The Potter Cartouche

DISCLAIMER! This Harry Potter story was written for fun. All rights belong to the wonderful lady (JK Rowling) who gave the world Harry Potter to read and enjoy. Looking forward to the next movie! Yeah for Fanfiction – a great place to stretch your imagination and enjoy someone else's creativity too!

Chapter 2. A Sad Sorting Ceremony

The atmosphere in the Great Hall was subdued, and the hat spoke at length with every child, making this the longest sorting in Hogwarts' history. Professor Sprout cried continually until she stood up and left the Great Hall. Harry watched Dumbledore frown and wave his magic wand about underneath the table for almost a minute before lifting it to examine as though it was not working for him tonight. The look of concern on Dumbledore's face caught the attention of the other professors at the staff table, but they remained silent.

After the last child was sorted into Ravenclaw, Dumbledore called for the feasting to begin. The food appeared on the tables, and while most appetites were slight, children needed to eat. Someone thought to order cups of hot chocolate that appeared beside each plate, which helped calm nerves and stimulate some appetite.

While the students ate, the door of the Great Hall opened slowly, and Professor Sprout returned in the company of several persons. A woman with a monocle staggered into the room and sat at the Hufflepuff table, her head in her hands and tears streaming down her face. Several wizards and witches in red robes spread around the room, their wands out and pointing at the floor but ready to rise and cast spells. Harry watched everything without saying anything, and he noticed that the Weasley siblings, Neville and Hermione, remained silent.

"Mum," cried out Hannah Abbot as she rose from her place at the Hufflepuff table and threw herself into the arms of a witch who hurried into the room. A wizard wrapped both daughter and mother in his arms, his eyes darting about, searching for threats. A middle-aged couple entered the Great Hall, and several upper-year Puffs came to embrace the witch and hug the wizard with tears in their eyes. Percy rose from the Gryffindor table to speak with the couple. Ron whispered, "That's Cedric's mum and dad. They live on the other side of the woods from us."

Harry glanced at the staff table where Dumbledore was arguing with Professor Sprout. Palming his wand, he leaned over to the Weasley twins and whispered, "Finite incantum on the staffing table on three."

Greg and Forge nodded, and when Percy noticed their stealthy wand movements, he joined the three in casting the spell to cancel Dumbledore's privacy spell. Neville saw what they planned and distracted Hermione so that she did not notice the spell being cast. Professor Snape noticed but remained silent for once. Dumbledore was not going to cover up this tragedy.

"…the parents deserved to know what happened, not some tale you construct over the next week!" Pomona Sprout shouted at Dumbledore.

"This tragedy will only create more tragedies if it is reported so coldly in the Daily Prophet," Dumbledore said in a soothing tone that aggravated the normally stoic Hufflepuff.

"You mean because you and Fudge will get the blame for students dying on the Hogwarts Express? Yes, I can imagine two 'tragedies' that I hope it brings about! You and Fudge both getting kissed!" Sprout yelled.

Now a voice from the floor of the Great Hall called out, "Susan Bones is dead. My niece was kissed. The heiress of the House of Bones died while under your care Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. The house of Bones demands a reckoning."

The wizard, surrounded by his wife and several older Hufflepuff students, tried to speak before he sobbed, his voice cracking as he echoed the woman wearing the monocle, "Cedric was kissed while under your care Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. The heir of my house died in your care. House Diggory demands a reckoning."

Two more men pronounced the same demand, an older man with a tearful son and daughter-in-law spoke of a debt owed for the death of Ernie McMillian, and a florid wizard for another Hufflepuff named Smith whom Harry did not know.

Ignoring Professor Sprout for the moment, Dumbledore replied, "This is Hogwarts, not the Wizengamot. You should save…."

But the headmaster was interrupted by the first woman who shouted, "You and Cornelius Fudge are both dead men walking!"

At the Gryffindor table, Ron Weasley whispered, "Will she turn Dumbledore into an inferni? Mom will go spare for sure if she does."

Harry and Hermione listened quietly in the Gryffindor Common Room after the meal while the older students informed everyone younger on the identities of the different adults in the room. The primary identity that got Harry's attention was Madam Amelia Bones, the Director of the DMLE. Her rant against Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge continued as the students filed from the Great Hall and headed toward their dormitories. McGonagall did not appear in the common room as the prefects took charge of the firsties and sorted them into the dormitories.

A basket of calming draughts of the appropriate dosage for the different ages of children appeared in each of the dorm rooms. The first night back at Hogwarts ended without fanfare in the Gryffindor dormitory. The following day, after Professor McGonagall handed Harry his class schedule, he tried to speak with his head of house.

"Excuse me professor, but I sent Hedwig with a letter stating that I changed my electives from Palmistry and Feeding Animals to Arithmancy and Runes."

Bruskly, McGonagall replied, "Mr Potter, the headmaster, decided that you need Divination and Care of Magical Animals."

"Dumbledore decided?" asked the surprised boy. "How can he decide what electives I take?"

The deputy headmistress stopped and turned toward Harry – a sure danger signal for any student – but the boy-who-lived did not back down. She stated, "Five points from Gryffindor, Potter. 'Headmaster Dumbledore' decided to take the classes you signed up for in June. There wasn't time to change them."

"Wait, that's not right. You changed my classes last night," Angela Spinett replied. "Every student can change their electives until the end of the first week of classes. Why are you lying to Harry?"

By now, the Hufflepuff students and all the professors at the staff table were listening.

"That'll be five more points from Gryffindor!" McGonagall announced. "You will not challenge me this morning on my decisions as Head of Gryffindor House."

"But you said Dumbledore decided about Harry's classes," Neville practically shouted. "Who is the head of Gryffindor? You or Grand Warlock Poohbah?"

"Five points from Gryffindor!" McGonagall announced while staring at Neville. After two years of Snape's snarls and stares in potions class, McGonagall's gaze didn't phase Longbottom.

"Poohbah?" asked Fred and George in synch, listening carefully.

Staring back at McGonagall, Neville added, "That's what my grandmother has called Dumbledore since she heard about the dementors being placed around Hogwarts. He claims he is this powerful wizard, but Fudge sent the dementors, and Grand Warlock Poohbah told Gran there's nothing he can do about it."

McGonagall was furious by this point, and with her wand in her hand, she said, "Fifty points from Gryffindor, Longbottom!"

Now Harry returned to the argument. "Excuse me, professor, you should refer to Neville as 'Heir Longbottom' since you're insisting…"

"And that's another fifty points from Gryffindor, Potter!"

Shaking his head, Harry replied, "Please, call me 'Heir Potter'. If we're going to be catty about titles and honorifics, let's do it correctly. And Deputy Headmistress McGonagall, won't you deduct another fifty points, please?"

The expression on his face was calm as the boy-who-lived continued to explain, "I need to set a record for points lost on the first day before the first class and currently, Heir Longbottom and I are tied."

Professor Sprout pushed her way through the students and declared, "Professor McGonagall is distracted this morning. All points are reversed, and Deputy Headmistress McGonagall will allow me to distribute the schedules while she retires to her office."

The two witches stared at each other with anger in their expressions, but children were present and watching. McGonagall left the Great Hall, and Hermione asked, "Harry, how did you know to use the word 'honorifics? That's a big word."

Grinning, Harry replied, "There's this wonderful, magical thing that's available to all wizards, squibs, muggles and creatures. It has words like 'honorifics' and 'poohbah' in it. I'm certain that even the goblins use it."

"What thing? I need one," she insisted. Harry grinned and pulled out a pocket edition of the Oxford English Dictionary and handed it to the young witch, who threw it back to him. Grimacing, Hermione consulted her schedule and ran from the hall. Professor Sprout completed handing out the Gryffindor schedules and then altered Harry's schedule to include Runes and Arithmancy.

"Have you got the books?" she asked.

"Yes, Professor Sprout," Harry replied. "Thank you."

Sprout said nothing else as the last of the students hurried away to classes, and she made her way to the greenhouse. This morning, she had a practical lab with the seventh-year students to review their summer assignments with Tarantula Oranges. There would be funerals to attend, and she intended to be in the visitor's gallery when Fudge and Dumbledore were questioned about the deaths of heirs to magical houses while in their care.

Alone in the dormitory for a while, Harry climbed onto his bed, closed the curtains, and cast the privacy and silencing spell he'd learned that summer in Diagon Alley. (He needed the silencing spells because his room was directly above the taproom and the wizards and witches often broke into song late at night.

Drawing the letter from Neville out of the pocket of his robes, he cast detection spells on the envelope to detect any minor stinging jinxes Lady Longbottom placed on the note. These jinxes were to remind Harry to check for spells before opening the mail. Inside the envelope was a new key for his trust vault – no one would be making withdrawals or charging expenses against his funds after this summer. Lady Longbottom wrote, 'The goblins were most upset that you have never received any of their correspondence or monthly statements. They have audited the last twelve years and sent collection letters to those who have made light with your funds. This includes Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall and Molly Weasley, as well as Sturgis Padmore, Alastor Moody, and Mundingus Fletcher. Apparently, McGonagall used your account once to purchase your broom, and the others took chunks of galleons from time to time. There should be much excitement this year as the goblins recover your gold.'

Harry enjoyed the runes class with Professor Bathsheba Babbling and arithmancy with Septima Vector. In each class, Harry sat with Justin Finch-Fletchley, who was alone in the class filled with Ravenclaw students. Last year, the muggle-born wizard had apologised twice for the accusations that Harry being a parsel mouth meant he was dark. Now with his year mates dead, Justin was alone in classes. Thankfully, Hermione attended another session of the course with other Gryffindors and several Slytherins.

After the first arithmancy class, Harry quietly asked, "Where's Hannah? How's she doing?"

Justin shook his head. "Hannah went home for a few days to be with her mom and dad. She and Suzie were practically sisters."

"I am sorry, Justin."

The other boy said, "Harry, for once, there was nothing the boy-who-lived could have done except getting kissed too."

In the middle of the week, Justin approached Harry and Neville to ask for their help. In a deserted classroom, the Hufflepuff boy explained, "On the train when we were attacked, it was Professor Lupin who saved Hannah and me."

Harry and Neville said nothing as Justin continued, "The door of the compartment opened, and two of those…things…floated in. One grabbed Susan first, and the other grabbed Cedric. Then they grabbed Ernie and Smith. Then when they turned toward me and Hannah, a giant white wolf made of light grabbed the one going for Hannah and ripped it to shreds, and Professor Lupin leapt on the back of the one that had hold of me. He grabbed the thing by the head and ripped it off."

"The head? Professor Lupin ripped off the thing's head?"

Justin nodded. "We just heard in Hufflepuff that Minister Fudge is trying to get Professor Lupin arrested for killing the dementors."

"Why would Fudge do that?" Harry wondered aloud.

Neville sighed, "To distract from the deaths of the students."

Justin nodded and said, "Lupin's a werewolf. That's why he was strong enough to decapitate the dementor and save my life. And a trial of a werewolf hired to teach at Hogwarts will make Dumbledore look bad."

"Dumbledore doesn't need help to look bad, and I think Professor Lupin is a good professor so far," Harry replied. "Much better than Lockhart or Quirrell."

"Anyone would be better than those two," Justin said. "I don't know what to do to help Professor Lupin."

Neville frowned and said, "I'd write to my grandmother for advice, but I can't get an owl out of the castle wards. The headmaster has clamped down on letters."

Harry grinned and said, "Neville, can you call a house-elf here?"

"No. The wards won't let a Longbottom elf come through."

"Hang on," Harry said. He looked to one side and called, "Dobby. Can you come here for a moment?"

There was a pop as the excitable elf appeared and greeted each wizard by name.

"Dobby, can you pop outside the wards and take a letter to Neville's house to his grandmother?"

"Dobby can't go inside Mr Greenthumb wards. I can only sit outside and knock."

"Can you call for Mitzy when you knock?" asked Neville. "She'll hear you."

Nodding his head vigorously, Dobby agreed to wait for Neville's call and then deliver the letter to Mitzy, who would give the letter to Lady Longbottom. Neville's letter provided Lady Longbottom with much information she already knew, and she used the same method of getting a letter back to Neville. Lady Longbottom wanted the signatures of as many students as possible on a petition to keep Remus Lupin as their professor for DADA.

Hufflepuff house proved they were as brave as Gryffindors claimed to be when they asked the Slytherins to sign the petition. In the end, every student in every house signed the petition except for a few of the third year Slytherins and Ron Weasley. Draco Malfoy declared his father would never allow the Dementors to kiss him or his associates (Crabbe, Goyle and Parkinson).

"Yeah, but I thought you soiled yourself that day on the Hogwarts Express," commented Theodore Nott as he signed the petition. "Guess 'daddy' had to change your robes for you too."

This exchange occurred in the Great Hall before Headmaster Dumbledore appeared – he was often late or missing from meals this autumn – and Professor McGonagall seemed very tired but continued to growl at her 'Lions' as she called the Gryffindors. Professor Sprout picked up McGonagall's slack, and Professor Flitwick ran interference, keeping Dumbledore and McGonagall distracted. As the term had begun, Professor Snape kept his own counsel and did not assign unwarranted detention or take points from the other houses; McGonagall was a one-witch demolition team destroying Gryffindor's chances for the house cup before Halloween.

Professor Lupin was vindicated in a 'hearing' in the DMLE offices. At the same time, Cornelius Fudge and his favourite undersecretary – Delores Umbridge – were censored, financially penalised for lying, and warned not to empty their Gringotts vaults and try to flee the country. Hannah Abbot's memory of the attack on the train was played for all the members of the Wizengamot, and everyone witnessed the werewolf's bravery in attacking a dementor with his bare hands.

He was nominated for an Order of Merlin (third class), but enough traditionalists protested that a 'werewolf' could not receive such an honour that it was never brought to a vote. But Remus Lupin was voted the most admired wizard for two months in a row by Witch Watcher Monthly that autumn. Shortly after the hearing, Mr Abbot sent a letter to Professor Sprout announcing that Hannah would be transferring to another school to continue her education.

++***++ CHANGE SCENERY ++***++

When Halloween came around, Harry was immersed in the study of runes. Arithmancy was simply the natural progression of maths he'd been taught in primary school with things in the fourth and fifth years that looked like algebra. There appeared to be runes appearing in the sixth and seventh years of arithmancy, and he looked forward to those classes.

Hermione remained quiet about Harry being in Runes. There were few opportunities for her to talk to Professor McGonagall about the boy-who-lived this year, and her schedule of taking every class available to third years kept her busy. Her study schedule kept her engrossed in her homework and reading. Ron shuffled between his classes and moped around, trying to get other third-year students to help him with his homework. By the end of September, everyone understood 'help me' meant 'let me copy' your homework. Most of Ron's classmates did hand over early drafts of their essays, and Ron happily wrote his name on those parchments and turned them in as his work.

'I love this year,' Harry thought as he finished a rune essay on the Norse Runic Alphabet. Then a question burst into his mind. Consulting his schedule, he saw that Professor Babbage had office hours, and he hurried to the rooms where students studied runes and practised carving them on plates made of sandstone.

"Mr Potter, come in," Charity said when she found the boy outside her door.

"Thanks, professor. I had a question for you."

"About the Norse alphabet?"

"Well, not exactly," Harry said. "I finished the essay already, but I was thinking about alphabets in general."

Leaping ahead, Babbage said, "The Egyptian hieroglyphics and Norse runes are both dead languages. And the Sumerian and Babylonian runes are dead languages too. You'll learn about them next year. Anyway, because we use dead hieroglyphical alphabets, we believe that's why they give us magic…no one uses them anymore."

Harry nodded, "Yes, I remember reading that in the book."

He hesitated and said, "And Latin is the language we use for spells we speak aloud because it is a 'dead' language too."

"In most senses, yes," Babbage agreed. "We had many examples of people still speaking many Latin phrases in common everyday use until the last five hundred years."

"Okay, but in the muggle world, lawyers use Latin all the time. They have cases where they use phrases in Latin to establish principals of law and common law."

"Really? How strange? They must not use them in written form then…no wait, they don't have magic, so there's no danger for the muggles to use the magical Latin words."

Now Harry took a deep breath and said, "Professor, my first year here at Hogwarts, I was taught that magic is inside me and my intent is the most important thing to make magic do what I want it to do."

Smiling, Professor Babbage nodded. "Yes, and we spend seven years training your focus and intent to channel your magic through the magical Latin phrases and Runic alphabets to bring it into focus."

"But what if I focus on just regular English words as the incantation of the spell?"

The professor smirked and said, "And simply write out your runic array in English and put it inside a cartouche before activating it with your wand?"

Harry seemed lost in thought, so Charity interrupted him to stop pointless speculation. "Mr Potter…Harry…that won't work. You must follow the normal forms for the magic to work."

She encouraged him to read ahead in chapter fourteen about the limitations of runic arrays to perform modern functions.

Change SCENE **&&**

The following week at Hogwarts, Dumbledore and McGonagall were absent for several days. Snape kept a tight rein on the Slytherins, Babbage and Lupin kept a close eye on the Gryffindors, and a new teacher appeared to conduct all the transfiguration classes. The young man graduated from Hogwarts more than ten years earlier and had earned a mastery, so he was well qualified. McGonagall returned the next week, and she returned to teaching the first three years of students, while the new professor kept teaching the fourth through seventh-year students.

Two more professors joined the staff that week – one woman took over the first three years of potion classes, and a second young man took over the first three years of charms classes. In all that time, Dumbledore only appeared at dinner where he spoke little, looked sombre, and was always dressed in black robes. The headmaster had no time to watch Harry Potter, eavesdrop on the boy's conversations, or call him to his office for meaningless talks about love and forgiveness.

Ron's interest in Harry Potter fell away as there were no galleons or protections from detentions and failed homework coming his way from Dumbledore now. However, Hermione remained a thorn in Harry's side when she wasn't working on assignments for every class in third year. Thankfully, this meant she seldom had time to follow him around and act like Fangirl Weasley.

++***++ End of Chapter ++***++