All at once, everyone rushed to the door to see what Madam Pince had seen. Harry was horrified as he saw a dementor gliding towards the door. Dementors were the tall, hooded, intimidating guards of the wizarding prison, Azkaban. Dementors sucked the happiness out of people. That was what made them such effective guards-most of the prisoners in Azkaban went crazy. Harry knew that Professor Dumbledore didn't approve of dementors on school grounds, so he didn't understand why they were inside Hogwarts now. Lavender and Parvati were huddled in the back corner with a few girls from Ravenclaw. Harry pulled his wand out as the dementor reached the door. When Harry heard a soft clicking noise he realized that the dementor had unlocked the door. By now, Neville had dove into a closet towards the back of the room, and Dean and Seamus were standing in a corner with some of the Hufflepuffs. Ron and Hermione were still standing beside Harry, their wands raised uncertainly. Frantically, Harry tried to remember one of the happiest moments of his life-after the second task in the Triwizard tournament, when he found out that he was tied for first place with Cedric Diggory. Harry concentrated with all his willpower on how happy he had been, and how he, Ron, and Hermione had celebrated with the other Gryffindors.
"Expecto Patronum!" he shouted, replaying the happy memory over and over again in his mind. A silvery white stag burst out of his wand and chased the dementor out into the corridor. Professor Flitwick pulled out his wand, pointed it at the doorway, and muttered something under his breath.
"That'll seal the doorway from the dementors," he explained. "Thank you, Harry," he said gravely.
"That was amazing, Harry!" Lavender Brown squealed. "What did you do to it?"
"Harry, you saved our lives!" a Ravenclaw fifth-year gushed.
"Yeah, Harry-where'd you learn to do that?" one of the Hufflepuff boys asked enviously. Harry blushed.
"Professor Lupin taught it to me," he told the class. "It just sort of chases away dementors." Professor Lupin had been the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher when Harry was a third-year. At the end of the term, it was exposed that Professor Lupin was a werewolf, and he had left Hogwarts. But Harry had grown close to Lupin, and had also found out that Lupin had been a very good friend of his father's.
A cluster of girls from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and even Slytherin had formed around Harry.
"That was so brave, Harry!" a Hufflepuff girl said, sighing.
"That was so wonderful, the way you conjured up that stag," a Ravenclaw girl told him. "You're so talented."
"Oh...it was nothing," Harry said, feeling quite uncomfortable. He made his way over to Ron and Hermione, who both had very worried looks on their faces.
"Harry, why do you reckon the dementors were here?" Ron asked.
"I don't know," Harry said, shrugging. "What difference does it make?"
"Harry, don't you see?" asked Hermione impatiently. "Dumbledore would never just allow dementors to come into Hogwarts! They must be looking for someone."
"I've no idea, Hermione. Maybe Fudge sent them in, because of the attack. I mean, who could they be looking for around here?" Harry reasoned.
"Yeah, Hermione. You're making a big deal over nothing," Ron put in. Hermione frowned, but didn't say anything else on the matter. The three stood there in silence until they heard Dumbledore's magnified voice for the second time.
"Classes have been cancelled for the remainder of the day. All students should report to their common rooms immediately. No students will be permitted to leave their common rooms until further notice."
All at once students flooded into the hallways and made their way to the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin common rooms.
"There's been another attack!" a frightened Hufflepuff screamed.
"You-Know-Who's here at Hogwarts!" a Ravenclaw shouted.
"He's put a curse on the entire castle!" shrieked a squeaky-voiced Gryffindor. As Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the Gryffindor common room, everyone was talking about the possibility that there had been another attack.
"I heard it was a student and a teacher," Neville whispered, his face completely white.
"I heard it was another Auror," Dean Thomas said.
"A Ravenclaw told me that it was someone from the Ministry of Magic," Seamus Finnigan announced.
"Don't be silly," Hermione said. "There hasn't been an attack at all."
"How do you know that?" one of the second-years wanted to know.
"How do you know there's been one?" Hermione challenged. "No one has any evidence at all."
"But-but the dementors were in the castle!" Parvati cried. "Why would they have been in here unless there was an attack? They were looking for You-Know-Who." This set off a fresh new wave of panicked shouts and cries.
"He's still here!"
"He could've Apparated into this common room right this minute!"
"YOU CAN'T APPARATE ON HOGWARTS GROUNDS!" Hermione yelled.
"He's coming to duel with Dumbledore!"
"He wants to take over Hogwarts!"
All this noise was giving Harry a splitting headache. He got Ron and Hermione's attention and gestured to the staircase.
"Come on, let's go to our room. It'll be a lot quieter," Harry said. They climbed up the steps, unnoticed, and Harry opened the door.
"This room's a pig sty!" Hermione declared, in a rather disgusted tone.
Indeed, it was. Robes, quills, and books were strewn across the floor. All of the posters, pictures, and portraits had been torn off the walls, and the mirror had been broken into dozens of tiny pieces. The bedcovers and sheets lay in a rumpled pile in the corner of the room. Ron spotted a single sheet of white paper laying on one of the desks.
"Harry, you'd better have a look at this," he said, in a strange sort of voice.
Harry went over to him and read the sheet.
BEWARE, HARRY POTTER!
was scrawled in dark, black ink. Hermione had rushed over to see it, too.
"Oh, Harry," she breathed, "We've got to tell Professor McGonagall right away."
"She's right, Harry," Ron said. "Whoever did this...who knows what they might do?" Ron's hand was trembling as he handed the sheet to Harry. Harry nodded slowly and went back into the common room to get Professor McGonagall. When he found her, she was trying, unsuccessfully, to calm some of the screaming first-years.
"Er-Professor, may I have a word with you?" Harry asked. He showed Professor McGonagall the paper, trying not to let anyone else see. She looked at him questioningly.
"Could you, uh, come into my room please? I have to show you something," he said, trying not to attract attention to himself. Professor McGonagall nodded and followed him into his room.
"When I got in here, we found it like this. And this note was on the desk," he explained. Professor McGonagall's mouth got very thin.
"You've got to see Dumbledore right away. Come with me." She led him down two flights of stairs. On one side of this floor were five doors, each leading to student dormitories. On the other side was a door made of darker wood, Professor McGonagall's bedroom. She took a key out of her pocket, unlocked the door, and entered her room. Harry stood by the door, feeling quite uncomfortable.
"Come in, Potter," she said, a little exasperated. Harry placed a foot into the room tentatively, feeling very out of place. The room was a little larger than the dormitory he shared with Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville, and was covered in plush, scarlet carpeting. A four-poster bed was placed off to the right, and on the left was a large, elegant rolltop desk. Bookcases lined the back walls along with a brick fireplace, and Harry was surprised to see a photo of a much-younger Professor McGonagall hanging up above the desk. In it, Harry noted, she looked a little like Professor Welsh. Professor McGonagall had pulled out her wand and tapped a brick above the fireplace. The fireplace suddenly swung open to reveal a dark passageway.
"Light your wand, Potter, and follow the passageway until you reach a gold door. You will find yourself directly outside of the headmaster's office. And-er, don't tell anyone else about this," she told him, speaking very quickly. "Go on, now."
"Lumos!" Harry muttered, and a light appeared at the end of his wand. He entered the passageway and began walking. After three flights of stairs, four right turns, and one left turn, he found the gold door. He pushed it open and sure enough, he was in the hallway outside Dumbledore's office. Puzzled, he glanced behind him. Instead of the other side of the gold door, there was just a wooden wall covered by a Hogwarts tapestry featuring one of the past headmasters. Harry smiled. Hogwarts had so many secrets. As he was about to knock on the door of the headmaster's office, he suddenly heard voices.
"There is simply no excuse, Cornelius," Dumbledore said gravely. "You endangered the lives of my students by bringing them in here, against my express wishes."
"But, Albus, you must try to understand!" said a tired-sounding voice. It was Cornelius Fudge, the English Minister of Magic. "If, indeed, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is going after the-"
"Cornelius, why don't you just say his name? Voldemort," Dumbledore said calmly.
"Because, Albus...that is to say...er..." Fudge fumbled for words.
"Cornelius, this simply must not happen again. I don't care what the Ministry decides; I am, after all, the headmaster of this school. Dementors are not welcome on school grounds. If you continue to violate my wishes, I will be forced to take action about this. I'm sure the parents wouldn't like it if they knew that their children were being subjected to dementors," Dumbledore said firmly.
"Yes, Albus, of course-it's just that, well, I thought that, er..." Fudge stammered.
Suddenly, an ice-cold hand grabbed Harry's shoulder.
"Harry Potter! Out after strict orders from the headmaster for all students to stay in their common rooms! Well, well, well," said a particularly gleeful voice. Harry spun around. It was Professor Snape. "But Professor McGonagall-" Harry began to explain, but Snape interrupted.
"And in a hallway which is forbidden to students! Surely you can't explain that away, can you, Potter?" Snape taunted. Harry had been caught by Snape on several occasions when he had been out of his common room, but no severe punishment had ever resulted, much to Snape's chagrin. Professor Dumbledore must have heard their exchange because he opened the door to his office immediately.
"Severus, what on earth is going on?" he asked mildly. Snape couldn't keep a smile from creeping onto his face.
"Headmaster, I have just found Harry Potter in this passageway, after you gave specific orders for students to stay in their common rooms," Snape told Dumbledore. Dumbledore nodded slowly, then stroked his beard and gestured for Snape and Harry to come into his office, where Cornelius Fudge was pacing.
"Harry, what is the meaning of this?" Dumbledore asked kindly.
"Well, Professor," Harry began, "I went up to my room tonight and it was a terrible mess. The mirror was broken, robes and quills were all over the floor, the beds had been torn apart-"
"I hardly think that that is reason enough-" Snape began to argue.
"Quiet, Severus!" Dumbledore put up a hand. "Please continue, Harry."
"Anyway, this note was on the desk," Harry said, handing Dumbledore the sheet of paper.
"Beware, Harry Potter," Dumbledore read aloud. Fudge looked up, startled.
"You don't think-" Fudge began to say.
"No, I do not, Cornelius. I do think, however, that someone who means to harm you, Harry, and that it would probably be best if you stayed with me tonight." Dumbledore's words surprised Harry. He suddenly realized that he had no idea where Dumbledore's living quarters were.
"Uh...all right," Harry said, feeling quite awkward at the prospect of spending the night in Dumbledore's quarters.
"But-Headmaster, that does not excuse the fact that Potter was in this hallway!" Snape cried, looking extremely agitated.
"Professor McGonagall gave me her permission, sir," Harry told Dumbledore. The headmaster nodded.
"Severus, please give Harry a break. It's been a rather rough start of term-for all of us."
The look Snape was giving Harry was positively venomous. If the circumstances had been less grim, Harry probably would have laughed.
"Severus, what did you come here for?" Dumbledore asked. Harry noticed that the headmaster looked older and more tired than Harry had ever seen him.
"Oh-er, yes. Well, it's a rather...private matter. I'd prefer if-"
"Of course, Severus. Harry, Cornelius, would you please wait outside?"
Cornelius Fudge opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but Dumbledore gave him a stern look, and he followed Harry out of the office.
"Harry, it's actually for the best that I've got you alone," Fudge said in a low voice once the door was closed.
"Uh...why, sir?" Harry asked, very confused.
"There are some things that you must be aware of, Harry," Fudge continued. "Certain people...don't think you should be told. But I believe it's absolutely necessary that you know now."
"Expecto Patronum!" he shouted, replaying the happy memory over and over again in his mind. A silvery white stag burst out of his wand and chased the dementor out into the corridor. Professor Flitwick pulled out his wand, pointed it at the doorway, and muttered something under his breath.
"That'll seal the doorway from the dementors," he explained. "Thank you, Harry," he said gravely.
"That was amazing, Harry!" Lavender Brown squealed. "What did you do to it?"
"Harry, you saved our lives!" a Ravenclaw fifth-year gushed.
"Yeah, Harry-where'd you learn to do that?" one of the Hufflepuff boys asked enviously. Harry blushed.
"Professor Lupin taught it to me," he told the class. "It just sort of chases away dementors." Professor Lupin had been the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher when Harry was a third-year. At the end of the term, it was exposed that Professor Lupin was a werewolf, and he had left Hogwarts. But Harry had grown close to Lupin, and had also found out that Lupin had been a very good friend of his father's.
A cluster of girls from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and even Slytherin had formed around Harry.
"That was so brave, Harry!" a Hufflepuff girl said, sighing.
"That was so wonderful, the way you conjured up that stag," a Ravenclaw girl told him. "You're so talented."
"Oh...it was nothing," Harry said, feeling quite uncomfortable. He made his way over to Ron and Hermione, who both had very worried looks on their faces.
"Harry, why do you reckon the dementors were here?" Ron asked.
"I don't know," Harry said, shrugging. "What difference does it make?"
"Harry, don't you see?" asked Hermione impatiently. "Dumbledore would never just allow dementors to come into Hogwarts! They must be looking for someone."
"I've no idea, Hermione. Maybe Fudge sent them in, because of the attack. I mean, who could they be looking for around here?" Harry reasoned.
"Yeah, Hermione. You're making a big deal over nothing," Ron put in. Hermione frowned, but didn't say anything else on the matter. The three stood there in silence until they heard Dumbledore's magnified voice for the second time.
"Classes have been cancelled for the remainder of the day. All students should report to their common rooms immediately. No students will be permitted to leave their common rooms until further notice."
All at once students flooded into the hallways and made their way to the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin common rooms.
"There's been another attack!" a frightened Hufflepuff screamed.
"You-Know-Who's here at Hogwarts!" a Ravenclaw shouted.
"He's put a curse on the entire castle!" shrieked a squeaky-voiced Gryffindor. As Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the Gryffindor common room, everyone was talking about the possibility that there had been another attack.
"I heard it was a student and a teacher," Neville whispered, his face completely white.
"I heard it was another Auror," Dean Thomas said.
"A Ravenclaw told me that it was someone from the Ministry of Magic," Seamus Finnigan announced.
"Don't be silly," Hermione said. "There hasn't been an attack at all."
"How do you know that?" one of the second-years wanted to know.
"How do you know there's been one?" Hermione challenged. "No one has any evidence at all."
"But-but the dementors were in the castle!" Parvati cried. "Why would they have been in here unless there was an attack? They were looking for You-Know-Who." This set off a fresh new wave of panicked shouts and cries.
"He's still here!"
"He could've Apparated into this common room right this minute!"
"YOU CAN'T APPARATE ON HOGWARTS GROUNDS!" Hermione yelled.
"He's coming to duel with Dumbledore!"
"He wants to take over Hogwarts!"
All this noise was giving Harry a splitting headache. He got Ron and Hermione's attention and gestured to the staircase.
"Come on, let's go to our room. It'll be a lot quieter," Harry said. They climbed up the steps, unnoticed, and Harry opened the door.
"This room's a pig sty!" Hermione declared, in a rather disgusted tone.
Indeed, it was. Robes, quills, and books were strewn across the floor. All of the posters, pictures, and portraits had been torn off the walls, and the mirror had been broken into dozens of tiny pieces. The bedcovers and sheets lay in a rumpled pile in the corner of the room. Ron spotted a single sheet of white paper laying on one of the desks.
"Harry, you'd better have a look at this," he said, in a strange sort of voice.
Harry went over to him and read the sheet.
BEWARE, HARRY POTTER!
was scrawled in dark, black ink. Hermione had rushed over to see it, too.
"Oh, Harry," she breathed, "We've got to tell Professor McGonagall right away."
"She's right, Harry," Ron said. "Whoever did this...who knows what they might do?" Ron's hand was trembling as he handed the sheet to Harry. Harry nodded slowly and went back into the common room to get Professor McGonagall. When he found her, she was trying, unsuccessfully, to calm some of the screaming first-years.
"Er-Professor, may I have a word with you?" Harry asked. He showed Professor McGonagall the paper, trying not to let anyone else see. She looked at him questioningly.
"Could you, uh, come into my room please? I have to show you something," he said, trying not to attract attention to himself. Professor McGonagall nodded and followed him into his room.
"When I got in here, we found it like this. And this note was on the desk," he explained. Professor McGonagall's mouth got very thin.
"You've got to see Dumbledore right away. Come with me." She led him down two flights of stairs. On one side of this floor were five doors, each leading to student dormitories. On the other side was a door made of darker wood, Professor McGonagall's bedroom. She took a key out of her pocket, unlocked the door, and entered her room. Harry stood by the door, feeling quite uncomfortable.
"Come in, Potter," she said, a little exasperated. Harry placed a foot into the room tentatively, feeling very out of place. The room was a little larger than the dormitory he shared with Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville, and was covered in plush, scarlet carpeting. A four-poster bed was placed off to the right, and on the left was a large, elegant rolltop desk. Bookcases lined the back walls along with a brick fireplace, and Harry was surprised to see a photo of a much-younger Professor McGonagall hanging up above the desk. In it, Harry noted, she looked a little like Professor Welsh. Professor McGonagall had pulled out her wand and tapped a brick above the fireplace. The fireplace suddenly swung open to reveal a dark passageway.
"Light your wand, Potter, and follow the passageway until you reach a gold door. You will find yourself directly outside of the headmaster's office. And-er, don't tell anyone else about this," she told him, speaking very quickly. "Go on, now."
"Lumos!" Harry muttered, and a light appeared at the end of his wand. He entered the passageway and began walking. After three flights of stairs, four right turns, and one left turn, he found the gold door. He pushed it open and sure enough, he was in the hallway outside Dumbledore's office. Puzzled, he glanced behind him. Instead of the other side of the gold door, there was just a wooden wall covered by a Hogwarts tapestry featuring one of the past headmasters. Harry smiled. Hogwarts had so many secrets. As he was about to knock on the door of the headmaster's office, he suddenly heard voices.
"There is simply no excuse, Cornelius," Dumbledore said gravely. "You endangered the lives of my students by bringing them in here, against my express wishes."
"But, Albus, you must try to understand!" said a tired-sounding voice. It was Cornelius Fudge, the English Minister of Magic. "If, indeed, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is going after the-"
"Cornelius, why don't you just say his name? Voldemort," Dumbledore said calmly.
"Because, Albus...that is to say...er..." Fudge fumbled for words.
"Cornelius, this simply must not happen again. I don't care what the Ministry decides; I am, after all, the headmaster of this school. Dementors are not welcome on school grounds. If you continue to violate my wishes, I will be forced to take action about this. I'm sure the parents wouldn't like it if they knew that their children were being subjected to dementors," Dumbledore said firmly.
"Yes, Albus, of course-it's just that, well, I thought that, er..." Fudge stammered.
Suddenly, an ice-cold hand grabbed Harry's shoulder.
"Harry Potter! Out after strict orders from the headmaster for all students to stay in their common rooms! Well, well, well," said a particularly gleeful voice. Harry spun around. It was Professor Snape. "But Professor McGonagall-" Harry began to explain, but Snape interrupted.
"And in a hallway which is forbidden to students! Surely you can't explain that away, can you, Potter?" Snape taunted. Harry had been caught by Snape on several occasions when he had been out of his common room, but no severe punishment had ever resulted, much to Snape's chagrin. Professor Dumbledore must have heard their exchange because he opened the door to his office immediately.
"Severus, what on earth is going on?" he asked mildly. Snape couldn't keep a smile from creeping onto his face.
"Headmaster, I have just found Harry Potter in this passageway, after you gave specific orders for students to stay in their common rooms," Snape told Dumbledore. Dumbledore nodded slowly, then stroked his beard and gestured for Snape and Harry to come into his office, where Cornelius Fudge was pacing.
"Harry, what is the meaning of this?" Dumbledore asked kindly.
"Well, Professor," Harry began, "I went up to my room tonight and it was a terrible mess. The mirror was broken, robes and quills were all over the floor, the beds had been torn apart-"
"I hardly think that that is reason enough-" Snape began to argue.
"Quiet, Severus!" Dumbledore put up a hand. "Please continue, Harry."
"Anyway, this note was on the desk," Harry said, handing Dumbledore the sheet of paper.
"Beware, Harry Potter," Dumbledore read aloud. Fudge looked up, startled.
"You don't think-" Fudge began to say.
"No, I do not, Cornelius. I do think, however, that someone who means to harm you, Harry, and that it would probably be best if you stayed with me tonight." Dumbledore's words surprised Harry. He suddenly realized that he had no idea where Dumbledore's living quarters were.
"Uh...all right," Harry said, feeling quite awkward at the prospect of spending the night in Dumbledore's quarters.
"But-Headmaster, that does not excuse the fact that Potter was in this hallway!" Snape cried, looking extremely agitated.
"Professor McGonagall gave me her permission, sir," Harry told Dumbledore. The headmaster nodded.
"Severus, please give Harry a break. It's been a rather rough start of term-for all of us."
The look Snape was giving Harry was positively venomous. If the circumstances had been less grim, Harry probably would have laughed.
"Severus, what did you come here for?" Dumbledore asked. Harry noticed that the headmaster looked older and more tired than Harry had ever seen him.
"Oh-er, yes. Well, it's a rather...private matter. I'd prefer if-"
"Of course, Severus. Harry, Cornelius, would you please wait outside?"
Cornelius Fudge opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but Dumbledore gave him a stern look, and he followed Harry out of the office.
"Harry, it's actually for the best that I've got you alone," Fudge said in a low voice once the door was closed.
"Uh...why, sir?" Harry asked, very confused.
"There are some things that you must be aware of, Harry," Fudge continued. "Certain people...don't think you should be told. But I believe it's absolutely necessary that you know now."
