Chapter 17 Manipulations

While he would have preferred a much larger audience at Hogwarts, knowing that all his students were at home telling stories to their parents of his exploits made it easy to let that go. Reading about the monster while their children extolled his virtues would boost his popularity out of sight.

Actually, it being the hols, it was better than if school were in session!

The attention he attracted while escorting Hermione and Harry through Diagon Alley did a double duty of showing-the-flag and acknowledging his fans while simultaneously providing a visual of how he was mentoring The-Boy-Who-Lived. And feeding those rumours that the two children were dating. The normal five-minute walk took almost half an hour. Poor Harry looked as if he wanted to melt through the ground to escape.

The Grangers, having met them outside The Leaky Cauldron, were suitably impressed with Lockhart, and their daughter's new station in life. Her new robes were quite impressive.

They had been stunned at the financial and property statements they received by owl from Hermione on Wednesday last. It turned out that Lord Dagworth-Granger had invested in a few businesses that were still operating, or other companies had taken them over them and were obligated to continue paying dividends. There was a modest ten thousand galleons in her vault. It would be more than sufficient to renew the protective enchantments on her properties, should she desire.

Gilderoy had already noticed that while Hermione's hands retained most of their human characteristics, except the nails more nearly resembled claws and were retractable. Her feet, however, seemed more feline-patterned. That is, she walked on her toes with her heels elevated. This made her a bit taller and gave her a rather elegant slinky cat-like walk, while her hips had an exaggerated and very sexy roll as she moved. Harry had also taken note, and suggested in a whisper when they had left Hogsmeade that they should take a few pictures of her walking for her thesis.

Gilderoy snickered. Hermione was just going to have to get used to Harry staring at her bum as she walked — not to mention all the other male students. And probably invest in a few high-heeled shoes to explain her sudden height increase when the transformation finally wore off. He had already altered her current shoes to fit, to accustom her to wearing that style.

Fortunately, the crowd at Diagon Alley distracted her parents too much for them to notice the changes in their daughter. Gilderoy planned to correct that during the day by "accidentally" finiting the glamour. He was sure Sirius would wet himself laughing when he saw the pensieve memory.

Harry's first property was a modest twenty-room London townhouse. The second was a forty-room mansion and country estate in Wales. The country estate had a full potions workshop, a pool, and an extensive library that required they bodily drag Hermione out of it. The French estate was another forty-room mansion not far from the French Rivera, with several hundred acres of vineyard surrounding it. The income from the wine sales easily maintained all the properties and their needs. And kept his vaults growing. At Gilderoy's suggestion, Harry gave the Granger's several cases of the best years' wines, delivered to the Grangers' home by house-elf.

It was at their noon dinner that Gilderoy started slowly removing the glamour. They were almost to dessert when Mrs Granger said, "Hermione! What's happening to you?"

Hermione looked down at her furred hand and dropped her fork, giving her mother a wide-eyed look of astonishment. Mr. Granger was staring just as wide-eyed.

"Ah," Lockhart said nonchalantly, "Nothing to worry about Mrs Granger. That's just Lady Granger's glamour wearing off. I'll restore it later. She had a minor potion accident on Christmas that temporarily changed her into a cat." He smiled winningly at the startled parents. "Rather fortuitous, actually. No one has ever attempted a human-to-cat potion transformation, it was considered too dangerous as the potion was designed only for human-to-human." Her parents looked even unhappier at this declaration.

"It's quite an opportunity for the young Lady to establish herself in the potions community," he continued, smirking at their expressions. "First, because she is just a Second Year and has yet managed to brew a potion normally only taught to Seventh Year students — and many of them cannot succeed with it." He quirked an eyebrow at them to give them a moment to grasp her skill. "Second, because the thesis she is planning to write about her transformation and her experiences will be a true ground-breaker in an area no one has ever researched." He smiled proudly, "I expect that her success in brewing this most difficult potion will give her opportunities she had never foreseen." He leaned back in his chair with an air of satisfaction, as if he were responsible for her achievement.

"For example, her Potions Professor, Master Potioneer Severus Snape, has made her his assistant. Something he has never done before." The parents' expression were slowly changing from alarmed to confused as they tried to sort the implications of both danger and reward. And the fact that their daughter was a cat!

Hermione's expressions were difficult to read during this explanation but her emotions ranged from horror, to pride, to embarrassment. Yes, you can see a cat blush under all that hair, Gilderoy discovered.

Her mum delayed their dessert by dragging Hermione off to a bathroom to "check" things out. Her father just ate his dessert, shaking his head periodically. Whether to clear his thoughts or in shock, Gilderoy wasn't sure. Mrs. Granger returned with a shocked expression, switching to a little smile at odd moments. She even managed to look wistful one time while looking at her husband with a crooked smile. She also kept petting her daughter.

The Dagworth-Granger estate was a much more modest fifteen-room building with a potions workshop that filled the entire basement. Unfortunately, while some of the potions were under a stasis charm, the majority were age-ruined. The equipment, however, was perfect and Hermione pillaged a complete set of potion preparation tools from the stock for use at Hogwarts. If she was going to be Snape's assistant, she'd better have the best tools possible! Again, they had to drag her out of the library. She did snag a duplicate original first-edition to give to Snape.

Gilderoy was correct; the Dagworth-Granger estate protective enchantments were in dire need of upgrading.

The day passed quickly, and Hermione's parents adjusted to seeing their cat-daughter with varying degrees of astonishment gradually easing into curiosity and pride at their daughter's accomplishment. Before they returned to Gringotts Lockhart restored the glamour and they spent the rest of the afternoon examining their finances. They decided that selling selected books from the Dagworth-Granger estate, after copying them of course, would easily fund the upgrades to the protective enchantments. They left it to the Goblins to arrange both. They finished with tea at a Muggle restaurant not far from The Leaky Cauldron.

(⊙_⊙)

The Headmaster was in his office, staring at the stack of Daily Prophet's lying on his desk. That pompous popinjay fraud Lockhart had somehow turned into an accomplished hero at his, Albus's, expense! Dumbledore knew the man was a fraud; two of his acquaintances had had their memories stolen from them for his books. He had discovered this when he noticed that one of the memory-thief's books bore an uncanny resemblance to a story a friend had told him several years before. When he had owled that Wizard with questions, the man had denied any memory of the event. He remembered Lockhart visiting him, but that was all. The other friend reported a similar experience.

A bit more research had revealed the Wizard to be a complete fraud, all of his stories based on experiences of other people. He had stolen their memories for profit! Which seemed to fit in perfectly with his work in Hogwarts as a student, nearly failing in all subjects and only learning those things that would make him look good to his peers.

But this! This was beyond the belief. Almost from the first day, Lockhart had behaved differently than before. Yes, he still seemed to be a self-centred rake, turning every conversation into a platform for bragging and self-aggradation. But there were jarring instances where he was stunningly competent.

His interactions with Harry had been laughable; as he seemed to interpret everything the boy did as Harry trying to copy the grown Wizard's fame. And his detentions had been just as farcical, with long diatribes about Lockhart's books and successes, and how to curry favour with the media and public. But then there had been Neville Longbottoms' patronus. Never in all his years had the Headmaster heard of someone so young successfully casting that spell. Yet Lockhart had taught it to him, and delivered a very effective lecture on magic in the process. Totally out of character.

But then he had accused Ron of being a sadomasochist. When that was pointed out as foolish, he had suggested that Draco and Ron were somehow attracted to each other. While there was nothing wrong with such proclivities, the political damage to both families, should a rumour about the two associating with each other gain wide circulation, was incalculable. And it was patently obvious that the two were not romantically involved! But the ponce insisted on spreading that rumour.

But while he and Snape could look into their minds and know the boys hated each other, the rest of the staff and school had no such assurances. And rumours of the two having a dalliance could ruin his plans for Harry — simultaneously separating the friendship of Ron and Harry while lessening the antagonism between Harry and Draco. But it was such a typical thing for Lockhart to blurt out.

But his involvement with this Lily Foundation was another story. How he had convinced Potter to co-operate was a mystery. And having the proceeds go to students at Hogwarts brought the boy positive press and put the boy in a good light for the public. That was a problem. He had to keep the boy isolated and dependent upon him. Unfortunately, he couldn't object publically without compromising his position as magical guardian — people would question why he had allowed the Muggles to abuse the boy. Claiming he never thought to check, and being unable to explain why he hadn't taught the child about his heritage, would get his guardianship revoked for incompetence. And that would turn into a major political fight as every heavy-hitter in Wizarding England would demand and fight for custody! The only positive to that situation was that he didn't have to worry about Malfoy getting his hands on the boy. And Narcissa seemed completely uninterested in the famous boy.

Albus knew that Lockhart was somehow involved in the destruction of the Malfoys. From the third richest family in Britain to barely above commoners was a breathtaking plunge in financial fortunes in a mere few weeks. How Lockhart had done it was a mystery, but, before his death, Lucius had insisted the man had tricked him into ruin over House points — and that made no sense whatsoever.

And so his favourite foil in the Wizengamot was gone, leaving many of his plans in disarray.

And amid his buffoonish attitude, Lockhart still managed to garner headlines! Accusing Draco of murder, and then sneaking Harry out to an interview with Rita Skeeter. The bad press for Dumbledore wasn't anything he couldn't handle, but it wasted his time dealing with those piddling problems and reassuring his followers, especially those at the edges.

Then the nitwit actually found the lost Ravenclaw Diadem. That was great press for Hogwarts, but Rita had managed to turn it into asking why the great Dumbledore hadn't found the diadem first! As if he had time to waste searching for a useless artefact such as that. He had more important things to do.

The fiasco with that cursed diary had cost him the support of the Weasleys, perhaps permanently. Lockhart anticipating his actions had prevented him from hiding the facts before anyone noticed. And while Dumbledore was a master at wandless silent magic casting, staring at the tip of Lockhart's already glowing wand had denied him the time for any reaction at all except acceptance. And once given, the vow prevented him from acting immediately to retain his most devoted followers.

Their daughter hadn't been that badly damaged by the possession, but his hesitance to assist her had further alienated the Weasleys. And had them call into question his competence. It would take time and effort to recover his position with them, but he could do it. A few compulsion charms, a bit of help here and there, and sooner or later they would fall back into his control. But in the meantime, he was without their unconditional support. And every time he spoke with Arthur about things in the Ministry and the Wizengamot, the Wizard kept him at a sceptical distance, questioning his reasons for every little proposed action.

While Albus started repairing his damaged reputation, Gilderoy had once more appeared an incompetent oblivious idiot. Except — he had shown a rather remarkable duelling ability during that first Dueling Club meeting. That he had managed to secure a tea date with McGonagall had been surprising, but then Dumbledore had never understood the dynamics of how Witches and Wizards interacted. Voldemort he could easily predict, Witches? Not at all.

And now this. The Chamber of Secrets. He had thought that a secret will kept. No one else knew where the entrance was, nor the creature contained in it. Lockhart's pretensions to knowing both had been laughable, and he knew the Wizard had never been even close to Myrtle's toilets in his so-called investigations of the castle.

But now? Lockhart had found it, entered it, and apparently killed the creature! Dumbledore had already been to the entrance this morning, to find still sealed but now concealed behind a simple Notice-Me-Not spell as well. The pictures in The Daily Prophet proved he had been down there.

And the fall-out from The Daily Prophet articles continued relentlessly. Not a day went by that didn't record several howlers berating him for endangering the students so recklessly! Even his so-called allies were keeping their distance and not responding to his floo-calls or owls. In a matter of days, he had lost much of his prestige and influence.

Madam Bones had been thorough, and damn her for getting to him before he had a chance to see those bloody articles in The Daily Prophet. Only after the interview, which had taken all morning, did he see a copy of that worthless rag. And by then it was too late, people had already started talking with each other and comparing experiences. By Friday, he had managed to retain his position as Headmaster only after promising to resign his positions as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and as Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards. And the former had beaten a vote removing him from the office by only a few hours.

A deadly blow to his influence both internal to England and to the world. Especially as everyone saw it as a rebuke of his handling of Hogwarts! Fools, all of them were fools. They didn't understand that the being Headmaster of Hogwarts gave him the power to control the future generations of the Wizarding World. Just look how he had so masterfully arranged things to become the most influential Wizard in the World, looked up to by almost the entire Wizarding World! He couldn't have done that if he were simply the Supreme Mugwump or Chief Warlock — it had taken several generations of convincing Hogwarts students of his greatness that had led to his establishing himself as a great Wizarding statesman.

And now, here was that fraud Lockhart undoing decades of work in a matter of days. Well, appearances were deceiving. While to the public he had lost influence, to the movers behind the scenes he was still a powerful force, crossed at one's own peril. He would claw his way back into power just you wait! In another decade, he will have regained those lost positions and be even more powerful.

Lockhart was a dangerous Wizard, hiding behind a façade of incompetence as a dandy. The Headmaster couldn't directly attack the man without doing damage to himself — after all, he had hired the man. And just look at how well the Wizard was finding things and saving students!

If he tried any attacks at this stage of the game, direct or indirect, they would come off as jealousy or revenge for "perceived" slights and harm only himself. He would have to wait for the furore to die down. In the meantime, he would start rumours about the Wizard's book being stolen memories from other Wizards and Witches. For some, it would ruin their reputations, for what Wizard or Witch wants everyone to know they were the victim of a fraud and cheat? But it was for the Greater Good, after all.

In all the fuss and bother of the Basilisk and the resulting scrutiny of his actions, or non-actions, he missed the small Ministry announcement towards the back of one of The Daily Prophets declaring that Houses Slytherin, Black, Gryffindor, Peverell, Gaunt, and Potter now had sitting Lords in the Wizengamot.

(◎_⊙)

Gilderoy waited outside the Hospital Wing doors and watched as Harry reluctantly left. Curfew would hit in a few minutes and Gilderoy knew Harry planned to hide in a classroom and sneak back to visit with Hermione some more after Madam Pomfrey went to sleep in an hour or so. It was all harmless "petting" at this stage — literally. Gilderoy knew from his passive legilimens that Hermione loved Harry's attention, especially when he scratched her between her ears and on the back of her neck. She wasn't sure what to think about the feeling she got when he scratched at the base of her tail, but they sure were nice! As were the feelings when they compared how her new chest accessories compared to her originals. She resolutely decided not to think about those feeling, and only recorded the results of their investigations in her journal.

They spent most of their time in the Hospital Wing with her telling him about her family and their vacations. He told her only a tiny fraction about the Dursleys.

Harry/Gilderoy waited until Harry was out of sight before removing his disillusionment spell and slipping into the Hospital Wing. He walked quietly to her bed hidden behind screens to provide her privacy. He didn't quiet his actual footsteps, so she wasn't startled when he knocked politely on the edge of one screen stand.

"Good evening, Professor Lockhart," she said, surprised that he came to see her.

"Good evening, Miss Granger." He studied her in the soft candle light. She was reading a book, of course, preparing for the upcoming classes when they started tomorrow. She looked back at him questioningly. The glamour had worn off, so she was her catty self. She and Harry were reapplying the glamour throughout the day every day, as practice for when the other students returned. It would tire them out doing that spell, but it would be good exercise for their magic cores. They both would come out of this stronger than their peers. He hoped to have them doing it silently and wandlessly by the end of the month. If someone hit her with a finite and accidentally revealed her form, they planned to explain it as a prank by the twins.

He sat at the bottom corner edge of the bed facing her, eschewing using the chair. He gave a discrete wave of his wand and put up privacy charms around them. Now, no one could listen, or would even realize he was there talking with her.

"Did you feel those, Miss Granger? You should. You certainly can. It will come with practice. The next time you see someone cast a spell; look for the feel of it on your skin. Some spells will leave a taste in your mouth, others a smell —the result of your brain trying to describe sensations for which it has no references. Most will make your skin seem to move ever so slightly, telling you what was cast and from where. At first, have friends cast the spells on you with your eyes closed. Wait for the feel of the magic. Mr. Potter does that instinctively."

She nodded, her fingers twitching as if she wanted to write down what he had said.

He sighed, a stab of jealousy hitting him. For all the fame and money he had and was going to get in the future, he would never again possess what Harry and Hermione would have. He missed his Hermione. And McGonagall and Sinistra could never measure up, not even together. Hermione's devotion to Harry was unlike any Witch's regard for Gilderoy.

On the other hand, if he succeeded, this Hermione and Harry would have the life they deserved. And with her newfound House and his Houses, they would have an interesting life. Not as interesting as Harry/Gilderoy's, rather boring by comparison, he thought. But boring was the life that Harry had always wanted. The life Harry/Gilderoy would have would be a compromise, neither quite pleased with the result, but preferable to the alternative — especially after he revealed to the pompous poser, the original Gilderoy Lockhart stuck in his head, what would have happened to him at the end of this year. Anything was better than being a permanent nobody in the Spell Damage Ward at St. Mungos!

He smiled at her wryly, "Ah, Miss Granger, how I wish I were your age. I would be giving Mr. Potter a real run for his money. You are a prize well worth pursuing." He extended a passive probe to pick up her emotions. He wanted to do this very carefully, her emotions would provide him the guide he needed.

She stared at him wide-eyed, stunned that anyone would regard her as someone worth chasing, blushing furiously at the idea her idol would feel that way towards her.

"Oh, come now, Miss Granger, did you really think no one realizes how knowledgeable and powerful you are? You understand spells faster than anyone else. You're always the very first to cast a new spell. And while not as powerful as some, knowing how to use the spell correctly is better than sheer power in many situations. And now you're Professor Snape's assistant! Even Mr. Potter has noticed!"

She gave him a disbelieving look.

"Speaking of Mr. Potter, in case you haven't realized, and I think you suspect it, he is quite taken with you. As you already know, he is more than willing to risk his life for you. No greater devotion can be possible. And, in fact, he's going to sneak in here shortly just to be with you, although he will pretend it is just because you are friends and you're in the Hospital Wing, and not because he fancies you."

She blinked up at him from the bed. Reading her expressions was difficult under all that fur, but at least the forward tilt to her ears indicated her interest in what he had to say. That and her emotions clearly revealed her interest.

"What I am about to tell you is in the strictest of confidences. I shan't ask for an oath, just your promise that you shan't reveal what I'm about to tell you."

"Of course, Professor Lockhart," she said, eyes shining and pride growing at the thought he would confide in her. He was, after all, her favourite teacher, surpassing even Professor McGonagall. He was a great teacher, he cared about his students, and he was an accomplished author. He had fought a Basilisk just last week! As an idol, he was perfect for her. And she was star-struck on him something terrible. But she also knew he was an adult and would never see her as anything other than a child and a student. Harry, on the other hand . . . .

"Do you like Mr. Potter?"

She cast her gaze down on the bedspread, "Professor Lockhart!" she said, sightly scandalized and no doubt blushing. She was definitely feeling embarrassed at being caught. She looked back up at him. It was easy for the Witch to separate her admiration for her Professor from how she felt about her very best friend who had risked his life for her.

He raised an eyebrow.

Finally, she said, "Yes," albeit quietly. "But just as a friend," she added quickly. She liked him more than she was willing to let on, he could feel.

He grinned at her, "Would you be opposed to being his girlfriend?"

She stared up at him, clearly caught in a quandary, wary hope spiking in her emotions. "But he doesn't like me like that," she said by way of reply.

"But he does."

She narrowed her eyes, "How do you know that?" she half-whispered. Her emotions swirled, happy at the possibility, worried he was wrong. And while she looked up to the accomplished and published Gilderoy, Harry had saved her life! And treated her like a real person.

He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Mr. Potter has not had a good childhood."

She blinked, frowning at the apparent non-sequitur.

"His family, if you can call it that, actually detest the very sight of him. They have abused him, both emotionally and otherwise."

She leaned back in shock, outrage present in her emotions. How could a family do that? She had suspected things were not as they should be with him, but to have it confirmed . . . .

"He does not know the meaning of love, having never seen it nor experienced it. The only emotion he knows how to show is anger, with which he has plenty of experience. Think back to how he stiffens up when you hug him, how he avoids direct contact with anyone, how he keeps distance between himself and everyone else.

"If someone is within arm reach, they are close enough to hit him, so he carefully keeps just outside that reach. To him, close means pain is coming.

"You and Mrs. Wealsey are the only two who have ever hugged the boy. No loving mother has ever kissed him goodnight on the forehead, no loving father has praised him for doing well. No parent had ever hugged him and told him he is loved.

"Instead, his Aunt has always coldly ordered him to bed and his Uncle violently reprimanded him for achieving better scores than his idiot cousin. There's nothing like being hit with a frying pan or beaten until you can't stand to dissuade you from doing your homework or outscoring your cousin on a test."

"You know he isn't stupid, but he's been trained to never do better than his cousin, and that fear of excelling has now extended to Mr. Weasley. You are an excellent student that anyone smart would use as a model for success, but Mr. Weasley is a lazy, selfish, arse. And that is what Mr. Potter is limiting himself to out of reflex — Mr. Weasley, even though his envy has put him at a distance. Harry's afraid that if he does better, that if he were to challenge you for status as top student . . . well, he firmly believes that his only remaining friend, you, will leave him.

"You can fix that, if you want."

Her mouth fell open in shock.

"He loves you, but he has no idea that he does. He has no yardstick with which to measure it. But, really now, how close do you want to be to someone that you would sneak into the Hospital Wing nightly just to talk with her?

"To him, like and love have little meaning, emotionally. If he understood what it was to like someone, he would tell you how much he likes you. Unfortunately, as you may have noticed, he has no social skills at all. His cousin saw to that, chasing away and beating up any who showed the boy kindness or offered friendship."

Her emotions roiled in outrage.

"You are, quite literally, the first girl he has ever had as a friend, and he has spoken more to you in the last month than to all the girls, and boys, he has ever known. And you are only the second person ever to accept him as a friend. The first was Mr. Weasley. And so he treats you the way he would treat another boy, because he doesn't know any better.

"He divides people into those he trusts and those he does not. He trusts you as he trusts no one else. And while Mr. Ron Weasley is his best friend and he trusts him, he already knows the boy is jealous of his fame and his money, so he downplays and hides both so as not to lose the very first friend he has ever had. And you can see how well that is turning out!

"But Mr. Weasley is a bad influence on Mr. Potter, as you know. Skiving off studying and homework just to play chess or exploding snap is not how you become a great Wizard or Witch, but it is what the lazy Mr. Weasley wants to do. And so he drags Harry down to his level by distracting him from schoolwork. And Harry, afraid to lose his only male friend, endeavours to stay at that level instead of excelling as he could do if he tried only a little bit. He has even remained quiet in the face of some of Mr. Weasley's criticisms of you in order to keep the peace with the other boy." Lockhart shook his head sadly, "Please forgive him for those lapses."

She half-nodded, mulling over what he had said and seeing the truth in his description of Ron's friendship and its impact on Harry's studies. Anger at his relatives' treatment echoed in the background.

"What you must do is wean him away from Mr. Weasley by providing incentives to stay with you, Mr. Longbottom, and Miss Lovegood. Simply telling him he needs to study or do homework shan't do the job.

"Ask him to teach you how to fly, and then make that the reward for doing well — you'll spend time with him flying. He will love you for it, even if he doesn't know that's what you call that feeling."

She was shaking her head. Fear of flying almost overcame her hope at being with Harry.

He smiled at her. "I know you dislike flying on a broom, Miss Granger, but you should regard it as a necessary life skill. You don't have to be able to do a Wronski Feint, but you should be able to ride well enough to escape an attack by a Dark Wizard. You wouldn't want to watch Harry die just because you couldn't fly a broom, now would you?

"And as to Dark Wizards, remember that Voldewhore possessed Professor Quirrell last year. Next time he might just succeed in returning, putting all your lives in danger. One day, being able to fly well on a broom might save both your lives, because Harry will never willingly abandon you."

She nodded her head again, still wide-eyed.

"In fact, Miss Granger, I shall make that a D.A.D.A. homework assignment for the class. By the end of the term, I want you to be able to fly well enough to be a Quidditch Chaser! Failing to fly well will knock your grade down!" At her horrified and appalled look, he added, "For a quick pickup game, not as for a professional or House team." He paused, "Unless you want to, that is.

"And Mr. Potter will be thrilled to help you do that. He enjoys flying as a truly liberating experience, where all his worries go away. Just watch his face sometime when he is flying and you will soon understand. He plays Quidditch for the excuse to fly. He doesn't understand that he has the right to go flying whenever he wants.

"I suggest you ask Mr. Longbottom and Miss Lovegood to join the two of you, if Mr. Potter agrees, that is. They, too, could do with the practical aspect of learning how to fly properly. Tell them I suggested that they join you."

He stopped and thought a moment. "Well, we seem to have gotten off track a bit." He smiled at her again, "What I really wanted to tell you is that if you want Mr. Potter to be your boyfriend, you will have to tell him that he's your boyfriend. He will never believe that a girl would want to be his girlfriend, so he will never think to ask, no matter how obvious you make it to him what you want. In matters of the heart, Mr. Potter is blind. It is up to you to show his heart how to see."

She frowned, but hope was filling her heart.

"Remember, he has never seen any examples of how a true couple should act, and his relatives have beaten into him the belief that he is not good enough for anything good or nice to happen to him. It's why he is so reckless with his life, rushing in where others fear to tread — to him, his life is always worth less than the one he is trying to save. He feels no one would miss him should he die, yet he knows he would be upset and unhappy if someone else were to die when he could have prevented that. And he fears everyone would blame him for the other's death because he didn't prevent it.

"You must counteract that by showing him that his life is worth just as much as anyone else's. Show him that he is just as valuable a person as anyone else."

She nodded slowly, determination evident.

"Watch his expression carefully when you grab his hand tomorrow morning on the way to breakfast and you tell him he is your boyfriend because only he is good enough for that position. He will try to tell you that you are mistaken. He shan't understand why anyone would want him as a boyfriend. Don't take no for an answer.

"You can tell him that if he wants, you will be his girlfriend until the end of term and then if he doesn't want to continue, well, you can both call it off." He could feel the spike of fear from her when he said that. "But that shan't happen unless you drive him away with jealousy. Other girls will vie for his attention, and put you down as unsuitable. Especially when they discover his multiple Lordships.

"They will be jealous of you, so ignore them. And should anyone, no matter how highly placed, tell you not to write to him over the summer, ignore them. They are trying to make Mr. Potter feel that he has no friends — remember what Dobby did to his mail over the summer? And how you felt when your letters went unanswered?

"Whatever you do, do not believe any rumours you may hear. Always talk with Harry first. Remember, he has no social skills. He may make a mistake, or ten, because he simply doesn't know any better, so be ready to forgive him.

"That will be especially hard to do considering he is the Head of House for three important Houses and it will be expected of him to have wives to supply heirs for those lines, or to blood-adopt children for the same. And when the other Witches hear about the other Houses, well, you'll have you work cut out for you! Unless, of course, you select those other girlfriends before someone you dislike imposes themselves. Perhaps Miss Lovegood and Miss Weasley? Both are impressionable and you would find both rather easy to live with. And Miss Lovegood's creatures? She sees auras and apparently likes to name certain transitory features, the child in her thinking them separate magical creatures. Or perhaps they really are pure-magic creatures that only she can see, who is to know the truth?

"But, remember, no matter what happens you will always be first in his heart."

She was watching and listening to him carefully.

"Hmm. Maybe you should tell him tonight when he sneaks in here to be with you that you want to be his girlfriend. A kiss on the cheek would not be out of order. Perhaps a kiss every morning when he takes your thesis pictures. In week, move from his cheek to a quick peck on his lips. And a warning about what the other Witches will do when they discover his House situation.

"And you needn't worry about him taking advantage of you, he will be too terrified of ruining your friendship, of chasing you away forever. So, you will have to initiate things every step of the way. You want him to kiss you on the lips? You will have to kiss him first so he knows it's okay. You want him to hug you? Tell him that's what will make you happy.

"He has no idea how to treat a girl, so you will need to coach him in the particulars. Be patient and let him know the real decisions are up to him. Do tell him that if he brags to his friends about private things you do together that you will be extremely disappointed in him. All those things he hears the older boys saying about their girlfriends should be private, and it shows that the boys have no regard for their girlfriends. Plus, and most importantly, it shows that they are incapable of being trusted to keep secrets. Be sure to point that out, explicitly.

"Trust me, it will work out as long as you take the forefront in matters of emotion and let him make his own decisions on how to follow through. Use rewards to get him to improve in school. No bossing around! Use 'please' a lot. And let him go off with Mr. Weasley when he feels he must, you do not want to force him to choose between yourself and Mr. Weasley. Never, ever, give an ultimatum about anything unless you are willing to accept that he might choose against you and you lose everything because of your or his pride. And make sure Mr. Potter knows when Mr. Weasley has hurt you with his words."

He left the Hospital Wing behind, headed for his rooms. He left Hermione in a mess of conflicting emotions, fear that her professor might be wrong, hope that he wasn't, fury with Harry's relatives for damaging the boy so much, and determination to do what she could to help him.

Harry/Gilderoy would monitor the two closely for a while, nudging the witch as needed, restraining her if she became overbearing. No matter what, it would be better than what he had gone through with Ron and Hermione in his future.

And he was right, he received quite a few party invitations for the New Year's celebrations. He graciously attended several, floo-ing between them, before midnight struck. It was a very profitable evening, from Gilderoy's point of view. Harry Lockhart was almost bored to tears.