Chapter #14- Confusion

"You're kidding me," Harry whispered fiercely. Derek rushed over to comfort Alexia, who had 2 older siblings there. None of the other girls had siblings there, and neither did Harry, Jake or Derek. That just left—

"Ron," Harry said, turning to his friend. Ron's eyes were wide and his face was pale. He backed himself into a chair and seemed to collapse there. "Ron, you have tons of siblings. Do any of them go to Magtons?"

Ron seemed too shocked to speak. Harry tried to remember the names and ages of all of Ron's siblings. By Ron's reaction, Harry guessed that a least one went to Magtons. But were there more?

"Percy," came a voice from behind him. Harry spun around him. The Weasley twins stood behind him, looking uncharacteristically solemn. "Our older brother Percy goes there. Bit of a git really, but we'd never wish this upon him."

Jake appeared beside Harry. "Do you two know any details? Who was involved, what are the casualties, how much damage was inflicted?" he asked.

"Well, obviously, we don't know for sure who is responsible," George said gravely. "But I'd bet my life Lucius Malfoy is connected to all of this. From what I've heard, the list of casualties is around 50, which I suppose could be much worse. Almost all of the survivors are at St. Mungo's. And as for the damage—I think that the entire school was destroyed. Everything."

Harry and Jake were stunned speechless. What did this mean? Was Hogwarts in danger of being the next target?

Professor McGonagall entered the Common Room, looking extremely flustered. A silence fell among the Gryffindor House, for they were all hoping that she could provide them with information.

"As you all seem to know, although I'm not quite sure how you managed that, Magtons has been attacked," she said solemnly. "The list of casualties has now reached to around 70 students and staff. Most of the others are in St. Mungo's. Due to this unfortunate incident, Hogwarts will be closing early for Christmas vacation, which may also have to continue later than usual. If this is the case, lessons and homework will be owled to you. The Hogwarts Express is leaving tonight at midnight, and your parents can pick you up at the station in the morning. Also, could any students wishing to find out about the well-being of any of their family members at Magtons please follow me to Professor Dumbledore's office."

And at that, she exited the Common Room. A large number of students followed her, many of whom were crying. The remaining students sat in a shocked and thoughtful silence an slowly began drifting either back to their dorms to pack or down to breakfast.

The young gang of Gryffindors were the last ones left in the Common Room, still not saying a word. They were all worried about Ron and Alexia's siblings.

"I can't believe this," Jesse finally said, breaking the silence. "What does this mean? Is Lucius Malfoy finally deciding to take over Voldemort's role?"

"We don't know that it was him," Jake said, always trying to be logical.

"Who else would it be? Do you really think there's that many other psychopathic maniacs in this world? I mean, yeah, there are some, but a stunt like this? It's a stunt only worthy of someone who wants to be the next Voldemort. And we all know that that's Lucius Malfoy."

"Maybe not," Hermione said quietly, obviously scared that Hermione might thrash out at her. "I mean, nobody expected that Tom Riddle was Voldemort. They all thought that Voldemort had killed Tom. He was apparently a handsome, charming boy, Head Boy for that matter. So really, it could've been anyone. It could've been an accident."

"An accident?" Derek repeated in an annoyed tone. "You think that an entire wizarding school was destroyed by an accident? You think that 70 students were killed by accident? How the hell do you figure that?"

"She could be right," Melody said, for Hermione was looking flustered. "I'm not saying I don't think Lucius Malfoy did it, because he probably did. But we don't have any details. Some students could've been messing around with potions that resulted in an explosion. If we find out that there were men running around and shouting curses at students, we'll know it wasn't an accident. But until then, let's not turn on one another. Hermione was just voicing her opinion, so cut her some slack."

Jesse and Derek mumbled their apologies.

"So what do you guys think will happen with Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"I'm sure they'll open it up again once they know it's safe," Megan said.

"But what if they can't find out who did it?" Jesse asked. "I mean, Lucius Malfoy hasn't been seen for 10 years, not even by his wife and son. He obviously knows how to hide."

"Actually, that's not true," Hermione said. Jesse glared at her.

"And why is that?"

"Because Draco Malfoy has an 8 year old sister."

"Pardon me?" Derek said, sitting up straighter in his chair and looking at her with wide eyes. The news seemed to be a shock to all the others as well.

"I heard him talking about her when he was sitting in front of me in Charms. Her name is…Robyn or something. He doesn't seem to like her very much… he said she dishonors the Malfoy name, and he wouldn't be surprised if she ended up in Gryffindor."

"Maybe she's only his half sister. Maybe they have different fathers," harry suggested.

"That's what I thought at first too," Hermione said. "But then I checked that book that writes down the name of every student that will be attending Hogwarts when they are born. And there she was, Robyn Malfoy, daughter of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy."

"How is that possible?" Harry asked, still baffled by this news.

Derek raised his eyebrows at Harry. "Sometimes," he said in a slow, annoying voice as though he were talking to a 5-year-old. "When a man and a woman love each other very much. . ."

"I don't mean it like that!" Harry snapped while Derek sniggered. "I mean. . .like. . . when would he. . .how could he. . ."

He trailed off, unable to voice his confusion.

"Well it's obvious isn't it?" Hermione said. "Three years after leaving, Lucius Malfoy went back, visited his wife, and well. . .like Derek was going to say. . .and then 9 months later, their daughter was born."

"I wonder if he's visited anymore since then," Jesse said.

"What's he hiding from anyway?" asked Megan. I mean aside from this whole Magton's thing, if it's really him whose behind it, he hasn't done anything wrong yet, has he? Everyone knew that he went to replace Voldemort, but he never actually acted on it. He just stayed in hiding. But from what?"

"Arrest, I suppose. Maybe once Voldemort was dead and some of his followers rounded up, the Ministry would have found out he was one of them. It couldn't have been hard, just convince one Death Eater to slip names of the others, or force him to with Veritaserum. So Malfoy's choices were to go to Azkaban and never see his family again, or go into hiding and never see his family again. Of course, he probably wanted everyone to think he was 'taking Voldemort's place', not running away from the Ministry," Jake explained.

"But why act now?" Melody asked. "Why, after 10 years of hiding successfully, when the Ministry is barely even bothering to search for him, would he do something this drastic?"

"Who says he did it?!" Jake said exasperatedly, for they had returned to their original argument.

None of the others spoke after this. Harry tilted his head back against the wall, thinking hard. He hoped that Ron and Alexia's siblings were OK. He wondered what life would be like from now on, for he knew that things were definitely going to change. This worry, this absolute fear that was in their hearts, how long would it last? And if this was all caused by Lucius Malfoy, who was supposed to be nothing compared to Voldemort, then what would it be like if Voldemort was still alive? Of the people sitting around him, how many would actually exist? Would he, Harry, be alive, or would Voldemort have killed him if his parents hadn't stopped him?

The young Gryffindors sat in a long, odd silence, until finally the portrait hole swung open, revealing a small group of Gryffindors. Ron, Alexia, Fred and George were among them.

Harry tried to read their expression in order to get a grasp of what was going on. The Weasleys all looked shaken but relieved, and Alexia was still crying, although not enough for him to expect death.

"Percy's fine," Fred finally said, looking down at their expectant faces. "He's being treated for a few burns and bruises, but he'll be alright. Her sister," he added, nodding towards the teary Alexia, "Mary, is the same way. Corey on the other hand. . ."

"They won't tell me what's wrong with him," Alexia choked. "But they said it's not life-threatening. I'm going to see him as soon as I get off the train tomorrow. Dumbledore said the Knight Bus will be there to take all the students who need to visit family members."

"Would you like us to come with you?" Melody asked.

"Well. . . I. . I mean, I'd love that. . but I couldn't ask you to. . ." Alexia trailed off, looking surprised.

"Don't be stupid," Jesse said.

"Of course we'll be there," added Hermione.

"I haven't forgotten how loyal you all were when I was in the Hospital Wing," Melody said.

Alexia looked taken aback, but pleased all the same.

Jake looked down at his watch. "It's nearly lunchtime. I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving. What do you say we go to the Great Hall?"

The others nodded their agreement and they went down together and ate in silence. The entire school seemed to be in an uncharacteristic, respectful silence.

The rest of the day was spent packing and eating dinner. Once 11:00 rolled around, the entire population of Hogwarts trudged down to the Entrance Hall in their pajamas, and they were instructed to get into the horseless carriages that would carry them to the Hogsmeade trainstation. They all heaved their luggage aboard and hurried to find a compartment, all of which were filled with blankets and pillows. They managed to find one and collapsed wordlessly into their seats.

Derek and Jake both made themselves comfortable on the floor. Harry chose a seat by the window and slept in a seated position with his pillow against the window. Ron spread out on the rest of the bench Harry occupied, although he didn't fit very comfortably. The girls lined the other bench, each using the next as a headrest.

"Goodnight," Derek yawned as the train's lights were dimmed.

"Night," the others murmured in response.

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The students awoke early the next morning to the sound of the train pulling into the station. They trudged off the train with their heavy trunks, yawning and stretching as they went. They scanned the crowded station for a familiar face.

"There!" Ron said, pointing off into the distance. "I see my mum. . .and your dad's there too Jake! And some other adults are with them too. . .I don't recognize them, but they might be some of your parents."

They all followed Ron's lead, although none of them saw where he was pointing to.

As they drew closer, Harry finally realized who Ron was pointing to. He saw his dad, who was holding Rebecca's hand as she gazed around curiously at all the unfamiliar faces. Remus—or Professor Lupin (it was hard for Harry, having to switch back and forth)—was indeed there as well, along with Jake's mom. Sirius stood next to the Lupins, but Jenny and Kailah were not with him. A short, stout, red-haired woman, who Harry assumed was Mrs Weasley, stood next to Sirius. Harry also recognized Megan, Melody and Jesse's parents, but Alexia's were not there. He assumed that they were at the hospital. There was one couple there that he didn't recognize, so he figured that they were Hermione's parents. The adults were all deep in conversation, so they didn't recognize their students approaching.

"Harry!" Rebecca squealed at the sight of her older brother. She struggled to release herself from James' grasp. She finally pulled free and ran to hug him. The adults all turned to look, and greeted their children enthusiastically. They were happy to see them all safe.

James embraced Harry in a tight, protective hug. "It's good to see you," he said, clapping his son on the back.

"You too," Harry said meaningfully, looking up at his father. "Where's Mum?"

"Volunteering at St. Mungo's," James explained. "The entire place is in an uproar. They need all the help they can get."

"Can we go to St. Mungo's?" Harry asked hopefully. "Because Alexia. . ."

He glanced over at his friend. She looked overwhelmed with shock and fear.

"Of course we're going," James answered. "Alexia's parents asked me to escort her there."

"Have you heard anything about Corey then? About what's wrong with him?"

James nodded solemnly. "But it's not my place to tell you that. At least not just yet. I don't even have all the facts myself. We'll figure out everything when we get there."

Ron introduced Harry to his mom, Molly Weasley, who seemed like a very nice lady. Ron's dad—Arthur Weasley—it turned out, worked for the Ministry and was busy trying to sort everything out. Mrs. Weasley, Ron and the twins would be joining Harry, James, Alexia and Rebecca at St. Mungo's because they wanted to take Percy, who was already mended, home.

Harry also met Mr and Mrs Granger, who seemed very kind but a little out of place and confused. This was obviously because they were Muggles, and this incident wasn't the best introduction into the world of magic. They wanted to take Hermione straight home, so she hugged her friends good-bye, apologized to Alexia for not being able to come, and disappeared with her parents. She promised to see them on Christmas day at the Potters' Christmas party.

Jesse and Melody convinced their parents to let them join the group that was headed to St. Mungo's, but Megan's parents wouldn't budge. They needed to get home and weren't eager to send their daughter off alone. Sirius, Derek and Jake would be going too, but not Remus. He had been away from home for a while and wanted to see his wife.

The large party grouped together and embarked on the journey to St. Mungo's.

Author's Note- Wow. It's been a long time since I've updated. Very sorry about that. I just have a lot going on, and haven't gotten around to it. I've been considering making some major changes to this story. . . specifically with characters. There's just too many to keep track of. I've already gone back and made some changes to the original story, which you should check out if you haven't already. But I thought I'd just update for now. Please let me know if you have any thoughts. Sorry for the wait J