Hogwarts
"But that will be too soon, Albus", said Minerva McGonagall tersely. She and the other heads of house were in the Headmaster's office. He had just told them that he was bringing the Quidditch season to a close a lot sooner than it usually went.
"Headmaster, what made you do it?", asked Severus Snape.
Dumbledore sighed heavily, "We have credible intelligence from the ministry that Voldemort will be mustering his forces to attack the castle some time after Beltane. A final push if you will. We expect that he will hold nothing back. Win or lose, the battle will likely leave the castle and the Quidditch pitch in shambles. To make sure that our students get to finish the Quidditch tournament, I'm moving the schedule up a month. And, to make sure that the OWLS's and the NEWT's take place, the ministry has made arrangements to hold the exams there if the castle is too badly damaged to hold them here at Hogwarts."
They began protesting but Albus raised his hand to silence them, "I did not make this decision. The General asked me to discuss this with the staff. If you all think that we can keep it the way it was, I will be happy to pass that on to him."
The teachers were not happy about it, but after about a minute of discussing it among themselves, they realized that what Albus had proposed was the best of a bunch of awful choices for the students. Minerva McGonagall spoke up, "Okay Albus, we agree to it."
Dumbledore smiled, "Thank-you. Let's talk about the revised schedule."
About an hour later, the meeting was over. Snape lingered after the other staff had left. He asked Dumbledore, "Headmaster, I don't believe that I have brought you any intelligence about a pending attack from the death eaters. How do you know?"
"The General and Lord Peverell are calling the shots, Severus. I'm only being told the barest details. Now Severus, there is something I wanted to talk to you about."
Severus asked apprehensively, "And what would that be, Headmaster?"
Dumbledore steepled his long slender fingers together and paused for a few seconds before he spoke again, "Severus, I believe that it is time you told Harry about your role in the prophecy."
Snape went ballistic, "Are you out of your mind, Headmaster? I can't tell him about it. He will hate me for the rest of his life. Things are good the way they are."
Dumbledore sighed, "You seriously underestimate that young lord, Severus. He deserves to know. Do you want to carry this burden with you to the grave? You won't find peace within yourself unless you make peace with him. I have seen you tormenting yourself because you hold yourself responsible for what happened. I know the pain you are going through."
Severus said hotly, "You know nothing, old man. You can't know the pain that I go through knowing that I am partially responsible for Lilly's and Potter's death."
Dumbledore's eyes were sad and his voice was thick, "I know, my boy. I know how it feels and that is why I advise you to talk to Harry."
Severus said curtly, "The answer is still NO, headmaster. And you have promised not to tell him. This war will be over soon and I will be free of the promise that I made to myself. I will leave Hogwarts forever then."
With that the Dungeon bat walked out of his office. Dumbledore didn't bother to stop him as he was remembering the incident which had happened almost a century ago, his sister Ariana's death. He hadn't confronted Grindelwald for years for fear of knowing that it was his curse which had caused his sister's death. He eventually faced his former friend and it was his defeat which brought peace to his life.
The next day
The next day, a notice was posted in the common room of each house:
"QUIDDITCH CUP RESCHEDULED
All the students and staff are hereby informed that the remaining matches of the Quidditch cup this season have been rescheduled by the Headmaster in concurrence with our Heads of House and Madam Hooch in view of prevailing conditions. The new schedule is as follows:
Hufflepuff versus Slytherin- Saturday, March 29
Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw- Saturday, April 6
Ravenclaw versus Slytherin- Saturday, April 20
Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff- Saturday April 27
In addition, all students are notified that all Hogsmead weekends are hereby cancelled until further notice.
By Order of,
Albus Dumbledore
Order of Merlin, First Class
Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Supreme Mugwump of ICW and Chief Warlock, Wizengamot.
This caused uproar in the common rooms of the houses. As opposed to the usual schedule, the matches were now a month sooner and on top of that, the OWLs and NEWTs were coming up fast. They could have talked to their Heads of House but they knew that wouldn't get them anywhere.
When Angelina heard the news, she went ballistic. She caught hold of Harry at the Gryffindor Table. Ronald, Ginny, Fay, the twins, Katie and Alicia were around so she got straight to the point, "Alright, so here's the deal. For the next month, I'm going to book the pitch as much as I can and whenever I can. We need to practice and our deadline has just been shifted a month earlier.".
George pulled her to his side, "Calm down Angie. Just look around you. We're all in better shape than we've ever been and at our last practice, we were like a well-oiled machine. But…", he gave Fred a significant glance, "The new schedule complicates things.".
Harry scrunched his forehead, "What complications?"
"You see Harrikins, we can't play against Hufflepuff because Fred and I have to be somewhere else that day", he replied sombrely.
Angelina shrieked, "WHAT! How can you both stay out of a match? We will lose without you."
Harry turned to her, "Excuse me, didn't we select backup players to play in case some of us were unavailable? We have Fay and Jack who have been waiting for their chance. We have seen them in practice. Even if they only have half the talent of Gred and Forge, we will have an easy win. Between you three, me and Ron there is nothing that this team can't achieve."
Angelina reluctantly nodded, "Alright, if you say so, Harry. But we stumble even a little in the match and I will hex the day lights out of you."
The Hufflepuff captain had problems. They had put up a good fight in the match against Ravenclaw but had lost because their seeker wasn't quite as exceptional. They would have easily won if only he had caught the snitch before Cho did. The best that he could do was to wish that he wouldn't fold under pressure. However they had an advantage in the next match of the season. If they could exploit this advantage, they surely would not end up at the bottom of the rankings. Also he would have to make sure that Zacharias Smith performed well for he was one of the chasers and without him hope would be lost.
The Claws were confident with the one win they had scraped against the badgers. However they knew the real test was ahead. Their next opponent was Gryffindor and they had the best team in the school. Cho Chang could not win against Harold Peverell, not when he could fly so beautifully on that broom of his. Add to that, her broom was no match to him and he could out speed her. They could not even take down their other players for the Gryffindor chasers had been playing together for the last 4 years and were among the best players while the beaters were of formidable repute. Nobody in their right mind tangled with the Weasley Twins.
The Serpent's Pit
The Slytherin team knew this season was ruined. The reason was that one of their chasers and their beaters had been expelled from the school. Warrington, Crabbe and Goyle were gone and now they needed to find replacements, train them and hope to win against other teams, all in a month. Add to that the fact that they would need to hold a full-fledged trial was a headache. They hoped Snape would be prompt in making the appointments.
As soon as the last student knew about the rescheduled tournament, the wall which hid the Slytherin Common Room slid aside and Snape strolled in, his cloak billowing behind him, a sneer on his face. He took one of the chairs near the fire and waited for the house to gather around him. When they did, he began to speak, "As Dumbledore has expelled three of the members of our Quidditch team, we are now short by three players and those are key positions. Trials will be held this evening. Any of you who wish to participate can report. I must emphasise that no one should be stopped from trying. In the past, Slytherin girls have never come up for the trials and I feel that it's about time that changed. Today we will be taking trials for a chaser and two beaters. Now is Mr. Montague here?"
Montague stepped forward, "Yes Professor
Severus said curtly, "I want a team ready by evening today Mr. Montague and I don't want to hear that you did not allow girls into the team because it is tradition. To ensure that my word is followed, Mr. Pucey will be with you and make sure that you are doing what is asked of you. I will have the note signed reserving the pitch this evening for you."
As Snape was about to leave, Malfoy stepped forward, "Professor, I want a word."
Snape motioned for him to go on, "Professor, I… I want to change position from Seeker to Chaser. As there is a vacancy, maybe I can apply if you would allow it."
Snape looked at him before he opened his mouth, "Let me be clear about this, Draco. This is an open trial. I want to field the best team we can. Anyone can try out for any position. No player has a secure position unless they are the best we have. I suggest that you try out for all the positions you are interested in and let the captain sort out where you work best. If you are the best seeker we have, that's where you will play. Should you prove to be a better chaser and we can find a better seeker, then so be it. Is that clear?"
Draco nodded, "Yes professor."
Malfoy's decision to change positions had come after Milicent had talked with him about it a week earlier. Millie knew she wasn't going to participate in the war and neither would Draco. She also knew that there was little chance that Malfoy would gain prominence in the ministry under the current regime. Even if the death eaters won, there would be no place for the Malfoys so there was only one way ahead for Draco. His family's illegal trades had been stopped since Frank had come into power. The Malfoys had no other constant source of income but for that generated by the Gnomes. Malfoy would need to work because wealth would not last forever. They had agreed that he could try playing Quidditch for any of the low tier teams. Those teams were always in need of decent talent but they didn't have had the galleons to hire the best ones. They had decided that Malfoy could apply to them and start with any of them eventually working his way up. He had requested to shift from playing Seeker because he had been thrashed in that position his second, third and fifth year at Hogwarts. With Harold Peverell blitzing his way around, there was little chance that he would be noticed. The infamous taint of being the seeker who always lost to the boy-who-lived would haunt him. Milicent had confided in him how he had been the butt of every quidditch joke where Harold Peverell was concerned. If he was allowed to play chaser then maybe he would get noticed starting the next year and wouldn't face humiliation as he had in the past years he had played.
Unknown Castle
Voldemort was holding a meeting of the surviving members of the inner circle and he was livid. His magic was wrapped around him in a dark aura and his blood red eyes were glowing like hot coals. The death eaters stood like servants before him with their hands folded and heads bowed in submission. He had crucioed all of them before he said a word. It was always good to get his frustration out of the way if he wanted to get any good out of the meeting that was about to proceed.
"Take your seats", he said coldly.
They rushed into their seats though each tried to take a seat as far away from as they could. Each of them was cowering in their seat while he scrutinised them.
The seat to his right was vacant which was generally occupied by Bellatrix. The one on his left was also vacant and it belonged to Severus who was in the castle spying on the old fool. The one next to Bellatrix was also vacant which was taken by Dolohov in the past. The one next to Severus was occupied by Rudolphus and the one next by Rabbastan. Next to the seat of Dolohov was occupied by Malfoy, who tried to hide in his chair. Voldemort could smell fear coming from him. Perhaps Lucius would be the perfect one to make an example of when all was said and done. The seat next to Rabbastan was vacant which was occupied in the past by Mulciber Sr. while the seat next to him was occupied by Macnair. The seat next to Macnair was vacant and it used to be Rookwood's. This troubled him. He knew that Rookwood was not among the dead so he was quite alive but where, he couldn't say. The one next to Rookwood belonged to Corbin Yaxley who was in his seat and looking smug. The seat next to him belonged to Travers who had perished in the battle of Hogsmeade and the ones next were occupied by Gibbons and Thorfinn Rawle. Of the thirteen knights of his Order, only 9 remained but the thing was that the 4 who died had been the best of his followers. Bellatrix's rage was well known to the world and her ruthlessness was just an added bonus. She was a terror that made others shiver in fear of her. Mulciber Sr. was a decent duellist who had killed his fair share of wizards in the first war and had served time in Azkaban. Travers had been an asset to him in the first war and was one of those who had killed the McKinnons. His service was unparalleled to Voldemort. Dolohov was ruthless and a mercenary at heart. He was absolutely brutal and even had his own signature spell which could cause instant death. He would need some other people to fill in their places.
Triton Selwyn was killed at Azkaban with a dagger to his heart while his brother had been brutally killed in the raid at Green Hues. If any of them were alive, he would have gladly offered them a place in his inner circle for they had earned it. For now, he needed a few people in the vacant places but first he needed to ask what the condition of his forces was.
He turned to Lucius, "I have kept abreast with the developments taking place here since I went abroad but I want an account of the ambush where Bella and Mulciber were killed."
Lucius cleared his throat unnecessarily and said silkily, "My lord, Bella was leading us in your stead since you left. She was directing your forces and she had decided that a raid was in order that would cause irreparable harm to the Aurors. We had laid an ambush in Cardiff but somehow the ministry got word of it and they set a trap. We had sent 40 death eaters and they met about 20 Aurors in battle. A while after they left, Bella gathered about 20 more of the death eaters and went out with Dolohov. We don't know what happened there but as per Dolohov's report, we were winning when the Order of the Snow Leopard came and laid waste to your forces. He claimed that there were only two of them and that one of them single-handedly dealt with your forces while the other cut a path of destruction between him and Bella killing Mulciber in the process and challenged her. The next day we heard that she was killed. Dolohov was able to make an escape that day."
"I see. We were betrayed by one of our own or the ministry couldn't have known about our plans. Now about the battle of Hogsmead. I am pleased with the damage that we were able to cause to them but a lot of magical blood was spilled which should have been avoided. Those children could be moulded to serve us in better way but that is water under the bridge now. Who made that plan?"
Lucius wondered for the hundredth time about why he had chosen to serve the Dark lord and why he was ecstatic when he was asked to sit in his inner circle. It only brought problems to him. At that moment however, Voldemort was looking at him with such concentration that he internally shuddered. He started speaking after 5 minutes of waiting, "My lord, one of the Germans named Emmet Wagner made that plan. He was going in for the shock and retreat strategy but we miscalculated things."
Voldemort continued in his same drawling voice, "I will invite this Wagner inside after I am done asking questions. Now I had left specific instructions when I went on this journey. First was to find if we could get to the officials of the ministry. Second was to find a way to kill the mudbloods. Third was to see that my men are sufficiently trained."
Lucius bowed, "My Lord, we tried to raid the manors of the officials of the ministry but we got nothing. We lost 7 at Bones manor, two at the home of the house of the blood-traitor Weasleys, 10 at Green Hues, 5 in an attack on the home of a mudblood family and 2 in the attack on a mudblood family in Hampstead. 5 more were killed in trying to kill a half-blood hiding in the muggle world. The ministry has devised ways to come to the aide of the mudbloods at a moment's notice and we were losing too many. Severus suggested that we cut our losses and stop attacking them until the ministry comes down from high alert. Rabbastan and Rudolphus have been training your army every day since you left."
"What happened to my pet wolf?", Voldemort asked coldly.
"He was killed in a raid at the hands of Remus Lupin who has become a thorn in our side. He has an army of werewolves which fights with our werewolves to protect the muggles and wizards."
Voldemort's fury was rising yet he was suppressing his anger for now. He needed more answers, "Lucius, I had left you alive in the hopes that you'd have redeemed your name by now. Do you have anything to show for yourself?"
Lucius knew he was in a tight spot but he chose to tell the truth for Voldemort would find out anyhow, "Master, I was sent on a raid to a muggle family in Hampstead. The ministry somehow got wind of our movements and the Aurors arrived in record time. I was able to kill one of them but had to retreat when I was outnumbered."
Voldemort raised his wand, "You have failed me yet again, Lucius. CRUCIO!"
Lucius bent double with pain, his mouth clamped firmly, his teeth chattering against each other as he was making a great effort to save himself from biting his tongue. The torture went on for about 5 minutes. The others started to worry if Voldemort was going to kill Lucius Malfoy or drive him permanently insane. Voldemort wanted to vent his fury on someone. Since he could not get access to Harold Peverell or the General, he showed his displeasure to the nearest target. That was unfortunate for Lucius Malfoy who for all his failures was his whetstone. He however remembered Abbadon's warning and did not kill Malfoy. Lucius would serve him even if unwillingly.
After about 5 minutes when it appeared that Lucius's mind would snap, he ended the torture and called for healers to take him away. The healers were mortified with the havoc that had been wrecked upon the Malfoy Lord. His robes were heavily singed with them remaining in tatters. His skin was dissolved in places, his flesh appeared burnt and he was barely breathing. They would need to put forth all their skill and expertise to save him. If they failed then the Dark Lord would do the same to them.
After Lucius was carted off, Voldemort turned to his remaining followers, "I may have been a trifle harsh with Lucius but he had it coming to him for a long time. Presently I will admit some new people to this coveted inner circle but before that I will hear the German.". He motioned to Gibbons, "You, Gibbons, go and fetch him."
Gibbons returned a moment later with the German in tow who sat in one of the chairs without asking. Voldemort glared at him, "I did not give you leave to sit down, Wagner."
Wagner said nonchalantly, "You can keep this showing off for your followers. I am here assisting you on orders from the Guild. We made an agreement with you but you are not my master. Come to the point."
About half a dozen wands were instantly pointed at Wagner but Voldemort interrupted, "Sheath your wands. I will talk to him." He then turned to Wagner and said in his meanest and coldest voice, "let it be known that Lord Voldemort keeps his word. If it were not for the promise I made to Waldhem, you would be a smoking pile of ash on the floor right now. None of the wizards that you bested were Lord Voldemort. You don't want to see what I can do to you."
The sneer and the disdainful curl at the end of his lip made Wagner shudder despite himself. He was used to Waldhem Meyer who treated them well and never forced them but rather asked their cooperation. Wagner's perception of a Dark Lord was shattered with Voldemort. He wouldn't show it but he found that Voldemort was more formidable than he had heard. The way he was glaring at him, Wagner wanted to dig a hole and crawl in. Voldemort's magic which was as black as his soul made the air around them tense and threatening. For the first time, he realised why Voldemort was the most feared Dark Lord. His respect for Harold Peverell increased in that moment. The lad was only 15 yet he had been able to stand before Voldemort and duel with him for 2 hours. Just to face Voldemort when his fury was awakened was something Wagner didn't want to think about.
Voldemort spoke in a cold slimy voice which sounded like slithering snakes, "Manners, Wagner. Meyer knows better than to offend me. Now you know also. Speak to me that way again and you shall not live long enough to regret it."
Wagner rose to his feet, "I beg your pardon, Dark Lord, for my rudeness."
Voldemort sneered at him, "See? Manners. You may be seated." He waited the moment it took Wagner to sit down before continuing, "Now, enlighten me. Why did you decide to attack Hogsmead?"
"I have studied the wizards of Britain. The one thing that they value above all else is their children. The same children who are the future of the wizarding world. At the very least, I believed that we could force some concessions if not all out surrender from them if we struck at their children. Perhaps new death eaters or massive ransoms, depending on the disposition of each captured student. I knew they were well protected in the castle, but during a Hogsmead weekend, many of them would be most vulnerable. To pull many of the Aurors stationed there away, we started rumours of a large attack in Wales. We set up wards around the perimeter of the village to prevent anyone from entering or leaving. As it turned out, only ten Aurors remained on station when we launched our attack."
Voldemort nodded at his line of thought, "It seems that your plan should have worked. Surely, the number you took into battle would have made short work of a measly ten Aurors. How did you fail?"
He shook his head as if to deny the facts then grumbled, "The students knew how to fight. We were expecting no resistance at all but those students were actually fighting with us on an equal footing. In fact most of them appeared to be better trained than your own followers. If it had been a fair fight where we didn't have hostages, I have no doubt that they would have killed every last one of us. They had to save others while they fought while we had no such compunctions. Then there were those boys who changed everything. I duelled with Dumbledore but he was not duelling to kill, at least not outright. He used hexes and curses which made me bleed and were killing me slowly. However those two boys had no compunctions about taking a life. They were doing it as easily as I am talking to you."
"Who were those boys?", Voldemort asked just to confirm what he already knew.
"Harold Peverell and Neville Longbottom", Wagner confirmed, "They were like two greater demons as they dealt with us. The Longbottom boy destroyed our wards by sheer force. The Peverell boy was killing your men left and right. In fact he was moving so fast that it looked like we were not moving at all. Harold Peverell kept killing one after another without giving a damn about who he hit with a curse. You have made some formidable enemies. These pathetic men that you call your followers were cut down before they could even aim their wands."
Voldemort knew he was speaking the truth. He had been reading the surface thoughts of the German while he spoke. He also knew that his men were incompetent. They could cast a curse but that was all. They could not dodge, they could not battle for an extended amount of time nor did they fight like a team.
He turned to the German again, "What can you do in regard to my men? You know we can't go out of this place lest the ministry gets wind of our whereabouts."
Wagner nodded, "Leave them to me. Let me have free rein to deal with them as I see fit and I will deliver an effective fighting force."
He nodded, "Very well. You shall have your desire. Should you prove to be as good as your word, I shall reward you. Should you prove to be full of hubris, you shall pay with your life."
With that, Wagner was dismissed. He turned to his inner circle again, "Now where is Rookwood?"
Corbin Yaxley answered him, "My lord, he is missing. He went on a mission to spy out the wards of the manors of the old families to see if they could somehow be brought down. He hasn't reported in since."
He beckoned Yaxley forward, "Your arm, Corbin."
He touched one skeletal finger to the dark mark on Yaxley's arm. He winced inwardly but did not show it. As Voldemort let it go, he returned to his seat immediately.
Rookwood came in about ten minutes later. He immediately went down on his knees, kissing the hem of Voldemort's robes, "How may I serve you, master?"
Voldemort beckoned him to take his seat, "Augustus, I have been waiting for you. I was concerned for you. Where have you been?"
Of course he wasn't concerned for him at all and his death would have only inconvenienced him a trifle but there was no harm in telling a lie if it could yield him loyalty from his followers.
Augustus's eyes were tearing up, "Master is too kind."
"What did you find out, Augustus?", he asked silkily.
"Master, I found that the wards of Bones Manor and Green Hues are impregnable but the same is not the case with others like the Greengrasses, the Boots, the Macmillans etc. For example, we will need a team of about 5 wizards to bring down the wards after destroying the ward-stones which are unprotected and can be destroyed. Other than that, we will need a force of about ten to deal with whoever is in there at Boot's manor."
Voldemort smirked, "Then let it be our next target. But before that I want to cause some chaos for the ministerial forces. How did things go at Hogwarts? Was Malfoy's son eliminated?"
Rudolphus answered, "Bella designated a handful of students to take him out but the blasted Aurors got wind of the affair and they were caught before they could finish the job. Those students were expelled."
Voldemort roared in fury as he a hole through the nearest wall of the room they were in. He growled at them, "All you have is bad news for me. You have all disappointed me. If I were not so forgiving, I would have killed every one who has been a bearer of bad news to me".
After a minute, he asked again, "Who is managing the werewolves now that Greyback is gone?"
Macnair answered, "One of Greyback's assistance named Aniston has taken over their command, my lord. He is very loyal to our cause."
Voldemort nodded, "Call him in after we are done here. Call Parkinson and Nott."
When they came in, he pointed them to two of the vacant chairs, "You have both been loyal to me and served me as effectively as you can. For this, I have decided to reward you both by taking you into my inner circle."
The Chamber of Secrets
Harry was sparring with Vikram in the Chamber of Secrets. Harry had been duelling with Vikram for 6 months now and even though the older man lacked Harry's youthful reflexes, Harry had never been able to best him. The mystic was not overtly powerful like Vari but he had a certain inscrutable subtlety to him that always enabled him to get past Harry. He always had some tricks ready that would turn the tables and Harry really enjoyed duelling with him.
Among the students only Neville could give him any real competition but the duels with him didn't bring the excitement which the duels with Vikram brought. Vikram always did something unorthodox at the moment when Harry didn't expect it.
That evening they were practicing duelling with each other and Harry was casting the most lethal curses at Vikram who was dancing around the curses and looked right at home. Harry didn't use dual wands on the mystic because that was not what those duels were meant for. Those duels were meant for learning new things. For practicing, Harry could always destroy dummies.
As Harry's barrage of curses was unrelenting, Vikram kept dancing and with a movement faster than the blink of an eye, he sent a spear at Harry who produced a wooden shield in time to stop it. As the spear got caught in the shield, Harry transfigured them into a javelin and banished it at Vikram. Vikram, to Harry's horror, stood motionless and seemed to do nothing to stop it. Harry was sure that in a moment he would have a skewered professor and a lot of questions to answer to Dumbledore who likely would ask if Harry would stop running through all the defence professors that he had hired. However it was not to be, as when the javelin neared him, Vikram slashed his wand in an arc and the javelin disintegrated in thin air! There was not a trace left of it. Harry was left with his mouth open in surprise. After a moment or two, he came to his wits and asked, "Umm... Professor how did you... whatever that was?"
Vikram chuckled, "Something that not everyone can do. Not even all the mystics can do it. Your five teachers who taught you, Lord Sharang and I can successfully do it. It requires a lot of concentration, using it with pin point precision, exact wand movement and the incantation. This is audible spell so you will have to speak it but muttering it under your breath would be good idea. This spell can turn any animation or conjuration to dust. Not advisable in battle if you can't perform it in practice and no something that you should show off. Like you use taditam so often, this one should not be paraded around for others to see. Seeing for first time can amaze your enemy so they would be stumped for a bit which can give you crucial time."
He taught the spell incantation and the wand movement to Harry, "Make the symbol of infinity with giving a flick at the start and a jab at the end. While doing this, remember not to move your wand too wildly but just a quick motion would be sufficient. The incantation is 'Vastu visarjanam'. But remember that it won't work on spells or curses but solid object such as the javelin that you had sent at me."
This spell was a challenge for Harry. It didn't take him long to get the wand movement and incantation down, but the spell wouldn't work for him. After about an hour, Vikram told him, "Harry, this is your challenge to find why you can't cast it perfectly yet. I hope that you will have a solution for me in the next session. Now I wanted to talk to you about something."
Harry apprehensively nodded, "Yes professor. What do you want?"
"Harry, as I heard in that meeting, the final battle is barely two months away. Yet I see that none of your friends are practicing. I can't think why."
"Professor, we used to train in the Room of Requirement. It is currently claimed by the Headmaster to empty the Room of Hidden things. I fear that the work will go on for months. I don't know of any other place that we can practice."
Vikram scowled, "you can all practice right here in this chamber."
"But Professor, I don't know if I am ready to show it to them. The table which I have placed here contains things worth more than my life."
Vikram looked at him critically, "Do you know that there may be more to this place than this single chamber?"
Now that he thought about it, he realised that there might be more than this one room to the Chamber of Secrets. He walked up to the statue in the chamber and raising his hand, he hissed, "Speak to me Slytherin, Greatest of Hogwarts Four."
The hissing voice he had heard the last time spoke again, "Who calls Slytherin?"
"I Harold James Peverell-Potter-Black-Rosier-Weber call upon you in the name of mother magic to grant me access to the chambers within."
This time, the face of the statue split in two and slid to either side to reveal a door that led inside. The door was beside the tunnel that the Basilisk had come from.
Harry turned to Vikram, smirking, "After you, Professor."
There was another room after entering through the door but that was it. It was as big as a dorm in the Gryffindor tower. A very old rickety table stood in one corner but it didn't look in very good shape. Harry vanished the table after being satisfied that it would not serve him well.
After vanishing the table, they each waved their wands in a complex motion. In response, suddenly the wind rushed around the chamber. When it stopped after a minute, there were no cobwebs, the walls looked clean and Harry had a personal chamber to himself.
After moving his table and chair with everything on it into the freshly cleaned room, they exited it and sealed the statue after them. Then they set to work, examining the walls for more secret ways out of the chamber other than for the entrance that he used for himself. That entrance was guarded by the nastiest of wards and he was not in the mood to take them down.
When they could not find anything on any more of the serpent hoods, Vikram doused all the sources of light in the room. With the room dark, he waved his wand in a complicated motion. A moment later, two stones on walls opposite to each other began to glow faintly.
Vikram said to him, "Go and tap them with your wand, Harry."
Harry went up to the stones and tapped them in turn with his wand but nothing happened. Vikram suggested, "Try asking them to open in Parseltongue."
This time, Harry hissed, "Open." The stone glowed for a moment and an outline of a door shimmered into existence before them. A moment later, there was a door where there had been a solid wall. To their surprise, this door opened near the Grand staircase. It was hidden behind a tapestry. As he exited, he hissed, "Close." The door closed and sealed itself without a trace. He opened the door from the outside the same way as he had opened it from the inside.
The other stone opened in the same way. It opened on the landing of a stair case which led up through the castle. Harry had a distinct feeling that this staircase was situated within a wall. He confirmed his theory by looking at the Marauder's Map which showed him within the masonry. The staircase opened somewhere near the second floor where the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws could easily access it.
After that he went back into the chamber. Vikram taught him the art of revealing the hidden doorways as he had done. This would save him the hassle of marking the entrances so that they could remain completely concealed. Also that would deter others from trying to find it. Only Harry could open and close it so there was little chance that anyone could get in but it never hurt to be cautious.
The next morning
Angelina had booked the Quidditch pitch for the next morning and she rounded up the members of her Quidditch team as they came down for morning runs. Harry had the rest of them go through their paces while Neville, Daphne, Susan and Du Vant kept them honest. The practice was brutal. She had Ron at the goal post while all the chasers (including the spare ones and Harry) tried to get the Quaffle past him. The 4 beaters did their best to try and break up the plays with the Bludgers. The chasers were all flying well, but the occasional Bludger still managed to find its mark. For the first half hour, Fay and Sloper defended the chasers while the twins tried to break up the plays and prevent the chasers from getting to the goal. It was just as bad during the second half hour when the two sets of beaters switched roles.
During the hour of practice, Harry cursed Voldemort, Dumbledore and the twins ( specifically in that order). Voldemort for existing in the first place and not dying when Harry was little, Dumbledore for bringing the deadlines closer and the twins for being merciless and not giving an inch. Each of the chasers had been hit at least once and were nursing bruised ribs. It didn't become any better when Fay and Sloper went on the offensive. They were able to get an equal number of Bludgers past the twins and whack them. As it turned out, the new beaters were every bit as talented as Gred and Forge who had earned the dubious honour of being dubbed 'The Human Bludgers' by Wood during his captaincy. The team was confident that their substitute beaters would do. In fact, if the other team underestimated the new beaters, they may even prove to be an advantage.
The keeper, Ron, however was miserable. He had used every technique that he knew to perform at the top of his form and yet he had let in a few goals. Of the 100 times that he had the Quaffle soaring at him, he had been able to make 85 saves. He perked up when Harry reminded him that he was defending against twice as many chasers as he ever would during a real game.
In the end, Angelina was satisfied with the way the practice had gone. It was looking like a promising start but they would only know on the day of the match.
The Slytherins too had their trial the last evening and they had the new players. Conrad Du Vant, a member of the Order of the Snow Leopard had grabbed the position of beater while Margaret Thickett went on to become the first girl on Slytherin Quidditch team. Malfoy was able to get in the desired position of beater while Harper, who was a year behind them got into the position of seeker. Harper wasn't the best choice but no one else had made the cut for chasers as Malfoy did. Considering they were not going to play Gryffindor in the rest of the season, Montague decided to risk selecting him for that role.
A/N- I know this update came very late when it was in fact ready about two weeks ago. I lost my mother this month and as such, I am not in very fit state of mind to write new chapters for some time to come. I will do what I can but the updates can be delayed. Please bear with me and pray for the peace of my mother's soul. Love you all.
The lord of Mystics.
