[A/N: Thank you to everyone who's taken the time to leave reviews and suggestions! They really are like potato chips; you just can't stop with only one. I really do try to be as realistic as I can with dialogue and how the characters interact with each other. It's also nice when y'all pick up on the bits of humor too, like Dobby's T-shirt or with the 'haiku not achoo' scene. So without further ado, hold onto your butts, people!]

Chapter 19: Pink Stormclouds Are Moving in on the Horizon

Saturday 20 March 1993 Morning, Third floor balcony overlooking the paddocks near Hagrid's hut

Baa! Baaahhh! "Get back here, you damn goat!"

Filius sipped on his morning cup of tea and continued to watch the amusing sight of Albus chasing after a recalcitrant goat. He turned when he heard his name being called and saw both Sirius Black and Remus Lupin approaching.

"Professor Flitwick? What are you watching?"

Gesturing out towards Albus still chasing a goat with the hand that held his cup, "Watching Albus make a fool of himself… Baa! Well more of a fool."

The remaining pair of Marauders watched in silent bewilderment as Albus rushed up to a goat, grab it and flipped it over to check on its underside before letting it go with a roar of anger and moving onto another one. Remus tilted his head in confusion, "I must be missing something." Sirius nodded his agreement.

"Did you hear about the prophecy that involves Albus?" Flitwick asked them both. They shook their heads negatively, "Well, hold onto something." He proceeded to tell the backstory of the haiku and false prophecy that the senior staff along with Director Croaker created and passed off to the headmaster. By the time the diminuitive professor finished telling his tale, Sirius was rolling on the floor laughing his butt off while Remus was leaning heavily on the wall, wheezing and gasping for air in between snorts of laughter.

Filius grinned at their response and was about to continue when he heard the sound of other arrivals, this time the Weasley Twins, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. Fred and George bowed low to their heroes and asked if they'd come to watch the show.

"You've known about this?" Sirius managed to ask as he tried to calm down.

"It was our idea!" George commented proudly, "The professors were looking for something to keep the headmaster busy and discussing it while we were in the middle of a detention, Forge and I suggested they transfigure a hundred rats into goats and charm them to produce a buzzing noise."

"So you told them about the prophecy?" Sirius turned to Filius in surprise.

"It wasn't a security issue since it's a fake," He waved his hand dismissively and took another sip of his tea, "Besides, the pair have already proven themselves devious enough to assist the staff when needed."

"The goats are charmed to randomly display a mark on their coats that resembles a bumblebee but vanish whenever the headmaster gets within ten feet," Gred continued, "The buzzing remains loud enough until he touches it then it disappears as well. This way, he'll be constantly looking for it."

"What's to keep the headmaster from getting so frustrated that he gives up and walks away?" Hermione wanted to know.

Filius grinned wickedly, "I put an area-wide compulsion charm on the paddock. It'll keep him from giving up until a preset time which should be in about an hour. Then he's got a staff meeting he'll need to rush to before getting an 'urgent' letter to head to the Ministry."

Harry frowned, "Who at the Ministry is going to need him that badly?"

Filius shrugged unconcernedly, "It doesn't matter. Someone will see him and draw him into a pointless conversation that will no doubt rile him up." That caused a ripple of snorts of barely suppressed laughter.

They all turned when they heard a shout of frustration and more bleatings from the goats.

"Damn goats! If you don't cooperate, I'm going to go get Aberforth!"

"So, boys," Remus turned to the Twins with a twinkle in his eye, "Sirius and I have some things we'd like to discuss with you."

While Sirius and Remus were talking with Fred and George, Harry and Hermione left and headed to the Great Hall to have their breakfast, they found that Ginny Weasley had returned to the school. They both greeted her and expressed their wishes for a continued recovery before heading over to the Hufflepuff table.

"I'm glad to see that she's recovered enough to be allowed to return to school," Hermione idly commented as she spooned some porridge into a bowl and reaching for the fruit.

"Mm-hmm," Harry mumbled around a bite of his own cereal. "I'm surprised though that she's surrounded by so many books. I don't remember her being so studious," he said after he swallowed.

Hermione shook her head, "She wasn't. If I recall right, that diary was preventing her from doing her schoolwork. I guess she feels that she has a mountain of learning to get caught up on."

The pair fell silent as they continued to eat their breakfasts. The morning mail arrived along with Harry's PA pinging, alerting him that he received some emails as well. He pulled it out and opened up his mail folder. Scrolling through the listing, he murmured mostly to himself, "Magazine…magazine…letter from Mr. Cody…letter from Potioneering Monthly…" He opened the last letter first and read that the editors from Potioneering Monthly had received his latest essay on brewing techniques and the usage of Mundane Gas Spectronomy to identify compounds otherwise undetectable by magical means. They congratulated him on producing such fine work and that they were going to be publishing it.

"Harry?" He looked up and over at Hermione who was flipping through her ever present Big Book of Crafts, "Yeah?"

"You think Ginny would like to take part in my next Crafting Party? It might help make some new friends and assist with her therapy."

"I can't imagine why not. Go ask her, if you're that curious."

Hermione rolled her eyes at the obviousness of his suggestion, "Right. Duh…"

Harry slid the sugar over to her. She stared at the bowl then at him, "Why did you give me the sugar?"

He was still mostly involved with his reading, "Hmm? You asked for it."

"Did not."

"Did too, just now. I heard you say, 'Right.' Then you grunted for the sugar."

She just blinked at him; trying to process that then tried another grunt. This time he passed over the milk. 'Wow, I didn't know that boyspeak was considered another language.' She thought, nonplussed. She turned to one of the boys at the nearby Slytherin table and grunted at them, she was handed a jar of honey. Giggling to herself, she slid over to where Susan, Hannah and a couple of her other girl friends were sitting.

"You'll never believe what I just learned!" she mock-whispered in excitement.

Harry briefly looked up at the sound of excited girls squealing at each other then shook his head, "I don't want to know…" He was about to return to his letter from Mr. Cody when Sirius, Remus and the Twins appeared. He waved all four of them over but the Twins shook their heads and pointed to their little sister. In the meantime, the two adults joined Harry for a spot of tea (and a pancake which Sirius had just swiped.)

"So how did your talk with the Twins go?" Harry asked curiously.

"It went well," Remus started, "Sirius and I realized that the pair of boys are incredibly talented and it would be the greatest shame if that talent wasn't nurtured and refined. The two of us have already spoken with their parents about a sponsorship to assist the two boys in finishing their education along in return for spending the next two years working as our apprentices in a shop that we own."

"You have your own joke shop?" Harry perked up.

Sirius barked out a laugh, "No, that would be a bit counterproductive if we'd be training our own competition, wouldn't it? What we own is a game shop. It's not glamorous or anything but it keeps us occupied and off the streets as it were."

"What sort of games and how does that differ from a joke shop?"

Remus ticked off the list on his fingers, "We've got chess, Chinese and regular checkers, puzzle boxes, both simple and complex; we've got jigsaw puzzles, card games, word games, Legos, this new construction building thing out of America called 'K'Nex' which is actually pretty fun plus a fair few of others. Then we also have books and sorts relating to the puzzles. A joke shop is more about pranks and pratfalls, trick potions, and wands that transform into something else like a pair of underwear or a parrot."

"Did I hear correctly that Sirius Black is running a shop?" came the deep drawl of Severus Snape; one eyebrow raised in surprise.

Sirius chuckled self-effacingly, "I know. It surprised me too but it's working so far. I get to blow off some steam with the toys and interacting with the customers while Moony here gets to have fun with the back office operations."

Severus hummed in amusement before he nudged Harry, "Have you seen the latest prank against the headmaster?"

Harry grinned wickedly, "You mean the one with the goats? Yeah, just this morning. Is he still going at it?"

"The compulsion charm ought to be wearing off shortly. I've got to get to the staff lounge so we can watch part two." He smiled perfunctorily at the trio and left. Sirius shook his head slowly in bemusement.

"I never thought I'd live to see the day when Severus Snape of all people could be so…friendly."

Harry pointed to Remus, "I thought you were working as a library clerk?"

"I decided it was time for a change. With Sirius here, he and I needed to do something a little bit more fun and in tune with our usual natures."

As the trio were discussing life within Hogwarts, Remus noticed a small, elf-like creature climbing onto the bench next to Harry. "Um, Harry?" he pointed to the creature. Harry turned and smiled at the elfling, "Mishon! Did you escape again?" He wrapped the dragon-elfling in his arms and hugged the child.

Mishon giggled and snuggled in, "Hiya! ["Mishon missed Harry Potter. Mishon saw Harry Potter being here and wanted to visit."]

["Well, I'm glad you did. I've missed you too."]

"Um, Harry?" He looked up to see Sirius and Remus looking worried.

"Oh, sorry. Mishon here missed me and wanted to come and visit."

"What is it, er…he?"

Harry made another one of those 'beats me' faces, "Not sure, though I know from speaking with Bippy that he's at least half-elf. I'm guessing that the other half is a dragon of some kind."

Sirius looked perplexed, "But aren't dragons something like thirty tons on the lighter side and massive in size? How would that even work with an elf?"

Both Harry and Remus laughed at the look on his face. Maisie popped in a moment later and sighed in exasperation, "Mishon…"

Harry smiled consolingly at the harried Nursery elf, "Maisie? If it's okay with you, I can keep an eye on him for a while."

She stared at him, head canted to one side as she thought about it, "Harry Potter is sure?"

Harry hugged Mishon to his chest, "I'm sure. I'll send him back when we're done having fun."

Maisie sighed a long-suffering sigh, "Very well, if you is sure." She then popped away.

Hermione wandered over and tickled Mishon behind his ears causing the elfling to giggle and bat her hand away, "Cutie pie. Hello, Mr. Lupin and Mr. Black."

"Please don't call me Mr. Black. Sirius or Padfoot is fine."

"As long as I don't have to call you 'Studmuffin of the Universe,' we'll be good, "She pointed at Harry, "That's his title." Harry sat there with a smug smirk on his face.

Sirius' eyes lit up, "Pup!" Harry took a theatrical seated bow. Hermione leant over, kissed him on the cheek and tickled Mishon again.

Remus gave the pair a knowing look while Sirius continued to laugh, "Got yourself a girlfriend, Harry?" The boy in question nodded affirmatively, "Congratulations, you beat your father by nearly five years."

Harry turned to his girlfriend, "Would you happen to have a coloring book and some crayons handy?" (Pointing downwards to Mishon who was intently examining a necklace of Harry's) She pursed her lips in thought then walked towards a set of open shelving along one wall, rummaged around a bit then returned carrying a slightly used coloring book and a small packet of basic crayons. She handed it over to her boyfriend who in turn set it up for Mishon to use. Mishon chirped happily, grabbed a beat up blue crayon and began scribbling on the page.

"Boy's not even a teenager and it's already clear he's going to be a great father someday. Be glad that you snapped him up so quickly, Hermione. Don't ever let this one get away." Remus commented.

"Never; he's mine until the end of time," She laid her head on Harry's shoulder and mock-sighed dreamily.

Pointing back at the shelving, Sirius asked what was in it and when did it start. "Oh, I put that in last year at the end of one of my Crafting Parties. It's just got some various crafts and art supplies for anyone who wants to beat boredom in between class assignments," Hermione explained.

"Crafting Parties?"

Harry sighed happily, "My wonderful girlfriend is a crafting genius. She's started a revolution here at the school to bring the arts back to this dreary castle and its inhabitants." He held out his wrist and showed off the wrapped cloth bracelet he wore, "She made this bracelet for me. Hermione dyed the fabric, strung the beads together and added the fake coins."

Remus peered closely at the coins, "How did you make the coins? I'm surprised that Gringotts let you get away with that."

Hermione shrugged, "As long as no one tries to spend them, there's not much the goblins can do. All they are is a resin cast mixed with a metallic flake to give them texture and painted to look like gold. I then sprayed them with a sealant and attached them to the strand."

"That's resin? It looks like real gold." Sirius was impressed.

"Thanks, I can show you the molds sometime. I have a charm that allows me to cast an ultraviolet light that accelerates the resin hardening."

Up in the Staff lounge…

Albus came hurrying into the room with only a couple of moments to spare, "I'm sorry I'm late. Unavoidable events needed my attention." He sat down and pulled a roll of parchment from his robes, "So, let's get this meeting underway, shall we?"

Gilderoy breezed in a few minutes later and pulled up short. No one was paying attention to him, not even since he was wearing his favorite (and most flamboyant) forget-me-not baby blue robes. "Um, hello?" Still no one acknowledged his existence. With a huff, he pulled out a chair and sat heavily, crossing his arms over his chest.

The meeting was just a routine one covering the statuses of the students in their care as well as a few ongoing topics like needing replacements for greenhouse supplies or more forest land that needed to be cleared for pasture which led to Gilderoy becoming bored quickly. No matter how much he tried, he just couldn't get the other staff to talk with him or even recognize that he was in the room! An elf popped in a moment later bearing an urgent letter for the headmaster then popped out just as quickly. Albus opened up the letter, scanned the contents as his eyes bugged out comically. He bolted out of his chair and dashed out of the room.

Severus leant back in his seat and dryly commented, "Well, I guess the meeting is over unless someone else has something they'd like to say?" He looked around the table, his gaze even passed over Gilderoy who was waving his hand like a hyperactive first year, "No one? Then may I suggest that we conclude soon? I have some potions that need attending to." There were no dissenters so the senior staff broke up and left the room and Gilderoy behind.

"I can't believe that worked so well," Pomona whispered to Minerva as they headed out.

"Which part? Albus' urgent letter or the notice-me-not spell on Gilderoy?" Minerva whispered back and smirked lightly.

Septima laughed as well, "Whose idea was it to tag the doorframe to recognize Lockhart?"

Bathsheda raised her hand, "Me but it was Filius who actually put the other half of the charm on the twit."

The next day saw Albus in another snit. He was still grumbling about the false alarm that had been raised in the Ministry. 'Why they needed me to rush in to solve their problem is a mystery. More annoying was the idiot who thought that I was needed to solve the question as to where they stored the extra Earl Grey teaboxes on the Minister's floor. Then on top of that, I got waylaid by several staff asking me inane questions about bills and projects that I don't have any interest in!'

He wandered the halls, heading sort of in the direction of the Great Hall when he overheard a couple of first year boys discussing something about a bumblebee that made him stumble to a halt in shock. He turned and hurried over to see the pair playing with a…thing that changed shape from a blocky, angular humanoid figure into a rounded dome shaped muggle automowhatsit.

"What is that?" he demanded.

First year Gryffindor Christopher Hopper looked up in stunned surprise at not only the fact that the headmaster was standing in front of him but also at the tone in the man's voice, "Uh…this is Bumblebee. He's a Transformer."

"Bum…Bumblebee?!"

"Yes, sir. Watch." Christopher pushed and pulled the arms and legs of the toy until it changed from the humanoid shape into the car form, "See? I even got it to move on its own." He pulled his wand out and set the toy off down the hall. Albus let out a strangled sort of screech and chased after it like a demented cat. Christopher didn't understand what was going on so he quickly brought his toy back to him, even passing it between Albus' legs, grabbed his car and bolted away.

Albus waved his fist and yelled out, "Bring that back, boy! I need to find out what it knows about an old goat!"

Monday 22 March 1993 Outside on Scotland Place, just across the street from Whitehall Place (Old Winston Churchill's Office)

Albus received word that his presence was desperately needed again in the Ministry but that the Floos were down for maintenance and that all traffic in or out had to use the visitor's entrance. This meant long lines waiting for that infernal telephone kiosk to shuttle four people at a time. He couldn't even apparate into the Ministry thanks to those blasted war-time measures no one had gotten around to rescinding yet. 'And it's just my luck that Fawkes just had a Burning Day' he groused. A shape caught his eye as he waited; it turned out to be one of those muggle auto-thingamajigs parked outside by the street. It had the same yellow rounded dome thing shape just like that toy the boy had been playing with yesterday! Even better it had a decal of a bumblebee stuck to the side door!

Albus ran over and began knocking, yanking on the handles and trying to gain access to the inside. "Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing to my car?" A woman's voice screeched, "Get the hell out of here, old man!"

"The Bumblebee stalks under the Old Goat! I need to know what it knows about the Old Goat!" Albus ranted over and over again. The irate car owner began beating him over the head with her laptop case and yelling for help. A couple of Bobbies ran over to assist. They managed to pry them apart, one taking the woman aside while the second got a pair of wrist restraints on Albus and sat him down on the curb.

"Sir, I need you to calm down."

"You don't understand! The bumblebee stalks under the old goat! I need to find the Rainless Timberland!" Albus struggled against his restraints.

"Albus! What is going on here?" A man wearing what looked like a red trenchcoat hurried up to them. The Bobbie turned to confront the newcomer, "You know this old man?"

The Auror pulled himself together, "Yes, he's Albus Dumbledore. He's uh…been missing for a while now."

"Who are you, sir and what is your relation to him?"

The Auror pulled out a charmed badge, "Happy Hills Senior Care Security, Auror Martin Chadwick. I'm so sorry for the inconvenience, officer. I can take him off your hands now."

The Bobby conferred with his partner who thought it would probably be best. The car's owner had calmed down as well and huffily agreed that as long as there was no damage and the old man was taken away promptly, she wouldn't press charges.

Auror Chadwick swapped restraints with the officer and led Albus to a side entrance where the pair was able to bypass the kiosk. He led the still agitated and muttering headmaster down to the DMLE and left him in one of the interrogation rooms to cool off for a while. Amelia stopped by to find out what the fuss was all about. She shook her head and groaned in annoyance at the headmaster's ranting in public before issuing the order to have him transferred to Saint Mungo's for a complete evaluation. Then she went back to her office and fire-called Hogwarts.

"Minerva?"

The woman in question glanced up from her paperwork and peered curiously around her office for the owner of the voice that called her name.

"Turn around, Min." Turning thusly, Minerva let out a sigh of relief that it was just Amelia's head floating in the floo.

"Ah, Amelia. It's just you; what can I be doing for ye?"

"I need you to explain why Albus is in my holding cells ranting about a bumblebee and an old goat."

Amelia's curiosity and consternation grew when Minerva suddenly burst out laughing. "Let me come through and I'll explain," the deputy headmistress replied through her snorts of laughter.

Later in Transfiguration class…

"What…the heck…is wrong with this contraption?" Draco whined as he tried to get the computer in Transfiguration to work. He finally threw his hands up and shoved back from the desk, "Stupid muggle filth!"

"Problem?" He turned to see Potter smirking at him. Draco sneered back, "This piece of junk of yours refuses to work."

Harry quirked an eyebrow up in silent question.

"I want it to give me a copy of the book McGonagall assigned but it won't listen to me," the blond boy growled.

Harry slowly shook his head, "Did you click on the Library icon?"

"Of course, I did you ignorant peasant!" Draco hadn't actually done so but he was loathed to let Potter know that.

"Keep that up and I won't help you, Draco. You need me more than I need you," Harry warned him with a look, "Also, don't forget that slipping a potion to someone is child's play for me. Do you want to spend the rest of the week having Ronald Weasley thinking you're his lovetoy again?" Draco paled even more than he already was before turning a greenish tinge but kept his mouth shut.

Flashback…

Ron Weasley was once again trying his best to ingratiate himself into Harry's good graces and failing miserably at it. The problem was, he didn't understand that his approach was all wrong but why would he? His mother said that he and Harry Potter were going to be best mates when they got sorted into Gryffindor together and his mother was never wrong. Then that stupid Sorting Hat went and put Harry into the house of the duffers of all places! A Potter being sorted into somewhere other than where the noble and brave dwell at heart, it just beggared disbelief. Ronald knew that Harry's parents would've been disappointed at their son had they known. After all, if his parents were in Gryffindor, then their son should've been sorted there as well! That's what happened to all of the Weasleys, his mother said so. All of first year, he kept trying to get Harry to hang around with him and share some of his spotlight and adventures with the redhead but nothing he tried worked.

Then to add to his problems, the stupid castle elves kept interfering with his efforts to grab a snack whenever he wanted. He had been roped up and ridden like a horse with an elf smacking him with a spoon, whooping and hollering while the others cheered him on. Just last week, one of those stupid creatures had even dressed up in that silly looking costume with the red cape, ornately decorated short jacket, tight trousers and weird hat with the curls in it and kept yelling 'Ole!' over and over again.

This year should've been different. Ron had planned to get Harry to be his friend after figuring that the raven-haired boy would be so starved for attention after having to suffer with those muggles over the summer. He'd even sent Harry a letter and a birthday Cannons Quidditch magazine but never got a response or an invitation to come share in the other boy's birthday. Ron shrugged and passed it off as if it was Errol's fault. The owl was ancient and unreliable, so it did stand to reason that the mail just got lost.

Ron had joined in on the laughter at Draco Malfoy when the blond-haired boy had gotten pranked with that potion that made him change into all those different animals or last year when he turned into that shiny disco ball. This year however, for whatever reason, he started gazing lovingly at the other boy thinking that he was the most beautiful angel that ever existed. His silky soft blond locks, his stormcloud grey eyes that danced and sparkled… Ron had almost succeeded in getting Draco to follow him back to his dorm room for some cuddle time only for a professor to break them up and escort him to the infirmary.

Present…

"So, if you want my help, you need to apologize and treat me with proper respect," Harry reminded Draco who in turn growled under his breath about something regarding 'uppity half-bloods' but managed to scrunch his face up and ask for help in getting the requested book. Harry stared at him for a moment before demonstrating how to bring up the information then returned to his own seat.

Minerva caught his eye and whispered, "Thank you, Mr. Potter. Five points for helping others even when they don't deserve it."

Wednesday 24 March 1993, Lunchtime Great Hall

Music was playing in the background when Harry entered to grab himself a bite to eat. He settled down near the head of Hufflepuff Table and liberated a slice of pepperoni pizza from the tray and took a bite. He idly watched as Ron proceeded to reaffirm his title of 'The Worst Table Manners Ever' by trying to stuff an entire meat pie into his mouth while still trying to hold a conversation with Dean Thomas.

He saw Luna dancing with a couple of others in the corner, it looked like she was coaching them how to dance the Jumping Jive.

Hermione was surrounded by a group of older Slytherin girls and it looked like they were discussing something to with clothes if the shirt she was holding was any indication.

Harry pulled out and clicked on his PA and began reading an article about the British Blood War back during the seventies. He glanced at the accompanying picture and stared at the masks the Death Eaters wore to hide their identities. He shook his head at a funny thought that shot through his mind. He spotted Severus sitting at the Teacher's table, got up and headed over.

"Professor?"

Severus looked up and narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "Potter?" The boy had a look on his face reminiscent of his father's right before a prank was executed.

Harry held up his PA, "I've got a question that popped into my head while I read this article on Death Eaters."

The other teachers turned to listen in. Severus waved him on and reached for his cup of tea, "Well I was wondering if these Death Eaters ever had crafting parties of their own when designing their masks?"

Severus' spit-take was epic. It damn near reached half way down the aisle between the Hufflepuff and Slytherin tables. The others were busting a gut laughing, "Say that again?"

Harry grinned like a cat that caught the canary, "Well, I was just wondering if they gathered together like Hermione does with her Crafting Parties? Did they use construction paper, colored markers and glitter to come up with the masks or was it a charm that created them?"

Severus thunked his head on the table before looking to the ceiling for divine guidance, "Why would you ask me that?" He moaned in complaint.

"Your name was mentioned in the article."

"Gimme that," he held his hand out imperiously and quickly read through the article. Fortunately, there was nothing that wasn't already public knowledge. He looked up and glared at a still smiling Harry, "Twerp. I ought to dock points from you for this." He thrust the PA back to the boy.

After Harry went back to his seat, Severus heard Flitwick chuckle and turned to glare at him, "Don't…just don't."

"I'm sorry! It's just too funny not to laugh at the thought of you and the other Death Eaters sitting around a big table sharing crayons and markers while hunting for glitter and glue. I can just see Bellatrix humming a cute little song while busily scribbling with a crayon on a piece of white construction paper before switching to cutting up a ribbon to use as a tie-strap."

"I've got the image of Lucius Malfoy rummaging around in a bin for little pink pom-poms to stick onto the edges," Minerva quipped.

"Do you think they would order lunch in from a restaurant or something? I can just see Crabbe and Goyle Seniors pushing and shoving each other over who gets the better slice of pizza. Or what about Greyback scratching at the door just as the delivery boy arrived?"

Luna was trying to eat her lunch when she was interrupted by a clearing of someone's throat, "Um, Miss Lovegood?" Luna turned at the sound of someone addressing her and spotted the Slytherin Quidditch Captain standing there looking rather uncomfortable, "Would you happen to know if the Quidditch teams have fight songs?"

Luna cocked her head and let her talent flow around her as she Listened. It took a few minutes but she found the right one for them, "You do. Do you have a PA handy?" He held one up, "Then you need to look up the group Fat Boys with their song 'Baby, You're a Rich Man.'"

The Captain bowed his head, "Thank you, Miss Lovegood." Before she could return to her lunch, the other captains surrounded her asking for their teams' songs. She sighed in defeat, "Okay, Gryffindors? Your song is Tag Team's song 'Whoomp! There it is!' Ravenclaw? Yours is DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince's song 'Boom! Shake the Room' and Hufflepuff? Yours is LL Cool J's song 'Mama said Knock You Out!'"

Friday 2 April 1993 Minister for Magic's office

Minister Cornelius Fudge was looking forward to another relaxing weekend when his door opened to admit the one person guaranteed to ruin any sort of good plans or feelings. Dolores Jane Umbridge, commonly referred to (but not to her face) as 'The Toad' waddled in waving a newspaper, "Cornelius! We have a problem brewing up at Hogwarts that needs to be dealt with!"

So much for a quiet morning…

"Good morning, Dolores. What problem would that be?" He really didn't care just as long as he didn't have to be the one to deal with it.

"The student population is fomenting a revolution to take over Magical Britain!" Cornelius blinked at that. 'That might be a problem.' He held out his hand for the paper.

He found the article in question, "Revolution starting at Hogwarts…music…dancing…crafts… Dolores, I fail to see how this is a problem."

"The children of our fine, upstanding purebloods are under attack from this nonsense! They have no respite from the mudbloods and their dirty muggle influences!" Dolores continued to rant, getting herself all worked up.

Cornelius rolled his eyes, "Dolores, I have more pressing issues than to worry about what the students at the school are doing in their off-hours. If you think it's such a big deal, then why don't you just go up there yourself?"

Dolores blinked uncomprehendingly at his lack of action but acknowledged his idea for her to deal with the situation, "Very well, Cornelius. If you'd like, I can have a report sent to you as soon as I squash this revolution."

Cornelius waved her away, "Fine, fine. Whatever makes you happy."

Up at the school, everyone suddenly shivered at the incomprehensible feeling of impending doom.

Saturday 3 April, 1993

Dolores arrived early in the morning at the gates of the school and huffed in annoyance that there wasn't anyone awaiting her. 'I am the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister! Where is my carriage to take me to the school? They're forcing me to walk?' When she reached the main doors, Minerva was standing there with a stoic look on her face.

"Madam Umbridge. What brings you by?"

Dolores glared at the woman, "I am here to investigate the rumors of an insurrection within these hallowed halls."

Minerva's eyebrows rose ever so slightly, "An insurrection? Here?"

"Surely you saw the article about the revolution taking place here? It was in the Daily Prophet just last week."

Minerva's lips twisted into a slight sneer, "That 'revolution' you speak of was relating to the introduction of art and music, making the lives of our students a little less dreary during the Scottish winters. We most certainly are not trying to overthrow Magical Britain and you should be ashamed to believe the lies written by Rita Skeeter, Dolores."

Dolores drew herself up as much as she could (which wasn't much) and put on a superior mien, "I guess we shall see what I uncover for myself, then." She waddled inside with Minerva trailing behind her shaking her head in derision.

Minerva decided to start off in the library. She reasoned that if Dolores saw that there was nothing to get upset about; she'd leave them alone faster. There wasn't really much to see, the library was quiet with only a handful of students either studying at the tables or busily researching various topics on those 'infernal muggle devices' that Potter brat had tried to foist upon the ministry. The greenhouses were likewise quiet; the only sounds were the watering system and whatever plant-life that was capable of making noise. Neville wandered past carrying a tray of Mandrake seedlings while whistling a jaunty tune.

"Professor," he waved at them before turning slightly and gesturing with one hand. A bag of potting soil drifted past and over to a workbench. "Was there something I could help you with?"

Minerva smiled warmly at the boy, "No, Mr. Longbottom; I'm escorting the Senior Undersecretary here around the school, please continue."

Dolores stared after the boy, "Did he just perform wandless magic?"

Minerva nodded, "Yes, he's been doing that since last year."

"I'd heard he was close to Squib levels of power, how did that happen?" Minerva just shrugged indifferently.

Minerva's eyes widened as they entered the Great Hall and were assaulted by the noise. 'Damn, I forgot that Miss Granger was holding one of her Crafting Parties today!' Her gaze ranged over the room where the House tables had been covered with art supplies and crafts in various stages of completion. The Hall was a cacophony of kids talking, shouting across the room as well as competing music being played in the four corners of the room. In one corner, Michael Jackson was belting out 'Beat it,' in another it was The Bangles with their 'Walk like an Egyptian;' opposite to that was Queen 'Another One Bites the Dust,' and finally Def Leppard's 'Pour Some Sugar on Me.'

In other words, it looked like total chaos to Dolores.

Pansy skipped past the two adults waving a handmade pinwheel and twirling it around, the shiny material flashing in the morning light and trailing long gaily colored ribbons. "Morning, Professor McGonagall!" She disappeared into the crowd.

Dolores' face was rapidly turning a variety of colors that suggested Mount Toad was about to erupt, "Minerva! How can you allow this?!"

Minerva blithely looked about her and shrugged, "I'm not sure what you mean. It's a bit noisy to be sure but there are sound-dampening wards on the doorway to keep it from distracting the rest of the school."

"It's subversive, that's what it is! You have the heirs and heiresses of the Sacred Twenty-eight cavorting around like common muggles! That noise is forcing inappropriately sexualized forms of behavior on the sons and daughters of our proper, upstanding citizens!" She pointed a fat finger at one corner where a group of Slytherins were dancing the Electric Slide and the Cabbage Patch to 'Addicted to Love' by Robert Palmer. They were horribly uncoordinated but still apparently having the time of their lives.

Severus walked into the Great Hall and had to pause as the assault of competing noise hit his ears. He blinked a couple of times as his hearing adjusted then spotted Minerva standing next to another squat witch who was yelling and gesturing about his Slytherins dancing in the corner of the room. He walked over just as Dolores was complaining about how all these 'subversive and seditious activities are threatening the traditional education values of this once proud school that have withstood the past thousand years!'

Rolling his eyes, he got their attention and suggested a quieter room to hold their conversation. He led them to an antechamber where he turned to Dolores, "Madam, I don't have any clue as to what your grievances are but I can assure you that as Head of Slytherin House, the parents of these children are in support of these new changes. In fact, Lady Malfoy was here not too long ago and saw for herself what that article insinuated. She then stated that she wished that Hogwarts had offered such parties whilst she herself was a student as it was a wonderful way to express themselves safely."

Gesturing back towards the Hall, Dolores just couldn't leave it alone, "But those…dances! It's unseeming the way they're gyrating around. Those aren't dances I would've approved of nor I doubt the parents would if they'd known about them beforehand."

She stalked about the room for a moment before turning back, "Things at Hogwarts are far worse than I had feared. Seeing as how you have no desire to do anything about it, I have decided to take a more personal hand to return this school to its former standing. You shall provide me a suitable office for me to oversee the return of this school to its former standards of behavior."

Whatever the response she'd been expecting, uproarious laughter wasn't it. "Dolores, don't be daft. You have no say about what goes on around here. Hogwarts does not answer to the Ministry."

Dolores swelled up like her toad namesake, "Laws can be changed, Minerva!"

Monday rolled around and there were two major items up for discussion in the Hogwarts Rumor Mill. One was the arrest of Albus Dumbledore for supposedly 'wigging out' on some unsuspecting muggle's automobile' and the visit from Dolores Umbridge to the school to investigate rumors that the students and staff were planning a revolution to take Magical Britain by storm. Round and round the speculations went and only intensified when Albus made his appearance for Monday morning's breakfast. He waved his hand for the food to be served only to screech like a banshee when the elves served bumblebee decorated syrup bottles and automobile shaped waffes.

A couple of the older Slytherins were discussing the fallout from Umbridge's inspection tour they'd heard from their parents and how it didn't bode well for anyone who dared to show the slightest inkling of creativity. They even drew Hermione and Luna into their discussion and worked with them to plan something sedate for her next Crafting and Music Party.

"Well, I guess we could work on some clothing design and construction. We could work on quilting, knitting, sewing and the like. There will still be noise from the others as they call out for help or something but it won't be anything like last Saturday," Hermione mused.

Luna agreed with her, "I'm sure I can think of some song selections that inspire peace and quiet. There's tons of classical music that fits that requirement."

"As long as it doesn't put us to sleep, I think that'd be fine," quipped one of the girls to the giggles of the others.

Thursday 15 April 1993 Great Hall

Minerva stood up and addressed the assemblage, "Good morning, students. Thanks to the discovery and sale of valuable items in our Lost and Found storeroom, we the staff here at Hogwarts are pleased to announce the creation, or reintroduction in some cases, of elective classes and clubs starting next year. On the tables, you will find brochures outlining what new classes the school will be offering in addition to the usual ones such as Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and the like. Please take your time to review them carefully. Starting Saturday, your Head of House will be calling you into their office one by one to discuss your options as well as signing you up with your selections."

There was a momentary rustle of noise as the kids began reaching for the stacks of brochures.

Harry was reading one such brochure, Hermione was gushing about the list of new classes, "Oh, Harry look at some of these! Introductions to Business, law, healing! Wow, there's so much here. Which ones were you thinking of taking?"

"Not sure yet. Did you see the part where they're going to be offering a foreign language class?" She nodded rapidly. "I was thinking of taking at least one language class, maybe French…I'm not sure though."

"Hey, Hermione!" She looked up to see Pansy waving at her, "Did you see the class on Magical Arts and Crafts?"

"No! Where?" The two girls slid over together and rapidly started chattering. They were soon joined by Susan, Hannah, Sophie Roper of Gryffindor and Padma Patil of Ravenclaw.

Neville moved up into the newly opened space next to Harry, "So what's caught your eye, Harry?"

Harry sucked on his teeth, "I'm leaning towards French as a foreign language class though the Parselmouth one seems intriguing. I haven't decided if I want to take Ancient Runes, Arithmancy or Advanced Potions though."

"What about something that has to do with the PA? Do they offer anything like that?"

Harry scanned the list then shook his head, "No, it doesn't look like it. Shame… What about you? What have you gotten interested in?"

Neville pointed at a couple, "Introduction to Agronomy and Crop Science and Introduction to Farm and Ranch Management."

Harry snorted, "You don't go for halfway with your love of nature, do you?" he nudged his best friend on the shoulder, "I am Groot." Neville grinned smugly.

Up in the Headmaster's office…

If there had been anyone in need of Albus Dumbledore right then, they'd have to wade through a mountain of discarded parchment, books, hand-drawn pictures of bumblebees and old goats along with mad scribblings of 'deserts with fallen trees' before finally coming across the headmaster huddling behind his desk repeatedly tapping on a glowing orb listening to the same message over and over again.

'I'm not daft! Arresting me on trumped up charges for endangering others, will you? I'll show them all when I've figured out this damn prophecy.' It still rankled him when he'd to stay in Saint Mungo's for that idiotic psychological workup until his release when he finally convinced the Healers that there wasn't anything wrong with him.

An elf popped in carrying a serving tray and discretely placed it on the desk and left quietly. Albus turned slightly to see what had just been dropped off and stiffened when he saw the plate of decorated biscuits with lions on their faces and a tiny vase of wilting flowers.

'The delightful biscuit roars at the old flower?' He madly grabbed the plate and began stuffing the biscuits into his mouth, hoping that there was something about them that would inspire a spark of understanding. The wilting flowers just seemed to mock him as did the crunchy biscuits he'd just scarfed down.

'I will figure this out! Once I do, I must get back to finding the one that had been taken from my guidance for the Greater Good!'

[A/N2: This chapter fought me. I can't imagine why since I had some great ideas in my notes. If you're wondering where everyone is able to listen to the songs, let's just assume that YouTube was available earlier than in real life. Also, the lyrics to the Fat Boys song 'Baby, You're a Rich Man' is different in the movie 'Disorderlies' than it is on Google. I have no idea why.]