Chapter 8
Lucius Malfoy was currently in a certain office of the Ministry. Although everything had gone well tonight he knew he must be even more vigilant and aware than he had been as of yet.
Across from Lucius was a slightly older wizard with a rather stern, unwavering face.
"We don't often make accommodations like this Lord Malfoy," the elder wizard spoke in a strained, uneasy voice.
"I am well aware, but you know this particular situation is exceptionally different, Head Auror Scrimgeour," Lucius said curtly but still in his usually polite manner.
"I'm sure very soon you will agree that this exception was necessary," he quickly continued.
Lucius knew the wizard across from him would be a friend or even an acquaintance, no, in fact, he knew they would eventually be enemies, but until such a day Lucius needed this wizard to help secure this victory over that old-fool Dumbledore.
The office of the Head Auror in the Ministry was rather sparse and cold. This room perfectly embodied the essence of its current occupant Rufus Scrimgeour.
He had risen to the title of Head Auror with his candid speech and frank, strict mannerisms. His work was his life in a sense, and he had dedicated it all to taking down evil wizards.
Here on the second level of the Ministry was an area consisting of mostly open cubicles, except for the the main office at the very back of the room.
Strewn throughout the cubicles were very little personal items, mainly there were maps, profiles of various wizards, and clippings of the daily news. These were the items the Aurors relied most heavily on to do their duty.
As the silence in the main office finally began to work on the two wizards another dark-skinned wizard quickly rushed into the room, closing the door behind him.
"I know you don't want to believe him, but he was right Rufus," The tall Auror said with a slight scowl as he gestured to the blonde wizard sitting with his serpent cane across his lap.
"What happened when you went in there Kingsley?," the lion-faced Head Auror quickly demanded.
Lucius inwardly smirked at this show before him; everything including what was occurring now had all gone like he initially planned, and this just proved to himself the difference between Dumbledore the self-proclaimed genius wizard, and a true Slytherin, a wizard who relies on cunning to destroy his enemies.
Kingsley quickly retold what had occurred including how he had pretended to be on Dumbledore's side to the two wizards present in the room.
Lucius immediately noticed that Scrimgeour's eyes began to twitch ever so slightly in what he assumed was anger as he listened to every detail of Kingsley's story.
"Lord Malfoy, it seems that I was indeed wrong and granting your request to send an Auror in to further learn of Dumbledore's motives was not in vain," the stern Auror expressed with a glare.
"It's sad that in this instance I was correct," Lucius replied with false-sympathy.
"It's even worse to think some wizards believe they are beyond the full grasp of the law, Head Auror," Lucius continued choosing those particular words so they would impact the wizard before him.
"As long as I am living I will never allow any criminal to escape the law," Scrimgeour exclaimed as he slammed one fist on his dark walnut desk.
"We will have Mr. Dumbledore held in the smallest, darkest cell in Azkaban stripped of his titles and personal effects where he will remain until his trial occurs!" Scrimgeour roared out to the two wizards present.
"Kingsley!" the lion-faced Auror continued in his furious rage, "Have him escorted there immediately, and do not allow anyone to approach that goblin under any circumstances!"
Upon hearing this Lucius could barely hold the glee in his eyes. That old-fool Dumbledore had actually been stupid enough to try and sweet-talk his way out of this situation.
'He even tried to convince an Auror to destroy evidence in case against him,' Lucius thought as he inwardly chuckled.
After this show, Lucius quickly bid good-day to both the Head Auror and to Kingsley, and took his leave. He sauntered down the halls of the ministry the only sound being his favorite cane/wand striking the floor matching his pace.
This was perhaps one of the greatest victories he had achieved, not only had he just arrested one of the most powerful wizards in Britain, but he had also outsmarted him at every turn.
The next few days would be rather daunting, he had been somewhat neglecting his job as chairman of the Board of Governors at Hogwarts, but now he could return to his job with even more influence in the school. This effort was but a small price to pay for getting what he wanted.
Some serpents quickly strike and kill their prey with venom, but others slowly strangle their prey, and with every futile struggle they only make serpent strangle harder. This was also true for Dumbledore with every attempt of his, Lucius would plan to be ready to squeeze even tighter around his neck...
Severus was now currently seated in the Headmaster's office, or as it will soon be known the Headmistress' office.
The Board of Governors would most likely come very down in the next few days to officially replace Albus Dumbledore with his Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall.
He sat with an apathetic face as the current faculty meeting was transpiring.
"This is a sad day for all of us," Professor McGonagall began, "As we all know Headmaster Dumbledore has been arrested."
As this phrase was said Severus noticed several of the faculty members begin to speak on the matter, but somewhat to his surprise Minerva stopped them.
"We are not here to discuss our personal opinions on what happened last night; we are instead here to see how we will tell the students once they see the," She said interrupting the professors not allowing them to speak.
"Yes they have a right to know!" the small Professor Flitwick exclaimed.
"But how shall we tell them all, we don't want them to panic," Professor Sprout chimed in across the table.
It seemed to the onyx-eyed potions master that almost every professor had their own opinion on the matter as they each began proposing their ideas with none of them in agreement.
Severus sighed to himself, it was too early in the morning for him to have to deal with this nonsense, and he still was in rather a sour mood from his less than adequate sleeping arrangement last night.
"Perhaps," the potions master began loud enough for everyone to quiet down, "The best way would be for the Heads of House to each tell their own house before breakfast."
At this perfect and somewhat obvious revelation all the professors present quickly agreed to his proposal.
"That's a wonderful idea, Severus," the soon-to-be Headmistress complimented effectively taking the focus of the meeting once more.
"With that settled, I have one more matter to discuss with you all," she began in a somewhat conflicted tone.
"I received a letter from the Board of Governors earlier, giving me their acceptance as the new Headmistress of the school effectively immediately, there is to be a ceremony later in the week," Professor McGonagall explained in her still somber voice.
"They have also given me permission to select my replacement as Transfiguration professor; I have also selected the new professor to be the head of Gryffindor house when he arrives," she said with her voice choking up a bit.
Everyone knew that this was her favorite position in the school as the mother lion of Gryffindor house protecting her cubs was her number one priority.
Severus knew that her keeping the new professor a secret probably wouldn't be a good thing in the long run.
'This means I will have to act quickly now that the time is right,' He thought shutting out the rest of the faculty meeting.
After a dismissal from McGonagall the Potions Master quickly made his way back to his familiar habitat, the Slytherin Dungeon. He exited the Headmistresses Tower to the Dungeons to relay the news of the former Headmaster to his young snakes.
It was still far too early for Severus. Having spent the night sleeping in a chair his muscles were taught and stiff.
His long black robes billowed around him as he finally descended into the stony dungeon. Even with it as early as it was, many of the older Slytherins were already awake and preparing for the day in the common room.
He noticed the homely green flame at the serpent-headed fireplace and the green orbs that dominated the rest of the room. He had spent many days in here in his youth and often thought of this place as an extension of his home.
"Do you need something Professor," the head prefect, Gemma Farley, asked when she noticed his arrival.
"Yes Ms. Farley," the Potions Master began in somewhat kinder tone than the one he used with non-Slytherins, "would you please gather everyone here."
"Yes of course sir," she quickly nodded and gathered the appropriate students to help complete this task.
Within moments the entirety of Slytherin was gathered into the room even the Bloody Baron was present. Draco, naturally, was at the very front having heard it was his Godfather who had summoned everyone.
"Now I have had you all gathered here to give you some very important news," Severus began in a very serious manner.
"Late last night Headmaster Dumbledore was arrested by the Board of Governors Chair, Lord Malfoy," Severus continued his onyx eyes stopping on the young blond-haired wizard,, his godson Draco.
Needless to say there weren't cries of protest in Slytherin House. Year after year they had dealt with the prejudices of other houses all lead by the Headmaster. Everything from cheers to laughing to people saying he got what he deserved was said before the Potions Master.
"Yes I understand your need for celebration, but we must all remember that for the others this is a solemn occasion," Severus reminded the snakes as he quieted them all down.
"The other students will blame our house especially young Mr. Malfoy as it was his father who arrested the former Headmaster," the onyx eyed professor continued his speech.
"So just remember that it is times like these that we must remain vigilant and united," he finished his speech tactfully.
"Mr. Malfoy," Severus begin in a formal tone, "please follow me."
And like that he left the Slytherin Common room with young Draco following behind him. The pair quickly entered the warded office of the Potions Master and dropped all formalities.
"Draco before you ask there are things in work you cannot know about just yet," the black haired wizard began, "I'm sure you'll learn quite a great deal in the morning paper."
"I have called you here to instead give you an important task," Severus patiently stated.
"I need you to gather some friends who can take turns watching Harry today," he continued.
"Dumbledore's arrest may make some wizards mad at Mr. Potter so I would like someone to be with him today," Severus finished having explained the task at hand.
"Yes of course Godfather, I will not fail you," Draco said straightening up as he accepted the mission, "I believe I know just the people to ask."
"Very well," the elder serpent spoke, "I trust your judgment Draco."
With the young blonde dismissed, Severus turned to his desk and began to make plans for a certain mission of his very own...
Draco Malfoy was sitting in the Great Hall having his usual breakfast as he was quietly awaiting the morning's post as were all the other wizards present. The entirety of Slytherin House had arrived fashionably late to breakfast, all of them save the one how was currently watching over Harry.
"Draco you don't have to hide your excitement," Pansy started having seen through the blonde-haired wizard's intuitions, "we all want to read the paper."
Draco looked at his friends who surrounded him and let a small smirk show on his usually calm, cool face.
As he took another drink of his pumpkin juice the swarm of owls descended into the grand stone room. The regal eagle-owl Draco owned dropped the large paper on the table, and quickly flew off to his perch atop the school.
Draco, along with all the other students quickly opened their papers to read the morning's headlines.
ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
ARRESTED
Beneath the bold, black headline was a picture of a wrinkly old-disheveled wizard rattling the chains on his hands. The paper continued to say that the former Headmaster was placed under arrest for theft, forgery, and kidnapping.
The paper even further speculated that all of these crimes were against the savior of the wizarding world, Harry Potter.
At every table the students began to whisper, some about why McGonagall was now occupying the head chair, and others were staring at Draco whispering about his father.
Draco, himself, scoffed at these looks from the various wizards and openly smirked in response to them. The other first years finished their breakfast around the same time Draco did, and began to stand to go class when one girl stopped everyone.
"I think we should all go see Harry before class begins," Daphne announced to the group in her high-pitched voice.
"Yeah we should go see him for ourselves," Millicent chimed in agreement.
'This could be the perfect chance,' Draco thought to himself as he heard the young witches' proposal.
"Alright that a wonderful idea Daphne," the blond-haired wizard spoke as he turned towards her.
The witch in question quickly beamed with happiness as the group of first years went instead to the ward in which Harry was located. Walking down the south wing of the first floor the group of young snakes quickly reached the Hospital Wing.
Draco having been here the previous night was already well aware of the layout of this particular area.
The Hospital Ward resembled the rest of the school, brown cobblestone walls with a deeply gray stone floor. The room was laid out into two sections the general patient area in which a nurse's office was also attached and the section for severely traumatized patients.
With Harry's resilient body he was placed in the general ward, and it was here the first years saw Harry lying in bed with Marcus Flint sitting next to him keeping watch. Only Draco had seen him before, the three girls Pansy, Millicent, and Daphne all had pained expressions as they saw the state their friend was in.
The other four boys had angry expressions on their faces and Draco knew they would want revenge on the wizard responsible for their attack.
"If I had been there with him Harry might not be like this," Blaise muttered clutching his fist tightly.
"I feel the same way Blaise," Pansy quickly chimed in.
"I think we all want revenge for Harry," Draco said making sure no one else was in the room.
The other first years quickly nodded in agreement to the blonde-haired wizard's statement.
"Flint," Draco called out in a hushed voice to the prefect before him.
"Yes Malfoy?" the taller wizard asked in curiosity.
"Can you teach as how to break into the isolation ward?" Draco asked with a smirk, " I think we need to respond with some payback."
All of the Slytherin's present in the room smirked as they understood where Draco was going with his request. They were going to make any and all wizards involved pay for what happened here starting with those in the isolation ward...
The sunlight in his mind shown brightly on the road before the two wizards. Presenting a rather happy picturesque street, but Harry knew that on this road would be no happiness for him.
"Hey Tom," Harry started somewhat frantically, "W-w-why don't we just go back?"
He quickly flinched where he felt those piercing onyx eyes focus upon him.
"What's wrong," the apathetic wizard asked noticing Harry's shaken tone.
"This is kinda where I grew up," Harry said dejectedly as he turned his head away.
"This is your mind Harry, they can't interact with you," Tom said reassuringly to the brunette wizard.
"I know," the green-eyed wizard sighed, "It still doesn't help."
"If I'm going then so are you," Tom firmly stated taking Harry's hand, "We're in this together."
Harry offered little resistance to the older boy as he felt himself shuffling his feet forward.
"It's okay this isn't real," Harry said quietly to himself.
The pair of wizards quickly found themselves before house number 4. The two floor house seemed rather neat and clean with its slightly red-pale bricks and meticulously kept lawn.
Harry began to breathe more rapidly as Tom continued to pull his hand and the pair marched up the pathway until they were before the opening where the door would be. It seemed that in whatever place they were in right now they wouldn't be allowed to interact with any object.
"Please don't make me go in there," Harry began to say with watery-eyes and a sniffling nose.
In response Tom let go of the green-eyed boy's hand and instead grabbed his chin. Harry was forced to look into these piercing black onyx eyes again, and he felt that nothing could escape his gaze not even his own soul.
"You saw the conditions in which I grew up Harry," Tom begin with a slight anger in his voice.
"Day after day being alone, being tormented, and for what?!" Tom shouted now wide-eyed and full of anger, "because I'm different from them, because we're different."
Harry flinched at the sudden feeling of dread he felt from the boy in front of him.
"You and I are the same," Tome said as he brought his face closer to Harry, now merely inches away.
"I can see it in your eyes, the same hurt, the same longing for acceptance, the same distrust for everyone."
Harry felt shaken to the core by what he just heard. Tom had guessed everything so correctly. Harry's own breathe began to calm and he now felt himself smile.
"You're right Tom," Harry said cheerfully, "We're the same."
"Neither of us are alone anymore," the brunette boy quickly continued, "I have friends with me : Draco, Pansy, Blaise, and all the other Slytherins."
"And now we're friends," Harry said feeling his cheek grow warm as he blushed slightly.
At this declaration Tom's usually apathetic face smirked ever so slightly.
"That's right we're friends," Tom confirmed.
Harry found himself blushing even more as Tom still held his chin and their faces merely inches away.
"Um...Tom," Harry began, "I-i think you can let go now."
Tom's eyes quickly widened as he let go of Harry feeling a slight blush creep onto his own face. Harry smiled even more when he saw Tom's outstretched hand to go inside:
The brunette wizard quickly accepted and he followed the taller wizard inside with renewed confidence. Harry soon found that he would need all of that confidence for what he saw before him.
The pair of wizards were in the foyer where Harry's staircase room was located. He could see before him 4 memory Harry's all doing various things.
One was scrubbing the walls with a toothbrush another was scrubbing the floor slightly sobbing, but it was the last two that affected him the most.
Off on one side Harry saw himself being thrown and locked into the small room where he lived by his whale-like Uncle Vernon, and on the right side of the room he was being screamed at and slapped repeatedly by his shrewd Aunt Petunia.
Over and over, the scene played before him and Tom as Harry often had experienced these things many times over in his daily life.
He felt his right hand being squeezed with a tremendous amount of force, so he quickly turned toward that look.
Harry saw Tom suck in a breath quickly and his eyes widened in fury from what was before him.
'Those filthy muggles,' Tom said in a tone Harry could barely hear, ' what I would give to make them pay.'
'Thanks for saying that.' Harry replied with gratitude, 'it means a lot.'
Upon hearing the brunette boy's response Tom quickly turned towards him with intrigue.
"How did you understand what I just said," the black-haired boy forcefully asked.
"What do you mean," Harry asked his brows furrowed in confusion.
"That wasn't English," Tom began to explain, "That was Parslemouth, the serpent language."
"You mean like talking to snakes," Harry asked contemplating, "I've always been able to do that."
At this revelation the scenery now changed and no longer were the pair of wizards at number 4 privet drive, they were now in the zoo, more specifically the reptile house.
Before Tom had any chance to respond to Harry he saw a new memory Harry freeing a rather large boa and communicating with it quite easily.
"Harry," Tom started as he grabbed the boy by the shoulders, "We are more alike than I thought!"
"We have the same gift of Parslemouth," Tom quickly added, "Only the greatest Slytherins have this ability."
"Wow! Really?" Harry responded surprised at how similar they were to each other.
But before any more replies of friendship the scenery began to flicker in and out of existence, and it felt like their entire world was shaking.
"You must finally be waking up," Tom quickly concluded.
Before Harry had the time to express anything Tom quickly vanished from this realm. He frantically looked around but he could not see the black-haired boy anywhere. He suddenly felt the world around him shift and woke up thrashing in a hospital bed.
He had awoken in darkness. Rather he was in a very dark room and his without his glasses he couldn't make anything out. The only thing currently visible to him was own blurry hand. He quickly reached around with said hand and eventually found his glasses folded neatly on an end table next to him.
He gathered his thoughts and realized he had to be in the hospital ward, just like Tom had said he was.
"Oh no, Tom!" Harry quickly said worried about his friend that disappeared.
He tried to sit up but was stopped by a familiar voice.
"Don't sit up you're injured," The apathetic boy reprimanded him.
With his glasses on he turned to the sound and saw the very face he had just become accustomed to seeing, the same person he was searching for.
"You're okay," Harry said relaxing as he saw his new friend Tom sitting peacefully in an armchair.
"Well I'm mostly okay I guess," Tom replied in his familiar emotionless tone.
"What do you mean mostly," Harry asked puzzled.
"Watch," the black-haired boy only replied.
Harry watched as Tom's hand reached across to pick up a glass of water that had been left on the same end table as Harry's glasses. As his hand approached the glass it just passed through without interacting with it at all.
"It seems like I'm still in the same state as I was in your mind," He said somewhat upset, "I can't interact with everything in this world."
"Does this mean only I can see you too," Harry asked now concerned for his friend.
"Most likely," Tom said still conflicted.
Harry winced as he rolled his body over to face his friend. He body was healing but it was still in a lot of pain. Even though he had just awoken he still felt completely drained.
"Don't worry Tom, I promise I'll find away to help you," Harry vowed as he reached his hand out and grasped Tom's own hand.
The last thing Harry would see was the smirking face of his newest friend as his fatigued body gave in to the sweet allure of sleep...
Author's Note: IM BACK!
Okay after a long(too long) hiatus I have returned to writing my fanfiction :D
First I have to say thank you to all the people who continued to like and fav my story as well as review there were some days where I was like maybe i should just stop and not continue it, but then i would see a like/fav/review and I was like I can't stop writing I love this story and other people like it too!
If you read my profile it says I have much more free time on my hands now and will be able to do this more frequently not like every week but I will try and shoot for every two weeks (crosses fingers).
I will take some time next chapter and reply to more reviews, I'm really tired right now and I don't want to look them up it's so late I stayed up just to finish this, so I really hope i got all the typos. Just so we all know brunette is defined as a genderless term, we often use it for girls only but it is not solely feminine.
So let me know what you guys think I love seeing reviews, and in the next chapter will be the first five-person POV chapter. I feel like it's slowly becoming a game of thrones book with all these perspectives, but five will be the maximum and I won't do it all the time just when i need too. I'm so excited I have only a vague idea of what I want to write for chapter 9, and I can't wait to see where it goes.
