Harry Potter and the Ties that Bind

Chapter 45

"Absolutely not!" Madam Amelia Bones all but shouted.

Daphne, Susan, Blaize, Neville, Hannah, Lisa, Tracey, Terry, Luna, and Astoria were standing in the headmaster's office. They were not taking place in the heated discussion, however. The ones arguing currently were Madam Bones and Headmaster Dumbledore, though it looked like the Heads of Houses were on Madam Bones's side. If nothing else, they were standing behind her and not the headmaster.

"Amelia—" Dumbledore tried.

"Do not 'Amelia' me, Headmaster," Madam Bones snapped. "You are asking me to take a bunch of school children with me on a dangerous rescue mission. That's the height of lunacy. I'll not be party to it."

"I do not want them to be placed in such danger anymore than you do," Headmaster Dumbledore replied, his voice mild. "However, Professor Trelawny's words were 'he shall be rescued by the ones who love him most'. This means they are the key to rescuing Mr. Potter. If they do not take part in this mission, then the chances of your success drop to about zero."

"You're saying we'll fail?" Madam Bones curled her lips in distaste. "You already know that I do not put any stock in prophecies and such, Dumbledore."

The headmaster spread his arms. "And yet, you are going to rescue Mr. Potter based on the information given in one of those divinations."

"Divining someone's location is one thing. Telling us that we can only succeed if a group of children come with us is another."

There were two points of contention to this back and forth. Madam Bones had objected to Daphne and the others going with them from the moment Headmaster Dumbledore had suggested it. Her stance was that she and the others were too young to take part in a mission like this, and it was true that they lacked the experience needed. The headmaster had refuted her. He had stated that without them, the entire mission was doomed to failure because Professor Trelawny's divination said so.

While the professors were siding with Madam Bones, Daphne knew who she was going to side with.

She took a step forward.

"I want to go," Susan said before Daphne could even open her mouth.

"Susan?" Madam Bones looked at her with wide eyes.

"I want to rescue Harry," Susan said. "I know it's dangerous. I do get that. However, if our presence means you can rescue Harry, then I believe it's a small price to pay."

"It's too dangerous. I can't—"

"If it's so dangerous, then have us stay in the back," Daphne said, stepping forward to stand beside Susan. "Surround us with aurors so we're constantly protected. The divination never said that we had to be involved in the operation itself. Divinations like that are always up to interpretation. It only said that we need to be there to rescue him. It never said anything about other people. If you put together a large protection detail, then we can rescue Harry while still being safe."

Madam Bones's lips became a thin line. Daphne hoped that meant she was coming around to the idea.

"I also want to rescue Harry," Neville said. "The Potters and Longbottoms have been allies for over a century. What's more, Harry is my friend. I'd be doing a disservice to both if I didn't help rescue him."

"I'm going as well," Blaize added as he stepped forward. "I might not be able to do much, but I think my presence will be important."

One by the one, all of Harry's friends stepped forward. Tracey, Terry, Lisa, Luna, Hannah, even Astoria voiced their assent. They wanted to rescue Harry.