A N -This is taking longer than I thought! Umn.. I fixed the whole Cedric Diggory thing.. Sometimes when I'm writing, it just kinda spills out, and I don't notice mistakes (although that was a pretty big mistake.) Review! I'm new at this, (this is my first fan fic) so I'm bound to screw up.. Also, let me know, Should I keep going? Should I give up and commit Hari-Kari? Oh yeah... I'm giving some thought to Draco.. Should he be a good guy, or bad guy? let me know!!!
P.S. I know this chapter is horribly short.. I have come down with a terrible case of writers block. the next one will be longer, and better, I promise!!
Chapter 2 - Curse and Counter-Curse
'Another beautiful day,' Harry thought, waking up grumpy. 'I have got to start getting more sleep.' Harry groaned, stretched, and then remembered the events of last night. Dumbledore had liked his plan! He ended his stretch, and bounced out of bed. He had so much to do! He sent hedwig to Dumbledore with a note asking to be excused from classes for the day, along with a note asking the same for Ron and Hermione. While he waited for a response, he found some robes that didn't smell too bad, and woke up Ron.
"No, Fred! I swear I didn't take your dung-bombs!" Ron tossed in his bed as Harry snickered quietly. Then he threw his Chudley Cannon book at him. "What the-OW!" Ron jumped up, rubbing his nose. "Glad to see you're up." Harry chuckled, retrieving his book. "We have a lot to do today! Hurry up, get dressed!" Ron glared at Harry, rummaging for some clean robes, grumbling something about unforgiveable curses being legal when used on morning people.
Ten minutes later, Hedwig returned with Dumbledore's answer. "Good! He agreed. We need to go grab Hermione, and find Sirius!" Harry shouted, grabbing Ron's arm as he headed towards the common room. "I'm coming already, slow down!"
Hermione was sitting in front of the fire waiting for them when they go to the common room, reading, as usual. "Finally, We're going to be late for class!" Harry grinned. "Not today, we're excused." Ron cheered. Hemione look scandalized. "Miss class?! No way, Harry!" She yelled, starting to look panicky. What would Mcgonagall think? What if she failed her OWLS? "Lighten up, Herm," Harry sighed, "We have more important things to do. First we have to find Sirius!"
They ran down the hall to a painting of a slightly out of shape knight, who was swinging his sword around like a drunk. "Take that, ye knaves! Sneak up on me, will ye?!" Ron laughed. "Hello, Sir Cadogan." the knight stopped swinging his sword and looked up at Ron. "Sir Weasley! On another quest, I hope." The knight beamed. "Harry tried hard not to laugh at the puffed up little man. "Actually, we just came to see proffessor Crulak." Sir Cadogan sighed. "I suppose. Password?" Harry looked at Ron, who shrugged. Hermione gave an exasperrated sigh. "It's 'Marauder mayhem'." She said. Sir Cadogan saluted her, and the painting tipped up, revealing an entrance.
Harry ran into his godfather's room, jumped up on the bed ansd started bouncing. "Sirius, wake up!" Sirius groaned and rolled over, shoving a pillow against his ears. "Sirius, wake up, or I'll drop a dungbomb on your head!" Ron and Hermione laughed. Sirius, however, just pulled the blanket over his head. hermione walked over and whispered something in his ear. "What? Who? I'm not sleeping, I was just resting my eyes!" Sirius bolted up. trying hard not to laugh, Hermione glared at him. "Well, finally!"
Sirius sighed, and rubbed his eyes. "Allright, what do you want?" Harry stopped boucning on the bed and flopped down into a chair next to the bed. "Dumbledore wants to see you. After that, you have a class. That leaves you," Harry glanced at a clock on the wall, "thirty seconds to get dressed. Sirius's eyes widened. "Great Wizards, I thought the whole teaching thing was a bad dream!" He scrambled out of bed, looked at Hermione, blushed, and wrapped the sheet around himself. "Allright, you three get gone. I'll find you at lunch." Ron and Harry laughed, Hermione turned beet red, and they walked out of his room.
Four hours later, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Sirius were seated in Dumbledore's office. "I assume you have told everyone, Harry?" Harry nodded. "Good. I have tols your godfather, and, he agrees the plan is good. I shall begin preparations immediately. Hermione, I need your help." Hermione looked up from her lap. Ever since this morning, she hadn't been able to look at Sirius. Harry or Ron either, for that matter. "Yes?" She whispered, her voice cracking. Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling knowingly. "I need you to do some research. I need a good fog charm, something that will make it so thick people will have to swim through it." Hermione grinned. this meant plenty of library time. "I have taken the liberty of informing all of your teachers that you will be absent from your classes until further notice. Percy Weasley will bring you your homework each day." Hermione's grin widened. She wouldn't get behind after all!
"As for you two," Dumbledore glanced at Harry and Ron. "You will begin the outside defenses. I will need everything in place by tomorrow evening. The other teachers have been informed of your absences as well." Harry nodded. "Do they know of the plan?" He asked. Dumbldore stared at him for a second before answering. "No, they do not." Hermione glanced up, looking surprised. Dumbledore smiled grimly at the group. "The less everyone knows, the better. I have complete faith in my staff, but, one can never be too careful." Ron started to speak and was cut off. "Hagrid will be in to speak with me today. I know he is to play a major part in this production. All will be taken care of. I have also sent an owl to the giants, asking for their answer." Ron nodded. Harry stood up. "Well, we better get started." Everyone nodded, without another word, they all filed out of Dumbledore's office.
It was sweaty work, but, Harry had insisted it all must be done by hand. "Are you sure this is going to work?" Ron asked, looking over at Harry, who was starting to get a nasty sunburn. "Nope. But, it's all I could think of." he shrugged and started digging again. harry had explained the reasoning behind all of this, and, it had sounded good, but now that they were actually out here, digging holes and setting traps, Ron wasn't so sure. "It had better, if I've done all this for nothing, I'll make Fred and George slip ton-tongue toffee into everything you eat for the rest of your life." Harry grinned, remembering the look on Dudley's face as his tongue had rolled out of his mouth and started to swell.
Ron had to admit, Harry's plan was good, and stood a good chance of working. It was a lot of work, but, it just might pay off. There were still a few kinks, and after Dumbledore had spoken to Hagrid, Ron and Harry would need to pull him off to talk as well. All in all though, things were looking good. 'Everything's coming up roses,' He thought.
'Nothing, nothing at all!' Hermione thought, completely exasperrated. She had been through the library with a fine tooth comb, and found several potions, charms, and various spells that summoned fog, but, nothing that fit Harry and Dumbledore's needs. She ran her hands through her frizzy hair, looking up from the last book she had been reading. That's when her eyes fell on the restricted section. 'Hrmm.' She got up and strolled over to it. Dumbledore had given her free reign. Any and every book she thought might be useful was at her disposal. She wanderedthrough the restricted section, looking at the book titles. 'the Unforgivables, A how-to for beginning dark wizards', 'Surviving the pain, hints and tips for beating the crucatius curse', 'Avada Kedrava, How does it work?', She shuddered at that one. 'Survive the light! How to care for nocturnal familiars' She pulled this one down, more for fun than anything else. She kept looking. 'The Slytherin uprising', 'Poisons for fun and profit', 'Block the sun! Tips for making your vampiric home darker.' She grabbed this one as well. Among the other books she found nothing, although several of the titles made her shudder. 'Well,' she thought, 'Last hope!' She sat down again and resumed her studying.
Hermione yawned, and stretched, her back crackling softly. She had no idea how long she had been studying, but, it had been a long time. She looked at the scroll she had been writing on, and smiled grimly. Getting this done by day after tomorrow would be tough. She needed to see Madame Pomfrey.
"Great Wizards, child! You need sleep!" Madame Pomfrey bustled over and started fuzzing with Hermione, feeling her forehead, looking into her eyes, feeling her pulse. Hermione rolled her eyes. "I know Madame Pomfrey, but I don't have the time." Madame Pomfrey clucked her tongue. "Headmaster Dumbledore told me about this. I don't agree with him. Not one bit, but, he is the headmaster." She pulled a small bottle out of her apron pocket. "Here. It's similar to pepperup, but slightly stronger. Take it one sip at a time. Your ears will smoke, quite badly. And remember, IT IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR SLEEP! When you are done, you will need to sleep for a few days." Hermione nodded, grateful for the bottle. "Thank you, Madame Pomfrey. I promise to be careful." Poppy Pomfrey sighed, shaking her head. Dark times indeed, when children were called upon as a last defense.
"WORMTAIL!!!!"
Pettigrew quailed. Master was in a foul mood today. Best to answer him as quickly as possible. He slunk into the main hall, staring at the floor. "yes, lord?" Voldemort stared at his minion, disgust evident on his face. "Fetch me Severus, Wormtail, he and I have much to do. Plans to make, and a school," he clenched his fist, thinking of Potter. "to conquer." These last words came out in a deadly whisper, Voldemort sounded very much like the snakes he was friends with. "yes lord, right away, lord."
Once Pettigre had left them, Voldemort asked Snape to sit down.
"Well, Severus, the time is upon us. In three days we shall breach the school. You shall have the honor of killing Albus Dumbledore, and I shall finally see that miserable Potter dead. The school shall be mine, and the honor of teaching my students shall be yours. What say you?" Snape looked at the floor, then back to Voldemort, a small smile curling the corners of his mouth just a little. "I say all is well, Lord," he whispered, "What do you require of me?"
Voldemort thought for a second, choosing his words carefully. "I require you to return to Hogwarts, and tell Albus Dumbledore all that we plan to do." Snape looked sharply at Voldemort. "What? Why?" the Dark Lord's eyes narrowed, and he chuckled. "You will tell him everything. And you will tell him it shall happen in one week." Voldemort started to laugh. Severus thought for a second and then joined in. "I shall go to him now." Voldmort nodded. "Upon your return, send that sniveling idiot Wormtail with news." Severus bowed his head. "It shall be as you wish, Lord." He apparated away.
P.S. I know this chapter is horribly short.. I have come down with a terrible case of writers block. the next one will be longer, and better, I promise!!
Chapter 2 - Curse and Counter-Curse
'Another beautiful day,' Harry thought, waking up grumpy. 'I have got to start getting more sleep.' Harry groaned, stretched, and then remembered the events of last night. Dumbledore had liked his plan! He ended his stretch, and bounced out of bed. He had so much to do! He sent hedwig to Dumbledore with a note asking to be excused from classes for the day, along with a note asking the same for Ron and Hermione. While he waited for a response, he found some robes that didn't smell too bad, and woke up Ron.
"No, Fred! I swear I didn't take your dung-bombs!" Ron tossed in his bed as Harry snickered quietly. Then he threw his Chudley Cannon book at him. "What the-OW!" Ron jumped up, rubbing his nose. "Glad to see you're up." Harry chuckled, retrieving his book. "We have a lot to do today! Hurry up, get dressed!" Ron glared at Harry, rummaging for some clean robes, grumbling something about unforgiveable curses being legal when used on morning people.
Ten minutes later, Hedwig returned with Dumbledore's answer. "Good! He agreed. We need to go grab Hermione, and find Sirius!" Harry shouted, grabbing Ron's arm as he headed towards the common room. "I'm coming already, slow down!"
Hermione was sitting in front of the fire waiting for them when they go to the common room, reading, as usual. "Finally, We're going to be late for class!" Harry grinned. "Not today, we're excused." Ron cheered. Hemione look scandalized. "Miss class?! No way, Harry!" She yelled, starting to look panicky. What would Mcgonagall think? What if she failed her OWLS? "Lighten up, Herm," Harry sighed, "We have more important things to do. First we have to find Sirius!"
They ran down the hall to a painting of a slightly out of shape knight, who was swinging his sword around like a drunk. "Take that, ye knaves! Sneak up on me, will ye?!" Ron laughed. "Hello, Sir Cadogan." the knight stopped swinging his sword and looked up at Ron. "Sir Weasley! On another quest, I hope." The knight beamed. "Harry tried hard not to laugh at the puffed up little man. "Actually, we just came to see proffessor Crulak." Sir Cadogan sighed. "I suppose. Password?" Harry looked at Ron, who shrugged. Hermione gave an exasperrated sigh. "It's 'Marauder mayhem'." She said. Sir Cadogan saluted her, and the painting tipped up, revealing an entrance.
Harry ran into his godfather's room, jumped up on the bed ansd started bouncing. "Sirius, wake up!" Sirius groaned and rolled over, shoving a pillow against his ears. "Sirius, wake up, or I'll drop a dungbomb on your head!" Ron and Hermione laughed. Sirius, however, just pulled the blanket over his head. hermione walked over and whispered something in his ear. "What? Who? I'm not sleeping, I was just resting my eyes!" Sirius bolted up. trying hard not to laugh, Hermione glared at him. "Well, finally!"
Sirius sighed, and rubbed his eyes. "Allright, what do you want?" Harry stopped boucning on the bed and flopped down into a chair next to the bed. "Dumbledore wants to see you. After that, you have a class. That leaves you," Harry glanced at a clock on the wall, "thirty seconds to get dressed. Sirius's eyes widened. "Great Wizards, I thought the whole teaching thing was a bad dream!" He scrambled out of bed, looked at Hermione, blushed, and wrapped the sheet around himself. "Allright, you three get gone. I'll find you at lunch." Ron and Harry laughed, Hermione turned beet red, and they walked out of his room.
Four hours later, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Sirius were seated in Dumbledore's office. "I assume you have told everyone, Harry?" Harry nodded. "Good. I have tols your godfather, and, he agrees the plan is good. I shall begin preparations immediately. Hermione, I need your help." Hermione looked up from her lap. Ever since this morning, she hadn't been able to look at Sirius. Harry or Ron either, for that matter. "Yes?" She whispered, her voice cracking. Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling knowingly. "I need you to do some research. I need a good fog charm, something that will make it so thick people will have to swim through it." Hermione grinned. this meant plenty of library time. "I have taken the liberty of informing all of your teachers that you will be absent from your classes until further notice. Percy Weasley will bring you your homework each day." Hermione's grin widened. She wouldn't get behind after all!
"As for you two," Dumbledore glanced at Harry and Ron. "You will begin the outside defenses. I will need everything in place by tomorrow evening. The other teachers have been informed of your absences as well." Harry nodded. "Do they know of the plan?" He asked. Dumbldore stared at him for a second before answering. "No, they do not." Hermione glanced up, looking surprised. Dumbledore smiled grimly at the group. "The less everyone knows, the better. I have complete faith in my staff, but, one can never be too careful." Ron started to speak and was cut off. "Hagrid will be in to speak with me today. I know he is to play a major part in this production. All will be taken care of. I have also sent an owl to the giants, asking for their answer." Ron nodded. Harry stood up. "Well, we better get started." Everyone nodded, without another word, they all filed out of Dumbledore's office.
It was sweaty work, but, Harry had insisted it all must be done by hand. "Are you sure this is going to work?" Ron asked, looking over at Harry, who was starting to get a nasty sunburn. "Nope. But, it's all I could think of." he shrugged and started digging again. harry had explained the reasoning behind all of this, and, it had sounded good, but now that they were actually out here, digging holes and setting traps, Ron wasn't so sure. "It had better, if I've done all this for nothing, I'll make Fred and George slip ton-tongue toffee into everything you eat for the rest of your life." Harry grinned, remembering the look on Dudley's face as his tongue had rolled out of his mouth and started to swell.
Ron had to admit, Harry's plan was good, and stood a good chance of working. It was a lot of work, but, it just might pay off. There were still a few kinks, and after Dumbledore had spoken to Hagrid, Ron and Harry would need to pull him off to talk as well. All in all though, things were looking good. 'Everything's coming up roses,' He thought.
'Nothing, nothing at all!' Hermione thought, completely exasperrated. She had been through the library with a fine tooth comb, and found several potions, charms, and various spells that summoned fog, but, nothing that fit Harry and Dumbledore's needs. She ran her hands through her frizzy hair, looking up from the last book she had been reading. That's when her eyes fell on the restricted section. 'Hrmm.' She got up and strolled over to it. Dumbledore had given her free reign. Any and every book she thought might be useful was at her disposal. She wanderedthrough the restricted section, looking at the book titles. 'the Unforgivables, A how-to for beginning dark wizards', 'Surviving the pain, hints and tips for beating the crucatius curse', 'Avada Kedrava, How does it work?', She shuddered at that one. 'Survive the light! How to care for nocturnal familiars' She pulled this one down, more for fun than anything else. She kept looking. 'The Slytherin uprising', 'Poisons for fun and profit', 'Block the sun! Tips for making your vampiric home darker.' She grabbed this one as well. Among the other books she found nothing, although several of the titles made her shudder. 'Well,' she thought, 'Last hope!' She sat down again and resumed her studying.
Hermione yawned, and stretched, her back crackling softly. She had no idea how long she had been studying, but, it had been a long time. She looked at the scroll she had been writing on, and smiled grimly. Getting this done by day after tomorrow would be tough. She needed to see Madame Pomfrey.
"Great Wizards, child! You need sleep!" Madame Pomfrey bustled over and started fuzzing with Hermione, feeling her forehead, looking into her eyes, feeling her pulse. Hermione rolled her eyes. "I know Madame Pomfrey, but I don't have the time." Madame Pomfrey clucked her tongue. "Headmaster Dumbledore told me about this. I don't agree with him. Not one bit, but, he is the headmaster." She pulled a small bottle out of her apron pocket. "Here. It's similar to pepperup, but slightly stronger. Take it one sip at a time. Your ears will smoke, quite badly. And remember, IT IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR SLEEP! When you are done, you will need to sleep for a few days." Hermione nodded, grateful for the bottle. "Thank you, Madame Pomfrey. I promise to be careful." Poppy Pomfrey sighed, shaking her head. Dark times indeed, when children were called upon as a last defense.
"WORMTAIL!!!!"
Pettigrew quailed. Master was in a foul mood today. Best to answer him as quickly as possible. He slunk into the main hall, staring at the floor. "yes, lord?" Voldemort stared at his minion, disgust evident on his face. "Fetch me Severus, Wormtail, he and I have much to do. Plans to make, and a school," he clenched his fist, thinking of Potter. "to conquer." These last words came out in a deadly whisper, Voldemort sounded very much like the snakes he was friends with. "yes lord, right away, lord."
Once Pettigre had left them, Voldemort asked Snape to sit down.
"Well, Severus, the time is upon us. In three days we shall breach the school. You shall have the honor of killing Albus Dumbledore, and I shall finally see that miserable Potter dead. The school shall be mine, and the honor of teaching my students shall be yours. What say you?" Snape looked at the floor, then back to Voldemort, a small smile curling the corners of his mouth just a little. "I say all is well, Lord," he whispered, "What do you require of me?"
Voldemort thought for a second, choosing his words carefully. "I require you to return to Hogwarts, and tell Albus Dumbledore all that we plan to do." Snape looked sharply at Voldemort. "What? Why?" the Dark Lord's eyes narrowed, and he chuckled. "You will tell him everything. And you will tell him it shall happen in one week." Voldemort started to laugh. Severus thought for a second and then joined in. "I shall go to him now." Voldmort nodded. "Upon your return, send that sniveling idiot Wormtail with news." Severus bowed his head. "It shall be as you wish, Lord." He apparated away.