They waited anxiously, dreading the battle which was about to commence. They stood there waiting for Dementors but none seemed to appear; at least not immediately. Harry looked to the end of the corridor where we could see a dark shadow edging its way forward. This was it. The Dementors were here. It waited, perhaps in anticipation of the feast that lay before it, or perhaps it simply waited for several more Dementors to fall in line behind it. Harry saw a scaly dark hand clasp on to the side of the door. He saw the door handle slowly move down, before the door creaked open.
He heard an intake of breath from the creature and second later felt the familiar cold wave wash over him, as sound seemed to die out. He raised his wand and within a fraction of a second, the Dementors had charged for them. He said the words whilst summoning his happiest memory. He watched as the silver Stag erupted from the end of his wand. As he watched it touch down on the floor he admired the majestic beauty, and reflected on the happiness he felt, and it let him, at least for now, forget that the situation was hopeless.
He glanced sideways to see Patronuses erupt from the wands of Moody and Remus. By the time The Patronuses were standing their grounds several more Dementors had joined the fray, and the three glowing figures faced up against the wall of darkness. He watched as the Patronuses leapt forwards hitting the Dementors full in the chest, and throwing them in every direction. It didn't seem to be working very well however; as soon as they knocked one down another would leap forwards to take its place.
"What is taking the others so long?" Harry thought, as he glanced over his shoulder to face the other members of the DA. Shouldn't they be helping? His heart sunk (though this may have been the effects of the Dementors) as he saw all of them struggling to conjure anything more than silvery wisps of smoke from their wand. He heard them yelling the spell desperately as they tried to summon a Patronus. The sound however seemed distant in his head, instead all he could hear was a voice, one he had only heard a few times. It was his mother and her voice was as clear as if she were whispering in to his ear. Harry then heard her screaming as he relived the last moments of his parent's lives.
Listening to this memory play itself in his head he didn't even need to look to know that the battle was not going well. He did however, observe as his Patronus fought a valiant battle, ramming the creatures back desperately, and raising on its back legs to block the Dementors which stuck to the ceiling. He looked to his right where he saw a writhing black mass against the window. He stared horror struck as he realised he could no longer see the dark sky outside. It had been completely eclipsed by the bodies of a thousand Dementors. Moody had made a good call on the window charms, though Harry couldn't imagine he would live to tell the Auror this. Whilst the windows could hold back any Dementors, it did not stop them sucking the life out of the air. He could still feel his very essence being sucked out of him
He suddenly had to step back as the Dementors pushed forwards. He knew now that they were in serious trouble. Before they had been bottle necked into the doorway, with the three of them halting any advance, but now they fanned out around them, Harry had to divert his attentions to the right, to stop any Dementors simply passing round them and feasting on the defenceless students. He shivered as he sank further into depression, struggling to find anything happy remaining in his mind. The Dementors were feeding upon his happiness, and there was next to nothing left.
He looked around and saw several of the DA members had passed out. Their attempts at a Patronus provided far less protection than the corporeal forms and so even though they were not on the front line they had already succumbed. He looked at the adults who were fighting with all their might. Remus was on one knee and seemed to be having trouble remaining conscious. Harry struggled to comprehend this. Remus couldn't be beaten, not when it came to a Patronus. He taught Harry, he was the best there was, wasn't he?
Moody was stood with the silver tiger fighting by his side. He looked very sickly. "I thought you said those kids knew how to summon a Patronus?" He asked without taking his eye off the battle. "Fat lot of good they were" he finished, showing that perhaps he was faring better than any of the others, for he still seemed to be himself. Screaming could be heard from all around as several of the students were crying, as they relived the darkest moments of their life. At least they were lucky; they hadn't seen some of the things he had seen.
Eventually the crying stopped as all had fallen quiet, and to the floor. The only ones still standing, or rather, the only ones who were capable of moving, were Harry, Remus and Moody, he wondered how things were going down the other end of the train. Had they been lucky, was their end free from attack, or were they having just a hard a time as Harry was? They must still be alive though, for the train was still moving, still chugging onwards. The train would have stopped if they were dead, wouldn't it?
They moved closer together as their Patronuses tried in vain to stop the Dementors from advancing. The writhing masses were too thick, and the Patronuses too few, as they dashed backwards and forwards trying to stop any from passing in the gaps between them. Harry felt himself growing week. His legs were shaking violently below him as he strained to stay awake. He stared as Remus fell to the ground, as his Patronus faded and then disappeared.
"No!" Harry screamed out desperately. He could feel tears flow down his face. He hated to cry, but what was the point, Remus had been beaten, and he would be next, there was no hope, there never could be. Not once it had been drained away. The only ones now remaining were Harry and Moody, and even he was too weary to make a begrudging remark, or swear at his enemy. The train began to slow as they fell to the floor. Back to back they rested. So the others had failed? They had been defeated, and would remain here, a few miles from Hogwarts until message reached the castle. Help would return but all they would find is hundreds of soulless bodies.
"Any ideas boy?" Moody asked in with a barely audible grunt. "I hear you are good at getting out of a nick?" Harry had no answers. Normally when he found himself in mortal peril an answer just seemed to present itself. Not this time. If he did have any answers he didn't feel like sharing them. If he could live he wouldn't want to anyway. What was the purpose when life was full of despair? This was how he thought. Under the influence of the Dementors he was unable to summon the desire to continue. He wanted to simply give up, and die. He wanted to be enveloped in the peace that was death. The reprieve from the misery that was life.
He lowered his wand, and dropped his concentration. The Dementors squashed in tightly. Harry felt himself wobble, before he fell on his side. He barely registered the stag disappear. "So this is how I shall die? It's about time." He thought to himself. He was too far gone to observe Moody being overwhelmed a second later. He simply waited to die.
He stared up into one of the attackers as it lowered its hood, revealing a scabby face and a mouth with which to drain his soul. He was ready, with his happiness gone he wanted to embrace the death like a lover. The Dementor was leaning close to him, ready to deliver his final wish. It was in this moment that a bright white light filled his vision. "So I'm dead. At least I have gone to heaven. That is good I suppose." A few seconds past before he realised he was still in the agony of despair. He wasn't dead; he was still in the train carriage.
The bright light however was real. Harry looked out of the window. He could see a bright light shining through the gaps where Dementors had been. He couldn't be sure of what he was seeing but silhouetted against the dark night was the figure of an old man. Harry recognised the person to be Dumbledore. This wasn't however what amazed Harry, for whilst he was amazing, it was the shining white mass next to the old man that was remarkable. It stretched fifty feet into the air and took the form of a dragon. Harry watched as the Patronus dragon opened its mouth and took a deep breath. However, instead of breathing molten hot fire it shot a blast of warm white mist which seemed to repel the Dementors and engulf the carriage.
They had made it after all. The train hadn't stopped because they had been defeated. It had slowed down because they had pulled into the station. Help had arrived not a moment too soon, seconds away from death. As Harry gazed, still on the verge of unconsciousness, he stared at the giant Patronus. It was remarkably similar to the dragon Harry had fought two years ago. It had spikes running down its back and it looked angry. It stretched out its wings and glided silently across the ground towards the wreck of the Hogwarts express. It landed silently, for whilst it was enormous it was still not possessing of a physical body.
The Dementor looming over Harry looked up at the colossal dragon. It peered down at him. The Patronus opened its mouth and let out a breath of flaming white mist, which blasted over the Dementors. Those caught in the blast fell to the ground, whilst thirty or so from nearby swarmed up to the dragon. Dumbledore's Patronus watched as they moved around its ankles. The Dragon roared angrily into the night air, though again, no sound was made. It gave the odd impression that he had lost his sense of hearing, as the Dementors glided silently, and the dragon made no noise. If it were not for his pulse, throbbing in his temples he would have thought himself deaf.
It swung its tale round sending Dementors flying in every direction. They gave a screech which shattered the silence as those injured fled. Others joined the fray, but each time the dragon either breathed a sea of white light or swatted away the deadly foe which had nearly killed hundreds of students with ease. Harry felt some of his strength returning as he unsurely heaved himself to his feet. Moody was still conscious, he looked to Harry. "Well, that sure is something. I heard great things about Albus' Patronus but I never thought I would get to see it."
As the final Dementors fled Harry looked round the carriage. It was empty of any trace of Dementors, other than the few which seemed to have burnt into a sort of black tar as they were engulfed in the whiteness. All around were the fallen bodies of Harry's fellow students, still breathing, and hopefully, all still with souls. Harry turned his attention back to Dumbledore who was slowly making his way down to the platform, where the Dragon was stood, frozen, a watchful guardian. Several other teachers joined the headmaster as they ran along the grass, coming to aid.
Over the next few minutes' things seemed strangely quiet. The adult's seemed to be coming round. Apparently their Patronuses had saved them from longer term unconsciousness which struck down most of the students. Tonks and Kingsley had managed to stand their grounds. It was hard to say who had the tougher fight, since there was no way to guess the number of Dementors. It seemed Kingsley had faired the best out of all of them, and seemed only slightly off from his normal self. Moody drew a small slightly squashed chocolate bar out of one pocket, and split it in half with Harry.
"I always try to carry some chocolate with me for such emergencies." He said as he took a lopsided bite.
Feeling a little better, he joined the others in convening with the teachers, who had now made it down to the train. Moody was searching the carriages for any stray Dementors which had escaped the Dragons wrath when Dumbledore stepped into the train. He looked very angry and very old as he stared at his students unconscious forms. Some of his anger evaporated however, when he saw Harry standing, still alive. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. He was shortly followed by McGonagall and Snape.
"Are there any serious casualties?" He asked in a voice which radiated power with every word. Kingsley stood to attention as he spoke to Dumbledore very formally.
"We are not certain of the seriousness of the situation at this time. Alastor has gone to investigate." Just as he finished speaking Moody walked through the door. Dumbledore turned on the spot to face him.
"It difficult to tell Albus." He said, knowing what question had been asked, even though he had not heard it. "There are about four hundred students down that way. Most of them are in the prefect's carriage. We tried to fight them off but it didn't work to well. This lot were meant to help." Moody grumbled whilst nodding towards the unconscious or waking bodies of the DA members. Harry blushed.
"Well they could summon a Patronus. We just never actually got to practice against any Dementors." Moody glared at him in a way that said he didn't approve. He made a bark like laugh, instead of his usual one.
"If your going to train them then make sure you do a decent job of it. You want proper training. No slacking off, constant vigilance. It's no good saying they can do something when they can't."
"Now Alastor." Dumbledore said softly. "It seems to me that they all tried their best, and they did so with bravery. That is all I could ever hope for from my students. Now…" Dumbledore took on a serious tone that commanded authority and could wield an army with the fewest of words. "Alastor, Kingsley, Remus, Nymphadora, I shall be needing your help. With the current situation Death Eaters could arrive at any moment. We must get the students back to the school immediately. I have already sent word to madam Pomfrey to expect them." Moody nodded and Remus and Tonks replied with a yes. They went about moving the people back to the school.
"Locomotor Mortis." Said Remus pointing his wand as several students from within the prefect carriage raised from the ground to float in mid air where he could then levitate them out onto the platform where there was room to revive them. Dumbledore moved over to Harry in two quick steps.
"Well done Harry. It seems once again you have managed to survive and help those around you. You do however remember what was said at the meeting of the Order. Voldemort was after you Harry. He won't be pleased that he has failed again. We will shortly be returning to school. You will be expected to report to my office as well since you are a prefect. We will also however, be holding a metting for the Order of the Phoenix afterwards."
"Sir," Harry called, having to ask the question on his mind. "Your Patronus is incredible is there anything you do that isn't amazing?" Dumbledore smiled a little at this question.
"Thank you Harry, it is quite incredible isn't it, I have been told it is second only to the Patronus summoned by Andros the invincible. However, in answer to your question, there are a great many things I do which are not at all amazing. I don't think I should mention any one article though, as to do so would imply that everything I don't mention is, as you put it, amazing."
It was Dumbledore's strange way of thinking that Harry often found he missed during the time away from Hogwarts.
"Now if I may say so, I would rather like to get back to the castle. Even I would be rather partial to some chocolate. The Dementors left me with quite the chill."
"What do they make you see?" Harry asked. Dementors make one relive their most unpleasant memories. It was only after Harry had asked that he realised it was a very personal question.
"Well I must confess, some years ago there was a mistake in the school kitchen which resulted in one of the dishes, for the start of term feast no less, receiving a rather critical reception. I am quite certain this memory will haunt me for the remainder of my life." Much like when Harry had asked about the Mirror of Erised five years earlier, he suspected Dumbledore was perhaps not telling the truth.
Harry walked back to the castle amongst the mass of zombified students. They carried their luggage with them, bent double, like old beggars under sacks, towards their distant rest they began to trudge, some marched asleep, drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the words of friends. As Harry approached the castle its dark bricks and towers loomed over him, and whilst it may be considered sinister in appearance to some, it was to him as much a family member as he had ever known.
He stepped into the entrance hall, sighing in pleasure as warmth seemed to wash over him. The castle seemed exceptionally bright compared to the cloudy overcast night sky outside. Harry and a very small number of students trudged into the great Hall, whilst the larger part made their way to the infirmary for further revitalisation. It seemed strangely quiet in the hall, with no teachers and only a dozen students.
He sat down in the middle of the long Gryffindor table, empty for all but himself. Madam Pomfrey must have been working over time as she revived people and gave them chocolate to warm them up. As no teachers entered the hall he supposed they must all be assisting her with this duty. He sat and waited as various students began to trickle into the great hall, each looking very tired and very scared. Some were crying as they ran over to their friends. Unable to banish the unpleasant memories which weighed heavy on their minds.
"Excuse me." Said a voice Harry did not recognise. He looked up to see a Ravenclaw boy whom he had not previously met. "I don't think you know me, my name is Alexanda Powers. Anyway, I was in the prefects carriage when I lost consciousness, but I wanted to thank you. You and Moody protected us all. If it wasn't for you two I don't think anyone in our end of the train would have made it."
"Don't worry about it, this stuff happens." Harry would later be able to look at this objectively, and realise he was excessively curt. He did not mean to be so but he had greater concerns on his mind. He observed as every student seemed to make their way into the hall. Everyone except anyone Harry cared to talk to.
An eternity seemed to pass as thousands of questions remained unanswered. "Where are Ron and Hermione? Why aren't they back yet? Are they ok? What if they're not?" Harry looked to the direction of the hospital wing. He would have gone there but it was too overcrowded and he didn't want to be a nuisance. He sat and waited, and then waited some more. Harry looked to the door for the thousandth time, when he saw Ron and Hermione standing there. He did a double take as he saw them. They were smiling as they made their way over towards him.
Harry found himself on his feet as relief washed over him. He now knew that his best friends would be all right. Hermione pulled Harry into an embrace, and he held her, vowing never to let his friends get in to such grave danger. He would protect them no matter what the cost. Ron was standing next to him sheepishly.
"Hey mate." Said Ron. They weren't going to go in for any hugging. Harry grinned brightly to see that Ron was the same old person as ever. Harry realised that he was perhaps holding Hermione a little too enthusiastically, and let go reluctantly. She took a step back and Harry looked at his best friends.
"What took you so long? I have been waiting for hours!" Harry exclaimed trying to be angry, and realising that it was entirely impossible to be mad with his friends in a situation like this.
They sat down at the Gryffindor table. Hermione started to explain why they were some of the last students to join the great hall.
"Well when I was woken up I started to have a look round. I realised that Ron was still out cold, so I decided to wait for him and then after he was revived I felt kind of guilty to just leave so I decided to stay and help a bit." Harry looked towards Ron to see if his story agreed with hers.
"She was mental. Running round the hospital wing like a blur. It was scary actually." Harry laughed. Thankful to have his friends back he sat there for a moment in silence. Ron tried his best to exude a cheery demeanour, but was unable to mask his concern.
"What's wrong Ron?" He asked. Ron hesitated for a moment before replying.
"Well Ginny isn't back from the hospital wing yet. Mum would kill me if anything happened to her. I hope she is all right. I mean everyone was alive, but I know some people were carried up to the castle still unconscious. I hope she will be ok"
Harry had completely forgotten about Ginny. He had been too busy worrying about his immediate friends. What if she wasn't ok? What if the Dementors had given her the kiss and taken away her soul? He searched his mind for some comforting words.
"Don't worry Ron she is probably fine. After all she was down the other end of the train which seemed a bit better off than us, and she knew how to make a Patronus. She probably will be fine as always." He didn't believe these words himself and so was surprised when Ron did.
"Yeah your probably right." He hesitated a moment before continuing. " But why couldn't I make a Patronus? All that I got was white mist." Hermione had been wondering this same question, though she probably had a hunch as to the answer. Harry was relieved that it wasn't a difficult question.
"Oh that's because it is harder to do Patronuses when Dementors are near. You need to think of a happy thought but it is being taken away from you at the same time. You weren't the only one. No one else seemed to manage one actually. Well, except Remus and the others." This didn't seem to comfort Ron too much.
"You did." He said with a hint of jealousy in his voice. This was true. Harry was the only student who had managed. This wasn't a reason for Ron to be angry.
"Well I have had more practice, and when Remus trained me we had a Boggart so I got to experience exactly what it felt like. If you guys had been able to practice with a real Dementor I'm sure you wouldn't have had any problems.
Ron looked as if he was about to counter this, but stopped because he was distracted by something. Harry looked to see Ginny walking along towards them. Ron had a look of immense relief to see her alive and conscious. He jumped up and went to hug her. Ginny took a step away from Ron and gave him a quick thump in the stomach. "That's for not helping me you lazy git." And with that said she went and sat down opposite Harry. Over the next half an hour it seems that all the remaining students made their way into the hall as did the teachers. Finally Dumbledore and Harry's four bodyguards strode in and walked over in the direction of the teacher's table. Silence fell upon the hall as they sat down, with the exception of Dumbledore who remained standing.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. It is with much regret that it starts with such an unpleasant event as this. For those of you new to Hogwarts, I would wish to reassure you that Hogwarts is normally much more enjoyable than this; and as safe as any place can be. I'm certain the more senior students would reassure you of this if you do so ask. Now, as you are all aware we are running several hours behind schedule, so for this reason the start of term feast shall not be taking place today." There was a chorus of mumbles at this comment. Ron looked like he wanted to punch someone. "We will however be having it tomorrow, when I'm sure you shall all be feeling much better. We shall of course be feeding you, but perhaps a slightly less grand, but more suitable dinner. No lessons shall be taking place tomorrow. I do not believe any of you will object to this as I know you will have plenty to talk about and could do with a long night's sleep, without the need of getting up early."
Dumbledore seemed to sigh as he started with the next part of his speech. "Today's events were by the cause of Lord Voldemort and his Dementors. I am glad to report that due to a few strong willed individuals we have managed to avoid any major casualties on the main part." The hall erupted into whispers at this comment. Harry heard people say things like "What does he mean on the main part?" and "Have you seen…" Hundreds of people's gazes darted round the hall as they tried to see what Dumbledore had been referring to. Dumbledore let the discussion die out before he continued.
"When I say this, it is because I regret to report, that one individual was not as lucky as you who are sitting here now. I am talking about the brave individual who is currently in the hospital wing, Miss Cho Chang."
Had Harry just heard correctly? He glanced over to the Ravenclaw table and saw their worried faces, none of them hers. The hall suddenly seemed a lot smaller and the air hot. Harry felt physically sick. He had completely forgotten about Cho. "How could I have forgotten about her; I was talking to her on the train? What happened to her? The Dementors can't have sucked out her soul can they? She was standing near to me and I didn't see anything happen." Harry could feel his friends gazing at him and in a distant part of his brain he was grateful that his dating Cho wasn't public knowledge. He didn't need a thousand eyes scrutinising him, seeing what he felt.
What was meant to feel? Was he supposed to cry in a situation like this? He was her boyfriend and he did care about her. Did he love her? That didn't need answering right now. Because of him she had come to harm. Primarily he felt guilt and anger, anger at Voldemort for doing this, and anger at himself for bringing this about. As the buzz didn't fade Dumbledore coughed and raised his voice.
"Silence." This single word had the desired effect. "If you will allow me to continue then I shall be able to answer a few questions that some of you have. Miss Chang has fallen very ill. The Dementors have not taken her soul so for this we may be grateful. However, her soul is no longer with us."
Harry's felt a mild relief that they hadn't sucked out her soul, but if her soul was no longer around then where was it? What happened to it? Dumbledore continued in a very calm voice.
"I'm sure most of you already know what Dementors are. But I regret that I shall be telling you anyway, due to the fact that the first year students probably won't know. A Dementor is the creature which you have seen tonight. It is a foul beast which currently obeys Lord Voldemort. For those of you from muggle heritage, Lord Voldemort is a dark wizard who would love nothing more than to end your lives." Harry saw the petrified looks on the faces of the first year students. He supposed himself lucky that when he had started Hogwarts he had been relatively eased into the chaos of life. The first year students, all whom had not yet been sorted, were sitting down on random tables. "I will not be going into that however. Dementors are creatures which feed upon the happiness within you. That is why you feel depressed when they are in your presence. When you are exposed to them for an amount of time then usually the person will pass out. It is however, in very exceptional cases that this doesn't happen. It appears that when all the happiness was drained form miss Chang, that as a result her spirit no longer felt a reason to live, and so has parted from her body. It is therefore my belief that since she is alive still, that eventually her spirit will return and Miss Chang will be restored to her full health."
"Are you ok Harry?" Hermione whispered. The answer was definitely not yes. He lied. He couldn't really tell them how he felt hollow inside. "Still if Dumbledore said she is going to be all right then that is probably going to be the case. I probably shouldn't worry too much about it." He tried to convince himself. "But what if her soul doesn't return to her body? What if it stays floating round forever?" He decided not to dwell on such negative thoughts. "Don't worry guys I will be fine. Besides it's not as if she is dead. You heard what Dumbledore said. She should be good as new soon."
Harry was interrupted from his thought as Dumbledore finished what he was saying.
"So perhaps some food would be good. Bibbidi bobbidi boo!" He gave a quick clap of his hands, and the plates before them began to magically fill with food. It was different from the usual variety in the way that everything seemed rather chocolaty. Harry guessed this was due to the Dementors. Chocolate was a remedy for the negative feelings created by them. He helped himself to some chocolate tasting meat and a mug of steaming hot chocolate. He also sighted some chocolate mashed potato. It was actually surprisingly nice.
Ron didn't seem to mind the new diet at all. He helped himself to chocolate cake, chocolate pancakes and finished off with some instant chocolate pudding, whilst largely forgoing anything which wasn't a dessert. As Harry finished eating he felt warmed inside, as if he had just drunk a tankard of warm butter beer. Ron looked like he was about to help himself to some more when Hermione swatted his hand away from the food. He looked at her in a confused face. "What?"
"Don't sit there eating, we have to go to see Dumbledore." Harry didn't know this.
"We do?" He asked. Hermione stared at him and replied in a know it all voice.
"Yes we do. Don't you remember your letter Harry? Prefects have to report to him at the start of term." Ron looked angry, as he had to stop eating.
"Why do we have to go now? Why don't we go later?" Hermione tutted.
"Didn't you listen to what Dumbledore said?" As Harry and Ron remained silent it confirmed that they had both been distracted by something, perhaps the weather. Hermione continued. "He said Prefects have to report to his office ten minutes before the end of the dinner."
"What's the time?" Ron asked with optimism. Hermione looked at her watch. "Ten minutes to midnight. Dinner started at eleven."
Harry was surprised to hear it was so late. No wonder he felt so tired. But thinking about it he had been sitting in the hall for hours now while people were being cured. Hermione stood up and Harry and Ron got up to follow. They left the hall and Harry looked to see the other prefects and the head boy and girl walking along the corridor towards Dumbledore's office as well. They walked along quickly in order to catch up to the others. As they rounded the corner they found themselves behind two prefects who were walking along happily.
"This is exciting isn't it!" said a fifth year.
"I don't know, I'm nervous. I have never spoken to Dumbledore before, or been to his office. I wonder what its like." The second prefect, also a fifth year responded.
"It is probably full of pictures of his family and stuff. You know the sort of thing old people have." Harry found himself unusually angered by this remark.
"Dumbledore isn't some senile old man." He snapped at the fifth years, causing them to jump. "He is the greatest wizard ever and he knows a lot more than you ever will." Hermione looked like she might tell Harry to calm down, but decided not to.
"I hope they change it so we can take points from Slytherin." Ron said hopefully, though not seriously.
"No it won't happen because it would thoroughly…." Hermione began as she broke into lecture. Harry looked at her.
"Hermione. Shut up." Ron laughed. Hermione blushed and replied,
"Ok." Sounding not at all offended.
The finally reached the stone gargoyle that guarded the entrance to Dumbledore's office. Professor McGonagall was standing by it looking very impatient. She had perfected the art of impatience over many years, and had honed it to such a sharpness she was able to grate cheese. As the prefects strode up to her she turned to face the Gargoyle.
"Humbug." She said crisply. The gargoyle suddenly sprang to life. It hopped to the side and even did a bow for her. Harry commented to Ron.
"Bloody cheek. It never bowed to me." Ron laughed briefly, though not for long, less he annoyed professor McGonagall.
They made their way up the spiral staircase to find themselves facing a highly polished oak door, which sprung open, inviting them in. Dumbledore was standing behind his desk. "Welcome." Dumbledore said happily as everyone crowded in. With twenty four prefects it was a bit of a squeeze. Harry looked around his office. It was decorated with the usual pictures of headmasters and headmistresses (though no family members, as the fifty year had erroneously assumed). There were still the strange magical objects sitting on shelves and in cabinets. He looked at Dumbledore's desk and realised that the possessions He had broken last year were now looking as though they had never been any different. He smiled to himself as he realised the whole office could probably be burned down and ten minutes later you would never know, other than the fact the hem of Dumbledore's robe would be smoking.
"Welcome Prefects. I see you all received your letters, which is good. Anyway down to business. As you are now prefects. Or head boy and girl." Dumbledore added as an after thought. "It is your job to be keeping the students in order. For those of you returning to this position after last year, this is not new, but for others, to put it simply, it is basically a lot of hard work and regrettably my schedule doesn't permit me the time to deal with it all. This is why I have assigned you to help me in this matter. You shall be in charge of your own house mostly. You will be making sure that the students don't let you down and that they don't let the school down." Harry was thankful that Fred and George were no longer here otherwise his job would be a lot more difficult.
Luna was staring round the office with wide eyes. As she looked past Harry she stopped and stared straight at him. This was pretty un-nerving so he turned his attention back to Dumbledore and hoped she would stop.
"I think I shall tell you the ground rules. You are allowed to deduct points from your house only, although I find prefects never have chosen to use this particular punishment. You can issue detentions to members of your house only. You may however report a student from any house to a member of staff who can judge what the punishment will be. This stops unfair punishments being handed out.
"You will also accompany students to their dormitories tonight and help them when they have any questions. You will make sure they do not cause a nuisance and you will make sure that there is no disruptive behaviour in or around school. You will also be permitted to wander outside the common rooms after hours in order to ensure other students are not." At these words Dumbledore gave a glance at Harry and a small smile flickered across his face.
"You will be permitted to use the prefect's bathroom from now on. This can be found on the fifth floor. It is the door to the left of the statue of Boris the Bewildered. The password is Rubber Duck." Harry remembered the prefect's bathroom form when he had used it in his fourth year. Ron and Hermione had access to that bathroom for the last year, "Why didn't they tell me the password?" He thought to himself with a slight annoyance. "I would have told them if I was a prefect instead of Ron." Dumbledore continued explaining the rules.
"It is preferable that only one person uses the prefect bathroom at any time. For this reason there is a lock, and so I would advise you not to use the Alohomora spell." Harry blushed deeply. Surely Dumbledore couldn't be suggesting what it sounded like he was suggesting.
"Also Prefects will be helping with school events. This year the only event which currently needs organising is the school dance which is to take place. I think the student body thoroughly enjoyed it when we did it for our guests, and I'm giving serious consideration to it being an annual event." Harry felt a little glum at this topic. Whilst it didn't fill him with the dread he felt in his fourth year, the person he was most likely to ask was currently without soul.
"I think that is all isn't it Minerva?" Asked Dumbledore. Harry looked at Professor McGonagall who had stood there silently the whole time. She coughed and said the words "Head boy and girl." Dumbledore looked confused for a moment before he replied "Oh yes. If you yourself need any guidance then the best thing to do would be to ask either the head boy or head girl. Our head boy this year is Adam, and our head girl is Helen. Harry looked at the head boy who nodded. He was tall and had short black hair and dark brown eyes he had a scar running diagonally down across his left eye. The girl was unremarkable. "One more thing I should add actually. As you may have noticed Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson are no longer prefects. This is because of failure to abide by the rules. This is also a sign to you that you are not invincible and not always right. It is therefore my pleasure that the new replacements are Harry Potter and Blaise Zabini, who are both taking responsibility for Slytherin."
Harry stopped at this comment. What did Dumbledore mean taking responsibility for Slytherin? This was news to Harry. He knew he was replacing Draco, and that because of this Slytherin only had one 6th year prefect, but he wasn't aware that made his role different? Would he have to tell them off?
They all looked at him as if they had only just noticed his presence despite the fact he shared a train carriage with them for several hours. Blaise managed to avoid attracting attention as she skulked at the back. She was of medium height with shoulder length blonde hair.
"So with that all said you are free to leave." The prefects began to file out as Dumbledore got up from his desk. Harry, Ron and Hermione were the last to leave, so they made their way down the spiral staircase along with the headmaster. "We should be in time for the end of dinner." He remarked. "Of course it doesn't actually end until I say, so I do have an advantage when making that assumption." Said Dumbledore shrewdly. Once he was certain everyone else was out of earshot he added,
"Harry I shall be wishing to speak to you shortly after you accompany the students to the dormitories." Harry realised that this was the meeting for the Order of the Phoenix. "I hope those first years run back to the dormitories so I can get on with the meeting" He thought to himself as he stepped into the great hall. He was exhausted, and the sooner things were over and done with, the better.