DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter and all other characters and locations belong to J. K. Rowling.
Warning - Mild language
Chapter 11 - Of Votes and Grades
The large hall was packed as Pride members crammed themselves onto the benches and chairs filling the space. Voices rose in greeting and question as they all peered anxiously at the leaders of the Pride who had assembled on a raised dais.
"Quiet please!" Hermione called, raising her hands above her head to make sure she had the complete attention of the entire group. Conversations died to be replaced by soft whispers and murmurs as the Pride stilled, all eyes focused on the witch before them.
Ron moved forward and grinned at the group, a half eaten slice of thieved toast resting in one of his hands. "Before Hermione begins, I want to congratulate everyone who participated in the last operation. You all did an excellent job and I just wanted everyone to know how much it meant to us. So thanks a lot." Cheers and loud claps filled the room for a few seconds before dying away as Hermione moved to take Ron's place.
"You all did a magnificent job which resulted in the capture of a Death Eater spy and an Order member. We've encountered a slight problem however and are currently working towards a solution. For those of you who haven't heard, Ice Manor has deposited the captured gentlemen into a cell with a parseltongue lock." Hermione announced, biting her lip to keep from bursting into laughter at the silence and looks of stunned shock crossing the faces of her fellow Pride mates.
"You're telling me Professor Snape is locked downstairs?" A voice called out which immediately incited the rest of the group into cheers and whoops of delight.
"Unfortunately yes." Hermione yelled over the noise, turning around and shushing Ron who was happily participating in the celebration of Snape's current dilemma. Standing impatiently before the gathered Pride, she could only wait for them to finish. It was Blaise who ended the cheering, moving forward in a stealthy movement and glaring unhappily at the group.
"Though I too can see the amusement in this situation there are several factors you haven't taken into account. We have a member of the Order of the Phoenix trapped in the basement and the only key is locked up somewhere. Harry Potter is depending on us to locate and free him." Blaise snarled, hands clasped behind him as he addressed the Pride in a rare show of leadership. He was not the type to make speeches and give orders but when he felt the time was right he would turn heads and close mouths. "While we may have performed a successful mission the outcome was not what we expected. The Order is not going to sit back and give up another member silently...they will be searching for him and through him us."
"Blaise has made an excellent point and opened the door for what I wanted to speak about tonight." Hermione said nodding to Blaise who had stepped back and returned to leaning elegantly against the wall, eyes glued on the Pride. "At this point I feel that we are unable to move forward without the assistance of individuals older and more experienced then ourselves. So far, we have survived everything that has come before us but there is a time when one must bow down and accept defeat or help."
"The Pride has never been defeated and we aren't about to start taking losses. We have decided it might be best to speak with the Order and see what they have to say about this situation. However, we feel that everyone should have a say in this matter and have decided to hold a vote. We'll give you several hours to think about it but please remember we're doing this for Harry." Ron urged, blue eyes searching the faces of the students before him. Heads bowed and nodded in silent agreement, some people looked scared while others thoughtful. Stepping back he looked at Hermione and nodded his own head, all they could do now was wait.
Beams of sunlight pierced the darkness of the Headmasters chamber as the professors and Order members gathered around a large round table. The merry laughter of students could be heard as the sound was carried on the warm fall breeze.
"What are we going to do?" Minerva McGonagall asked in a tired voice as she dropped into a chair at the head of the table. Dark circles ringed her eyes and she looked like she hadn't slept well for the past few nights.
"We can't keep this up much longer. Severus never replenished the supply of polyjuice potion before he left and we're running to low too keep up this charade." Remus Lupin said quietly, face resting in his hands as he flopped into the chair next to Minerva's. The door on the far side of the room opened slowly and several members of the Order stepped in silently.
Kingsley Shacklebolt collapsed into a chair before raising his eyes and meeting those of the expectant professors. "No luck. We scoured the Leaky Cauldron from top to bottom and couldn't find any clues. Tom said it was the Lion's Pride that grabbed them when the Death Eater's attacked but you would think they'd have returned Severus by now. They've never done anything like this before."
"It's impossible to keep going like this. We could explain Dumbledore's disappearance quite easily but Snape's? Too many people will start asking questions and there's not enough time to create another batch of polyjuice. None of us are skilled enough to brew a strong polyjuice potion that can be guaranteed." Minerva whispered, accepting the cup of tea she was offered by Molly Weasley.
"Here's what we're going to do." Remus growled softly, rising and moving towards the window, his eyes tracking the movements of the students playing outside. "We'll go through Snape's grade book and find the most competent students and create a new class that's especially for the most advanced Potion's students. These individuals will be asked to join or moved into this class depending on whom they are and whether or not we believe they'll want to join. Then we'll have them brew the potions we need." Silence met his words as the other teachers stared at him in shock, disbelieving he would even suggest using students for such a purpose.
"That's preposterous" Molly Weasley gasped, glaring at the werewolf with narrowed eyes. "No its not Molly. He's perfectly right, we have a school of the brightest witches and wizards at are disposal. We may as well make use of them." Arthur Weasley argued with his wife, one hand resting on her shoulder as he glanced around the room. Nods of agreement traveled swiftly; the idea had merit.
"Has anyone thought of what will happen if we run out of polyjuice potion for Dumbledore here?" Remus muttered softly, hitching his thumb in the direction of the wizard currently masquerading as Dumbledore.
"Fine, say we do create this class and move several students into it. Who are we going to get too teach it? There are only two people in this school I know who could possibly teach Potions and one of them is missing." Minerva said quietly, hands gripping the chair she sat on as she attempted to stop herself from attacking Remus. In her opinion, the students shouldn't be dragged into the situation any further then they already had. Potions was a tricky subject and if the students were truly as bad as Snape was constantly grumbling they were then there would be trouble. Lots of trouble.
"I'll go check his grade book." Remus said softly, glancing around the room before rising slowly and marching towards the door. The headmasters chambers were silent except for the voices calling outside, none of the students having the slightest thought they were about to be dragged into a war.
Harry raised a hand slowly and pressed it against his forehead, wincing as his fingers encountered a cut. Sitting up slowly, he bit his lip to keep from crying out at the pain racing through his head. His vision was slightly fuzzy when he opened his eyes, the room seeming to wobble for a second before straightening itself out.
"Draco?" He called softly, memories of the incident rushing into his mind. A low grunt had him turning his head and glancing at the bed, eyes catching a glimpse of pale flesh nestled among the dark blankets. Standing, he placed a hand on the large desk before glaring at it and aiming a kick at the leg, swearing when his bare foot connected with the heavy wood. Limping over to Draco's side, he sat on the edge of the bed and shifted the cover resting across Draco's back. Jerking back he gagged before stumbling away from the bed and falling to his knees. Retching at the sight of pale flesh marred with bloody streaks. His head pounded and his teeth ached.
"Harry?" Draco's pain filled whisper had his eyes tearing as he scrambled to his feet, wiping his mouth on his arm absently. Grabbing the pitcher of water from a small table, he pulled a cloth from the desk drawer and approached the bed quietly, setting the cool water on the floor.
"Draco, are you okay?" Harry asked quietly, hands going about the task of dipping the small washcloth into the pitcher before laying it gently across the bloody flesh.
Draco hissed in a deep breath before replying softly, attempting to ignore the ache climbing his back. "I've been better...it hurts like hell." Harry snorted as he returned the material to the water, ringing it out and looking closely at the cuts gracing Draco's flesh.
"What happened?" Harry asked, running a light hand over a particularly deep cut and frowning when his fingers tingled. He repeated the action and the feeling strengthened.
"Well, Bella the Bitch proceeded to drag me down the hall where I was then chained to a wall and whipped for several minutes until another Death Eater came and said she had to report to Tom. I then fainted and when I woke up I was here." Draco murmured, trying to glance over his shoulder and see exactly what Harry was doing. "Stop that, it tingles."
"You can feel it too? I thought it was just me." Harry whispered, fingers tracing another cut, eyes widening when the flesh began to knit beneath his fingers. "Shite!"
"What? What are you doing?" Draco demanded, voice fearful as he responded to the shock in Harry's voice. Removing his hand from Draco's back, Harry pressed his fingers to the collar around his neck. The collar felt cold and lifeless, lacking the burning warmth it usually carried. He knew in a heartbeat what it was. His fingers traced the chink in the metal and a smile crept across his lips. He got up and placed the bloody water on the desk, staring into its depths thoughtfully for a moment.
"Nothing, nothing at all. I just applied some salve to the cuts, we'd hate for them to get infected." He responded, slowly returning to Draco's side and taking his place on the bed. Pulling the blanket back over the slowly healing flesh, he grinned and pressed a quick kiss to the top of the platinum head. Snuggling down next to Draco, he pressed his face into the pillow and stared into curious blue eyes, unable to stop the slow grin that slid back into place. Perhaps the world wasn't going to end in disaster after all.
The day had passed slowly. Hours creeping by with a steady stream of Pride members trickling into the spacious office to cast their votes. Hermione sat in a chair next to Harry's desk, her fingers tapping lightly on the dusty wood. Blaise glided into the room quietly, walking a wide circle around the small goblet resting on a high table. It's mouth spat a lavender smoke and the metal it was crafted of was dull with age and use.
"How many more?" He asked softly, fingers extending and stirring the smoke hovering above the chalice. The large room was silent for a moment, the only sound the repeating drum of Hermione's fingers.
"Just you and Ron. I dropped mine in before I opened the doors to the library." Hermione whispered nervously, eyes fastened on the goblet perched in the center of the room. Blaise nodded before sliding a hand into his pocket and withdrawing a crumpled piece of paper, bouncing it in the palm of his hand before tossing it lightly into the metal chalice. Deep purple smoke puffed from the mouth of the goblet, rising to the ceiling where it swirled around.
"Why hasn't Ron dropped his in yet?" Blaise wondered out loud, waving his hand to dispel some of the smoke. The haze only added to the darkness of the room, making it appear as if there weren't any candles burning in the room.
"The house elves made a triple chocolate cake." Hermione muttered with a roll of her eyes, fingers continuing their impatient rhythm. Blaise snorted at that before walking towards Hermione and placing a calming hand on her shoulder, peering into her eyes.
"Don't worry about it. Everyone loves Harry, none of them want to see him injured or killed. If you think that it's best we speak to the Order then the rest of the Pride will go along with it." Blaise murmured softly, patting Hermione's shoulder before moving away from her, pausing when the door to the room flew open and Ron walked in.
"Sorry I'm late but the house elves made chocolate cake." Ron said as he hurried across the room clutching a piece of paper smeared with chocolate. He dropped his paper into the chalice without further ado, coughing as a puff of smoke caught him in the face. Choking on the thick smoke, he stepped back and glared at the metal goblet.
Smoke began to pour from the top of the chalice, swirling around the floor while small puffs rose into the air. The metal grew brighter for a moment before returning to its dull bronze, moments later it spat out a burnt ball of paper. Blaise scooped the paper from the floor and held it in his hand, all eyes fastened on the parchment He walked towards Hermione and placed the paper on the desk next to her, backing away and giving her a nod of encouragement.
"Let's hope for the best." She whispered, fingers closing around the slip of crisp paper. Holding it before her, she read the words scrawled across the gold parchment.
"Well?" Ron mumbled, glancing at Blaise who was staring at the cover of a book resting on a small podium. Her eyes rose slowly and she couldn't help the smile creeping across her face. She gave a slight nod and reread the paper, grinning broadly before bursting into happy laughter. Ron and Blaise both loosed low whoops of joy and slammed each other on the back in a gesture of comradery.
"So what do we do now?" Ron asked with interest, taking the paper and reading it for himself. Blaise looked thoughtfully at the pair, allowing a small smile to settle upon his face. Looking at the pair, he couldn't help the evil twinkle that had sprung into his eyes. "I think I have an idea."
Hermione frowned as she looked at the wizard. Blaise was a master planner but the gleam in his eyes was troublingand practically spelleddevious fun. She glanced at Ron who had collapsed into a chair and had his elbows resting on his knees, attention focused completely on Blaise. "We're listening..."
The Headmasters office was quiet as the Order members waited for Remus to announce his final verdict. Everyone's attention completely focused on the large book placed a top a heap of papers on the pale wooded desk. Remus ran his finger along a line of marks, chewing his lip in concentration as he attempted to decipher the chicken scratch that was the writing of the Potions Professor.
"Well...the top mark belonged to Draco Malfoy but since he's vanished he can't possibly teach the class. That leaves us with a choice of Hermione Granger or Terry Boot. Hermione would probably be the best choice as she excels in everything and would be able to provide a better class." He murmured as he looked up from the page, meeting the eyes of several other professors.
Minerva sat up in her seat and nodded in agreement, her eyes sad. It had finally come to this. They would cancel Potions for the remainder of the year or until they managed to locate another Potions Master. Until then Hermione and a group of selected students would unknowingly provide them with a fresh supply of much needed potions. "Hermione Granger." She whispered softly.
"I don't know if that's a good choice." Molly Weasley stated, hands clasped around a cup of teas as she peered at the thick tome Remus was casually flipping through. "She has seemed a bit distracted lately."
"True, but I believe that's due to the disappearance of Harry. Teaching this class may help distract h-" The door flew open and slammed against the wall, revealing Hagrid's hulking form.
"Professors! They're here!" He bellowed, gesturing wildly towards the front of the school. In his mad panic he managed to knock several portraits off the wall and a little mirror off the desk.
"Calm down Hagrid! Who's here?" Minerva rose, hands held out in a calming gesture as she sought to understand the half-giant. The room was full of murmurs as Order members and teacher's checked for their wands, hands shaking as they contemplated going to battle with Death Eaters.
"The Lion's Pride!" Hagrid's reply froze everyone in the room, none believing they had truly heard him right. Silence hung for a moment as they all tried to figure out what to do, not enough was known about the mysterious group for them to really know how to act. Did they go out with their wands drawn or peacefully and hope for the best? Friends or foes, it seemed they were about to have their first formal meeting with the Lion's Pride.
A/N: Thanks to everyone who took the time to review. Yes…Dumbledore…lol, hopefully this chapter provided the answer to 'what is Dumbledore doing at Hogwarts?'. I'm also glad many of you enjoyed my chapter ending, I'll try to lighten the mood but I'm afraid poor Severus and Lucius are going to take the brunt of our laughter. I wish I could respond to everyone but I just don't have the time. Anyways, thanks again.
Hermione Charlotte Granger – I'm a happy shipper, Draco/Harry slash or love . Generally I don't do hardcore anything so I can promise you there won't be anything too physical occurring. My apologies if I manage to offend you but to each her/his own.
Dreamer of Destiny – Wow…that's a lot of questions but here it goes. 1. Yep, the Order knows the Big D has been caught and have replaced him with a look alike. 2. Harry doesn't know but Dumbledore does and Harry was caught first. 3. They know he's been captured but assume he's dead. 4. Dumbles has no idea Harry is the leader of the Lion's Pride. 5. Let's say they are around 16 maybe turning 17…give or take a few months. Thanks a lot and if I missed anything feel free to ask again.
Laura – Not to offend… but I'm not planning on majoring in Journalism or English any time in the future nor do I have my stories betad. Everyone has small errors in their writing and I know how distracting it can be but try and ignore it. I'll work on it but I also work full time and have to write chapters for 2 stories simultaneously.
Roseaxis – If I was spending any more time typing then I already do I'd end up in the nut house…I dream Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy.
violet7amethyst – Alright, Blaise and Dean are really good friends, Harry will gradually get his magic back, and Ice Manor is a sentient being like Hogwarts and like the Sorting Hat.