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HP450- Summoned
🕑 Added 2025-06-16 23:30:37 +0000 UTCHarry’s group drifted to a cluster of chairs near the hearth, away from the village crowd. Tonks dropped into one, swinging a leg over the armrest like, like she owned the inn.
“Alright,” she said, tossing a biscuit into her mouth, “Madam Minister mentioned you’ve got another force running. Outside the castle. Why haven’t I seen them yet?”
The question made a few heads turn, Hermione glared, Daphne gave him a sharp look over her tea, even Pansy raised an eyebrow from her perch by the window.
Harry looked sheepish. “They are not from school. Or anywhere nearby. They are out there doing other things.”
“‘Other things,’” Tonks repeated, eyeing him. “Helpful.”
“I am not keeping secrets for fun,” Harry said. “If I drag them in now, we lose their use on the outside. And if they are seen with me, that is another problem. For now, it is better they stay where they are.”
Tracey tapped her fingers against her goblet. “They are the ones who sorted the Knockturn clean-up, right?”
Harry nodded once. “Among other things.”
Ginny tilted her head. “You’ve got an off-the-books team?”
“Something like that,” Harry said. “Aunty Amelia wanted more than Hogwarts covered. So I stretched a bit.”
Tonks gave a low whistle. “You really are doing the paperwork version of a war. Can’t decide if I am impressed or worried.”
“Bit of both is fair.”
Following the village meeting, Harry spent the next few days pulling everyone into proper structure. No more floating tasks, no more wandering about with vague objectives and hopeful intentions. Everyone was assigned... clear, direct, with no room for complaints, even if Tracey tried once or twice.
“You’ve just turned us into the Hogwarts branch of the Department of Mysteries,” she muttered as she flipped through the task scroll he gave her.
“Bit more competent than that lot,” Harry replied, not bothering to look up.
Tracey narrowed her eyes but didn’t push. Daphne, already leaning over the table beside them, tapped her wand on the parchment. “Alright, walk me through this again. You’ve split us by what, skill or attitude?”
“Both,” Harry said, finally looking up. “And who actually shows up instead of hiding behind homework.”
That got him a scoff from Hermione, who was already scribbling out a charm rotation beside Susan. “Some of us are capable of both, thank you.”
“Exactly why you are leading Runes and Structural Enchantments,” Harry replied.
Hermione didn’t even try to argue that one. She just underlined a name and passed the list to Daphne.
Susan looked up from her notes. “Are we starting proper ward-laying tomorrow?”
“Evening. Tonks wants to sweep the western edge first,” Harry said. “Till then, you’re on stock review with Hannah. Go through every box the shops hand in and list what’s useful.”
Hannah gave a little groan. “If she makes another chart, I’m hexing the ink.”
“You love the charts,” Susan muttered.
“I love colour-coding, not being buried in jar labels that say ‘maybe boom’.”
Across the Room of Requirement, Fred was arguing with George about the placement of magical trip-lines near the bakery. “Look, if we angle it three degrees west, the signal charms won’t interfere with the warming spells on the scones.”
“I’m not sacrificing pastry temperature for security,” George declared. “Some lines can’t be crossed.”
Angelina walked past them with a stack of ward stones under one arm. “Sort it out or I’m rerouting them both to the loo.”
Nearby, Cho, Parvati, and Lavender were watching Daphne review the structural map of the village on a floating board. Padma hovered behind them, occasionally pointing out weak corners. Su Li, who had proven to be unnervingly sharp with subtle spells, was off with Tracey cataloguing what she called “suspicious magical nonsense” from the apothecary’s cellar.
Pansy sauntered in around mid-afternoon, glanced at the noise level, and raised an eyebrow. “McGonagall knows. They’re summoning you.”
Harry, who’d been halfway through sorting through a crate of ward markers with Tracey, didn’t even flinch. He gave a quick nod and stood up, brushing his hands off on his jumper. “Carry on. I’ll be back before someone sets a cushion on fire.”
Tracey barely looked up. “That was Fred.”
“It was George,” Fred said from across the room.
“You’re both guilty,” Daphne muttered, not bothering to look up from the map she was adjusting.
Harry stepped out, closing the Room’s door behind him with a soft click. He reached the spiral staircase outside the Headmaster’s office, muttered the current password, sugar quills, and stepped on as it began to turn.
The Headmaster’s office was dim, the high windows clouded. No Dumbledore, unsurprisingly. Probably off playing chess with Death Eaters again. Harry figured it would be the Heads this time... easier, really.
Sure enough, when the door swung open, all four Heads of House were there.
McGonagall was standing beside the desk, arms folded. Snape lurked by the fireplace, robes swishing as always.
Flitwick sat on the edge of a high-backed chair, looking mildly curious, and Sprout had her usual gardener’s look, mud on her sleeves, no nonsense in her stance.
McGonagall gestured to the empty chair in front of the desk. “Mr Potter.”
Harry sat, nodding once at each of the professors. “Professors.” He reached into his robes, drew out the small badge Amelia had given him, and placed it on the desk with a quiet tap.
The polished emblem of the Ministry caught the candlelight. Standard issue... plain enough, but no mistaking the official seal embedded in the metal.
McGonagall sighed like she’d expected it but still hoped she was wrong. “So you are a liaison now?”
“Technically,” Harry said, leaning back slightly in the chair. “But I am not wearing robes with epaulettes, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Flitwick beamed, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Not surprising, really. You’re one of the most capable students I’ve had the pleasure of teaching.”
Harry gave a smile back. “Thank you, Professor. Though most of what I do lately is just making sure we’re not caught unprepared.”
McGonagall arched an eyebrow. “Is that what’s happening in Hogsmeade then?”
Harry nodded, reaching into his pocket and pulled out a folded square of parchment. It expanded the moment it touched the desk.. No one questioned how it fit into his robes. Nor if it was legal.
He laid it flat, the map displaying a full layout of Hogsmeade and the surrounding valley. Glowing dots marked ward stations, patrol paths, shop charms, and several icons that moved as he pointed.
“This is where we’ve started,” Harry said simply. “Base layer protections... runic reinforcement on key buildings, mapped charm posts around the main lanes, and tracking flares.”
Sprout leaned forward slightly, her eyes narrowing at a set of charms near the eastern green. “That by Spintwitches?”
“Yes, Professor,” Harry nodded. “They are housing a relay stone. Not active until we test signal strength on Friday.”
Snape, from his usual post near the hearth, gave a mild grunt. “And you are testing these placements yourself, I presume.”
“Tracey and Daphne are leading mapping with support from Luna and Su Li,” Harry replied. “Fred and George are handling magical interference spots. I am overseeing final placements.”
“You trust the Weasley twins with magical integrity?” Snape asked, seriously bewildered.
Harry smirked. “They test every single line. If it breaks, they know. And if it doesn’t break, they find a way to break it anyway.”
McGonagall gave the faintest snort.
Flitwick was squinting at the floating annotations. “The alignment work on this... that’s not standard issue Ministry wardcraft.”
“It’s not,” Harry said, tapping the edge of the map with two fingers. “Hermione rebuilt the sequence from scratch. She can draft a new ward scheme mid-spell and run a layered test before committing it.”
None of the professors looked particularly shocked. If anything, McGonagall gave a faint, approving nod, and Sprout looked like she'd known for years. Snape, as always, didn’t bother hiding his disapproval for the general population, but didn’t seem remotely surprised where Granger was concerned.
“Luna is handling the soft perimeter wards,” Harry added, adjusting the edge of the parchment. “She’s strange with theory, but give her open structure and she’ll anchor charms better than most licensed enchanters.”
Flitwick chuckled at that, rocking slightly on the balls of his feet. “Yes, Miss Lovegood’s grasp of freeform layering is rather... intuitive.”
“And reliable,” Harry said. “She and Su Li have been tracking magical interference with a sort of ping-loop they built off the castle’s ambient signature.”
He named the rest of them as he rolled the map back toward the edge of the desk. “Susan is on potion logistics with Hannah. They are coordinating with Madam Pomfrey and brewing through the Slytherin labs. Pansy is cataloguing odd magical debris... she’s got a talent for spotting cursed items no one else clocks. Parvati and Padma are on structural scanning with Lavender Brown and Draco. Cho is working aerial routes with Ginny and Cedric."
By the end of it, the professors were clearly impressed, even if none of them said it outright. Sprout was the first to speak, “Why didn’t you ask for help?” she asked, genuinely puzzled. They all looked a tad disappointed.
Harry felt a flicker of guilt, but didn’t look away. “I am sorry, Professors. Truly. We all signed a binding agreement... magically sealed. Nothing leaves unless it’s cleared within the group. What I’ve shown you now, that’s the surface layer. Anything more risks compromising what we’ve built. And frankly… I didn’t think it right to ask you lot to sign a magical oath just to hear us out. Felt disrespectful.”
Flitwick gave a small nod, fingers tapping lightly on the arm of his chair. Sprout gave a thoughtful hum, arms folded across her front. Snape stayed silent, though his eyes didn’t leave Harry. McGonagall’s brow furrowed, not quite disapproving, but not pleased either.
“I understand,” she said. “Still. If you need assistance, at any point...”
“I know,” Harry said, giving a faint smile. “Thank you. And I might, eventually. But for now, it is working.”
She gave a brief nod, though the frown didn’t entirely leave.
Harry got up, collecting the map. “If that is all, I will take my leave.”
The four Heads gave nods of varying sharpness. Flitwick offered a cheerful smile, Sprout gave him a warm look, McGonagall managed a brief approving one, and even Snape waved a hand.
“Goodbye,” Harry added with a glance at the hat stand. The Sorting Hat gave a sleepy rustle. “Fawkes,” he added to the phoenix, perched above the door, who gave a low trill in return.
Harry stepped out, the door clicking shut behind him.
