Chapter 10 : Learning From The King Himself

"Okay...so who was right" Albus said, smiling on Monday afternoon, as he levitating a notebook during Charms. He hadn't had the chance to discuss what Firenze had told him yesterday, as both Mirra and Rose had drug Albus and his fellow Slytherins into the library for the entire day. Now however, with the noise of Charms to conceal their conversation, he could brag all that he wanted.

"You were" Morrison and Scorpius chorused together, both looking very gloomy indeed.

"Am I only out for an adventure?" he sneered. "A mystery to solve?"

"No" they chorused once again.

"But what I don't get" Scorpius started, "is that if this whole thing is so dangerous, why haven't the teachers been alerted? If the centaurs know what's going on, shouldn't they tell someone? I mean, it's their school too, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but I don't think they like helping people with only two legs. Firenze wasn't even willing to give us any information at all was he?" Albus replied, now switching from a notebook to a textbook.

"Are you going to tell anyone about it?" Morrison asked, red in the face. He was trying to levitate a feather, something that he had never gotten the hang of, and he was concentrating to the point where he looked like he was going to burst.

Albus had given the idea a great deal of thought the previous day, and had come to the conclusion that he knew was in the best interest of everyone.

"Nope" he said. "They would know that I found out about it from reading Rose's diary, and that would cause more trouble for me than any dungeon ever could."

The other boys laughed at his comment, but were quickly reprimanded by Professor Flitwick.

"Now boys, your exams are hardly a laughing matter!" he squeaked from atop his pile of books. "Mr. Vincent, I have yet to see you levitate anything in my class! You had better get the hang of it within twelve weeks! Remember, swish and flick!"

Albus felt his insides squirm at what the Professor had said. Twelve weeks. It was only February, and yet Albus was already dreading his exams, which he knew would take place from late May to June. He had certainly improved, but he still felt as though he was going to perform very poorly in Transfiguration.

They left Charms twenty minutes later, Morrison still red in the face, Albus and Scorpius still discussing how Mirra could possibly be related to something that had caused the centaurs so much fear. He knew that he had not misheard Firenze; both Mirra's dungeon and the one that the centaurs had been gathered for were most definitely the same. What he didn't understand, however, was what he had meant by the mist reaching the surface. He figured that it could simply be a metaphor, but he was not really close to understanding its purpose.

"Do you think that they were more worried about the dungeon, or whatever that mist stuff was?" Scorpius asked.

"I don't know, but I think that both of them are bad" Albus answered as they walked through the hallways. "But what does Mirra have to do with it? Why would she want to open something like that? Do you think that she knows-"

He was cut off, however, by the sudden appearance of the person whom he most feared would hear their conversation. Mirra had turned the corner of the corridor, with Rose right behind her.

Albus' insides squirmed once again. Had she heard him? Had they both? She had a large smile on her face as she walked towards him. It didn't seem like a nasty or bad smile though, but rather a relatively pleasant one.

"So" she said as she approached them.

"So what!" said Morrison rather defensively. Apparently he also thought that she had heard them talking.

She cast Morrison an incredulous look before saying "So...I'm looking forward to meeting your dad Albus."

Albus breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh! Wait- what?"

"Your dad is coming to Hogwarts this week. It might even be tomorrow. To lecture in Defence Against the Dark Arts. You didn't know?"

"No. When did you find that out?" he asked. He racked his brains for a time when his father may have told him that he would be visiting Hogwarts, but couldn't think of any.

"It was on the bulletin board in my common room. You should go check yours before your next class. Got to go" she said, waving good-bye. Rose also waved goodbye to two of the three as they hurried off to their class.

Albus rushed off to the Slytherin common room, elated. "Hey- where are you going!" Scorpius called after him. Albus didn't answer, but instead turned the corner to the corridor with the stairs leading to the dungeons. He dipped past Peeves the Poltergeist, who was throwing dungbombs off the wall, and hurried down to the common room entrance.

"Emerald" he said to the blank stretch of wall, nearly out of breath. The stone door revealed itself in a flash of light, and Albus marched in and went straight to the bulletin board.

Dear Students,

During a scheduled Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson this week, Hogwarts is proud to welcome Harry "The Boy Who Lived" Potter, famed Auror and conqueror of Lord Voldemort, to our school. He will be giving a lecture to all classes, and will be happy to take questions associated with the dark arts, and the many practical defences required to defeat them. Please treat him with the utmost respect, and welcome him to our school.

Albus stared at the bulletin, a huge grin spread out across his face. He hadn't gotten to see his father since Christmas, and he had not had the opportunity to ask him about EP's. Now however, with the thoughts of Merlin's dungeon pushed out of his head, he had time to focus on what it was he had been waiting to hear an answer to for some time now.

The next day was easily one of the slowest that Albus had endured during his time at Hogwarts. To pass the time, he, Morrison, and Scorpius sat in the library pouring over books, not for their exams, but for any information that they could gather on Merlin.

"Ahh here's something" Scorpius said as they sat huddled around a stack of books. "Merlin, after deciding that his relics were not meant to be in the hands of inferior wizards, locked his possessions in the many dungeons that he had built in his lifetime. Everything from his hat to his spellbooks were sealed within these labyrinths, and given enchantments that were meant to withstand the test of time" he read.

Albus stared at him blankly. "Do you think that's what her parents are pressuring her into? Opening one of these dungeons and getting whatever he's locked in there? Seems like a pretty big task for an eleven year old girl..."

"Unless of course Mirra has some sort of advantage in opening the dungeon" Scorpius replied. "Maybe she knows a certain spell or something?"

"None of this makes any sense at all!" Morrison spat, slamming the book he was reading shut. "Let's just say that she could open this dungeon and find-whatever it is she plans on finding-where the heck would it be?"

Albus sat quietly, pondering. He had made a good point. His father had told him that the only secret part of the school was the Chamber of Secrets, and that it required someone in particular to open it. And the school had been searched prior to its opening, so it was extremely unlikely that someone missed a dungeon, particularly one that was so dangerous.

"Well I guess...it could be out in the Forest somewhere?" he said, though he knew that was just as unlikely. The Forest was huge and filled with dangerous creatures, and there was no way that someone could expect a child to enter it and search for something.

Morrison groaned. "Now we're just being stupid. Look, whatever Mirra is trying to do, it isn't happening. If it were, it would have happened by now."

"But it did happen" Scorpius reminded him. "Or at least its started to."

"How on Earth do you start to open a dungeon?" Albus asked.

"You're the one who thought of this whole thing!" they both reminded him.

"Oh..oh yeah" Albus said sheepishly.

Despite being no closer to discovering what it was Mirra was up to, let alone anything on her connection to the Dungeon of Merlin's Mist, Albus woke up the next morning ecstatic. He helped himself to kippers and toast for breakfast, then proceeded to rush through all of his work in Transfiguration and Charms, as if that would somehow make time elapse faster.

After scarfing down lunch, he rushed up the stairs to the first floor for his Defence Against the Dark Arts class, sure that if he got there early enough he would have time to chat with his dad first. He burst in through the door, and gasped "Dad!"

But his father was not in there. There was only one person in the classroom, and he was using his wand to trace letters across the blackboard. Tall, dark, and bald, he turned to Albus with a smile. "Hello, Albus" he said in a deep voice.

"King- Kingsley?" Albus managed to stammer back. "But where's my d-"

He was interrupted by the shuffling of students behind him. His classmates had now lined up behind him, most of them whispering enthusiastically. They had seen Kingsley in the doorway, and were now saying things like "Isn't that the Minister?" and "Wow, he's much taller in person ".

"Come in, come in" Kingsley said while still writing on the board.

The class took their seats, many of them fighting for the front row as they still whispered about being in the presence of the Minister of Magic. Maybe it was because he was used to his presence, having once went to his house for the holidays even, or maybe it was because he had been expecting his father, but either way Albus was rather disappointed with the Minister's arrival. After a few moments of silence, someone in the back row raised their hand and asked the question that Albus was burning to ask.

"Excuse me, erm...Mr. Minister...sir...where's Mr. Potter?"

Kingsley turned around and smiled at the boy, who immediately seemed to shrink in his seat. "First," he started in his slow deep voice "you can feel free to call me Mr. Shacklebolt, I daresay that being called Minister all of the time becomes quite tiresome. And Mr. Potter could not be here today, as he was placed on a very important mission in Bristol. He regrets not being in attendance, and especially regrets being forced to back out with next to no notice. Luckily, I wasn't quite as busy, and am happy to be here to teach you a practical lesson today."

The class looked around at each other nervously, exchanging glances of mingled anxiety and delight. They had been expecting a lesson, not to learn actual spells from the Minister of Magic himself, whom most of the class knew had been an Auror prior. Kingsley stepped aside from the board and let the class read what was on it.

Practical Defensive Magic. Shielding, taking cover, and stunning.

"Now" he said, clapping his hands together. "Does anybody have any questions before we begin? I believe we have more than an hour in this class, if anybody wishes to ask something or give their opinion before we start."

No one raised their hands. They all looked terrified at the idea of the Minister of Magic asking their opinion.

"No?" he asked. "Okay then, let's get started. A dark wizard fires a stunning spell at you, and you haven't much room. What do you do?"

The class continued to stare. Albus personally thought that this may have been Kingsley's first time teaching. Learning disarming was one thing, but bringing about a situation in which you're under attack from dark wizards didn't seem like a very good idea. They were all only eleven, maybe twelve. Albus doubted if any of them even knew what "stunning" even was.

Finally, after about a minute, Scorpius raised his hand. "Erm...you duck?" he said.

"Well...okay" Kingsley responded. "But let's focus a bit more on actual wandwork. Assume that you cannot possibly duck or dodge, you're far too confined. Does anyone know what spell you could use?"

Rose raised her hand immediately. It shot into the air so fast that many of the surrounding students almost fell out of their chairs. "Protego" she said matter of factly.

"Excellent" he said. "Now Protego-the shield charm-is generally thought to be a little advanced for wizards your age, but with a sufficient amount of practice, we should be able to make you good enough to block minor jinxes. Now why don't you all sort into pairs while we try this out?"

As Albus partnered himself with Morrison, he was forcibly reminded of what had happened the last time they were partnered to practice spells. He casted a disdainful look over at Charles Eckley, who was smirking next to his partner.

"Now, on three, I want one person to fire a spell- ne that isn't too dangerous-at your partner. The person defending will have to concentrate completely on defending themselves, pull back with their wand, and trust that their shield is powerful enough. Confidence is essential. If done correctly, you may even reflect the jinx back. Now on three. One..two...three!"

There was a cry of different spells throughout the room. "Expelliarmus!" Morrison yelled.

"Protego!" chorused Albus and other students. There was a loud "Bang!", a scream of terror, and a crash as someone flew into the wall. The class turned their heads to see who the unfortunate victim was. Albus' spell had not even registered; he was now embarrassingly picking up his disarmed wand from the ground. Next to him, however, Scorpius was standing, wand outstretched, peering over other people's shoulders.

Bartleby got back up from the floor and felt his back. "Ouch...dammit" he muttered. The class laughed. Scorpius had not only successfully blocked his spell, but had reflected it back perfectly, twice as strong, sending Bartleby flying.

"Very well done!" Kingsley shouted over the laughter. "And what is your name young man?"

Scorpius turned to him. "Scorpius" he said. "Scorpius Malfoy."

"Oh" Kingsley said, looking surprised. "Well, keep up the good work then Malfoy." He looked as though he hated his mouth for having said "Good work" and "Malfoy" in the same sentence.

Class progressed as one of the hardest classes that Albus had ever experienced. Despite trying as hard as he could, he only managed to create a shield once, and even then it flickered out before he was hit by Morrison's Jelly-Legs Jinx. In fact, other than Scorpius, no one, not even Rose, had managed to successfully block an oncoming spell.

Kingsley walked amongst them, giving tips and murmuring words of confidence. Eventually, after Bartleby had gotten sick from being thrown against the wall so much, Scorpius was told to patrol alongside him, helping his fellow students out.

"No" he heard Scorpius tell Rose nervously. "You can't push your wand forward, it's a defensive spell remember?"

He saw Rose throw him a furious look, her face red from concentrating so hard. Albus was sure that she was biting back a bitter remark. Mirra had her wand out and was preparing to fire a jinx at her.

"Okay" Scorpius said, grabbing Rose around the wrist. "I'm going to guide your hand. Your wrist is supposed to recoil, and the shield is supposed to go back with you" he told her.

She threw him another hateful glare before Mirra yelled "Expelliarmus!"

"Protego!" Rose yelled back as the spell came inches away from her. Scorpius pulled her wrist back and flung it vertically. The proper wand movements and incantation combined to form a small circular ring of energy at the tip of her wand, sending the disarming spell into the ceiling.

"Excellent!" Scorpius said, beaming. He quickly turned his head away however, as Rose threw him another furious look that clearly said I didn't need your help.

At the end of the hour and a half, the class packed up their books and bade farewell to Kingsley, all shaking his hand enthusiastically, thanking him. After three or four students had gotten his autograph, they set off from the classroom, leaving him to gather his things.

"Pretty good lesson" Scorpius said as they made their way down the staircase leading to the dungeons.

"Easy for you to say" Morrison said grumpily. He, like Albus, had not managed to create a single successful shield charm.

Albus didn't take part in the argument going on next to him, as Scorpius had made a rather egotistical remark about how easy the spell was. Instead, he was thinking about his father, and where he could be. Why was he always on special Auror assignments? He couldn't remember the last time his father had been called away to work so frequently. He had been looking forward to asking his dad about EP's, but was once again robbed of the chance. And it seemed as though it was only his father being called away. Kingsley could still visit the castle. And he had been an Auror too hadn't he...

Albus stopped dead in his tracks, Morrison bumping in to him. "Oww...why'd you stop?" he said, but Albus was already moving back up the staircase.

"Have to go talk to someone!" he called back to them. He ran down the corridor, hoping to catch the Minister before he left. Certainly, he would not be leaving right awa,y would he? He had more class to teach tomorrow, didn't he?"

"Kingsley!" he called out to the hulking figure ahead of him on the second floor.

The tall man turned around, and Albus breathed a sigh of relief. It was Kingsley.

"Oh, hello Albus. Did you have a question?" he asked. They continued walking down the corridor, and Albus had the feeling that Kingsley would be staying in an office on this floor, as he was walking very slowly to allow Albus to catch up with him.

"Well...yes, I did".

"Ask away" he said politely.

"Erm...Kingsley, do you know what EP's are?"

The Minister tripped over his cloak. "What?" he asked, sounding as though he was checking to see if had heard correctly.

"EP's" Albus repeated.

"Where- where did you hear that term?"

"My dad mentioned it" Albus quickly lied.

Kingsley gave him a very calculated stare. "Did he really? That's...quite odd. We very rarely use it outside of the office. But I suppose that would be the only place you could have had heard it. And there's no point in keeping you curious."

Albus continued walking next to him, waiting patiently.

"EP is the term we at the ministry use to classify supporters of the dark arts. It stands for Ever Present."

Albus gave him a quizzical look. "Ever Present?"

"Well, we call them that because they are supporting, not a leader, but the dark arts themselves. An EP can be anyone that has followed any dark wizard with intent on supporting dark magic. Lord Voldemort...Grindelwald... Nevin the Tyrannic...dark wizards have existed throughout the ages. An EP is someone who may have openly supported them, even if they were not charged for it."

"And they've been gathering?" Albus asked.

Kingsley looked absolutely shocked at this statement. He clearly did not expect Albus to know this particular piece of information. "Well...yes. Known supporters of the dark arts have been seen meeting in various locations. They have been getting steadily closer to Hogwarts in fact...if you must know. You are very safe of course!" he added hastily.

Kingsley's deep, slow voice had suddenly turned into a rather nervous one. He clearly regretted ever telling Albus anything.

"But...if they're just supporters, then we have nothing to fear right? I mean, they don't have a leader right?" he asked the Minister.

"Well that's the problem isn't it? There has been very little dark activity for twenty years now. Twenty years of absolute peace. So when known dark wizards are gathering...it's certainly worth an investigation isn't it? We think-that is to say, your father, me, and a small group of my handpicked Aurors-that they may be searching for a leader. An election of sorts."

"So that's why my dad is never around anymore? He's in charge of finding out who they're trying to get as a leader, and to stop them before they do?"

"Exactly" Kingsley said. "I'm glad that you're keeping up. But I believe that you have nothing to worry about, Albus. Every time a threat emerges, we are always caught by surprise. Now however, with your father in charge, we have time to stop that threat before it can even form. It's very likely that the EP's are simply gathering to discuss old times...maybe even share stories. We have no concrete proof of any illicit activity. Our primary concern is why they seem to be moving around so much. We've heard of their gatherings taking place in several different areas."

"Maybe they're just looking for more of them" Albus suggested. "Seeing who else may be a supporter."

"That's certainly possible. And hardly a threat. Most problems only occur when there is someone to rally behind. We simply think it best to investigate further. I'm sorry that this is detracting from your time with your father. I can only assume that you were looking forward to seeing him today."

"Yeah...I was" Albus said.

"Well this should all be over soon. I would not lie to you Albus. I advise you to simply put the thought from your head."

"Okay Kingsley" he said, though he had the strange feeling that the Minister knew that he was going to be thinking about it until he learned more. "Well I might see you around the castle, then. Good-bye." He turned and walked in the opposite direction, down the corridor that led back to the dungeons, looking back only to see Kingsley continue forward, a bit faster, as if he was hoping he could avoid another awkward conversation.

Albus rushed back to the Slytherin common room, mulling over what he had just heard. It certainly explained why his father wasn't here today...and why he was so busy. He thought of what Headmaster Ares had said months ago, that they weren't a threat. Was he right? Was his father, and the Minister himself, simply paranoid?

"Emerald" he said to the stone wall. The door revealed itself and Albus slid in, finding Morrison and Scorpius immediately. They were huddled over one of the tables deep in discussion. They looked worried.

"Hey- what's going on?" Albus said as he walked up to them.

They exchanged glances. "Well" Scorpius started. "We met up with Mirra on our way to the bathroom...and she tripped over her robes."

"Okay...well...is she hurt?" Albus replied, unsure of why they were so nervous.

"Well, ya' see, when she fell...we saw something."

Albus stared at him blankly. He didn't see what the big deal was, and he wanted to tell them about what Kingsley had told him. "So, what did you see?" he asked.

Morrison spoke up next. "Well, we got to see the gold chain she always wears... you know the one?"

"Yeah...so?"

"It's not just a chain mate" Scorpius said grimly. "There's a bright silver key on the end of it."