DISCLAIMER: See Ch. 1.

A/N: Originally, I used those squiggly marks as quotations for Parseltounge and those caret marks for telepathic speech with phoenixes. Now, italics will be for Parseltongue and italics plus bold lettering will be used for "Phoenixian."

CHAPTER 21: NEW YEAR, NEW PROBLEMS

Se in fugam conferunt. They take refuge in flight. –Cicero, pro Caecina (22)

The day after New Year's, Harry and his friends returned to Hogwarts after lunch. Throughout the hall, some girls pointed and giggled at Harry, which he tried to ignore the best he could. After putting his trunk back in the room, he carried the basket with his Runespoor down to Dumbledore's office. Walking in, Dumbledore greeted him. "What's in the basket, Harry?"

Opening it up, he said, "Nemesis, Morpheus and Momus," pointing to each of the separate heads. "So, what do I do about this? Think I should keep my little three-headed friend in my dorm room?"

"Yes, but if he gets loose, you're responsible; I will even use your salary to get a tank for him, if you want. I can get one in by the end of the day."

"I'm well aware of that, sir, and thank you; the tank sounds excellent. Believe me, if Hagrid could tame a three-headed dog, I think I can take care of a three-headed snake."

"I'm sure you will, Harry, and if you feel that he, sorry, they are too much to deal with at any point, I'm sure I can offer you a three- headed goldfish."

Laughing, Harry said, "Thanks, sir, I'll remember it. Also, what do these guys eat?"

"Large insects, such as cockroaches, as well as rats. I'm sure even Dobby can supply him, er, them with meet from the kitchens."

"Can he be trusted around cats, owls and toads? I don't want to be responsible for anybody's pet being eaten."

"Yes, which is why he's also allowed, in addition to that rule I mentioned to you."

Over in a corner, Fawkes was eyeing the Runespoor curiously as it slithered up to him. "Hiya, birdie!" Morpheus greeted him.

"You could be a good friend to us," Nemesis speculated.

Turning to Fawkes, Momus said "Ah, a phoenix; you are so wise and loyal; I approve." Fawkes whistled, glad to meet this new creature.

"Well, Fawkes seems to like him," Dumbledore chuckled. "Speaking of which, Harry, " he added, "You should go down to Hagrid's cabin, take a look at the egg. It should be ready to hatch soon. I'm sure Hagrid will also be interested in your new Runespoor."

"Thank you, sir." Then he said to the Runespoor, "Come along, guys; I want you to meet a new friend."

"'Bye, Fawkesie," the three heads chorused; Fawkes trilled a farewell.

As they slithered back into the basket, Harry put a Heating Charm on it so they wouldn't get too cold. After going back up to his dorm, he got his cloak and carried the basket with him under his arm. Once outside, he said to them through their basket, "I need to come up with a collective name for you three; I'm sorry, but I've never had a pet before that was three entities in one."

"How about an acronym of all our names?" hissed Momus.

"Okay, um, Emenem?" suggested Morpheus. (1)

"How about making a combination of our names?" Nemesis suggested.

"Nemorphus?" said Harry.

"That sounds good," Momus said. The other two heads chimed in "Yes! We like it!"

"Okay, Nemorphus it is when I address all three of you together, my new Runespoor friend," confirmed Harry as they reached Hagrid's hut.

After knocking on the door twice, Hagrid opened it. "Hiya, Harry! What's in the basket?"

"A pet Runespoor that Dumbledore let me keep," he explained. Opening it, he went on, "The right head is Nemesis, the middle is Morpheus, and the left is Momus. I decided to give them 'Nemorphus' as a collective name."

"Crikey, a Runespoor! I was looking for one of these for my next lesson this Thursday! May I borrow him for then?"

Turning to the Runespoor, Harry asked, "Will you help out my friend Hagrid for his Care of Magical Creatures lesson this Thursday? He's teaching his class about Runespoors; don't worry, I'll be there too to help."

After all three heads conferred with each other, they hissed, "We agree!"

"They agree," Harry told Hagrid. "Here, want to hold him while I check up on the egg? Please be careful, they're not fully mature yet."

"Don't worry, I'll handle them!" Gently letting Nemorphus slither around in his hand, Harry went over to examine the egg. He was running his hand down it lovingly, waiting to see what was in it. Suddenly, it shuddered, and a crack began to form along the top.

"Hagrid! It's hatching!"

Hagrid immediately thundered across the cabin, the Runespoor also looking at it curiously. "Open up! Open up!" they chanted impatiently. With every shudder, another crack appeared. A few moments later, the egg fell apart.

Sitting in the center was a tiny, featherless pale red bird with golden claws and beak. Its eyes were tightly shut, and it gave a tiny chirp that sounded like cute little music. It opened its glowing dark eyes and studied Harry, tilting its head a little while doing so.

"Aw, lookit the little guy," Hagrid said like when Norbert hatched.

"ANOTHER phoenix!?" Momus exclaimed.

Picking up the bird and holding it to him, Harry looked down at it as it chirped excitedly, making Harry feel infatuated with it in a parental sort of way. "Hello, little guy. I found your egg and rescued it from a dangerous place. My name is Harry."

The baby phoenix suddenly glowed a little, and a white beam connected from its eyes to Harry's.

"Hello, Harry," a voice said inside his head. "Thank you for rescuing me. I know of what was going on even as I was gestating inside my egg, from the stronghold to this castle. I will work with you as a partner, the same way your mentor and his phoenix treat each other as equals. I will be able to understand everything you say, and we can even communicate mentally. Anyway, I should reach my mature stage in about a week. This thing you may describe as a 'light beam' is me familiarizing myself with you. I can also project my "thought-speech" to any number of people, whether I choose to or not."

"Harry, did you hear that too?" asked Hagrid.

"Yes, I did."

"We heard it too!"

"So, what should I name you?" Harry asked. "Ardeavis?"

"'Firebird?' It works for me."

"Well, Ardeavis, this is my friend Hagrid, and this is my pet Runespoor. Individually, they're Nemesis, Morpheus and Momus; collectively, they're Nemorphus."

"A pleasure to meet you," hissed Nemesis.

"You're so cool!" exclaimed Morpheus.

"I wish to befriend you," declared Momus.

"Can you understand what they're saying?" the boy asked his new phoenix.

"Yes. Regardless of language or species, I can understand what they're saying through gestures and by gazing into their eyes through their emotions. Phoenixes have a kind of ability similar to what you may call Legilimency. Your Runespoor I can cooperate with. I like them."

"Anyway, why don't we go back to the castle, Ardeavis? I'm sure Professor Dumbledore would like to see you."

"Ah, yes, your Headmaster. I might like him already."

"Harry, since I have to see Professor Dumbledore anyway, can I carry the birdie?" Hagrid asked.

"Sure, Hagrid." Exchanging the two young magical creatures, Hagrid cooed to the little phoenix, which was chirping excitedly. The Runespoor settled itself on Harry's shoulders, having a two-way conversation with itself. As they entered Dumbledore's office, Fawkes swooped over to inspect the new arrival. The older phoenix trilled excitedly, while Professor Dumbledore came over to have a look.

"Professor Dumbledore, meet Ardeavis, and vice versa," Harry said.

"Cute little guy," Dumbledore mused, petting the baby phoenix.

"Wise old man," Ardeavis responded in a witty manner.

"Professor, why is it that this phoenix can communicate telepathically? I don't remember Fawkes doing anything like this before."

"From what I've heard, when a phoenix is first born, it can communicate telepathically in order to survive. After it's first Burning, it loses that ability, but its familiar (if it has one), will automatically know what it means after that."

"Interesting. Should I keep him in my dorm room too?"

"I'll write up a special form to let you keep them. I'm sure the Ministry would want a couple of rare creatures helping them out in the struggle against Voldemort."

"Great. If you want, you can also withdraw gold from my vault in order to pay for a perch or something."

"Done. Anyway, a certain house elf should have a tank set up for Nemorphus by now."

"Thank you, sir. Have a nice day."

Once he entered the Gryffindor common room, people automatically saw the baby bird on Harry's shoulder and the basket under his arm. "Aw, look at the cute little bird!" "What species is it?" "Does it have a name?"

"I found this phoenix when it was still an egg. I found the egg deep within Voldemort's stronghold towards the end of that battle. His name is Ardeavis."

"Hello," it said while chirping excitedly.

Ginny and Hermione came over to pet it. "Aw, it's so cute!" Ginny gushed.

"Will you be able to raise it?" Hermione asked Harry.

"Yeah, Dumbledore gave me permission, since it might help us fight against Voldemort."

The basket suddenly wobbled and hissed, and everybody backed up. "What's in the basket, Harry?" Neville asked fearfully.

"Technically, it's not illegal to own one of these guys, if you're a Parselmouth." Opening the basket, all three Runespoor heads popped out as Morpheus said, 'Hello, world!" A couple of girls screamed, but everyone else just stared at it.

"A RUNESPOOR!?" Ron exclaimed. "Harry, are you crazy?"

"No, I'm perfectly sane, thank you. Likewise, my little serpentine friend here can also be used to help."

"HELP?" Ron exclaimed disbelievingly. "What do you mean, help?"

Looking Ron straight in the eye, Harry said, "How many Parselmouths do you know other than me who hate Voldemort?"

The redhead got the idea. Then he asked, "How did you get the Parseltongue ability anyway?"

Matter-of-factly, Harry responded, "Dumbledore concluded that when Voldemort failed to kill me the first time around, like when the Killing Curse rebounded and hit him, I somehow obtained his ability to speak to snakes. Not a bad deal, really; I get an advantage he has, he gets blasted out of a body for more than a decade."

Ron's eyes widened. "You somehow obtained his ability?"

Harry shrugged, trying to ignore the stares and deathly quiet around the common room. "He screwed up, and that's what happened."

Ron found his voice and said, "Harry, no offense, but there are still some people out there who might think you could go Dark; ever since they found out you were a Parselmouth, some people still think that. I would know, because my dad still works at the Ministry, and some people still think that. With a Runespoor as a pet, people might think that even more. It's basically a fact of wizarding life: Parselmouths are Dark wizards."

"Then apparently, I just invalidated that fact," Harry said coldly, turning on his heel and doing back up to his dormitory, hoping to avoid another fight. Ardeavis chirped disapprovingly on his shoulder and Nemorphus hissed as though telling Ron off.

Back in his dorm room, Dobby was just setting up a tank, with Heating Charms, water bowl, grass, and another bowl by the corner, which the Runespoor would use as a sort of "chamber pot," which was enchanted to vanish its contents every hour. As the house elf finished, he turned around and said, "Hello, Harry Potter sir! Dobby was just fixing up the tank for the new Runespoor!"

"Thanks, Dobby, and it looks excellent," Harry replied, making Dobby beam with pride. Opening up the basket, he picked up Nemorphus and gently placed him in the tank. "I plan to get used to this," mused Nemesis. "I love this place!" declared Morpheus. "I approve of our new home," stated Momus.

"And the Runespoor likes it too," Harry added, making Dobby beam even more. Suddenly, Dobby said, "And what is the bird on Harry Potter's shoulder?"

"My new pet phoenix, Ardeavis," the boy replied as his bird chirped. "Anyway, can you get a perch or something?"

"Yes, Harry Potter sir! Professor Dumbledore just acquired a perch for you!" Disappearing and reappearing in a moment, Dobby was carrying a perch for Ardeavis. Setting it next to Harry's bed, Dobby gently climbed up Harry, took the baby phoenix in his hands, and placed him on the soft base, underneath the perch.

"Thanks, Dobby. Don't worry about feeding them; I'll do that, although I may have to get some food from the kitchens in order to feed them. Come to think of it, what sort of foods would they eat?" Harry wondered.

"Beef and pork work for us," Morpheus replied.

"Fruits and vegetables are a necessity in my current state," Ardeavis thought-spoke.

"Thanks, guys."

"Dobby must leave, and Dobby is glad to have helped!" With a crack, the house elf was gone.

Harry went back down, hoping to get some work done in his office, only to be greeted by stony silence. "Seriously, what's your problem?" he asked the students as a whole.

"Well, how is it that you get to keep two additional animals?" Ron asked, sounding resentful.

"Because I found the phoenix egg at Voldemort's stronghold, somebody sent me the Runespoor egg for Christmas, and Dumbledore told me to take care of both. Is that good enough for you? Otherwise, you can go argue with Dumbledore about his orders; I'm not stopping you."

Ron looked taken aback and glared at him. Before he could say anything else, however, Harry cut him off. "Ron, let's not fight again; I'm not in the mood to hex you right now," Harry warned him.

Backing Ron up, Hermione butted in, "Harry, we don't want that thing slithering around our tower."

This surprised Harry. "Et tu, Hermione?" he quoted Ron. It hurt to see her acting like this towards him. "Besides, I'm not going to set him loose on anyone, not even around the tower, and it's not as though it will eat anybody's pets. Stop acting like this; you're acting like Ron now. You're not being very sensible right now."

Ron's ears started to go red, which was always a danger sign, while Hermione did an impression of Professor McGonagall about to get angry. Trying to avoid a problem, Harry wordlessly stormed out of Gryffindor Tower. He spent the rest of the afternoon in the office, preparing all his things for the following week's classes. On his way out an hour later, Professor McGonagall confronted him.

"Potter, what's all this I'm hearing about a Runespoor in your room?"

"Professor Dumbledore assigned me to take care of it. Please don't tell me you're siding with the other students who think I'm going Dark or something."

"Of course not, Potter. But they have already signed a petition asking that you remove your new pet from your dorm room."

This shocked Harry. "I could keep it down here, of course, but I can't believe they would go so far as to sign a petition when they could have just asked me. DOBBY!"

Pop. "Yes, Harry Potter sir?"

"If it's no problem, Dobby, could you please get my Runespoor and his tank and move him down here to my office? It seems that my classmates don't want him in my dorm room."

"No problem at all, Harry Potter! Dobby will remove Harry Potter's Runespoor and tank to down here!" With a pop he was gone. Five seconds and another pop later, Dobby was carrying the tank with Nemorphus inside of it. As Dobby placed it on a countertop, Harry said, "Thanks, Dobby."

"My pleasure, Harry Potter!"

As Dobby vanished again ("pop"), Harry turned back to his Head of House and said, "Problem solved, Professor."

"Thank you, Potter." Suddenly, Morpheus asked, "What was that all about?"

"My classmates don't seem to want you up there. Don't worry, though, I will still visit you and everything."

"We know you will, Harry, you're our friend," Nemesis reassured him.

"Your classmates are being foolish in the meantime, that's all," Momus added.

Professor McGonagall looked shocked. "Sorry, but what was that?"

"I explained the situation. Besides, why does everyone look so scared when I speak in Parseltongue?"

Regaining her composure, she said, "It must be the way it sounds. Maybe to most people, it sounds almost sinister."

"When I speak that language, I don't even seem to realize that I'm switching languages."

"Maybe because it seems so natural to you. Anyway, good evening." With that, she swept out of the office for the Great Hall for dinner.

After petting each of the Runespoor's heads, Harry went down to dinner. People were automatically pointing and whispering at him. The Slytherins, however, were eyeing him suspiciously. Cho ran up to him, asking, "Harry, is it true, do you actually own a Runespoor?"

"Yes, but it's perfectly legal for a Parselmouth to own one, and Professor Dumbledore assigned me to take care of it. My Runespoor is actually rather nice and friendly."

"Nearly everybody seems to think that you're up to something."

"Then nearly everybody is being irrational and illogical. Anyway, you want to see him later? I'm sure he'd like to meet you."

"Oh, sure."

"Meet me in my office later, I'll introduce you to him. 'Bye, Cho."

"'Bye, Harry."

As he walked over to the Gryffindor table, some people looked at him in an unfriendly way, and he was about to sit down next to Ron when he suddenly jumped up and said, "Don't you dare sit near me, snake-lover!"

Eyeing Ron while everybody went deadly quiet, Harry said, "You know, Ron, if it weren't for the Parseltongue ability which I accidentally got, I would have never saved your dear sister's life from the Chamber of Secrets."

"He's got a point, Ron," Ginny piped in, looking very defensive of Harry, which reminded him a lot of Mrs. Weasley. There was some collective agreement between all the different tables at this.

"Ginny, he's got a Runespoor for crying out loud! Everybody knows that Parselmouths are Dark Wizards!"

"Like I said earlier, Ron, I just invalidated that fact, so apparently, not all Parselmouths are Dark wizards."

Suddenly grabbing Harry and forcing him against the table, causing everyone to gasp and pay attention, Ron said in a tone for everybody to hear, "Listen carefully, Potter, you'd better not pull anything funny. You have a Runespoor, the Hat wanted to put you into Slytherin-" everybody gasped and muttered at that fact "-and you're the only one who seems to be able to fight You-Know-Who. Those facts don't look very good, and you're up to something and I know it. Just stay away from my sister and friends, you snake freak. How many different languages do I have to say it in?" Ron then made a whole bunch of hissing sounds, imitating Parseltongue, which caused Harry to burst out laughing. Looking confused, Ron demanded, "What's so funny?"

Chortling, Harry said, "Do you have any idea what you just said, Ron?" Now Ron looked fearful and embarrassed, and he said, "You said something like 'All hail the mutant guinea pigs.'" (2)

While the rest of the Hall burst into laughter, Harry pushed Ron off of him and started to retreat towards the kitchens. At the door, he remembered something. "Oh, and Ron, next time I have a pet you don't like, just ask me to put it some place else instead of having to resort to an unnecessary petition." He was just at the door suddenly knocked off his feet and thrown into it. Landing roughly on his feet and knowing exactly who did it, he spun around and sent another Spider-Bogey Hex at Ron. Leaving for the kitchens, he could have sworn he heard the spiders ripping Ron's robes apart.

~*~*~*~

Ten minutes later, Harry was finishing his steak and took three baskets up with him to his office, containing beef patties (for Nemorphus), apples and carrots (for Ardeavis), and a few éclairs (for himself). As he threw the beef patties into the tank, he asked his Runespoor, "How long can you guys go without food, anyway?"

"A week," replied Nemesis simply.

"Okay. By the way, how long until you reach your adult size?"

"In about a month," answered Momus.

"Hey!" interjected Morpheus! "Who's the female in the doorway?"

Harry turned around to see Cho waiting there for him. "Oh, hi Cho. Come in."

Cho came over and observed the Runespoor. "Hey, it's actually not that bad. What are their names?"

Harry opened the tank and took Nemorphus out, letting them slither on his arm. Pointing out the heads, he said, "Nemesis, Morpheus and Momus; collectively, they're Nemorphus. Go on, you can pet them."

"Wow, she's a cute one!" Morpheus said as she petted them.

"Harry, you and her would make a great couple!" said Nemesis.

"She has a very gentle touch!" commented Momus.

"Sorry, but what are they saying?"

"Apparently, they think you're cute, that we would go great together, and that you have a very gentle touch."

Cho giggled and blushed a little. "Thanks, guys," she told the Runespoor.

"No problem," they hissed in unison.

Harry looked at his Runespoor. "You can understand English?"

"Yes, we can understand the form of human speech you call 'English,'" Momus hissed.

Turning back to Cho, he said, "Apparently they can understand English."

"Well, who knew?"

Pulling Harry closer, she gave him a sweet kiss. "Go Harry!" cheered Morpheus. "Well, I see the two of you are getting along quite nicely," said Nemesis. (Harry didn't mind the kisses; if Cho wanted to kiss him, so be it.)

"Well, I have to get my things together for tomorrow. 'Bye Harry!"

"'Bye, Cho."

"Well, Harry, that was smooth," commented Momus.

"You guys want to come along? I need to feed Ardeavis."

"Sure."

Once back in Gryffindor Tower, some people glared at Harry and the Runespoor wrapped around his arm. Back in his dorm room, he saw Neville petting the baby bird. "He's so cool, Harry! Think I could help take care of him?"

"Sure, of course. Also, what do you think of my Runespoor?"

"He's rather neat, actually." He petted the three-headed snake and added, "I don't know what's gotten into them, Harry. I never would have expected Ron and Hermione of all people to act like that."

"Yeah, I know. That was weird, even for her."

With a mew, Crookshanks wandered in and spotted the Runespoor. The ginger cat tilted his head curiously, and Nemorphus slithered down to meet the cat. Crookshanks even brushed up against Nemorphus, which confirmed that they got along.

"Hermione's cat is smarter than her!?" Harry exclaimed disbelievingly, as he started to feed Ardeavis his dinner. "It's official! Hell has frozen over!"

"Well, hopefully Hell will thaw again soon enough so you can get along with your friends again," Neville pointed out.

"Well, this will convince her that Nemorphus won't do anything to her precious little kitty." A thought came to Harry's mind, which he had been wondering for a while. "Speaking of felines..." he trailed off and transformed into a lion. "Can you understand what I'm saying?" he asked in a sort of pur-hiss.

"Yes we can, even if you're an Animagus, lion-boy!" Momus responded.

"Just wondering," Harry replied innocently.

Crookshanks came over and mewed as he rubbed himself against Harry's leg. The young Animagus scratched the cat's head with his paw and transformed back. Turning back to Neville, who was feeding Ardeavis, he said, "Obviously, the Parseltongue thing works when I'm still a lion. Oh, and thanks for feeding Ardeavis for me."

"Oh, no problem, Harry," Neville said cheerfully as he fed the tiny phoenix the last carrot stick and petted it.

Deciding to bring Nemorphus back down to his office, he departed, and he saw Ron and Hermione playing chess. He was halfway over when he heard Nemesis say, "No, girl, you're putting your king into checkmate!"

Harry turned to his Runespoor. "You guys can play chess?" he inquired.

All three heads simultaneously nodded as Ron exclaimed, "Aha! Checkmate!"

"Where did you learn how to play?"

"Oh, we learned from Ron before we came here to your school," Morpheus said smugly.

As Ron made to put the chess set away, Harry said, "Hold it. Can I please borrow the chess set?"

"Why?"

"Because I'd like to play someone with it. That's what you do with chess, Ron."

"Har har. Who, exactly?"

Harry shrugged. "My Runespoor claims to have learned by watching you over Christmas break. I've never played chess against a three-headed snake before."

Ron raised an eyebrow. "This I have to see."

Harry set up the chessboard and took one side while Nemorphus took the other. "Which color do you want to be?" he asked them.

"White, since it goes first," Morpehus hissed.

"Figures," Harry responded as he turned the board 180 degrees so that Nemorphus was white.

Five minutes into the game, nearly everyone in Gryffindor Tower was watching the match. Somehow, the chess pieces understood the Runespoor's commands. Mainly Nemesis was the one who devised it, being the planner, Morpheus declared the moves, and Momus analyzed the cause and effect of all the different moves that were made. Ten minutes later, Harry was forced into a stalemate after Nemorphus' remaining knight trampled Harry's queen.

"Wow, you're good," Harry said at last.

"Yeah, maybe it has to do with three heads being better than one, but I'm not sure about these other two," hissed Momus, indicating the other two.

"Hey!" the other two heads shot back together.

"So you've taught your pet snake how to play chess; are we supposed to be impressed?" Ron was at it again.

"Two words, Ron. Shut, up. By the way, you really should stop it with this; I'm getting tired of having to battle with you."

"Yeah, take a hint and go away, fox boy!" Momus hissed.

Harry sniggered. Ron said, "What did it say?"

"First of all, Ron, it can understand English; second, it all knows how a Brevis Animagus potion works, if you know what I mean."

Ron's ears went red. "Get that thing out of here now!"

As Harry got up, collected Nemorphus and went to the portrait whole, he added, "One: I was going to right now anyway. Two: That thing is my pet Runespoor. Three: You're acting like a paranoid git."

Harry and Nemorphus ducked just in time to avoid another hex.

As Harry was putting Nemorphus back in his tank in the office, Professor McGonagall came in. "What happened in the common room, Potter?"

"Ron's acting like he used to at the beginning of the year; only now, however, he sees my Runespoor and he goes berserk."

"Well, if he ever acts out of line, let me know."

"Of course. Good night, Professor."

"Good night, Potter."

~*~*~*~

The next day, Ron and Hermione were both cold towards Harry during breakfast. Instead, he talked to Neville regarding plants and fungi, which thrived in cold environments, since that was a study subject for this part of the year.

On the way down to Potions, Harry walked silently by Hermione, who was still cold to him. Once inside, Snape got them all down to work. "Now that the winter holidays have passed," he sneered, "hopefully you all know how to get back to work. Today, we will be working on a Submarine Potion. This will allow the user to breathe underwater for up to one hour, since the main ingredient is gillyweed. Instructions are on the board, ingredients are in the back, and you know what to do. Begin."

Harry just turned to get the ingredients when he heard Hermione giggling. 'Giggling!?' Harry thought incredulously.

"Is something the matter, Miss Granger?" Snape intoned, the entire class turning towards the matter at hand with curious looks on their faces.

Regaining control over herself, she said, "Sorry, no, Professor, just the name of it-"

"Yes, Granger, I know about the vehicles Muggles call 'submarines,' although laughing will not help you out here. Get back to work," he spat, although Harry could detect a hint of puzzlement in the Potions Master's voice.

As the Harry and the eight students other than him and Hermione exchanged looks, they all got back to work. Suddenly, Hermione nudged Harry and said in a tone a lot like Draco Malfoy's annoying drawl, "Look, Harry, we need Runespoor scales! Why don't we use yours for it?"

Harry slammed his book down on his desk, making the other objects on the table jump. As the room went quiet and everybody turned to look at the fighting Gryffindors, Harry took a deep breath and said in a steady but angry voice as he turned to her and looked her straight in the eye, "Hermione, I don't know why you're acting like this, but I would really appreciate it if you stopped before you cause an accident or Professor Snape takes points off, whichever happens first."

Harry barely saw Snape observe the scene with a mild expression before Hermione's hand obscured his view. He slapped him across the face, causing his glasses to fly across the room and land in Draco's cauldron (which was still empty, thankfully).

"GRANGER!" Snape leapt up from his seat with his hands on the table as though he was ready to pounce. "WHAT IN BLAZES DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

Hermione rounded on him with a set look on her face; the rest of the class went dangerously quiet. "I've had enough with you, you slimy grease ball! Let's see you with beaver teeth! Densaugeo!"

The hex nearly hit Snape, who ducked just in time, and she turned back to Harry, only to find herself on the other end of his wand. "Stupefy!" She fell to the floor with a groan.

As Harry rubbed his face and Snape repaired the crater in the wall behind him, he said to the class at large, "Er, does anyone have my glasses?"

"Catch." Draco tossed it and Harry caught them with a "Thanks," repaired them, put another Impervius Charm on them, and saw Snape walking over to them with an expression of intense anger on his face. "Miss Granger acting dangerously out of line? Surely a sign of the Apocalypse," he mused. There was some brief chuckling from Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson (and a brief smirk from Draco), but no one else cared.

"I certainly hope not," Harry responded. "Now she's acting like Ron."

Conjuring up a stretcher and levitating Hermione's limp form onto it, Snape told Harry, "Bring her up to hospital wing, Potter. Please wait a moment while I wrote a note for you to give to Professor McGonagall, concerning your friend's, er, unusual behavior. Oh, and just to make sure she doesn't try anything else-" he bound her to the stretcher using ropes.

As Harry used his own wand to levitate her, Snape wrote out the note for the Transfiguration teacher and handed it to Harry. "If you hurry, you might be able to make it back in time to finish your potion by the end of the class, given that she prevented you from even starting it."

"Thank you, sir." With that, he took the note, and transported his unconscious friend to the hospital wing.

Madam Pomfrey happened to be talking to Professor McGonagall when they both saw the Boy Who Lived cart one of his best friends in, bound to the stretcher. "What in Merlin's name is going on, Potter?" McGonagall exclaimed. Harry explained what happened in the dungeons and handed the note to his Head of House; from the looks of it, Hermione had gotten detention for a week. By the end of it, McGonagall had an angry look on her face that would have sent Dumbledore running for cover. Both Harry and the nurse did just that when the Deputy Headmistress exploded with an oath that could be heard throughout the castle and across the grounds.

"ARGH! WHAT IN BLAZES HAS GOTTEN INTO YOU, HERMIONE GRANGER? IF I DON'T GET YOU THOROUGHLY DISCIPLINED FOR YOUR UNSPEAKABLE BEHAVIOR, THEN MY NAME ISN'T MINERVA MCGONAGALL!"

~*~*~*~

Harry returned to the dungeons five minutes later with the professor's oath still ringing in his ears. As he entered the room, everybody was looking at him. "You heard that too?" he asked.

"Heard it? That was loud enough to wake the dead," Anthony Goldstein commented.

"The dead can't be woken, Goldstein," Snape sneered.

"It's a Muggle expression, Professor."

"I see. Anyway, Potter, get to work."

Thankfully, Harry was able to complete his potion with minutes to spare without rushing. The dungeon was blissfully quiet, other than the hissing and other similar sounds that went along with potion brewing. As Harry put his bottled flask on the desk and left, he found the halls full of rumors and muttering. Some people were looking at Harry although he had caused Hermione's problem.

Harry made a beeline for the Room of Requirement, and he found Dumbledore waiting there, observing the tapestry as he saw the trainer being clubbed by the trolls yet again. He turned and said, "Ah, hello, Harry. Finally, we get to practice Legilimency."

"Yes, sir, I know," he replied as Dumbledore opened the newly formed door to the room full of books and unfamiliar objects. Motioning to Harry, he followed his mentor inside.

"As you might remember, from last year, Harry, the two ways to use the Legilimens Spell is to cast the incantation, or to use a Shield Charm against it. In case you're wondering, Professor Snape sent me reports of your progress," Dumbledore added. "If you know the incantation, please feel free to go ahead. I won't try to blow your head off or anything."

"Okay. Legilimens!"

Harry was able to look for things depending on what he was interested in; he wanted to see memories of Dumbledore fighting Dark wizards, so those memories surface before him. There was the fight at the Department of Mysteries with Voldemort covered in the fountain's water... vouching for Snape at Karkaroff's trial... and talking to Snape regarding his parents!?

As suddenly as he forced his way into Dumbledore's mind, he was forced back out of it. "That was just a sample of what can be done, Harry," Dumbledore said simply. "I allowed you to go through a few of my memories in order to get an idea for this sort of thing. That last memory you saw is none of your concern, so please pay it no heed."

"Of course, sir."

For the rest of the day, Headmaster and pupil tried offensive and defensive tactics for Legilimency. At the end of it, Harry basically summarized that "Occlumency and Legilimency are like shield and sword."

"Excellent observation, Harry!" Dumbledore congratulated him. "Now, read the first chapter of your new Legilimency book, and everything will be fine!"

"Er, what book?"

"Oh, you're right! Silly me!" With a wave of his wand, a book entitled "Legilimency for Beginners" flew into Harry's hands. As he put it into his backpack, he said, "Thanks, sir. 'Bye!"

"Later, Harry," Dumbledore chimed, looking in a corner for more lemon drops to refill his own personal stash.

~*~*~*~

When Harry went down to the Great Hall for lunch, he found the Gryffindor Table in an absolute uproar; all the students seemed to be fighting amongst themselves, while those from the other three Houses just watched them.

"HEY!" he shouted. They all quieted at once. "What's going on here?"

Neville came up to Harry with several bandages on his face. "Neville, what happened?"

Sighing, Neville said, "Ron went completely berserk in Herbology today. He threw several Spiked Strawberries at my face, insisting that I try them. Then he was spinning around and throwing them while singing the national anthem! We had to stun him and bring him up to the infirmary."

Caught somewhere between humor and disgust, Harry tried to keep his face as neutral as possible and asked, "Any idea why he did that?"

Neville shrugged. "No idea. So what happened with Hermione?" All the other students begged Harry to explain. Omitting details that Snape would have found offensive, he recounted the events, much to the surprise of everyone else in the hall. Just then, however, Dumbledore walked in.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he announced, "As some of you may have heard, Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger, both Gryffindor sixth year prefects, seem to have contracted some sort of mental illness. However, just to make sure that no one else has got it, I will be using a sort of scanning spell to make sure. Anyone who has contracted it will glow red." With a wave of his wand, which was emitting a blue light, he scanned everyone in the hall. No one glowed red.

"Then thankfully, no one else has contracted with it. However, there is no reason to be alarmed. There is nothing going around the castle, and the house elves have sworn countless times that there is nothing wrong with their cooking. I believe Professor McGonagall also has an announcement to make."

The Transfiguration teacher stepped forward and said, "Since my sixth year prefects will not be able to do their work from the hospital wing, I will need to choose replacements, at least for the time being." Turning to Harry and his five remaining classmates, she asked, "Potter, do you want to be prefect?"

Shaking his head, Harry said, "No thanks, Professor. I'm already pretty busy, and I'm not sure if I'd do a good job. Why not try Neville?"

There was some muttering, and Neville looked at Harry as though he were going mad. "Well, Longbottom was next on my choice of replacements anyway. So, Mr. Longbottom, will you?"

Looking apprehensive, Neville said, "I'll give it a try."

With a rare smile, McGonagall handed the prefect badge to Neville and said, "I know you'll do a good job, Longbottom." More muttering and Neville put it on very nervously. "Thank you," he stammered.

"Now, to replace Miss Granger," she mused. "Miss Patil, Miss Brown, do either of you have an interest in standing in as a prefect for a while?"

Lavender politely refused while Parvati accepted. "Thank you, Miss Patil."

"Of course, Professor."

"Well, now that that's settled," Dumbledore added, "Time for lunch."

~*~*~*~

That afternoon, Harry started the new units with his defense classes. First years were moving onto grindylows, and second years were learning how to defend themselves against Erlkings, which liked to abduct small children. (4) Even with the absence of Ron and Hermione, Harry's week progressed quite nicely. In Transfiguration, they were progressing to conjuring simple objects, like quills and pillows. In Charms, they were learning about the Ghost Movement Charm, which was how to make objects move through other objects like ghosts, hence the name.

Harry was apprehensive about CoMC on Thursday, but to his immense relief, everybody in his class, including the Gryffindors, liked Nemorphus. Harry translated the Runespoor's speech, and everybody found it amusing. Hagrid suggested that they take another look at it when it reached its adult height in a month; Harry and Nemorphus agreed.

On Friday, Harry was able to see Lupin again. He was a little tired, but still cheerful. They started a new unit on even more advanced Dark objects, which could cause intense injury, even death, when touched. They were made to take off all the different curses and enchantments in order to disarm it. Harry actually enjoyed working like this; it was like a puzzle to come undone. Later that afternoon, Harry got down to nundus with his students; they were ferocious leopard-like beasts from Africa, and because of their breaths, which could wipe out entire villages, they were agreed to be among some of the most dangerous beasts in the world. Much to his delight, the Slytherin and Gryffindor third years actually got along. Ever since it became public knowledge that Harry was nearly put in Slytherin in his first year, he had actually gotten some respect from Slytherin House, and since the Gryffindors weren't likely to abandon their famous classmate, none of their respect for him vanished. In fact, Harry was unsure how to react when Malcolm Baddock commented on his mix of Gryffindor bravery and Slytherin cunning.

All things considered (including Ron and Hermione's absence), his week progressed nicely. Parvati actually made for a nice prefect (Padma offered her some pointers), and Harry's intuition about Neville didn't fail him at all; with brand new confidence, Neville actually made for a pretty flexible prefect. Harry even overheard McGonagall saying once about how Neville was actually like Bill Weasley, as being "not too strict, yet not too lenient at the same time." To cap it all, Neville even passed on a message from his grandmother, commending Harry for his faith in her grandson.

However, like so many times in Harry's life, just when things were taking an upswing, they went down again like a counterbalance. This came true as Harry went to dinner on Friday night.

Harry was just walking into the hall when he heard screaming. Looking around, he saw a metallic green orb about three feet high floating into the hall. As though spotting him, it dropped to the floor and rolled up to him. As it stopped a few feet away from him, four silver legs appeared out of it and it stood up, and then four silver prongs popped out. As silence fell, a sudden glimmering figure appeared like a hologram in a science fiction movie Harry remembered once. This figure was ten feet tall, wore black robes, had a head whiter than a skull, red eyes, and a snakelike face: Voldemort.

People gasped and even screamed, while Harry looked merely bored. Deep down, however, he was concerned about what this thing could do. "Well, hello, Potter," he hissed. "I merely dropped by to offer you something."

After yawning pointedly, he replied, "Whatever it is, Voldemort, I'm not interested. Go away."

There was utter silence between Voldemort's presence and Harry's lack of fear. With a truly evil smile, he continued, "Oh, I beg to differ, Potter. The press may not have heard of this yet, but-" suddenly the image widened as though it were a giant TV screen, and Harry saw a portly man huddled in a corner "-I decided to have the Minister himself over as a guest."

More gasps and muttering. Now this was serious. "OK, what do you want?"

"Defect over to my side, and he'll be set free."

Utter silence again. "Losing our touch, are we?" Harry replied. "Seems that way, if you're actually asking for my help. If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times: NO." Harry was actually taking a tone like a professor telling off his student (which he was actually used to doing these days).

Voldemort tsked. "Always sticking up for Mudbloods and half- breeds and other filth are we? Such a waste of power and potential. Even if you won't defect, there is still something else I want from you, which was mine to begin with."

Harry's attention perked. With a sneer, Voldemort went on, "That's right, Potter. The egg you stole; the phoenix egg." There were several gasps and muttering, especially from the Gryffindors, as Voldemort's face switched to anger. "It was vital to my plans, Potter. However, I do need it alive. Bring it tomorrow night at midnight in Little Hangleton, or else..." He suddenly spun around, aimed at Fudge and said, "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

With a flash of green light and a roaring sound (and several screams from everybody in the hall), Harry expected the Minister to be dead. Instead, the Minister was still huddling in a corner, but with a crater blasted out of the wall above his head. "Or else the next time, Potter," Voldemort concluded, "Your dear Minister won't be so lucky. Of course, if you want to keep the egg and see the Minister die, I'll understand perfectly on both points."

Harry snorted, "I'll agree that the Minister may not have made his best moves last year, but that doesn't mean I want to see him dead. I'm not vengeful and vindictive like you, so cut the 'We have so much in common' crap. Your manipulative tricks might work on several people, but if you were so all knowing as you claim, you might remember by now that they have no effect on me. This discussion is over."

Voldemort glared at him and said, "As you wish, Potter." With that, the sphere packed itself up and flew out. Ignoring the silence and everybody staring at him, he swept out of the hall and towards the kitchens, with a very angry look on his face.

~*~*~*~

Later that night in his office, Lupin and Dumbledore walked in. Harry was thinking about staying there for the night, since he didn't want to go back to Gryffindor Tower in the midst of what had just happened.

"Well, Harry, obviously we need our Minister back," Dumbledore started. "However, we obviously can't let him have the phoenix back. We need to discuss what to do."

"DOBBY!" Harry called. Pop. "Yes?"

"Please get Ardeavis."

Pop. Gone. Pop. "Thanks, Dobby." "Yes, sir!" Pop. "What is wrong, Harry?"

"Voldemort wants you back, but obviously, we can't let that happen. We need a plan, Ardeavis," Harry explained.

"Then obviously, we must deceive him. I am also caught up with current events, and I know that Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger are currently being treated for whatever illness they have. I would advise that Neville Longbottom, Ginny Weasley, and Draco Malfoy join you."

There was a pause, broken by Dumbledore's statement, "I might have to agree with him best, Harry. Mr. Malfoy's cunning, Mr. Longbottom's experience, and Miss Weasley's ability to fight may help us out."

"What do you mean?"

Lupin explained, "Draco has been coached by Snape in Occlumency lately, and is feeding us information that he picks up around his home. Neville has grown to be quite courageous and has a lot of spirit, thanks to your guidance and praise, Harry." (Harry blushed a little with something akin to pride at this.) "Ginny, well, I think she might get it from her mother, but her anger and combat skills can make her quite the Amazon. The mix of power, determination, ferocity and cunning between the four of you might be the best combination in this instance."

"Wisely put, Remus," Dumbledore chided him.

"Thank you, Headmaster."

Harry shrugged. "If you say so. Then please let them know so we can discuss them tomorrow afternoon." Suddenly, he noticed a deep red feather on Ardeavis' otherwise bald tail. "Ardeavis, is that your first feather?"

"Yes, it is."

"Congratulations."

"Thank you."

Dumbledore was deep in thought. "Harry," he said at last, "If we do encounter Voldemort again, the wands will only have the same effect again. However, if we have a surprise waiting for him..."

Harry understood immediately. Turning back to his pet bird, he asked, "Do you understand about the situation with Voldemort's wand and mine?"

"Indeed I do."

"Would you be willing to volunteer you first feather for the cause?"

"With great pleasure. A phoenix's first feather is normally his or her most powerful, and while it may hold little sentimental value for me, I trust you fully with it." Shaking himself very quickly, his feather fell off.

Picking up, Dumbledore put it in what looked like a Muggle Ziplock Bag. "I shall take care of this. It would take Mr. Ollivander about a week for this, and we could use Priori Incantatem again to hold Voldemort off. Normally, it is illegal for a witch or wizard to hold more than one wand, but I'm sure my friends at the Ministry will understand that this is for the war effort."

"Thank you, sir. Thank you too, Ardeavis, I'll be sure to find an excellent way to reward you for your help."

"Of course, Harry, yet like you, I don't do things for the rewards."

"By the way," Harry added thoughtfully, "What will we do about a Minister now?"

"Madame Bones will take over in the meantime," Dumbledore answered calmly.

"OK. Good night." With that, he transformed into a lion and prowled over to his favorite corner. His professors left and turned out the lights, while Ardeavis started to snore in a musical kind of way.

~*~*~*~

Harry woke up the next morning with a savage hunger in his leonine stomach. Getting up, he saw something red with gold out of the corner of his eye.

It was Ardeavis. He had grown half of his expected plumage. "Good morning, Harry."

After yawning and transforming back, he replied, "Good morning, Ardeavis. Come on, let's go get breakfast."

The young phoenix flew over onto Harry's shoulder and sang a little. "When did you learn to fly?"

"I have half my feathers already, which is why. I will be able to fire-travel once I get all my feathers."

"Interesting. Come to think of it, where did you get all the feathers so quickly?"

"Overnight."

"Also interesting."

Few people were in the Great Hall at this hour. Just as Harry sat down and Ardeavis took the seat next to him, some people were commenting about the phoenix and a few girls were saying how cute it looked. The magical bird looked at them a little as he continued to eat some fruit. When everyone was in the hall, Dumbledore got up and made an announcement.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said, "Due to the breach of security last night by Voldemort's 'messenger,' we have upgraded security to include Hagrid's dragon, Norbert, and a Hellhound he once owned, which he calls 'Fluffy.' It will be the dragon's job to protect the grounds as a whole, so no one will need to go near him at all. Fluffy will be at the main gates, but you don't have to worry about him on Hogsmeade weekends, because he can be quite friendly." There was some muttering, but everyone took their beloved Headmaster's word for it.

The morning was relatively peaceful. The only problem was when McGonagall came storming into the hall at lunchtime with a furious look on her face that would have sent gargoyles scurrying. "Oh dear, Minerva, what's the problem?" Dumbledore said sympathetically.

Fuming and with enough poison in her voice to kill an elephant, she seethed, "I tried to ask Granger where she may have gotten her illness and she said, 'Go away, Catwoman, and go shove your wand-' actually, that was as far as she got before I had to place a Silencing Charm on her."

No one dared laugh, let alone make a sound. In an air that would have made Snape proud, he turned on her heel and swept out, with her face contorted in anger.

Later in Harry's office, Dumbledore and Lupin walked in again, this time with Ginny, Neville, and Draco. "So, what's this plan that your pet bird has in mind? Spies like me don't fight openly."

"Actually, my little dragon," Ardeavis thought-spoke (and Harry caught the play on words at the name), "My plan was to have you sneak around during the fighting. I've seen how you are a sneaky, cunning individual, who could merge with shadows and slip through walls if he tried."

"Thanks very much," Draco grinned.

"Anyway," Dumbledore added, "Time to formulate our plan." Half an hour later, the plan was simple; Harry would walk forward alone and keep them busy, while Lupin, Neville and Ginny would wait if any fighting was involved, and Dumbledore and Draco would slip in to find the Minister.

"In the meantime," Dumbledore concluded, "We must act as though nothing is going on for today. Get your wands and your protective vests from the first mission in the Black Forest. We will meet at 11:00 in this office."

"By the way," Harry asked, "Any news with Ron or Hermione?"

"Well, we're thinking somehow Ron transferred it to Hermione shortly before the holidays."

Harry felt as though he had been struck by lightning. "Wait a minute. I saw Ron and Hermione kissing before the holidays." He paused, feeling a little ashamed that he revealed that. "Could that have been it?"

Dumbledore actually looked relieved. "I will look into it. Thank you, Harry."

He shrugged. "Glad to help, I suppose."

~*~*~*~

At 11:00, they met again, each of them equipped and well prepared. They took a Portkey to a pub called the Hanged Man, which was located in Little Hangleton. They waited silently for nearly an hour, quietly discussing plans; Ardeavis would come by later with Fawkes.

At five to midnight, the half dozen teachers and students waited outside for anyone to come. Suddenly, hissing could be heard. "Potter..."

"It's Nagini," he said to the others, "Voldemort's pet snake."

"Come with me," she hissed.

Harry followed it, while the rest of them did the same. However, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dumbledore and Draco slink out of sight; using careful spells, they would follow from behind.

They were going up to Riddle Manor. Down dark, unused stone passageways, the snake led the werewolf and three Gryffindors to a room where four Death Eaters were standing on either side of a fireplace grouped in twos, which was the only source of light. A tall, black hooded figure sat in the chair. Nagini slithered up and hissed to the figure, who stood up to face them. "Potter..." he hissed in English. "I see you decided to come." Taking off his hood, Voldemort faced them. Harry could feel Neville shuddering behind him.

"Drop the speeches. Where's the Minister?"

With a snap of his fingers, a side door opened up and three figures walked out of it. There was Fudge, who was shuddering as though he had been exposed to dementors; there was Bellatrix, who glared at the four enemies; and there was Umbridge, with that evil, smug look on her face.

"I have the Minister, alive although scared from the dementors," Voldemort hissed. "Do you have the phoenix?"

"FAWKES!" Harry called. With a flash of fire, Dumbledore's phoenix appeared with Harry's phoenix clutched in its beak. After landing on the ground, Fawkes hissed at Voldemort and swooped over to land on Harry's shoulder.

Ardeavis waddled up to Voldemort, saying, "Oh master, he boy brat stole me when I was only an egg! How glad I am to be with you again." With a flutter of wings, he jumped onto Voldemort's shoulder and nuzzled against him.

"WHAT!?" Harry yelled with anger; he needed to maintain a convincing act.

"Your trust is your downfall, Potter," Ardeavis glared at him. "I needed you to take care of me."

"Anyway, here's your poor Minister," Voldemort hissed; on cue, Umbridge and Lestrange shoved Fudge towards Lupin. The Minister gripped Lupin, shuddering. Fawkes swooped down, grabbed Fudge, and vanished.

"Well, that would be the end of business, but..." snapping his fingers again, part of the stoned wall swiveled around, revealing Dumbledore and Draco against it, gagged and bound. Alarms exploded in Harry's head; this was not part of the plan.

"In case you're wondering, Potter, I thought someone would sneak off to find the Minister behind my back," Voldemort explained smoothly. "I wasn't about ready to allow a repeat of what happened in the Black Forest." With a cruel smile that made Harry's stomach churn, he said, "I also believe that Dolores and Bellatrix have something to say."

"One of these days, Potter, I will make you learn that temperamental adolescent boys don't get very far in this world. The only thing I regret now is not having joined the Dark Lord sooner," Umbridge simpered.

"Oh, and Potter," Bellatrix cackled, "If you think we're even now because you killed my husband and brother in law for killing your dear mutt of a godfather, you're dead wrong. If it weren't our Master's desire to kill you personally, I'd love to make you die very painfully."

Harry only shot equally nasty glares at both women.

"One other note," Voldemort added, "You're not leaving." All the doors suddenly swung shut. "I returned Fudge to you, but I never intended for any of you to leave this mansion alive."

Barely keeping his anger down, Harry hissed, "I suspected you'd find some loophole."

Voldemort looked rather flattered. "I always keep my promises. Anything else you'd like to know?"

"Before I kill you" were the unspoken words; Harry, however, played along. "Yes, actually. Why kidnap all those ambassadors to other countries?"

Voldemort grinned. "Naturally, English ambassadors to other countries keep extensive books and force themselves to know extensive knowledge about the countries they liaise with. With the ambassadors in my stronghold and their books back at their homes, I needed the knowledge."

After this, one of the Death Eaters strode over to Draco and removed the wad of material in his mouth. "Tell me, Draco, why join them?" Lucius Malfoy's voice inquired.

Draco looked indignant. Harry was slightly taken aback by the venom in his voice and the righteous anger evident on his face; now he looked almost nothing like the Draco Malfoy he had endured for five years. "Why? Why? Because that red-eyed monster twisted and manipulated you! Because you abused me so horribly you belong in prison just for that, your Death Eater atrocities aside! The only decent thing I appreciate about my whole bloodline was that I can trace them so far back; otherwise, most of them were monsters like you!"

"What, no respect for your father?"

"With all due respect, sir, FUCK YOU!" Draco spat. (4)

The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees. Lucius tsked. "Look at how far you've fallen, Draco. CRUCIO!"

As Draco screamed, Harry felt his hands flexing as though he wanted to take his wand. As the young Slytherin stopped screaming, his father said, "Well, I doubt you'll be returning to Hogwarts, but I'm sure that your friends, namely Vincent, Gregory, and Theodore will be informed by their fathers," and Mr. Malfoy motioned to the other three Death Eaters near the fireplace, and Harry instantly made the connection that they were Crabbe, Goyle, and Nott Sr.

"Well, Draco, since you don't want to have anything to do with me, then there's no point in me even letting you stay as my son." Raising his wand, he started, "AVAD-"

He was cut off as all hell broke loose. In the blink of an eye, Fawkes had appeared, snatched Malfoy's wand in his beak, cut Draco and Dumbledore loose, and vanished. At the same time, Ardeavis brutally pecked Voldemort in the forehead and flew at Umbridge and Lestrange; they raised their wands to defend themselves, but in a swish of feathers, Ardeavis had their wands tossed to the other side of the room, as he retrieved two other wands from their robes; Harry charged Voldemort while Lupin, Neville and Ginny went after the three Death Eaters by the fire; Ardeavis swooped overhead and dropped the two wands in the hands of Draco and Dumbledore, their respective owners, who immediately launched themselves at Malfoy Sr.; Fawkes reappeared overhead and dive-bombed at Nagini, who was hissing and convoluting herself to elude the phoenix.

Bellatrix made a scramble for her own wand, but Neville, having successfully stunned Nott, saw her and went for her. "STUP-"

"CRUCIO!" she cut him off. He screamed but, only for a second, and quickly recovered. Harry was ooking for Umbridge when he caught this; how on Earth did Neville do that?

"What!?" she shrieked. "Crucio! Crucio! CRUCIO!"

Nothing happened. Neville looked surprised by how he wasn't being affected, but went after her. "EXPELLIARMUS!"

"PROTEGO!" She recovered and reflected his attack, causing his wand to fly out of his hand and him to fly back against the wall; he lay against the wall as a vial fell out of his vest, which he tried to reach for. "Outgrown that curse, eh, Longbottom? AVADA-"

"NO!" Harry lunged forward; "EXPELLIARMUS!" Neville caught his own wand while Lestrange dropped her own wand and was knocked backwards onto the floor, looking as though she had been run over by a truck. She recovered and snatched her wand and started to use the Cruciatus Curse on Harry when Neville suddenly used the Full Body Bind on her. She remained as flat as a board, but with venom in her eyes. Neville was just making sure that she was secure when both him and Harry were caught from behind.

Crabbe was holding tight onto Neville, and Goyle was doing the same to Harry. Harry felt as though he were being squeezed to death by an anaconda. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Neville putting his hand to the mouth and drinking the vial he had picked up earlier. With sudden strength, he wrenched Crabbe's grip off of him; seizing Crabbe by the arms, he flung his captive into Harry's with unbelievable ease, causing both of them to tumble against the wall, completely winded.

"Thanks, Neville," he gasped, "What was that?"

"Strengthening Solution," he said simply. With that, he pocketed his wand and went after Nott, who had been revived; Harry decided to go after Umbridge.

Across the room, Draco and Ginny were both tackling Lucius. "Well, son, I don't know why you would want to defend the little blood traitor!" he mocked his son. "CRUCIO!"

Draco jumped in front to take the hit. As he screamed in pain, Ginny unleashed a Bat Bogey Hex, which promptly distracted Lucius; quickly recovering, Draco also sent one which seemed as though it could rival Ginny's.

Umbridge and Harry clashed furiously; "EXPELLIARMUS! So, you think you'll actually beat me, Potter?"

"PROTEGO! Yeah, because you couldn't fit your way out of a wet paper bag! Besides, this is certainly more useful than reciting your stupid book! GRAVESCIS!"

She was suddenly weighed down on the floor while Harry stunned her and used a Full Body Bind ("Lose some weight!"). He turned around when he heard Neville yell, "Harry, look out!"

Lestrange was charging him. "I'll get you, Potter! CRU-"

"INRETIO!" Harry cut her off as she was entangled and dropped her wand; Neville got behind her; "EXPELLIARMUS!" She flew across the room and landed in a heap on top of Lucius; both of them became Bat Bogey prey.

Dumbledore and Voldemort fought like masters, while Fawkes and Nagini clashed in a series of stabs and bites. Neville launched a Spider- Bogey Hex at Nagini and Harry shot a Bat-Bogey and Voldemort; the snake was taken over by the arachnid force while Voldemort tried to get the bogies off of him.

"POTTER! LONGBOTTOM! Both of you will suffer like your parents!" he screamed. He started to use the purple flame curse which Harry remembered Dolohov using on Hermione in the Department of Mysteries, but both boys were prepared; their combined Shield Charms reflected off of them, making them feel a little dizzy, while it went back at Voldemort, who was just muttering another curse. The Dark wizard was actually knocked backwards by the reflected fire, and his spell shot upwards at the ceiling.

The ceiling was blown off, the remnants ejecting outwards like dirt on top of a mine; the night sky, a half-moon with scudding clouds, was revealed. Harry was just using a Silver Dart Curse on Voldemort when several spells rained down from above; they were quickly followed by a solitary black-robed and hooded figure dropping in on a broomstick. He with surprising speed, he crossed the room, revived Umbridge and lunged for Ginny.

She screamed as the figure grabbed her around the neck. Harry immediately used some of his own Strengthening Solution which would only last for a few moments, and with twice the normal force he normally had, he grabbed the figure by the shoulders and threw him against the wall. As the figure's cloak fell, both Harry and Ginny gasped.

It was Percy Weasley. The look behind his wire-rimmed glasses actually shocked Harry; there was loathing which he didn't remember seeing before. "Stay the hell out of this, Potter!" he screamed. "You've done enough to ruin my life! ACCIO!"

At the same time, Harry yelled with indignation, "Shut up, you idiot! SILENCIO!"

Percy was silenced, but not before a sword over the mantelpiece came off and flew across the room and into the redhead's hands; he swung it over his head, but as Harry tried to use his wand to Disarm him, Percy suddenly feinted, and brought it down at an angle which would have dug into Harry's neck.

Ginny knocked Harry off to the side and tried to Disarm Percy at the same time, but she wasn't quick enough to do both; the sword instead cut into her shoulder, making her scream in pain like Harry never knew. As he tried to hex Percy, the latter magically bound Ginny, grabbed his broomstick, and flew off through the opening in the ceiling.

Harry felt blood pulsing with fury in his veins. He was about to get Ardeavis and go after her when another yell came from the other side of the room. He spun around to see Umbridge stabbing Lupin in the chest with a silver dagger. Infuriated, Harry screamed, "Let's see how much you like getting stabbed! SPICULAE ARGENTAE!" The barrage of silver darts was now closely concentrated on Umbridge; she looked up just in time and hastily performed a Shield Charm, only to get hit by the first few darts which weren't blocked. She fell to the floor with an earsplitting shriek as Harry rushed over to Lupin.

Dumbledore saw this, and after using a complex spell to shoot Voldemort back into a door and down a corridor, he rushed over as well. "He's injured badly!" he exclaimed. Turning a loose brick into a Portkey, he had Draco take Lupin to the hospital wing at Hogwarts. Turning back to Harry and Neville, Dumbledore said, "Take Fawkes and Ardeavis and find Ginny! I'll clean up here!" Fawkes swooped over and grabbed Harry while Ardeavis snatched Neville; they both flew up and out of sight as Voldemort charged back into the room.

Hundreds of feet above the ground, Harry felt cold as he soared with alarming speed through the January skies; however, the phoenix seemed to keep him warm. "Fawkes, Ardeavis, can either of you find Percy and Ginny?"

"Our vision can exceed that of a hawk's when we focus clearly enough," Ardeavis answered him; Fawkes trilled in agreement.

Sure enough, merely moments later, Percy was seen flying into a cloud with Ginny in tow. He looked behind him and saw the two boys and two phoenixes catching up behind him. With a burst of speed, he flew into a cloud, but they were catching up to him at an alarming rate.

"VENTI TURBULENTI!" Harry yelled. The cloud they were in was blown aside like a puff of smoke. Percy wildly shot spells over his shoulder, none of which hit their targets.

"GRAVESCIS!" Neville's hex hit the broomstick, which immediately slowed down. Percy shot a Stunner at Harry, who was diving in like a Muggle jet fighter; Fawkes and Harry disappeared in flames inches away from the stunner, and reappeared a couple of seconds later in front of it, giving the illusion that they had passed right through it.

Pocketing his wand, Harry punched Percy square in the jaw, causing him to drop Ginny. He made to grab Ginny but barely touched her; she dropped like a rock through the skies. "GINNY! NO!"

Neville looked on in horror, but the horror seemed to intensify as Harry wrenched himself free of Fawkes' grip and went down after her like a skydiver. Even as he plummeted, his mind was miraculously clear. About halfway down, Harry caught Ginny and cut her loose using his wand. They were about fifty feet above the ground when Harry felt himself being grabbed by the robes and carried off with a sudden jolt.

Fawkes was clutching Neville, who was holding onto them. "Hey Harry," he said weakly, "Fawkes grabbed me since he can fire travel and lift heavier loaded than Ardeavis at this point." Ardeavis flew in just then, and as he grabbed Fawkes' tail, the five of them vanished in flames.

~*~*~*~

The two birds and three teenagers landed in a jumble on a polished wooden floor. Harry recognized where he was; the Atrium at the Ministry of Magic. Workers and reporters immediately rushed in on them, but they were beaten to it as a group of redheads helped them up.

There was a muffled scream as Mrs. Weasley hugged Ginny fiercely. Mr. Weasley helped Harry up, and Bill helped Neville. The two phoenixes dusted themselves off and hissed at the reporters.

"All right, everyone, calm down!" Madame Bones parted the crowd, looking extremely worried. "Fudge came back stuttering about Umbridge and something, but Percy vanished under our noses; what happened?"

Harry's face darkened at the mention of Percy. "Percy? He betrayed us! Look what he did to Ginny!" He had to wrench Mrs. Weasley's grip off of her daughter, but showed the deep wound from the sword cut while Ginny looked away, looking horrified. Mrs. Weasley gasped and looked about ready to faint, while her husband and eldest son glowed a violent shade of red.

As Fawkes used his tears to heal the wound, Harry turned back to Madam Bones among the gasps and muttering. "Do you have a Memory Orb, Madam Bones?" he asked. As she took one out of a box she was carrying, Dumbledore came up to them, looking extremely tired while saying, "Hello again. In case you're wondering, Voldemort, Lestrange, Malfoy and Umbridge got away, but I was able to round up Crabbe, Goyle, and Nott. So, let's see what happened."

Harry activated the memory, and everyone was shocked at Draco's argument with his father, gasped at the fight with Percy in the mansion, plus Lupin's injury by Umbridge, and looked in awe at the chase to rescue Ginny. As he ended it, he asked Dumbledore, "How is Professor Lupin doing right now?"

"Being a werewolf, the silver affected him badly, but he'll heal within a month or so," Dumbledore explained calmly. "We have him at Hogwarts right now, and Madam Pomfrey is doing her best. As for the other matter, I am thoroughly disappointed about Percy-" and his voice wavered as Mrs. Weasley started to cry "-but it seems that he has taken the whole series of recent events the wrong way."

"Also," Harry started as he turned back to Madam Bones, "What's going on with the Minister?"

She sighed. "He has already been put on recuperate leave at St. Mungo's. He named me his Acting Minister for the time being."

For the next half-hour or so, they answered everybody's questions. Neville was praised for his heroism, and several women from Teen Witch Weekly were ganging up on him to interview him, calling him a "sweetheart." Neville looked horrified, but Harry was laughing (Your grandmother should be proud now, Neville!").

When everyone was done, Dumbledore fought his way through the crowd. Taking out a Portkey, he motioned for Harry, Neville, the Weasleys and phoenixes to follow him. In a swirl of color and sound, they were back at Hogwarts. Looking around, he saw that they were in the staff room. Worried about Ginny, he went over to her. "Ginny, are you okay? Please talk to me."

She looked up into his eyes, those chocolate brown eyes haunting him. "I can't believe he did that!" she finally sobbed. Harry pulled her close and hugged her. "Shhh, Ginny, I'm here."

She wiped her tears on her robes and suddenly smiled. "On the other hand, I was able to save your life for once."

Harry was brought up short. Dumbledore added, "Ah, so optimistic, Miss Weasley. You two certainly get along well, the way you work together."

Without warning, Ginny grabbed Harry and kissed him on the lips. Everyone else gasped and oohed. Harry loved it; it was nothing like kissing Cho. 'Wait a minute!' he thought to himself. 'What about Cho?'

As Ginny stopped, she looked at him with those adorable eyes of hers, and said, "It was about time the hero got his reward anyway; I should have done that years ago when you were rescuing me." Mrs. Weasley had an enormous grin on her face, and Bill and Mr. Weasley seemed to share the same idea.

Turning to Dumbledore, he said, "Professor, before I go up for the night, I was wondering; how are Ron and Hermione doing?"

"They're getting better, and we have yet to identify where it came from," Dumbledore explained.

Just as Harry got to the door, Neville asked, "I just remembered something else; after a while, the Cruciatus Curse stopped having an effect on me. How did that happen?"

Harry remembered too and stopped where he was. Dumbledore looked thoughtful now. "Well, Mr. Longbottom, it is possible to build up resistance to it, the same way a person can build up resistance to the Imperius Curse. We shall have to work on this more tomorrow."

Harry asked, "How's Lupin doing?"

"He'll have to be moved to St. Mungo's eventually, but I'm sure he'll be alright. Anyway, I have ideas for someone who can stand in for him in the meantime."

Harry returned to Gryffindor Tower with Ardeavis on his shoulder. After getting changed, he thought for a few minutes about everything that was going on. Lupin was injured, Neville had built of up resistance to the Cruciatus Curse, and Percy was now working for Voldemort. To cap it all, there was Ginny... he felt as though he loved her. But he loved Cho! Didn't he? What would Cho think?

Ten minutes later he dosed off, extremely tired.

~*~*~*~

The next morning, Harry got up and got dressed, wondering about the same things before he went to sleep the night before. On his way down, he saw Cho. She seemed upset, and when Harry went up to her, she choked out, "I'm sorry, Harry, I..." she was at a loss for words, and ran off.

Feeling even more confused, Harry found himself mobbed at the entrance to the Great Hall. A special Daily Prophet had been printed in the middle of the night about the fight with Voldemort. Neville was being praised for his heroism, and Harry felt glad for him.

Harry's good mood persisted for most of the morning. Just before lunch, however, Dumbledore stood up and announced, "Students and staff, since Professor Lupin will not be here for a while, I have found a substitute teacher. She just arrived here from one of Toronto, where she works for one of the Canadian schools of magic." (5) Turning to the doors, he said, "Please come in, Ms. Umbridge."

There was gasping and muttering, and Harry immediately drew out his wand out of reflex. A moment later, however, he caught sight of a round figure. It wasn't Dolores Umbridge.

She was a couple of feet taller than Dolores Umbridge, roughly the same height as Professor Sprout. She was sort of plump, not squat like a toad. Her mousy brown hair was neatly groomed to cascade behind her head and down her neck, and her face was round, yet not to the point where it was flabby. There weren't any ugly rings, pink ribbons, or other dreadful accessories, but had a thin golden necklace that graced her neck and contrasted with her deep purple robes. All in all, she hardly looked anything like the Dolores Umbridge that so many had come to detest with a passion. Turning to Professor Dumbledore and smiling cordially, she said, "Ah, it's so nice to be here at last, Headmaster Dumbledore. I'm fortunate that I made it when I did."

'Hm, no sickly sweet smile or glass-shattering voice, that's a good sign,' Harry thought to himself as the elderly wizard addressed the rest of the shell-shocked student body. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you, Felicity Umbridge?"

(End of Chapter 21.)

A/N: Heehee, probably my first-ever cliffie! (Also, you can probably now see how the HPCC is starting to become HPGW...)

(1) This was a joke about the rap artist. (And in case you're wondering, I really don't like him that much; rap's not really my thing.)

(2) This is a joke I got from VMorticia. It's kind of funny though, you have to admit.

(3) I also got this from the Bestiary section of the HP Lexicon. (All magical monsters and creatures in this fic are from the HP universe unless otherwise noted; the only ones I ever came up with myself are the Sssazrias and poison dart toads, seen in Chapter 17.)

(4) Sorry about the swearing, but this just seemed appropriate for some reason (and this story is rated PG-13, so I can get away with some swearing every now and then, right?).

(5) Don't worry; this background information is irrelevant, so you don't have to take it to memory or anything.

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