Chapter Seven: No Longer at the Kid’s Table
As they arrived in front of the stone gargoyle, Harry sensed the magic protecting the office and knew exactly where he was. It was a wonderful feeling, he decided. He waved his hand and pulled Ginny forward, unaware that everyone else had stopped in shock.
“How did you do that, Harry?” one of the twins asked in awe.
“Do what?” Harry stopped, confused.
“You made the gargoyle move, without the password!” Arthur exclaimed. “This could be a real security issue for Professor McGonagall, if anyone can just walk into her office.”
Harry cursed himself for not thinking about what he was doing. Fawkes landed on his shoulder and Harry felt the burst of heat that told him the bird was visible again.
“I’m sure it was just Fawkes,” Harry said, “After living here for so long the security is probably geared to open for him.”
Fawkes was laughing at the very idea, knowing that he could appear and disappear anywhere in the school without having to worry about such trifles as doors. At least everyone else seemed to buy it, Harry thought, since no one said anything as they filed into the office. Of course, he couldn’t see the suspicious looks all of them were giving him.
“Since when were we allowed to attend Order meetings, anyway?” Harry asked, trying to change the subject.
“Ever since a certain meeting with Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger convinced me that you probably know more than the Order does,” came the wry response from Professor McGonagall.
Harry smiled unabashedly at this comment, and allowed Ginny to guide him to a seat.
“It wasn’t Fawkes, was it Harry,” she stated in a whisper, right next to his ear.
His smile faltered. So much for that excuse, he thought, and Fawkes fluffed up his feathers in indignation, telling him it was a lousy excuse anyway. Harry didn’t say anything. He was trying to decide how much to reveal in this meeting.
“Who is here?” he asked, deciding that that would greatly influence how much he would share.
He was informed that Remus, Tonks, Moody, and all of the Weasleys, except for Percy, Charlie, and Bill were there. Bill had apparently gone to spend some time with Fleur. All of the other Order members were on assignment, attempting to protect the world from the ever increasing attacks from Death Eaters.
Harry decided that everyone here was trustworthy, and was certain he couldn’t do what he needed without more help. Almost everyone here knew about the prophecy anyway, and the Weasleys certainly deserved to know. He was about to open his mouth to begin talking, but Professor McGonagall interrupted him.
“I’m sure we’ll have time for you to share your thoughts, Harry, but if you don’t mind, I will conduct this meeting.”
Harry flushed, embarrassed that he was taking charge of things without thinking. He nodded for McGonagall to continue.
She then proceeded to tell them all about recent Death Eater attacks, and it became obvious that Voldemort had no pattern or goals beyond instilling fear in the world. He said as much and added, “He’s stalling for something.”
“Very good, Mr. Potter,” McGonagall continued, impressed that he had picked up on that. “We believe he is stalling so that he can get to you and finish you before trying to take over.”
Mrs. Weasley was mortified.
“How can you say that? Why would You-Know-Who put everything on hold for Harry? And even if it’s true you shouldn’t say it. He’s only a ch-”
“She can say it because I already know it,” Harry interrupted. “And I’m supposed to be of age now, so I’m not a child. Voldemort wants to kill me because I’m the only one who can kill him.”
Everyone who hadn’t known the prophecy was sitting speechless. Harry then related to everyone the contents of the prophecy.
“Voldemort only knows the beginning, but that is enough to tell him that I have the power to vanquish him. He wanted the whole prophecy to see if it would give him any clues as to how I survived, and how best to kill me. I think right now, though, he would settle for one of his followers cursing me in the back,” he finished.
Mrs. Weasley was sobbing openly now, and Arthur was trying to comfort her, but sounded too dazed himself to do much good. Ginny, who knew all of this already, squeezed Harry’s hand.
It was one of the twins who spoke first. “You know we’re with you, Harry. No matter what happens.”
The uncharacteristic seriousness of the voice, coupled with the words deeply touched Harry, and as the rest of the people present echoed the sentiment, including Molly and Arthur, Harry couldn’t fight the lump rising in his throat or the burning in his eyes.
“Thank you,” he whispered hoarsely, “That means a lot to me.” His voice broke slightly as he finished, and Fawkes began singing reassuringly.
“So we need to decide how we’re going to get you ready to face the Dark Lord,” Moody mused darkly. “We can probably get a few aurors and others to come train you while you’re in school this year, and we can work out what to do about your eyes. We might even be able to start during the summer.”
“We’re not going back to school this year,” Hermione started, deciding that now was the best time to have this confrontation. She rolled her eyes at Ron’s terror at her breaching the subject, but Harry interrupted her before she could continue or Mrs. Weasley could blow up.
“Things have changed, Hermione. I can’t go on as we’d planned like this, at least not until I can get used to being blind. I was going to ask, Professor McGonagall, if I could come to school, but not attend classes. I could take Moody up on his offer, and be training instead. That way Ron and Hermione can continue taking classes as well, and if everything works out, I’ll just finish school with Ginny next year.”
Hermione was beside herself with elation at this suggestion, and Ron didn’t seem unhappy. Molly was mollified, at least. Ginny threw her arms around him, and he could hear the emotion in her voice as she whispered to him.
“I won’t have to be here alone! Thank you, Harry.” He put his arm around her and pulled her tightly to him.
“I think that could probably be arranged, Mr. Potter. We would need to come up with a plausible reason for you to be here, besides just training, but I have some ideas that I will share with you later. We also need to decide where you will be staying the rest of the summer before we can close this meeting,” Professor McGonagall added. “I would suggest that the Burrow would be less secure than either Grimmauld Place or here at Hogwarts.”
“I think that staying here would be best,” Harry stated. “Has the vanishing cabinet has been destroyed?”
“Yes, and I’ve already asked Remus to help me seal the secret entrances to the grounds tomorrow,” McGonagall answered.
“Would it be possible for us to stay as well?” Mrs. Weasley demanded.
Harry’s heart swelled with gratitude that the only people who had really treated him like family would be staying with him, even though they could return to their own home. They were assured they could stay, and the meeting was concluded so that preparations for the party could be made, though McGonagall asked Harry if he would stay for a moment. Harry asked if Ginny could remain with him, and after some hesitation, McGonagall agreed. No one could miss how dependent he was becoming on Ginny, including Harry, but she was pleased with being so important to him, and McGonagall didn’t have the heart to separate them, though she decided she would have to keep an eye on them as well. She wished Albus had left instructions on how he always seemed to know everything that was going on in the school.
“I just wished to talk to you about your financial situation, Harry,” she began, “Since you are now of age, you are now able to take control of your full inheritance from your parents.”
Harry appeared to be confused. “I already have all of the money they left me, and all of the money Sirius left me as well. What else is there?”
“The money you had in your vault was only a tenth of your inheritance, and you were given access to it so that you would be able to pay for school. Gringotts has now placed the full amount into your vault, and while this doesn’t make you necessarily wealthy beyond belief, you could probably live comfortably off the interest, as your father did.”
“What did he do for a living then?” Harry asked. McGonagall smiled.
“He was our Quidditch referee and flying lessons instructor before Madame Hooche, though he worked for free. He just enjoyed flying.”
Harry closed his eyes as his heart gave a lurch. Flying! He would never be able to play Quidditch if he couldn’t see. I’ll never fly again, he thought, devastated.
McGonagall continued, “There is also the matter of Professor Dumbledore’s will. He left half of his considerable fortune to his brother Aberforth, and had intended to leave you the rest, Harry.”
“I don’t want it!” Harry interrupted forcefully, forgetting about flying for the moment, “Give it to the Weasleys or throw it away.”
“Harry!” Ginny exclaimed, her face turning red in embarrassment, “We don’t need charity!”
McGonagall interrupted before they could fight over the issue. “Albus said you would say that Harry, so he wrote in his will that they were to be the final recipients. Albus just wanted you to know that he really did care for you, more than you’ll ever know. He also insisted that most of the personal belongings he left in this office, including the pensieve, be left to you instead, though some of the items seem to be broken or in poor repair”
Ginny eyes popped. “Do my parents know?”
“Yes, they were informed as soon as the will was read, and the money has already been transferred to their vault.”
Harry was occupied thinking about the different things that were in Dumbledore’s office. He found he knew how to use many of the objects he remembered, and he knew they would all be extremely useful, though most of them would do no good in his fight with Voldemort. He also knew that anything that was broken had been broken when he had destroyed practically everything in the office at the end of his fifth year, and knew that Dumbledore had left some un-repaired on purpose, though whether as a joke or a remonstration, he couldn’t tell. Judging by Fawkes’ amusement, it was probably a joke.
“Can I leave those items here for now,” Harry asked.
“Of course, though you’ll have to let me know if you want to use any of them while they are here. I can’t have people walking into my office without permission or a password,” she said, though not unkindly.
Harry flushed, but ignored the comment. He thanked Professor McGonagall, and he and Ginny made their way out of the office.
**********
Ginny had been tasked with keeping Harry occupied and away from the Great Hall while everyone was busy preparing, so she asked him if he would like to take a walk on the grounds.
“That would be brilliant,” he exclaimed, “I don’t think I’ve been outside in forever.”
She had wondered why her mother had insisted on going to all of the trouble with decorating since Harry wouldn’t be able to see any of it to appreciate it, but she knew her mother would not relent on the issue, and so she hadn’t said anything. She was glad it provided her an excuse to get some time alone with Harry, though.
She led him out into the summer afternoon warmth, leading him by the hand until they were out by the lake, where they finally sat under a tree for some shade.
As she sat, rejoicing in the arm he kept around her, she felt a surge of sorrow at his condition. She was determined to help him live his life happily no matter what happened, and his blindness certainly didn’t affect how she felt about him, but it was sad that he wouldn’t be able to enjoy the sight of a beautiful summer day.
Still, he seemed content, and kept a smile was on his face. Fawkes was singing merrily from a branch high in the tree, and seemed to be enjoying the sun as well. She ran a hand through his newly re-grown hair, and he sighed with pleasure at her touch.
“Your hair looks good again, Harry,” she told him happily, pulling him back until he was lying down as she leaned over him continuing to play with his hair. “You don’t look very good bald, you know.”
He laughed as she continued. “I like how I can see your eyes now too. I bet it’s nice not to have to wear glasses all of the time.”
“Thanks for helping me see the good in everything, Ginny,” he said, grinning, as he pulled her down next to him. He found her face and kissed her fiercely, and she responded in kind.
“That’s what I’m here for, Harry.”
“What am I here for, then?” he asked, growing more serious.
“You’re here to make everything bad and scary in the world disappear so that we can make each other happy for the rest of our lives,” she responded, her tone joking, but inwardly very serious, and he knew she was.
“I’ll do what I can,” he answered, grinning again. “How long do you have to keep me out here?”
She slapped his arm. “Am I such boring company?”
“No! I just wanted to know how you were planning on keeping me entertained until the party starts.”
“I had a few things in mind…” She said, kissing him again. She pulled back just long enough to say “Happy late birthday Harry,” before he pulled her back.
*********
The party that evening was a great success. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had bought him a completely new wardrobe and had thrown the last of his old ill-fitting clothing away. Ron had given him a large assortment of sweets, and the twins gave him a box full of items from their shop, including several of the very useful defense items from their back room. Hermione, true to form, had found what she called a Book Reader, which felt like a very stiff bookmark. All he had to do was stick it in the page he was at in a book, and a voice would read the book aloud so that only he could hear it. He thanked her profusely, touched at her thoughtfulness. Ginny joked about having originally bought him a hat, but deciding to return it when Madame Pomfrey fixed his hair so quickly. She had gotten him an Item Finder, which felt like a television remote control, and would help guide him to whatever item he was looking for.
“So you can find your own clothes without help when you want to take a shower,” she had whispered jokingly in his ear.
It was obvious that many gifts must have been changed in response to his current condition, but Harry was touched at how thoughtful everyone had been.
The food was fantastic; Harry learned that Mrs. Weasley had chased several house elves out of the kitchen so that she could prepare most of it herself, and the cake had been especially good.
Perhaps most entertaining were the antics of the twins; every so often one of them would be acting normal and suddenly turn into donkey, or start laughing uncontrollably, or have bats fly out of their drink and flap around their head while screeching madly. Ginny kept up a running commentary on what was happening to them, while Ron was kept bent over laughing almost permanently. Even Hermione was starting to giggle at each new thing.
Finally, they both grew desperate, and demanded to know what Harry had done to them.
“I combined a Secrecy Spell with a Triggering Charm,” he informed them, “So that anything you tried to do secretly would be triggered before it could reach anyone else, which, most importantly, includes me.”
“Blimey! Can you teach us how to do that?” one of them exclaimed.
“It would make a fantastic product!” the other agreed.
Neither were upset in the slightest, of course, because their products had still been demonstrated successfully, and that was all they cared about. Harry was assured that they wouldn’t single him out unfairly and removed his spells.
“That was some really impressive magic, Harry,” Hermione stated quietly, “All without a wand again. Are you ready to tell us how you can do all of this yet?”
Harry hesitated. He would have to tell him eventually, but he wasn’t sure how any of them, especially Hermione, would react. How would anyone react to finding out one of their best friends had all of the knowledge of the greatest wizard of the age, while being only seventeen years old?
Before he could say anything, however, the doors to the Great Hall burst open and the sound of people running into the room filled Harry’s ears. His tension at the sound turned to panic as Ginny screamed.
“Death Eaters! At least a dozen of them!” she shrieked. Harry instantly threw up a shield that covered himself and Ginny, and Ron and Hermione, and curses immediately began impacting on it as the room filled with deadly magic and terrifying shouts and screams.