The Inadequate Life

The next day, after a great deal of arguing, Ginny, Ron, Neville and Pansy went to retrieve the basilisk venom. The directions Draco had written out were very specific—only a pureblood would survive entering the hidden vault. Hermione insisted that she could, given enough time, break the protection, but Harry reluctantly agreed with Ginny that they simply couldn’t risk taking the time. They did have enough competent wizards who were purebloods that the task could be accomplished without Harry or Hermione.

That didn’t stop Harry and Hermione from pacing nervously together in the kitchen the entire time the group was gone. When noon arrived they tried to relax and eat lunch, but neither had any appetite. The kitchen filled up with other members of the D.A., who ate and chatted happily, but Harry and Hermione sat down at the end of the table nearest to the fireplace and fretted. When the clock struck one, Hermione looked up at Harry, her expression full of apprehension. “They should have been back by now, shouldn’t they?”

“Oh, for Merlin’s sake,” Angelina groaned. She was sitting right next to Harry, and gave Hermione a stern look across the table. “Hermione, whatever the hell you sent those four off on, they’ll be fine! Ron might be completely useless—” Hermione bristled—“but Neville’s brave enough and Ginny and Pansy are more than cagey enough to keep him out of trouble.”

“And I’m sure you’d feel just as confident if Fred went out to follow a set of instructions given to him by Draco Malfoy!” Hermione snapped.

The table went silent, and no wonder—since Harry didn’t want to mention the basilisk venom to anyone who didn’t need to know, he’d opted to just tell everyone that Ginny, Ron, Neville and Pansy were ‘going on a secret mission’ and leave it at that. He hadn’t mentioned Draco at all.

“Are you bloody mad?” Fred shouted from Angelina’s far side. “You sent Ron and Ginny to follow the lead of that bigoted arse?”

Hermione flushed as she realized what a slip she’d made. “It wasn’t like that—”

“It better bloody well not be—”

“Shut it, Fred!” Harry interrupted. “Right now! You don’t know everything about the situation! Do you honestly think that I, or Hermione for that matter, would endanger Ginny and Ron if we didn’t have to?”

Fred clenched his jaw for a second, but then dropped his eyes and muttered “No.”

“What do Ginny, Ron, Neville and Pansy all have in common that Hermione and I don’t?” Harry asked the table in general. No one answered. “They’re all purebloods,” he said, and nodded when several people looked thoughtful. “There’s reasons for the choices we make,” Harry continued. “Don’t doubt it. We do a lot of talking—well, arguing—that most of you don’t see before we put plans into action. We’re not blindly following Draco’s lead—we’re not stupid, you know.”

Normal conversation resumed, and Harry and Hermione went back to watching the fireplace. They’d known that it might be two or even three in the afternoon before the group got back, but that didn’t stop them from worrying, and playing out in their heads all the things that could have gone wrong.

Finally, after what seemed like forever (even though the clock said that it was barely past one thirty), the fireplace flared. Harry and Hermione were on their feet in an instant; Harry was just in time to catch Ginny as she shot out of the Floo, and then to spin her out of the way so that they wouldn’t be tackled by Ron, who was right behind her. Neville and Pansy followed right behind, looking no worse than people usually do after coming out of the Floo.

Some of the others helped Ron, Neville and Pansy up. “Are you all right?” Harry asked Ginny, looking her over as if to locate any injuries.

“Of course,” Ginny said, watching Harry’s reaction with amusement. “You spent the entire time we were gone panicking, didn’t you?”

Harry flushed. “I wouldn’t say panicking…”

“Everything’s good, mate,” Ron said, grinning at Hermione, who was hugging him tightly. “It was simple.”

“Oh yes, simple,” Pansy sneered. “Care to have a go at it again, without the step by step instructions?”

“Er… no thanks,” Ron said embarrassedly.

“So then—you got it?” Harry asked Ginny. “Really?”

Ginny grinned hugely. “Really,” she confirmed. “Come on, we’ll show you.”

Harry nodded. “Right, in the conference room.” He turned to Neville and Pansy. “Thanks a ton, you two. You know what you went to get, but not why, but I promise you, it’s big—really big.”

Surprisingly, Pansy shrugged. “I don’t need to know, Potter,” she said, taking Neville’s hand and pulling him toward the stairs. “There’s only one really big thing I want right now, and Neville’s going to give it to me.”

Neville went beet red. “Um,” he murmured, but then Pansy dragged him (not unwillingly) up the stairs and out of sight.

“You know,” Fred said casually, “I think that girl’s beginning to grow on me.”

“Yeah, like a fungus,” Lee muttered.

“As I was saying,” Harry declared loudly, “let’s go to the conference room.”

The moment Harry had shut the door to the second conference room, cutting himself, Ginny, Hermione and Ron off from the rest of the world, Hermione whipped out her wand and exclaimed “Expelliarmus!” Ginny and Ron’s wands flew out of their pockets, and Hermione caught them.

Both Ron and Ginny had been expecting it, since they’d said beforehand that they would have to be checked for the influence of the Imperius Curse. “All right,” Ron said resignedly, sitting at the table and grimacing at Harry, who’d produced a clear crystal vial containing veritaserum. “Let’s get it over with.”

Ron and Ginny proved who they were immediately, and that neither of them had been taken control of. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?” Harry asked. “You’re not feeling ill or anything…?”

“Nope. I’m a little hungry,” Ron said, trying not to grin. “Does that count?”

“Harry, it all went fine,” Ginny insisted. “Draco’s instructions were very thorough, and we were careful to follow them exactly. He didn’t try to mislead us at all—everything he wrote down was accurate.” She reached in a pocket and pulled out a small wooden box with a hinged lid no more than 20 cm long. Harry and Hermione held their breath while Ginny placed the box in the middle of the table, undid the clasp, and lifted the lid open.

Inside there was a small vial, not very dissimilar to the one Harry used for the Veritaserum, resting in a bed of silk-lined cushions. The viscous liquid inside the vial was a sickly green color. There was a piece of parchment attached to the lid, yellowed slightly with age. On the parchment were written two words in an elegant, looping hand:

Basilisk Venom

Harry let out a long, slow breath. He looked up at Ginny and smiled enormously. “You did it!”

“It wasn’t that big a deal,” Ginny admitted, her cheeks pinking slightly as she shut the lid. “All we did was follow the directions. It only took so long because there were so many different protections.”

“Was there anything else in there?” Hermione asked curiously. “Anything else that might have been useful?”

“Well, there was some other stuff,” Ron said, “but Pansy said we shouldn’t touch it, since we didn’t know what protections were on those things—only the venom.”

“Pansy was absolutely right,” Harry stated. “It was too dangerous. Besides, what else do we need at this point? If we’re right, then we have what we need to destroy the Horcruxes! And we’re not lacking anything else in the way of supplies.”

“You never know,” Ginny countered. “Anything that the Malfoys put in that vault must have been immeasurably valuable. We couldn’t really tell what anything else was since everything was in boxes or chests, but there might have been something useful.”

Harry shook his head. “No. We’re not going to push our luck looking for some random thing that will win us the war. If we—or that is, Luna, Sally-Ann, Padma and Terry—can manage to destroy the Horcruxes, then we have what we need, and anything else would just be a bonus.”

Ginny looked like she might respond for a moment, but then shrugged. “Okay. You’re right that we have to make sure the basilisk venom does what we’re hoping, or we won’t be able to proceed with our plans anyway. We should get Luna, Sally-Ann, Padma and Terry together and give them the venom—I bet they’ll want to get started right away.”

The others agreed, and Ron offered to go and round up the four Ravenclaws. Harry, Ginny and Hermione waited in the conference room, with Ginny describing the vault and the manor it was hidden in. “It was pretty much like I expected a Malfoy home to be,” she concluded. “Dark, imposing, and creepy. I don’t know how anyone could have lived there—I would never have been able to sleep in that place.”

Ron returned, with Padma and Terry. “I’m off to get Luna; George said that she’s supposed to be in their room,” Ron said. “Sally-Ann’s working at Fred and George’s shop, so she’ll just have to catch up later.”

“No, that’s no good,” Harry said. “She needs to be up on everything.”

“Not to mention that she’ll never forgive you if you don’t tell her right away about the venom,” Padma added with a twitch of her lip.

“Ron, did you run into Lee?” Hermione asked.

Ron nodded. “He was still in the kitchen when I was down there.”

“Good. Ask him to cover for Sally-Ann and send her back here,” Hermione suggested. “Tell him it’s very important.”

Harry, Ginny and Hermione showed Padma and Terry the vial of basilisk venom while they waited for Ron to get back with Luna and Sally-Ann. Padma and Terry excitedly started asking questions, but Harry held them off, not wanting to have to go through everything twice.

Sure enough, when Sally-Ann arrived she was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. “Is it really true?” she asked. “You really—” She spotted the chest, now closed, on the table and squealed, something she rarely did. “That’s amazing! How did you—?”

Harry once again staved off questions until Ron returned with Luna. Everyone scrunched into the conference room, and Ron gratefully reclaimed his chair. “I’m all in,” he panted. “I just ran up and down those bloody stairs three times!”

Ron recovered his breath while Ginny did her best to answer the rapid-fire questions coming from the four Ravenclaws. Unfortunately, despite having found the basilisk venom, they hadn’t really learned anything new. “So it’s going to be up to you to figure out what to do from here on,” Ginny told them. “We’re just as in the dark about this as you are.”

“We’ve been doing a fair bit of research on the properties of basilisk venom,” Padma said as she peered at the vial, still nestled in the depression in the silk. “It’s fairly common knowledge that the venom has been banned because it’s been the key ingredient in some horrific potions. But because it’s illegal and unbelievably rare, no one’s ever done a serious study of its properties as far as we can tell.”

“Well, that makes sense,” Hermione said thoughtfully. “It looks like the four of you will get to be the first, then.”

Sally-Ann, Terry and Padma all looked ecstatic at the prospect of becoming worldwide authorities on basilisk venom. Luna was obviously curious and ready to get started, but as was her nature, she wasn’t as boisterous about it. “Harry, we’re going to need to have access to one of the Horcruxes,” Padma pointed out. “Not to do anything to it yet, of course, but it would be helpful to do some proximity tests, like we did with your blood.”

Harry glanced at Hermione, who nodded, and Ron, who shrugged. “It makes sense,” Ginny said when Harry turned to her. “But you’re not to do a damned thing to it yet, understand?” she snapped at the Ravenclaws. “No spells or potion ingredients touch the Horcrux until we’ve approved it!”

Everyone agreed, so Ginny went out and slipped into the first conference room, and opened the chest where they kept the Horcruxes locked away. She deliberated for a moment, and then pulled out the locket Horcrux, since it was the smallest and easiest to manage. After re-locking the chest, she walked back to the second conference room. “All right,” she said once the door was shut again, and pulled the Horcrux out of her pocket. She handed it to Sally-Ann, who’d donned a pair of dragon-hide gloves for handling dangerous objects. “Those aren’t really necessary,” she said, pointing to the gloves.

“Better safe then sorry,” Sally-Ann replied. “We’ve seen what these things do to Harry—who knows, they might be doing something to us that’s so subtle we don’t even know it.”

Harry’s eyes widened. “Is that likely?”

“Likely? No,” Sally-Ann admitted. She put the Horcrux carefully on the table, on top of a piece of parchment. “But possible? Yes. So like I said, we’re taking no chances.”

“Good,” Harry said. “When you’re ready to stop, we have to lock the Horcrux up again, so work as long as you like on it, but come and get one of us when you’re through.”

Clearly anxious to get started, the Ravenclaws agreed, and Terry was sent off to collect their various books and research materials. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny all stepped out in order to make room; “Good luck,” Harry said to the Ravenclaws as they left. “Let us know as soon as you make any progress.”

Padma nodded her assent, and shut the door. “Is there anything else to do now?” Ron asked. “I could use a nap.”

“It’s almost three o’clock,” Harry said with a grin. “Time for you and the rest of the Quidditch team to meet up with Oliver Wood.”

“The entire team except you, of course,” Hermione said sternly to Harry, although she was smirking.

“Of course,” Harry said innocently. “Everyone but me.”

*****

The waiter had to push two big tables together to accommodate everyone. Not that the pub minded—Diagon Alley had been so empty recently that the pub was nearly barren of patrons. Even so, it felt almost full once Oliver, Ron, Angelina, Alicia, Katie, Fred and George all got settled and started talking.

“So how’s life as a big-shot famous Quidditch player treating you, Ollie?” Fred asked.

“Not bad, by the look of it,” Alicia said with a waggle of her eyebrows.

Oliver flushed, but it was clearly true. While Oliver had always been in good shape, the training regimen that professional Quidditch players were put through had clearly paid off. Oliver was layered with slim muscles, which complimented his stocky build very well. He was also wearing robes of a very high quality—being a star Quidditch player paid well, too.

“Can’t complain,” Oliver answered, avoiding a response to Alicia’s comment. “Well, except that we finished fourth. That was bloody pathetic, that was. But the owner’s let us all know that he’s going to bring in a new Chaser to take over for Hansen, who just hasn’t been able to cut it.”

“Good,” Angelina said sourly. “Hansen was wretched, I think he cost you the division.”

“Too bad you’re still an amateur,” Oliver said to Angelina. “I’d recommend you to the owner in a second.” Angelina ducked her head embarrassedly at the compliment.

“Who’s it going to be, then?” George asked eagerly. “Someone who didn’t resign? Is it Robertson? I heard he’s fed up with Kenmare, and he’d be perfect—”

“I don’t know,” Oliver interrupted. “He didn’t say who, and I couldn’t tell you if I did know. Secrecy, keeping the other teams in the dark, and all that. But,” he added when George looked disappointed, “I’d love to see Robertson heading for the goals on the opposite side of the pitch from now on.”

“Oh, we could make sure that happens,” Fred suggested. “A simple Confundus Charm would do wonders.”

Oliver fixed a piercing gaze on Fred. “Would you have wanted to win the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup because you’d cheated?” he asked pointedly.

“Hell no!” Fred exclaimed.

“Right,” Oliver said. “Well, I wouldn’t want to win the division by cheating either. We’ll just have to do it like we did at Hogwarts—good players and a solid plan.” Everyone else let out long-suffering groans, which Oliver ignored. “And speaking of the Hogwarts Cup,” he continued, “Harry couldn’t make it?”

Ron, who was seated to Oliver’s immediate right, grinned. “Oh, he’s here,” Ron said. “In spirit if not in flesh.”

Oliver paused. That comment had been very unlike the Ron Weasley he’d known. Of course, Oliver hadn’t seen Ron since the Quidditch World Cup almost three and a half years ago. But still… “What do you mean by that?” he asked sharply.

Oliver felt a poke in his right side, just below the table. Half-turning, his eyes widened. “Angie?”

“Relax, Ollie,” Angelina said calmly, poking her wand into Oliver’s side again. “We just have to make sure you’re safe.”

“Safe?” Oliver repeated. “What are you on about?” When the wand poking his side didn’t move, his eyes narrowed as it dawned on him. “So that’s why Harry isn’t here, then? He thinks I went over to You-Know-Who?” he asked furiously.

“No he doesn’t,” Ron said. “But he’s in a lot of danger, so he has to be sure. He wants you to be checked. With Veritaserum.” He brought a goblet out from under the table. “Drink that,” he ordered.

Oliver eyed the goblet dubiously. “No bloody way,” he said flatly. “If Harry doesn’t trust me, the—”

“It’s not a matter of trust,” Ron interrupted calmly. “You could have been put under the Imperius Curse, after all. The Veritaserum is for Harry’s protection. All of them,” he added, gesturing to the rest of the table, “went through the same thing.”

Nods all around the table confirmed what Ron had said. Oliver was slightly mollified—he could understand Harry being paranoid, considering what he’d been through. “Wait a second,” he said as something Ron had just said sank in. “They went through it?” he asked Ron shrewdly. “Not you?”

Ron hesitated before answering. “No, I didn’t,” he said finally. “I hardly have to prove myself to myself, do I?”

It took a few seconds before Oliver realized what Ron was saying. “You—you mean you’re—”

Angelina’s wand poked him hard in the ribs. “Don’t say it,” she hissed.

“I thought you were acting weird for Ron,” Oliver said quietly. Ron’s lip twitched. “Okay… so how do I know that you’re not all Death Eaters in disguise, trying to get me? For all I know, this,” he added, tapping the goblet, “is poison.”

Ron frowned. “Huh. Fair point.”

“Oh for Merlin’s sake,” Alicia huffed. She leaned across the table, picked up the goblet and drank half of the pumpkin juice inside. Oliver saw it glisten on her lips before she licked it off. “Convinced?” she asked as she sat back down.

“Er… I guess so,” Oliver said. He picked up the goblet and considered it for a second before shrugging. “What the hell,” he said, and threw back the whole thing.

Ron grinned as Oliver wiped his mouth on his sleeve. “So,” he said casually, “what’s your name?”

*****

“This is bloody incredible!” Oliver exclaimed. He was halfway through a tour of the House of Black, with Harry (now back in his own form since the Polyjuice Potion had worn off) showing him around, and accompanied by the real Ron, and Ginny Weasley—now Ginny Potter.

Oliver had, of course, proven to be himself, and had also proven that he wasn’t under anyone’s control and was opposed to Voldemort. He’d immediately agreed to join the D.A. when Harry had offered—how could he not? Voldemort was too dangerous not to fight against, and Oliver was more than up to the challenge. He had little to no faith in the Ministry to take Voldemort down… and he knew that no one in the world had a better understanding of Voldemort than Harry Potter.

Oliver thumped on the wall where the door to the first conference room should have been; Ginny had just stepped inside and shut the door, causing the magical protection to activate and the door to disappear. “Incredible,” he said again. “Who in Merlin’s name figured this spell out?”

“It was Hermione,” Harry said.

“Of course it was,” Oliver chuckled as the door reappeared and Ginny stepped out. “That girl’s too bloody clever by half.” Ron—who Oliver had just learned was engaged to Hermione—beamed with pride. “I would’ve liked to know the trick of this when I was at Hogwarts,” Oliver said. “Wouldn’t it have been something to do this to Snape’s door?”

Everyone had a good laugh at that idea. “There’s only one problem,” Ginny pointed out once she calmed down. “You have to go inside to activate it; so once the door opened, you’re right there waiting to be caught.”

“True. Ah well, it’s a nice idea,” Oliver said wistfully. “Damn, but I miss Hogwarts sometimes. Seventh year was absolutely brilliant. Won the Cup, did better than I expected on my NEWTs… and I discovered beyond a shadow of a doubt that some girls think Quidditch gear is right sexy. What a great year.”

“Really?” Harry asked with a grin. “Which girls would those be?”

“None of your business,” Oliver smirked, thankful that the Veritaserum had worn off by then. “But I bet Quidditch weren’t too bad for you either, as far as girls were concerned, was it?”

“Oh,” Harry said airily, “I guess it had its perks.” Ginny punched him in the arm. “Ow!”

“Hey, I think it works for girls too,” Ron said. “After all, the only two girls Harry ever dated were Quidditch players!”

Ginny punched him in the arm, too. “Anyway, that’s not true,” she said primly. “What about Luna?”

“That wasn’t dating—” Ron started.

“That’s right, it wasn’t,” Harry interrupted, not wanting Ron to mention his and Ginny’s prior involvement with Luna. “I just took her to that one Christmas party! As friends! And it was only because you,” he said pointedly to Ginny, “were too busy dating Dean Thomas!”

“Well, if you hadn’t been so stupidly hung up on Cho then maybe I wouldn’t have—” Ginny started, but apparently Harry had had enough of the pseudo-argument, because he grabbed Ginny and kissed her. When he drew back, she smirked. “I take it you’re offering a truce?”

“Yeah,” Harry agreed. “For all of us, okay?”

“Hey, you don’t have to kiss me!” Oliver laughed.

They continued the tour. Oliver was pleased to see the practice rooms, since he’d let his spell-work fall off a little due to the Quidditch season’s hectic schedule. He greeted Neville Longbottom again, and gaped in amazement at the makeshift greenhouse they’d set up, which was in a magically enlarged room easily as big as two of the Hogwarts greenhouses. Oliver had never been terrific at Herbology, but was decent enough to recognize a lot of what was being grown; Neville had his hands full, as did the two girls who were working in there as well. Oliver was introduced to Susan and Hannah, who he only remembered vaguely from Hogwarts—but that made sense, since they both positively screamed Hufflepuff.

“Upstairs is just bedrooms,” Harry told Oliver as they stepped out of the greenhouse. “Can you get away from wherever you’re living? Only I’d really prefer it if you’d stay here for the duration.”

“No problem, Oliver assured him. “My flat’s empty a lot because the team’s always traveling. I have a maid go in once a week and make sure everything’s okay. I’ll just tell people that I’m using the off-season to practice in secret so no one knows what I’m working on.” Harry smiled, clearly pleased at Oliver’s idea. “Are you sure you’ve got room for me? There’s a lot of people here…”

“We’ve got room, don’t worry,” Ginny answered. “the fourth floor’s practically empty. A lot of people share rooms.”

“Is that so?” Oliver said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “Well, well…”

“Pervert,” Harry muttered.

“So Harry,” Oliver asked as they walked down the stairs toward the kitchen; Harry had remembered that Oliver had yet to see their potions room, which was in the basement. “Why didn’t you ask me to join you before? From the looks of it you’ve been at this for a good while now!”

“The D.A. was reformed on July 31,” Harry said. “My seventeenth birthday. And we couldn’t invite you back then, Oliver—you were in the middle of your season. You’re a high-profile Quidditch player, so you weren’t exactly able to help much with a secret organization.”

“Well… yeah, that’s true,” Oliver agreed reluctantly.

“If it’s any consolation, that was the only reason we didn’t invite you sooner,” Harry offered.

“Oh. Good. So you invited me now because the season’s ended?”

“Basically,” Harry confirmed. “Alicia got your letter, and realized that you’d be free from Quidditch at just the right time.”

“Okay,” Oliver said, accepting that. “So what do you want me to do, then? I’m not the greatest at magic, just okay at it. I don’t know how much help I’d be in a fight.”

“But you are a strategist,” Harry pointed out. “You were brilliant at coming up with Quidditch formations when you were Quidditch captain at Hogwarts. Me, Ginny, Ron and Hermione have laid out a plan, and we’re developing it, but we could use your eye to tell us if there’s something unsound—or maybe you could come up with some way of improving it altogether. We need some more ideas for things that the Death Eaters won’t expect.”

“Huh.” Oliver thought about that. “Okay, that makes sense. And as for new ideas, have you got Angelina, Alicia and Katie up in the air?”

“What?” Harry stopped on the stairs and turned to look up at Oliver in confusion. “What do you mean, up in the air?”

“On their brooms,” Oliver said as if it were obvious. “Those girls are all terrific Chasers—they’re used to flying one-handed and manipulating the Quaffle with the other. Couldn’t they fly around Diagon Alley with their wands out, hexing Death Eaters from above?”

Harry just goggled at Oliver, and so did Ron and Ginny. “I guess you hadn’t thought of that, then,” Oliver said wryly.

“That—I don’t believe it,” Harry said weakly. “It’s so bloody obvious—why the hell didn’t we think of that?”

“Because Oliver has Quidditch on his mind twenty-four seven,” Ginny replied. But she looked and sounded very excited. “Oh, I can just imagine Angelina swooping down on a row of Death Eaters and blasting them with a Bat-Bogey Hex from out of nowhere! Or better yet, one of Fred and George’s inventions! Too bad I won’t be there, I’d love to try it… but Angelina, Alicia, Katie and Oliver should be more than enough to throw the Death Eaters off!”

“Me?” Oliver said, frowning. “No, I can’t do it.”

“What?” Ron said. “Why not?”

“I’m a Keeper,” Oliver explained patiently. “I’m not built for speed, which is what anyone flying over a battle would need—the ability to dodge and maneuver, and handle their wand at the same time. I’d say only Chasers and Seekers should try it—too bad you won’t be there, Harry. What about Cho? She’s pretty good, right?”

“She’s quit Quidditch,” Harry said sadly. “Besides, we have something else in mind for her. But Angelina, Alicia and Katie would be perfect—they’re even used to flying together.”

“Too bad about not having a Seeker, though,” Oliver said. “Oh well. The girls will do a lot of damage by themselves. Maybe I can coordinate them from the ground somehow…”

“Hey,” Ron said. “I had a thought.”

“What’s that?” Harry asked.

Ron hesitated, clearly unhappy. Finally he said reluctantly, “What about Krum?”

“Krum?” Oliver repeated. “Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian Seeker? Is he a member of the D.A.?”

“No,” Ron said, “but Hermione’s kept up with writing to him. I bet he’d come help if she asked.”

Oliver couldn’t possibly have missed how much Ron didn’t want to suggest they invite Krum. Oliver didn’t know the story, but clearly there was some bad blood between Ron Weasley and Viktor Krum.

“I don’t know, Ron,” Harry said uncomfortably. “We don’t really know that we can trust Krum.”

“That’s what Veritaserum is for,” Ginny said shortly. “It’s a good idea, Ron—I know you don’t like it, but it was good of you to suggest it anyway.” She turned to Harry. “I’m in favor of Hermione inviting Krum for a visit—just a friendly visit, like a vacation. Once he’s here we can decide whether we want to take it any further.”

Harry nodded slowly. “That sounds reasonable. Let’s get together with Hermione later and talk about exactly what she should put in the letter.” He looked up. “Ron, are you going to be okay with this? I know it was your idea, but if it’s going to cause trouble then we’ll forget it—we can’t afford distractions right now.”

Ron’s jaw tightened and he tensed up for a second, but then he relaxed. “No, it’s okay,” he said calmly. “I trust Hermione, and she’s wearing my ring. Krum’s just another guy now. Besides,” he added with a grim smile, “if I can beat up the Minister of Magic who used to be the head of the Auror department, then I can take on Viktor Krum.”

Harry frowned slightly but didn’t comment. “Okay then. We’ll go meet up with Hermione in a bit to work out the letter. And Oliver, we’ll talk more about putting the girls in the air later as well, and develop the idea.” He grinned. “See, this is exactly why we wanted you here, Oliver!”

“Glad I can help,” Oliver replied, matching Harry’s grin. “Now let’s get the tour over with so I can start making up some diagrams.”

Harry groaned.