Dealing with Danger
Chapter 5: Planning and Promises (Year 3)
By Anne B. Walsh
Chapter 5: Planning and Promises
Harry drifted into wakefulness, all his thoughts hazily pleasant.
Denning is good. Having Draco back safely is good. Going to Diagon Alley today is good.
He took a deep breath, then let it out in a slow hiss, stretching all over, bringing his whole body awake. When he felt ready to get up, he opened his eyes to make sure he wouldn’t hit anyone. The usual welter of den-night presented itself before him, the Pack lying tangled comfortably with one another, sheets, light blankets, and pillows mingled with arms, legs, and heads in a mess that would have been disturbing if it hadn’t been so clear that all the body parts were safely attached where they should be.
Harry frowned. Not everything was where it should be. Someone was missing.
"Good morning," said Padfoot quietly from behind him. Harry turned to see his godfather sitting in an armchair he must have brought in from the living room, with parchment, ink, quills, and his wand all on a small table in front of him.
"Morning," Harry answered. "You’re up early."
Padfoot smothered a yawn and nodded. "I was up at six. Standing watch, or sitting, rather. We took it in turns all night."
Harry nodded. "Because the wards went down when Draco left."
"The blood magic wards went down when he left," Padfoot corrected. "The wards we put up ourselves stayed. But they’re not as strong as the blood magic, and we wanted to be certain we’d be ready if anything did happen. Not to mention, we didn’t want to give anyone a chance to sneak out on us again."
"I don’t think he will," said Harry, coming over to sit near Padfoot’s chair. "I hope he doesn’t."
"Draco’s not the only one I meant."
"Huh?" Harry was confused for a moment. "What, me?"
"Are you honestly telling me it never crossed your mind?"
"Running away?"
"Yes."
"Why would I do that? It’s stupid. Going out and getting killed wouldn’t make anyone safer."
"Hold on to that attitude," said Padfoot under his breath. "You may need it."
"What?"
"Never mind. Listen, Harry, there’s something I need to ask you."
"Yeah?"
"Moony’s planning on introducing your year to magical creatures. Hinkypunks, grindylows, and the like. He was going to start out with boggarts. Is that going to be a problem?"
"A problem?" There was some subtle undercurrent here Harry wasn’t getting. "What kind of problem?"
"You’ve seen a boggart before, haven’t you?"
"Yes. First year, going after the Sorcerer’s Stone."
"Do you remember what it turned into?"
For a moment, Harry didn’t. Then he did, and wished he hadn’t. "I can explain," he said, sounding lame even to himself.
"I’d appreciate that. I won’t laugh, and I won’t tell anyone, not even Letha. Marauder’s honor."
It brought a small smile to Harry’s face to see his godfather holding up his left hand to swear. "All right."
He had to go back farther than he thought he would, back to Alex’s story about his family, which made more sense now that he knew who Alex actually was, and from there to the dream he’d had that night and the boggart later that year.
"I don’t think that’s what I’d see anymore, though," Harry said, winding a scrap of parchment around his finger. "I mean, it happened. The dream came true. Parts of it, anyway. Draco ran away, and it was sort of my fault. But you didn’t do what you did in the dream. You were angry, but you didn’t shake me or threaten me or anything. So I don’t think you’re what I’m most afraid of anymore."
"I appreciate that, Harry," said Padfoot with a straight face. "I really do. But do you have any idea what you might see instead?"
Harry shrugged. "I guess... Voldemort. Except I don’t really know what he looks like. I saw the face on Quirrell’s head, but that can’t be right, can it?"
"I don’t know. But it doesn’t matter. If you thought it was Voldemort, that’s the form the boggart would take. And if I remember your description right, it sounds likely to scare your friends. Not to mention, it’s what they’ll be expecting from you. Some of them will be hoping for it, some of them won’t, but all of them are likely to panic if he actually turns up."
"So I shouldn’t face the boggart?" Harry didn’t like the idea, but still less did he like the thought of being responsible for class-wide panic. He was hoping to get through this year without losing any points from Gryffindor.
Well, except the ones lost in honorable prank endeavors.
"Probably not." Padfoot reached over to ruffle Harry’s hair. "I’m sorry, Greeneyes. I know you hate being different."
"It’s not like it’s anything I can get away from." Harry tugged at the parchment moodily. "It’s part of who I am now. Not all of it, but it’s there, and I can’t very well pretend it isn’t. I just have to live with it."
"Hunh." Padfoot sounded surprised, but with a trace of thoughtfulness in his tone as well. "Harry James Potter, I do believe you’re growing up."
"Oh no," said Harry, lying down and flailing his arms and legs as if he were drowning. "Help, help. Someone save me."
"I’d love to," said Padfoot, blocking another yawn, "but I’m too lazy. If I had some tea, maybe..."
"Stop trying to be sneaky," said Harry, getting up. "You’re not very good at it."
Padfoot grinned. "That’s what makes it so much fun."
xXxXx
Well, there was no point in making tea and not starting breakfast.
It didn’t take the Pack long to follow their noses to the source of the smells of sausage and toast. "Thank you, love," said Danger, hugging Harry from behind. "What a lovely way to wake up."
"Can I ask you something?" said Hermione to Draco.
"You just did."
"Something else?"
"You just did again."
Hermione picked up the saucer of marmalade threateningly.
"Yes," said Draco hastily.
"Why didn’t you take your wand with you?" Hermione set the marmalade down and helped herself to a generous spoonful.
"Because we’re not supposed to do magic outside school, and I’m a good little boy..." Anything else Draco might have had to say was drowned out in a general chorus of incredulity from the rest of the Pack.
"No, really," said Hermione when the noise died down.
Draco made patterns in his ketchup with his fork. "Because I didn’t want him to have one."
Breakfast was much quieter after that.
xXxXx
In the boys’ bedroom, Draco dumped out his backpack on his bed and started digging through it, sorting out everything he’d taken with him to put away later, then frowned.
Something’s missing.
It only took him a moment to figure out what, and when he did, he hurried downstairs to the music room, where he remembered seeing Danger last. She was there, sitting in a corner of the sofa, reading. "What’s going on, fox?" she asked, looking up.
"I can’t find my socks."
"They’re on your feet."
"Not these socks. The ones you made me. I know I took them with me, but they’re not in my bag now."
"Maybe you dropped them somewhere," Danger suggested. "On the bus, or in the cave."
"Maybe." Draco looked at her sideways and debated whether or not to try his innocent act. It probably wouldn’t work so soon after a major episode of rule-breaking, but there was always a chance.
"Do you want me to go and look in the cave?" asked Danger, one corner of her mouth twitching slightly.
Draco gave her a tiny smile. "I just feel bad about losing them after you went to all that work making them for me."
Danger shook her head. "If I put butter in your mouth right now, it would freeze," she said, standing up. "I’ll go and have a look."
"Thank you." Draco stepped back, giving her room to turn on the spot and vanish with a crack.
She’s never been very good at that.
He hadn’t been lying. He did want those socks back. But with Moony showering, and Padfoot and Letha out reinforcing the wards, this was also an opportunity.
After all, he couldn’t allow a new school year to start without playing one big prank.
xXxXx
Danger slipped into the cave and conjured a fireball above her head to light the place. It looked much as she recalled from the night before, and yes, there on the stone floor lay a pair of hand-knitted green and blue striped socks. She crossed to them and bent over to pick them up, but stopped as the light of her fire revealed something unusual about them.
What is that? It looks like little pellets of dirt.
She changed forms, took a cautious sniff, and sneezed hard. Ugh. Something wasn’t happy about these. Small animal of some kind. Rodent, I think. Mouse or mole or...
She froze for a second, then started sniffing around the rest of the cave. Her own scent, and Remus’, and Draco’s, were all clear. But there were others. Two others. And the three scents she knew about were scarcely older than the two she had not.
An hour at most. Probably less. I can’t tell unless I get a good comparison spot.
She continued around the perimeter of the cave and found a place, hand-height on the entrance, where two hands had rested. One had belonged to her husband. The other had not. And the one had been there barely ten minutes before the other.
The wolf-mind, working this out, was not perturbed by it. The part that was Danger Granger-Lupin wasn’t so lucky, and lost its hold on the wolf, emerging into human form and sitting down with a thump.
Ten minutes. Dear God, if we hadn’t found Harry when we did — if we’d delayed much more tracking Draco — if we’d been held up by anything down in Hogsmeade...
What is it? You’re shaking so hard, I can feel it from here.
We were just in time last night, Remus. Here. Danger spread what she’d gleaned before him.
There was a pause, then a low-voiced curse. I’m going to the Ministry as soon as I’m decent. You come home. Don’t touch anything, they’ll want to search the cave, and that whole area.
On my way. Danger stood up, careful not to touch the place which had given her the information she sought, and left the cave for the cheerful, sunlit path, not quite so friendly now as it had been a moment ago.
Is someone watching me?
She carefully pulled her mind away from that and fixed it on her destination, wanting with all her being to be home in her Den with her Pack. Rising on her toes, she turned in place.
She was being squashed, pressed, sandwiched, flattened, constricted, crushed...
Impressive. Six in a row.
Danger appeared with a loud crack in the music room. I can do better.
I’m sure. Later, love. Sirius and Letha are on their way in. Brief them?
Yes, sir.
"At least they’re not showing any signs of decay," Sirius said over his shoulder as he opened the back door and came inside.
"Why would they decay? They’re barely a month old." Aletha followed him in.
"What looks like decay might be someone nibbling at them, testing them, trying to get them down."
"They’re nowhere near the Den," said Danger, getting the Blacks’ attention. "If you mean who I think you mean."
"Who else?" asked Sirius. "And how do you know?"
"I was just up north again. There were signs and scent all over that cave. Malfoy and Wormtail were in there not ten minutes after we left."
"Ten minutes?" repeated Aletha with a slight sound of strain in her voice.
Sirius shook his head. "I’ve always said your timing is perfect, Danger," he said, "but this is ridiculous."
xXxXx
Sirius waited in the Leaky Cauldron by the fireplace, Aletha on the other side. They weren’t taking any unnecessary chances here — the two of them had Apparated to the pub first, the cubs would follow by Floo, and then Remus and Danger would Apparate in, ensuring that the cubs were never left with fewer than two Pack-parents to defend them at any one time.
Maybe we are being paranoid. But better paranoid and alive than easy-going and dead. Or anything else.
Meghan was the first out of the fireplace, followed by Harry, then Draco, then Hermione. A moment later, Danger materialized with a loud snap, causing several heads to turn. Remus appeared with a quiet pop and flashed Sirius a hand sign.
All quiet. Good.
At least they weren’t attracting too much attention. Only one or two of the denizens of the pub were still looking at them. Still, one or two people openly staring could make even a grown wizard, otherwise quite sure of himself, highly uncomfortable, and Sirius saw with a feeling of sullen irritation that their eyes were lingering on Draco the longest.
We should have expected this. Hell, we did expect it. And there’s not much we can do to avoid it. Bringing everyone else here and leaving him home wouldn’t do — besides dividing us at a time we really can’t afford division, it’s unfair to Draco. He deserves as much normality as we can give him.
Sirius kept an eye on his cubs, chattering like any children of their age, as Remus opened the wall leading to Diagon Alley. They really had come a long way from where they’d started. He hoped their parents, wherever they were now, approved. Minus Lucius, of course.
But the cubs weren’t quite like other children their age. Sirius watched with approval as their eyes roved through the crowds, seeking and finding places to run, places to get the wall at their backs, places where they could hide, and Floo hookups for a quick getaway. Even Meghan was sizing people up as they approached, and Sirius felt a brief moment of regret for his little girl, who had never been able to give the entire world the unmixed trust she naturally would have. Her whole life had been tainted by secrecy.
No, not tainted. Secrecy’s touched her life, been part of it, but it hasn’t hurt her any. And maybe if other children knew more of what she knows, there wouldn’t be as many cases for that one squad of Aurors. That was one assignment he never wanted — to follow up on the reports of child abuse or neglect or other crimes against children, which were, thankfully, less frequent than they were in the Muggle world, but did sometimes happen.
Sirius glanced up, half-expecting to see a storm cloud hovering over him, raining on him. Aren’t I cheerful today. Enough of this. Time to enjoy myself. I won’t have much more time with these four before they head off to school again.
He slid up into the center of the cubs, sensing Aletha moving into the tail position he’d left, and pointed out a "SALE" sign at Gambol and Japes to Harry and Draco, getting exactly the response he’d hoped for — widened smiles, furtive looks at one another, and flickered hand signals, some of which Sirius couldn’t interpret. It seemed the Pride had improved upon Marauder hand signs.
Good for them. Never let anyone else know all your secrets.
All the necessary chores were completed, buying robes and parchment and quills and books — the required book for Care of Magical Creatures was a little startling, as it seemed to be alive, and would bite anyone who came near it. The manager looked appalled when presented with three students who all needed a copy.
"Three Monster Book of Monsters, coming right up," he said resolutely, pulling on leather gloves and picking up a thick cane.
"Who assigned this?" asked Hermione, watching in fascination as the manager battled with the books, thwacking away with his cane, separating one from the herd and yanking it out of the cage, then sitting on it until it stopped struggling.
"Someone who thought you needed practice handling dangerous creatures," said Remus, catching Sirius’ eye with a small smile. The Pack-adults all knew who was teaching Care of Magical Creatures this year. "Can I help you with that?" Remus added to the manager, who was attempting to Spellotape the book shut without getting bitten.
"I doubt it," said the manager frankly, dodging a lunge by the book, "but if you care to try, go ahead..."
Remus stepped forward and seized the book, clamping it shut with both hands, then turned and presented it to Danger, who ran her hand firmly down the spine. The book shivered a little, then relaxed, as much as a stiff-bound book could, and lay quietly in Remus’ hands.
"They like to be stroked," said Remus, returning the now quiescent book to the staring manager.
Two more Monster Books were lured over to the bars and stroked, then removed from the cage as quietly as any book in the store. The other books stopped tearing at each other and started sidling hopefully over to the bars, and the manager called up a pair of employees to stroke them all. "Thank you," he said fervently to Remus. "This will save us a lot of time."
"Always happy to help."
Three Transfiguration texts, three Charms texts, two for Arithmancy, and two for Ancient Runes finished the textbook shopping. Danger and Hermione were staring at the fiction section with identical wistful expressions. Sirius had to turn around hastily to avoid laughing in their faces.
"Why don’t we stay here," suggested Remus blandly. "And you and Letha can take Meghan to get her wand, Sirius."
"If you’re sure."
"We should be all right. And you’ll know if we’re not."
"True enough."
xXxXx
Sirius had only been to Ollivanders twice before, once as an eleven-year-old to get his own wand, and once with James to buy a replacement (James had dropped his wand out of a Gringotts cart while attempting to see if there was really a dragon at the end of a passageway). Both times, he had felt as though he were being called on the carpet. Mr. Ollivander seemed to know about everything he’d ever done and a few things he hadn’t.
Aletha poked him, bringing him back from his reverie. "Good morning," said Mr. Ollivander, appearing around the corner of an aisle. "How may I help you today?"
Sirius looked at Aletha. Go on, her eyes said. He cleared his throat. "Meghan needs a wand," he said, trying to keep his voice from being unnecessarily loud.
"Meghan?" Mr. Ollivander looked slightly puzzled. "How odd. I was under the impression she wouldn’t be starting school for another year."
"I’m not," said Meghan, sliding out from behind Aletha. "But I’m apprenticing to Madam Pomfrey at the hospital wing at Hogwarts, and I need a wand to learn some of the spells."
Good girl! I hadn’t thought of that — of course, that’s why she needs it, and it’s not even illegal there, because she is at school, even if she’s not officially a student yet...
"I see," said Mr. Ollivander, nodding slowly. "I do see. Very well, young lady, may I see your wand arm, please?" He pulled a long tape measure from his pocket and set it to measuring various parts of Meghan’s body while he began collecting wands from the shelves. Sirius wondered what point there was in taking the measurements if he didn’t look at them. Maybe he kept them on file so he could replace a wand more easily, or maybe the tape measure gave them to him as it took them.
"Let me see. Cherry wood and phoenix feather, seven and a half inches, pliable..."
Meghan tried half a dozen wands before a springy piece of ebony, eight and a half inches long, containing a unicorn tail hair, sprayed red and blue sparks across the shop, making her squeal with delight.
Mr. Ollivander beamed. "Lovely, lovely," he said, taking the wand back from Meghan and wrapping it up. "And something rather interesting. I don’t suppose you’d recall it, Mr. Black, Mrs. Freeman-Black, but this is one of the wands I had your young ward Harry try out when he was here two years ago. Very interesting, that it should now choose to go to his sister."
"I’d just prefer to hear that there’s nothing dodgy about the unicorn you got the tail hair from," said Sirius. "Or the people you sold other wands with this core to."
"No, nothing... dodgy," said Mr. Ollivander, fixing Sirius with his rather unnerving pale eyes. "I obtained four tail hairs from that particular unicorn. A lovely female, just into adulthood, quite graceful. Two of the wands I sold long ago, and the third I have not yet made. That particular hair is not ready to be used."
"Understandable," said Aletha. "Seven Galleons, then?"
The sale completed, the Blacks left the shop. "Not ready to be used?" said Sirius once they were on the street again. "What does that mean?"
"Oh, come on," said Aletha. "You’ve told me yourself about writing something, then taking it out of that story because it doesn’t fit and putting it somewhere else where it does. This is no different."
Sirius felt that somehow, it was, but refrained from saying so.
As they approached Flourish and Blotts, the manager Remus had assisted earlier came hurrying out the door. "Looking for the people you were with earlier?" he asked. "Brown-haired man and woman with two boys and a girl?"
"Yes, we are," said Aletha, seemingly casual, but Sirius sensed that she’d tensed a bit at this, and he was on alert himself.
This might be a trap...
"They went over to the Magical Menagerie. They asked me to tell you."
Or it might not. "Thank you," said Sirius.
"Not at all. The least I can do, considering how much they’ve made my life easier." The manager gestured to the window, where, instead of the cage which had been there earlier, three pretty young witches in Flourish and Blotts uniforms sat stroking copies of The Monster Book of Monsters.
"That’s one way to sell books," said Sirius when they were well away from the store.
"What is?" asked Meghan.
"To show how to handle them," said Aletha smoothly.
Nice one, Sirius signed to her behind Meghan’s back.
Someone has to take care of you, she signed back.
The door of the Magical Menagerie swung open. Sirius looked around. Harry and Draco were back in a corner, looking at a cage filled with ravens. Remus was observing the poisonous snails, and Danger was watching a white rabbit turn into a top hat and back again. Hermione —
Hermione was just turning away from the counter, beaming, her arms filled with orange fur. "There you are!" she said, hurrying over to Sirius and Aletha. "Look what I’ve got! Moony said I could, he’s an early birthday present. His name is Crookshanks."
Sirius reached out gingerly and stroked the cat. He was immediately rewarded with a purr that resembled the engine on his motorbike. "Looks like he’s part kneazle," he said, seeing that the cat’s tail ended in a lion-like tuft.
"And part Persian," Aletha put in, allowing Crookshanks to sniff her fingers. "Either that, or he had an argument with a brick wall and came out worst off."
Sirius couldn’t deny that. The cat looked as if it had been dropped on its face several times as a kitten. Still, he liked cats, or it might be more accurate to say that he didn’t mind them. He really had no strong feelings about them either way, as long as they didn’t claw him or eat his food.
Remus joined them as Hermione and Meghan went to look at the fire-crab in the window. "I’m glad you’re here," he said. "We need to have a quick conference."
"Something wrong?" Aletha asked as Danger drifted over as well.
"Not wrong. I just need a second opinion. Draco’s asked for an advance on his pocket money so that he can buy an owl of his own. I see no real reason not to, unless you think we ought not to reward him so soon after last night."
"It’s not a reward, exactly," said Sirius. "It’s not like we’re giving him the money above and beyond what he usually gets. And he’ll have that much less to spend in Hogsmeade."
"Hogsmeade," said Danger, frowning. "That we will need to talk about. But later."
"Agreed," said Aletha. "On both points. All three, actually — that we need to talk about Hogsmeade, that it can wait until later, and that Draco’s not getting anything special by this. He’s old enough to understand that what he spends now, he can’t later. I think it’s fine."
"Second?" asked Remus. Sirius stuck up his hand. "All in favor?"
"Aye," said all four in chorus.
When they left the Magical Menagerie fifteen minutes later, Harry carried Meghan, Hermione Crookshanks, and Draco a male tawny owl in a cage.
"Why do I always get the old stuff?" asked Harry, hoisting Meghan a little higher on his back. "I got the old broomstick, I get the old owl..."
"You wanted to keep Hedwig," said Draco. "Just like you wanted to keep your Nimbus Two Thousand."
"That’s not the point."
"What is the point, then?"
"The point is, I never get anything new. The next time I need something new, I want something really new. New and special."
"Like that?" asked Sirius, pointing to Quality Quidditch Supplies, where all four males of the Pack, even Remus, had spent ten minutes staring longingly at the newest broom on the market, the Firebolt, until the females physically removed them from the premises.
"Yes. The next time I get a broom, I want a Firebolt."
"The next time you get a broom, you’ll probably be buying it for yourself," said Aletha. "At which point you’ll be perfectly free to buy a Firebolt."
"But what if I need a new broom while I’m in school?"
Remus laughed. "All right, Harry. If you need a new broom while you’re in school — and that’s need, not want, and destroying your old one on purpose doesn’t count — we’ll get you a Firebolt. Pack honor. Happy?"
"Very." Harry grinned. "Now all I have to do is think up ways to smash my broomstick without it looking like it was me."
xXxXx
Sirius closeted himself with Harry and Draco for nearly an hour after dinner. No one was ever told what went on in the bedroom during that time, but all three participants emerged looking vaguely disgusted and a little shocked. Harry was occasionally heard muttering, "I really didn’t need to know that."
Sirius reported to the other Pack-adults that he had fulfilled his fatherly duty, and someone else could bloody well do it the next time. Danger and Aletha told him that wouldn’t be a problem.
xXxXx
"So," said Remus at lunch the next day, the Pride safely out of the way in the boys’ bedroom upstairs, working on their Animagus spells. "Hogsmeade."
"Yes." Aletha sighed. "Damn it, they’re normal thirteen-year-olds. They love adventure, and anything new, and they hate being different. They’re going to want to go. But it’s not safe."
"Not for any of them," said Danger, peeling an apple. "You could get Harry or Draco to do just about anything if you threatened Hermione. Mind you, as soon as you weren’t actively threatening her, your life wouldn’t be worth a tin Knut. But it’s still a danger."
"What about Ron, then?" said Sirius, arranging his crisps in a pattern around the edge of his plate. "I know Arthur and Molly mean to let him go. And you could get at Harry just as easily through Ron as through Hermione. Draco, too, for that matter — he’s not as close to Ron as Harry is, but he’s already proved that he has a very high sense of responsibility."
"You know," said Remus, turning from the window where he was looking out at the partly overcast day, "there might be a way to let the cubs go to Hogsmeade safely. If there was someone with them. One of their teachers, perhaps."
"Are you volunteering?" asked Aletha.
Remus looked disingenuous. "I suppose I am."
Sirius threw a crisp at him. Remus shot a tiny fireball at it from his finger. It was ashes in an instant. Remus blew a not-so-imaginary puff of smoke off his finger and smiled smugly.
"Catch," said Danger from the counter. She tossed a small piece of apple peel toward Remus, who caught it in his mouth.
"There’s something wrong with you," said Sirius. "You’ll waste a perfectly good crisp burning it up, but apple skin, you’ll eat."
"There’s nothing wrong with liking apple peel better than crisps."
"Enough," said Aletha. "Remus, are you sure you won’t mind escorting them around Hogsmeade?"
"I’m sure. They may mind, but if we explain that it’s be escorted or don’t go, I think they’ll come around."
xXxXx
Aurors had been unable to get anything from the cave other than what Danger had discovered herself — that Lucius Malfoy and Peter Pettigrew had both been there, and then left. Several searches of the area turned up nothing.
"Of course, that doesn’t mean anything," Sirius told the other three adults late at night, after making certain the cubs were asleep. "They could still be hiding anywhere around there, just moving to avoid the searches."
"Well, they won’t get onto Hogwarts grounds," said Remus positively. "Dumbledore’s tightened up the wards until not even a rat could slip through. And I’ll put alarm spells on the secret passages myself. Nothing will come in through them without my knowing about it."
"There’s something else you need to know about," said Sirius darkly. "Some of the higher-ups think Hogwarts needs what they call one more layer of security."
"Why don’t I like the sound of that?" asked Danger rhetorically.
"They want to put dementors around the school."
"Dementors?" Aletha sounded as if she couldn’t believe her ears. "That’s ridiculous. Dumbledore wouldn’t allow dementors within a mile of the school."
"He may not have a choice," said Remus. "He’s the ultimate authority on school grounds, but past those gates, he doesn’t have anything. The Ministry can post dementors all around the grounds, and the only thing Dumbledore can do is protest it."
"Well, I hope he does protest it," said Danger. "Early, and often. And I hope they listen to him."
xXxXx
"You know, we’re going to have a hard time getting everyone into one compartment," said Harry, surveying the space available aboard the Hogwarts Express. "We might have to split up."
"Hmm." Remus frowned. "Hold on a minute." He turned and climbed off the train, weaving through students and parents until he got to Sirius. "Do you think that spell we put on that one compartment might still be active?" he asked.
"Spell... oh, yeah." Sirius grinned. "Why don’t we have a look?"
The two Marauders walked up and down the train, tapping their wands idly against each doorframe. Sirius said hello to quite a lot of students, many of whom were disappointed he and Aletha hadn’t returned. He took the opportunity to introduce Remus, and usually added something like, "And he knows more about Defense than I do."
"You don’t have to keep saying that," said Remus between groups.
"Why not? It’s true."
"You’re the Auror around here."
Sirius snorted. "Being able to throw up a good block and pick people off at a hundred yards doesn’t mean I know a lot about Defense. You’re smarter than me, always have been, and you’ll make a better teacher. I needed Letha there to keep me from losing my temper when the kids got rude or distracted. You’ll do fine on your own."
Remus didn’t know what to say. Fortunately, at that moment, Sirius tapped his wand twice against the corner of a doorframe and was rewarded with a two-toned chime. "Got it!"
"Excuse me, ladies," said Remus, looking into the compartment, which contained some rather giggly second-year Hufflepuff girls. "I’m afraid we’re going to have to ask you to move. There’s a compartment a few cars down where you can go. We’ll move your luggage for you."
The girls hurried out into the hall and followed Sirius, who was floating three trunks at once, all chattering at him.
"You were really good, Professor Black."
"I was sad when you got Petrified."
"Is it true our new teacher is a vampire?"
Remus nearly choked when he heard this.
"No, that’s not true," said Sirius, setting down the trunks by the compartment Harry and Draco had provisionally claimed and waving them out. "Your new Defense teacher is Professor Lupin, and he’s standing right behind you."
The girls turned as one to look at Remus, who made sure to pass through a large patch of sunlight coming through one of the windows as they did. "Hello," he said, setting down the two trunks he was carrying. "I hope we’ll enjoy this year together."
The girls might have answered, but Harry and Draco came out of the compartment at this moment, and Remus saw every one of the girls’ eyes go big and round before they started whispering to each other. Harry hoisted one end of his trunk in one hand, lifted Hedwig’s cage in the other, and set off down the car without a backward glance. Draco followed his brother, pulling his own trunk and carrying the owl he’d named Morpheus for its tendency to sleep all day long, his cheeks pinking up and an expression of grim endurance set on his face.
"I’ll go with the boys," Remus said quietly to Sirius. "Send in the others when you see them, and bring the other trunks down when you have a minute?"
"Will do."
Remus hurried after his Pack-sons and caught up with them two compartments before the special one. "It’s going to be like first year all over again, isn’t it?" asked Harry. "People pointing and whispering?"
"Probably." Remus wished there was something else he could say, but he knew anything he tried to tell them at this point would just make matters worse.
"They’ll get tired of it," said Draco with the hearty and confident tone he used when trying to convince himself of things. "They always do."
"True." Remus opened the door of the compartment and ushered the boys in. "Welcome to the Marauders’ special compartment," he said, shutting the door.
"How is it special?" asked Harry, looking around with a slight frown.
Remus pointed his wand at the ceiling. "Molesti sunt Dei," he said carefully, hoping he’d recalled the correct trigger phrase.
Harry’s mouth hung open and Draco stared as the compartment suddenly grew in several directions, becoming twice as wide and nearly half again as long as it had been.
"We didn’t care for being cramped," said Remus, putting his wand away. "It took three years’ worth of train rides, but we managed to get these spells in place just in time for seventh year. And now, you reap the fruits of our labor."
"Wow," Harry said.
Draco lay down on one of the benches. "I could get used to this," he said, sliding his arms above his head. His fingertips just brushed the wall on one side as his toes touched it on the other.
Ron pulled the door open. "Mr. Padfoot said you were down here..." His voice trailed off as he surveyed the splendor of space before him. "I call window seat."
"How’d you get it so big?" said Ginny from behind him, pulling her trunk in.
"Magic," said Remus, helping her stow the trunk under one of the seats.
"I knew that. What kind?"
"Probably spells like Dad has on the car," said Ron. "Right?"
"Basically. I should probably check to make sure they’re still functioning right, the last thing we need is for them to die halfway to Hogwarts and try to fit us all into the actual space there is here." Remus stepped out into the corridor and started the process that would tell him about the state of the spells.
"’Scuse me," said Draco, sliding past him. "Need the loo."
"Me too," said Harry, following him.
"Better now than later," said Remus absently, then lost himself in his work.
xXxXx
Danger jumped as the train whistled. "Bother, it’s getting late, I should get on board — go on, girls, on with you," she said to Hermione and Meghan, who hugged Aletha once more each, then climbed aboard, Hermione carrying Crookshanks in his wicker basket. "Goodbye, Letha, best of luck with the program..."
"Don’t worry, I’ll be fine," said Aletha, hugging her. "I passed the tests, didn’t I?"
"You certainly did. They’ll be lucky to get you. Write when you can."
"I will. Take care of Meghan."
"We will. Goodbye, Molly, I’ll see you at Christmas if not sooner."
"I don’t know what I’ll do with myself without all these children around," said Molly, shaking her head. "I might actually find some time to do things I enjoy. Heavens, what a strange thought!"
All three women laughed. The train whistled again.
"Have a good year, Danger," called Molly as Danger leapt onto the train steps. "And write to me straight away if the twins make trouble for you, they won’t listen to a word Percy says, Head Boy or not..."
"I will!" Danger waved out the door until the train rounded the corner, blowing a kiss to Sirius as he jumped off at another door, then climbed the steps and went to find Remus and the Pride.
She opened the door to the next car and stared. A tall, skinny, blond boy was backed into the wall of the hallway, staring fearfully at Harry, who had his wand out and trained on the boy’s upturned nose. Draco stood beside Harry, looking as though he weren’t sure whether to be angry or ashamed. Harry was unabashedly furious. The strange boy looked scared out of his wits.
Danger cleared her throat. All three boys jumped. "Mr. Potter," she said, giving Harry the most teacher-ish look she could conjure up on short notice. "Detention for threatening a fellow student." We’ll talk later, she signed on seeing the rebellious look on Harry’s face. "Return to your compartment. Mr. Black, you as well."
"Yes, Professor," said Draco, and beat a hasty retreat down the car, Harry following more slowly, still looking mutinous.
"Just a moment, young man," said Danger to the strange boy, who was also trying to sneak away. "What’s your name?"
"Smith. Zacharias Smith. Hufflepuff."
Danger nodded. "Why did Mr. Potter have his wand out on you, Mr. Smith?"
"I don’t know, Professor."
"Don’t you?"
"No. I don’t." Smith’s tone was just shy of openly contemptuous. Clearly, he had decided she wasn’t anyone to respect.
"Very well. Pardon me." Danger squeezed past the boy and continued down the car, conscious of his eyes on her back.
She opened the door to the compartment Remus had directed her to and blinked. "Well, this is an improvement," she said, entering and sitting down. "I was wondering how we were all going to fit in, with ten of us."
Harry looked as though he’d burst if he didn’t get to speak soon.
"Something wrong?" Remus asked him mildly, as Danger filled him in on the hallway incident in a quick thought transfer.
Harry made a few strangled noises before he was able to speak. "He deserves detention, not me!"
"Harry, please don’t," said Draco. "Just drop it, it’s not important."
"Hell yes, it’s important! You heard what he said!"
"So we’ll get him back for it. But we don’t have to tattle about it."
"Telling your professors the truth hardly counts as tattling," said Danger. "And I would like to know what I walked in on the end of."
"We were coming back from the toilet," said Harry, still looking murderous. "And we passed Smith in the hallway."
Draco turned to look out the window, as though the passing countryside were the most interesting thing in the world.
"Draco bumped into him and said excuse me," continued Harry, "and Smith said, ‘Excuse you for what? Going to let your dad in the castle so he can murder us all, Malfoy?’"
Hermione gasped. Ron snorted angrily. Ginny’s eyes narrowed with rage. Luna put down her copy of The Quibbler. "Where is he sitting?" she asked.
"Who, Smith?" asked Harry.
"Yes. Where is he sitting?"
"Why do you want to know?" asked Danger.
"Because I want to go hit him."
"That’s not a good idea," said Remus.
"He was rude. He needs to be hit."
"No," said Draco, turning back from the window. "Hitting him wouldn’t work right, Luna. He’d just get mad back at us. We need some way to get back at him without him knowing it was us. Maybe one of those creatures you were telling me about last week."
"Which one?"
"The one that looks like a shell that you can hear the ocean in, but when you put it to your ear, it bites you and hangs on for three days, so you have to walk around everywhere with a shell stuck to your ear."
"Oh, you mean a Nisiree. Yes, that would be funny, if we sent him one by owl post, and he put it up to his ear and it bit him..." Luna giggled. "He’d dance all around the Great Hall yelling. Nisiree bites really hurt."
"Or we could put itch-a-bod flowers in his bed," suggested Neville, sitting down beside Luna. "Their petals make most people really itchy. They don’t bother me, though. And I know Professor Sprout has some in greenhouse four."
"No, even better," said Ron. "Stick them in his drawers. And I mean that both ways."
"You’re mean," said Hermione as the boys snickered.
"You didn’t know that?"
"Of course I knew it. Everyone knows it."
"So why’d you say it, then?"
And they’re off, said Remus.
A friendly debate never hurt anyone.
I didn’t say it did. But what you ran across in the corridor... that does have potential to hurt.
True. If Smith thinks he can get away with that sort of thing...
I’ll have a word with Pomona when we get there. I don’t want people thinking they can insult Draco and get away with it. The last thing he needs is more trouble in his life.
Danger sighed. And unfortunately, it’s the thing he’s most likely to get.
The Pride eventually got tired of talking about ways to get back at Smith and moved into discussion of the upcoming year, pestering Remus and Danger with questions about what Defense Against the Dark Arts would be like and speculating on the contents of the other classes. The older five told Ginny and Luna, often in contradictory and garbled terms, about second year classes, and Meghan listened to everything carefully.
She is going to be the most prepared Hogwarts student there ever was, said Danger. If they’d allow such a thing, she might even test out of a year and move up to second year classes her first year there...
I doubt it. She’ll be busy enough working in the hospital wing. Now that she has a wand, Poppy’s going to be treating her as a full apprentice, even more so since she’ll be a student next year and won’t be able to spend all her time on Healing. I doubt she’ll have time to learn anything extra.
She can try.
The lunch cart came around at one o’clock. Crookshanks chased Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans all over the floor of the compartment, amusing everyone immensely, and Morpheus and Hedwig woke up long enough to accept some crumbled Cauldron Cake before going back to sleep. Neville had some flies in a little package for Trevor.
Games of wizard chess, Go Fish, and Exploding Snap came out as the afternoon went on. Danger dug a novel and her knitting out of her bag and charmed the book to float in the air in front of her and turn the page when she told it to, so that she could read and knit at the same time. Remus had his quill out and was making notes on a long scroll, frowning thoughtfully between scribbling things down on it.
It had been raining for some time when the train began to slow down. Hermione dropped her Go Fish cards. "Quick, everyone get your robes on! We must have lost track of time, we’re nearly there!"
"Hold on a moment," said Remus, raising a hand. "No one panic." He flicked a spell into place to hold the two owls’ cages on the upper luggage rack just as the train stopped with a jerk which would otherwise have tumbled them out onto Harry and Ron’s heads.
"Thanks for that," said Ron, looking up at Hedwig’s cage, leaning precariously against the bonds of the spell.
"Anytime," said Remus.
Ginny, closest to the door, got up and peered out. "I don’t see anything unusual," she said. "Just a lot of people looking around — oh!"
The lights had just gone out.
"Everyone stay put," ordered Danger. "We don’t need you tripping over each other’s feet."
She felt an odd sensation, akin to having cold water drip down the back of her neck. Remus had just had a realization he didn’t like. What is it?
I think I know what may be going on here.
What?
I’ll tell you in a minute.
Danger growled under her breath as Remus conjured a handful of flames, lighting the compartment. Ginny was back in her seat, looking pale and worried, as did everyone.
The door of the compartment slid open. Crookshanks backed away from it, hissing. Danger looked and felt her stomach turn over. A tall, hooded figure, all in black, with its hand still on the doorframe — a hand which looked slimy and grey, like something which had decayed underwater...
A wave of chill swept over her, and darkness obliterated the light of Remus’ fire. She heard faint cries behind her, but they were overridden by a sudden scream, a scream she could not only hear but feel, because it was her own voice screaming, her own pain and anger and disbelief that her world could have been so suddenly ended, swept away with no warning and no regard for her...
Danger!
No, she whispered, ignoring the voice. Mum, Dad, no... please, not them, they can’t be dead... why not me? I’m not important, no one needs me that much...
That’s not true, said the voice firmly. I need you. Come back.
Come back? I wanted my mum and dad to come back...
I know you did, but they couldn’t. You can. You have cubs of your own now. They need you. I need you, to help them so I can send this thing away. Come back now.
You’ll send it away?
If you help me. I need you to come back first. Then I can send it away.
A spot of light appeared in the darkness surrounding her, light which she hurried toward. Fire, it was the light of a fire, strong and bright, and as she approached it, she felt an answering burning in her own soul —
And suddenly she was in a dark and cold train compartment again. I’m back, she told Remus.
Good. Remus had his wand out and was facing down the dementor. Take care of them. I need all my attention to get a good Patronus.
Danger conjured a handful of flames of her own and turned to the Pride.
Harry was lying on the floor, glasses askew. He seemed to have fainted. Meghan was on Neville’s lap, Ginny and Hermione clinging to Ron, one on each side. Luna was leaning back against the seat, eyes shut. Draco was pressed into the corner, his eyes wide in terror and just that bit unfocused which made Danger think he wasn’t seeing the compartment.
I might get through to him. I doubt I could help Harry at the moment. We’ll deal with him when this thing goes away.
She stood up and crossed to Draco, pulling him to his feet. He whimpered but didn’t fight her. "Hush, little fox," she whispered, sending the flames to hover over their heads so that she had both arms free to embrace him. "Everything is all right now. Come back to me. Whatever you’re seeing, it’s not real. It’s not real."
Draco shuddered all over and stared at her. "Are you real?"
"As real as you are," Danger told him, stroking his hair out of his eyes. The compartment was beginning to warm up again, and the unreasoning panic in the back of her mind was easing. "As real as you are."
Draco hugged her hard and held on. "Was that a dementor?"
"Yes. It was. But now it’s gone. Will you be all right?"
"I don’t know. I think so." Draco looked around. "Luna!" He let go of Danger and shook the blonde girl urgently. "Luna, wake up!"
"I’m awake," said Luna faintly. "Don’t bother me. I’m listening."
Thus freed, Danger glanced around. Neville was holding tightly to Meghan, his eyes squeezed shut. It looked like he was concentrating hard on something. Ron, Ginny, and Hermione were all very pale and shivering, but seemed to be comforting one another sufficiently. That left Harry.
Danger knelt beside him and touched his hand. It was cold, as though he’d been outdoors without a cloak or gloves, and his face was damp with sweat. Danger pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and began to wipe his face, humming as she did. It was a melody she’d learned from Aletha, one of her Pack-sister’s original compositions, written for a tiny boy with his father’s hair and his mother’s eyes. Aletha had sung it to Harry the night Danger and Remus stole him from the Dursleys, and many times since then.
If he can hear me, he’ll know it’s safe to come back.
Harry’s breath caught in his throat, and he moaned quietly. "How is he?" asked Remus, looking over Danger’s shoulder.
"I think he’s coming around." Danger shook Harry gently by the shoulder. "Harry, wake up. It’s all right."
The train began to move again with a jerk as the lights came back on. Hermione let go of Ron as if he were red-hot and scooted hastily down the seat. Crookshanks leapt up beside her and into her lap, where he began to purr so loudly Danger could hear it across the compartment. Neville peeled Meghan off his shoulder, revealing a large wet patch where her face had been. Luna opened her eyes and blinked several times, looking more owlish than ever.
Remus pulled the trunk he and Danger shared out from under the seat and opened it, digging around in it until he found two or three large bars of chocolate. "Here," he said, handing them to Ginny, who was closest. "Everyone gets some. I’ll be right back." He headed out of the compartment and up the corridor.
Ginny began snapping the chocolate into pieces and handing it around. Danger shook Harry again. "Wake up, Harry," she said. "Come on, time to get up." She submitted to a slightly evil urge. "You’re going to be late for Quidditch practice."
Harry’s eyelids shot open. Ron gave a shaky chuckle, and two or three other people managed weak grins.
Harry looked around the compartment, slowly pushing himself up to a sitting position with trembling hands. "That was a dementor," he said. "Wasn’t it?"
"Yes." Danger took a piece of chocolate from Ginny and handed it to Harry. "Eat that."
Harry stared at it a moment as though he’d forgotten how to eat, then lifted it to his mouth and took a bite. Danger took a piece for herself, and sucked on the lump she bit off rather than chewing it, savoring the rich, sweet flavor and the soft, creamy texture.
"You do need to get changed now, everyone," she said as Remus murmured information into the back of her mind. "We’ll be there in ten minutes. Is everyone all right?"
"Define your terms," muttered Draco.
"Will everyone be able to walk to the carriages, endure a ride to the school, pay at least nominal attention to the Sorting, eat supper, listen to announcements, and get to bed without falling over on the way there?"
Danger’s dry recitation of what they’d be required to do elicited a few more wobbly smiles and even a hesitant laugh or two. Harry pulled himself up onto the seat with Ron’s help, took another bite of his chocolate, and looked around the compartment, meeting everyone’s eyes before looking back at Danger. "I think we can do that," he said.
"Excellent."