The Boy Who Lived

Illusions

From the table, Minerva McGonagall watched Harry pacing the kitchen of their little cottage, the agitation clear.

'Harry, sit down. You're not helping anyone.'

Her dear boy, still only sixteen, albeit for only a few days more, had seen more, experienced more, in his tender years than the average wizard did in their lifetime. And they both knew the worst was yet to come. He had the weight of the world on his young shoulders.

'Voldemort's getting braver. It won't be long.'

'I know.'

'This...' he said, indicating to the newspaper picture of the latest and most blatant attack on Muggles. The twisted mangled mess of the Millennium Bridge in London emerging out of the fog which shrouded the country, fourteen Muggles killed, dozens more injured. 'What if I can't stop him?'

'Then come up to the school with me. You'll be safe there.'

They both knew that wasn't true.

'Voldemort will appoint Snape as Headmaster at the school as soon as the Ministry falls. You know I won't be safe there. And I need to get on with the task Dumbledore appointed me to do.'

'I wish you'd tell me what it is you have to do...' She held up her hands in submission before the argument even started, they'd been through this a hundred times since Albus had... gone. 'I know, I know. Albus said don't trust anyone, not even your own dear mother.'

He threw himself into the chair at the table and she picked up her cup of tea, sipping it slowly as she waited for the inevitable.

'It's not that I don't trust you, mum. It's just that if you don't know, no one can extract the information out of you.'

His argument made sense, especially when Severus became Headmaster and they knew it was a matter of weeks before that happened. She pursed her lips at the thought. Severus, in charge of all her children; Severus, who she'd finally begun to trust and then he'd betrayed them all, betrayed Albus, like this. Harry had been right all along...

It had torn the Order apart. Kingsley and Moody had stepped up to take charge, Remus was off on some out-reach mission with communities of disassociated werewolves, Hagrid was still trying to negotiate with the giants, Tonks was spying from within the Ministry, Molly and Arthur were doing what they could at their end but the blow was enormous. Severus had been a key ally. And Albus kept them all together.

On top of it all, they knew Voldemort had infiltrated the Ministry at the highest levels. At least Gawain Robards, the Head Auror was trustworthy but Tonks named many of the team who weren't and dissent was becoming more and more open.

Harry refused to let Minerva go to any more meetings with the Order. 'They're going to target you and I don't trust the Floo Network; they'll be monitoring it. We know they've done it before.' He said time and time again, his jaw set in that determined, stubborn way of his when he knew he was right but no one wanted to listen. He pushed his glasses up his nose with his index finger. 'Your connection to me means it's obvious. He'll go after those I'm close to. In fact, I'm surprised he hasn't yet.'

She knew he was right. They were well aware that the cottage was being watched.

'I was an Auror,' she tried to reassure him. 'I know how to look after myself.'

Still, they'd spent a lot of the last month up at the school, practicing their duelling. It was a daily occurrence, often hours on end, both improving their skills dramatically. And they continued on Harry's training of Legilimency and Occlumency, both complaining that Albus hadn't let them do this initially. What Severus had put Harry through was ludicrous, she seethed to herself. But Severus had been making her seethe a lot ever since June. And they knew that Harry would have to face Voldemort and she'd probably have to face Severus, both attempting to read their minds to find out their secrets and plans. Harry finally mastered keeping a barrier up permanently, especially during his sleep. They worked on fakery too, on creating an initial block that could be broken but keeping up a second, even third layer of hidden barriers and releasing certain information so it looked as if the Legilimens was succeeding in raping their minds. Some things had to be buried deep.