It was almost worse, really. His ears burned, thinking how he had nearly fallen apart again, and this time with a dozen witnesses.

Lupin had the Map and was shooting worried glances at Harry even as he searched it, unfolding it as he went along to see more of the castle.

"I'm sorry," Harry said. "There's no one... I mean, it wasn't Fudge again or anything."

Lupin lowered the Map to his lap and looked at Harry.

"There was --" Harry shuddered involuntarily, remembering. "They met -- Ginny, Hermione, Neville, Luna, and Malfoy. In the dungeons. Hermione went completely hysterical. Ginny had to drag everyone off. Ron saw everything. I was hiding -- I wasn't myself -- I wasn't supposed to be there -- I couldn't do anything..."

For a horrible moment, he imagined that this was the sort of thing Snape, Lupin, and all the rest of the adults would consider an utter waste of their time; a complete non-emergency.

Lupin folded the Map and stood up. "Are you going to be all right if I leave you here?"

Harry nodded, swallowing.

"Don't try to get up, just lie down for a bit."

Harry nodded.

"I'm just going to make sure no one needs me, check in with McGonagall, and I'll be back."

Harry's head wagged all on its own.

"Just stay right there." Lupin made a staying motion with his hand. "Don't walk off."

The potion was lulling Harry into sleep even as Lupin was walking out. He thought Lupin had given him too much, maybe... or maybe he had gulped too much from the bottle... how many doses were in one of those bottles...?

"Harry?"

Harry thought that voice was vaguely familiar.

"These panic attacks are worrying me."

"This is only the second time, Lupin."

"Still... Harry?"

Harry opened his eyes blearily. "Wassit? Whozair?"

Snape made a derisive sound, and Harry suddenly remembered everything.

"No. No, don't get up yet."

Lupin's hand on his chest kept him from moving, anyway.

"Your friends are fine. Molly is taking care of everyone and Arthur's got Ron off somewhere."

Harry looked from Lupin over to Snape.

Snape was standing a few paces behind Lupin, arms folded over his chest, studying Harry with a closed expression.

"It was an emergency," Harry said defensively.

"No one is saying otherwise, Harry," Lupin said soothingly. "Hermione had worked herself into a state of shock. Neville wasn't much better. Luna will be in bed for days with the cold she caught." Lupin shook his head incredulously. "What were they thinking?"

Snape snorted. "Thinking? There wasn't an intelligent thought between the lot of them."

"Shush," Lupin said, his voice hardening. "It must have started out innocently. It got out of control. They're only children. We should have been paying more attention and maybe we would have known they needed to do this."

"Is what Hermione said true?" Harry asked. He couldn't seem to push his voice above a hoarse whisper. "All those things really happened?"

"I don't know what she said," Lupin said, turning back to Harry. "She's been given a calming potion same as you."

"She said she thought she was going to die," Harry said. There was a huge lump rising in his throat. "She said she knew she would die."

Lupin exchanged a glance with Snape, who shook his head almost imperceptibly.

"She said," Harry pressed on quickly, thinking he was about to be silenced, "she was in a cell and someone was with her and that person died! She said she was in a cell with Malfoy and Crabbe and Goyle and they died!"

"I wasn't aware she could have been present for that," Snape said. His face had gone ashen while Harry was speaking. "She was released very early on."

Harry struggled to sit up, in spite of Lupin's hand still pressing at the center of his chest. "She said she lost track of time, she was held for so long!"

Lupin glanced at Snape before speaking. "We suspect the Ministry was using spells. Nearly everyone who was detained experienced anomalies in the passing of time."

Harry growled in frustration. Did Lupin have a rehearsed explanation for everything?

"Potter, do you need another calming draught?"

"No!" Harry turned on Lupin. "You told me my friends were safe! Does that sound like safe?"

"We spoke about this, Harry. By the time you asked, she and Neville had been released and were being looked after --"

"She told me!" Harry struggled against Lupin's hand again, this time managing to pull himself up into a half-slump against the back of the divan. "Moving from place to place, sleeping in shop cellars, being left alone for days in the middle of a forest with... with nothing --"

"I'm sorry," Lupin said, his tone going brittle. "I'm sorry, Harry, but unfortunately that was as safe as anyone could be. If you won't take my word for it that they were being watched over, then I don't know what else to tell you."

Harry deflated just as quickly as the fury had come on him. He leaned his head back and breathed.

"Just... tell me you didn't use my friends to send Fudge on a wild goose chase."

He didn't even know where the thought had come from, and yet he knew he had the gist of it even before Lupin's silence confirmed it.

"You dangled Hermione and Neville like bait, knowing the Ministry was going to follow them all over the place." Harry didn't even bother to make it a question. "After what they'd already been through."

"It was out of our hands."

"I saw those Daily Prophet articles. That was bait, wasn't it. It was to make the Ministry come after her."

"No, Potter."

Harry looked over at Snape, but Lupin was the one who spoke next.

"The Ministry got that out of her while she was detained. We know they recorded a number of statements from various people, and they've been releasing the ones that suit them."

Harry closed his eyes for a few moments.

"You don't understand. I put my friends in danger. They were targeted because of me, something I did." He felt sick as the words left his mouth. "And all this time I was safe -- I was at the Dursleys -- I was just sitting -- I didn't even know --"

"Potter," Snape said, pressing a glass into Harry's hands, "drink it before you vomit all over my furniture. This conversation is over."

Harry gulped the potion, giving in resignedly to the drowsiness that quickly returned.

"I'm going to check on Draco again," Snape told Lupin, giving Harry a sideways look. "He should sleep for a few hours."

Harry didn't know if Snape meant him or Malfoy; Lupin was pulling him into a lying position and covering him with a heavy blanket, and he couldn't seem to fight drifting off.

Snape was gone when Harry thought to open his eyes just one last time and actually managed to do it.

Lupin brushed hair off Harry's forehead, his weak smile fading before it could take the edge off his defeated expression.

"I'm sorry, Harry."

Harry let the potion take him under.

 

---

 

Lupin was still there when Harry woke up. He had pulled a chair over to the fireplace, and a low fire was burning in the grate. He put down his book when he noticed Harry looking at him.

"Do you feel any better?" he asked cautiously.

Harry managed a grunt that sounded more or less affirmative. His mouth felt sticky and tasted of stale potions.

"You slept through dinner."

Harry raised his arm to check his watch, but it wasn't there.

"I took it off. I thought you would be more comfortable." Lupin produced the watch from his pocket, offering it to Harry. "Do you need anything? Some water?"

"Can I geddup?" Harry asked. His tongue felt too big for his mouth.

"Certainly," Lupin said, eyeing him with a slightly wary expression. "If you feel up to it."

Harry nodded and sat up, wincing when his head swam for a second or two. He ignored the way Lupin had stood up, since Lupin didn't try to approach him.

In the bathroom a few moments later, he gargled and spat until the taste of the calming potions was almost gone. He looked himself over in the mirror.

In contrast to how he felt, his reflection looked normal; better, even, than usual, because he'd had permanent dark circles under his eyes from lack of decent sleep, and now they were nearly gone.

He spent longer than necessary in the bathroom; he had the suspicion that Lupin would want to talk, and he didn't want to deal with that.

Lupin had sat down again by the time Harry finally came out, but Harry wasn't fooled by the book that was back in his hands. As soon as Harry walked in the room, the book was set aside; Lupin had been waiting for him.

"Let me guess," Harry said grumpily, "we need to talk."

"Only if you're ready," Lupin said. He didn't quite manage to hide the hint of reproach that crept into his voice. "I know you've had a rough day."

Harry sat down on the edge of the divan.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like some tea?"

Harry shook his head. "No. Thanks just the same."

"All right," Lupin said with a small sigh. "Well, I'm not sure where to begin..."

"I didn't get to see them," Harry said.

"What do you mean?" Lupin asked, frowning.

"I asked S-- Professor Snape if I could see them today, and he brought me the potions and my clothes and said I could go. But I didn't. I don't know why I didn't."

Lupin looked at him sympathetically. "Harry..."

"If I had, I think I could have done something --"

"No, Harry. Very likely you couldn't have. Near as I can tell, Hermione thought she was orchestrating a reunion of sorts. We should have realized they might want, or need, to do that. I think it might have been seeing each other at breakfast and not having the chance to talk, and Luna wasn't able to be there --"

"It was horrible," Harry continued, only half hearing Lupin. "Ginny kept asking Hermione to explain, and Hermione just... she just..."

"It must have been very difficult to watch," Lupin said. "I'm sorry. Harry, for whatever it's worth, what we're learning about their time in Ministry custody is coming as a shock to us, too. No one expected horrors on this level."

Harry couldn't speak, struggling to push down the lump in his throat.

Lupin averted his eyes, giving Harry some time to get himself together.

"We thought it would do some good to let them have tea and a light supper together tonight. If you'd like, I'm sure you could still join them."

Harry, to his own shock, almost didn't want to. He felt drained; the thought of seeing his friends again was exhausting.

"Yes, please," he said instead.

"All right, I'll see about the best way to do it," Lupin said. "I'm sure no one will think it odd if Hadrian isn't seen again tonight."

"Yeah," Harry said, cringing at the memory, "because everyone saw me practically faint in the doorway..."

Lupin shook his head. "You think that's worth worrying about? You should have seen Molly when she found the girls -- her Patronus nearly flattened us on our way upstairs."

"Oh," Harry said. He wasn't sure how to feel. Poor Mrs. Weasley.

"Even Fred and George were frightened," Lupin went on. "I never saw them so quiet."

"I'm sorry I caused a panic," Harry said. "I wanted to say it wasn't Fudge, but --"

"Don't worry about it, Harry." Lupin gave him a pointed look, like he couldn't help himself. "We want you to come to us rather than try to tackle problems on your own that are entirely too big for you to manage."

Harry nodded stiffly, deciding to let it pass without comment.

"Will you be all right if I go?"

"I'm fine," Harry said.

"Professor Snape is in his office. If he isn't, then he's checking on Draco. If you need anything, don't hesitate to go to him."

Harry knew he wouldn't go to Snape, no matter what he needed, but he nodded again.

"I'll be back when I have news for you. Try to rest. Would you like to borrow a textbook? I have some Defense books here."

"No. But thanks."

"All right."

But Lupin still hesitated, apparently reluctant to leave him.

"Really, I'm fine," Harry insisted. "I won't even get off this couch."

"Actually," Lupin said, "I was going to suggest you go back to your room and wash up, if you're really feeling so well."

Harry reckoned his hair had gone greasy, limp, and tangled again. "Oh, well... all right."

"I can see you part of the way there," Lupin said, smiling invitingly.

"Fine," Harry said, a little shortly. Now Lupin was going to escort him everywhere? "Let's go."

A few minutes later they were walking through the dungeon corridors. Harry couldn't help noticing when Lupin took two turns that weren't part of the directions Harry had been given.

"I keep getting lost," he said. "I think I've been lost more times this week than --"

"Shh!" Lupin warned.

Harry swallowed the rest of his sentence, reminded that he was not supposed to have been to Hogwarts before.

"I'll see what I can do about that," Lupin said, patting him on the back. "Or you will get used to it. Severus tells me he spends the first weeks of every year rescuing lost Slytherins... although I suspect he might have been exaggerating slightly, or else Professor Sprout would be complaining of the same thing."

Harry nodded, not very hopeful that Lupin would do anything. He supposed if the Slytherins could get used to the underground labyrinth, so could he, but in the meantime it really wasn't pleasant to keep going down the wrong passageways all the time.

"Here we are," Lupin said, giving him a slight push toward the door. "I will see you in a little while."

Harry walked on by himself, only turning around when he had the door open and was a step inside the room.

Lupin, who had not moved from where he had stopped and had been watching Harry, gave him a friendly wave and left.

Harry closed the door, sat down on his bed, and absently pulled open A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration.

Some time later, as he finished a chapter, Harry looked up, blinking, and then stared at the book in his hands as if seeing it for the first time.

He didn't remember even thinking that he would study. Sure, now that he had the book, it seemed like a good idea to spend the time studying until Lupin came back, but it was disconcerting to have done so without intending to.

A little disturbed, he put the book down on his desk and went to wash his hair.

 

---

 

By the time Harry had got out of the shower, dressed, and had enough time to become bored and pick up his textbook again, Lupin was back.

"Good news. Professor Snape says the potions he gave you will work just as well cold, though they might taste worse now that they've thickened. I assume you have everything you need?"

Harry nodded. "What's the plan?"

Lupin's smile wavered and then slid completely off his face. The wary expression Harry was becoming intimately familiar with replaced it.

"All right," Harry said, "I take it I'm not going to like it?"

"Well..." Lupin studied him, pausing for a few moments before continuing. "You might not. Really, Harry, lately I find I'm not as good a judge as I'd like to be of what will or won't upset you."

"Then you might as well just tell me," Harry said, feeling slightly irritated already.

"It's just that it occurred to me you may not have quite understood earlier."

Harry waited as Lupin maddeningly paused again.

"Draco will be there."

"Oh," Harry said. It was true he hadn't exactly dwelled on it, but did Lupin have to assume he was completely oblivious? "You did say that, before."

"I didn't say so explicitly," Lupin countered. "I thought it might have been lost in your excitement about seeing your friends."

"No," Harry said, irritated now with himself, because for the second time he experienced a complete lack of excitement. For some reason, whatever part of his brain was responsible for feeling excited had decided to view this opportunity to visit with his friends as some sort of chore, instead.

"Good," Lupin said, putting false brightness into his voice. "Well, then, just remember that you would not have seen Draco since school ended, and try not to antagonize him. You wouldn't want to force your friends into a difficult position of feeling disloyal because they want to be friendly with him."

Harry frowned, feeling another weight being added to the burden he was already carrying. His mind was already turning over a number of things he would have to act like he didn't know about Malfoy. And he would be doing it in front of Hermione, too.

"All right, Harry?" Lupin asked, studying him closely. He had most likely misinterpreted Harry's expression completely.

"Sure."

"I have something that might make you feel better," Lupin said, his tone bright again. "Something I'm sure you've been wanting."

"What is it?" Harry asked suspiciously. So often, the things people thought he should want tended to fall far from the mark.

"You'll be able to spend longer with your friends this time. Just as your meal is ending, you will all receive bottles of butterbeer. Yours will just happen to have more potion in it."

Harry tried to plaster a happy expression on his face.

It was ghastly, really, that this was happening when he couldn't convince himself he even wanted to go at all.

Lupin didn't seem to notice anything amiss. "You will still need to keep track of time after drinking the second dose, of course. You should try to leave a bit early, in fact, so as not to make your visit seem very obviously exactly two hours long. A bit over an hour will do, and then leave at a leisurely pace, like you have no great reason to hurry. Perhaps agree to stay a bit longer when they ask you to."

Harry, now aware that this was going to be yet another exercise in throwing suspicion off Hadrian, just nodded.

"All right," Lupin said, frowning a bit as Harry didn't verbalize an answer. "You should wait a few minutes after I'm gone, then use your Cloak to get to the antechamber off the Entrance Hall -- the one where first years wait to be sorted -- and from there return to the dungeons. We don't want to take any chances, so you should be walking out of that room and returning to it, in case anyone happens to be paying attention."

"Are we eating in the kitchens again, then?" Harry asked.

"Er --" Lupin said, giving him that wary look again. "No."

Harry waited.

Lupin sighed. "The Slytherin common room -- I'm sorry, Harry."

"That's all right," Harry said, managing to keep most of his grumpiness out of his voice. "It's fine."

"I'm going, then. We wouldn't want you to be too fashionably late. Good luck, Harry."

"Thanks," Harry said, waiting until the door had shut behind Lupin before he let his shoulders slump.

He tried again to convince himself this was what he wanted, trying to regain the excitement and anticipation he had felt that morning, when he had dared to beg Snape for an extra chance to spend time with his friends.

Seeing Hermione falling apart had knocked all of that desire out him.

He shook off that nasty, selfish thought. It had no right to exist. Those were his friends. He needed to be with them, even if he didn't know what he could do for them.

He yanked open the bottom drawer of the wardrobe and took the clothes and the potions out.

Going over the plan Lupin had outlined, he decided it would be easiest just to return to his room before the potion wore off, rather than try to change clothes in the antechamber that may or may not easily lock from the inside.

After a moment of consideration, he changed clothes and dropped everything he had been wearing into the drawer, except the wand. He couldn't bring himself to go around without a wand, even if the wand was something that could give him away and ruin everything.

He drank the absolutely disgusting, lumpy, thickened potion, gagging and gulping air in between sips. Snape hadn't been jesting when he said it would be worse cold.

He dropped the empty goblet next to the other one, and shut the drawer with a kick.

He threw the Cloak over himself and cautiously opened the door.

No one was around, and the corridor was silent.

Harry had no trouble at all making it to the Entrance Hall; he met no one on the way. He couldn't resist taking an extra few seconds to creep up to the door to the staff room, where he could hear the sound of people talking, but the door was shut and he couldn't actually hear anything.

In the antechamber, he waited to the count of one hundred.

Then, taking his Cloak off, he headed back to the dungeons.

The door to the Slytherin common room was already open, greenish light pouring out of the doorway.

Harry couldn't help himself; he pulled the Cloak on again and stepped closer to the wall, creeping up to the doorway slowly. He reckoned it wouldn't harm anything to see what was going on inside before he showed himself.

His foot sent a loose bit of stone skidding noisily across the floor.

"If that's you, Ron," Ginny's voice called from inside the common room, "you can just come in. We aren't upset."

Harry threw the Cloak off sheepishly, stepping through the doorway. "Er -- no, it's just me."

"Harry!"

Harry found himself grabbed and hugged and pulled -- all at the same time -- toward the table that had been set up in front of the fireplace.

"We didn't think we'd see you again so soon," Ginny said, steering him to a comfortable chair. "Sit! Tell us everything!"

"Where's Ron?" Harry asked, finally extricating himself from Hermione's hug.

There was an instant silence.

Hermione sat down in the chair next to him, biting her lip.

"Ron's being difficult just now," Ginny said. She glanced at Neville. "Right, Neville?"

"W-what?" Neville blinked owlishly. "Oh. Yeah."

"Harry..."

Harry looked back at Hermione, who was looking at him like she expected him to blow up any moment. Since she didn't say anything, after a minute he let his eyes wander around the table.

"Hello, Luna."

"She's not much better," Hermione said, shaking her head.

Harry sighed.

His eyes landed on the person in the next chair.

"Malfoy." He tried very hard to keep his voice even. "I heard what happened. I'm sorry."

Malfoy nodded and didn't say anything.

Hermione, on the other hand, let out a breath like she had been holding it for hours.

"Yes, well," Ginny said, laughing nervously. "Thank goodness for that. We didn't need another person screaming at us and running out of here."

Harry realized they had been waiting for his reaction to having Malfoy there; Hermione's face was regaining some color, and even Neville looked visibly relieved.

"I was told he'd be here. I don't mind. Too bad Ron's not here, though."

"I'll be sure to tell him that," Ginny said, a little vindictively. "He's such a prat."

No one said anything else.

Harry, now that he was settling down and his heart wasn't beating so fast, was beginning to feel the oppressive tension in the room. He didn't know if his arrival had brought it.

"Sorry," he said finally, glancing first at Hermione and then at Ginny. "If this is a bad time for me to be here..."

"No! No, it's not that, Harry," Hermione said rather breathlessly. "We're so very glad to see you."

Ginny and Neville, whom Hermione glanced at with a plea for support, started nodding.

"We were just talking -- before you came in, I mean -- about some things that are rather difficult." Hermione looked at him anxiously. "I don't know what you already know -- that is -- I mean -- I know we spoke before --" She stopped, gasping slightly.

"I know enough," Harry said, a bit nervous himself. The things he had learned the previous day were starting to blur dangerously with the things he had found out just a few hours previously, but wasn't supposed to know. "You can just go ahead. Don't mind me."

But no one spoke.

There was a popping sound, and suddenly Harry found himself looking into a pair or large, luminous eyes.

"Dobby!"

"Harry Potter, sir! Dobby did not hope to see you again."

Harry frowned slightly at this. Had the fact that he would not be able to return to Hogwarts been so very obvious to everyone, right down to a house-elf?

Dobby apparently had orders to bring their food and not bother them, because with a snap of his long, thin fingers, a very large silver tray materialized on the table, and then, with a low bow, Dobby vanished.

"Erm... let's eat, everyone," Hermione said, reaching for a plate. She almost dropped it; her hands were shaking.

"Yes, let's," Ginny said, glancing at Harry. "This all looks so good. Are those pumpkin tarts?"

The spoon Hermione had taken from the pile of silverware clattered off her plate and went bouncing under the table, making a horrible racket on the stone floor.

"Hermione," Ginny said in a very low, very tense voice, "would you like some calming potion?"

Hermione shook her head, wisps of hair bouncing against her cheeks. "I've had enough of that, thanks!"

"I think you should have some," Ginny insisted. She produced a small bottle from her pocket and tried to reach over Harry to place it in front of Hermione.

"I don't want any!" Hermione said desperately, her eyes suddenly sparkling with tears. "I don't -- oh!" She thumped the table with her fist, making everything rattle. "Why does everyone think I've lost my mind just because -- because -- well, because --" She gasped for breath, her eyes overflowing. "BECAUSE I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO'S SAYING WHAT WE'RE ALL THINKING!"

"Drink the potion, Hermione," Ginny said, her low voice going hard. "Or I'm getting Mum."

Hermione grabbed the bottle and drained it in one swallow. She wiped furiously at her eyes. "Are you happy? It doesn't make anything go away, you know. It doesn't make any of it go away."

"I don't think they have anything that does."

Everyone looked at Malfoy, except for Luna.

"No," Neville agreed quietly when no one else spoke. "They don't."

"Of course they don't," Hermione said. Her tone was deadened and her eyes had gone a bit glassy, but she was grasping the table so hard her hands were white from the wrist down. "They'll just dose us with potions so we're quiet."

No one answered. One by one, they all filled their plates -- Ginny filled Luna's and Hermione's as well as her own -- and started to eat.

Harry didn't think he had ever sat at a more glum meal, and he'd had some bad ones recently.

"So, Potter," Malfoy said, glancing at him. "How is your summer so far?"

Harry stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out what Malfoy meant by that. "Lousy. Not as lousy as yours, but... lousy."

Malfoy nodded and went back to his food.

Harry, feeling a tug on his hand, turned to Hermione with a frown. "What is it, Hermione?"

She jumped, flushing red. "Nothing! Nothing, Harry! Erm..."

Harry looked down and realized she had been turning his hand toward her.

"Erm... I just thought -- your other scar is gone, so --"

"Oh. Yeah." He looked down at his hand, where the words 'I must not tell lies' were still quite visible. "This one's permanent, I think."

He was surprised she had tried that, after what happened earlier. But maybe he shouldn't have been. Lupin was right; Hermione wasn't going to do a half-arsed job.

He looked up just in time to notice that everyone but Luna had leaned forward to see, and now they were busy pretending they hadn't.

"Your scar's gone, Potter?"

Harry wordlessly lifted his fringe and let Malfoy get a good look at his scar-free forehead.

Malfoy shrugged a bit. "I guess 'Scarhead' is out. I'll need new material."

Neville chuckled nervously.

"I think you might be able to get something from the Daily Prophet," Harry said, not quite believing that he was joking with Malfoy.

On second thought, that must have been the wrong thing to say. Neville ducked his head. Hermione's eyes filled with tears again.

"What? What did I say?" Harry asked, dismayed. "I saw that rubbish. I'm not letting it bother me."

"Hush, Harry," Ginny said, shaking her head at him with a slightly frightened expression.

"I... I'm so sorry," Hermione said shakily, reaching for a napkin and practically hiding her face in it. "I'm sorry, Harry. I didn't want to -- I'm sorry --"

"What are you talking about?" Harry demanded, ignoring Ginny's attempt to silence him. "It's not your fault they wrote that rubbish!"

"Yes it is!" Hermione whimpered. "It is, Harry! They made me write letters -- dozens of letters -- to you and to Ron and -- they made me say awful things and when I saw what they printed I --"

"Hermione! You think I care about any of that? I'm glad you did what they wanted, if it stopped them doing anything worse to you."

Ginny hid her face in her hands, apparently giving up on stopping whatever was going to happen.

"I didn't get any letters, anyway," Harry finished lamely. "Not a single one except a really short one where you told me not to write back."

"I wrote that --" Hermione's voice broke and she took several sob-like breaths. "I wrote that after I was out."

"See?" Harry said. "It's fine. They didn't get what they wanted... whatever it was."

Hermione nodded, sniffling and still looking miserable.

There was a short silence again.

"Did you see the one they wrote about me?" Neville asked quietly. His voice was so brittle Harry expected him to be crying like Hermione in a minute. "The one where I said it's your fault my parents are worse than dead?"

Harry shook his head, his throat closing up.

Neville reached into his pocket and took out a ragged bit of newspaper. "Just don't wrinkle it -- I haven't been to see them in months."

Harry reached for the article carefully.

There was a large picture of Neville's parents, huddled together on a St. Mungo's bed, and a picture of Neville, looking angry and twirling his wand in a menacing way.

 

AURORS' SON BETRAYED!
Neville Longbottom speaks out against Order of the Phoenix
Neville Longbottom, son of war heroes associated with the
Order of the Phoenix during the first rise of He-Who-Must-
Not-Be-Named, spoke out against the organization that,
according to him, has been perverted from within by none
other than the Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter...

 

Harry stopped reading.

He looked Neville in the eyes.

"It's rubbish. Even if I had seen it, do you really think...?"

"We didn't know," Neville said, taking the newspaper clipping from him and putting it back in his pocket. "We didn't know, Harry. They made us say so many things. Every time, we would wonder if that would be the one you would think was true, or make you come out of hiding and walk right into their hands --"

Hermione started sobbing again, and Neville cut himself short.

"They made me say I was a Death Eater," Malfoy said quietly. "Then they made me say I wasn't -- that I refused to join because I knew you were one."

Harry snorted.

"Then," Malfoy continued, a little thickly, "they made me say I was afraid for my life because you had promised to hunt me down and kill me since you couldn't get at my father in Azkaban."

Harry stared at him.

"And I thought --" Malfoy swallowed, looking down. "I thought that might be what they wanted me for -- to have me found somewhere so they could claim you'd done it... and maybe people would believe that."

"We didn't know what they wanted us for, Harry," Neville put in. "We just guessed it was because of the Order or..." He flushed slightly. "Or... er... Dumbledore."

"Or me," Harry said, swallowing. "You can say it, Neville. We all know it."

"It just doesn't make sense," Hermione muttered. She was looking off to the side, her brows knotted together. "Doesn't make sense."

"What doesn't?" Ginny asked, looking at her worriedly. Her hand hovered over her pocket; Harry suspected she had more calming potions and had been instructed to use them.

Hermione looked up, looking from Neville to Malfoy and then at Luna, which made her face scrunch up with fresh tears. "Why they let any of us go."

No one answered her.

"Why let you go?" Hermione asked, turning to Malfoy. She had twisted her paper napkin in her hands until it was shredded. "Why let you go?"

Malfoy shrugged one shoulder, looking away. "My father, I suppose."

"Right," Hermione said, balling the napkin in her fist. "That's exactly right."

"Hermione..." Ginny began, looking even more concerned and sliding toward the edge of her seat.

Hermione stood up abruptly and began to pace. "They let you go even though you saw two of your friends die."

"Just one," Malfoy said, looking like he might be sick.

"Two! You were the last one to see Gregory alive. That's two."

"Hermione..." Harry said, exchanging a look with Ginny, who was starting to look frightened again.

Hermione didn't seem to hear or see him. "They let Luna go when she saw them kill her father. Why? Why?"

Afraid of making things worse, but unable to ignore her plea for answers, Harry repeated Lupin's words. "They might not have let her go, if they hadn't wanted McGonagall out of Hogwarts."

"That's it," Hermione agreed, raking the fingers of both hands through her hair. "That makes sense."

"What makes sense?" Ginny asked, barely audibly. "Hermione, you aren't making any sense."

"They let you go --!" Hermione whirled around to point at Neville, who turned even more pale. "You were only there a few days."

"My... Gran," Neville said helplessly.

"Your Gran!"

"Hermione," Harry said. "Hermione, you're scaring us."

She laughed shrilly. "I'm scaring myself, Harry, but it's all making sense! They were never going to let me go." She whirled on Malfoy. "They were never going to let you go!"

"Yeah," Malfoy said, still looking away from her, his shoulders hunched. "I kind of gathered that for myself."

"Look, Hermione --"

"No, you look! Look, Harry! Just look how it all fits!" Hermione grabbed his hand, which he had stretched out toward her without knowing what he was going to do. Her nails sank into his skin. "I was the first one they got. My parents are Muggles. No one knew I was gone. They came after Luna next. They killed her father. He was all she had in the world, Harry, and they killed him. Then they got Draco. His mother was leaving the country and his father was in Azkaban. I don't know when they got Gregory and Vincent, but their parents are still in Azkaban. And they died, Harry, don't you see?"

Harry tried to pull his hand away, but she only tightened her grip.

"Neville was the first person they put in my cell. I think they just made a mistake."

"I don't understand," Harry said, still trying to free his hand. "I don't, Hermione... you're hurting me."

She dropped his hand. "Neville is the reason I was freed, Harry. The only reason."

"Me?" Neville squeaked. "I --"

"You saw me, Neville. No one was looking for me. No one even knew I'd been taken. It might have been too late by the time someone realized."

"I'm sorry, Hermione," Harry said quietly, "but I think it might be easier just to admit they took you to try to get at me."

Hermione dropped back into her chair limply. "I think I'll have that potion now, Ginny."

Harry looked down at his almost untouched plate. The food had gone cold. And he didn't want any of it.

"You can call your house-elf back, Potter," Malfoy said from the other end of the table. He pushed his plate away. "I think it's safe to say we're all done."

"He's not my house-elf. Dobby is free. I don't even know how to call him."

Malfoy gave him a slightly disgusted look. "Snap your fingers and say his name, obviously."

Harry, for lack of a better idea, snapped his fingers. "Dobby?"

"Harry Potter called Dobby?"

Harry twisted in his seat; Dobby had appeared behind him.

"Yeah, Dobby, thanks. We're done eating."

Dobby snapped his fingers, and the food vanished from the table, leaving only bits of Hermione's napkin.

With another snap, a tray of butterbeer appeared in Dobby's hands.

With a small bow, Dobby levitated the bottles off the tray. One settled in front of each person at the table, except Harry's, which he caught in mid-air.

"Thanks, Dobby," Harry said.

"It is Dobby's pleasure, Harry Potter, sir."

Then Dobby was gone.

"That elf always was very strange," Malfoy muttered, popping open his bottle.

Harry drank the potion, finding it very hard to pretend he was having butterbeer. He felt himself growing more irritable with every disgusting sip.

Fortunately for him, no one else looked like they were getting much enjoyment out of theirs, either.

"When do you have to go?" Ginny asked Harry quietly. She was still looking at Hermione with great concern, though since the second potion Hermione was no more animated than Luna was.

"Oh," Harry said, grimacing over another swallow, "I can stay a while longer, I think."

He didn't want to. But he wasn't going against Lupin's plans; there wasn't any good reason to, since his emotional exhaustion probably didn't count as one.

Ginny looked at him closely, studying his face. "You look so tired, Harry. Are you all right? Are you in a safe place?"

"Yeah," Harry said, giving her a small smile that felt tight and uncomfortable. "I'm safe."

"Are you all by yourself? Is it horrible?"

Harry got away with a shrug. Apparently, everyone had been instructed not to pry into his whereabouts, because Ginny didn't persist.

"Poke that fire, Neville, you're closest," Ginny said, rubbing her arms. "I don't know how you stand it," she said to Malfoy.

Malfoy shrugged. "It's kept warm during the school year."

Ginny, still rubbing her arms agitatedly, got up and made a slow circle of the immediate area, pausing to look at the things displayed on the mantle and the tapestries on the walls.

"Creepy," she pronounced, staring at a snake carved in ebony. "Do you know, this is exactly what I imagined your common room looked like?"

Malfoy shrugged again. "I've seen yours. Umbridge gave us the passwords to all the common rooms and we -- I -- got in once when everyone else was at breakfast."

Ginny looked a little upset by this.

"Makes us even, then," Harry said lightly. "I got in here our second year, trying to find out if you were the Heir of Slytherin."

Malfoy looked at him, one eyebrow raised. After a moment he decided not to comment.

They lapsed into another long silence.

Harry, who had finished his butterbeer a while back, finally put down the empty bottle, then wished he hadn't because he had nothing to do with his hands.

"Sorry this isn't more fun," Neville said, giving him a wan smile. "We're a glum bunch right now."

"Didn't come here for fun," Harry said, shrugging. "Thought we should be together as much as we could."

"This can't last," Ginny said, her voice rising a bit desperately. "Look, we thought the thing with Voldemort would go on and on, but that's over --"

"This, too, shall pass."

Everyone, as one, turned to stare at Luna.

There was nothing to show that she had spoken, or that she was aware of any of them or anything else around her.

Hermione pressed her hands against her mouth and sobbed silently.

"I... I think I need to get Mum," Ginny said faintly. "I'm out of potions."

"I'll go with you," Harry offered. "I might as well go, anyway. I hope we can get together later."

Neville gave him a smile that was more of a grimace; he was patting Hermione on the shoulder again.

Malfoy just looked at him, not saying anything.

"Well, bye," Harry said, giving the room at large a dejected sort of wave. "Stay safe."

"Bye, Harry," Neville said, trying for a smile again and failing.

Hermione didn't even look up.

"Come on, Harry," Ginny said, pursing her lips. "I really think I need to get someone."

They walked out of the common room together, Ginny's fast steps setting the pace.

Harry tried to think of something to say, but his mind decided not to cooperate, and they were in the Entrance Hall before he could.

"Bye, Harry," Ginny said, suddenly giving him a bone-crushing hug. "It was brilliant to see you again. I know my family's been awfully lucky --"

"Don't say it," Harry said into her hair. "No one's been lucky. Everyone's been affected, somehow."

"But we're all together, and I didn't even know --" Ginny pulled back. Her eyes were full of tears. "I didn't even know, Harry. I kept nagging Hermione to tell me everything -- I feel so stupid!"

"It's not your fault," Harry said. "We can't start blaming ourselves and each other."

Ginny wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "You're right." She smiled shakily. "I won't if you won't."

"Deal," Harry said. But he already thought it was easier said than done. Well, at least not blaming his friends was easy. They really weren't responsible for anything.

Ginny let him go, her hand trailing down his arm and lingering when she caught his fingers. "Well, good bye. I do hope they let you come again really soon."

Harry nodded. "Bye, Ginny."

Reluctantly, he headed for the antechamber, listening to Ginny's footsteps and the sound of a door opening and shutting behind her.

Pulling his Invisibility Cloak over his head, he crept out of the small room and started walking back to the dungeons.

He was so drained that even though it was hours before his usual bedtime, he didn't bother changing into his regular clothes. The potion hadn't even worn off yet when he pulled on his pajamas and crawled into bed.

 

---

 

It was very early when he woke up. He lay awake for some time, staring at the barely-visible ceiling in the dark, until he couldn't lie still anymore. He leaned over the edge of the bed and retrieved the Muggle wristwatch from where he had dropped it on top of the pile of discarded clothes. It was barely four in the morning.

He had a vague sense of having had a bad dream, but he couldn't remember it. He supposed that was an improvement, even though it didn't leave him any more well-rested than usual, because his nightmares were almost always painfully vivid.

With a huffy sigh, he turned on the lights and set about cleaning up the mess he had made the previous evening.

He folded everything neatly. Then, rummaging in Snape's old trunk, which he had never got around to unpacking, he found a cloth sack. He stuffed everything into it, just in case he was asked to bring those things to Snape's office or to Lupin's. He added the empty silver goblet.

The other goblet he took with him into the bathroom, and emptied it into the sink before cleaning his teeth.

To his own annoyance, the only thing he found to do was his Transfiguration book. He was almost done with it; Snape had assigned one third, but Harry was nearing the end.

Just the same, he still hoped Snape would forget about tutoring him. It wasn't doing any good, unless the whole purpose was to antagonize Harry... in which case it had to be doing Snape some good.

Still in the same bad mood, Harry headed up to breakfast nearly a half hour early.

He was sorry as soon as he walked into the Great Hall. Snape was already there, sipping coffee and looking over the Daily Prophet with a scowl.

"Good morning," Harry said, judging the distance he had come into the Great Hall before noticing Snape was there, and deciding there was no way Snape had missed him.

"Good morning, Hadrian," Snape said, moving the newspaper to the side to give him a long, scrutinizing look. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, sir," Harry said, moving reluctantly to sit in the chair opposite Snape. "Reasonably well, but I woke up a little early. Do you know I've nearly finished A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration? I know you only wanted... one... third... er..."

Harry, disturbed and confused, managed to force his mouth closed.

Snape was looking at him with an expression that couldn't seem to decide between interest and revulsion.

"I see," Snape said finally, not taking his eyes off Harry. "We will have a short study session this morning, to check on your progress."

Harry nodded, not trusting himself to speak again. Maybe not ever again. He couldn't believe he had babbled at Snape.

Snape disappeared behind the paper again. Harry, having nothing else to do, studied the headlines on the back page, though except for one, they were not particularly interesting.

 

MINISTER CLAIMS LEAD
Minister Fudge claims to have captured the lead in the
upcoming election, despite no votes having been cast as
of this writing...

 

Harry sighed.

He didn't get it, really. The Daily Prophet didn't seem to be particularly pro-Fudge. Why did it insist on printing rubbish about Harry and the Order of the Phoenix?

The table around him was filling. Harry tried to nod or smile courteously at each new arrival, but mostly he kept his eyes averted.

McGonagall dropped a bundle of mail in front of Snape; he nodded his thanks and pocketed the letters without even glancing at the top one.

Bill and Charlie arrived with Mr. Weasley, who Harry thought was looking tired and slightly disheveled, like he had perhaps stayed up part of the night, or fallen asleep on a couch or in an armchair.

Fred and George came in with Ron on their heels; Harry didn't so much as look their way, but caught sight of Ron's glare anyway.

Neville came in alone, looking nervously around the table before sitting down at the opposite end from Ron and the twins.

Mrs. Weasley came in next, herding the girls in, with her arm around Luna and her hand on Hermione's shoulder.

Lupin came in last, with Malfoy trailing a step or two behind him.

"Good morning," Lupin said to the room at large. "Are you feeling better, Hadrian?"

Harry felt the tips of his ears start to burn. Did Lupin need to single him out like that?

"Yes, sir," he managed.

Lupin gave him an appraising look, but didn't say anything more.

Malfoy looked around the table for a place to sit; Harry watched him reject the empty place next to Hermione, which was also next to Ron, and finally settle on the one between Neville and Lupin. Seeing Harry looking at him, he smiled slightly.

Harry tried to smile back, not quite sure if he succeeded.

"Hadrian."

Harry looked at Snape.

"We will have to cut your tutoring session short. I have a lot I need to get done."

Harry nodded. Hadn't Snape just told him that? "All right."

"I would appreciate it if you would make yourself useful in the extra time you will have this morning." Snape paused, giving him what Harry supposed was meant to be a meaningful look. "You may choose between helping clear out Professor Lupin's office or gutting more frogs."

Harry, who had not gutted any frogs as of yet, decided that Snape must mean for him to see Lupin, and was giving him an excuse to do so.

He looked at Lupin, who smiled at him.

"I would appreciate your help, if you're willing."

"Sure," Harry said. He turned back to Snape. "I'll help Professor Lupin, if that's all right."

Snape nodded curtly.

"What will I do?" Malfoy asked, when Snape looked like he was going to return to eating.

Snape frowned. "You will continue to rest, Draco. If you are lacking entertainment, you can review your textbooks. I'm sure Hadrian will be pleased to let you borrow the fifth year set..." Snape turned his glinting eyes on Harry. "Seeing how he has no need of them at the moment."

"Severus," Lupin said, so quietly that Harry doubted anyone not sitting at their end of the table heard him.

"Sure," Harry said quickly. He didn't want either Lupin or Snape -- or Malfoy or Neville, for that matter -- to get the idea that Snape's comment prickled. "I can lend them to you. I even have the sixth year Defense book already."

He saw Hermione's head perk up at that. So she was listening; Harry had been concerned to see her so silent, wondering if she was still being dosed with calming potions.

"You do?" Malfoy said.

"It was a gift," Harry said, glancing Lupin's way.

"I'll look at it," Malfoy said. "If you don't mind. Last year's Defense class was a waste of time."

Harry tried to look like that comment meant very little to him, which was hard with Neville snorting just two seats away.

"We can study together," Malfoy went on, after sharing a smirk with Neville. "I think I offered before."

Harry managed to get out of that with a noncommittal sort of nod.

No one else spoke to him, so Harry tried to listen in on the Weasleys' conversation at the other end of the table.

"Absolutely not," Mrs. Weasley was telling Ginny. "I'm not letting the three of you out of my sight today."

Hermione, if possible, looked even more dejected. Harry didn't think she had eaten anything; her plate looked untouched.

"We didn't even do anything," grumbled Fred. He gave Ron a vicious look. "Why are we in trouble same as Ron?"

"For failing to look after him, of course!" Mrs. Weasley said, glowering at him. "I asked you two to do a simple thing...!"

Fred pushed his empty plate away in disgust. "Since when does he listen to us, do you think?"

"Do not speak to your mother that way," Mr. Weasley said, pausing in his conversation with Bill and Charlie. "Do as she says and stop complaining."

Fred looked disgusted, but he said nothing more.

"Sorry, Mum," said George. "We'll do better."

"Of course you will, George," Mrs. Weasley said, looking at him a lot more kindly than she had at Fred. "I'm counting on you."

Harry sighed a little. He missed being part of the Weasley family... even if he had never actually been a real part of it.

Finished with his food, Harry poured himself a generous amount of pumpkin juice.

"Come on, George," Fred said. "I'm done -- are you?"

George stuffed the rest of his toast into his mouth and nodded.

"Come on, Ron," Fred barked at his younger brother. "Since we must watch you."

"Fred Weasley..." Mr. Weasley said warningly.

Fred grabbed a sputtering Ron by the arm, making him spill his pumpkin juice down his front, and started dragging him away, George following.

"I am sorry about them," Mrs. Weasley said to everyone. "I don't know what's got into those boys."

"We're asking too much," Lupin said, shaking his head. "They're only children. There's a lot of stress --"

"All the more reason to do as they're told," Mrs. Weasley said firmly.

Harry looked up to see Snape looking at him pointedly.

He ducked his head. That was unfair of Snape. He had been doing as he was told.

"Come, Hadrian," Snape said. "We should get started if we are to make any progress this morning."

Harry stood up, leaving his half-finished glass.

Malfoy had stood up without being told, so that Harry ended up following him as Snape lead them out of the Great Hall.

"Do you need me to walk with you, Draco?" Snape asked when they reached the place where Malfoy would be turning toward the Slytherin common room.

"No, thank you, sir."

"Very well. I will see you at lunch, but don't hesitate to let me know if you need anything before then. Follow me, Hadrian."

Harry followed, feeling grumpier than ever. He was sure that if Malfoy did need something, he would have no qualms about telling Snape about it, and that Snape, rather than growl and berate and accuse, would actually do something to help. Which wasn't fair at all, because... well, because...

"Why are you stopping in the middle of the corridor?" Snape groused at him. "I asked you to follow me. Was that in any way unclear?"

Harry ran to catch up with Snape, shoving his idiotic thoughts to the back of his mind to examine later. He was a little concerned that he might be losing his mind entirely, because for a moment there he had been about to suggest to himself that Snape ought to treat him better than Draco because he was Snape's son and Draco wasn't.

Malfoy, he corrected himself, outraged again by his betraying thoughts. Malfoy, for Merlin's sake.

What was wrong with him this morning?

Snape held open his office door, motioning Harry inside.

"Now," Snape said, barely giving Harry a chance to sit down in his usual spot on the bench in front of Snape's desk, "you say you're almost finished with the textbook?"

"Yes, sir," Harry said, still not trusting himself after the things that had come out of his mouth before. "I have a chapter to go."

"Good," Snape said, a challenge in his tone. "Then you won't mind reciting Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration and its five Principal Exceptions."

Harry, to his own utter surprise, had no trouble doing that. He was quite pleased, really; all that work hadn't been for nothing, if all of that had stuck so well.

"Hmm," Snape said. "Not bad... though you're only parroting the book. Tell me, which would be easier to transfigure: a turtle into a soup tureen or a twig into a dagger?"

Harry considered the question carefully. A turtle shell was already quite similar in shape to a soup tureen, but all animal transfigurations were more difficult.

"It would be easier to transfigure a twig into a dagger, although that wouldn't be an easy transfiguration to do."

Snape nodded. "I am satisfied that you appear to have applied yourself for once --"

Harry bristled, not considering that to be any sort of praise at all, and sure that Snape didn't mean it as such.

"-- so you may begin reading Intermediate Transfiguration once you've finished the remaining chapter."

"Isn't that the third year book, sir?" Harry asked, frowning.

Snape gave him a long look. "I take it back, Potter. Are you telling me you are so unfamiliar with your books that you don't realize A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration is the book still used in second year Transfiguration class?"

Harry felt his face start to burn. "It's been a while since second year," he said. Through gritted teeth, he added, "Sir."

"Nonetheless, appalling," Snape said. Then he changed the subject. "Have you been practicing wand control or basic spells?"

Harry started to nod, then shook his head mid way.

"Well, which is it?" Snape demanded impatiently. "Either you did or you did not practice."

"I --" Harry took a breath and started again. "I practiced wand movements. I didn't try any spells."

"Do so before our next meeting, then," Snape said. "Now, let's move on to Charms."

Harry let the air out of his lungs slowly. Not that it ever helped.

"I assume even simple spells give you trouble?"

"Yes," Harry said, thinking of the failed vanishing spell.

Snape lined up a few small objects on the edge of his desk. "Let us see. Levitate the feather, make the cork spin, banish the parchment, summon the button, and change the ink in that pot to red."

Harry, who wasn't even sure he could remember all of those instructions, let alone do all the spells successfully, stared at the objects glumly.

"Well?"

"Some of those are O.W.L.-level spells," Harry said.

"And did you or did you not just take your O.W.L. exams?" Snape asked with a raised eyebrow. "If it makes you feel better, the spells start with a simple first year charm and go up in difficulty. We shall see where you begin to have trouble."

Harry sighed. He took out his wand and flicked it at the feather. "Wingardium Leviosa!"

Snape gave him a horrible, disgusted look as he banished the burning bit of fluff and ran his finger over the burnt spot on his desk.

"Sorry," Harry said faintly.

"I suggest you keep your wand to yourself, Potter," Snape said harshly. "You wouldn't want to give the Ministry anything more to use against you --"

Harry looked up questioningly.

"-- by killing someone with your criminal incompetence."

Harry looked down again.

Snape let him sit there for a few minutes, not saying anything.

"I will be speaking to McGonagall and Lupin about your wand problem," Snape said finally. "Meanwhile you may read your Charms book. It won't hurt you to review the spells and wand movements before we can move on to their practical application."

Harry nodded, slightly appeased. At least Snape wasn't trying to lay the blame squarely on his shoulders anymore.

"Go take your books to Draco and see Lupin, we're done for this morning."

"Sir?"

Snape raised an eyebrow, inviting him to continue.

"Are we going to meet again today?"

"Yes," Snape said. "I have been neglecting your Potions work. But there is nothing I wish for you to study beforehand."

Harry immediately resolved to study anyway, because he knew a trick when he heard one. "Yes, sir."

"Go on," Snape said, motioning toward the door.

Harry left without another word.

He collected his books and took them to the Slytherin common room -- or tried to, anyway. He managed to circle around and walk past Snape's office twice, getting an increasingly hostile glare from Snape each time, before he found himself finally in the right place.

The common room was empty, so he dropped the books on the table and left, not caring to talk with Malfoy at all.

"Are you still here?" Snape asked, his tone dangerous, when Harry walked past his office again on his way to see Lupin.

"Er -- yes," Harry said, grimacing. "Sorry, got lost."

"Go see Lupin," Snape said, frowning at him. "He has something for you."

"Yes, sir."

Curious in spite of himself, Harry quickened his pace. He reached Lupin's office in a few minutes.

Lupin answered his knock immediately. Harry just caught the last spark of green in the fireplace, and assumed Snape had firecalled Lupin about him.

His mood dropped another notch.

"Tea?" Lupin asked as he motioned Harry inside and warded the door behind him. "I'm afraid I don't have anything else to offer at the moment, but you did just have breakfast an hour ago."

"No, thank you," Harry said, sitting down somewhat stiffly in one of the chairs in front of Lupin's desk.

He looked around. Lupin really did seem to be clearing the place out; most of Umbridge's things were in various stages of being removed, some already packed in boxes.

"I hope you don't mind I volunteered you for this?"

"No, of course not," Harry said. "I'm glad to help."

Especially if it was instead of whatever Snape had in mind for him.

"Then please collect all the frilly doilies and tablecloths and... whatever those are --" Lupin pointed with his wand at something white and lacy stuffed into a vase of dried flowers. "-- and drop them in that box over there."

"All right," Harry said.

"Oh, be careful with that," Lupin said as Harry went to move a ceramic plate off a doily. "Put it on my desk so I can wrap it up."

Harry held up the plate questioningly. "This?"

"Yes, and I said be careful," Lupin said, frowning at him until Harry held the plate in both hands instead of one. "Those are all going to the Magical Menagerie. I just hope they can straighten them out."

Harry's mouth fell open. "Are you saying these are real kittens?"

Lupin looked at him rather blankly. "Well, yes. I don't know why you're shocked."

Harry considered Umbridge, and decided he wasn't shocked at all, but it still left him with a terrible, creepy feeling. He almost couldn't look at the frolicking kitten with its garish green bow as he put the plate carefully down on Lupin's desk.

After an hour of work, the walls had been stripped down to the wallpaper and the surfaces were mostly empty.

"I forgot the curtains," Lupin said with a frustrated sigh. "Damn. And I packed up the rest of the cloth things already."

"Banish them?" Harry suggested.

Lupin looked sideways at him. "Would you like to have the honor?"

Harry wasn't going to be tricked. "I know S-- Professor Snape told you what happens when I try to use my wand, so you don't need to pretend you don't know."

Lupin nodded. "Sorry, Harry. Sometimes we pretend things to spare people's feelings."

"Thanks," Harry said, not feeling very thankful at all. Most of the time, people pretended things because they didn't want to tell him the truth.

The offending curtains vanished with an easy flick of Lupin's wand.

"Let's take a break," Lupin suggested.

Harry sat down, still a little wary.

"I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble getting used to your new wand," Lupin started.

Harry sighed, resigned to whatever conversation Lupin intended to have with him.

"As soon as that's sorted, I'm going to teach you a few neat little spells. Ones that aren't taught at Hogwarts. It will be useful to show off some uncommon knowledge."

Harry nodded, understanding what Lupin was trying to do. Unfortunately, he didn't need to have a reward dangled in front of his nose to try his hardest to sort out his wand problems; his problems weren't from lack of effort.

"You were a bit late," Lupin said, changing the subject. "Did everything go all right this morning?"

"Just got lost again," Harry said, shrugging. "Once or twice," he added under his breath.

Lupin was eyeing him again. Harry instinctively braced himself.

"Are you up for a little challenge, Harry?"

"That depends," Harry said. "Does it involve telling more lies to my friends or becoming Malfoy's lapdog? Because --"

"No. No, nothing like that," Lupin cut in quickly. "In fact this would benefit you."

Harry breathed in and out slowly. He hadn't meant to get angry, but the anger seemed to always be just under the surface lately.

"All right, what do you want me to do?"

"It's a simple thing, really," Lupin said. He reached into his pocket and took out a familiar bit of parchment. "You told me before that you keep getting lost. I thought it would be nice for you to have a map of Hogwarts."

"You can't give me the Marauder's Map," Harry said, staring at the Map blankly.

"No, of course not. If fact, I can't give it to you at all; it's needed as an extra way of making sure the castle is secure. But..." Lupin waved the Map enticingly. "You could carry it when you visit your friends."

Harry took his eyes off the Map and stared at Lupin. He knew Lupin wasn't this stupid -- having access to the Map once or twice a week wasn't going to solve the problem of getting lost in the dungeons -- so there had to be more.

"Then," Lupin continued, "if you can convince your friends that you always keep the Map on you, they will think nothing of a similar magical object showing up in Hadrian's hands."

Harry frowned, trying to follow this reasoning.

"Hadrian," Lupin explained, slowing down as if he thought Harry was being especially thick, "has access to one of the original makers of the Marauder's Map, after all."

"I don't get it," Harry said bluntly. "Why would they be suspicious?"

"It's human nature. Your friend Hermione picks up on the small details, as you should well know by now."

Harry nodded.

"If they think Harry is carrying around the Marauder's Map, there would be no good reason in their minds for Hadrian to have a different one -- if Harry and Hadrian are the same person, why wouldn't he simply use the same map he already has?"

"Oh," Harry said, for lack of anything else.

Lupin looked at him with a slightly wary expression. "Of course, there are other benefits..."

Harry had been waiting for just that. He wasn't going to believe anything was being done for his benefit, and Lupin could have saved himself some time and breath by not trying to convince Harry of that impossibility.

"I modified the Map," Lupin said. He waited for Harry's reaction.

"Go on," Harry said.

"I tuned it to the wizard watch I gave you. As long as you're wearing the watch, the label on the map will read 'Hadrian Snape'. If you leave the watch behind in your room, the label 'Hadrian Snape' will remain behind as well, while the Map will label you 'Harry Potter'."

Harry mulled this over for a bit. "So, you're saying every time I show my friends the Map, they'll see both me and Hadrian on it?"

"Exactly!" Lupin smiled at him, looking pleased. "That's exactly it -- a small, regular reinforcement, and without pulling Tonks away from her work. Meanwhile, you will have a powerful tool to help keep you safe... imagine if you had known Fudge was in the castle that morning, for example."

"All right," Harry said grudgingly. "I don't see why not."

"Excellent," Lupin said. He offered the Map to Harry. "I will set to work on the other Map, then. It will have to be a very simple one, mind you. I don't have the time to go over all the bits of research we did for it last time. Well, go on, try it out."

Harry took the Map and unfolded it. It was already activated.

He found Lupin's office on the second floor, and the dot labeled 'Hadrian Snape' inside the room.

"Leave your watch here and see what happens as you walk around the room," Lupin suggested.

Harry took his watch off. It took two or three steps away from Lupin's desk before anything happened; the label under his dot did an odd little flicker and separated into two, as if 'Hadrian Snape' and 'Harry Potter' had been stacked together, one hiding the other from view. Then the dot itself did the same.

'Harry Potter' walked around 'Hadrian Snape', paused next to 'Remus Lupin', and then moved as far away as it could without leaving the room.

"Great bit of magic, isn't it?" Lupin said, grinning. "I must admit it was pleasant to work on it again."

Harry nodded absently. Having the Map in his hand gave him a sense of comfort; he missed all his things that Lupin was keeping for him.

That thought lead to another.

Harry sneaked a quick look at Lupin to see if the amiable expression was still there. He reckoned he would ask while he and Lupin were getting along.

"Professor? I have a question... well, it's more of a request, really..."

"Yes?"

"You know my wand hasn't been working very well. My new wand."

Lupin nodded. "So I've been told. I haven't actually seen you try to use it."

"Well," Harry went on, "see, I thought -- if you still have my old wand -- I thought I could try it and see if it works."

Lupin frowned slightly. "I'm not sure I understand your reasoning. You already know your old wand works -- you've used it for five years."

"It's just a thought I had," Harry said, shrugging a little. "I just want to try it, please."

What he wanted, of course, was to prove that it was the wand's fault, even if he knew he would only be proving it to himself. He wasn't sure even solid proof would really help against Snape.

"I have no objections," Lupin said. "I will bring the wand over some time -- I don't have it here now."

"Thank you," Harry said quickly, not wanting to give Lupin any time to change his mind. "That would be really great."

"Is there anything else?"

Harry hated to ruin the good mood, but there had been something nagging at him, and it would come back to bite him eventually anyway.

"There is, isn't there?" Lupin guessed. "You can tell me, Harry. I know I haven't been the best confidant for you, but I want you to come to me when you get into difficult situations."

"It's just that Sn--" Harry cut himself off, not wanting to get on Lupin's bad side before he even started, "Professor Snape, is going to take my head off, I think."

Lupin sighed. "What happened?"

"I said 'Voldemort'."

Lupin stared at him. "You said... er... Voldemort?"

"To Malfoy," Harry admitted. "I didn't mean to. I tried to say 'The Dark Lord', but it just wouldn't come out."

Lupin sighed again. "Well..."

"I said my mum told me to use his real name," Harry said defensively. "I tried to fix it."

"I won't pretend Professor Snape is going to be thrilled to hear this --"

Harry's shoulders slumped.

"But I don't think it's going to be a very big issue. I will speak with him."

"Thanks," Harry said, relieved Lupin was willing to do that much.

Lupin gave him a small smile. "Let's not end on this, Harry. We only have a few more minutes before you should go wash up for lunch, but is there anything else you need, or want...?"

Harry pursed his lips and went through his list of news.

Ron had reached a new level of dislike toward Hadrian, which wasn't at all a pleasant thing to share.

He felt helpless whenever he thought about Luna.

Hermione's outbursts scared him senseless.

Malfoy had offered to spend more time together, which was just terrible, but Lupin would likely encourage it.

The tutoring sessions were dreadful; if Snape were giving out O.W.L. results, Harry would have 'Troll' in every subject.

"Nothing?" Lupin said, sounding slightly dismayed. "Not one good thing has happened to you?"

"I..." Harry wrinkled his nose. "I like to study... I think. I just found out."

Lupin looked at him with complete incomprehension.

"Well," Harry said defensively, "that is a good thing, isn't it?"

"It is," Lupin agreed. "Studying is always a good thing."

He was still looking puzzled when Harry left his office a few minutes later.