After a troll destroys her washroom, Myrtle Warren and the other ghosts meet on All Saint's Day. They decide to do something about the decay in Hogwarts standards by calling for other ghosts to appear and stay for a year. What kind of changes can the ghosts bring about? Will Myrtle make friends? No ships. Mild Bash Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Lucius Malfoy.
1 November 1991The morning after a troll destroyed her bathroom, Myrtle Warren was as unhappy as a ghost could be. She was as angry with the professors at Hogwarts as she had ever been with Olive Hornby, the witch who tormented her in Ravenclaw in the 1940s. Being that 1 November was All Saints Day, the ghosts of Hogwarts gathered to share information, rumors, and ideas for pranks to play on the living.
The other ghosts were sympathetic with Myrtle – they carefully guarded their haunts from the living and dreaded what it would be like to have unwelcome and uninvited visitors at all hours of the day and night.
The Fat Friar asked, "But what can we do about it? The professors allow the students to misbehave more and more each year."
The Bloody Baron scoffed, "If Whiskers would act as a proper headmaster instead of a chess player, Hogwarts would produce witches and wizards who could think and act in the current world."
The Grey Lady sniffed and replied with a single word, "Snape."
The baron growled, "I preach and haunt the beast, but he ignores me. I can't move his cauldrons or spoil his potions…that might harm the children."
Myrtle asked, "Could we invite other ghosts to come help us?"
"We can't communicate with others."
"That is true on every day except for today," the Grey Lady stated. "On this day, All Saints Day for the muggles, we can call to our brethren and any restless ghost or spirit can come visit…"
"For how long?"
"A full year. Until the next All Saints Day," the ghost of Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter replied.
The ghosts gathered around the warding stones in the heart of Hogwarts and floated within the stones themselves to magnify their call out to any spirits wandering the earth – an invitation to visit a school in need of help. The next morning, three ghosts from the graveyard in Hogsmeade floated through the ceiling of the Great Hall and settled at their old tables – Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff. In conversations with the students at the tables, the ghosts began telling stories about Hogwarts from seventy, ninety, and two hundred years earlier.
By 15 November, a dozen new ghosts in Hogwarts had established residence in Hogwarts. The most contentious ghost was William Wallace who railed with Minerva McGonagall for dealing with these 'English' so freely. The two Scots had many heated arguments about the deputy headmistress bowing so meekly to that sassenach's wishes!
Four Spanish soldiers mounted on their horses appeared during luncheon on 17 November – they had drowned when the Spanish Armada floundered off the coast of Scotland while trying to return to Spain in 1588 after the defeat at the hands of the English fleet. The ghosts spoke little English but with a translation spell by Professor Flitwick, the four Spaniards became popular in the Great Hall for their songs, synchronized horse tricks, and recitations of long passages from Psalms.
On 25 November, the ghosts of four potion masters arrived and began haunting the potions classrooms, Snape's office, and his personal quarters. By 27 November, Professor Snape raged in the headmaster's office, demanding relief from the ghosts. Deputy Headmistress McGonagall, her spine stiffened by William Wallace, refused to back down when she took the side of the ghosts (all reputable potion masters who had died within the last fifty years). Headmaster Dumbledore pretended to care about finding a solution until the ghost of his mother appeared and demanded to speak with him immediately.
Snape and McGonagall fled as Kendra Dumbledore excoriated her eldest son for his failure to keep his family together. Albus shrank back from the words the ghost of his mother threw into his face.
CHANGE SCENE && The Students in NovemberHarry Potter and his new friend Hermione Granger joined with Neville Longbottom in asking the new ghost seated at the Gryffindor table about Hogwarts ninety years ago. They laughed hearing about potions class, flying lessons, and transfiguration problems. Ron Weasley was leery of the ghosts but ate like a regular person after the ghost called him out on his manners twice in that one meal.
In Slytherin, the ghost from Hogsmeade began speaking endlessly about the proper behavior of real Slytherins and she suggested to Draco Malfoy that he ask for a resorting.
"How did you not get sorted into Gryffindor?" she demanded to know, leaving the boy wordless.
None of his classmates would support him and when Draco threatened to write to his father, the ghost replied, "Excellent. Ask him to attend me here at Hogwarts so I can reveal to him what a failure he is as a Slytherin!"
Harry and his growing group of friends in Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw began a study group that met in an unused classroom just outside the library. Several ghosts of scholars appeared in the library to work with students, and they made certain no one dared to interrupt the various study groups that formed around the castle.
SCENE CHANGE && WardsAt the end of November, the portraits of several headmasters from the 1800s met in another deserted classroom. House elves cleaned the classrooms and dusted the paintings hung on the walls. They met with ghosts who knew warding schemas and planned to recharge the wards without Headmaster Dumbledore's knowledge.
Kendra Dumbledore visited her son at random times and pushed him to reform himself before he died and suffered a terrible afterlife.
"But mother, I have spent my whole life working for the greater good."
The ghost floated very close and scolded Albus, "You've caused as much pain and suffering as that wizard clinging to the back of your DADA professor's head. Your reward will be an eternity of pain!"
Rather than hearing what his mother tried to tell him, Dumbledore asked, "Does anyone else know Tom is here inside the castle?"
The house elves followed the directions of the former headmasters and placed flat plates that were warding chargers beside the doors of each classroom. With simple encouragement from the ghosts, the children tapped their wand on the faceplate beside classroom door whenever they left or entered the room. Within a week, the wards were stronger.
By 10 December, Severus Snape felt even more uncomfortable whenever he walked into his classroom or the Great Hall. That same morning, Quirinus Quirrell had vanished. His belongings were untouched in his quarters, but the professor could not be found.
Dumbledore rushed to the third floor and discovered that Fluffy, the three-header Cerberus had been replaced by a yippy, three-headed chihuahua. None of the other protections remained in place and the stone was gone. The mirror was shiny and clean, but there was nothing hidden inside the magical artifact. (And the mirror vanished that same night to reappear in the Department of Mysteries where it had been borrowed without permission by Dumbledore in August).
CHANGE SCENE && ChristmasHarry Potter woke on Christmas morning with gifts piled on the foot of his bed. Even better, the ghosts of his parents appeared in his dorm room and announced they would stay for two days – Christmas and Boxing Day. Harry could not hug his parents, but they talked with him about many topics, and the boy believed that was the best present he could ever receive. In the Great Hall at breakfast, lunch and dinner, the Potter ghosts took turns of one parent sitting with Harry while the other parent terrorized Dumbledore, McGonagall, or Snape. Hagrid never appeared in the Great Hall for the whole of the winter break – a visit by the Potters to his hut left the half-giant ashamed of his role in kidnapping Harry and leaving him with the Dursleys.
On Christmas and Boxing Day, Dumbledore found his lemon drops spoiled, his robes shredded, and his funny wand refused to cast any spells. A list of tasks he had to complete appeared on his desk and the first day he ignored it. That evening, his beard vanished and reappeared on Minerva McGonagall.
Minerva was being punished for her role in kidnapping Harry and never once checking on him for ten years. As one of her tasks, McGonagall was charged to reform Dumbledore, and she used her fully functioning wand to hex a beardless Dumbledore to begin his tasks.
Severus Snape feared the coming confrontation with the ghost of James Potter. However, James never addressed or came close to Snape. Lily and every other ghost in the castle did their best to smash Snapes potion bottles, spoil his cauldrons, rip up his books, and disturb his sleep, beginning on 24 December. On 29 December, Severus Snape tried to flee from the castle. But the now fully powered wards kept him prisoner inside the castle until 1 January 1992 when he did step through the gates and fled to Hogsmeade during a winter storm of sleet and snow. He was never seen in Magical Britain again.
SCENERY CHANGE && That Ain't No Rat!Tired of ghosts prompting him to study, eat with proper manners, and be kind to his fellow students, Ron Weasley went home for the winter holiday. His parents took him and his younger sister to visit with their older brother Charlie who worked at a dragon preserve in Romania. There weren't many gifts on Christmas morning, but Ron did get to eat all he wanted.
The Hogwarts Expressed arrived at the Hogsmeade train station just as a snowstorm ended. The students were chilled, but the horseless carriages moved quickly from the station to the castle. The return of the students became strange when Ron stepped through the front door into the entry hall.
A bubble of magic surrounded Ron and lifted him above the other students. The professors, ghosts and other students quickly assembled in the entry hall where no one could dispel the bubble. Finally, the Fat Friar floated up to the bubble and pushed it down to the floor in front of Professor Flitwick.
The ghost asked, "Professor, would you be so kind as to cast the Homorphus Charm on the bubble?"
"To transfigure an Animagus back into its human form? Certainly, Friar." The half-goblin professor didn't hesitate to cast the spell as requested. The charm would not cause Ron Weasley any harm.
The figure in the bubble separated into two forms – Ron and his pet rat, Scabbers. But the rat was morphing into a wizard's form.
"That's Peter Pettigrew!" shouted Flitwick. Dumbledore glanced around trying to judge what success he'd have if he tried to suppress the information. But when he saw the look in McGonagall's eyes with her wand already aimed at his still clean shaven chin and his whiskers still on her chin, he halted all movement, kept his hand away from his still-wonky wand. Professor Sprout to send her Patronus to Amelia Bones with news of another emergency at Hogwarts.
Harry and the other Gryffindor students rescued Ron from his place on the floor while the strange man who'd been a rat for many years floated stupefied in his bubble. Amelia and her guard of Aurors appeared quickly, took the man into custody after searching him for wands, portkeys, etc. In the rat-man's possession was the long missing wand of the Dark Lord. This lead to even more questions and Daily Prophet headlines for a week that ended with Sirius Black, a convict in Azkaban freed from prison, sent to Saint Mungos for treatment, and given tentative custody of his godson.
CHANGE SCENE && Spring 1992Harry and his friends have a quiet winter term and a wonderful spring term. The ghosts patrolling the halls and classrooms made Hogwarts a better school. When Snape fled and Quirrell vanished at the Winter Holiday, Headmaster Dumbledore became very cautious about his plans, left the students alone, and spent more time at the ministry in London.
In June, however, Dumbledore (with Deputy Headmistress McGonagall present) asked Harry to return to Privet Drive for two weeks to recharge the wards there that would protect his 'relatives'. The fact that a dozen ghosts sat all around the headmaster's office during the conversation, made the phoenix laugh again and again. The impressive beard had returned to Dumbledore's face only two weeks earlier and McGonagall had threatened the headmaster if any other incidents occurred to plague her with that mess of hair again.
"Where will I go after two weeks?" asked Harry.
McGonagall said, "Your godfather will be released from Saint Mungo's after one more week. He will spend that week preparing for you to join him at the home of Professor Tonks and her family for the rest of the summer."
"Professor Tonks?" asked Harry. "She's brilliant with potions!"
After saying farewell to his friends for the summer with a promise of exchanging letters, Harry found Uncle Vernon waiting patiently with the other muggle relatives of witches and wizards. Vernon spoke politely, if shortly, to his nephew and helped load the trunk into the boot. There was no conversation in the car but once at Privet Drive, Aunt Petunia admitted to Harry that his parents haunted them regularly since the first of the year.
"Your mum and dad promised to leave us alone if we give you a regular home for the next month. So, you'll have your room, food, and a couple of chores. In another two weeks, Dudley will be released from the hospital."
"What happened to Dudley?"
"He fell and broke both legs two weeks ago at his school."
"I can help him with his schoolwork," offered Harry.
Nervous, Petunia said, "No, no…you do your schoolwork. We wouldn't want you to be inconvenienced."
At the end of the second week, Vernon and Petunia Dursley were relieved when their nephew left the day before Dudley returned home. Harry Potter left in the back of a limousine with his fabulously wealthy godfather barely registered on the couple though it did impress the neighbors.
At the Tonks' home in Wembley, the ghosts of James and Lily worked with the house wards to capture a downtrodden house elf stealing their son's letters. The little fellow was questioned and promised to leave Harry alone. James followed the elf home and set the goblins on finding a way to free the elf from his terrible masters. Harry's summer was filled with family, vacations to the shore, and visits with his friends at their homes.
CHANGE SCENE && 1 September 1992At the beginning of the Welcoming Feast, Ginevra Weasley fainted. Very quickly, Madam Pomphrey and Headboy Percy Weasley levitated the young girl to the infirmary. There the ghosts ordered Poppy to summon Madam Bones. Myrtle Warren was worried about this new witch who could be a good friend like so many other students in the castle.
Madam Bones had been called to Hogwarts a few times since the infestation by spirits began the previous November and she listened carefully to the tale about a cursed diary. The book was found in the girl's robes and once tested, Amelia immediately placed it into a real lead-lined box that another Auror brought from London.
"Where did Miss Weasley get something so dark and terrible as this book?" Madam Bones asked Percy and Poppy once the book was locked away.
"It was Lucius Malfoy. Malfoy slipped the diary into the young girl's cauldron when she was in Diagon Alley buying her school supplies," Myrtle Warren announced.
"I can't take testimony from a ghost," Director Bones tells Myrtle.
The ghosts aren't happy with this information, but then the ghost of the Fat Friar asked, "If this Malfoy fellow comes to your office and confesses…that's legal, isn't it?"
"Well, yes," Amelia admitted.
Immediately, the ghosts vanished from the infirmary and Madam Pomphrey giggled while she helped Miss Weasley rise from the bed. Director Bones and the Aurors departed for London using the floo, and Amelia would deliver the book to the Department of Mysteries for them to study and deal with.
Headmaster Dumbledore arrived with Deputy Headmistress McGonagall, the three missing brothers, and her parents. Albus was relieved that the horde of ghosts that seemed to plague him was missing. When they were assured that Ginny was well, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley witnessed the sorting of their youngest child into Gryffindor.
CHANGE SCENE && Malfoy ManorLucius Malfoy felt a shiver run up his spine when a low moan and cold draft drifted through his library. Looking up as the flames in his fireplace sputtered out, the wizard saw the first of a dozen ghostly shapes pass through the walls. Spaniards on horseback, German soldiers, Cavaliers from the English civil war, and the Scottish patriot, William Wallace filled his private room. They began to moan and move closer. Through the solid door floated the ghost of Winston Churchill who began an endless speech about battling the enemy at the front door, the dining room, and every tread of the staircase leading to the upper floor of the house.
A week later, Amelia was surprised when Lucius Malfoy, twitching and nervous, peering over his shoulder every minute, pushed his way into her office and declared, "Arrest me! Please! The ghosts won't leave me alone! Yes, I am a Death Eater! I sent a dark book to Hogwarts to kill all the mudbloods this month! I bribe Cornelius Fudge every week! Dolores Umbridge offers me…help me! Throw me through the veil! Now! Please!"
SCENERY CHANGE && All Hallows Eve 1992That second Halloween at Hogwarts for Harry and his friends was a pleasant party and feast. They made their way to bed peacefully and on 1 November, woke to find most of the visiting ghosts missing. Myrtle Warren wondered through the DADA classroom, making certain Auror Alastor Moody was comfortable with his quarters and classroom. He'd been scary at first but now after two months, the retired Auror was popular with all the students.
The ghost was pleased that her friends had spent the last year with her at Hogwarts and helped her make friends with students in each of the four houses. She knew the history classes and DADA classes were great. And Andromeda Tonks was popular as Potions Professor with all four houses.
Albus Dumbledore relaxed for the first time in months; his mother's ghost had not appeared for the first four days of November. He considered putting a few of his old schemes back in place but knew he was virtually a prisoner in Hogwarts – Perenelle and Nicolas Flamel waited patiently for the headmaster to step outside the fully charged wards of the castle. Then they could challenge him to a duel and kill him.
He would spend this year on plans to escape the vengeful wizard and witch. 'How long can they last without their elixir? Surely not for many more months,' he hoped.