DISCLAIMER: See
A/N: Well, not much to say here...
CHAPTER 4: SEEKING SYMPATHY
Vires flamma refleca capit. The rekindled flame takes on new strength. –Ovid, Fasti (3.144)
Harry went back up to his room to write a letter to Neville when he
noticed
a large brown owl. It held a letter in its beak, which bore the
Hogwarts crest.
Before he took the letter from it, he asked it to wait so he could
write a
letter before it took off. It hooted in agreement, and he opened the
letter to
see his O.W.L. (Ordinary Wizarding Level)
results.
O.W.L. results for: Harry James Potter
Astronomy: A
Care of Magical Creatures: E
Charms: E
Defense Against the Dark Arts: O*
Divination: T
Herbology: E
History of Magic: D
Potions: O
Transfiguration: E
(O* = Highest grade ever recorded on the subject in the history of the
O.W.L.
exams)
Harry was impressed with his grades. And to think he had gotten the
highest
DADA mark ever recorded! The bonus point for his Patronus
must have helped ensure his grade. What was more, he could pursue his
ambitions
of being an Auror by taking Snape's
N.E.W.T.-level Potions classes!
Just then, on a separate sheet of paper, Harry saw a letter from
Professor
McGonagall.
Dear Mr. Potter,
You have done exceedingly well on your O.W.L. exams. Like I said at
your Career
Advice appointment (even though it ended up in an argument between
myself and Umbridge), I would help you on
your career path to be an Auror. After
discussions with the Ministry of Magic, they
have seemed impressed with your career choice and have even allowed you
to
become an Animagus, should you choose to
do so.
After last year's fiasco with Umbridge,
your rights
to play Quidditch and visit Hogsmeade
have been returned, and all those ridiculous "Educational Decrees"
have been countersigned. Your Firebolt is
on its way
back to your house, though it may take a bit longer, since eight school
owls
had to be used to deliver it.
The other Professors and I offer our condolences after Sirius Black's
death.
There will be an appointment at 3 P.M. on Monday to give evidence that
he was
innocent, which will allow his will to be read if all goes well. This
should
give you enough time after the Grand Opening of Weasley's
Wizard Wheezes. All the members of the D.A. and all the teachers have
been
invited.
There is also one other thing. Professor Dumbledore will be coming by
tomorrow
at 1 P.M. to discuss the atrocities of Umbridge.
(We
know this already via the protective wards placed on your house.)
Sincerely,
Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress
Harry took out his pen and a fresh sheet of paper (he kept Muggle
stationary around these days so he could wisely use his quills, ink and
parchment once back at school), and wrote down a response.
Professor McGonagall,
Thank you for the letter and your condolences. I have been trying to
study Occlumency on my own time, and
Professor Snape will be pleased to know
that I've been able to shut Voldemort out
almost entirely. (I'm not entirely sure yet;
either I've cancelled him out of my dreams completely, or he's just
been very
quiet lately.) I'm looking forward to Dumbledore tomorrow and the Grand
Opening
on Saturday. I also happened to have given Fred and George the thousand
Galleons I won from the Triwizard
Tournament. I
didn't want the money, Cedric Diggory's
parents
didn't want it, and the twins need it, end of story. In retrospect, it
was a
good idea too, since it helped them find new ways to drive Umbridge
insane, from the Wildfire Whiz-Bangs to the
Also, regarding my choice to be an Auror,
you said
they accepted no less than 5 O.W.L.s, and
you
mentioned four subjects I would need: DADA, Transfiguration, Charms,
and
Potions. Do you think they would accept Care of Magical Creatures? I
can easily
cooperate with phoenixes, hippogriffs, and threstrals.
Also, my skills as a Parselmouth (a skill Voldemort accidentally gave me the first time he
tried to
kill me), means I could cooperate with a whole variety of snakes and
serpents.
Furthermore, Aurors have to be tested for
handling
pressure, etc. I've seen people die, I've gotten a whole load of
injuries, as
Madam Pomfrey will attest to, I'm sure,
even the
occasional Cruciatus Curse. All in all,
I'm no
stranger to pain. Do you think those would make for good credentials.
Sincerely,
Harry Potter
He rolled up the letter, gave it to the owl, and sent it out the
window. No
sooner than the owl had taken off than eight owls had flown in with the
Firebolt in a box. Harry released the owls
of their burden,
and they flew off. With a pang in his heart, Harry remembered how it
was the
first thing Sirius had even given him. With a sad look on his face, he
put it
at the bottom of its trunk. He then decided to write a letter to
Neville.
Just writing it could be a challenge in itself. If Neville was
something
like Ron, Harry would have his pride to deal with. Neville probably
didn't want
to be seen as usual as the forgetful boy with trouble in most of his
classes.
In the end, Harry decided to write it as respectfully and honestly as
possible.
Besides, he knew that Neville could do with more self-esteem.
Neville,
I hope you're OK after last summer. Now I've lost someone to the hands
of that
Death Eater, Bellatrix Lestrange.
Sirius Black was innocent this whole time, and I'll be able to prove it
at the
Ministry this Monday, after the Grand Opening of the Weasley
twins' new shop.
I also got my O.W.L. results today. Got the highest mark ever recorded
in DADA.
I hope you at least did well in Herbology;
you're
good at that.
I think the reason you've been having trouble in most of your classes
all these
years was because you were using your father's wand. Since I'm also
responsible
for your wand being broken after the battle in the Department of
Mysteries a
month ago, I should probably buy you a new wand. I hope your
grandmother didn't
give you a hard time. It was brave and noble of you to come along, but
one
thing I should have pointed out at those D.A. meetings was that,
however
well-trained you are, it's still best to avoid him if you can. Anyway,
when we
get you a new wand, I wonder what your Patronus
would
look like.
I'm also writing this since I know you have hard something of a
hard life
yourself. I accidentally found out about your parents towards the end
of my
fourth year, and Dumbledore explained to me about them and swore me to
secrecy.
I can sympathize with you on some points, and I wanted to let you know
that
during the upcoming war, I will not hesitate to work with you. Even
during the
fight in the Department of Mysteries, I could feel some sort of hidden
potential in you. I have an instinct that you can be immensely helpful
to us,
and my instinct has hardly let me down.
Sincerely,
Harry
Harry then got started on another letter, this one to Cho.
This one could prove to be even more difficult, seeing how abruptly
their
relationship ended. In the end, Harry decided to follow with the
philosophy of
never arguing with woman, because "they're always right." Some
humility and respect would be the best way to get Cho
to read it.
Cho,
It's me, Harry. There were just a few things I wanted to sort out with
you.
First of all, I admit to the fact that I could have done things
differently
last year. You're smart, beautiful, clever, and a true friend. You were
even
among those who helped vouch for me that day in the Hog's Head. Even
during the
Triwizard Tournament, you were one of the
few who
didn't believe Rita Skeeter's lies about
me. I should
not have been cold and unforgiving like that. I should have shown more
gratitude and sympathy towards you.
I hear you're going out with someone else now. I know that's none of my
business, but I just wanted to settle a few things. It would help me
ease the
grief I have right now. Sirius Black, the man who everyone thought was
a
criminal, was innocent this whole time. He was my godfather, my
parents' best
friend, and even the one who gave me that Firebolt.
He died trying to protect me that night in the Department of Mysteries
in the
Ministry of Magic. This Monday, a few hours after the Grand Opening of
the Weasley twins' new shop in Diagon
Alley, I'll get the chance to prove that he was innocent, once and for
all.
The point of this letter is that I can now see what you're going
through,
with losing someone close to you. You lost Cedric and were trying to
cope with
it; now I lost Sirius to that Death Eater named Bellatrix
Lestrange.
Maybe we can talk more at the Grand Opening, if you want.
Sincerely,
Harry
Okay, it was a little emotional, a little overdone, but at least Cho would work with it.
Harry sealed both letters. Put the names of the addressees on them, and
told
Hedwig, "One is for Neville, the other is for Cho.
Think you can deliver to them? I've never sent them mail before."
Hedwig hooted reassuringly, Neville's letter in her beak, and Cho's letter in her claws, and soared out
through the open
window. So now at least he had someone to talk to. It was a start.
(End of Chapter 4.)
A/N: As much as a lot of you will surely disagree with this, I am
doing this
because Cho plays a HUGE role later on in
the story. Also,
she won't start a romantic relationship with Harry again, but there
will be
SOME interaction between them.