Order of the Phoenix meeting - 5

Harry smiled, looking down into Ginny's warm brown eyes. "Well, that's the plan. If we manage it, anything that comes after is the whipped cream."

Ginny beamed at him.

"All right, back to the Order," Kingsley said, still scowling. "You won't tell us where you go, but you will leave us a method to communicate."

Harry nodded. "And what I could use from you is some information. How do you go about tracking a wizard?"

"There is no way to track You-Know-Who, Harry. Don't you think we've tried?" Mr. Weasley asked softly.

"I'm not talking about him," Harry said. "I want to find the location of the fathers of two of my former classmates. Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle's fathers are both Death Eaters. I bet the guests upstairs know their first names. I need to know where they are, that's all."

Moody nodded. "I can look into that. Does this have something to do with whatever it is they're guarding?"

"Yes," Harry said shortly. He suspected he knew the location of one of them already, but he thought it best not to announce he was leaving again so soon to check it out. It would be better to let them think he was following one of their leads.

"There is something else I want you to do for us," Kingsley Shacklebolt said, staring intently at Harry.

He saw Professor McGonagall shift slightly while Remus looked away. Tonks gripped his shoulder supportively. Harry knew instinctively that he wasn't going to like this.

"What's that?" he asked.

"I would like you to resume Occlumency lessons," Shacklebolt said evenly.

"What?" Harry exploded. "They were a disaster; Professor Dumbledore even agreed on that. Besides, Voldemort hasn't tried to get into my head for over a year."

"The reason they were a disaster could have been that Snape," Shacklebolt fairly spat the name, "wasn't doing his best to teach you. If you are hiding something as critical as you say, we cannot take the chance that You-Know-Who can find it without your knowing."

"He couldn't," Harry said.

"He's done it before," Shacklebolt fired back, causing Harry to flinch.

"Harry," Remus said gently. "I think this is a good idea. Dumbledore did believe it was a good idea before Snape convinced him otherwise. I think it's worth the effort."

Harry shoulders slumped in defeat. He couldn't deny their words, but something inside him told him Occlumency wasn't the answer. "Fine. Who's to teach me though? You?"

"No. I'm not qualified to instruct you. We do have a couple of people here, however, who are qualified. If you agree to it, that is," Remus said, his eyes shifting again.

"Here? Who? I thought the reason Snape had to teach me was that there wasn't anyone else qualified?" Harry asked.

"They weren't on our side then," Remus replied.

"You can't be serious," Hermione shouted, looking back and forth wildly between Remus and Kingsley. "You can't let them inside Harry's head. No way."

Harry blinked for a moment, trying to figure out what Hermione was saying. The answer hit him like a blow to the gut.

"No way! If you think for one minute I'm going to let Draco Malfoy inside my head–"

"He's a capable Occlumens, Harry," Remus said mildly. "Weren't you the one who said he managed to keep Snape out last Christmas?"

"Yeah, but…" Harry stuttered, thunderstruck. "He's Malfoy."

"He learned from his mother and his aunt. Obviously we can't trust them completely, but we can use them while they're here. They're using us for the same reason; it's mutually beneficial to both sides," Kingsley said. "Remus has agreed to monitor the situation at all times, so you won't be alone with them."