Chapter 4

Hagrid had been wrong. Hogwarts was clearly not the safest place in the world.

Harry remembered the words his half-giant friend had told him during his first year with a snort. It was almost laughable how often people entered and left the school so easily. Emily, who had been walking ahead of him in the passage, looked over her shoulder at him and asked, "What on earth do you find funny walking in this passageway? The last time we were here was, in my opinion, a matter of life and death."

"Just remembering a friend of mine telling me that Hogwarts is the safest place in the world. Safer than even Gringotts."

He heard Emily hum for a moment before answering. "Well, under certain circumstances, it is. Should the school enact all of its powerful, protective enchantments, even I would struggle to break in."

This was news to Harry. "What sort of enchantments does Hogwarts have exactly?"

Emily scoffed, "Oh there's quite a lot. The school's magic seeps into everything inside of it. An enormous ward can be erected to keep out intruders. By simply touching the outside of the ward and not being a Hogwarts student, your body will turn to ash. I'm sure you remember the many suits of armor as well? Those are golems and they're quite powerful. They pack enough physical force to pulverize a skull in one strike and the metal they are made from resists most magic. If I were to ever invade Hogwarts, I would bring some giants along for the golems. The best way to handle them is brute force."

"If I ever had to fight one, what should I do?"

"Find something heavy, and either banish it into the golem or levitate it above them and drop it. You could try and bind them, but the bindings wont hold for long. A couple of minutes at most. Even my most powerful magical chains would be broken quickly enough."

"Yeah, but if you used the vinculous* curse to its full effect, wouldn't the chains crush the golem?"

"Nope, as I said, the golems resist magic, so they'd be even less effective that just summoning regular ones to do the job."

Harry sighed, seemed like a Hogwarts golem was a tough opponent. "What else is there?"

Emily stopped and turned to face him. "A deadly ward and indomitable golems aren't enough for you? There are a handful of minor protections as well, but only one important last obstacle. The most powerful defense of all."

"Stop beating around the bush and just tell me, Emily. Come on."

"It is, of course, the faculty themselves."

"For real? Don't get me wrong, the teachers at Hogwarts are cool and all, but the most powerful defense?"

Emily smiled at him. "I can single handedly take down the ward. It would require some time, but I could do it. Despite there being upwards of three hundred golems in Hogwarts, I could also destroy them by myself. Once again, it'd take time, but I am capable of it. Obstacles one and two aren't sentient so with enough care, I could make my way through them. Could I, however, take on every single teacher in that school? Not a chance. One by one, certainly. But if I were to walk into the main hall and they were to be waiting for me, I would be reduced to a wraith eventually."

Harry just stared at her, it was beyond him to believe Emily was admitting she'd lose a fight. "Didn't you best almost one hundred hitwizards back in Egypt. Now you're saying you'd lose against twenty teachers?"

Emily laughed at him, and kissed his cheek. "Circumstances matter Harry. In Egypt, I was on defense, and only needed to wait until the snitch was caught. I created a maze with an expansion charm and set many traps. I let loose a flesh eating curse and spread out fiendfyre. Yes, I managed to best a good hundred qualified witches and wizards, but they came to me, not the other way around."

Harry was about to ask another question, but it seemed she had more to say. "Also, there is a significant difference in quality as well. While an auror and hitwizard is certainly skilled, they aren't at the level of a core Hogwarts professor. Minerva McGonagall could wipe the floor with anyone in the MLE. Filius Flitwick could take on at least three at a time and best them still. He was a dueling champion, after all. Pomona has enough deadly plants in her greenhouses at Hogwarts to potentially wipe out Britain's entire Auror force. Lastly, your previous potion's professor... well, he was even more skilled in the dark arts than potion making. Potions was more or less a side hobby for him."

Harry waited a moment, making sure she was done before asking his question. "So, no invading Hogwarts, huh?"

Emily laughed again. "You silly boy, have I not already done the deed? Did I not enter the castle and steal you from under the nose of Dumbledore himself. Getting in and out of Hogwarts can be done rather easily, but a full on invasion of the castle and occupying it, those are nigh impossible. I could do it, with enough followers, but it would be a costly endeavor."

The two of them finally reached the end of the passageway and made their way into a corridor of the school. "You told your friends you'd be coming right? Where are they?"

Harry walked ahead of her and lead the way. "I felt it best not to reveal how exactly we got here to them. After all, we don't know how far Moody or Snape have torn through your potion. It'd be bad if someone here recognized you for who you are and then cut off our ability to come and go at will."

Emily smiled, grasping his hand as they walked. "How very cunning. You're starting to think like me love. Such foresight, oh dear, I'm swooning over here." She made a show of stumbling about, almost as if drunk.

Harry blushed slightly at her embarassing antics but chuckled. "If your going to pretend you can't walk, at least let go of me so you don't bowl me over with you."

"Nonsense, if I go down, then we go down. And if we go down, then we go down together."

"Well that's not very clever, now, is it?"

The couple had turned a corner and Harry smiled seeing his two best friends. It was Hermione that had spoken, and Harry only let get of Emily's hand to greet her with a hug. Ron, who was just a step behind, enveloped the both of them in an embrace as well.

"Good to see you, mate. How's the married life?"

Emily smoothly changed her persona into her public figure and joked, "Well with me being in earshot, I doubt you'll hear anything negative. Should I wander off out of earshot, well that'd be a good time to interrogate him."

"A pleasure to see you again, Emily. How are you?" One could always count on Hermione to keep things civil. Though she and Ron weren't Emily's biggest fans, a side effect of the potion from her wedding, they always tried to be polite. Well, in Ron's case, he only ever said hello to her, and generally ignored her from then on.

"Wonderful, and how are the two of you?"

Ron's answer was more or less a nod, followed with a grunt. Hermione, who Emily believed would eventually become his better, or at least much more eloquent, half, answered for the both of them.

"We've been as well as one could expect. But, Harry, how did your NEWTs go? I've been dying to know your results. How do you think the test differ at the ministry versus here at Hogwarts? Do you t-"

Harry gently place a hand over her mouth and she got the point. "One question at a time, Hermione. I got an outstanding in all my core subjects. I couldn't tell you how they differ at the ministry, I've only ever taken the NEWTs there. Compared to OWLs, though, its all just one written exam that takes hours. The practicals are portioned out similar though."

"Oh my goodness, Harry! All oustanding NEWTs in your core subjects! Thats incredible. With those under your belt, you could get an apprenticeship almost anywhere. Your tutoring must have been incredible, Emily."

And like that, any enmity Hermione had for Emily vanished. Hermione could never hold onto any negative emotions for someone who pushed her best friend to excel academically.

Emily received the praise with humility, though Harry knew deep down, she was giving herself quite the pat on the back. It probably didn't even occur to her that the praise was hollow, seeing as she had manipulated his marks.

"Well it was Harry's knack for learning that really pulled him through. I just... had to properly motivate him." Emily gave Hermione a conspiratorial wink that made the girl blush a deep shade of red, and stutter.

"W-w-w-well, I... I s-suppose that d-did the trick."

Emily wasn't done, however. "Give it a try sometime. I'm sure Ronald would benefit greatly."

Ron had tuned out of the conversation as soon as it turned to NEWTs, and only just returned his attention at the sound of his name. "What's that? What would help me?"

Hermione was probably not even capable of speaking, but Emily wasn't one to stop halfway. "Some study tips I felt like sharing with you and Hermione. They did wonders for Harry, six outstanding NEWTs."

"Blimey, mate. Six? All Outstanding? Yeah, I'll get Hermione to help me with that."

At this Hermione couldn't even keep her head up and buried it in her hands, shaking from the whole scenario. "You'll help me out, won't you, Mione?"

Hermione let out a sigh and lifted her head. The redness on her face was still present. What came out of her mouth, however, caused both Emily and Harry's jaws to drop.

"I doubt you were paying much attention Ron but sure. If you manage to get six Oustanding NEWTs, I'll happily sleep with you." And without another word, the girl walked off.

Emily and Harry both looked at each other with mouths agape. Then, at the sound of a thud nearby, they turned to see that Ron had all but collapsed against the wall. "What... What the bloody hell is she talking about?" Clearly the red head was in a daze.

Emily, feeling sorry for the boy, decided to make it clear. "Harry and I did date while he was studying, so of course, we got up to all sorts of inappropriate things as well. I may have leveraged those things to make him work harder. Clearly your friend likes you well enough to make a similar offer."

Ron only stared at her blankly, the only signs of his coherence being the opening and closing of his eyes. Emily sighed, knowing he was dense.

"She's not making you a simple offer, Ronald. I'm certain you must know your friend better than to think she'd make such a claim for any man. My advice... don't fumble through this the way you've fumbled through everything else in your life so far."

Ron nodded slowly, obviously still trying to piece together what had just happened. Soon enough, he slowly started to leave in the direction Hermione had left in.

Once Ron was far enough away, Harry whispered to Emily. "What do you think he'll do?"

Emily just sighed. "Who knows? Your friend has passable social awareness on a good day, but mostly, he's an ignoramus. I think, however, he cares for her enough to, at the very least, put his best foot forward."

Harry nodded. Odds are Ron wouldn't oaf his way through this one. "What do you think possessed Hermione to say that? Other than you teasing her."

"A combination of things, I suppose. Her best friend is happpily married, so of course she see's the potential for her to go down a similar road. Perhaps she grew tired of waiting on him to make a move, so she's expedited the process. Your friend is intelligent and as far as looks go, she isn't hideous. If it weren't for her pedigree, she could find herself a wonderful pure blood suitor."

Harry sniggered. "Oh yeah, she'd totally go for Malfoy, I'm sure."

Emily laughed at the comment as well. "Despite Mr. Malfoy's lack of decency, his social standing is top tier. Mrs. Granger could do far worse all things considered."

"That's... that's just gross."

Emily nodded. "Perhaps, but more importantly, completely impossible. Draco's father would never allow him to marry a muggleborn and keep the family name. He'd be thrown out on his arse, without a knut of his family's money. Far better than in my day. A woman in my year attempted to elope with a muggleborn in a different house. They fled Hogwarts one night, during the winter. Her family practically emptied their coffers hiring people to bring her back. When she was finally caught and brought back to Hogwarts three months later, he did not return with her. Even worse, you could practically smell the dark magic she'd been cursed with."

Harry was already prepping himself for what he might hear. Emily had told him some terrible things before that he felt should have been left unspoken. "Though she never uttered a word again for the rest of her life, I did notice quite a hideous scar on her stomach. I'd wager her family cut her open and removed her reproductive organs so she'd never have the chance to shame her family by producing a half-blood. Odds are they also burned or disfigured her vagina so any intercourse she would have in the future would always be a living hell for her."

"Christ Emily! Sometimes... sometimes you can quit while your ahead. You know, there are things I'd rather not know."

"Sorry love, I suppose if it makes you feel better, she never had to go through such pains."

"Why, did she see a healer or she never got married?"

Emily gave a short laugh. "Oh no, nothing so short term. She killed herself less than a month after returning to Hogwarts."

Harry groaned, "You really, really suck at making me feel better." He jumped suddenly at a sharp pinch to his backside.

"Or maybe I'm just not trying hard enough." Once again, she grabbed his fingers and held his hand as they followed Ron. "Things were different fifty years ago, Harry. Our relationship would've been fine, seeing as our bloodlines are already muddled, but back then, a pureblood's family would rather see them dead than fornicating a muggle."

Running his other hand along the stone wall of the corridor they were in, Harry was lost in thought. So lost in thoughts, he voiced them to Emily. "Had I turned out to be a squib, or even just a muggle, do you think you'd have still fallen in love with me?"

"No. I'd have killed you immediately."

As much as he felt he should've been offended by her words, he could only nod his head in acceptance. Emily might have been drawn to him, but she was also prideful. Odds were that she wouldn't have even tried to make sense of the strange emotions running through her, she'd have nipped the problem in the bud.

"Of course," she continued. "If you have somehow been playing me for a fool and were to suddenly reveal yourself to be as non magical as your cousin, I obviously wouldn't be able to kill you now. I'm already in love with you, so you're worth far too much to me. I would probably lock you away though, so no one else found out your secret."

"Oh, well that's consoling I guess."

Squeezing his arm into her side, "Isn't it, though?"

Her response made him laugh. "So where do you think the two of them are headed?"

"Well, we started off on the second floor and are going up, so either the common room or the Room of Requirement. Probably the latter, as the former might reveal our presence to others."

Sure enough, Ron stopped at the entrance to the room of requirement. Harry was about to ask him if he was alright, before he saw his best friend take a breath and enter. "I wonder if I should give them some time alone?"

"Hmm." Emily only murmured behind him thoughtfully. "I think you may be needed inside. If only to be a neutral party. I'll stay out here so as not to intrude. I'll come along in a bit."

Harry looked at her strangely. He was getting that vibe from her again. As though she wasn't looking out for him or his friends, but rather needed some time alone. Still, he trusted her not to do anything too crazy, so he went to join his friends. "I won't be far away, just knock on the door if you need me."

Once the door shut, and Emily was seemingly alone, she rotated her head back and forth, popping it loudly. "Show yourself, I know you're here."

"Excellent, then let's chat." Out from a corner, shrouded in shadow appeared a figure, who strode forward to reveal Ginny Weasley.

"Oh for God's sake, why must you cockroaches appear all at once!"

Emily couldn't believe her bad luck. Not only did Snape and Moody come back at the same time to meddle, so did Ginny Weasley. "Care to tell me how you managed to avoid my potion?"

Ginny smirked at her. "Please. As if I'd be willing to eat or drink anything after watching the man I love marry the woman I hate. I didn't even drink to any of the toasts that were made that night. I played along with everyone else until I could find you alone."

The words didn't have a hint of malice attached to them, but Emily knew better. This would be something more than just a simple talk. "Well then, out with it. What words have you been clutching to your chest so strongly that you'd wait until now to speak to me? What utterance do you have for me, that you can't risk my dear Harry hearing?"

"I know the truth, Emily. I know your horcruxes are gone."

It would seem as though a secret could only be kept if all others who knew it were dead. Fortunately, what was becoming common knowledge was a falsehood. There existed another.

"And? Don't tell me you plan on killing me here and now, before sweeping my widower off his feet? You won't last a minute."

Emily watched as the young woman in front of her just smiled all the more. Just the sight of her face made Emily angry. "Do you really think Moody's just going to let you off the hook?"

Sighing in exasperation, Emily was at least aware of a small amount of the girls knowledge. With her family in the Order, she'd be in an excellent place to learn of Moody's recovery. "You seem to be under the impression that there is a damned thing that old bastard can do to harm me. He won't succeed."

The young woman's smile remained, and Emily was finally pushed past her limit of patience. Ginevra Weasley had overestimated her value on the board that Emily and Harry played their game on. Grabbing the young ginger by the jaw, she lifted her up and shoved her against the stone wall. The reason she chose the jaw was to cover that obnoxious smirk. And to prevent her from speaking further.

"Lets see just how strong those Occlumency barriers are, shall we?"

Emily watched as the girls eyes widened and she gave a brief struggle. Emily knew the struggle was a front as the girl stealthily went for her wand. Unfortunately for her, Emily had already taken it. Without another word, Emily forced her mind at the other girls. She did so, over and over and over. For a sixteen year old girl, her mind was an incredible fortress. Emily imagined that the scars her horcrux had inflicted on the girl's psyche must have drove her to strengthen her ability to the highest degree. But a fortress could only hold so long against Emily's legilimency, and Ginny didn't have Harry's instinctual knowledge of how to lash back. After eight, long and grueling minutes, Emily finally pierced her way through into the girl's head.

"Clear your mind, Ms. Weasley. But don't push yourself too hard, you are young, and this requires great effort and discipline."

"Yes, Professor Dumbledore, sir."

So the girl had gone through further training with the old headmaster, it seemed. Very interesting.

"Remain steady on your feet, Ms. Weasley. Its far better to move out of a curse's way and retaliate than to use two spells. A witch or wizards physical ability is just as important as their magical prowess."

The girl was older in this memory, third year, maybe even fourth. Once again, it was Dumbledore himself who lectured her as they performed a mock duel.

The memories between the deceased headmaster and the youngest Weasley kept coming. The two of them had forged an impressive bond of trust and friendship. Until...

"What do you plan to do with Harry, Professor?"

The teenager approached Albus Dumbledore and she did not seem pleased to see him.

"I'm not sure I understand, Ms. Weasley? I plan on educating him just as much as any other student I've had. I will prepare him for what he will face in the future outside the halls of Hogwarts?"

Emily watched as the young woman all but gnashed her teeth with her responese. "Then why not train him as you have trained me? He's the one who has to fight her professor. He's the one who needs the power, not me. Why abandon him to a fate so grim, and groom me into a warrior?"

Emily watched as the man, conjured up a chair and gestured for the girl to sit. What surprised her, however, was that the girl actually did so. If it had been Emily in that position, questioning someone about Harry, she'd have remained standing. She would not cede control of the conversation like that.

"Mr. Potter is not in need of power, Ms. Weasley."

Ginny, who remained slumped in her seat, did not respond, and waited for Dumbledore to continue.

"No, you see, Harry is not in need of anything I can provide him to defeat Voldemort. He was born with it. He has the ultimate weapon against her."

Ginny's eyes had widened. "What is it?"

Dumbledore looked her square in the eye and Emily could have sworn she saw them twinkle in the memory. "Love."

Ginny scoffed. "Of course, Harry's going to give the Dark Lord a hug, and she'll just melt into a puddle."

Emily smirked, the statement was true, in a sense.

"Not quite, Ms. Weasley. There was a prophecy made about Mr. Potter and Voldemort. One that Voldemort seems intent on fulfilling. She personally put the prophecy into motion and I feel that she will see it to its end. The prophecy ends in one of their demises."

Ginny slammed a fist into the arm of the chair, "Then all the more reason you should've spent these years with Harry, rather than me!"

Dumbledore only nodded his head. "Yes, it would seem that way, on the outset. But how would you suggest I prepare him to fight a woman with so much more experience than him? Even if I were to train Harry for an entire decade, I couldn't hope to make him a match for Voldemort. Voldemort is obsessed with power, and has spent over fifty years hoarding as much of it as she could."

Ginny leaned forward, ready to argue her own case. "But even giving him the slightest chance, would be better than letting him die."

"You are so passionate in his defense. I wonder if he will ever notice that?"

Ginny sat back, blushing. She murmured quietly, something in denial but Emily couldn't hear quite what she said. It was only due to the nature of it being Ginny's memory, that Emily got the vague sense of it.

"Harry was untrained when he faced Professor Quirrell and Voldemort. He prevailed. He was untrained when he faced a deadly basilisk and Voldemort again, and he prevailed. Voldemort's most recent kidnapping of him and his return to us, is even more proof that he always will prevail against her. I chose to set my eggs in a different basket."

"Even if that was the case, sir, why waste so much time on me?"

Dumbledore smiled. "It is not only Harry's ability to love that sets him apart from Voldemort, Ginny. It is also his ability to be loved. You, Ginevra Weasley, are the other basket."

Ginny's eyes widened, but she did not speak. "If Harry and Voldemort are destined to remain equal forces, then naturally I should create a third force. One that could tip the scales towards Harry's favor. One who loves him unconditionally, one who would sacrifice anything for him. Was my decision incorrect?"

Ginny let out a shaky sigh. "I would give my life to keep him safe."

This memory faded too. It all made sense now. Little Ginny was something like that bastard Dumbledore's living legacy. Even though the old goat fucker was dead, he had left bits and pieces of his existence everywhere. From the shattered remnants of the Order that was slowly reassembling to even this teenaged girl, ready to die to protect the man she loved. A man that would never and could never feel anything for her.

Dumbledore was a cunt, she decided. He preyed upon those weak to love. He abused the love Severus held for Lily Potter to turn the man into his loyal lapdog for over a decade. He had abused Ginny's love for Harry to mold her into a weapon to fight a war. She was certain that had she allowed Harry to remain in his clutches long enough, he'd have done the same thing to him.

The memories seemed to be coming at her in order of their emotional attachment. Because the next one somehow topped the last one.

"You bastard!"

Dumbledore remained quiet as Ginny screamed at him. Clearly this was at the end of Harry's fifth year when they had run away together. Dumbledore must have just broken the news to the girl.

"Love! You said it was love! And he LOVES HER!" Ginny began grabbing various things about the office and throwing them, breaking everything apart.

"What was it all for? Why did I work so hard?" The office was in tatters. The girl's magic had responded to her tortured emotions and wreaked its own damage on the room. Even the headmaster himself had not been spared as one of the windows had shattered, showering him with glass that cut into his wrinkled brow. He hadn't even made a move to protect himself from any of it.

"Its... a hard lesson to learn, Ms. Weasley. One I failed to teach you. Possibly one of my worst failures as a professor."

It was at this point Dumbledore shared his personal tale of his romantic feelings for Gellert Grindlewald. How that love was used and never returned. And how, eventually, decades later, he was forced into taking the man down. Ginny, who had been leaning against the wall, eventually allowed her body to slide to the floor during the tale.

"I can't do this anymore, professor."

Emily watched as Albus just nodded.

"Nothing matters anymore. Nothing."

The memory faded and Emily found herself holding the passed out girl against the wall. Strange, that of all the memories she had been privy to, she didn't view a single one in which the girl had sunk her claws into Harry only months later. Perhaps Ginny didn't hold those memories close enough to her heart because she knew of Harry's true feelings.

Emily was disgusted to find the smallest amounts of pity stirring in her heart. This harlot would do anything to usurp her position in Harry's life, but the small emotion was there. Of course, how could it not be? Who else on the planet could understand Ginny's emotions for Harry more than Emily? Ginny had been playing the long game, for far longer than Emily had. Emily had just gotten to him first. And she had never given him a chance to leave.

Far more gently than she'd ever expected to do in the past, Emily laid the young girl to the floor. If the young girl had been privy to all of this knowledge, then why be so untrustworthy of Albus in the beginning? Why ally herself with Emily by claiming to not trust the headmaster? It seemed that the old man had trusted her far more than anyone else.

It never occurred to her that Ginny had perhaps been conning her all along. That even if the decision made her miserable, she remained steadfast in her desire to protect Harry Potter. This was something that Emily was incapable of understanding. She could never sit on the sidelines, gazing at something she desired. She would just take it.

But all of this still boiled down to one point. If Ginny Weasley had given up on obtaining the love of Harry Potter, then why did the girl oppose her so strongly? Leaving the girl where she lie, Emily made her way to the passageway that would take her out of Hogwarts. She wouldn't interfere with Harry's time with his friends while her mind was whirring with muddled thoughts. He would be disappointed that she didn't join them as she had told him she would, but she needed time to think. Her invasion of Ginny's mind had been a wealth of information, but told her nothing of the girl's plans for the future. A shame that Legilemency had its limits. She could not control what she saw in a persons mind, only they could. And Ginny had lost consciousness too quickly for her to press the girl in a certain direction.

As she made her way to the castle's third floor, she kicked one of the suits of armor hard enough for it to topple. A golem was nothing more than an inanimate object until activated, after all.

"She's still a stupid slut." And with that last murmured phrase, Emily spoke no more as she left the castle.

A/N: This was the Harry rages at Dumbledore scene parody that I dropped from a flashback in the second book. Don't assume Ginny's at like, Dumbledore's level, but she can certainly hold her own.