Harmony Bond (Completed)

Chapter 22: Political Maneuvering

The next three weeks continued apace for the Potters and all their friends. Two weeks after Harry and Hermione returned from France, Hogwarts let out for a week's break. The Grangers had a trip planned with a group of friends that had been in the works for two years, so Harry and Hermione decided to stay at school while Jean and Neil enjoyed their two weeks of river cruising. They missed the Grangers, who also lamented over not seeing them, but with OWLs looming, there was plenty to keep them busy. About half their friends left, but many stayed and the week was well used to catch up on schoolwork.

With the horcrux gone, Harry found himself sleeping better and had no more incidents of headaches related to Voldemort's emotions. While he was happy with the change from a personal perspective, part of him wished that he might still have a bit of insight into what Voldemort was up to. Each arrival of the Daily Prophet brought a sense of trepidation as the Great Hall grew quiet and every student checked for bad news. One second year muggleborn left the school abruptly and the word was that his parents had been targeted and he had been sent to out of country relatives. In addition, the Death Eaters were up to their usual games in targeting random muggles. The attacks followed the Death Eaters' pattern of arriving quick, wreaking havoc and murder, and then portkeying or apparating away. Harry knew he shouldn't feel responsible, but each attack made him itch to do something and he silently sent encouragement to the miners in Russia to hurry up with the stone they needed. Hermione felt his concern and did what she could to reassure him, but she understood Harry's frustration. Without her though, Harry knew he would have been in much worse condition.

One thing that Harry could do was to prepare for the ultimate battles that were still to come. Each morning he was up early to run with Hermione and their friends. The grounds of Hogwarts had now thawed and they enjoyed the crisp Scottish air in the mornings. After, they all went to the Room of Requirement for strength training before getting ready for a day of classes. Tonks continued to teach two nights a week, with only one exception when she was called away for other duties. While she added a couple of new spells, she began to instead focus on linking spell chains together and improving speed and reflexes even more. Harry insisted on continuing his snake drills. Some of the others weren't as happy and sat the drills out, but Hermione always gritted her teeth and stayed right alongside him.

After nearly three weeks running the drills, Harry thought that he was as ready as ever and wanted to go look for Nagini. April was now waning and the weather had warmed enough that he hoped a cold blooded reptile would be prone to roaming more. The problem still was getting an idea of where Voldemort and his blasted familiar were. For that reason he decided it was time to talk to one of his allies in particular and sent a sealed letter to Amelia at her home, requesting a private meeting as soon as possible.

Amelia replied the next day and Harry arranged for him and Hermione to visit Bones Manor the following evening at eight. He was anxious to feel like he was doing something for a change and the news that morning of a major attack on a small muggle village didn't help at all. The Aurors arrived as usual just as the Death Eaters were fleeing. They just couldn't seem to respond quick enough, which Harry and Hermione both wondered about. Once again stuck with schoolwork, they left for classes carrying the Daily Prophet and it's bad news. The day seemed to drag and both were looking forward to their meeting with Amelia that evening.

Shortly after lunch, Harry and Hermione were on the way to Potions when a third year ran up to them with a sealed message. Since they still had a few minutes until class, they stepped aside and Harry read the brief message.

Lord and Lady Potter,

A message has been received from your ally cancelling your meeting this evening with deep regret. There is much happening today that must be attended to. Please meet at my office at three after your last class.