The sorting feast of 1992 appeared to be perfectly normal with both Colin Creevey and Luna Lovegood being sorted into Hufflepuff to the surprise of the headmaster, but then the entertainment portion of the ceremony began when the Sorting Hat was placed on the head of Ginevra Weasley. Mimicking her brother from the previous year, the youngest Weasley argued aloud with the Sorting Hat.
"Place me in Hufflepuff with Harry," the girl demanded with a voice that promised to equal her mother's bellows in the future.
"Shall we take a moment to look in your head?" inquired the sorting hat, speaking aloud like the girl. However, the hat's examination found little in the girl's head beyond imaginings of gowns and jewelry.
She argued against any placement but with 'Harry', saying, "No… put me in Hufflepuff! I'm going to marry Harry and I need to near him here at Hogwarts."
"Miss Weasley, it is many years until…"
"NO!" she shouted. "Put me in Hufflepuff!"
"You have no loyalty or willingness to work… You're not interested in knowledge, and you have the singular ambition to be Mrs. Boy-Who-Lived! None of the other houses…"
"Listen to me you dirty rag, put me in Hufflepuff or I'll make the elves use you to clean the chamber pots!"
Now losing his temper, the sorting hat announced for the entire hall to hear, "Hogwarts does not use chamber pots, Miss Weasley. Will someone in GRYFFINDOR make certain the girl knows to use the toilets instead of a pot?"
Throwing the hat onto the floor, the girl stomped on it before McGonagall rescued it with a spell, gave Ginny her first detention, and sent her to the Gryffindor table. There were snickers from many of the older students and embarrassment on the part of Percy Weasley. The twins thought their sister's temper tantrum hilarious, while Ron fussed, "I told you th' bloody hat wouldn't listen!"
"What's with the Weasleys and you, Harry?" asked Justin after they were safe behind the closed doors of their dormitory.
"They make me very uncomfortable," Harry admitted.
Neville shook his head in disbelief at the public display during the sorting. "Gran would punish me if I acted that way in public. Percy Weasley is the only one in the family who behaves like a proper pureblood."
Justin laughed and asked, "Who is worse: our Zach Smith, Slytherin's Draco Malfoy, or the Gryffindor duo of Ron and Ginevra Weasley?"
To sidestep all the comments and direct the conversation, Harry comment, "Next summer, you will have to visit more with Justin and me, Neville. We ran around the yard, played football, and swam in the pool, worked on lessons… His mum has a wonderful greenhouse!"
Beginning with the first potions lesson, Snape once again hurled abuse at Harry and Neville, disparaged Jason's potions as 'muddy', and threatened Susan and Hannah with detentions cleaning caustic cauldrons that would make all their hair fallout. The Ravenclaws who were paired with the Puffs for the class faithfully reported the abuses to their head of house, and Professor Flitwick joined with Professor Sprout in demanding changes in Professor Snape's demeanor. The protests were all ignored as Headmaster Dumbledore mumbled platitudes about trusting Snape and advising the other professors to ignore the complaints of children. Harry quickly began 'hiding' again from Professor Snape everywhere except in the potions classroom.
The first of November when Snape arrived at the Greenhouses for a supply of nettles and Amber Leaf, a necessary ingredient in the potions in demand for revitalizing hair follicles in elderly wizards and witches that Dumbledore had promised to Saint Mungo's, Professor Sprout met him with her wand drawn and informed the despicable man that his potion ingredients were delayed.
"My Puffs have been in your detentions so often, we have not been able to complete the process of harvest and drying the nettles."
"How long until…"
Sprout interrupted the wizard saying, "Christmas possibly or later if you continue to traumatize my students in your classes."
Glaring with threats and promises of pain in his eyes, Snape was surprised when the dowdy witch met him glare for glare.
"And the Amber Leaf… The plants certainly aren't thriving without the care and cheerful attitudes needed by the caregivers," she continued. "It may be March before they are mature."
"March! The order is for November!"
Shrugging Sprout said, "I suppose Albus can source the Amber Leaf from across the pond or Italy for a premium price. The French don't sell any to Britain since the ministry refused to deal with the Dark Lord's raids across the channel back in the seventies."
"Woman, you won't get away with this!"
"Whatever do you mean, Snape?" she asked innocently.
"This is blackmail! I won't bend to your will."
"Oh poo," she replied with a great deal of 'cheek' in her voice, imitating young Luna Lovegood. "I bet Professor Flitwick you would collapse at the mere suggestion that the potion ingredients weren't available for the potions to make galleons for the headmaster."
"Dumbledore will not stand for this!"
"Severus Snape, you created an environment where children and plants cannot thrive," she replied. "The headmaster must support me in this matter if he wants his galleons to buy those ghastly robes."
Harry, Neville and the other Puffs found the next class in potions to be quiet. Snape never spoke to anyone beyond telling them to create the potion on the blackboard. They returned to lessons with Madam Pomphrey in the infirmary, and her lessons on proper ingredient preparation and instructions on stirring properly guided the Puffs in their brewing. They created Acceptable or Exceeds Expectations classwork every week. Snape threatened to return to his old habits just once but Sprout delayed delivery of some seed pods for six hours forcing him to start over a long-brew potion, and the man was forced to behave.
In his ivory tower, Dumbledore frowned but had to concede to the demands by Sprout and Flitwick that the potions class not traumatize their students. The funds generated by potion sales provided Dumbledore with ready cash to spend on his robes, vacations, and any bribes he needed to pay to keep the minister and bureaucrats in line with his vision of the future.
'If only Potter were in Gryffindor,' he thought. 'Minerva would ignore everything, including bleeding sores and missing limbs if I told her to.'
PetrificationsIn early October, Harry was certain something was wrong at Hogwarts when he heard a voice in the walls talking about tearing and ripping people apart. He remembered the details of the little elf's confession back in summer and began to encourage his friends to remain in a large group everywhere they went. It surprised him that he considered most of the Puffs in his year to be 'friends' because he had not had any friends before last year. The petrification of a cat and messages written on the walls in the blood of Hagrid's roosters left the students and professors edgy though the headmaster ignored these events. Professor McGonagall blamed Peeves the Poltergeist but then no one could find the spirit anywhere in the castle. And the other ghosts were hiding as well.
In November, Colin Creevey was petrified, and his camera lens burned out. Just two weeks later, Justin was petrified when the girl's lavatory on the second floor flooded late in the evening. Harry was horrified that the classmate he'd begun to see as a 'brother' was frozen and seemed to be dead until Professor Sprout and Madam Pomphrey assured the boy that Justin was alive, just 'suspended' for a time. Madam Pomphrey showed Harry the recipe for the draught that would restore both petrified boys back to Hufflepuff. The only missing ingredient was the essence of mandrake, and unfortunately, it would be mature in the greenhouses until next June. With Neville's help, Harry looked up Mandrakes in their herbology textbook.
"Mandrakes are native to Macedonia in the Balkans," Harry reported after checking through his book of potion ingredients.
Neville nodded and said, "I know a greenhouse service in Greece that buys Holly Root from the Longbottom greenhouses. I can write and get the Longbottom business manager to order some essence of mandrake. I can bring it back to the castle after Christmas."
"Do you think Snape will brew the potion properly?" Harry asked, careful to not actually disparage the potions professor.
"Can you imagine what Professor Sprout will do to him if he doesn't? And what Madam Pomphrey would do if the potion isn't perfect?" Neville asked in reply.
Harry considered the situation and realized that there were adults who would help Justin and Colin. Professor Sprout did take her responsibilities for the students in her house seriously and Madam Pomphrey gave everyone equal care in the infirmary.
Dumbledore ignored the angry letters from Mr. Finch-Fletchley about getting the potion to return his son to normal. Then Gringotts sent an inquiry that Dumbledore ignored but knew he would have to respond to the goblins in the New Year. Without Justin in the dorm room for the next few weeks, Neville and Harry spoke of their childhoods, horrible relatives, and keeping an eye on all the adults in the room. Each professor who cared about such things had noted the two boys always sat with their backs against the wall in the back of the classroom, even if that meant they were separated from the other children. They always sat with their backs to the Ravenclaws at the Hufflepuff table and never turned their backs on the Gryffindor students.
"Neville, I am going to walk about tonight. There's plenty of time before curfew," Harry said one evening. Even without his cloak of invisibility, it was very hard for anyone to 'see' Harry when he wanted to not be noticed.
Not looking at Harry, the other boy replied, "I'll set the pillows to look like you're in the bed. The prefects never use spells to take headcount."
"Thanks, Neville," Harry said as he threw his shimmering cloak over his head and vanished. No one mentioned the opening and closing door leading out of the Hufflepuff dormitories without a student present.
In the dorm for first year girls, Luna Lovegood looked up from her homework and glanced around. The girls in Hufflepuff were welcoming and indulged her stories about animals that were unseen by others. Being around Harry Potter and his friends had the benefit of deflecting the nargles who would have stolen her shoes and cloths.
'Much nicer than Ravenclaw…' she acknowledged to herself. 'And when Colin and Justin return, things will be even better. But be careful tonight, Harry!'
Harry had not shared with anyone except for Justin about the voices he heard in the walls and after the boys were petrified, he did not tell Neville or other students. He wasn't ready or able to tell an adult. The voice had become more frequent in the two weeks since Justin was petrified, and Harry was determined to discover what was climbing through the walls.
Tonight, he walked to the second-floor lavatory and studied the floors. He found a trail of water and scales leading up into the higher floors of the castle, toward the stairs leading toward the Ravenclaw tower and the Gryffindor towers. He knew his feet were silent so long as he was under the cloak so he ran toward the stairs to find them locked in place away from the higher floors – he would be unable to climb higher in the castle. Listening carefully, he could hear nothing from the higher floors, so he walked back to the second floor and waited in an alcove.
After an hour, he heard two voices hissing as they approached from where the stairs had been locked in place.
{The yellow hair tasted bad!} the deeper voice said.
The second voice, a young man replied, {You did well! He was a nasty wizard, so it is better that he is gone.}
Harry watched as a girl he recognized as Ginny Weasley led a giant snake into the bathroom and opened a passageway in the middle of stone sink for the creature to crawl through.
{I may come tomorrow or wait two days,} the young man's voice told the snake.
Watching silently, Harry saw the girl wave her hand and hiss {Close}.
As the sink closed the passageway, Ginny Weasley closed a black book in her hands and sat on the wet floor. A moment later she began crying and stumbling back toward the stairs. He followed and watched her climb the stairs toward Gryffindor. Then he returned to the lavatory and removed the cloak to examine the sink closely–there were three snakes carved on the wall behind the sink. And the stone carvings hissed at Harry.
Throwing the cloak back over his head, Harry ran the whole way back to the Puff door, tickled the pear and made certain the door closed behind him. He made his way to his dorm and slipped inside; Neville was asleep and once the cloak was safely hidden in his trunk once again, Harry climbed into his bed and curled up under the blankets, though sleep was a long time in coming that night.
Deaths and DisappearancesDuring lunch the next day, Harry learned that Professor Lockhart was missing. He had not appeared at breakfast and the students in his first class were left without instruction in the classroom. Dumbledore and McGonagall did not search for the professor until he missed the second class, but no one, not even the house elves could locate the man. His many clothes, wigs and personal care products were properly stored in his apartment along with several animated portraits but none of them revealed any clue as to the professor's location. Later in the greenhouse, Harry overheard a conversation between Sprout and Flitwick.
"Gilderoy did a runner… that's the only explanation," Flitwick announced.
"But why? And why leave all his belongings? He couldn't go a day without his hair care products!" Pomona argued.
"Do his portraits know anything?"
"They are not real portraits with a piece of his soul," Sprout replied. "They are just animated paintings that can say two phrases when Lockhart asked a key question."
In his mind, Harry debated what he should do–go to professor Sprout and tell her about the beast and Ginny Weasley? Write a letter to Professor McGonagall about Ginny's black book? Adults in his life–his aunt and uncle, and the teachers are primary school never helped Harry. Eleven years of bad experiences were difficult to overcome by a few, new role models.
Harry sat in the Hufflepuff common room with Neville after supper and worked on the final draft of a paper on the proper steps to transfigure an inanimate object into a plant. Living creatures were harder to completely transfigure and they always reverted to the original object within an hour unless the wizard knew about anatomy and internal organs. Neville and Harry hoped to become experts on certain important plants so they could transfigure rocks or twigs into true flowers or herbs by the end of their third year.
"Hey Luna," Neville said as the pretty girl stepped closer to the two boys.
"Good evening, Neville," she replied. Then she turned to the other boy and said, "Harry, there's no right answer. Your decision is the correct one… whatever you decide."
Harry stared at the girl and then nodded his head. "Thanks Luna."
That night, Harry did not venture out into the halls of the castle and went to bed early. The next morning, the Puffs were confined to their dormitory until after lunch. There were no classes, and in the afternoon, a few seventh-year boys ventured out to the Great Hall and the library. They returned quickly with terrible news. Some of the students from Ravenclaw died the night before; they were returning from the library with Penelope Clearwater, a sixth-year prefect, when something killed them at the top of the stairs, just outside their dormitory.
Among the dead with Clearwater, were three muggleborn witches and two half-blood wizards. Dumbledore attempted to hide this tragedy for a few hours to give himself time to fabricate an explanation but Professor Flitwick defied Dumbledore and contacted his relatives in Gringotts who notified the families and Aurors before lunch. By late afternoon, half of the students had been pulled from the school by their parents, and Dumbledore threatened Flitwick with termination of his contract. As Professor Sprout dealt with several hysterical students, Aurors roamed the halls, and parents continued to arrive and withdraw their children from Hogwarts. Pomphrey borrowed Harry and Neville (using the floo system) and had both boys preparing ingredients for calming potions. At five, Lady Longbottom's head appeared in the floo in the infirmary and demanded Neville come through immediately. She refused to allow him to remain until the ingredients were finished.
"Can Harry come with me?" he asked.
"Who?" his grandmother asked, her tone impatient and sharp.
"My friend, Harry Potter."
"Of course not!" Lady Longbottom replied. "His mother was entirely too muddy for you to associate with him! Lord Smith has been telling me all about him and his poverty."
She grimaced, "I should have known you'd never be as good as your father in Gryffindor! Now stop arguing and come through the floo."
Once Neville was gone, Harry and Madam Pomphrey continued with the brewing and about midnight, they were finished filling the potion bottles. Earlier at nine, Professor Sprout called through the floo to verify that Harry and Neville were still in the infirmary.
"Lady Longbottom called Neville through the floo and took him home about five," Pomphrey told Sprout.
"And she wouldn't take Harry?" asked Sprout. She had hoped to call on Lady Longbottom to house both Potter and Lovegood until the crisis was resolved.
"No." Pomphrey's voice was low, but Harry heard her, nonetheless.
In a separate room off the main area of the infirmary, Harry was given a bed to sleep though he barely closed his eyes the whole of the night. He noticed that Madam Pomphrey rose every hour to check the doors to the infirmary. House elves popped in for calming potions regularly to deliver to the students and faculty still present in Hogwarts. The castle resumed classes the next day after Dumbledore made a big production of casting multiple protection spells, new wards, and locking the staircases in place so students would always be able to flee to another level. But there were fewer than a dozen students left in the school, so the professors let them study special assignments and kept them in their dormitories. Following Dumbledore's announcements, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley left their five children at Hogwarts in the Gryffindor dorm.
When night came again, Luna Lovegood drug Harry from his room to the Puff's common room; her father was on an expedition to Australia searching for new and exotic magical creatures, so she had remained at the school. Harry was prepared to roam the halls again underneath his cloak of invisibility but did not want to involve Luna. Before he could say anything, she informed him, "We are going to study here until very late tonight. I may not see you for a couple hours because I love to take cat naps. Did you know that when cats sleep, their minds travel to another dimension where they are renowned art critics for painting and sculpting on Tuesdays?"
"No, I didn't know," Harry replied lightheartedly. Luna's stories were always entertaining.
"Perhaps I shall find my way there tonight and discover what all the fuss is about. That will explain why cats like to sleep so much."
Harry grinned, something that did not occur often. "You should ask Professor McGonagall if she dreams of wandering through art museums when she sleeps at night."
Now Luna giggled and nodded before she turned her head to her textbooks as Harry flipped his cloak over his head, and then slipped from the common room. He returned to the alcove on the second floor and waited silently for an hour.
Eventually he heard footsteps approaching, carefully and slowly. When the door to the lavatory opened, from the opposite direction, a man's voice called out, "Who goes there! Stop!"
Harry scrunched down as spells were thrown back and forth between the girl and the adult. Before the man could subdue Ginny Weasley, she cast the unforgiveable Avada Kedavra and killed him. Seeing the green light of the spell triggered strange memories in Harry from a night long ago. He froze in terror and tried not to breathe as the girl cursed in the young man's voice once again.
{The girl's too young for powerful spells. I've got to be careful and not kill her just yet,} the voice of the young man hissed. The young girl's magical core was almost drained from casting spells against the Auror, but 'she' managed to levitate the body of the Auror in his red uniform into the bathroom. Then in the young man's voice, Ginny Weasley hissed, {Open}.
The sink fell inward, opening into the earth underneath the castle. Then Weasley levitated the body into the hole and let it drop, but before she could jump inside, Harry cast the spell stupefy and Ginevra Weasley collapsed on the floor. Hurrying forward, Harry took the black book from the girl's hand as well as her wand. He heard hissing from down in the shaft underneath the sink, so he hurled the book and wand into the darkness. Then he took one step back and hissed {Close}.
Staring at the sink for a minute, Harry was inspired: he pulled out his pruning shears and used one of the sharp ends and his magic to alter the three carvings of snakes by adding legs, horns, antlers, fur, and wings. When the three carvings no longer resembled 'snakes' in any way, he tried opening the sink by hissing {Open}.
Nothing happened.
{Open!} he commanded and again, nothing happened. Turning from the sink, Harry checked that the hallway remained deserted before he levitated the unconscious girl toward the infirmary. Once at the door, he propped the girl against the door, and banged on it loudly for several seconds before slipping back underneath his cloak. When Madam Pomphrey opened the door, Ginny Weasley fell inward and was quickly levitated toward one of the beds.
Leaving the doors to the infirmary and dodging around two Aurors running through the halls, Harry made his way back to the Hufflepuff dormitory and found Luna asleep at the study desk. He removed his cloak, shoved it into his book bag, and then called for an elf to bring them some hot chocolate.
"Luna," he said gently, shaking her shoulder while Dobby set the cups on the desk and then disappeared. The Malfoy elf always checked on Mr. Harry Potters once or twice each day.
"Harry, it's the most amazing thing," the girl replied as she rubbed her eyes. "I discovered that cats are fascinating conversationalists in an art museum, but they lose all decorum at a restaurant when the waiter brings a saucer of cream to the table."
"Did you sleep long?" he asked.
"I don't know… You finished your essay of the use of Gillyweed to help deal with lung congestion just as I fell asleep."
"I did?" he asked, surprised and glanced at the papers with his books. There was parchment with the essay in his handwriting just as Luna described.
Coming down the hallway from the boy's dorm rooms, Professor Sprout was obviously relieved when she said, "There you two are. You both hide so well in normal days, but I was worried when I could not find you tonight."
"We knew it would be hard to sleep tonight so we decided to work late," Luna explained. "Harry is good company and helped me with transfiguration and he wrote that report about Gillyweed that Madam Pomphrey wanted."
"Well, it is past one in the morning, so you two head to your beds and we will face tomorrow morning when it gets here," Sprout instructed her two Puffs.
Yelling and ScreamingThe students were required to gather in the Great Hall for breakfast the next day and there were tears flowing from the four Weasley brothers and their parents. Though Madam Pomphrey was reluctant to discuss a patient's condition in front of a crowd, Mrs. Weasley demanded to know what was wrong with her daughter.
Grimacing, the mediwitch explained, "Ginevra has suffered from exposure to powerful dark magic for several months. Her magical core is affected, and we must make certain she has the appropriate rest and exercises to repair it."
"Dark magic! What dark magic!" screamed Mrs. Weasley. "We are all light wizards in our family!"
Harry noticed that Mr. Weasley attempted to comfort his wife, but he did not try to calm her outbursts or to move the family to a more private setting. Dumbledore inserted his foot into the door at that point saying, "Hogwarts is the safest place in all of Britain. She can recover here for the remainder of the school year."
"Safest place, you say?" commented one of the Aurors, a man with a terribly scarred face, an artificial eye, and a peg leg. "Right now, the Aurors were tearing the castle apart, looking for one of our own. Auror First Class Stepford vanished without a trace last night!"
Again, Harry watched closely, and he noticed the man's attention moved over everyone in the room even though he was speaking to the headmaster and a stern woman wearing a monocle.
"Moody, did you find any sign of the wards failing?" this woman asked.
Motioning toward Dumbledore, the Auror replied, "He won't let me look at 'em. Says that everything is fine."
"Fine?" asked Director Bones. "Two people disappear, a first-year student has been contaminated by Dark Magic while here at Hogwarts, and he says everything is 'fine'?"
Sprout and Flitwick exchanged glances before Pomona spoke up, "And two of my Puffs are petrified. They are in the infirmary."
"What?" Bones shouted. "Petrified?"
The shouting grew in intensity for the few minutes as Dumbledore argued with Madam Bones and then was attacked by Mrs. Weasley when he continued to decline to allow anyone to examine the wards for clues about the Dark Magic that affected her daughter, or for clues about the missing professor and Auror.
Watching the adults closely for a minute, Luna asked to hold Harry's wand for a moment before handing it back without another word. In a surprising move, Madam Bones demanded to examine the wands of every person in the castle–with just a dozen children and the few adults present, it did not take long. Nervously, Harry watched the woman check his wand and hand it back asking, "Why so many cutting charms?"
"We were making calming potions in the infirmary. You can use magic to cut up the puffer mushrooms without affecting their magic in the potion."
Nodding her head in agreement, she moved on to Luna's wand.
"Luna…" Harry began to ask a question.
"Your wand didn't cast any spells after you worked in the infirmary the other night," the girl replied. Harry nodded and fell silent, just as the real excitement began when Dumbledore declined to allow the lady to examine his wand.
"I am not under suspicion, surely?" he demanded.
"Dumbledore, everyone else has cooperated," she reminded him.
"And the man who won't cooperate is the first suspect!" Auror Moody said as he moved on the opposite side of the headmaster from Madam Bones. Harry noticed that every Auror had drawn their wand while Madam Bones ordered the professors to put their wands away and back up.
"Luna get down underneath this table," Harry suggested, and just as the two Puffs ducked under the table, spells flew in the Great Hall for a few seconds. When Harry poked his head above the table, he saw Dumbledore and Snape on the floor, bound in ropes conjured by Auror Moody. Another Auror woke up Director Bones, and all the professors were seated with Aurors holding onto their wands. He glanced at the Gryffindor table and found the Weasley family gathered around one of their members on the floor and Madam Pomphrey administering first aid.
"Mr. Weasley hit his head pretty hard when he leaped in front of Dumbledore's spell that was aimed at Mrs. Weasley," the Auror told the mediwitch.
"He needs to go to Saint Mungo's now," she replied as she conjured a stretcher and levitated him from the Great Hall. "We'll have to get outside the gates before I can apparate him."
"No! What are you doing?" Mrs. Weasley demanded with a bellow.
"Mr. Weasley must go to Saint Mungo's, Mrs. Weasley and we must go immediately!"
"Mother, Madam Pomphrey knows what she is doing," Percy said. "We can find a floo that's open and follow without any problem."
Frowning as her husband was floated out the front door, Mrs. Weasley followed her four sons toward the nearest professor's office with a floo. "But what about Ginny? What about my daughter?"
Torn between her husband and her daughter, Mrs. Weasley decided that Percy should stay at Hogwarts and speak to his sister when she awoke. When Dumbledore and Snape were revived and their wands examined, Director Bones sneered and stated, "Nothing here of any concern until you assaulted Aurors. That'll be a couple years in Azkaban for both of you!"
"Amelia, you know the Wizengamot won't convict me, and I shall state vehemently that Professor Snape was merely defending me here in the center of Hogwarts where I never expected to be attacked by Aurors! What kind of headline will that make? How will it affect your budget for next year?"
Harry listened quietly as Headmaster Dumbledore blackmailed Director Bones about funding for her department next year. He had learned from Luna how to gaze at the distance while soaking up every piece of information in a room.
Scowling at Dumbledore who smile serenely as if he did not have a care in the world, Auror Moody released the ropes around both men but no one moved to return their wands. At just that moment, there was a tremor in the castle as if there was a tremendous explosion underneath the floor. There followed loud cracking noises as the divination tower tilted to one side but remained upright. Expensive magic would have to be applied to strengthen and straighten that tower once more.
"Sybil!" Dumbledore shouted as he hurried from the room followed by the Aurors. The other professors drew their wands and Professor Sprout lead the remaining students out of the castle until it was determined to be safe to return.
Severus Snape muttered loud enough for everyone to hear, "This is all Potter's fault! I know it! Or Longbottom! That imbecile did this!"
In the Hufflepuff dormitory that evening, Harry asked Luna about the stupefy spell missing from his wand. She replied that if he used parsel tongue to cast the spell, it wouldn't appear on his wand as a spell being cast. And she explained how any young witch without nargles infecting their brain should be able to change the registry on their wand.
"The ministry's trace on wands is a minor inconvenience," she explained as she showed her friend how to remove all the regular spells as well.
Meanwhile Underneath the CastleIf anyone had all the bits of information, they might have postulated that the dark magic in the possessed book that tormented the mind of Ginevra Weasley for the last three months had been destroyed. The destruction of one of Dark Lord Tom Riddle's soul jars was accomplished by the indigestion it created in the stomach of the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets.
The previous night, when the sink had opened, the basilisk began climbing the walls of the chamber to access the castle again when it felt a body falling toward it. The beast opened its great mouth and swallowed the corpse whole. Pausing in the climb to push this second meal further into its gullet, it felt something small falling and opened its mouth once again to catch a book and a wand, neither of which satisfied the appetite of the basilisk. Then the light of the opening vanished, and the basilisk hissed in anger before retreating into the chamber.
In the diary horcrux, the spirit of Tom Riddle attempted to possess the basilisk. The basilisk was composed of magic and did not possess any soul that the soul fragment could latch upon. Twisting about to settle the bodies of Lockhart and the Auror and allow its caustic stomach acids to dissolve them away, the black book and magical wand were subject to the same substances. The wand's magic and the horcrux's protections reacted badly to the stomach acids and exploded, along with the twenty-meter monster. The chamber was destroyed, and the vibrations cracked enough of the foundations of the castle to tilt the divination tower to one side.
In the week following the disappearances and the explosion, no one ever found a trace of the missing Auror or Professor Lockhart. Ginevra Weasley remained catatonic for several days before awakening and not remembering who she was. After one day of yelling at Dumbledore by Mrs. Weasley, the girl was sent to Saint Mungo's for a week and then sent home to her parents to recover.
"She can begin Hogwarts again next year," a healer at the hospital told Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. "The best cure for Miss Weasley is to spend a quiet year at home with her parents. The familiar surroundings of her bedroom, and your love and care will repair all the damage."
The crack in the foundations of Hogwarts destroyed a small portion of the castle including the girl's lavatory on the second floor. The divination tower was abandoned for several months as wizards and goblins worked to strengthen the stone and prevent the collapse of that structure. And once the new year arrived, Hogwarts reopened with about half of the students returning.
With the other students, Neville returned to Hogwarts with the mandrake ingredients for the draught to restore Colin and Justin. It took only two days for Professor Snape to brew the draught and even though the potions master was tempted to delay or botch the brewing, Dumbledore preempted the man's plans when the headmaster explained the importance of some good press in The Daily Prophet with 'restoring Hogwarts'.
Everyone in the Hufflepuff dorms celebrated when Colin and Justin returned. In the winter term, Luna, Colin and Justin joined Harry and Neville to help with Professor Sprout in the greenhouses to tend to the plants, harvest leaves, sap, and seed pods to sell as potion ingredients to fund purchase of food for the students. Dumbledore appeared to mourn the loss of the professor and Auror while he really mourned the loss new robes until after the repairs were completed for the castle.
The Daily Prophet reported the terrible news of the disappearances and the collapse of the divination tower. Professor Dumbledore spent many days at the Ministry for Magic trying to blunt inquiries into his role as headmaster in these disasters. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were paid a sum of galleons for their pain and suffering with the injury of their daughter, Madam Bones kept her budget for the next year, and Hogwarts appeared to be recovering from the damage to its reputation very quickly.
"Neville how can wizards and witches believe Hogwarts is 'safe' already?" asked Justin. "Nothing here has really changed."
The quiet boy shrugged and explained, "There's only one source of news and the wizards are so busy with their lives, they believe what they're told. At least, that's what my grandmother tells me when I ask the same questions."
In his close observations of the students in Hufflepuff, the professors, and the other students at Hogwarts, Harry Potter he found they often chose to be blind to certain facts. Luna counseled him to keep his observations to himself and to be kind to Neville.
Snape Before BeltaneAs spring drew closer, Professor Sprout delivered most of the potion ingredients required to finish the year's brewing. Many more of the Slytherin students returned to the school as their parents tired of them being at home and disrupting their daily activities. These developments encouraged Professor Snape to revert to his previous behavior and berate Harry and Neville in each class again. In the halls between classes, Draco Malfoy sought out both Puffs and when he could find them, he lashed them with insults, and charms to trip their feet. The boy failed to notice that someone unseen made certain to trip his step, leave blotches of old food on his robes, and cause his hair to fly off in every direction once he left the dorm.
One evening, in a deserted hallway, Harry, Neville and Justin cornered Draco and his two protective goons. The two muscle boys were soon on the floor in pain as Justin and Harry put their muggle upbringing to use, and then Harry knocked the boy Draco against the wall, and raised his fist, prepared to strike him while demanding to know why the Slytherin continued to make the Puffs miserable each day. Seeing that Potter was prepared to punch him in the face, the coward confessed, "Snape told me to. I get house points for every insult, every tear you shed."
"House points? Who cares about the house cup?" Harry sneered.
Feeling braver for a moment because of his 'superiority' Draco replied, "Then I do it because you are mudbloods–no better than mudbloods. Your mother was a mudblood whore, Potter, and Neville's parents are morons lying in the Janus Thackery ward at Saint Mungo's. The whole of Hogwarts will be better when both of you join them there!"
Neville stared at the white-haired boy with horror–he knew about Neville's parents. Harry was disgusted at the boy's words and shoved him away. Turning to his friends, he said, "Come on Neville… Justin. Let's go back to the common room. I'm sure we can get hot chocolate there."
Seeing the mudbloods turn their back on him and walk away as if they did not fear him, Draco pulled his wand and contemplated which spells to throw at him. But suddenly, the Malfoy heir felt very sleepy while still compelled to get to his feet and stumble along the halls. It was close to curfew and few students were in the halls, and Draco paid no attention to Crabbe and Goyle who followed along. Exhausted, the boy with the white hair found a comfortable spot and curled up to sleep. A bottle of fire whiskey appeared, and an invisible hand sprinkled some of the liquid on each boy's robes.
Irritated that three of his young snakes were out of the dorms past curfew, Severus Snape spent an hour searching for Draco Malfoy and his 'goons'. Finally, Snape called a house elf who agreed to look for the boys and popped away. Less than a minute later, the Hogwarts elf returned and informed Professors Potions, "Missing Snake Boys be sleeping under the gargoyle that guarded the office of Old Whiskers."
Without thinking to ask the elf to bring the boy back to the dorms, Snape hurried there and found Draco sleeping across the gargoyle's back, a position that appeared to be very uncomfortable, while Goyle and Crabbe were sprawled on the floor.
"Draco! Draco, wake up!" he commanded. The boy jerked awake, tried to sit up and fell over the side of the statue onto Goyle, who lay floor, almost a meter below.
"Where am I? What happened?" asked the confused Slytherin. Snape leaned closer to the boy and caught the smell of fire-whiskey on the clothing of all three boys.
"Where did you get fire-whiskey? How dare you drink spirits? You are thirteen! And on a Tuesday night you wander about Hogwarts like common Gryffindors while inebriated!" Snape fussed. His plans for quiet night were totally disrupted by Draco's thoughtlessness.
"What no… It was Potter!" insisted the second year Slytherin.
"Potter gave you fire-whiskey?"
"No, I am not drunk! Potter threatened to beat me up for pestering him and Longbottom," Draco whined.
"I told you to be Slytherin with your pranks and insinuations about his character, but I see that you are incapable of being careful or planning!" Snape said. "We must make Potter so miserable he will jump off the astronomy tower before the end of third year and I shall have my revenge on James Potter!"
Realizing what he had just said aloud, Snape obliviated the memory from Crabbe and Goyle while Malfoy said nothing. Then Snape asked, "Can you walk back to the dormitory?"
"Yes…" Draco said as he rose to his feet, a bit shaky but otherwise capable of walking.
"We shall speak of this tomorrow… There will be detention for drinking, being out after curfew, and for attempting to blame your problems on another student!"
"But Potter!"
"Twenty points from Slytherin!" Snape growled. "And it will be your responsibility to explain to the other students how you lost the first points from our house this year!"
As Draco, Goyle and Crabbe stumbled after Professor Snape, in the shadows along the hallway, a little house elf named Dobby giggled and sent the half-empty bottle of fire whiskey back to Professor McGonagall's private liquor cabinet. He whispered, "It be fun protecting Mr. Harry Potters…"
Then thinking about Professor Potions plans to drive the elf's Mr. Harry Potter to jump from the top of the Astronomy Tower, Dobby began considering ways to push the evil wizard from the top of the tower before the man could harm his Harry.
After Harry and his friends reached the Hufflepuff dormitory, Neville retreated to their room. Harry brought him a cup of hot chocolate, but Neville sat in the room and stared at the wall. When Justin joined them, Longbottom explained to his roommates how his parents had been tortured and were now catatonic. "Gran thinks they don't know me or anyone. But they smile when they see me, and they hold hands all the time."
With great care, the Puffs rallied around Neville and brought him out of his shell before the end of March. Harry noted the Professor Sprout looked sad several days after getting mail from Lady Longbottom, while Neville refused to even watch the postal owls in the mornings.
One afternoon, after making certain Mr. Harry Potter, Mr. Neville, and Mr. Justin were safely in the greenhouses with Professor Sprout, Dobby saw Draco and his two enforcers sauntering toward the library, and when they stopped to allow Draco to speak with Daphne Greengrass and Patsy Parkinson, Dobby waited in a dark corner and cast an eavesdrop spell he had learned from Miss Luna Loveisgood.
"Have your parents informed you that you're coming to Malfoy Manor for the Beltane celebrations this year?" Draco asked the two girls. "My father insisted and of course, Old Dumbledore agreed to allow everyone to return home for the observance on Saturday night."
"My family has other…" Daphne attempted to say but Draco ignored her.
The pompous Slytherin continued, saying, "Of course, we will have the best of everything for our guests; food, entertainment, dancing, and drinks."
"It sounds lovely…" Patsy offered but again Draco cut her off.
"In fact, Professor Snape is going to brew a special potion to be the added to the punch. It is the Strengthen Potion that we've been talking about in class."
"Didn't Professor Snape say the potion was dangerous because of the Foxglove…"
"Greengrass, you must listen when I am speaking and not interrupt me!" Draco declared and the girl frowned dangerously but said nothing else. Patsy Parkinson continued her rapt attention as Draco continued to prattle on for several more minutes, but Dobby popped away silently.
That night, Dobby waited until the boys were sound asleep before he borrowed Mr. Harry Potter's book on potion ingredients and then consulted Mr. Neville's books on different plants. In the next two weeks, the elf paid a particular attention to the Foxglove plants and added some dried and crushed seed pods from other poisonous plants to the soil around the two dozen plants. Every morning, while the dew was still on the leaves, the elf sprinkled small amounts of crushed seed pods onto the leaves, watching the dew evaporate as the leaves absorbed the magical ingredients.
When Professor Sprout mentioned to Harry and Neville that Professor Snape is coming to gather leaves from the Foxglove bed the next day, she intended for them to avoid the cantankerous professor. Overhearing the conversation, Dobby made certain to take up his position as guard even earlier in the morning to protect the two boys who were working in another greenhouse. When Snape arrived, he carefully selected twelve leaves from the beautiful plants that were full of blooms. Then just to be unpleasant, Severus Snape drew his wand and cast charms that cut every Foxglove off at their base. The whole bed was ruined, and it would take two months to grow new plants. Severus Snape was angry about the past year…angry about his entire life…the potions professor walked away and left the harvest basket behind with the twelve leaves.
"Professor Snape did what?" asked Professor Sprout when she arrived after breakfast.
"He harvested the leaves he needed, destroyed the rest of the plants by cutting them off, then walked away and left his harvest basket behind," Neville said nervously.
"We were hiding in Greenhouse #2 and we saw him cut off the leaves he needed but then he used his wand and chopped off every plant," Harry said to support Neville.
Sighing, Professor Sprout set the basket with the leaves to one side and directed the students to collect and then spread the mangled Foxglove plants on the drying tables. Using a cutting charm impacted the magic of this plant and she had to make haste to get the leaves, flowers and stalks dried for the few potions that could use the damaged parts. When Snape reappeared, Pomona decided to save the fight for another day when they were before the rest of the staff and the headmaster. She bemoaned his requirement for so much Rosemary next week as she handed the wizard the harvest basket.
'Mother Magic, that is an evil wizard,' she swore under her breath as he vanished once again from her greenhouse.
Later that night, Dobby banished the entire drying table of Foxglove and the soil he had contaminated with poison. The elf replaced the dirt with new soil. When Professor Sprout asked about the missing plants, Harry jumped in and explained, "We decided that the plants were contaminated because they lay on the dirt for almost an hour before we gathered them. And we didn't wash them before…"
Waving away the boy's explanation, Sprout said, "They weren't worth much anyway because Snape used a cutting charm instead of a good steel knife. Who can tell me six other plants that are adversely affected by being cut with a charm rather than a pair of clippers or a knife?"
Neville and Harry exchanged glances but then gave Professor Sprout their attention.
Beltane CelebrationSeverus Snape was furious! The headmaster knew he was invited to attend the Beltane Celebrations at Malfoy Manor for the evening–many of the important figures in Magical Britain would be at the celebration including the minister, his primary flunkies, and most of the 'reformed' Death Eaters who escaped conviction in 1981. However, the headmaster insisted on meeting that lasted for two hours first discussing the remaining weeks of the school year, and then reviewing Snape's observations of Harry Potter.
Finally deciding that he had inconvenienced Snape enough to make his late arrival now appear as simple rudeness rather than fashion, Albus permitted his 'spy' to depart. Walking quickly beyond the gates of Hogwarts, Severus took a calming breath; he had no intention of splinching himself when he appeared at Malfoy Manor. With a turn of his foot and a wave of his wand, Severus Snape apparated instantly from the quiet of Hogwarts into a madhouse in Wiltshire.
There were Aurors and Healers running between the dining hall and ballroom, shouting at each other and levitating stretchers toward the floo that would take them to Saint Mungo's. There were bodies on the floor of the entry hall, many already covered with sheets. Snape turned to ask an Auror what happened when Lucius Malfoy, foaming at the mouth, staggered out of the ballroom, pointed at Severus and gurgled, "He poisoned us! He made the strengthen potion we put in the punch tonight!"
Then Malfoy died and an Auror stunned Severus Snape. He awoke the next morning in a DMLE holding cell at the Ministry, stripped of his robes, wand, portkeys, and other valuables. He was dressed in a bright blue DMLE prisoner coverall with paper slippers on his feet. He was also shackled at neck, wrists, waist, and ankles so that he could not stand up straight. An Auror placed a copy of the Daily Prophet on a table outside his cell and turned the page every ten minutes to allow him to read about the number of dead at Malfoy Manor.
None of the lawyers on retainer with the ministry would take his case so one of the senior Aurors was appointed to be his defense counselor. The man met with Snape through the bars of his cell, and simply advised him to plead guilty and beg for the mercy of a quick death through the veil.
Dumbledore did not come to visit nor respond to Severus's letters. Angry to be deserted, Severus asked to speak with Director Bones and confessed all of Dumbledore's sins to the woman; at least, he confessed the ones he knew.
Snape's TrialThe full Wizengamot sat in judgement of the wizard chained to the chair before them. Madam Bones presented the evidence–potion vials from Hogwarts, the memory of Lucius Malfoy's dying declaration, and correspondence from Severus Snape found in Lucius Malfoy's private study describing the benefits of the potion he would brew to be shared with the guests for the Beltane Celebrations at Malfoy Manor.
Director of the DMLE, Amelia Bones presented the evidence in the Crown's Case against Severus Snape by stating, "In your own hand, the letter reads, 'The strengthen potion will make everyone's heart, lungs, and minds stronger. This will benefit each person's magical core in the coming year.' And it goes on to list the ingredients used including Foxglove, a known poisonous plant."
After folding the letter and placing it back inside a secure envelope, she asked, "Why did you use Foxglove in the potion?"
"The potion requires the infusion of a dozen fresh leaves of Foxglove. The other ingredients counteract the potential harmful effects of the leaves," Snape replied harshly, as though explaining how to fill a cauldron with water.
"Apparently not in this case," she said.
"No," Severus argued. "I prepared the potion exactly as the books describe. I have made this potion many times before."
"So, you are an expert at brewing this potion to strengthen a wizard's heart, lungs and mind?"
"Of course, I am! The ingredients came from the Hogwarts greenhouses and my own stores."
"Why did you delay your arrival to Malfoy Manor until after witches and wizards had already begun to die? The entire party was poisoned before you even appeared!"
"Headmaster Dumbledore delayed my departure with a discussion of the schedule for upcoming exams."
"So late that everyone was poisoned? And you admit brewing this potion yourself! I submit the conclusion that you must have brewed this particular potion with the poison intentionally!"
Snape's face froze; he had argued himself into a conviction. The Wizengamot deliberated only five minutes before they convicted Severus Snape of the poisoning of thirty-four wizards and witches, including his own godson, the Malfoy couple, the Minister for Magic, and several government officials. The dead included many individuals who escaped conviction of being Death Eaters back in 1981.
From his throne, situated high above the floor where Severus was chained to the chair, Albus Dumbledore sighed and began his argument for leniency. He would lose Snape for a time because of this unfortunate accident but when the Dark Lord returned, he would convince Cornelius… whoever was minister… to release his spy from Azkaban for service against the Dark Lord. At the end of the chief warlock's speech, Lady Longbottom cackled and caught everyone's attention, including the defendant.
"Dumbledore, you have professed for the last twelve years that Snape has your complete trust. You believe he spied for you in the Death Eater insurrection," she announced for everyone in the chamber to hear. "And now, you would have us condemn the man to spend the rest of his life being tortured by Dementors, rather than a quick death through the veil."
She turned to Snape and asked, "Tell me Death Eater, which do you prefer? For your crimes of murdering all those 'upstanding members of our society', do you want to spend the next hundred years languishing in a cell with your worst nightmares brought to the forefront of your mind continuously, or do you want the instant death provided by the veil."
Without hesitation, Snape replied, "I choose the veil."
Albus Dumbledore continued to argue for life in prison, but the other members of the Wizengamot granted with the criminal's decision.
As he waited for the Aurors to take him to the veil, Severus Snape reviewed brewing the potion, preparing the ingredients, and gathering the leaves of the Foxglove plants. He had been angry that morning and had to make a second trip to the greenhouses when he left the leaves behind earlier. He had selected the leaves he needed and clipped them off, placed them into a harvest basket, and used his wand to cut through every stalk of the flowering plant in the raised bed. Smirking at Longbottom and Potter standing in the other greenhouse, he'd turned and stalked away leaving the leaves behind. When he appeared in the greenhouse for the second time in one morning, Sprout and her students were busy spreading the Foxglove cuttings on drying tables and packaging other potion ingredients.
The potion's professor was caught off guard when Sprout failed to mention the ruined Foxglove plants though she questioned his need for a large number of Rosemary sprigs the next week.
"The seventh-year students must brew enough blood replenishing potions to fill the order for Saint Mungo's before the end of the school year," he explained. "Dumbledore expects the order to be complete before he will allow the students to graduate."
Nodding her head while frowning, Sprout turned toward her verdant Rosemary bushes. They would be clipped back terribly and require two growing seasons to recover. He collected his harvest basket, counted the twelve leaves, and left without another word.
Examining the memory closely, Snape realized the fragrance of the leaves was much too strong; they were not as they should be!
'The leaves must have been poisoned. Someone poisoned the leaves,' he wanted to shout. But it was too late. The Aurors led him to the veil and pushed him through.
Harry's WishesUsing the information provided by Severus Snape before his trial, Amelia Bones severed all claims of guardianship for Albus Dumbledore over the boy-who-lived, recalled all vault keys for the Potter estate and authorized the goblins to 'reclaim' artifacts and galleons misappropriated in the past ten years. And in a telling interview with the boy at Hogwarts the afternoon before the Hogwarts Express left for the summer vacation, she learned he preferred a muggle guardian rather than a magical one, and to continue his placement with a muggle family for the summers.
"Professor Sprout is a great advocate for me at Hogwarts and I trust her as my magical guardian," he confided to Madam Bones. "And Justin's father and mother have been very kind to me. Mr. Finch-Fletchley has already taught me a lot about my portfolio and the tidal wave of profitable investments to be found in Information Technology in the next thirty years."
"You don't want to invest in the companies that make magical brooms or cauldrons for potions?" she inquired.
Politely shaking his head, Harry replied, "The market in magical Britain is too limited… too narrow. There are approximately thirty thousand wizards and witches in all of Britain living in an economy of the late 1700s with limited funds. But there are sixty million 'muddy' people living in the other Britain and they are in the 1990s with lots of money, and they will all buy cell phones in the next ten years."
"Muddy people? Cell phones?" the director asked in some honest confusion. The demands of her job meant she was unaware of the advances in muggle technology. She understood 'cars' and 'lorries' while 'telephones' confused her. When a muggleborn spoke about the 'tele' and 'telephones', Amelia Bones found herself befuddled. She thought the muggles talked to each other using the telephones, not to watch things called 'shows' and 'movies'.
Harry grinned, "Muggleborn and half-bloods reject the stigma of 'mudblood' the purebloods give to us. We don't need the purebloods and a life in mudville is much more interesting."
An informant from the DMLE shared this information with Albus Dumbledore three weeks later, but it was too late for him to interfere; the Finch-Fletchley estate was protected by powerful goblin wards that kept out every wizard not named in the family's guest book. Apparently, Mr. Andrew Finch-Fletchley came from a family of squibs that traced their lineage back to Marigold Finch, the witch who invented calming potions in 1750, outlived four husbands, and sent each of her sons to the muggle university of Oxford. When squibs appeared among her great-grandchildren, she demanded custody of the boys and girls, and provided them with education, money, and a good start on life in the muggle world.
Harry, Justin and Neville continued with their lessons on proper magical etiquette and the Wizengamot that summer though Lady Longbottom curtailed her grandson's exposure to the 'muddy people' and their useless gadgets. Harry realized that Neville was imprisoned by his grandmother's expectations and restrictions almost as much as he had been a prisoner at No.4 Privet Drive.
"Don't worry guys," Neville assured his friends. "We'll always be friends. Besides, Gran wants me to spend time with Susan and Hannah this summer. She wants me to pick which one I want to marry."
The Great EscapeLate in the summer before third year, Harry and Justin had completed all the lessons scheduled with Lady Longbottom and said farewell to Neville until September. One morning the boys noticed that Andrew and Helene received a letter from a Hogwarts owl that left the two adults unsettled with frowns on their faces. Andrew made an appointment with the goblins for that morning and after he left for the day, the boys went about their outdoor activities–working in the greenhouse, kicking the football around, passing and head butting the ball, and then they began a run around the estate, but they remained within the goblin wards the entire day.
Dobby popped up a couple times with bottles of cool water and reminded Mr. Harry and Mr. Justin to remain close to the manor house. In the middle of the afternoon, a familiar owl appeared accompanied by Hedwig while the two boys were near the stables on their run. The owls landed on a nearby fence and Harry approached the owl when Justin said, "That's Susan's owl. Wonder what she sent a letter about?"
Dobby appeared between Harry and the owl, and scowled, "Mr. Harry let Dobby gets letter!"
"What gives, Dobby?" asked Harry but he let the house elf retrieve the letter and cast spells on it as the owl immediately flew away. Hedwig remained close as Justin and Harry moved closer to Dobby as he opened the letter. The house elf levitated the letter in front of Harry but would not allow him to touch it.
"Mr. Harry be not touching letters now!" the elf insisted and increased the confusion both boys felt.
"Susan says that the paper was full of a story about a man named Sirius Black escaping from Azkaban," Justin said after they read the letter. "And he is after you!"
"Me?" Harry snorted. "Why would a prisoner know me?"
"Dobby, is Dad's copy of the Daily Prophet in the house?" Justin asked.
"Dobby not get paper for boys. You not to read the paper until Mr. Andrews comes home tonight," the elf stated firmly, his arms crossed over his chest.
"I didn't think house elves could be strict," Harry said.
"Mr. Harry and Mr. Justin's Mum and Dad are strict, and they tell Dobby he must be strict about seclur… secure… safety all times with both young masters!"
Harry smiled to hear Andrew and Helene described as his 'Mum and Dad', while Justin just rolled his eyes. The taller boy groused, "Great, we got a house elf as nanny. Dobby, you won't tell on us about a prank or joke, will you?"
The elf appeared to be considering the question carefully before he replied, "Mr. Andrew said Dobby not let you do anything dangerous. But tricks okay so long as no danger."
Once they were back at the house, Hedwig appeared with two more owls carrying letters and the snowy white owl escorted the visiting birds into the family room where perches were provided. Dobby again removed each letter, and carefully checked them for spells and curses before allowing the boys to handle the letters this time.
"Brilliant! Our test scores and next year's book list have arrived," Harry told Helene when she came into the room. Dobby popped away and then back with a tray of drinks and snacks for the two teenagers. Helene smiled as her two boys shared their letters with her with their grades for the past year and book list for the coming year.
"We have to pick our electives," Justin told his Mum. Turning to Harry, he asked, "What will Neville want to do? What classes do you want?"
"I think we need arithmancy and runes," replied Harry. "Neville will go with us and we can all do extra study in the greenhouses. I really want to know about wards and creating new spells. We can create something that could protect muggle bank vaults from thieves and sell the spell to lots of banks someday."
After another moment and an exchange of shrugs between the two young wizards, Harry said, "Mum… I got a letter via owl from one of our classmates at Hogwarts. Her name is Susan Bones, and her aunt is the head of the magical police."
"What did Miss Bones tell you in the letter?" asked Helene, pleased to hear Harry call her 'Mum'.
"Well, Dobby wouldn't let me touch the letter and Hedwig escorted the owl through the wards. Susan wrote in her letter said that someone named Sirius Black broke out of Azkaban and is headed for Hogwarts to get me."
"Dobby," Helene called. "Bring me Harry's letter from Susan Bones."
The elf popped into the room and held up the letter for Helene to read.
"Make a copy for Mr. Andrew to read and then take the letter to the goblin that Mr. Finch-Fletchley speaks to every week. Tell him to add it to the files on Harry Potter," she said.
"Yes, Mistress Helene," Dobby said as he popped away.
"Is that why Dad went to Gringotts today?" Justin asked.
Helene nodded and explained, "We wanted to have all the facts before we discussed the matter tonight. Your dad will be home early because of this."
Andrew did arrive at Finch Manor just after 4:00PM, almost three hours early. He carried a portfolio with the Gringotts logo on the outside and immediately called his family into his office, not changing his clothes or even getting a drink of any kind.
"Ragnok is not happy with the Ministry of Magic again today. When the Daily Prophet ran the story about a prisoner named Sirius Black escaping from this prison called Azkaban, the paper spouted back ministry propaganda without a verifying a single fact."
When Helene prompted Harry, he explained about the letter from Susan Bones arriving that afternoon.
"And we got our grades from last year, and the book list for next year," Justin added.
"Good," the man replied. "Let's talk about Sirius Black and then we'll look at the grades."
"Who is this guy? This wizard?" Harry asked.
Andrew pulled out a handful of papers from the folder and explained, "According to papers filed at Gringotts, Sirius Black is your godfather, and you are his heir until he sires a son."
Helene moved to sit closer to Harry to reassure him as Andrew continued, "The ministry and the stupid… the magical public believes that Black was the traitor that led the Dark Lord to you and your parents back in 1981. But Ragnok insists that the bonds of being your godfather would have killed the man if he attempted such a thing."
"What about his trial?" Harry asked. "Wizards have something, a type of potion, that makes a person tell the truth."
"The goblins were furious about that too. Apparently, the man was thrown in prison without a trial. This violates many of the Crown's Laws and we hope the Prime Minister will get involved. Today, Ragnok learned that Gringotts has lost almost a million pounds in profit over the last ten years because of this, so the goblins froze all Black family vaults, ministry vaults, and the personal vaults of everyone involved in the incarceration of Sirius Black."
"Who got their vaults frozen?" asked Justin.
"Every member of their 'Wizengarock', Mr. Dumbledore, the minister for magic, his undersecretaries, the department heads, and the leaders of the DMLE. They are all locked out of their money."
Both boys grinned to hear their Dad mispronounce the name of the Wizengamot. Then Justin let out a low whistle, "Gringotts has a hold on Magical Britain that will strangle it to death in a few weeks."
"Only because the ministry is violating one of their treaties about not impacting Gringotts profits with illegal activities," replied Andrew.
Harry made a sour face, and said, "I guess we got to pay attention in history class this year or find the right books. We need to know all we can about the goblins and their treaties."
"Sirius Black is a wanted escapee but Gringotts is going to keep the pressure on the ministry until the man is given a fair trial in an open court." Then Andrew grinned and said, "Now, let me see those grades."
It was later when Harry sought out Andrew and asked, "If this man gets cleared, can he take me away from you, Mum and Justin?"
Andrew smiled and hugged his 'son' before he said, "Not on his best day with fourteen magic wands. He is your godfather and will be part of your life, but he won't be allowed to disrupt your life after we have finally got it normal."
The next chapter will be Harry's third year at Hogwarts. Things are very different without Fudge as minister.
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