Well, after over a year away, I finally get the next chapter up. My apologies all around. Writing fanfiction is difficult when you're juggling two jobs and school, especially if you're writing an original novel. School is over, I just need to do some more studying for my certification test, and the novel is currently being edited (very, very slowly.) Still working two jobs, but it's a bit more manageable now without school making my life extra screwy. I'm hoping to have the next chapter for this done by Halloween, and despite NaNoWriMo being right around the corner, I'm going to try and keep working on this during November.
Again, apologies to everyone for the massive delay, and my deepest thanks for those who are still reading this. I love you guys, and this one's for you.
HPaCT
It was amazing how quickly humans could adapt to new circumstances, regardless of what those circumstances entailed. Hogwarts had been almost completely destroyed, but already everyone was acting like it was business as usual. Classes were already being held again, thought the subject matter had taken a turn to the more practical applications. First year students practiced the levitation charm by moving piece of the castle out of the way, Fifth years practiced conjuring by creating scaffolding and other useful tools for excavation. A few of the upper years were discussing a spelunking club to explore the ruins, though it was doubtful it would be approved before the school could be rebuilt. Still, not like that was likely to stop some of the more adventurous students. Harry certainly was looking forward to seeing what the ruins had to offer.
Even the History of Magic class had changed, something that hadn't occurred in decades. Instead of droning on about goblin rebellions, Binns was now lecturing about ancient architecture, and the various influences other castles and mystical wonders had had upon the design the Founders had selected for their school. It was still quite boring, but it beat the hell out of goblin rebellions for the hundredth time.
Despite all of the activity, no one had seen the Headmaster for days, he hadn't appeared outside the ruins since venturing in to check their stability. All of his decisions were relayed by the rest of the teachers, or in a few cases, by ministry officials. Still, the fervor surrounding the destruction of Hogwarts seemed to be dying down, and despite the drastically altered circumstances, it seemed that everyone was going back to business as usual.
Business as usual, in this case, meant Harry had to sit through Transfiguration class. McGonagall had no qualms about teaching in her usual manner, despite the crumbling wreckage behind her instead of a blackboard.
"This is normally a subject for the upper years, but considering you will witness it first hand, it seems an appropriate time to explain the basics of rituals." Professor McGonagall lectured. A number of students perked up after hearing the subject of the day's lesson.
"Rituals are far more involved than ordinary magic. They transcend the limitations of most of the subjects you will learn here, accomplishing feats beyond the scope of any one discipline. However, this power comes at a great cost. Rituals generally require much more time to perform properly, can anyone tell me why?"
A hand raised up towards the back of the makeshift classroom, "Mr. Finch-Fetchley"
"Because they are so powerful, no one wizard can provide the power. By extending the duration, it gives wizards a chance to recover and add more power to it.
"That is correct. Another method of increasing the power would be to include a larger number of casters in the ritual. Unfortunately, such power often comes at a price. Even the simplest of them oftentimes requiring a number of arcane implements or ingredients to properly execute. For example, the ritual of rising earth used in an effort to recreate Atlantis, requires a drum made from an efreeti's flesh, beaten by the bones of an earth dragon. They also, as Mr. Finch-Fletchley already mentioned, require a great deal of magical power, more power than most people can provide. This accounts for the length of many rituals, as more power can be added over time.
"Rituals, are by nature, complex, and because of that, quite vulnerable to interference disrupting them. The undertaking of multiple rituals even more so. Each of them interacts with the others, creating something far more fragile and dangerous without the proper skills and precautions. Even combining two rituals is something I wouldn't recommend until your N. E. W. T. year, and for a project such as this, years of dedicated study are necessary."
"Bet Dumbledore could do it in an hour." someone chuckled.
McGonagall's piercing gaze scanned the students, seeking the source of the comment. "Headmaster Dumbledore is indeed accomplished in many magical arts, but a working of this magnitude will require dozens of specialists and countless hours of calibrations to ensure nothing goes wrong. Despite what you've heard about the Headmaster's power and… eccentricity, this is a very serious matter."
A silence fell over the assembled students.
"Rebuilding Hogwarts is a massive undertaking that the Magical world hasn't seen in centuries. It will take a similarly massive amount of time, effort, and resources to fully realize it. The Headmaster has called in dozens, if not hundreds of favors from the magical world to make sure that things proceed quickly and with a minimal amount of fuss."
"Now, to get back on subject, can someone name some rituals that might be used in rebuilding the school?"
"The Ward against the Wild." a voice called out.
"And why would it be used?"
"It's a ritual that enchants a large structure or area against vermin and other wild animals."
"That is correct. The Ward against the Wild, or some variant based on it, will most likely be used during reconstruction. It is only viable against small creatures, such as insects and rats. Another, more powerful ritual from the same family should keep the more dangerous wild animals, and even some of the weaker magical creatures well away from the school."
Magical creatures...that caught Harry's attention, and reminded him that he still needed to figure out what Rex had been fighting. It was clearly another monster, but other than that, Harry was for the most part, clueless. Scribbling a note absently to himself, he returned his attention to the class. Despite everything that had happened, McGonagall was still more than willing to give detentions, and if he was going to be looking for monsters, he couldn't afford to be doing lines all night.
HPaCT
Harry waited until the sun had set before sneaking out of his tent. Despite the teacher's concerns, the security around the ruins of Hogwarts was quite lax. Perhaps they assumed that people would stay out of it. After all, whatever had destroyed the school was still out there, as far as they knew. Most students wouldn't be dumb enough to venture into the fallen castle until they knew it was relatively safe, but most students didn't have a monster like Harry did. Most, but not all, Harry reminded himself. Hopefully there would be some clues about the monster Rex had fought in the castle, and they would help Harry find whoever its partner was.
As he reached the edge that led to the depths of the school, Harry wished he had some rope, but settled for using the levitation charm to enter the wreckage. Rex rode atop his head, until they reached the bottom. He hopped off of Harry's head, and resumed his true form. Harry tensed for a moment as Rex's body caused several rocks to shift around, worried that he would bring the ruins down on top of them, but the castle soon settled without any further damage being done.
"Do you want to show me what happened?" Harry asked, as Rex stretched languidly, heedless to the disaster he had almost created.
"SURE HARRY!" Rex said excitedly, completely unaware or unconcerned with the danger, "I'LL TELL YOU ALL ABOUT HOW I KICKED HIS BUTT."
Harry followed behind his friend, absently listening as Rex gave him a blow by blow account of how the fight went. He knew Rex was emphasizing his own strength and downplaying his foe's ability, but after knowing him for so long, it was easy to discern the overall story of what had happened. Finally, they reached the bowels of the school, and Harry began to look around.
"THAT'S WHERE I BLASTED HIM WITH MY FIRE BREATH. YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN HERE, HARRY. I SMASHED HIM SO GOOD."
"Good enough to wreck the school." Harry commented, stepping over a fallen column.
"I SAID I WAS SORRY!" Rex whined, causing everything around them to tremble slightly.
"No you didn't." Harry answered.
"WELL I THOUGH IT REALLY LOUDLY AT LEAST." Rex corrected himself.
"Whatever," Harry shook his head, trying to get back on track. A part of him noted that Rex still hadn't apologized, but he probably wasn't going to do so anyways. "Do you think it's still down here somewhere?"'
"MAYBE. I DIDN'T SEE IT SNEAK OUT ANYWAYS."
"Well, we had better find it before it does any more damage. Do you think you can handle it if it shows up again?"
"YEAH, THAT PUNK JUST GOT LUCKY LAST TIME. I'M GONNA EAT HIM FOR BREAKFAST, LUNCH, AND DINNER!"
"Good to hear Rex."
"MAYBE FOR AN AFTERNOON SNACK TOO. DEPENDS ON HOW HE'S PREPARED, AND IF THERE'S ENOUGH OF HIM."
"I get it Rex." Harry sighed, before a though occurred, "How do you know it's a boy monster?"
"HEY, I WOULDN'T HURT A LADY HARRY! I'M A GENTLEMAN!" Rex said, "NOW, DO YOU THINK THE ELVES WOULD COOK HIM FOR ME? THEY DO A REALLY GOOD JOB COOKING THE FOOD, AND I WANT TO TRY SOMETHING BROILED."
"That's more than I needed to know, please stop." Harry said, wondering if Rex really knew what being a gentleman meant.
"JUST THINKING ABOUT IT MAKES MY MOUTH WATER..."
Something hissed from the shadows, Harry turned to see what it was, but only caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye. Rex's snarl echoed through the ruins as he stepped over Harry, protecting him from whatever was hiding in the shadows.
Harry drew his wand, but knew it probably wouldn't do him much good against something like Rex. He stayed by his companion, turning in place, hoping to spot whatever was after them.
Whatever it was, it was long and fast. He could hear it moving around, but no matter how quickly he moved to track it, it always seemed to be just out of sight. Once, he caught sight of its tail, but it vanished behind a pile of rubble, and seemed to disappear.
He kept turning, despite his rising dizziness, until he heard a menacing hiss behind him. He quickly whirled around, and caught a glimpse of brilliant yellow eyes, before it lunged at him, baring its fangs as it attempted to swallow him whole.
Harry flinched, but needn't have bothered. Rex roared, grabbing whatever it was before it could touch him, and hurled it across the shattered chamber. Another hiss echoed through the desolate room, before the rasping sound of scale on stone began to fade away as the creature retreated. For several long moments, Rex remained tensed to attack if it came back, but it seemed it didn't want to tangle with him again, and had made good its escape.
"Was that the monster that you fought earlier?"
"NO. THAT MONSTER WAS MORE GRAAARGH-Y AND SMASH-Y. THIS ONE WAS MORE SLITHER-Y AND TWIST-Y."
"That... didn't really help clear things up." Harry said.
"SORRY HARRY. THAT'S THE BEST THAT I CAN DO. I CAN TELL YOU THE LAST ONE WAS WAY MORE POLITE. THIS GUY DIDN'T EVEN INTRODUCE HIMSELF!" Rex huffed in irritation.
"I didn't think you were one for manners. You tend to just smash everything you can get your hands on."
"WELL YEAH, SMASHING IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF BEING A MONSTER, BUT BEING RUDE, THERE'S NO EXCUSE FOR THAT."
Harry shook his head in disbelief. "Well, it's getting late. I think we should get out of here before someone notices we're not in bed.
"ALRIGHT HARRY."
HPaCT
Harry returned to camp, no one the wiser of his little adventure. He still had no idea what it was that was under the school, but whatever it was, it was gone, for now at least. Hopefully, that would be the end of the excitement for the night
Oh, how wrong he was.
As Harry settled back into bed, the screams started. He and the other students jumped out of bed to see what was causing it, and almost immediately regretted it.
Spiders, thousands of them at least, stormed out of the Forbidden Forest. Harry watched in morbid fascination as a wave of arachnids moved with single minded purpose. He watched as larger and larger monstrosities emerged from the forest, until the largest among them were the size of horses.
He could hear the panicked screams of his fellow students, as well as hastily shouted commands and spells form the adults, but it seemed their efforts to protect everyone were in vain. The spiders ignored everything in front of them, simply scurrying over any obstacles in their way in their mad dash to vacate the forest. They ran over the ruins of Hogwarts, hundreds of them knocked loose by their brethren, and falling into the depths of the ruins.
Despite the casualties they inflicted upon themselves, they continued running, storming over and past the ruins and into the distance. Aside from the shock of the sudden stampede, it seemed almost no one was hurt, the only exceptions being those who unfortunate enough to get in the way of the creatures.
Though it was far from the strangest of things Harry had seen, he wondered what could have provoked such a strange thing. Judging by everyone's shock, it wasn't normal. He shook his head. Whatever it was, it didn't seem too dangerous, at the moment anyways, and he was tired. It could wait until morning.
HPaCT
Elsewhere, Lucius Malfoy was still in shock at the destruction of Hogwarts. He had intended there to trouble when he gave that diary to the Weasley girl, but in the same vein as when the Chamber of Secrets had last been opened. Death, to be certain, but controlled, focused on those who deserved it, slow enough to build fear and undermine Dumbledore's power and position among the other governors. He had hoped to force him out of power, and then implement a new order in Hogwarts, more in line with his master's vision of the magical world.
Instead, Hogwarts had been destroyed before even a hint that something was wrong could escape. There was no doubt or fear, only shock. Hogwarts had been destroyed, completely out of the blue, and there was no sign of the perpetrators. Who knew what had happened, and when it would happen again. Perhaps next time they would not be so fortunate in evacuating the students. The thought of losing Draco had prompted Lucius to immediately petition for his transfer to Durmstrang, his wife no longer protesting after hearing of the disaster.
Unfortunately, that plan had been blocked by Cornelius Fudge. The fool of a minister had locked down everything concerning Hogwarts, until he could get the situation under control. Everyone was doing everything they could to understand what had happened, and while they were running around like chickens with their heads cut off, Dumbledore remained calm.
That calmness was something Lucius had loathed for the longest time, but now, he was grateful someone was able to control themselves enough to organize an effective means of restoring the school, and dealing with the cause of the disaster. If anyone besides Dumbledore had been in charge, the loss of the school would have only been the beginning of the disaster. While he loathed Dumbledore as a person, Lucius had always respected his abilities as a foe.
Shaking his head at the fallout of his failed plan, Lucius returned his thoughts on how best to manage this unfortunate situation.
It seemed purity of blood was not enough to control whatever lived in the Chamber. Perhaps only one descended from Slytherin himself had a chance to control the beast. Someone of his line, or perhaps only his house. He considered telling Draco the whole story of the diary, but decided against it. He wouldn't risk his only heir on the slim chance that he could master it. Perhaps one of his minions would be a possible choice, but that was something to consider after reacquiring the diary.
Regardless of what he decided after reacquiring the diary, leaving it in the hands of the Weasley girl was unacceptable, but should he visit Hogwarts, his actions would be monitored and scrutinized, especially should he be found chasing an eleven year old girl, or breaking into her dormitory. There was only one option, loathe as he was to use it, but he had no other choice. Lucius moved to his study and began to compose a letter.
Draco,
The destruction of Hogwarts was no coincidence. I've had my suspicions about recent events, but the destruction of Hogwarts has finally confirmed what I feared.
After our encounter with the Weasley family before you returned to Hogwarts, I noticed that a rather potent and valuable magical item was missing from my person. I had hoped that I had simply misplaced it, but after seeing what happened to Hogwarts, I can only assume one of the Weasley children stole it and hoped to use it to discredit our family. It seems it was well beyond their ability to control, and the destruction of Hogwarts is the result.
I need you to try and reacquire it. Such a power cannot be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. The honor of the Malfoy depends on your success, but I urge you to be cautious and discreet, as I am sure that the Weasleys will seek to exploit any of your attempts.
Burn this letter once you have fully understood the implications of what I have told you.
He left it unsigned, and a quick spell shifted the words slightly, replacing his handwriting with the generic script produced by dictation quills and their cousins. He quickly tied it to one of the family owls, before casting a disguise spell on it, transforming it into a generic post owl.
Draco was far from an ideal choice. The boy was too prideful, too sure of himself. Despite that, he was a child, and anything he did would most likely be brushed off as boyish trouble making, or at the worst, something he could use his position as school governor to mitigate any trouble that could arise. Idly, he wished Severus was still in a position to aid Draco, or even deal with the problem directly, but his oldest friend was still locked away in St. Mungo's. Perhaps he should look in on him, see if there were any wheels that could be greased to speed his recovery.