"Quite a shame. Not only does Griffindor lose a very gifted seeker, but I know that you love the game just as much as your father did." McGonagall said with a nostalgic sigh. "I offered the badge you declined to Miss Bell and while I know that she is more than capable for the position... Without any other member of the team returning, we will be hard-pressed to win the cup this year."
"I wouldn't worry too much about it. Katie has been playing as long as I have and will be a great captain. And with Ron and Ginny helping her, they have the making of a good team." Harry said as memories of the tryouts came back to him. He'd gone with Hermione and Luna to cheer on Ron and Ginny.
Ginny had been awesome and Katie would have struggled to find a better chaser. Unfortunately, her skilful demonstration had not helped to calm Ron's nerves. Despite their best efforts to reassure him, he'd been a nervous wreck when he entered the field. He ended up fumbling with the quaffle a few times and almost didn't make the team. He did manage to pull through in the end but it was a close thing.
"If you do not mind me asking Mr. Potter, what could possibly take so much of your time when you only attend a single class?"
"I know how it looks, but we-I'm quite busy working on my own projects."
Great save Harry. Got any more fumbles planned today?
In the hope she would just ignore his mistake, he quickly continued.
"I know you don't want me to fight with everyone out here, but Voldemort won't stop because he can't get to me. I can't just stand around and study while other people are dying to protect us."
At least not when he had access to things that could turn the war around.
"I promise it's safe. Just... research and stuff like that. Nothing dangerous."
And it was true... For now. But she didn't need to know that.
McGonagall watched him intently for a moment before putting her empty cup down.
"I may be old, Mister Potter, but I am not senile quite yet. I know that many of your comrades are following you in whatever it is you are doing in secret. I want to make sure you will make sure they are safe and don't do anything that would put them in the middle of this war."
Shite. How much did she know? Play dumb Harry.
"Me? Why do you think they'll listen to me, professor?" He asked in his most innocent voice.
This only seemed to irritate her, however, as she stared down at him like one would a misbehaving kitten.
"You are not quite as subtle as you'd like to think. The glances in your direction, the way they listen when you talk, how they move to protect you if they think a fight will break out in the hallways... If it was only young Ronald, I would be one thing, but all of them Harry? They look up to you as their leader. They follow your lead without question and I do not want to see them harmed because of foolhardy ambitions."
Ok, maybe that had been a bit too dumb.
"I'll do what I can, professor. But there might come a time when we don't have a choice."
Her sigh as she finally broke her gaze had nothing nostalgic this time. Harry had a feeling of deja vu as she seemed to deflate a little, letting the weight of her age get to her for the first time since he knew her.
"I once taught an entire generation of brilliant young minds, only to see them be shaped and killed in a war they shouldn't have been involved in. I hoped I would not have to live to see it happen again. I know you went through much during your stay here and I am sorry we could not prevent any of it or the current situation of our world. But you are still a child and should cherish these peaceful moments before being thrust into the pain and misery of a war that will do nothing but leave scars that will follow you your whole life."
Her expression softened and a soft smile made its way back to her lips. With a tap of her wand, the kettle floated around to fill their cups once again.
"Take it from an old woman who spent most of her life watching children come and go in this dusty castle. These innocent times of fun and mischief with friends are too precious to be cast aside to deal with the adults' mistakes. A splash of milk?"
Definitely a deja vu.
Two weeks after his afternoon tea with his head of house, Harry was rubbing his neck while trying to decipher a security report. All this looking down was starting to give him neck cramps. Apparently, Malfoy had been spotted several times snooping around the seventh floor, looking for something. While he had no idea how he had learned of it, there was little doubt he had been searching for the room. Fortunately, the protections they had put around the hallway seem to have done the trick and they had yet to be discovered.
Who can find a door when the entire hallway is missing?
His musings were interrupted when someone nudged him in the sides. Tearing his eyes off the slate, he looked to his right to find Ron and Hermione, leaning against the railing of the observation deck and looking at him.
"Mate, can't you take a break for two minutes and appreciate the moment?"
"Ron's right. It's not every day you inaugurate a space station after all!"
On the other side of the force field, the impressive sight of the new Neptune station, completed at last. The entire crew had gathered on the various observation decks in small groups to see it light up for the first time.