What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore
by Teddylonglong
All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.
Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore / Weasley bashing
Arabella Figg was still living across the street from the Dursleys' residence, in spite of the fact that Harry Potter had left his relatives' home a long time ago. Of course, she could have moved away long ago now that Harry was gone, however, the house was so comfortable with a fireplace connected to the floo network and much space for her cats that the old Squib just could not get around to moving.
On this rather cold evening in October, she was spread on the sofa in the living room, surrounded by at least a dozen cats, who were asleep all over her, watching the news on her muggle TV.
All of a sudden, she saw the picture of a woman, whom she recognised immediately. 'What's Rita Skeeter's photograph doing in the muggle news?' she wondered and with a click on the remote control increased the sound.
"If anyone knows this woman, please contact St. Caroline's hospital in London…"
Arabella quickly scribbled down the provided telephone number and address, before the display changed to the weather forecast. Feverishly thinking for a moment, she made a bee-line for the fireplace and floo called the headmistress' office at Hogwarts.
HP
Like every evening after the foundation of the Sentinel, the teachers of Harry's extended family along with the seventeen children of the Alliance were gathered in the founders' quarters working on the next edition of the Sentinel. About half of the articles were supplied by the Newspaper group, which consisted of fifteen students through all Hogwarts year groups, the rest was written by the extended family.
All of a sudden, Amelia noticed that there was an incoming floo call at the fireplace in her office and quickly made her way through the connecting door, staring at the fireplace in surprise upon recognising the old Squib.
"Arabella," she said in surprise, as she opened the fireplace. "Come, step through please," she offered. "What can I do for you?" she asked, once the Squib stepped out of the fireplace.
"Ah Amelia, I'm sure you'll be able to help," Arabella greeted her. "I was just watching the muggle news on the TV, when they showed a photograph of Rita Skeeter. Apparently, she was found in a muggle hospital, is unconscious, and they don't know who she is. Could someone please go and help?" She handed Amelia a slip of paper with the name and address of the hospital. "Even if she might be a bitch, she's still one of us."
"I'll check it out," Amelia promised. "Thank you very much for the information."
"Of course, any time," Arabella replied, smiling, before she took her leave.
Amelia remained at her desk pondering the situation for a few minutes, before she made a decision.
"Harry," she called over to the founders' quarters, not wanting to alert the children to the situation let alone Julia. "Thanks for coming," she said to the boy and explained, what Arabella had told him. "Could you go to the Unspeakables and ask them to check what happened and take her to St. Mungo's please – if possible without alerting Julia to the matter."
"Of course," Harry replied in understanding. Summoning his Unspeakable robes from his room, he popped away without further ado.
HP
Harry was lucky to find Arcturus and Tonks in the team room. He quickly informed them about the matter and asked, "Will you please help me?"
"Of course," his two teammates promised, simultaneously, and before Harry had even thought about a plan, Tonks changed her features to look like Julia.
"We're going to go as Harry and Julia and ask about what happened to her, while Ra will take her to St. Mungo's," Tonks suggested.
"A good plan," Arcturus agreed, and the three Unspeakables popped themselves to a spot near the entrance hall of the muggle hospital, where Tonks AKA Julia explained to the staff that the woman, whom they had seen on the TV, was her mother.
HP
Unfortunately, the doctors at the hospital were not able to tell them what had happened to Mrs. Skeeter. They only knew that she had been found in the Kew Gardens and was in a coma.
After a short conversation, Tonks and Harry left and headed straight to St. Mungo's, where Ra had already arrived with the patient. Glad that his team mates seemed inclined to remain until they knew for sure what had happened to the witch, Harry anxiously waited with them. 'Even if I don't like the bitch, she's still Julia's mother,' he thought and to a very small extent felt responsible for her fate, as it had been him who had made a point to fire the witch from her position as a reporter at the former prestigious newspaper.
It was already quite late in the evening, when Healer O'Brian, the head healer of the hospital, came to see them.
"It seems that Mrs. Skeeter inhaled much of a muggle insecticide," the healer informed them in a grave voice. "This particular poison is strictly forbidden for inhaling, and we don't know if she'll ever gain consciousness again, nor are we able to foresee the state of her mind if she does. Do you perhaps know why she was in the botanical gardens at Kew?"
"Perhaps because she's a beetle Animagus," Harry blurted out, looking at the healer with apprehension.
"Ah, that explains everything," O'Brian replied, nodding in understanding. "This poison is deadly for insects and probably caused her inner insect to die – and with it her magic. Her magical level seems to be just a little above that of a Squib, at least for the time being. It might still go up over time, however, to which degree we can't foresee. For now, we're going to put her into the room together with the Longbottoms. Whom shall we contact if there's any news?"
Harry stepped forward, glad that Tonks had not pretended to be Julia and instead had changed back into her own form before entering St. Mungo's.
"Please contact me, sir," he offered. "I'm Harry Potter, and Mrs. Skeeter's daughter is a close friend of mine."
Healer O'Brian agreed, and a moment later, Harry thanked his colleagues for their help and popped back to Hogwarts, unsure if he should tell Julia about the matter or rather leave her in the dark for the time being.
HP
However, by the time he returned to Hogwarts, the living room of the founders' quarters was deserted.
'Where is everyone?' he wondered, almost assuming that everyone including the adults had already gone to bed, when he heard something.
"Harry, here, in the Parlour," a snake hissed, and Harry quickly followed the sound into the Parlour, his eyes widening, when he took in the scene in front of him.
Everyone, students and adults of his extended family, was huddled together in their Animagi forms.
=Come on, change and cuddle with us,= the kneazle cat, whom he knew to be Hermione, instructed him.
Harry immediately obeyed and transformed into his griffin form, noticing that everyone quickly made space for him. As soon as he made himself comfortable on the floor, Astoria, the black panther, cuddled into his left side, Hermione, the kneazle, fell against his right chest, Julia, the snake, slithered around his neck, Luna and Fawkes, the phoenixes, relaxed on his stomach, Daphne, the lynx, made herself comfortable on his back feet, and all the other animals slid into the remaining empty spaces to cuddle.
'Feels good,' he thought, as he drifted off to sleep, together with everyone else.
HP
=That was so much fun, we should gather for an Animagus night again soon,= Harry, the griffin, uttered, once everyone was waking up in the morning.
=A wonderful idea,= Hermione agreed, letting out a comfortable sounding meaow, as she stretched her limbs.
"We could hold an Animagus barbeque next to the lake," Luna suggested after transforming back, causing several of their classmates to cheer in apparent excitement.
"Auntie, may we hold an Animagus barbeque out on the grounds?" Susan enquired, giving the headmistress a puppy dog look.
"If the adult Animagi are allowed and won't mind joining you," Amelia replied, smirking, and from her expression, Harry knew that she had enjoyed the night in her bear form as much as everyone else.
"If we really want to hold a barbeque, we should pull through with the plan as quickly as possible," Minerva spoke up, "before it begins to snow."
The children did not need any further encouragement and immediately began to plan their barbeque for the following Saturday enlisting Lisa's and Dobby's assistance.
"We need to catch a zippopede. If you get them to light your barbeque, it's just delicious," Luna said in a dreamy voice, nodding at Julia.
"Luna," Harry asked, trying his best to keep the exasperation out of his voice, "what in the world is a zippopede?"
"It's a kind of dragon, so the snakes would be able to talk to it in Parseltongue and convince it to assist with our barbeque," Luna explained.
"Does that animal really exist?" Astoria enquired, giving her best friend a sharp look.
"Yes," Luna replied, simply.
"Are you sure that we can find the zippopede here in the forest?" Julia enquired, apparently ready to roam the forest together with Fussy and Tussi, the Aesculapian serpents.
"Yes, we just have to search for it, and you need to convince it to help us," Luna reassured her. "If Harry's friend, the basilisk, would be willing to lay an egg for us, we could offer the egg as exchange for the assistance."
"I'll go and ask Amaterasu if she can lay an egg for us," Harry agreed, inwardly groaning, as he was just about to finish his Potions essay.
"I'll accompany you," Julia offered, and – with Fussy and Tussi curled around their necks – the two third-years slowly made their way to Salazar's Chamber of Secrets to speak with the basilisk.
HP
"Harry and Julia," Amaterasu greeted them in clear excitement, "how niccce of you to visssit an old sssnake, even if it'sss not even Sunday."
"Sorry Amaterasssu for only visiting you on Sundaysss," Harry replied, sighing. "We came to asssk you a favour. Would you be willing to lay an egg for usss?" he enquired, only to explain why he needed it.
"You're very welcome to join usss for our Animagusss barbeque," Julia added, smiling at the large snake.
"Zzzzank you," Amaterasu replied, seemingly pleased at the invitation. "Will no one be afraid of me zzzen?"
"No," Harry shook his head. "It'ssss only our friendssss and usss."
HP
On Saturday morning, Sirius, Harry, Julia, Hermione, Luna, Astoria, Susan and Neville made their way into the forbidden forest in their Animagus forms to search for the zippopede – in spite of the fact that none of them knew exactly what the zippopede was supposed to look like.
"When I see it, I'll know," Luna had reassured them, and even if Harry did not have much hope, he found the expenditure enjoyable.
They walked deep into the forest for about twenty minutes, when all of a sudden, two centaurs stood in front of them, pointing spears at the group of Animagi.
"Who are you, and what are you doing in our part of the forest?" one of them asked, turning to Neville in his centaur Animagus form.
"I'm sorry, sirs, but we are students of Hogwarts in our Animagus forms," Neville replied, seemingly frightened. "We're looking for a zippopede. We didn't know that this part of the forest belongs to you. I'm Neville Longbottom."
The centaurs nodded. "If you're students, it's all right," the centaur replied. "We wouldn't hurt children. I am Magorian, the leader of the centaur colony in the forbidden forest, and this is Firenze."
=Harry, transform back, you'll be able to speak with them in your human form,= Sirius addressed his godson, and Harry quickly changed back into his human form.
"Good day, Magorian and Firenze," he addressed the centaurs. "I am Harry Potter, the owner of Hogwarts. We're very sorry to have disturbed you. Is there anything that we can do for you in order to be allowed to pass your part of the forest?"
The two centaurs scoffed, however, at least put their spears away. "What would a group of children be able to do for us?" Magorian enquired.
"Magorian, I've seen this boy in the stars," Firenze spoke up. "He's the destined child to lead the animals of of the black lake and bring peace to the forest. He'll be a good ally for the centaurs."
"Is that so, Firenze?" Magorian asked, seemingly pensive.
"We can offer to assist you if anyone attacks you and yours," Harry offered in lack of a better idea.
"The centaurs shall in turn protect you and your group of animals of the black lake," Magorian promised. "Please follow us to our colony, so we can introduce you to the herd."
Seeing his friends nod their agreement, Harry nodded and motioned Neville to follow the centaurs, while he transformed back into his griffin form.
Ten minutes later, the whole group found itself in the colony, surrounded by the whole herd of centaurs.
'Sirius, please remain in your dog form,' Harry telepathically instructed his godfather, before he asked his friends to transform into their human form. 'Who knows how the centaurs would treat him if they knew that he was an adult,' he worried.
Suddenly, an idea crossed his mind, and he carefully pulled the basilisk egg out of his robe pocket.
"Excuse me, Magorian, but do you have use for a basilisk egg?" he enquired in a soft voice, causing the centaurs to become so excited that he readied himself to telepathically instruct everyone to transform back and flee.
However, the centaurs were not upset by his offer – rather the opposite. Their leader bowed to Harry and replied, "Young friend, the centaurs gratefully accept your gift. A basilisk egg is about the best gift for a centaur, and we shall use it to have our youngest children enjoy it. Thank you very much, young friend of the centaurs."
"You're very welcome," Harry replied, making a mental note to ask Amaterasu to occasionally give him an egg for the centaurs.
The children observed in amazement how the fairly large egg was divided and fed to the five youngest centaur babies. From the scratching of their hooves on the forest floor, Harry noticed that they appeared to be very happy.
"What were you looking for, when you came into the forest today?" Magorian asked, giving the group a sharp look.
Harry let out a deep sigh, looking at Luna.
"Tonight, we're going to have a barbeque next to the black lake," the girl readily explained, "and knowing that a barbeque is best, when a zippopede lights the fire, we were looking for a zippopede."
"Has anyone ever heard of a zippopede?" Magorian asked his family, however, a collective shake of the other centaurs' heads was their response. "I'm afraid that we can't help with this specific animal; however, we know how to make a fantastic barbeque if you will allow us onto the Hogwarts grounds to assist."
"Thank you so much," Harry replied, torn between accepting and denying.
"We'd be very happy to have your herd join us for our barbeque," Julia replied in his stead.
"Excuse me, Magorian, will you allow me to call my elf, so you can teach him what your family likes to eat?" Harry enquired, inwardly sighing in relief, when the centaurs nodded their agreement.
"Dobby, Lisa," Harry called the two elves and quickly let them in on the situation. "We're going to have centaur guests for our barbeque tonight. Will you please make sure to ask them what they like to eat and prepare our barbeque accordingly?"
"Of course, Dobby and Lisa wills dos as the Great Harry Potter, the saviour of the elves says," Dobby replied, causing everyone to chuckle at the elf's obvious enthusiasm.
"Thank you, Dobby," Harry replied, rolling his eyes at the eager elf. "Magorian, these are Dobby and Lisa. Dobby is my personal house-elf, and Lisa is our Hogwarts elf. Please tell them what you and your family require."
"Harry Potter, the centaurs thank you very much for the invitation," Magorian replied, giving Harry a slight bow of his head, before all other centaurs followed.
"We are looking forward to seeing you," Harry replied, before he left the centaurs' home transforming back into his griffin form as he went.
HP
"You invited the centaurs to our barbeque?" Amelia asked in disbelief upon hearing the whole story.
"Is that a problem?" Harry asked, sheepishly.
"Not necessarily," Amelia replied, pensively.
"They declared friendship with Harry and his group of animals of the black lake," Susan spoke up, grinning.
"The animals of the black lake?" Amelia enquired, giving Harry a sharp look.
"That's what they called us," Harry informed her, matter-of-factly, "although we told them we were the animals of Hogwarts."
"They were extremely friendly and practically adored Harry, after he presented them with one of Amaterasu's eggs," Sirius explained in apparent amusement.
HP
Later the same day, the barbeque was a very enjoyable event. The adults and children changed back and forth between their Animagi forms and their human forms to communicate with the centaurs, the food was delicious, and everyone was happy.
"The centaur children are so cute," Luna whispered to Harry, while she was playing ball with three very small centaurs.
"That they are," Harry whispered back, thinking that Luna looked adorable as she ran around the lake in her yellow one-piece with an all-over pattern of phoenixes.
When the centaurs returned to the forest, Harry suggested, "Shall we have another Animagi night in the Parlour?"
"Yes," came the collective response from animals and humans, and an hour later, the Animagi were once again huddled into each other on the floor of the parlour.
"Good night dears and thanks for providing so much fun for an old woman," they suddenly heard a voice, which caused Harry to chuckle.
=That was Hogwarts,= he informed those who could understand him in his griffin form.
#Harry said that was Hogwarts,# Luna, the ice phoenix, trilled for Lavender, the parrot, to translate for everyone else.
HP
One day, a black raven approached Harry at the breakfast table carrying a small parchment.
Harry's eyes widened upon reading the short message, which was reduced to ash, as soon as he finished reading.
'Mr. Potter,
you better not travel to Germany for the Triwizard Tournament. Stay away from the event as far as possible.
SS.'
tbc...
Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the previous chapter. Please let me know what you think. I appreciate it very much. If you have anything you wish to see in the future of this story, please let me know - thank you all and have a nice weekend :)