Chapter 31 – Hogsmeade Day – Hogsmeade Day

From the Journal of Rose Weasley – 8 October 2013

Today is the first Hogsmeade day of the year. All Hogwarts students on good behaviour and with a signed permission slip from a parent, even lowly first-levels, would be allowed to spend the afternoon from right after lunch until 5:30 dinner time exploring the Hogsmeade shops. It is a day that Uncles George and Lee have looked forward to since the start of school. I had planned to visit with them in their shop, possibly even provide needed help. But… today is also the third meeting of Aunt Ginny's thinking peoples committee. I will go to that meeting, instead of Hogsmeade. So, will Freddie, Scorpius, Elvis, Iona, and Emma. The Hogwarts aurors were incredibly pleased when informed of our decision. They feared an attack upon us in Hogsmeade.

The weather was expected to be a bit raw today – cool, windy, with on-and-off rain, some of it of the hard, driving on a slant variety. For that reason, and because Aunt Cissy and Professor McGonagall have been spatting again, Ginny's meeting was moved to the Ministry. This also would permit Deputy Minister Longbottom to attend. Director Shacklebolt had thought it unwise for the Minister and her Deputy to both be in Cissy's garden for the last two meetings. The Ministry building was more secure and the two of them were often together there.

The meeting wasn't to start until 11:30, so we had time to attend our British Studies and Herbology classes. I thought that we had all learned a lot during our committee meeting attendance and adventures, but those activities and the need to sleep in after, had caused us all to miss a lot of class. Our British Studies class focused on cellphones. The school provided a cellphone for each student. The first part of the lesson, even before we turned the phone on, were the 'Don'ts'. There was a danger that our calls could be intercepted and traced to our location. That meant cellphones must be off at Hogwarts. Best to remove the Sim card. Mr. Granger showed us what this was, described what it did, and told us how to remove it without damage. Then how to put it back in. Then out again and leave it in the inner pocket of our robes. He showed us how to turn the phone on and off, how to send and receive a phone call or text message, and how to take a picture, even a Wizard-type moving picture. All of this was make-believe, of course, because the key part of the phone was inside our pocket.

"I'll escort my classes away from the Hogsmeade shops to what is clearly nonmagical Britain. You can use your phones from that location to talk to each other. I'll put you into two groups. The ground rule is that you can't say anything that references your magical world: not Witch nor Wizard, Hogwarts nor Hogsmeade, Gringotts nor Diagon Alley nor the Ministry, spells nor charms nor potions nor curses, and certainly not your full real name. I think you'll do fine with first names."

I have a cellphone. I've used it. Still, I would miss seeing the other students playing with their new phones.

Break

From the Journal of Freddie James Potter – 8 October 2013

It's good that Herbology class was inside the greenhouse, because it was windy with a very cold rain. Headmaster Neville had to teach us a new charm that warmed and dried our robes with a blast of hot air from our wands. Very necessary, but it took half of the class time. Uncle Neville still launched into a discussion of the Devil's Snare plant. A hapless volunteer tried to move the straggling tendrils of an established plant from the main pathway in the greenhouse. After less than a minute of fighting the plant, he was truly its captive and in danger of strangulation. As he gasped for breath, Uncle Neville calmly quizzed the class: "How shall we rescue poor Perkins?"

Almost every hand shot up. Almost all of us had read the Harry Potter books more than once. Uncle Neville pointed at Emma. "Bluebell flames," she proudly answered. "Okay, do it!" Neville commanded. "Poor Perkins is dying over here."

"The books don't say what words to use for the charm," a suddenly deflated Emma admitted.

"Yes, Ms. Lester isn't enough to pass this course. If you had studied our textbook, which I suspected very few of you have done, then you would know..." Neville very dramatically stretched out his wand hand toward the half dead Perkins and fairly screamed "Blue Moon!" The Devil's Snare instantly released Perkins. "I know this has been a highly disrupted term but please kids, read your texts. You are going to need more than Harry Potter knew to get a good grade in most of your classes and, just possibly, to survive. Without Hermione, Ron and Harry wouldn't have - survived, that is. Class dismissed. A quick lunch then line up just outside the castle with your Hogsmeade permission slips. I wish you a pleasant respite from your academic toil. Be alert. I can't guarantee that Hogsmeade will be totally safe, although we have done our best."

As the rest of the class raced back toward the castle, Uncle Neville told our gang "quickly, join hands in a tight circle." We tumbled through time and space, in what I suspected was a local extension of seid-space and found ourselves standing in the Entry Hall of the Ministry.

"By the way," Rose commented to Uncle Neville "that was a little unfair back in class. 'Blue Moon' appeared only in a footnote at the end of the chapter."

"I read footnotes, don't you? I find that they contain some of the best information. You all really ought to be reading them."

Uncle Neville, clearly more headmaster than adventurer today, led us to the largest courtroom, which was also the assembly room of the Wizengamot. Half the committee was already in their seats, while Mum and Minister Hermione were standing in front of a podium in the center of a raised dais, which swept across the whole front of the room and a quarter of each of the adjacent sides. "You're down here on the floor today, with the rest of us paeons Dad told us.

As more of the committee members, really the expanded assembly members, entered the chamber and took seats, Minister Hermione welcomed the attendees and said there was more to discuss than expected so, since it was more than a little past the stated start time, the meeting would start in two minutes. "Would somebody please tell those members who are still chatting in the corridor that they really must take their seats." Dad scurried into the corridor to do that.

Mum and Minister Hermione took a step away from each other and welcomed a young, but short and stout, Witch to take a place directly behind the podium.

Break

From the Journal of Scorpius Malfoy - 8 October 2013

"Hello, friends. My name is Anile. I have been the head priestess of the Order of the Great Black Stone of Venera and the not-exactly-in-charge-on-my-world Veneran leader, whom your governments have supported. The actions of the past week have made me the Supreme Leader of Venera. I will repeat the word-for-word translation of the speech I made to my entire world - the speech which led to my elevation to Supreme Leader. It is translated into your English through the efforts of the Black Stones of both of our worlds:

"My people. It is with heavy heart that I must tell you how the bad deeds of our degenerate soldier caste have once again brought disgrace and ruin upon our people. They foolishly attacked two worlds who have undeniably done nothing to harm our world for many years. As has always been the case for centuries, when our soldier caste sought a battle with an armed nation, they lost. Why did they seek this battle? Why have their only so-called successes been the slaughter of our own unarmed civilians? When their influence and political power wanes, they seek a victory to bolster their position, even if that victory is the killing of a group of our own people who oppose their policies. The last two disastrous Supreme Leaders came from this soldier caste.

"What happened? The soldier caste fought their way past Terran guards on the ribbon-between-worlds and sent agents to Terra to join with rebels to kill and kidnap schoolchildren. They didn't consider this overly provocative because children are of little value to them. Their invasion of a magical school was repulsed, and their agent was killed. To redeem this loss of honour, from a useless battle where they were the aggressors, they launched a full-scale invasion of the Asgard ribbon-between-worlds. They again were badly defeated. They were given the opportunity to surrender and return to our world, but instead demanded to be allowed to return to the positions from which they attacked our neighboring worlds.

"It was then that the Terrans decided to end the conflict and hopefully prevent future conflicts, by attacking the soldier caste's supposedly invincible barracks and base with one of their excessively big bombs. The base was destroyed. Between the battles and the results of that bomb, over three quarters of the soldier caste and all but three of their top leaders were killed. Our Supreme Leader and his top Marshal, those responsible for this purposeless, blundering disaster, were not at the base, or present for any of the battles, so they remain alive.

"I am ordering the disbanding of the soldier caste. It is far too dangerous for us to allow its continued existence. Since they've once again learned that they can't beat any other world's soldiers, they will revert to their prior misdeeds and murder our own civilians. We cannot allow that to happen. I declare the post of Supreme Leader to be open and call an election for one week from today. The protector caste will ensure order.

"Know that the big bomb has rendered the soldier caste's base and an area a hundred miles around it, totally useless to us for a century. that is their final gift to their people.

"A mob found our Supreme Leader, his Marshal, and his personal guard. Many brave civilians were killed, but they tore the Supreme Leader and his Marshal to pieces. I was proclaimed the new Supreme Leader. I took a chance coming here. There is much to do back home, and I must depart. Thank you for your attention and the help which your worlds have provided to mine. Goodbye."

"Wait, a very quick and very pointed question," Prime Minister David shouted at Anile's back. "We have come to learn that your two predecessors as Supreme Leader started battles with us for no good reason other than hurt pride from events of centuries ago, events from before we knew your world even existed. Why should we trust that you will be a more peaceful Supreme Leader?"

"Because as a priestess, my measure of success is service to the Black Stone, the Light Guardian, and my people. I get no points for dominating others or winning military victories. My two predecessors were members of the soldier caste. That caste value success only in terms of military victories and maintaining political power. You may say the protectors are my loyal fighters, but they are police, not soldiers. It is their job to maintain order and fight crime, not to win battles over other worlds." That said she was gone, this time by Apparation, without even stepping away from the podium or turning her back.

Break

From the Diary of Iona Sparks - 8 October 2013

Next to the podium was a group of three: Speaker Arkan the leader of the new Aesir and the government of Asgard, Martin Fordham the spokesperson for the Terran settlers on Aunt Ginny's land, and Aardor the leader of the Asgard spiders who was a transplant from out world. They reported on the brutality of the battles on the ribbon-between-worlds, swore that Asgard had done nothing to provoke the attack, thanked us for coming to their assistance, and expressed determination to assist us in defending the ribbon-between-worlds and seid-space. "If we lose seid-space, none of us has long to maintain magic, or likely life. The ribbon-between-worlds is the easiest path to the portions of seid-space from which the Venerans or Vanir could destroy us. It would be suicidal insanity not to safeguard the ribbons. Better to destroy them than to inadequately guard them and destroying them would also severely harm magic. In all honesty, it is possible to destroy all links to Vanaheimr and Venera, while leaving the new link between Asgard and Terra. Whether that is enough to preserve magic is an extremely dangerous experiment, which we do not recommend. It must be a measure to undertake only when there is no other way to protect us from an invasion which would overwhelm us. Neither Terra nor Asgard are popular. An alliance between Vanaheimr and Venera is inevitable. Not now with the current governments, but when those people next find themselves frustrated by their backwardness."

The meeting was interrupted by urgent news. Two dozen hooded figures had Apparated into Hogsmeade, just beyond the Apparation barriers the aurors had set up to protect the students. They had run at the Hogsmeade day crowd of students and quickly started firing Avada Kedavras. The aurors fired back. Students dove to the ground or behind obstacles. The attackers Apparated away after the aurors assigned to protect the students had killed several attackers with the 'Kill!' curse and a triple-curse-firing-team of Cissy's husband and Steven Lester had unleashed a 'Back!' triple curse which hurled four attackers into the stone front of a shop, almost instantly killing all four. All the attackers had been using the 'Avada Kedavra'. Luckily, most of the students had been wearing the counter charm against that curse. Still, four students were severely injured and in the Hogwarts hospital annex, while two students were dead. The attackers were reportedly trying to find Rose and Freddie James.

Four of the attackers had gotten so close to the students that they had been unable to Apparate to safety. The aurors used 'Petrificus Totalus' and arrested them.

"We'll meet again tomorrow. Same time, same place." Minister Hermione announced. "I must go to Hogwarts, at once."

From the Investigation Notes of Prosecutor Longbottom - 8 October 2013

I and my Prosecutor's aurors examined the seven dead and four captive attackers. There was only one familiar face: Philip Hedge, the would-be rapist I had to release on bail at a time when I lacked sufficient evidence to hold him. He was dead. He had been a most determined bad guy for one so young. It is always a loss when the young die, but I won't cry for Philip.

We checked with Director Shacklebolt, who circulated pictures of the remaining ten captive or dead attackers. None of the aurors recognised any of them. They weren't among those seen at the bar in Leeds. Pictures, fingerprints, and wands were sent to Durmstrang and then on to the French Ministry.

Viktor Krum has already claimed a half dozen of my previously unidentified invaders of Hogwarts. They were turned over to Viktor's aurors. I hear there was a trial and judicial 'Avada Kedavra' for all of them. Perhaps that will reduce the baddies' ability to recruit mercenary thugs from the east. I won't miss those wannabe child murderers, but the Continental Wizards concept of justice wouldn't fly here. Extremely fast trial, they had my witness statements but didn't ask for live witnesses, the defendants forced to declare guilt or innocence in front of court truth-tellers, one day to appeal, one day to rule on appeal, one day to appeal to Viktor for mercy, then the old AK. I'm absolutely convinced they were all very guilty, but that is fast.

Break

From the Journal of Hermione Weasley - 8 October 2013

The Hogwarts visit broke my heart. Unconscious and dead students who were just enjoying a school outing. I thanked the aurors and others who so quickly vanquished the attackers. This could have been a lot worse. Neville and I met with the parents of the dead and injured students. What can one possibly say to reduce the horror? Nothing!

And then, the opposition leader of the Wizengamot has the audacity to demand that Director Shacklebolt and I appear before the Wizengamot to answer why we haven't dealt very harshly with aurors who killed some of the attackers in the two attacks upon Hogwarts students. I told Gamot Parkinson that we should do the meeting right now. An hour later, Harry, Mrs. Longbottom, Director Shacklebolt and I were standing before the Wizengamot. I answered all the questions.

"Is your government going to prosecute the aurors who committed these murders."

"Certainly not. There were no murders, other than those committed by the attackers. They tried to murder students and faculty of Hogwarts. They all used the 'Avada Kedavra'. I've said before and I'll repeat now, unlike in the Voldemort Wars, we are not going to grant the bad guy's exclusive permission to use deadly curses. As you'll recall, the Wizengamot passed a rule years ago that it was lawful to use a killing curse to defend oneself or innocents against deadly attacks. Those who were firing the AK at students were lawful targets for a return deadly curse to protect the students. The aurors largely avoided use of the AK, but I hold blameless the team of aurors who used it during that invasion."

"What about those killed by aurors and civilians in Hogsmeade today? Can you really justify that?"

"I can. They were using the AK to attack school children. They killed two students and seriously injured others. The aurors and civilians who repulsed the attackers saved the lives of many students. I applaud them."

"What they did would be illegal under traditional Wizard law, before your side usurped the lawful government of Thicknesse."

"Thicknesse violently overthrew an elected government. The aurors and civilians' actions in Hogsmeade would have been perfectly legal under the old laws. Nobody but the attackers used the AK."

"You will swear to that before this Wizengamot?"

"I will swear to it," Mrs. Longbottom declared. "My aurors and I inspected all of the wands from that battle. None of those protecting the students used the AK. All of the captured or dead attackers used the AK."

"Do you expect me to believe you?"

"No, actually I don't. That's sad, but it doesn't bother me. Those who would steal the lives of children, as well as those who would hire mercenaries to do so, are beyond contempt."

"Your side stole the culture of traditional Witches and Wizards. That is at least equally bad and justifies strong measures to restore that culture. You make Barnabas Cuffe the ultimate villain, but he knew the importance of defending and bringing back that which makes us proper Witches and Wizards. You and your Minister would destroy the heart of a magical people and culture which has survived for millennia. What are a few deaths set beside that? I am sorrowed by the children's deaths, but somebody had to do what was necessary to get your attention and stop your march toward our destruction. I'm proud to be a traditional Witch. That's worth fighting and dying for. You support a Minister who says I and Wizards like me are worth no more than a talking spider. A Minister who still bears the taint of the Mudblood that she is."

"I'm proud to support Minister Hermione. As for you, I think you've proven yourself to be worth less than all the talking spiders I've met."

With that said, Prosecutor Longbottom turned and left the Wizengamot chamber. The rest of us followed.