Chapter 2

Teacher's Horror


In the Great Hall, the school was enjoying their dinners, all of them excited about the upcoming weekend that was not marred in any way by detention, papermarking, extra classes, detentions, meetings, club meetings, or quidditch practice, that was felt alike by both students and faculty members.

The students were chatting with both each other above their meals. The Gryffindor table was by far the nosiest lot in the entire hall. They were yelling their conversations to their comrades whom were sitting across from them and/or sitting beside them. There were fights over food and even eating contests to see who could eat how much of what.

The Slytherins, on the other hand, were by far the quietest in the entire hall. They were quietly chatting with one another, a few groups glancing about to make sure that they weren't being listened to. Some of them had even cast spells to keep eavesdroppers at bay.

The staff at the head table were quietly conversing as they watched their students eat and converse, making sure that they were behaving themselves.

The Ravenclaws were the second most quiet table in the Great Hall. Many of them were reading while others exchange books. Some were even doing their homework for the weekend at the table while others were quietly talking and laughing.

The Hufflepuffs were the closest to being the second loudest table in the hall. They were laughing and joking, being a little rowdy. Some were shoving one another, playfully, but it was all in good fun.

Screams suddenly erupted around the hall, mostly from first years, as the Fat Friar, Nearly Headless Nick, the Gray Lady, the Bloody Baron and Peeves, came tearing into the Great Hall at a breakneck speed, scared looks plastered on each of their faces. Barely seconds after, Argus Filch burst through the doors, an equally terrified look on his face as the four house ghosts and the ever cursed poltergeist.

Silence fell after Argus erupted through the doors, some of the first years clinging to each other while other first years clung to their upper classmen. The teachers were also silent as they watched the spectacle with shocked looks on their faces. The Gryffindors and the Hufflepuffs were surprised by Argus Filch looking scared out of his wits. The Ravenclaws were staring at Peeves because there were wards around the Great Hall keeping him out unless formally invited. The Slytherins were staring at the Bloody Baron, whom they had never seen show any real emotion. The teachers, though, they had never seen anything near like this ever before.

If anyone had looked at Albus Dumbledore, they would have seen what he looked like when he was surprised. His blue eyes were wide and their twinkle seemed to be frozen in mid twinkle. His mouth was hanging wide open with his glasses perched precariously on the end of his nose, and were threatening to fall off.

"Headmaster, a student is dead!" the Fat Friar cried.

"He fell from the fifth floor in the stairwell!" exlaimed Nearly Headless Nick.

"Minerva, Severus, Pamona, Filius, count your students!" the headmaster quickly barked then stood up.

"Prefects, keep the students in here!" Albus commanded, his voice booming about the silent hall. He then cast a silencing barrier around the head table, the ghosts, the poltergeit, and the squib, so the students wouldn't be able to hear what they were saying to one another.

"What do you mean a student is dead?" Albus demanded, absolutely no twinkle evident in his blue eyes.

"He fell from the fifth floor in the stairwell. The portraits all saw!" Nearly Headless Nick explained.

"So much blood." the Gray Lady quivered, looking quite shaken, especially so for a ghost.

"The boy didn't scream. Silence. A most honorable way to go." the Bloody Baron said gravely, covering up how much the death had truly disturbed him. How much seeing the death of an innocent child disturbed him.

"All of my students are accounted for." Severus Snape, head of the Slythering house, announced softly. He was silently praying that his was some sort of prank, that a child wasn't truly dead.

"As are mine." Filius piped up. He then turned towards the headmaster. "Albus, I thought that there were spells on the castle to prevent suicide." The head of the Ravenclaw house inquired, his face unnaturally pale.

"Mine are all present." Pamona announced worriedly.

"He was pushed." Peeves announced loudly, but this went unheard as Minerva McGonnagal, the head of the Gryffindor house, spoke up.

"I'm missing one." Minerva whispered before leaping up and running for the stairwell. The professors and ghosts instanly followed the deputy headmistress. Professors Sinistra and Vector remained behind in the Great Hall to assist the prefects and the head boy and girl keep order with the rest of the student body, who were now whispering to one another, speculating who it was whom was dead.

Severus Snape was the second person to arrive, Minerva being the first. She spun around and launched herself at the potions master and begain to sob. She recognized her little lion that was lying face down in a puddle of his own blood, body broken and battered from the sudden landing. Unable to face the truth, Miverva McGonngal just clung to the most hated professor in Hogwarts like he was her lifeline.

Severus Snape, on the other hand, was stunned. He recognized the bloody mop of hair having seen it so often during his childhood on the head of another man, the father of the child lying dead at his feet. Never had be believed that something like this could have ever happened, or even would have happened.

"Merlin!" someone gasped, alerting Severus that the other teachers had arrived and reminding him that he had a distressed head of Gryffindor clinging to him. He wrapped his arms around the older woman, unconsciously giving her awkward comfort by rubbing her shaking shoulders.

Papers were fluttering down, making Severus look up. The papers and quills were still falling, meaning that the boy had fallen a considerable distance. The fifth floor, he vaguely recalled one of the ghosts having said.

"Who is it?" asked Hooch, peering around Dumbledore at the still body on the floor. Someone ran off to get Madame Promfry.

"Harry Potter." Filius whispered, having caught a falling piece of paper before it landed on the floor. He showed it to Severus who was slightly surprised in a muted manner since he was still very much in shock, to see that it was the potions homework that he had assigned the day prior that was due Tuesday the next week.

Silence.

"Quirrel." a soft voice murmured, making all of them look up to see what Peeves meant. All the other ghosts turned to look at him, having been gazing sadly down at the still form. They had obviously followed the staff from the Great Hall.

"Quirrel pushed him. I saw him do it. If I could touch humans, I would have saved him." Peeves murmured sadly. He may have been a trickster, but he didn't condone murder, especially the murder of a child.

"Find him." Albus Dumbledore snarled, scaring everyone present. "Find him and bring him to me."

It was then, hearing the cold fury in Ablus Dumbledore's voice, that they could understand how their slightly insane, ever meddling boss, could have killed Gindewald. All the staff quickly left to do as he said, leaving Albus, Severus and Minerva standing there, quietly mourning the death of Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived.


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