A New Place to Stay Chapter 53 - Harry Potter

A week after losing the Horcrux, Harry is stronger in magic but on shaky ground with Severus. When Snape forbids him from going to Hogsmeade and Harry defies him on the strength of Sirius’s signed form, their first real clash as guardian and ward leaves Harry queasy with guilt. In the village, he, Neville and Luna stock up at Honeydukes, wander into Dervish and Banges, and stumble across the Deathly Hallows symbol as Luna tells the legend of the Peverell brothers—linking Harry’s cloak, the Gaunt ring and his own family history in ways he cannot ignore. At the Three Broomsticks, everything explodes: Harry overhears Draco using the Imperius Curse on Madam Rosmerta to target Luna with a cursed necklace meant for Dumbledore, and fury drives him to blast Draco through a wall and beat him bloody in front of half the school before Neville drags him off. McGonagall Floos Harry back to Hogwarts, Hagrid carries a broken Draco after them, and Neville races Luna safely to the castle, leaving Harry to face the fallout of defying Severus while proving exactly why no one hurts his friends and walks away.

Transcript

**Chapter 53: Hogsmeade**

A week had passed since Harry finally freed himself from the Horcrux he had carried for fifteen years. If Severus hadn’t been aware of what was happening, he might have felt a bit bewildered.

Harry had claimed that his magic had only increased slightly, but during their training, Severus realized it was more than just a minor improvement. Harry had managed to break through his shield with only two spells, pouring a considerable amount of magic into them.

Severus felt a surge of pride in Harry's progress; he was certain that Harry could hold his own against some of the more formidable Death Eaters. However, he doubted he would ever consider Harry ready to face the Dark Lord, mainly because of his personal feelings toward the teenager.

He had taught Harry magic that the light side wouldn’t approve of—bordering on dark but never officially labeled as ‘Dark.’

“You cannot go to Hogsmeade,” Severus said, narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms, determination radiating from him. “I can.

Sirius signed it for me,” Harry replied, lowering his piece of toast in confusion. “Let me rephrase that: you aren’t going,” Severus said sarcastically.

“Yes, I am,” Harry asserted firmly. “Harry!” Severus sighed, exasperated, biting his tongue to refrain from demanding once more.

Clearly, that tactic wouldn’t work. “Going out into the open is just asking for trouble.”

Harry snorted.

“I don’t think so. Nothing will happen until the end of the year.”

Severus, beyond frustrated with Harry, stood up and shook his head.

Fine, let it be on Harry's head. He knew the teenager wouldn’t listen, so he decided to stop wasting his breath.

Besides, he couldn’t actually ban Harry from going; he had permission from that blasted godfather of his. What was Sirius thinking?

Did he want his godson to be killed? Because his actions certainly indicated that.

The worst part was that he wouldn’t be accompanying the students this year, which meant if anything happened… he wouldn’t be able to help. The Death Eaters were becoming increasingly active, and he honestly felt the weight of the impending danger.

Harry couldn’t understand why he was risking everything just for some sweets. He fought the urge to slam the door behind him as he left, making his way to the Great Hall.

His fingers dug into his palms, trying to suppress the anger he felt toward his stubborn charge. As Harry watched Severus storm out of his quarters, it was clear that his mentor was furious.

But instead of confronting him, Severus had simply walked away. Harry gulped, feeling torn.

On one hand, he wanted to go to Hogsmeade, to experience a sense of normalcy and forget about the Dark Lord he had to defeat. Dark Lord?

He realized he had been spending far too much time with his father. He placed some toast on his plate, suddenly feeling queasy.

He had never outright disobeyed Severus since being taken in after his fourth year. What if Severus decided to stop training him and wanted nothing to do with him?

No, he wouldn’t do that. But what should he do?

Cancel his plans with Neville just to appease Severus, or go and prove that nothing would happen? Surely, the Dark Lord wouldn’t attack Hogsmeade.

No, he decided he would go and show Severus he was perfectly safe. Just to be cautious, he would take his invisibility cloak as backup.

This wasn’t how he had expected his morning to unfold. It was the first time, aside from training, that he had spent any time with Severus since the Horcrux had been removed.

Since then, he had actually been sleeping much better, as if the darkness he had carried around was finally gone. With a tired sigh, he stood up and made his way out of Severus’s quarters.

His stomach churned, making him feel as though he had betrayed his mentor by simply saying he was going to Hogsmeade. Irritated with himself and with Severus, he donned the invisibility cloak and slipped out of the dungeons as quietly as possible, sidestepping a few Slytherins who were no doubt heading up for breakfast.

Once he reached the entrance hall, he removed his cloak behind a statue and tucked it into his enlarged pocket, which could hold just about anything. Then he slid out and headed toward the Great Hall.

Harry entered the hall, as if he were coming from the Gryffindor common room rather than the dungeons. Sliding in, he spotted Neville with his feet propped up on the seats, saving a spot for him.

Grinning wryly, Harry walked over and poked Neville in the back, causing him to jump. “Hey!” Neville exclaimed, swallowing the curse he had almost shouted.

He was no longer the shy boy he had been a few years ago, a fact everyone had learned over the past year—even the Slytherins, ironically enough. Even Draco Malfoy hadn’t bothered him or cursed him; it was turning out to be a rather strange year.

“You ready to go?” Harry asked, eager to get a dozen mice for Zar, who seemed to prefer them above anything else. “Aren’t you going to have breakfast?” Neville replied, concern etched on his face.

He had never seen Harry leave without eating something. “I’ll grab something in Hogsmeade,” Harry said.

“Then you finish yours,” Neville insisted, gesturing to the spot he had saved for Harry. “Great,” Neville said, returning to his breakfast.

He was munching on healthy food, determined not to regain the weight he had fought so hard to lose. They had gone running that morning, but Neville had to finish some homework he had completely forgotten was due.

Harry had left for the library. “Hey, did you find the book you wanted?” Neville asked.

“Nope, I’m just going to order it from Flourish and Blotts,” Harry replied, shaking his head. Neville doubted there was any book missing from the library that Harry could possibly want.

Curiosity gnawed at him about what Harry was up to. Unfortunately, if Harry wasn’t going to share, Neville would have to guess and wonder.

He certainly wasn’t about to follow him; he had seen how Harry reacted to Ron trailing them, and he didn’t want that fury directed at him—not a chance. Maybe one day, Harry would trust him enough to confide in him.

Harry stared longingly at the food; he was hungry, but his stomach rebelled at the thought of eating. Harry’s gaze drifted to Severus, who looked furious.

That didn’t help his stomach at all. Just then, Neville spoke up, pulling Harry’s attention away completely.

“That’s the teachers getting ready to go,” Neville said, hastily finishing the rest of his meal. Even at sixteen, they were still escorted by the teachers.

He felt relieved to see that Snape wasn’t among them this time. Harry looked up and saw that Neville was right; Flitwick, McGonagall, Hagrid, and Sprout were all standing, clipboards in hand.

Standing up, he made his way out of the Great Hall alongside Neville and the rest of their classmates heading to Hogsmeade. “Something wrong?

You look like you… don’t want to go now,” Neville said, quickly correcting himself to avoid saying something like ‘your cat died,’ not wanting to bring Harry down further. “Just worried,” Harry grumbled.

What if Severus was right? What if they were attacked?

Stiffening his resolve, he reminded himself that if it was going to happen, it would happen with or without him there. “About what?” Neville asked, frowning.

Then again, this was Harry; he always seemed to be worried about something. Even before they had become friends, his worries usually surfaced in the middle to end of the year.

Neville had connected the dots and realized it was mostly about You-Know-Who. “Attacks, stuff like that,” Harry admitted.

“I knew it!” Neville said, a smug look on his face, before adding in a more sympathetic tone, “It’s not just you who’s worried, Harry. Everyone else is too.

We’re at war; it’s expected.”

Harry turned back to the doors of the Great Hall, his eyebrows rising in shocked understanding. Was that the real reason Severus didn’t want him to go?

Was he worried about him? Was that all?

Merlin, he wished he knew. The uncertainty made him feel queasy.

He hoped Severus wouldn’t stay mad at him. Turning back around, he waited in line until McGonagall began to move.

“So, where to first?” Neville asked as everyone started wandering off. all around Hogsmeade.

“How about going to Honeydukes?” Luna asked. “Chocolate will help ward off the wrackspurts.” 

“Yup, the invisible wrackspurts can’t have that happening,” Harry replied wryly, sharing a glance with Neville, who grinned sheepishly.

“No, we can’t,” Luna said seriously. Harry pursed his lips to suppress a laugh, feeling much better about everything as they made their way into Honeydukes.

He dug into his pocket, searching for the bag of money he knew was tucked away. When he found it, he yanked it out, absentmindedly pushing his invisibility cloak back in as he did so.

Thankfully, most of the older students had opted to go to The Three Broomsticks first for a Butterbeer, allowing them to navigate the shop without any difficulties. “Oh look, they have my favorite back!” Luna exclaimed dreamily, leaving Neville and Harry to grab a few of her favorite sweets.

“I thought she was going to stop wearing her wand behind her ear,” Harry remarked, watching her with bemusement. In his opinion, it wasn’t a safe place to keep it.

“She tried,” Neville said, laughing softly. “Didn’t you notice it was the first thing she did when we were dueling?

She reached behind her ear to get it.” 

“Yeah, I did,” Harry nodded reluctantly. “She’s brilliant at dueling; she has nothing to worry about,” Neville continued.

Luna made him feel like a novice; she was skilled and competent. She could conjure a Patronus, and it took her less time than it took him!

Considering he had managed it during a Defense class, that was saying something. Her Patronus was a hare—utterly magnificent.

She had definitely proven her Ravenclaw status with the way she mastered spells. “She is, isn’t she?” Harry said.

It wasn’t a chore to teach her spells, that’s for sure. In fact, he’d never admit it, but she was easier to teach than Neville.

“Yeah,” Neville replied, picking up a few chocolate frogs from the shelf. As they moved along to grab some sweets for his mum, Neville always made it a point to bring her treats during his visits.

She always handed him back the empty wrappers, as if she knew he was the one giving her the goodies. Before heading over to the checkout line, Harry joined him a few moments later, his hands full of various sweets.

Unlike Harry, Neville couldn’t eat so much and still stay thin. “That reminds me, maybe you’ll be able to get that book from Dervish and Banges,” Neville suggested.

“Not that important,” Harry replied quickly. “I’d love to go to Dervish and Banges,” Luna chimed in, sneaking up on them.

“I know Daddy would love a new necklace.”

“Alright then, Dervish and Banges it is,” Harry said with a wry smile. Neville grinned as he set his sweets down and paid for them, moving to the side to wait for Harry and Luna to finish their purchases.

It was nice to get out of Hogwarts for a while; sixth year was tough, and Harry’s help had been invaluable. It felt great to take a break from it all.

“Do you think they’ve found Ollivander yet?” Neville asked, feeling a pang of sympathy for the old man, even though he hardly knew him. “I don’t think there’s going to be anything to find,” Harry admitted sadly.

“I mean, what could he want with a wand-maker? Other than trying to stop wizards and witches from getting their wands?”

“He might not have always been a wand-maker.

I mean, Fortescue didn’t just make ice cream,” Luna replied solemnly. “I know he was brilliant at Medieval Witch-burnings.

He helped me with my homework three years ago; he was really nice and kept bringing me sundaes every half hour,” Harry said, chuckling sadly as they turned right onto the main road. “I still don’t see why they’d take him, to be honest,” Neville said.

“There’s no rhyme or reason to You-Know-Who’s attacks,” he added. “There’s always a reason,” Harry said somberly.

Neville fell silent; he hadn’t been the one who had battled the dark forces. "How many times has it been now?" Neville wondered, counting silently.

Four, unless he was mistaken. As they opened the door to Dervish and Banges, they stepped inside the shop quietly.

Luna’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she took in the array of items around her, glancing from left to right. “Daddy will love this!” she exclaimed, holding up a pendant adorned with various shapes—circular, triangular, and a line cutting through them.

“That looks familiar,” Neville said, studying it with curiosity. “It does,” Harry replied, a slight pallor crossing his face.

That symbol was one he recognized from the Gaunt ring. “It’s the sign of the Deathly Hallows,” Luna said dreamily as she wandered off to pay for her purchase.

“Deathly Hallows?” Harry asked, tilting his head and glancing at Neville, who looked puzzled. “Mad as a hatter,” Neville muttered, shaking his head.

“You know what they are?” Harry asked, his interest piqued. “It’s nonsense,” Neville replied dismissively.

“Hmm…” Harry murmured, waiting for Luna to return. He was eager to learn more about the sign, even if Neville thought it was just silly.

He had meant to look it up but never found the time. “Finished?

Let’s go get a Butterbeer,” Neville suggested as Luna approached them. “What are the Deathly Hallows?” Harry asked immediately upon her return.

Neville rolled his eyes, following them outside as Harry listened intently to Luna. “Don’t you know the story about the Deathly Hallows, Harry?” Luna asked, surprised.

“No, tell me,” Harry replied, intrigued. A story?

He might be inclined to believe Neville if that design hadn’t been linked to a Horcrux. “Well,” Luna began, “it’s said in the legend that three brothers—Ignotus, Cadmus, and Antioch Peverell—confronted Death itself and beat him…” 

“Beat him?” Harry asked, arching an eyebrow in irony.

“They used magic to conjure a bridge,” Luna continued. “Death wasn’t happy that they had beaten him, so he offered his congratulations and tricked them.”

“Okay, how did they trick him?” Harry asked, his curiosity piqued.

“And what does that have to do with the symbol?”

Luna replied, “He gave them items—items that became collectively known as the Deathly Hallows. One item was given to each of the brothers.

The first received a stone of resurrection, which allows the person touching it to see the dead. The second received the most powerful wand in existence, known as the Elder Wand.

The third received the cloak of invisibility. It’s said he passed it down to his son and then joined Death as an old friend, going with him to the next world.”

Harry shivered, instinctively reaching for his cloak.

Was it possible? It sounded absurd, yet there was often a grain of truth behind every myth.

“What happened to the other brothers?” he asked, realizing they hadn’t covered that part. “One was killed the night he got the wand.

He got drunk and boasted about it,” Neville chimed in. “The other committed suicide when he realized he couldn’t have the one he loved in this life.”

“Have either of you heard of the Peverell brothers?” Harry asked, intrigued.

“Of course,” Luna answered. “They’re buried in Godric’s Hollow.”

Harry closed his eyes, feeling a sense of confirmation.

The Potters had been buried there, along with their wives, for generations. Who’s to say his family hadn’t originally been Peverells?

He knew quite a bit about his family history. Wait a minute—he was related to Voldemort.

The Gaunt ring and the cloak…they were connected through the Peverells. The so-called story was real, and that symbol was indeed a sign of the Deathly Hallows.

Too bad it didn’t help him much. He had hoped it would lead him to the rest of the Horcruxes.

There weren’t many left, at least not that they thought. By their estimates, only about three Horcruxes remained, but they had no idea where they were.

“We’re here,” Neville said, opening the door to the Three Broomsticks. “I’ll get us some drinks.

Butterbeer?” 

“Yes, please,” Harry replied. “Just get six and avoid the queue.

I need to go to the toilet. I’ll give you the money when I get back,” Harry said urgently.

“Alright,” Neville replied, nodding in agreement. “I’ll find us a table,” Luna added as she wandered off.

Harry hurried to the restrooms, bursting through the door despite the ‘out of order’ sign. He quickly took care of business, sighing in relief as he flushed and zipped up.

But he froze when he heard a woman enter. Had he accidentally walked into the ladies' room?

He hoped not; he’d never hear the end of it. Shaking off the silly thought, he reassured himself that he was in the men’s room.

Suddenly, he exhaled sharply as he heard an unforgivable curse being cast. The voice sounded familiar, but what he heard next chilled him to the bone.

“Imperio!” 

“Use the Imperius curse on Luna Lovegood and give her this necklace. Tell her to give it straight to Albus Dumbledore.”

Fury boiled inside Harry as he banged the door against the wall, confronting a startled and paling Draco Malfoy, alongside a blank Madam Rosmerta.

“Obliviate!” Draco shouted, aiming his wand at Harry, who quickly ducked and slipped his wand into his hand. He retaliated with such force that Draco blasted through the wall of the Three Broomsticks and out into the pub, triggering screams of panic.

Not thinking straight, Harry stormed out into the pub, yanking Draco back to the floor as he tried to scramble up unsuccessfully. Chants of “Fight!

Fight! Fight!

Fight! Fight!” echoed around the room as students crowded to watch with morbid curiosity.

“Fucking dickhead!” Harry snarled, punching Draco in the face. “I should kill you where you stand!”

“Let me go, Potter!” Draco hissed, utterly humiliated, his wand still in the bathroom.

“HARRY!” Neville shouted, wrapping his arms around Harry and dragging him bodily off Malfoy. “You’re done for!”

“Malfoy!” Harry snarled, struggling against Neville’s grip to get back at the blonde.

“You can do what you like to me, but nobody hurts my friends!” To his surprise, Neville stiffened, and Harry seized the opportunity to break free. He swung and landed another punch, sending Malfoy crashing to the floor again.

“Enough, Harry,” Neville said, pulling him back just as the teachers entered the scene. “MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!” Minerva McGonagall boomed, and instinctively, they obeyed.

“Potter,” she said, fixing her gaze on them. “Hagrid, see to Mr.

Malfoy. Potter, follow me.” McGonagall took charge with a snap.

“Get Luna back to Hogwarts. I mean it, Neville.

Don’t leave her alone,” Harry said furiously. Neville nodded vigorously, immediately leaving Harry’s side to search for Luna.

He found her and quickly left the Three Broomsticks. As Hagrid noticed Harry being dragged away through the Floo, he followed with Draco Malfoy cradled in his huge arms.

For once, Malfoy was silent; it was the quietest Harry had ever seen him. What had Malfoy said to provoke such fury?

Flitwick was already investigating the scene before the doors closed behind them. “What’s going on?” Luna asked, baffled.

“Let’s go,” Neville said, shaking his head as he hurriedly dragged her along, making their way back to the castle as fast as they could.