Chapter 35
The Wizards Mourn and Hogwarts Demands a New Headmaster
The teachers were in a state of disarray, they couldn't believe what was happening. Trelawney had been shrieking she had seen it, and nobody had heeded her warning. She had since then refused to come down from her loft, stating evil spirits were roaming Hogwarts school. With Minerva in the hospital wing, Filius Flitwick and Pomona Sprout had no choice but to take charge. The students were completely out of their hands, they needed their parents.
"I shall contact the parents, then speak to the driver of the Hogwarts Express; they shall go home tonight," said Sprout in agreement.
"I think that is for the best, thank goodness most of the exams have already been completed," said Filius grimly. "It doesn't help that the defence teacher has resigned too."
"I shall make the announcement," said Filius standing up on his cushioned seat.
Setting off sparks with his wand, Filius patiently waited for the students to calm down. They had thought about stopping the paper from getting through, but realized it would only just delay the inevitable. People would find out; Aurors were in and out the school, searching for clues, weaknesses in the wards, and trying to find out why Hogwarts was acting so odd. There should have been a Headmaster already; the wards should have tied themselves to someone. They weren't sure if Minerva had received them or not, if that was perhaps why she had ended up having a heart attack. They would have to wait until she awoke to know if Hogwarts was in trouble or not.
"Students, please take a minute of silence in honour of Albus Dumbledore, who did indeed die last night protecting the school," said Filius. It was better than the truth, that he had been killed in his own office, the wards not going off to alert them.
Every student bowed their heads, a picture of remorse and remained silent for a minute. Even the Slytherins, although most of them had hated the Headmaster for his disregard to their pain, going through seven years of being seen as 'evil' and 'deceitful'. Dumbledore didn't care about the Slytherins; the only person who had had been Severus Snape. They all knew he was alive; they all had friends, brothers, sisters or parents in Severus' group. They had of course been sworn to secrecy, but it eased their hearts. They adored Severus; he was the father and protector figure they had at Hogwarts. He shielded them from the worst of Hogwarts' abuse, and made up for everyone else being nasty to the Slytherins, taking house points and giving detentions. To everyone else it looked unplanned, but those in Slytherin knew it hadn't been. Anyone bothering his Slytherins got copious amounts of detentions and loss of points. They were forced to scrub cauldrons and cut ingredients... it warmed their hearts that someone truly cared about them. The Head of house before him hadn't truly cared about anyone... well, unless they were in his 'Slug club'. Even at that, it was the Potions he cared about. Not the students.
"Albus Dumbledore: may he rest in peace," said Filius, holding up a goblet and drinking, before quickly replacing it― they had much to do today. "Now, I know everyone is very upset, but I want you all to go back to your common rooms. Gathering your things together, and be ready to leave; the house elves will take your trunks from the dorms to the train for you. You shall be leaving after lunch if everything is ready; if not, then after dinner. Does everyone understand?"
"Yes, Professor Flitwick," shouted the students.
"Now prefects, Head Boy and Head Girl, help the first and second years if they need help," stated Filius.
"If you need us, we will be in the Staff room; do not hesitate to come in. There will be a card in Gryffindor common room for those in Gryffindor who want to sign the get-well card," stated Professor Sprout after Filius was finished speaking. "Off you go." The plump woman sat back down. It was mostly the Gryffindors that were affected. The Ravenclaws and Huffelpuffs were upset, but not to the degree the Gryffindors were.
"What do we do now?" asked Ron wide-eyed, he couldn't believe what was happening. Dumbledore was dead, they were being sent home.
"I don't know," whispered Hermione, her own brown eyes huge.
"We need to speak to the Order, they will know what to do," said Ron.
"Your parents will tell us everything later, let's go pack," said Hermione, gathering a few pieces of food to eat.
Ron took three times the amount as Hermione, stuffing his face all the way back to the common room. As head boy and girl they should have been doing more for the students. Unfortunately they didn't care for the first years; they cared more about Orders, and finding out what to do now Dumbledore was dead.
The Weasleys' hovel was filled with Wizards and Witches, all of them at loss for what to do, now that their leader was gone. They were arguing back and forth, trying to decide what to do first.
"SHUT UP!" yelled Ron, finally having had enough, standing up determinedly. "I think we should continue to do what Dumbledore did. Look for Potter until we find him; he's the only one that can destroy Voldemort for good."
"It's a lost cause, we have searched everywhere," sneered Moody, not liking that a seventeen-year-old boy was telling him what to do.
"He has to be somewhere," agreed Hermione haughtily. She had left through the floo with Ron earlier; they had gotten special permission before Dumbledore had died. It was Molly Weasley's funeral and the children wanted to attend it.
"Granger, Dumbledore might have tolerated that, but I am not about to sit around and let a little girl like you tell me what to do," snarled Moody, standing up threateningly.
Hermione gulped, her brown eyes widening in fear, backing away from the threateningly ugly wizard. "Sorry," she said squeaking in fear, sitting her butt back on the chair, the others had conjured up.
"Do not threaten Hermione in my house!" shouted Ron angrily, defending his girlfriend.
"You have a sense of self-importance, boy," snapped Moody, "But I can assure you, you are nothing to the Order."
"I kept Harry Potter in line!" snapped Ron defensively; how dare they undermine everything he had done for the Order.
"Please," sneered Shacklebolt. Children, he thought rolling his eyes. Moody was right; they did have a sense of self-importance.
"Quiet, please," said Arthur, his voice teary, a look of devastation on his features. He was buying his wife today; he wasn't in the mood for fighting. Especially considering his daughter was missing, presumed dead. His children hadn't arrived yet, all except Ron. Percy had abandoned the family a long time ago. Bill and Charlie he hadn't heard from since, or the twins.
"We shouldn't be fighting amongst ourselves," sighed Vance.
"No, we shouldn't," agreed Moody, feeling sorry for Arthur―he'd just lost his wife after his daughter going missing. His entire family had broken apart, although Moody didn't know what it was regarding.
"If you will excuse me, I have to get my wife ready for burial," said Arthur, his face pale and ashen. He had been given love potions by his wife, since before they left Hogwarts. He knew that now, since they were wearing off, and he no longer loved her as he once did. In fact he was furious, but regardless of that he'd had seven children with her and he did love them at least.
"Of course, excuse us," said Moody. "We'll continue searching, meet up at Grimmauld Place tonight." he told them.
"Where are Bill, Charlie, Fred, and George going?" asked Harry, confused; he thought they were supposed to stay in until everything blew over.
"They are going to their mother's funeral," said Severus soothingly, continuing to feed Rowena, who was guzzling her milk like there was no tomorrow.
"After what she did?" asked Harry clearly upset, just as the Weasleys had known Harry would react.
"Tell me something, Harry: if you found something out about your mother that you didn't like, would you stop loving her?" asked Severus, rocking his little girl, who was getting so big it was unbelievable. She wasn't a fragile little thing anymore, he knew soon she'd be crawling, talking, walking and he couldn't wait.
"No," murmured Harry, sighing petulantly.
"Then do not blame the Weasleys for wanting to pay their last respects to their mother. They are angry, rightfully so; they chose their side... your side. Now do not be angry at them," said Severus softly.
"You're right, I'm just being an idiot," said Harry sitting down beside them and looking at his little girl, awed beyond anything that he had brought her into the world.
"No, you are angry; that's alright, and you have a right to be, considering what she was part of. You have to focus your anger on her, not her sons," said Severus, lifting his hand and running it though Harry's now tamed hair. With the help of a potion, Harry's hair was growing for the first time in his life.
"Yeah," agreed Harry calming down, his irrational anger fading quickly.
"Who do you think they will pick to be Headmaster or mistress of Hogwarts?" asked Harry curiously.
"They don't pick, Harry, the wards are automatically transferred to someone else," stated Severus calmly.
"Really?" asked Harry wide eyed.
"Of course," said Severus smirking wryly.
"So it's someone at Hogwarts that's Headmaster or mistress now?" he asked, digesting this new piece of information.
"Not necessarily; it's powerful people who become Head of the school, someone that's equipped to handle the wards that come with the school. When Dippet died, they transferred to Dumbledore. I think the Black Headmaster was one of the few who wasn't at Hogwarts when it happened," replied Severus, imparting his knowledge to his husband.
"Cool," said Harry.
Severus smiled in amusement; it was easy to forget how young Harry was. With statements like that though, it came rushing back. It may be 'cool' as Harry put it, but to him it was just useless information ingrained into his mind. "Indeed," he finally replied, removing the empty bottle from his daughter's mouth, rubbing her back to help her get rid of the trapped wind that was in her little belly.
"He's not called yet," said Harry, laying himself comfortably on the bed, propping his head up using his shoulder and hand. Sev and Harry took turns feeding Rowena; it had been Severus' turn of course. Sometimes at night, Sev did it more than once, letting him sleep in. He might not be the most romantic man, but it was the small things he did that Harry appreciated.
"No, he hasn't. I told everyone the truth; he wasn't as predictable anymore. What you said makes sense; it is probably why he hasn't called anyone. It will take him a long time to get his magic back to normal, if he does at all," said Severus.
"If that is the case, what do we do?" asked Harry.
"We wait; it's as simple as that," replied Severus.
"I hate waiting," grumbled Harry.
"I know; do you want to go out? I can take you to Germany again," said Severus. The German market was absolutely staggering in size, bigger than both Hogsmeade and Diagon Ally put together. Harry had enjoyed himself there the last time. He couldn't blame his husband for feeling pigeonholed; he too felt it as well. Unfortunately he was more used to it; he hadn't been able to leave Hogwarts for years, after Voldemort's downfall.
"After he's gone," said Harry shaking his head.
"Very well," said Severus in agreement.
"You seen the Lunch edition of the Paper?" asked Crabbe coming through "Hogwarts has been closed early. It's saying they don't have a Headmaster yet, they suspect it might be McGonagall... but considering she's comatose, they don't think so."
"Strange, if she had the magic from Hogwarts…she would be awake. So who has been made Headmaster?" mused Severus thoughtfully.
"Why would she be awake?" asked Harry.
Crabbe looked at Severus in curiosity as well.
"The magic would have rejuvenated her, made her stronger magically and physically," stated Severus.
"Is that why Dumbledore lived so long?" asked Harry.
"Not necessarily. It made him stronger, yes, but wizards are known to live a long time," said Severus.
"It didn't help him yesterday," said Crabbe vindictively.
"No it didn't; Hogwarts let us do what needed to be done," said Severus. "Still, it's curious… Hogwarts should have chosen a Headmaster by now."
"How did it go?" asked Severus coming down the stairs, knowing the Weasleys were back.
"Alright; Dad knows what mum did to him," sighed Charlie wearily.
"He told you?" asked Severus surprised.
"Yes, just me and Charlie, but Fred and George were listening," said Bill.
"Someone came back for mum's funeral, or rather, two someones," said Fred.
Severus frowned in confusion before understanding lit his onyx eyes. "Ginevra?"
"Yes, and her son Graeme," said George.
"Is she staying?" asked Severus darkly. Ronald and Hermione were going to get what was coming to them. Unfortunately, Harry had helped Ginny, and obviously deemed her innocent in everything that had happened. In a way she was; unfortunately, she had been drugged into doing it.
"For now; she's realized how shaken dad is. I think they have something in common. They can both help each other out, get over what Molly did to them," said Charlie quietly.
"Unfortunately, she wouldn't be able to have any more children. She was forced to give an unbreakable oath not to have any other than Harry Potter's children or lose her magic," said Bill; that was something else Ginny had told them. Their little sister was gone; in her place was a mature young woman, a mother, who would actually do anything for her child. Even leave a world she had known all her life.
"She will cherish the one she has then," said Severus possessively. Ginny Weasley wouldn't be having any children with Harry. The only children Harry would have would be with him.
Bill and Charlie laughed in amusement, aware of what was probably going through Severus' mind. Everyone in Snape manor knew just how possessive he was; he had been possessive before Harry had joined them. He had hated sitting back and watching Harry please Dumbledore to no end. Of course the anger had been ten times worse, when he had found out Harry had been drugged to the gunnels for the past seven years. It had made things a little easier. A potion-induced Harry was easier to deal with. Get them out of him, and let him feel angry and betrayed, rather than just plain betrayed and willing to 'forgive' as Harry was known to do.
Now look at him, he was his own man and ready to take on the world. Charlie couldn't have been more proud of him, for how he had handled everything.
Edited by Jordre.