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<div id="nav-top"><form action="../go.php" method="GET" id="nav-form-top" target="_top"><div class="nav-prev"><a href="../chapter/62" title="Chapter 62: The Stanford Prison Experiment, Final" accesskey="p" target="_top">« Prev</a></div><div class="nav-dropdown"><select name="chapter" class="nav-select">
<option value="home">Home</option>
<option value="1">Chapter 1: A Day of Very Low Probability</option>
<option value="2">Chapter 2: Everything I Believe Is False</option>
<option value="3">Chapter 3: Comparing Reality To Its Alternatives</option>
<option value="4">Chapter 4: The Efficient Market Hypothesis</option>
<option value="5">Chapter 5: The Fundamental Attribution Error</option>
<option value="6">Chapter 6: The Planning Fallacy</option>
<option value="7">Chapter 7: Reciprocation</option>
<option value="8">Chapter 8: Positive Bias</option>
<option value="9">Chapter 9: Title Redacted, Part I</option>
<option value="10">Chapter 10: Self Awareness, Part II</option>
<option value="11">Chapter 11: Omake Files 1, 2, 3</option>
<option value="12">Chapter 12: Impulse Control</option>
<option value="13">Chapter 13: Asking the Wrong Questions</option>
<option value="14">Chapter 14: The Unknown and the Unknowable</option>
<option value="15">Chapter 15: Conscientiousness</option>
<option value="16">Chapter 16: Lateral Thinking</option>
<option value="17">Chapter 17: Locating the Hypothesis</option>
<option value="18">Chapter 18: Dominance Hierarchies</option>
<option value="19">Chapter 19: Delayed Gratification</option>
<option value="20">Chapter 20: Bayes's Theorem</option>
<option value="21">Chapter 21: Rationalization</option>
<option value="22">Chapter 22: The Scientific Method</option>
<option value="23">Chapter 23: Belief in Belief</option>
<option value="24">Chapter 24: Machiavellian Intelligence Hypothesis</option>
<option value="25">Chapter 25: Hold Off on Proposing Solutions</option>
<option value="26">Chapter 26: Noticing Confusion</option>
<option value="27">Chapter 27: Empathy</option>
<option value="28">Chapter 28: Reductionism</option>
<option value="29">Chapter 29: Egocentric Bias</option>
<option value="30">Chapter 30: Working in Groups, Pt 1</option>
<option value="31">Chapter 31: Working in Groups, Pt 2</option>
<option value="32">Chapter 32: Interlude: Personal Financial Management</option>
<option value="33">Chapter 33: Coordination Problems, Pt 1</option>
<option value="34">Chapter 34: Coordination Problems, Pt 2</option>
<option value="35">Chapter 35: Coordination Problems, Pt 3</option>
<option value="36">Chapter 36: Status Differentials</option>
<option value="37">Chapter 37: Interlude: Crossing the Boundary</option>
<option value="38">Chapter 38: The Cardinal Sin</option>
<option value="39">Chapter 39: Pretending to be Wise, Pt 1</option>
<option value="40">Chapter 40: Pretending to be Wise, Pt 2</option>
<option value="41">Chapter 41: Frontal Override</option>
<option value="42">Chapter 42: Courage</option>
<option value="43">Chapter 43: Humanism, Pt 1</option>
<option value="44">Chapter 44: Humanism, Pt 2</option>
<option value="45">Chapter 45: Humanism, Pt 3</option>
<option value="46">Chapter 46: Humanism, Pt 4</option>
<option value="47">Chapter 47: Personhood Theory</option>
<option value="48">Chapter 48: Utilitarian Priorities</option>
<option value="49">Chapter 49: Prior Information</option>
<option value="50">Chapter 50: Self Centeredness</option>
<option value="51">Chapter 51: Title Redacted, Pt 1</option>
<option value="52">Chapter 52: The Stanford Prison Experiment, Pt 2</option>
<option value="53">Chapter 53: The Stanford Prison Experiment, Pt 3</option>
<option value="54">Chapter 54: The Stanford Prison Experiment, Pt 4</option>
<option value="55">Chapter 55: The Stanford Prison Experiment, Pt 5</option>
<option value="56">Chapter 56: TSPE, Constrained Optimization, Pt 6</option>
<option value="57">Chapter 57: TSPE, Constrained Cognition, Pt 7</option>
<option value="58">Chapter 58: TSPE, Constrained Cognition, Pt 8</option>
<option value="59">Chapter 59: TSPE, Curiosity, Pt 9</option>
<option value="60">Chapter 60: The Stanford Prison Experiment, Pt 10</option>
<option value="61">Chapter 61: TSPE, Secrecy and Openness, Pt 11</option>
<option value="62">Chapter 62: The Stanford Prison Experiment, Final</option>
<option value="63" selected>Chapter 63: TSPE, Aftermaths</option>
<option value="64">Chapter 64: Omake Files 4, Alternate Parallels</option>
<option value="65">Chapter 65: Contagious Lies</option>
<option value="66">Chapter 66: Self Actualization, Pt 1</option>
<option value="67">Chapter 67: Self Actualization, Pt 2</option>
<option value="68">Chapter 68: Self Actualization, Pt 3</option>
<option value="69">Chapter 69: Self Actualization, Pt 4</option>
<option value="70">Chapter 70: Self Actualization, Pt 5</option>
<option value="71">Chapter 71: Self Actualization, Pt 6</option>
<option value="72">Chapter 72: SA, Plausible Deniability, Pt 7</option>
<option value="73">Chapter 73: SA, The Sacred and the Mundane, Pt 8</option>
<option value="74">Chapter 74: SA, Escalation of Conflicts, Pt 9</option>
<option value="75">Chapter 75: Self Actualization Final, Responsibility</option>
<option value="76">Chapter 76: Interlude with the Confessor: Sunk Costs</option>
<option value="77">Chapter 77: SA, Aftermaths: Surface Appearances</option>
<option value="78">Chapter 78: Taboo Tradeoffs Prelude: Cheating</option>
<option value="79">Chapter 79: Taboo Tradeoffs, Pt 1</option>
<option value="80">Chapter 80: Taboo Tradeoffs, Pt 2, The Horns Effect</option>
<option value="81">Chapter 81: Taboo Tradeoffs, Pt 3</option>
<option value="82">Chapter 82: Taboo Tradeoffs, Final</option>
<option value="83">Chapter 83: Taboo Tradeoffs, Aftermath 1</option>
<option value="84">Chapter 84: Taboo Tradeoffs, Aftermath 2</option>
<option value="85">Chapter 85: Taboo Tradeoffs, Aftermath 3, Distance</option>
<option value="86">Chapter 86: Multiple Hypothesis Testing</option>
<option value="87">Chapter 87: Hedonic Awareness</option>
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<div id="chapter-title">Chapter 63: TSPE, Aftermaths<br /></div>
<div style='' class='storycontent' id='storycontent'>
<p><i>Aftermath, Hermione Granger:</i></p>
<p>She was just starting to close up her books and put away her
homework in preparation for sleep, Padma and Mandy stacking up
their own books across the table from her, when Harry Potter walked
into the Ravenclaw common room; and it was only then that she
realized, she hadn't seen him at all since breakfast.</p>
<p>That realization was rapidly stomped-on by a much more startling
one.</p>
<p>There was a golden-red winged creature on Harry's shoulder, a
bright bird of fire.</p>
<p>And Harry looked sad and worn and really <i>tired</i> like the
phoenix was the only thing keeping him on his feet, but there was
still a warmth about him, if you crossed your eyes you might have
thought you were looking at the Headmaster somehow, that was the
impression that went through Hermione's mind even though it didn't
make any sense.</p>
<p>Harry Potter trudged across the Ravenclaw common room, past
sofas full of staring girls, past cardgame-circles of staring boys,
heading for her.</p>
<p>In theory she wasn't talking to Harry Potter yet, his week
wasn't up until tomorrow, but whatever was going on was clearly a
<i>whole</i> lot more important than that -</p>
<p>"Fawkes," Harry said, just as she was opening her mouth, "that
girl over there is Hermione Granger, she's not talking to me right
now because I'm an idiot, but if you want to be on a good person's
shoulder she's better than me."</p>
<p>So much exhaustion and hurt in Harry Potter's voice -</p>
<p>But before she could figure out what to do about it, the phoenix
had glided off Harry's shoulder like a fire creeping up a
matchstick on fast-forward, flashing toward her; there was a
phoenix flying in front of her and staring at her with eyes of
light and flame.</p>
<p>"<i>Caw?</i> " asked the phoenix.</p>
<p>Hermione stared at it, feeling like she was facing a question on
a test she'd forgotten to study for, the one most important
question and she'd gone her whole life without studying for it, she
couldn't find anything to say.</p>
<p>"I'm -" she said. "I'm only twelve, I haven't <i>done</i>
anything yet -"</p>
<p>The phoenix just glided gently around, rotating around one
wingtip like the being of light and air that it was, and soared
back to Harry Potter's shoulder, where it settled down quite
firmly.</p>
<p>"You silly boy," said Padma across from her, looking like she
was deciding whether to laugh or grimace, "phoenixes aren't for
smart girls who do their homework, they're for idiots who charge
straight at five older Slytherin bullies. There's a reason why the
Gryffindor colors are red and gold, you know."</p>
<p>There was a lot of friendly laughter in the Ravenclaw common
room.</p>
<p>Hermione wasn't one of the laughing ones.</p>
<p>Neither was Harry.</p>
<p>Harry had put a hand over his face. "Tell Hermione I'm sorry,"
he said to Padma, his voice almost fallen to a whisper. "Tell her I
forgot that phoenixes are animals, they don't understand time and
planning, they don't understand people who are <i>going</i> to do
good things later - I'm not sure they understand really the notion
of there being something that a person <i>is</i>, all they see is
what people do. Fawkes doesn't know what twelve means. Tell
Hermione I'm sorry - I shouldn't have - it just all goes wrong,
doesn't it?"</p>
<p>Harry turned to go, the phoenix still on his shoulder, began
slowly trudging toward the staircase that led up to his dorm.</p>
<p>And Hermione couldn't leave it at that, she just <i>couldn't</i>
leave it at that. She didn't know if it was her competition with
Harry or something else. She just couldn't leave it with the
phoenix turning away from her.</p>
<p>She <i>had</i> to -</p>
<p>Her mind keyed a frantic question to the entirety of her
excellent memory, found just one thing -</p>
<p>"I was going to run in front of the Dementor to try and save
Harry!" she shouted a little desperately at the red-golden bird. "I
mean, I actually did start running and everything! That was stupid
and courageous, right?"</p>
<p>With a warbling cry the phoenix launched itself from Harry's
shoulder again, back toward her like a spreading blaze, it circled
her three times like she was the center of an inferno, and for just
a moment its wing brushed against her cheek, before the phoenix
soared back to Harry.</p>
<p>There was a hush in the Ravenclaw common room.</p>
<p>"Told you so," Harry said aloud, and then he started climbing
the stairs up to his bedroom; he seemed to climb very quickly, like
he was very light on his feet for some reason, so that in just a
moment he and Fawkes were gone.</p>
<p>Hermione held up a trembling hand to her cheek where Fawkes had
brushed her with his wing, a spot of warmth lingering there like
that one small patch of skin had been very gently set on fire.</p>
<p>She'd answered the question of the phoenix, she supposed, but it
felt to her like she'd just barely squeaked by on the test, like
she'd gotten a 62 and she could've gotten 104 if she'd tried
harder.</p>
<p>If she'd tried at <i>all</i>.</p>
<p>She hadn't really <i>been</i> trying, when she thought about
it.</p>
<p>Just doing her homework -</p>
<p><i>Who have you saved?</i></p>
<hr size="1" noshade="noshade" />
<p><i>Aftermath, Fawkes:</i></p>
<p>Nightmares, the boy had expected, screams and begging and
howling hurricanes of emptiness, the discharge of the horrors being
laid down into memory, and in that fashion, perhaps, becoming part
of the past.</p>
<p>And the boy knew that the nightmares would come.</p>
<p>The next night, they would come.</p>
<p>The boy dreamed, and in his dreams the world was on fire,
Hogwarts was on fire, his home was on fire, the streets of Oxford
were on fire, all ablaze with golden flames that shone but did not
consume, and all the people walking through the blazing streets
were shining with white light brighter than the fire, like they
were flames themselves, or stars.</p>
<p>The other first-year boys came to bed, and saw it for
themselves, the wonder whose rumor they had already heard, that in
his bed Harry Potter lay silent and motionless, a gentle smile on
his face, while perched on his pillow a red-golden bird watched
over him, with bright wings swept above him like a blanket pulled
over his head.</p>
<p>The reckoning had been put off one more night.</p>
<hr size="1" noshade="noshade" />
<p><i>Aftermath, Draco Malfoy:</i></p>
<p>Draco straightened his robes, making sure the green trim was
straight. He waved his wand over his own head and said a Charm that
Father had taught him while other children were still playing in
mud, a Charm which ensured that not a single speck of lint or dust
would dirty his wizard's robes.</p>
<p>Draco picked up the mysterious envelope that Father had owled
him, and tucked it into his robes. He had already used
<i>Incendio</i> and <i>Everto</i> on the mysterious note.</p>
<p>And then he headed off to breakfast, to seat himself on exactly
the same tick of the clock where the food appeared, if he could
manage it, so that it would seem like all others had been waiting
on his appearance to eat. Because when you were the scion of Malfoy
you were first in everything, including breakfast, that was
why.</p>
<p>Vincent and Gregory were waiting for him outside the door of his
private room, up even before he was - though not, of course,
dressed quite as sharply.</p>
<p>The Slytherin common room was deserted, anyone who got up this
early was heading straight to breakfast anyway.</p>
<p>The dungeon halls were silent but for their own footsteps, empty
and echoing.</p>
<p>The Great Hall was a hubbub of alarm despite the relative few
arrivals, some younger children crying, students running back and
forth between tables or standing in knots shouting at each other, a
red-robed prefect was standing in front of two green-trimmed
students and yelling at them and Snape was striding toward the mess
-</p>
<p>The noise dimmed a little as people caught sight of Draco, as
some of the faces turned to stare at him, and fell quiet.</p>
<p>The food appeared on the tables. No one looked at it.</p>
<p>And Snape spun on his heel, abandoning his target, and headed
straight toward Draco.</p>
<p>A knot of fear clutched at Draco's heart, had something happened
to Father - no, surely Father would have told him - whatever was
happening, why hadn't Father told him -</p>
<p>There were bags of fatigue beneath Snape's eyes, Draco saw as
their Head of House came close, the Potions Master had never been a
sharp dresser (that was an understatement) but his robes were even
dirtier and more disarrayed this morning, spotted with extra
grease.</p>
<p>"You haven't heard?" hissed their Head of House as he came
close. "For pity's sake, Malfoy, don't you have a newspaper
delivered?"</p>
<p>"What is it, Profe-"</p>
<p>"Bellatrix Black was taken from Azkaban!"</p>
<p>"<i>What?</i> " said Draco in shock, as Gregory behind him said
something he really shouldn't have and Vincent just gasped.</p>
<p>Snape was gazing at him with narrowed eyes, then nodded
abruptly. "Lucius told you nothing, then. I see." Snape gave a
snort, turned away -</p>
<p>"Professor!" said Draco. The implications were just starting to
dawn on him, his mind spinning frantically. "Professor, what should
I do - Father didn't instruct me -"</p>
<p>"Then I <i>suggest</i>," Snape said sneeringly, as he strode
away, "that you <i>tell</i> them that, Malfoy, as your father
intended!"</p>
<p>Draco glanced back at Vincent and Gregory, though he didn't know
why he was bothering, of course they looked even more confused than
he did.</p>
<p>And Draco walked forward to the Slytherin table, and sat down at
the far end, which was still empty of sitters.</p>
<p>Draco put a sausage omelet on his plate, began eating it with
automatic motions.</p>
<p>Bellatrix Black had been taken from Azkaban.</p>
<p>Bellatrix Black had been taken from Azkaban...?</p>
<p>Draco didn't know what to make of that, it was as totally
unexpected as the Sun going out - well, the Sun would expectedly go
out in six billion years but this was as unexpected as the Sun
going out <i>tomorrow</i>. Father wouldn't have done it, Dumbledore
wouldn't have done it, <i>no one</i> should have been <i>able</i>
to do it - what did it <i>mean</i> - what <i>use</i> would
Bellatrix be to anyone after ten years in Azkaban - even if she got
strong again, what use was a powerful sorceress who was completely
evil and insane and fanatically devoted to a Dark Lord who wasn't
around anymore?</p>
<p>"Hey," said Vincent from where he was sitting next to Draco, "I
don't understand, boss, why'd we do that?"</p>
<p>"<i>We</i> didn't do it, you dolt!" snapped Draco. "Oh, for
Merlin's sake, if even <i>you</i> think we - didn't your father
ever tell you any stories about Bellatrix Black? She tortured
Father once, she tortured <i>your</i> father, she's tortured
<i>everyone,</i> the Dark Lord once told her to Crucio
<i>herself</i> and she <i>did it!</i> She didn't do crazy things to
inspire fear and obedience in the populace, she did crazy things
because she's crazy! She's a <i>bitch</i> is what she is!"</p>
<p>"Oh, really?" said an incensed voice from behind Draco.</p>
<p>Draco didn't look up. Gregory and Vincent would be watching his
back.</p>
<p>"I would've thought you'd be happy -"</p>
<p>"- to hear that a Death Eater had been freed, Malfoy!"</p>
<p>Amycus Carrow had always been one of the <i>other</i> problem
people; Father had once told Draco to make sure he was never alone
in the same room with Amycus...</p>
<p>Draco turned around and gave Flora and Hestia Carrow his Number
Three Sneer, the one that said that he was in a Noble and Most
Ancient House and they weren't and yes, that mattered. Draco said
in their general direction, certainly not deigning to address
<i>them</i> in particular, "There's Death Eaters and then there's
Death Eaters," and then turned back to his food.</p>
<p>There were two furious huffs in unison, and then two pairs of
shoes stormed off toward the other end of the Slytherin table.</p>
<p>It was a few minutes later that Millicent Bulstrode ran up to
them, visibly out of breath, and said, "Mr. Malfoy, did you
hear?"</p>
<p>"About Bellatrix Black?" said Draco. "Yeah -"</p>
<p>"No, about Potter!"</p>
<p>"What?"</p>
<p>"Potter was going around with a <i>phoenix</i> on his shoulder
last night, looking like he'd been dragged through ten leagues of
mud, they say that the phoenix took him to Azkaban to try to stop
Bellatrix and he fought a duel with her and they blew up half the
fortress!"</p>
<p>"<i>What?</i> " said Draco. "Oh, there is just no <i>way</i>
that -"</p>
<p>Draco stopped.</p>
<p>He'd said that a number of times about Harry Potter and had
started to notice a trend.</p>
<p>Millicent ran off to tell someone else.</p>
<p>"You don't <i>really</i> think -" said Gregory.</p>
<p>"I honestly don't know anymore," said Draco.</p>
<p>A few minutes later, after Theodore Nott had sat down across
from him and William Rosier had gone to sit with the Carrow twins,
Vincent nudged him and said, "There."</p>
<p>Harry Potter had entered the Great Hall.</p>
<p>Draco watched him closely.</p>
<p>There was no alarm on Harry's face as he saw, no surprise or
shock, he just looked...</p>
<p>It was the same distant, self-absorbed look Harry wore when he
was trying to figure out the answer to a question Draco couldn't
understand yet.</p>
<p>Draco hastily shoved himself up from the bench of the Slytherin
table, saying "Stay behind," and walked with all decorous speed
toward Harry.</p>
<p>Harry seemed to notice his approach just as the other boy was
turning toward the Ravenclaw table, and Draco -</p>
<p>- gave Harry one quick look -</p>
<p>- and then walked right past him, straight out of the Great
Hall.</p>
<p>It was a minute later that Harry peered around the corner of the
small stony nook where Draco had waited, it might not fool everyone
but it would create plausible deniability.</p>
<p>"<i>Quietus</i>," said Harry. "Draco, what -"</p>
<p>Draco took the envelope out of his robes. "I have a message for
you from Father."</p>
<p>"<i>Huh?</i> " said Harry, and took the envelope from Draco, and
tore it open in a rather un-neat manner, and drew forth a sheet of
parchment and unfolded it and -</p>
<p>Harry gave a sharp intake of breath.</p>
<p>Then Harry looked at Draco.</p>
<p>Then Harry looked back down at the parchment.</p>
<p>There was a pause.</p>
<p>Harry said, "Did Lucius tell you to report on my reaction to
this?"</p>
<p>Draco paused for a moment, weighing, and then opened his mouth
-</p>
<p>"I see he did," said Harry, and Draco cursed himself, he
should've known better, only it <i>had</i> been hard to decide.
"What are you going to tell him?"</p>
<p>"That you were surprised," said Draco.</p>
<p>"Surprised," Harry said flatly. "Yeah. Good. Tell him that."</p>
<p>"What <i>is</i> it?" said Draco. And then, as he saw Harry
looking conflicted, "If you're dealing with Father behind my back
-"</p>
<p>And Harry, without a word, gave Draco the paper.</p>
<p>It said:</p>
<p><i>I know it was you.</i></p>
<p>"<i>WHAT THE -</i>"</p>
<p>"I was going to ask <i>you</i> that," said Harry. "Have you got
<i>any</i> idea what's up with your Dad?"</p>
<p>Draco stared at Harry.</p>
<p>Then Draco said, "<i>Did</i> you do it?"</p>
<p>"What?" said Harry. "What <i>possible</i> reason would I -
<i>how</i> would I -"</p>
<p>"Did you do it, Harry?"</p>
<p>"No!" Harry said. "Of course not!"</p>
<p>Draco had listened carefully, but he hadn't detected any
hesitation or tremor.</p>
<p>So Draco nodded, and said, "I've got no idea what Father's
thinking but it <i>can't</i>, I mean it <i>can't possibly</i> be
good. And, um... people are also saying..."</p>
<p>"What," said Harry warily, "are they saying, Draco?"</p>
<p>"Did a phoenix <i>really</i> take you to Azkaban to try to stop
Bellatrix Black from escaping -"</p>
<hr size="1" noshade="noshade" />
<p><i>Aftermath: Neville Longbottom</i></p>
<p>Harry had only just sat down at the Ravenclaw table for the
first time, hoping to grab a quick bite of food. He knew he needed
to go off and think about things, but there was a tiny remaining
bit of phoenix's peace (even after the encounter with Draco) that
he still wanted to cling to, some beautiful dream of which he
remembered nothing but the beauty; and the part of him that
<i>wasn't</i> feeling peaceful was waiting for all the anvils to
finish dropping on him, so that when he went off to think and be by
himself for a while, he could batch-process all the disasters at
once.</p>
<p>Harry's hand grasped a fork, lifted a bite of mashed potatoes
toward his mouth -</p>
<p>And there was a shriek.</p>
<p>Every now and then someone would shout when they heard the news,
but Harry's ears <i>recognized</i> this one -</p>
<p>Harry was up from the bench in an instant, heading toward the
Hufflepuff table, a horrible sick feeling dawning in the pit of his
stomach. It was one of those things he hadn't considered when he'd
decided to commit the crime, because Professor Quirrell had planned
for no one to know; and now, afterward, Harry just - hadn't
<i>thought</i> of it -</p>
<p><i>This,</i> Hufflepuff said with bitter intensity, <i>is also
your fault.</i></p>
<p>But by the time Harry got there, Neville was sitting down and
eating fried sausage patties with Snippyfig Sauce.</p>
<p>The Hufflepuff boy's hands were trembling, but he cut the food,
and ate it, without dropping it.</p>
<p>"Hello, General," Neville said, his voice wavering only
slightly. "Did you fight a duel with Bellatrix Black last
night?"</p>
<p>"No," Harry said. His own voice was also wavery, for some
reason.</p>
<p>"Didn't think so," said Neville. There was a scraping sound as
his knife cut the sausage again. "I'm going to hunt her down and
kill her, can I count on you to help?"</p>
<p>There were startled gasps from the mass of Hufflepuffs who had
gathered around Neville.</p>
<p>"If she comes after you," Harry said hoarsely, <i>if it was all
a terrible mistake, if it was all a lie,</i> "I'll defend you even
with my life," <i>won't let you get hurt for what I did, no matter
what,</i> "but I won't help you go after her, Neville, friends
don't help friends commit suicide."</p>
<p>Neville's fork paused on the way to his mouth.</p>
<p>Then Neville put the bite of food in his mouth, chewed
again.</p>
<p>And Neville swallowed it.</p>
<p>And Neville said, "I didn't mean <i>right now</i>, I mean after
I graduate Hogwarts."</p>
<p>"Neville," Harry said, keeping his voice under very careful
control, "I think, even after you graduate, that might still be a
<i>just plain</i> <i>stupid idea.</i> There's got to be much more
experienced Aurors tracking her -" <i>oh, wait, that's not good</i>
-</p>
<p>"Listen to him!" said Ernie Macmillan, and then an older-looking
Hufflepuff girl standing close to Neville said, "Nevvy, please,
think about it, he's right!"</p>
<p>Neville stood up.</p>
<p>Neville said, "Please don't follow me."</p>
<p>Neville walked away from all of them; Harry and Ernie reaching
out involuntarily toward him, and some of the other Hufflepuffs as
well.</p>
<p>And Neville sat down at the Gryffindor table, and distantly
(though they had to strain to hear) they heard Neville say, "I'm
going to hunt her down and kill her after I graduate, anyone want
to help?" and at least five voices said "Yes" and then Ron Weasley
said loudly, "Get in line, you lot, I got an owl from Mum this
morning, she says to tell everyone she's called dibs" and someone
said "<i>Molly Weasley</i> against <i>Bellatrix Black?</i> Who does
she even think she's kidding -" and Ron reached over to a plate and
hefted a muffin -</p>
<p>Someone tapped Harry on the shoulder, and he turned around and
saw an unfamiliar green-trimmed older girl, who handed him a
parchment envelope and then quickly strode away.</p>
<p>Harry stared at the envelope for a moment, then started walking
toward the nearest wall. That wasn't very private, but it should be
private enough, and Harry didn't want to give the impression of
having much to hide.</p>
<p>That had been a Slytherin System delivery, what you used if you
wanted to communicate with someone without anyone else knowing that
the two of you had talked. The sender gave an envelope to someone
who had a reputation for being a reliable messenger, along with ten
Knuts; that first person would take five Knuts and pass the
envelope to another messenger along with the other five Knuts, and
the second messenger would open up that envelope and find another
envelope with a name written on it and deliver that envelope to
that person. That way neither of the two people passing the message
knew both the sender <i>and</i> the recipient, so no one else knew
that those two parties had been in contact...</p>
<p>When Harry reached the wall, he put the envelope inside his
robes, opened it beneath the folds of cloth, and carefully snuck a
peek at the parchment he drew forth.</p>
<p>It said,</p>
<p><i>Classroom to the left of Transfiguration, 8 in the
morning.</i></p>
<p><i>- LL.</i></p>
<p>Harry stared at it, trying to remember if he knew anyone with
the initials LL.</p>
<p>His mind searched...</p>
<p>Searched...</p>
<p>Retrieved -</p>
<p>"The <i>Quibbler</i> girl?" Harry whispered incredulously, and
then shut his mouth. She was only ten years old, she shouldn't be
in Hogwarts at all!</p>
<hr size="1" noshade="noshade" />
<p><i>Aftermath: Lesath Lestrange.</i></p>
<p>Harry was standing in the unused classroom next to
Transfiguration at 8AM, waiting, he'd at least managed to get some
food into himself before facing the next disaster, Luna
Lovegood...</p>
<p>The door to the classroom opened, and Harry saw, and gave
himself a really <i>hard</i> mental kick.</p>
<p>One more thing he hadn't thought of, one more thing he <i>really
should have.</i></p>
<p>The older boy's green-trimmed formal robes were askew, there
were red spots on them looking very much like small dots of fresh
blood, and one corner of his mouth had the look of a place that had
been cut and healed, by <i>Episkey</i> or some other minor medical
Charm that didn't quite erase all the damage.</p>
<p>Lesath Lestrange's face was streaked with tears, fresh tears and
half-dried tears, and there was water in his eyes, a promise of
still more on the way. "<i>Quietus,</i>" said the older boy, and
then "<i>Homenum Revelio</i>" and some other things, while Harry
thought frantically and without much luck.</p>
<p>And then Lesath lowered his wand and sheathed it in his robes,
and slowly this time, formally, the older boy dropped to his knees
on the dusty classroom floor.</p>
<p>Bowed his head all the way down, until his forehead also touched
the dust, and Harry would have spoken but he was voiceless.</p>
<p>Lesath Lestrange said, in a breaking voice, "My life is yours,
my Lord, and my death as well."</p>
<p>"I," Harry said, there was a huge lump in his throat and he was
having trouble speaking, "I -" <i>didn't have anything to do with
it,</i> he should have been saying, should be saying <i>right
now,</i> but then again the innocent Harry would have had trouble
speaking too -</p>
<p>"Thank you," whispered Lesath, "thank you, my Lord, oh, thank
you," the sound of a choked-off sob came from the kneeling boy, all
Harry could see of him was the hair on the back of his head,
nothing of his face. "I'm a fool, my Lord, an ungrateful bastard,
unworthy to serve you, I cannot abase myself enough, for I - I
shouted at you after you helped me, because I thought you were
refusing me, and I didn't even realize until this morning that I'd
been such a fool as to ask you in front of Longbottom -"</p>
<p>"I didn't have anything to do with it," Harry said.</p>
<p>(It was still very hard to tell an outright lie like that.)</p>
<p>Slowly Lesath raised his head from the floor, looked up at
Harry.</p>
<p>"I understand, my Lord," said the older boy, his voice wavering
a little, "you do not trust my cunning, and indeed I have shown
myself a fool... I only wanted to say to you, that I am not
ungrateful, that I know it must have been hard enough to save only
one person, that they're alerted now, that you can't - get Father -
but I am not ungrateful, I will never be ungrateful to you again.
If ever you have a use for this unworthy servant, call me wherever
I am, and I will answer, my Lord -"</p>
<p>"I was not involved in any way."</p>
<p>(But it got easier each time.)</p>
<p>Lesath gazed up at Harry, said uncertainly, "Am I dismissed from
your presence, my Lord...?"</p>
<p>"I am not your Lord."</p>
<p>Lesath said, "Yes, my Lord, I understand," and pushed himself
back up from the floor, stood straight and bowed deeply, then
backed away from Harry until he turned to open the classroom
door.</p>
<p>As Lesath's hand touched the doorknob, he paused.</p>
<p>Harry couldn't see Lesath's face, as the older boy's voice said,
"Did you send her to someone who would take care of her? Did she
ask about me at all?"</p>
<p>And Harry said, his voice perfectly level, "Please stop that. I
was not involved in any way."</p>
<p>"Yes, my Lord, I'm sorry, my Lord," said Lesath's voice; and the
Slytherin boy opened the door and went out and shut the door behind
him. His feet sped up as he ran away, but not fast enough that
Harry couldn't hear him start sobbing.</p>
<p><i>Would I cry?</i> wondered Harry. <i>If I knew nothing, if I
was innocent, would I cry right now?</i></p>
<p>Harry didn't know, so he just kept looking at the door.</p>
<p>And some unbelievably tactless part of him thought, <i>Yay, we
completed a quest and got a minion -</i></p>
<p><i>Shut up. If you ever want to vote on anything ever again...
shut up.</i></p>
<hr size="1" noshade="noshade" />
<p><i>Aftermath, Amelia Bones:</i></p>
<p>"Then his life isn't in danger, I take it," said Amelia.</p>
<p>The healer, a stern-eyed old man who wore his robes white (he
was a Muggleborn and honoring some strange tradition of Muggles, of
which Amelia had never asked, although privately she thought it
made him look too much like a ghost), shook his head and said,
"Definitely not."</p>
<p>Amelia looked at the human form resting unconscious on the
healer's bed, the burned and blasted flesh, the thin sheet that
covered him for modesty's sake having been peeled back at her
command.</p>
<p>He might make a full recovery.</p>
<p>He might not.</p>
<p>The healer had said it was too early to say.</p>
<p>Then Amelia looked at the other witch in the room, the
detective.</p>
<p>"And you say," Amelia said, "that the burning matter was
Transfigured from <i>water</i>, presumably in the form of ice."</p>
<p>The detective nodded her head, and said, sounding puzzled, "It
could have been much worse, if not for -"</p>
<p>"How <i>very nice</i> of them," she spat, and then pressed a
weary hand to her forehead. No... no, it <i>had</i> been intended
as a kindness. By the final stage of the escape there would be no
point in trying to fool anyone. Whoever had done this, then,
<i>had</i> been trying to mitigate the damage - and they'd been
thinking in terms of Aurors breathing the smoke, not of anyone
being attacked with the fire. If it had been them still in control,
no doubt, they would have steered the rocker more mercifully.</p>
<p>But Bellatrix Black had ridden the rocker out of Azkaban alone,
all the watching Aurors had agreed on that, they'd had their
Anti-Disillusionment Charms active and there had been only one
woman on that rocker, though the rocker had sported two sets of
stirrups.</p>
<p>Some good and innocent person, capable of casting the Patronus
Charm, had been tricked into rescuing Bellatrix Black.</p>
<p>Some innocent had fought Bahry One-Hand, carefully subduing an
experienced Auror without significantly injuring him.</p>
<p>Some innocent had Transfigured the fuel for the Muggle artifact
on which the two of them had been to ride out of Azkaban, making it
from frozen water for the benefit of her Aurors.</p>
<p>And then their usefulness to Bellatrix Black had ended.</p>
<p>You would have expected anyone capable of subduing Bahry
One-Hand to have foreseen that part. But then you wouldn't have
expected anyone who could cast the Patronus Charm to try rescuing
Bellatrix Black in the first place.</p>
<p>Amelia passed her hand down over her eyes, closing them for a
moment in silent mourning. <i>I wonder who it was, and how
You-Know-Who manipulated them... what story they could</i> possibly
<i>have been told...</i></p>
<p>She didn't even realize until a moment later that the thought
meant she was starting to believe. Perhaps because, no matter how
difficult it was to believe Dumbledore, it was becoming more
difficult <i>not</i> to recognize the hand of that cold, dark
intelligence.</p>
<hr size="1" noshade="noshade" />
<p><i>Aftermath, Albus Dumbledore:</i></p>
<p>It might have been only fifty-seven seconds before breakfast
ended and he might have needed four twists of his Time-Turner, but
in the end, Albus Dumbledore did make it.</p>
<p>"Headmaster?" squeaked the polite voice of Professor Filius
Flitwick, as the old wizard passed him by on his way to his seat.
"Mr. Potter left a message for you."</p>
<p>The old wizard stopped. He looked inquiringly at the Charms
Professor.</p>
<p>"Mr. Potter said that after he woke up, he realized how unfair
had been the things he said to you after Fawkes screamed. Mr.
Potter said that he wasn't saying anything about anything else,
just apologizing for that one part."</p>
<p>The old wizard kept looking at his Charms Professor, and still
did not speak.</p>
<p>"Headmaster?" squeaked Filius.</p>
<p>"Tell him I said thank you," said Albus Dumbledore, "but that it
is wiser to listen to phoenixes than to wise old wizards," and sat
down at his place three seconds before all the food vanished.</p>
<hr size="1" noshade="noshade" />
<p><i>Aftermath, Professor Quirrell:</i></p>
<p>"No," Madam Pomfrey snapped at the child, "you may <i>not</i>
see him! You may not <i>pester</i> him! You may not ask him <i>one
little question!</i> He is to rest <i>in bed</i> and do
<i>nothing</i> for at least <i>three days!</i> "</p>
<hr size="1" noshade="noshade" />
<p><i>Aftermath, Minerva McGonagall:</i></p>
<p>She was heading toward the infirmary, and Harry Potter was
leaving it, when they passed each other.</p>
<p>The look he gave her wasn't angry.</p>
<p>It wasn't sad.</p>
<p>It didn't say much at all.</p>
<p>It was like... like he was looking at her just long enough to
make it clear that he <i>wasn't</i> deliberately avoiding looking
at her.</p>
<p>And then he looked away before she could figure out what look to
give him in return; as though he wanted to spare her that, as
well.</p>
<p>He didn't say anything as he walked past her.</p>
<p>Neither did she.</p>
<p>What could there possibly be to say?</p>
<hr size="1" noshade="noshade" />
<p><i>Aftermath, Fred and George Weasley:</i></p>
<p>They actually yelped out loud, when they turned the corner and
saw Dumbledore.</p>
<p>It wasn't that the Headmaster had popped up out of nowhere and
was staring at them with a stern expression. Dumbledore was always
doing <i>that</i>.</p>
<p>But the wizard was dressed in formal black robes and looking
<i>very</i> ancient and <i>very</i> powerful and he was giving the
two of them a SHARP LOOK.</p>
<p>"Fred and George Weasley!" spake Dumbledore in a Voice of
Power.</p>
<p>"Yes, Headmaster!" they said, snapping upright and giving him a
crisp military salute they'd seen in some old pictures.</p>
<p>"Hear me well! You are the friends of Harry Potter, is this
so?"</p>
<p>"Yes, Headmaster!"</p>
<p>"Harry Potter is in danger. He <i>must not</i> go beyond the
wards of Hogwarts. Listen to me, sons of Weasley, I beg you listen:
you know that I am as Gryffindor as yourselves, that I too know
there are higher rules than rules. But this, Fred and George, this
one thing is of the most terrible importance, there must be no
exception this time, small or great! If you help Harry to leave
Hogwarts he may <i>die!</i> Does he send you on a mission, you may
go, does he ask you to bring him items, you may help, but if he
asks you to smuggle his own person out of Hogwarts, you <i>must
refuse!</i> Do you understand?"</p>
<p>"Yes, Headmaster!" They said it without even thinking, really,
and then exchanged uncertain looks with each other -</p>
<p>The bright blue eyes of the Headmaster were intent upon them.
"No. Not without thinking. If Harry asks you to bring him out, you
must refuse, if he asks you to tell him the way, you must refuse. I
will not ask you to report him to me, for that I know you would
never do. But beg him on my behalf to go to <i>me,</i> if it is of
such importance, and <i>I</i> will guard him as he walks. Fred,
George, I am sorry to strain your friendship so, but it is his
<i>life.</i>"</p>
<p>The two of them looked at each other for a long while, not
communicating, only thinking the same things at the same time.</p>
<p>They looked back at Dumbledore.</p>
<p>They said, with a chill running through them as they spoke the
name, "Bellatrix Black."</p>
<p>"You may safely assume," said the Headmaster, "that it is at
least that bad."</p>
<p>"Okay -"</p>
<p>"- got it."</p>
<hr size="1" noshade="noshade" />
<p><i>Aftermath, Alastor Moody and Severus Snape:</i></p>
<p>When Alastor Moody had lost his eye, he had commandeered the
services of a most erudite Ravenclaw, Samuel H. Lyall, whom Moody
mistrusted slightly less than average because Moody had refrained
from reporting him as an unregistered werewolf; and he had paid
Lyall to compile a list of every known magical eye, and every known
hint to their location.</p>
<p>When Moody had gotten the list back, he hadn't bothered reading
most of it; because at the top of the list was the Eye of Vance,
dating back to an era before Hogwarts, and currently in the
possession of a powerful Dark Wizard ruling over some tiny
forgotten hellhole that wasn't in Britain or anywhere else he'd
have to worry about silly rules.</p>
<p>That was how Alastor Moody had lost his left foot and acquired
the Eye of Vance, and how the oppressed souls of Urulat had been
liberated for a period of around two weeks before another Dark
Wizard moved in on the power vacuum.</p>
<p>He'd considered going after the Left Foot of Vance next, but had
decided against it after he realized that would be <i>just what
they were expecting.</i></p>
<p>Now Mad-Eye Moody was turning slowly, always turning, surveying
the graveyard of Little Hangleton. It should have been a lot
gloomier, that place, but in the broad daylight it seemed like
nothing but a grassy place marked by ordinary tombstones,
demarcated by the chained twists of fragile, easily climbable metal
that Muggles used instead of wards. (Moody could not comprehend
what the Muggles were thinking on that score, if they were
<i>pretending</i> to have wards, or what, and he had decided not to
ask whether Muggle criminals respected the pretense.)</p>
<p>Moody didn't actually <i>need</i> to turn to survey the
graveyard.</p>
<p>The Eye of Vance saw the full globe of the world in every
direction around him, no matter where it was pointing.</p>
<p>But there was no particular reason to let a former Death Eater
like Severus Snape know that.</p>
<p>Sometimes people called Moody 'paranoid'.</p>
<p>Moody always told them to survive a hundred years of hunting
Dark Wizards and then get back to him about that.</p>
<p>Mad-Eye Moody had once worked out how long it had taken him, in
retrospect, to achieve what he now considered a decent level of
caution - weighed up how much experience it had taken him to get
<i>good</i> instead of <i>lucky</i> - and had begun to suspect that
most people died before they got there. Moody had once expressed
this thought to Lyall, who had done some ciphering and figuring,
and told him that a typical Dark Wizard hunter would die, on
average, eight and a half times along the way to becoming
'paranoid'. This explained a great deal, assuming Lyall wasn't
lying.</p>
<p>Yesterday, Albus Dumbledore had told Mad-Eye Moody that the Dark
Lord had used unspeakable dark arts to survive the death of his
body, and was now awake and abroad, seeking to regain his power and
begin the Wizarding War anew.</p>
<p>Someone else might have reacted with incredulity.</p>
<p>"I can't believe you lot never told me about this resurrection
thing," Mad-Eye Moody said with considerable acerbity. "D'you
realize how long it'll take me to do the grave of every ancestor of
every Dark Wizard I've ever killed who could've been smart enough
to make a horcrux? You're not just <i>now</i> doing this one, are
you?"</p>
<p>"I redose this one every year," Severus Snape said calmly,
uncapping the third flask of what the man had <i>claimed</i> would
be seventeen bottles, and beginning to wave his wand over it. "The
other ancestral graves we've been able to locate were poisoned with
only the long-lasting substances, since some of us have less free
time than yourself."</p>
<p>Moody watched the fluid spiraling out of the vial and vanishing,
to appear within the bones where marrow had once been. "But you
think it's worth the effort of the trap, instead of just Vanishing
the bones."</p>
<p>"He <i>does</i> have other avenues to life, should he perceive
this one blocked," Snape said dryly, uncapping a fourth bottle.
"And before you ask, it must be the original grave, the place of
first burial, the bone removed during the ritual and not before.
Thus he cannot have retrieved it earlier; and also there is no
point in substituting the skeleton of a weaker ancestor. He would
notice it had lost all potency."</p>
<p>"Who else knows about this trap?" Moody demanded.</p>
<p>"You. Me. The Headmaster. No one else."</p>
<p>Moody snorted. "Pfah. Did Albus tell Amelia, Bartemius, and that
McGonagall woman about the resurrection ritual?"</p>
<p>"Yes -"</p>
<p>"If Voldie finds out that Albus knows about the resurrection
ritual and that Albus told <i>them</i>, Voldie'll figure that Albus
told <i>me,</i> and Voldie <i>knows</i> I'd think of this." Moody
shook his head in disgust. "What're these other ways Voldie could
come back to life?"</p>
<p>Snape's hand paused on the fifth bottle (it was all
Disillusioned, of course, the whole operation was Disillusioned,
but that meant less than nothing to Moody, it just marked you in
his Eye's sight as trying-to-hide), and the former Death Eater
said, "You don't need to know."</p>
<p>"You're learning, son," said Moody with mild approval. "What's
in the bottles?"</p>
<p>Snape opened the fifth bottle, gestured with his wand to begin
the substance flowing toward the grave, and said, "This one? A
Muggle narcotic called LSD. A conversation yesterday put me in mind
of Muggle things, and LSD seemed the most interesting option, so I
hurried to obtain some. If it is incorporated into the resurrection
potion, I suspect its effects will be permanent."</p>
<p>"What does it do?" said Moody.</p>
<p>"It is said that the effects are impossible to describe to
anyone who has not used it," drawled Snape, "and I have not used
it."</p>
<p>Moody nodded approval as Snape opened the sixth flask. "What
about that one?"</p>
<p>"Love potion."</p>
<p><i>"Love potion?</i> " said Moody.</p>
<p>"Not of the standard sort. It is meant to trigger a two-way bond
with an unbearably sweet Veela woman named Verdandi who the
Headmaster hopes might be able to redeem even him, if they truly
loved each other."</p>
<p>"<i>Gah!</i> " said Moody. "That bloody sentimental fool -"</p>
<p>"Agreed," Severus Snape said calmly, his attention focused on
his work.</p>
<p>"Tell me you've at least got some Malaclaw venom in there."</p>
<p>"Second flask."</p>
<p>"Iocane powder."</p>
<p>"Either the fourteenth or fifteenth bottle."</p>
<p>"Bahl's Stupefaction," Moody said, naming an extremely addictive
narcotic with interesting side effects on people with Slytherin
tendencies; Moody had once seen an addicted Dark Wizard go to
ridiculous lengths to get a victim to lay hands on a certain exact
portkey, instead of just having someone toss the target a trapped
Knut on their next visit to town; and after going to all that work,
the addict had gone to the <i>further</i> effort to lay a <i>second
Portus,</i> on the <i>same portkey,</i> which had, on a second
touch, transported the victim back to safety. To this day, even
taking the drug into account, Moody could not imagine what could
have possibly been going through the man's mind at the time he had
cast the second Portus.</p>
<p>"Tenth vial," said Snape.</p>
<p>"Basilisk venom," offered Moody.</p>
<p>"<i>What?</i> " spat Snape. "Snake venom is a positive component
of the resurrection potion! Not to mention that it would dissolve
the bone and all the other substances! And where would <i>we</i>
even get -"</p>
<p>"Calm down, son, I was just checking to see if you could be
trusted."</p>
<p>Mad-Eye Moody continued his (secretly unnecessary) slow turning,
surveying the graveyard, and the Potions Master continued
pouring.</p>
<p>"Hold on," Moody said suddenly. "How do you know <i>this</i> is
really where -"</p>
<p>"Because it says 'Tom Riddle' on the easily moved headstone,"
Snape said dryly. "And I have just won ten Sickles from the
Headmaster, who bet you would think of that before the fifth
bottle. So much for constant vigilance."</p>
<p>There was a pause.</p>
<p>"How long did it take Albus to reali-"</p>
<p>"Three years after we learned of the ritual," said Snape, in a
tone not quite like his usual sardonic drawl. "In retrospect, we
should have consulted you earlier."</p>
<p>Snape uncapped the ninth bottle.</p>
<p>"We poisoned all the other graves as well, with long-lasting
substances," remarked the former Death Eater. "It <i>is</i>
possible that we are in the correct graveyard. He may not have
planned this far ahead back when he was slaughtering his family,
and he cannot move the grave itself -"</p>
<p>"The true location doesn't look like a graveyard any more,"
Moody said flatly. "He moved all the <i>other</i> graves here and
Memory-Charmed the Muggles. Not even Bellatrix Black would be told
anything about that until just before the ritual started. <i>No
one</i> knows the true location now except him."</p>
<p>They continued their futile work.</p>
<hr size="1" noshade="noshade" />
<p><i>Aftermath, Blaise Zabini:</i></p>
<p>The Slytherin common room could be accurately and precisely
described as a remilitarized zone; the moment you stepped through
the portrait hole you would see that the left half of the room was
Definitely Not Talking to the right half and vice versa. It was
very clear, it did not need to be explained to anyone, that you did
<i>not</i> have the option of <i>not taking sides</i>.</p>
<p>At a table in the exact middle of the room, Blaise Zabini sat by
himself, smirking as he did his homework. He had a reputation now,
and meant to keep it.</p>
<hr size="1" noshade="noshade" />
<p><i>Aftermath, Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis:</i></p>
<p>"You doing anything interesting today?" said Tracey.</p>
<p>"Nope," said Daphne.</p>
<hr size="1" noshade="noshade" />
<p><i>Aftermath, Harry Potter:</i></p>
<p>If you went high enough in Hogwarts, you didn't see many other
people around, just corridors and windows and staircases and the
occasional portrait, and now and then some interesting sight, such
as a bronze statue of a furry creature like a small child, holding
a peculiar flat spear...</p>
<p>If you went high enough in Hogwarts, you didn't see many other
people around, which suited Harry.</p>
<p>There were much worse places to be trapped, Harry supposed. In
fact you probably couldn't think of anywhere <i>better</i> to be
trapped than an ancient castle with a fractal ever-changing
structure that meant you couldn't ever run out of places to
explore, full of interesting people and interesting books and
incredibly important knowledge unknown to Muggle science.</p>
<p>If Harry hadn't been told that he <i>couldn't</i> leave, he
probably would've <i>jumped</i> at the chance to spend more time in
Hogwarts, he would've plotted and connived to get it. Hogwarts was
literally <i>optimal,</i> not in all the realms of possibility
maybe, but certainly on the real planet Earth, it was the Maximum
Fun Location.</p>
<p>How could the castle and its grounds seem so much smaller, so
much more confining, how could the rest of the world become so much
more interesting and important, the instant Harry had been told
that he wasn't allowed to leave? He'd spent <i>months</i> here and
hadn't felt claustrophobic <i>then.</i></p>
<p><i>You</i> know <i>the research on this,</i> observed some part
of himself, <i>it's just standard scarcity effects, like that time
where as soon as a county outlawed phosphate detergents, people
who'd never cared before drove to the next county in order to buy
huge loads of phosphate detergent, and surveys showed that they
rated phosphate detergents as gentler and more effective and even
easier-pouring... and if you give two-year-olds a choice between a
toy in the open and one protected by a barrier they can go around,
they'll ignore the toy in the open and go for the one behind the
barrier... salespeople know that they can sell things just by
telling the customer it might not be available... it was all in
Cialdini's book</i> Influence, <i>everything you're feeling right
now, the grass is always greener on the side that's not
allowed.</i></p>
<p>If Harry hadn't been told that he couldn't leave, he probably
would've <i>jumped</i> at the chance to stay at Hogwarts over the
summer...</p>
<p>...but not the rest of his life.</p>
<p>That was sort of the problem, really.</p>
<p>Who knew whether there <i>was</i> still a Dark Lord Voldemort
for him to defeat?</p>
<p>Who knew whether He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named still existed outside
of the imagination of a possibly-not-just-pretending-to-be-crazy
old wizard?</p>
<p>Lord Voldemort's body had been found burned to a crisp, there
couldn't really be such things as souls. How could Lord Voldemort
still be alive? How did Dumbledore <i>know</i> that he was
alive?</p>
<p>And if there wasn't a Dark Lord, Harry couldn't defeat him, and
he would be trapped in Hogwarts forever.</p>
<p>...maybe he would be legally allowed to escape after he
graduated his seventh year, six years and four months and three
weeks from now. It wasn't <i>that</i> long as lengths of time went,
it only <i>seemed</i> like long enough for protons to decay.</p>
<p>Only it wasn't <i>just</i> that.</p>
<p>It wasn't <i>just</i> Harry's freedom that was at stake.</p>
<p>The Headmaster of Hogwarts, the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot,
the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards,
was quietly sounding the alarm.</p>
<p>A <i>false</i> alarm.</p>