hogwartsexpressed | CLOSED: The WORST Double Date to Date (for: coreofdragonheart)

Entry tags:

CLOSED: The WORST Double Date to Date (for: coreofdragonheart)

Harry walked into the private dining room that Hermione had requested for their use that evening. He took a moment to search and take down any eavesdropping instruments he could locate and knew Hermione would or had done the same already. He didn't want this to get out to the public if they could at all help it. He had spent most of the day putting his Aurors through their paces and had perhaps had been a bit too hard on them but honestly, it wasn't any worse than what they could possibly face outside the walls of the Ministry. It was at that time that he regretted, again, that he hadn't sought further education and training from the ICW.

Once he was content knowing he'd taken down anything that could listen in on them, he cast his own set of privacy charms around the room that would allow their guests and waiter/waitress to enter but would not be able to listen in. He turned to look at Hermione and gave her a smile. Spending the evening talking with her and having dinner had probably been one of the best nights he's had in a long time. It had infuriated him to know Ron had been an even bigger arse in regard to Hermione's parents after the war. What gave him the right?

"Are you ready," he asked, walking over to her and watching her face closely.

He'd taken the potion already today and was glad that his intelligent and beautiful best friend had found something that would work. Harry loathed that they'd been treated this way after all they'd done for the Weasley family.

Ginny would be getting off work momentarily and getting cleaned up before she made her way to the restaurant. Ron... well he didn't give a rats arse. He was looking forward to knowing just how much the man knew.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

All of this is becoming an entirely new kind of madness. Percy is dead. She killed him to reset time. What wouldn't she do to fix her family in their pureblood status?

McGonnagal paced the small confines of the charm, tapping her wand against her palm and considering what she's being told.

"For that to have happened, there's many who would have had to have gone along with this. That would include Dumbledore himself," she says, not asking but stating. She sounds confused, uncertain because that wasn't how things were supposed to be.

She pauses, looking to them. "His Master? You're saying he's alive then?"

Harry wasn't only thinking of what the Weasley Matriarch wouldn't do but also... where would it stop? Just like with every other powerful dark lord or lady in existence, there was never enough. There was never enough money, fame, greed and in this very situation - power.

He looked at McGonagall and nodded. "Yes, we suspect that Dumbledore has been an integral part of her schemes and especially in my life from the moment he left me on the doorstep of the Dursley's," he said, doing his very best to not allow his emotions to dictate the situation. They couldn't afford it, not right then at least.

"Yes, he's alive. Right now, he's... latched onto one of our very own, actually. Well. I say one of our own, I mean one of the professors actually." It was a lot and there was a ton more that they would eventually have to bring up but these were the most immediate.

She was quiet a moment before coming to stand dead before Harry, looking down into his eyes. "I argued with him about leaving you with them, Harry. I believe what you're saying here and now because we fought about it. In the end, he is Albus Dumbledore."

She sounds so upset by that as she reaches out, patting the boy's cheek.

That though, that is the part to be worried about. "So he's already here in the school? Tell me who."

Hermione tells her about Quirrel, about how he's hiding it, and of the mirror and how things were hidden and all that she could.

"But we have to plan for that," Hermione ends. "First we need to get Sirius out of Azkaban."

McGonnagal nods at that. "Let's get this rat."

Harry stared into her eyes and nodded, understanding why she did it. "I understand, Professor," he said. Although she hadn't been exactly perfect throughout their school years, at least at the beginning, he always felt that she meant well. And he hoped that she would continue to prove to be a valuable ally to them.

He gave Hermione's hand a squeeze as she explained about Quirrel and slid his thumb over the back of her hand. "I imagine if you haven't been asked yet, you will be very soon, to come up with a challenge."

"Don't underestimate him, he will get away at any opportunity he can get," he warned, hating that they had underestimated him from the very beginning. He stood from his chair and helped Hermione up. "Since we should not be with you when you capture him, we should leave you to it. Can we schedule another time to meet with you to talk about other things... advanced lessons, perhaps?"

McGonagall nods at that. "I already helped with that, and I assume it's safe. I take it that things are not?" Of course, she hadn't known they were worrying about Voldemort when she had designed it.

The professor nods, smiling slightly. "He doesn't know to expect me looking for him," she points out. "I can manage it in my class," she says. But she doesn't move to do those things. Instead she stares at the pair of them for a long moment.

"Let's say once a week we should meet and compare notes on those lessons," she says, lips pursed in a tight look. "And if you need me..." She moves to her desk, picking up a pair of glass marbles. She concentrates on them, not needing wand or word. "If either of you need me in an emergency, hold this tight and say vocavite. It will let me know where you are and I will be there quickly."

She handed one to each of them.

Harry considered his words for a moment. "It's as safe as it's going to be until Halloween at least. Quirrel will let loose a troll during the feast as a distraction. When that doesn't work, he'll wait until the Spring." Don't even get him started on his thoughts on that and basically Dumbledore hoping they'd take the adventure through the forbidden corridor. They weren't going to do it though. He refused to follow the old man's manipulations this time around.

His mouth quirks up a bit. "Perfect," he said, glad that Peter Pettigrew will be able to pay for what he'd done to him and his family. Then Sirius can get out and hopefully get the help he needed.

"That will work for us, Professor," he said, taking the marble from her and pocketing. He gave her a grateful smile. "Thank you." For believing them and assisting them.

She nods, considering that. "We'll make sure things are taken care of long before the Spring. Let's hope for Christmas break." She knows they can't move too quickly, but she also isn't letting someone destroy her school and her children.

She pauses, glancing between them. "You came to me and not Albus. Just how bad is it? I understand that you believe he was part of things with Molly but..." She can't bring herself to put it to words. "I need to know what we're facing."

Not them alone. Already she is siding with them. Even with the man who had been one of her closest friends for so long."

Harry nodded. The last thing he wanted was to move too quickly and make people aware of them knowing things they shouldn't too soon. He was thankful that she listened to them.

He debated for a moment as he considered their options. They had already taken up so much of her time but she did deserve to know. "We can go into the details and specifics about it later but there was a prophecy made before my birth that said the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born those who thrice defied him would be born as the seventh month dies. This child would be marked as his equal and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives. Dumbledore made sure that I would gladly sacrifice my life for the good of the wizarding world even though it meant dying for it." He paused, not realizing he had been clenching Hermione's hand a little tighter than he'd meant to. "Sorry," he said, softer. "There's... more to it but we don't have that kind of time. He made sure that I would be so beaten down that I would hold tightly to anyone who showed me affection." 'Like the Weasleys' was left unsaid.

As he talks, Minerva's chin lifts slowly. It's not that she hadn't known Albus was capable of this, but that it hurts knowing he had done that to this boy. To the whole of the wizarding world.

One she wondered about the prophecy and how much of a hand Albus had in it. Many of them could be made not created as they were, and she knew that. But right now was not the time to get into that.

"Understood then. Go on back to your hours and we'll start with the rat. I suspect tomorrow in class, honestly. Do try and act surprised."

Harry nodded and reached out with his free hand to shake with her's. "I will try my best to act surprised," he said with a little grin then grew serious. "Thank you, Professor. For listening and for assisting us." It meant more to them than she'd ever know.

He looked at Hermione. "I believe we have a paper to work on," he said with a grin. "But first... kitchens? I could use a snack." Maybe something sweet. He was in the body of an eleven-year-old boy after all! They were slowly gathering materials so they could brew some nutrient potions for him. The last thing he wanted was for his health to suffer because of the bloody Dursleys.

"No, Mister Potter, thank you for bringing this to me. I don't want to lose this school and the wizards and witches we would lose to this." She can only imagine, and she won't let herself ask them how bad it might get.

Hermione chuckles at that, looking relieved. Maybe they really can fix things.

Though she rolls her eyes at Harry.

"Come on then. Though you get us in trouble and I will have your hide," she says, sounding like herself and less like a child at the same time.

"If we can at all help it, you won't," he said, seriously. Truthfully, she had been the best headmistress they'd at during their time at Hogwarts and he couldn't wait to see her in that position again one day.

Harry sent Hermione a roguish grin. "Me? Get us in trouble," he asked teasingly before leading her out of the Professor's classroom. "Let's go to the Room and have something brought to us instead," he said once they were a good distance away. He'd prefer to have the time alone with her so they could talk about what just transpired with Professor McGonagall.

Despite how much they had to keep up appearances and still be the preteens they're meant to be, she can't help but nod at that.

"I think that sounds like a good idea," she says, moving to wrap her arm around Harry's, pulling him in close. "You really think this is going to be okay? That she's going to stay on our side?"

Harry brought her in closer as they walked toward the Room of Requirement. It was difficult to pretend to be the pre-teens when they'd lived this and much more already. "I don't know," he admitted. "I hope that she stays on our side but we should be prepared for her not being on our side if Dumbledore catches wind of this. It wouldn't be beneath him to use loyalty potions or compulsions." There were nights when Harry wondered if that's why Sirius didn't try as much as he likely could have the first go around to gain custody of him. Dumbledore needed his pawn and that pawn couldn't have a figure like Sirius influencing him.

When they reached the location, Harry stepped back from Hermione and walked back and forth three times. As he did, he thought about a comfortable room for the two of them to relax in and have food brought to them. When the door appeared and he opened it, he was greeted with the front room of Grimmauld Place as he had known it and the way they had left it. He blinked in surprise but also pleased. "Well, looks like it knew just what we needed."

It's odd, the dichotomy and yet how different things are knowing what they do. It's weird and she wonders what is going to happen. Part of her wants to continue on in this life, and see how much they can do but how tedious would that be? And what if things didn't go right? Her hope is by year two they'll have changed everything and ended this war before it even became a fight.

"We should work on a charm to detect such things. We might need a few of them but... if we charmed a key we could carry a ring with them. Or we can do maybe charms on a bracelet or something."

It's a thought, and one she might be able to work out.

Hermione is trusting Harry to open the door so when she sees Grimmauld Place, she smiles.

"Home. Just what I need right now," she says, not thinking about that and what it's admitting, and how she feels it truly is home.

Harry nodded in agreement as they walked. "We can look at a ring or a bracelet, depending on the person," he said. "With everything we know now, it should be doable."

He smiled and nodded. "Agreed," he said and reached for her hand again before stepping inside and shutting the door behind him. "The only one missing now is Kreacher." And damn did he miss that elf. They'd had a good report and he did not like the thought of disappearing on him with no warning. Harry walked over toward the couch and sat down.

"If we're able to get everything taken care of like we need... maybe we can reach out to an alternative school or training?" Otherwise, it was going to get tedious and quick.

"Definitely makes things a bit different having someone at my side with my magical abilities this time," she teases, sound very much like the grown woman she was, and the best friend she's always been at his side.

"You know that all that is our world might well become nothing, right? I don't know how that works. Like if we're reset and Kreacher doesn't know us as his master and mistress," she points out, wanting to at least try and calm him that the poof elf isn't wondering if they've finally been killed as so many others in his life had been.

She settles onto the couch beside him, taking his hand.

"There is a chance that once we can prove things and stop Voldemort," she notes, trying to think about what they can do. "We might be able to prove who we actually are and perhaps at least get them to listen to us and graduate us," she says with a chuckle.

He snorted in amusement. "You're not wrong," he said with an amused grin, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. "Not to mention, someone who is as interested in his studies as you are. Compared to last time."

"I sort of figured," he agreed. "I sort of feel like as soon as we left that world, it sort of ceased to be. This is the start of something completely new, especially given we've already changed things. Which means, he's back at Grimmauld Place, then he's likely being driven mad by the horcrux." Harry paused and considered things for a moment. "Do you think it says something that you and I both clearly remember Grimmauld even though right now, we shouldn't since we were not shown the location?" Truth be told, Harry wasn't sure how time travel worked with secret locations such as #12 Grimmauld.

He settled in and laced their fingers together, giving her hand a squeeze.

"You're not wrong, we could. I do have to admit, I would be curious to see what the curriculum is like at other schools. Or, become Head Boy and Head Girl here." Harry's mouth curled up into an amused smirk. "However, if they do graduate us sooner rather than later and after stopping Voldemort, then we can move on our plans."

There were a ton of options but for right now, they needed to focus on the things that were immediate. Getting Pettigrew was the important first step. After that, they'd need to make sure Sirius was freed.

She nods, and it's kind of sad. They had already lost so much before they left that world, and now the rest of it is gone. Except for their memories and what they can gain in this world from it.

"I wonder if somehow the magic of our world is letting us remember things we shouldn't know. Things we need to make this world better and to fix the things we hadn't fixed before."

Yet she hadn't lost Harry and she still has him here and for that she knows she can be okay.

"We have to start here, Harry. Fix Hogwarts and fix the London wizarding world, and then we go from there. I want Hogwarts to be a good schools, and a place that all wizards and witches can feel safe and secure. And then make sure all of the schools are like that."

She wants to make it all better, not just what they did.

"Last time we survived. I want to make sure everyone thrives this time."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

CLOSED: The WORST Double Date to Date (for: coreofdragonheart)

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject