Notes: Ideas, ideas
Disclaimer: I do not own the franchises of either Harry Potter or Yu-Gi-Oh
Harry Potter and the Duel Academy
Ch. 6: New Discoveries
Needless to say, the weekend was spent discussing what they'd heard. Sure enough, the next day after their eavesdropping session, there was an announcement.
"Attention, students," Dumbledore said over the loudspeaker, "A convicted felon by the name of Sirius Black has escaped, and is believed to be in the area. However, our school is very secure, and the police are on patrol, so there is no need for panic. You would have heard this on the news eventually, and I see no reason to keep it from any of you. Thank you, and have a pleasant weekend."
"That still doesn't tell us anything," Hermione said, "What was he convicted of, and why he's connected to you. All we know is he used to be a student here."
"Maybe they kicked him out and he wants to get even," Ron suggested.
"It's got to be something more than that," Harry replied, "And somehow I've got to find out."
"Oh, come now, Harry," Hermione said, "It's not like you can just disguise yourself and eavesdrop again. Last night we simply got lucky."
"Actually, I think I have a way to disguise myself."
"Really?" Ron asked, "How are you gonna manage that?"
"I'll tell you later. What I need is time to get it ready, and the opportune moment to use it."
Hermione gave Ron a concerned look, while he simply shrugged and gave his own bewildered look. Harry kept himself busy the rest of the day in his room. He only came out to eat, and immediately went back to his room.
"Ron," Hermione said as she smacked his arm, "Stop eating and go see what Harry is up to!"
"Okay, first of all, ow...and second, Harry won't let anyone else in the room. Third, I'm still hungry. He said he'd tell us what he was doing later, now stop worrying and eat something. I know you're hungry."
It was getting late, so they went back to the dorm to check on Harry one more time.
"Harry? You've been acting the recluse long enough. Time for you to come out and stop making us worry."
"Well, making Hermione worry anyway."
She punched him in the arm.
"Okay, come on in."
Hermione flung the door open, but Harry was nowhere to be seen.
"Did he go out the window?" Hermione asked.
"I think we would've heard that if he did."
Hermione looked around, while Ron leaned against the door frame.
"Hey, wait a minute. When did we get a plant?"
"That seems rather irrelevant, Ron."
"You should listen to Ron a bit more, Hermione," Harry's voice rang out.
The large potted plant in the corner disappeared, and Harry was crouched on the floor in its place.
"Harry, was that a hologram?" Hermione asked.
"My parents left a small hologram projector with me. So I did some reading, a bit of fine tuning, and now it can project whatever I want."
"So that's your cunning plan to find out more about this Sirius Black fella?"
"Correct."
"Which means you'll have to be sneaky."
"Right again."
"Brilliant."
"It's not brilliant!" Hermione suddenly yelled, "Well...actually, it's very brilliant. Normally I'm against such behavior, but...I think you should do it."
Harry was stunned, "I'm sorry?"
"It's not right they keep information from you. Just please be careful. If you were to get caught..."
Harry put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "Thanks. Tomorrow should be the perfect time to try this out."
They got a good night's sleep, and the next day went on like normal. An hour or so before dinner, Harry decided to put his plan into action.
"We'll wait in our room for you, Harry," Ron said.
"Remember to be extremely careful," Hermione added.
"Thanks, guys."
Harry rushed to the teacher's lounge, knowing they'd soon be in there for dinner. He'd noticed a few things from his first week, like how Hagrid was always the first one there. Hagrid had a bad habit of not always paying enough attention to his surroundings, which would make for a perfect opportunity to run inside after her unlocked the door. Harry disguised himself as a plant again as he heard Hagrid arriving.
"They may get their dinner from off campus," Hagrid said to himself, "But I love our food. I don't remember this plant being here. Probably just didn't notice it before. Maybe one of the other professors just barely put it there."
Hagrid swung the door open wide, and Harry rushed inside. Hagrid was looking in the opposite direction, so he went into the nearby closet. It was only a few minutes after that when a few of the other teachers came in. There was McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, and even lunchlady Rosmerta. Something was bothering them.
"I can't stand it when Fudge visits the academy," McGonagall sighed, "He acts like he knows everything."
"Well it sounded important," Rosmerta said.
"He thinks everything he has to say is important," Sprout replied.
"No doubt it's about Sirius Black," Flitwick said, "We knew this was coming."
Just then there was a knock on the door.
"Ah, good evening, professors," said a jovial voice.
"Hello, Fudge," they all replied.
Cornelius Fudge was someone Harry had heard of, but never met. He was a city official who kept an eye on all the different academies. What exactly he did was a bit of a mystery, apart from butt into other people's business.
"Is Dumbledore not here?"
"He's out for a walk," McGonagall answered.
"So sorry I couldn't get here sooner," he started, twirling his bowler hat, "Hurried as fast as I could once I heard the news about Black."
"What exactly did he do?" Rosmerta asked.
"You don't know? He only helped a certain someone murder Harry Potter's parents."
Harry was now in shock.
"You can say his name, Fudge. It's not like it's a taboo or something," McGonagall said, "We all know it was a former student named Tom Riddle."
"Funny how someone with a name like that could go around calling himself something as crazy as Lord Voldemort," Flitwick said.
"He always liked being special," Hagrid grumbled.
"Wait, wasn't Black a friend of James and Lily?" Rosmerta asked.
"That's what makes it so shocking," said another new voice.
Harry barely caught a glimpse of the new man through the window. His clothes were quite ragged, and he was quite thin and shabby. Yet somehow, he also had a quiet dignity to him.
"I didn't know you were a professor here," Fudge said, sounding a tad annoyed.
"Remus Lupin, how are ye?" Hagrid asked.
"A bit tired...it was a long trip. I heard some of your conversation. You're talking about Sirius. He grew up with me and James."
"Don't forget Pettigrew," Fudge said.
"Oh yes, him...well anyway, this Riddle or Voldemort, whatever you call him, was going around causing a lot of trouble. They say he was playing Shadow Games."
"Rubbish!" Fudge scoffed.
Lupin rolled his eyes, "Whatever he was up to, James and Lily stood up to him several times. It just made him mad. Someone so arrogant, humiliated by people much younger than he was. No one really knows what happened that night he killed the Potters, but his body was never found."
"The point is," Fudge said, "James and Lily were hiding from him, just to be safe, if only for Harry's sake. There's no way that villain could've found them unless they were betrayed. The only person who knew where they were hiding was Black, ergo, he sold them out."
"I still can't believe it," Hagrid said, "He lent me his motorcycle to take Harry to his aunt and uncle."
Fudge ignored him, "The next day, Peter Pettigrew, you remember him, that chubby fellow with the rat-ish sort of face, confronted Black in front of a dozen people, yelling about how he was sure Black betrayed them. Next thing you know, there was an explosion. Black was sent flying, while Pettigrew...well, all they found of him was a finger. No doubt Black planted the explosives."
"If he planted them," McGonagall piped up, "Why would he be caught in his own blast?"
"Black was clearly crazy. When they picked him up, he just kept laughing like mad. Next thing you know, he escapes during a prison transfer. No doubt coming here to finish the job."
"What, you mean to kill Harry?" Flitwick asked.
"Of course! A blind fanatic like him, still sure his master is alive, coming here to make sure there are no survivors."
"This sounds like a lot of conjecture," Sprout said.
Fudge simply sputtered and mumbled a few other things. He then went out the door, likely to look for Dumbledore.
"Indeed it is a lot of speculation," Lupin replied, "Admittedly, everyone was so distraught about the murder of the Potters, no one ever bothered to question Sirius. Fudge has lots of connections, one of which is a judge by the name of Crouch."
"I remember Crouch," Hagrid said, "Always went a bit too overboard."
"His son attended here as well," McGonagall added.
"After this Riddle character disappeared, all his followers scattered. Those that were caught were sent straight to prison without a trial. The fact of the matter is, apart from generously offering me a job here, Dumbledore wants me to get to the bottom of this. He believes something is about to happen."
"He's usually right about these things," Flitwick said.
"Well, that's enough chit chat," McGonagall said, "It's time we were heading for our dormitories."
They all left the room, making sure to turn the lights out. This was a lot for harry to take in. He made sure no one was watching, and then rushed back to the Red dorm, where Ron and Hermione were still waiting. He told them everything.
"They think this guy wants to kill you?" Ron asked, "Even I can see that's way too stupid to risk. Plus they're not even really sure if he's the one who backstabbed your parents."
"I don't really know what to think about all this, Harry. Not only have you never heard of this Black character, you say this is the first time you've heard of that man they called Tom Riddle?"
"I think I saw his name on a few trophies in the school."
"He gave himself a new name? That just screams someone who wants attention," Ron said.
"You say this Remus Lupin is a new teacher here? I wonder what he'll teach? Sorry, Harry, I'm getting sidetracked. I can't even imagine what you must be feeling."
"It's fine. I mean, what else is there to say? This is all new to me. I mean, it is a bit of a shock since they told me my parents died in a car crash. And while I do miss them now and then, especially when I use their cards, I've got a new family. You guys are my family. When it was just my aunt and uncle, treating me like dirt, I really missed my parents. But when I met you lot, you took me into your homes. I wasn't alone anymore."
Hermione started to tear up, and she rushed over to give him a hug. Ron sighed, but then he got up and joined the hug.
"Oh, Harry, whatever happens, you know we'll be there for you. I'm sure your parents would be happy to know you have people that truly care about you."
"Yeah, mate, what she said."
"Thanks, you two. There is one thing I'm wondering. If this Lupin fellow is the schoolmate they mentioned, since we already know from the yearbooks that Snape went to school with my parents, then who's the assistant Quirrell was talking about?"
"Oh my goodness!" Hermione exclaimed, "Look at the time! I must get back to the Blue dorm. I'll see you tomorrow."
Before she left, she gave Harry another hug. When she caught Ron rolling his eyes, she gave him a shove. They smiled at each other, and then she left.
"Be careful," Ron called out.
A few minutes later, Neville came into the room.
"Hey guys, sorry I've been gone all day. We were practicing for the upcoming duels. You know, apart from the duels between the dorms, the senior class get to choose who they want to duel for their last challenge at the academy."
"Not only is that news to me," Harry said, "That also sounds downright normal in comparison to what we were doing, Neville."
"Why? What did I miss?"
"You wouldn't believe us if we told you," Ron replied.
"Considering all the things my gran has told me over the years, I think you should try me."
Harry smiled, and then he told Neville everything.
The Next Day
The students had gotten through the more academic classes, and were at last coming to one of the ones pertaining to dueling. That's when they met him.
"Good day, class! I'm your new professor here at the academy. I'm a bit of an expert on everything, so I'll teach you what I know. My name is Remus Lupin."
Quirell came in right behind him, looking a bit smug.
"If you're quite f-f-finished, Lupin, it's time to show them my new assistant."
There was a flash of light from under the table, and then a Giant Rat emerged. It walked over to Quirrell, standing about a foot shorter.
"Class, this is my new assistant, the Giant Rat."
"Isn't that just a hologram?" Draco questioned.
"W-w-what better way to teach dueling strategies than by using a Duel Monster?"
Harry leaned over to Ron and Hermione, "Something about that rat feels off."
"It looks like another hologram," Hermione replied.
"I guess it's just a feeling, but this hologram seems...different."
"Now to get started," Lupin said, "Let's try something simple. I need a volunteer. How about you, Harry? Sorry to single you out, but I was friends with your parents, and I haven't seen you in some time."
Harry walked down to the desk.
"Thank you, Harry. Let's demonstrate the different types of summoning."
"Is that all?" Draco said, "That's far too basic."
"Perhaps you'd prefer it to be a full fledged duel, Mr. Malfoy?"
"As a matter of fact, I would. We've been putting this off for far too long, Potter. Unless of course you're too scared?"
"You wish."
