A/N: Woo-hoo! The next chapter is here! Aren't you excited? I know I am. There is a long conversation, so let me know if it's easy to follow and makes sense. Thanks to all who reviewed! *Smiles at all three of them*.
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters, names, places, etc. are not mine, but JKR's and I claim no credit for them. I do not intend to gain anything from writing this other than self-satisfaction.
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Chapter 3: The A.W.L.
Hermione, not surprisingly, slept late the next morning. Maybe a little too late, actually, because when she got to the Great Hall, it was already half-empty. She was in such a hurry that she didn't notice the buzz of murmurs throughout the hall.
"Hey, Hermione, did you see the Daily Prophet this morning?" Ron asked as he walked over to where she was sitting, stuffing food in her mouth. "It's unbelievable. Here."
Ron handed her the paper. It said:
A.W.L: The Anti-werewolf League
Yesterday, at a conference at which the head of the Department of the control of Magical Creatures, Beast Division, spoke, activists who call themselves the A.W.L. protested the number of rights that werewolves have.
Unlike most groups, the A.W.L. believes that werewolves have too many rights. Fifteen years ago, when You-know-who was in full power, Death-eaters persuaded much of the existing werewolf community to the Dark Side. Now that You-know-who is rising again, whom can we trust? Your best friend may be keeping a dangerous secret from you.
Does the A.W.L. have the right idea? Are werewolves not to be trusted? This Daily Prophet special correspondent thinks so. What steps are the A.W.L members taking to prevent werewolves from turning on us? Here's what Kyle Grafton, League head, had to say:
"No werewolf can be trusted! Our goal is to rid the world of all werewolves. How? By killing them, of course. Pretty soon, our group will have enough people to have a mass-massacre of all those filthy creatures. I don't care if it is illegal. I've had enough of being deceived.
We know that anyone could be a werewolf. Take, for instance, the incident with the DADA teacher at Hogwarts a few years ago. Lupin, I think his name was. Do you want your children going to school with a dangerous beast?!"
Grafton has a good point. Voice your opinions to the address above and if you would like to join the A.W.L., please contact Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet special correspondent. One final note from Grafton to all werewolves:
"We're coming for you!"
"Oh my God!" Hermione exclaimed. "Sorry, Ron, but I have to go find George! I'll see you later."
"Wait-Hermione-why do you need to see him?" Ron asked. He glanced down at the paper again. Below the A.W.L. article was an ad that read: Filibuster's Fireworks going-out-of-business sale! Everything must go!
Ron groaned. Pretty soon, disaster would strike Hogwarts. An explosive, multi-colored, boom of a disaster.
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"George," Hermione said, "what do we do once this group gets bigger? Lots of people are against werewolves. They'll have a whole army of people in no time!"
George was staring at his feet as he sat on a chair in the common room. "I'm going to see Dumbledore," he said simply. He had a perfectly blank expression on his face as he rose from his chair and walked towards the door.
"I'll come, too, George. Dumbledore probably already knows-"
"No," George interrupted. "I'm going alone. I'll see you later." Hopefully, he added silently. He knew that Dumbledore would want George to be safe and if the A.W.L. came anywhere near Hogwarts, George would be out of there faster than you could say "full moon".
George left the common room without saying anything else, leaving Hermione staring after him.
He walked down the various hallways and soon reached the stone gargoyle that led to Dumbledore's office. "Soda-pop," he said. George was always given the new passwords to Dumbledore's office, mainly in case he ever needed to talk to the headmaster about anything concerning his being a werewolf. So far, he hadn't talked with anyone about it. Except, of course, last night.
George ascended the stairs, thinking of how he could bring up the subject. Could he just waltz in there and say, 'Hey, I was wondering if you could tell me anything about the A.W.L. Yeah, I saw that article this morning and I was scared for my life.'? That definitely made him sound like a wimp.
George tentatively knocked on the door. "Come in," came the headmaster's kindly voice. George stepped into the office as he took a deep breath.
"Oh, hello George," Dumbledore said. "Tea?"
"No thanks," he said as he took a seat. "Er-I was wondering-
"Oh, before you start, I would like to tell you that I have been tracking the A.W.L. since it first began a few months ago. You've hard of them I trust?" George breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "I had a spy join them to let me know what their progress is. It seems that they have all sorts of enchantments and devices to detect werewolves, all of which are quite new and effective.
"I also learned that they want to come here, to the Forbidden Forest, to kill all of the werewolves that are running wild. I got an owl from their head, Mr. Grafton, this morning telling me that they are coming here on the next full moon, with or without my permission. He also said that while they are here, they want to do tests on all of the students and staff to see if anyone poses a 'threat'."
"But, what will I do? I sure can't stay here! The next full moon is tonight!" George exclaimed.
"I realize that, Mr. Weasley, and I've already made arrangements for you to stay with Remus Lupin." Dumbledore told him. George brightened. He had always been quite fond of his former, wolf-of-a-professor. "Now, listen closely. You must follow my plan exactly. If all goes well, you should be back to school in three days. In the meantime, your peers will be told that you have an unfortunate case of the stomach flu.
"This evening, you will board the Hogwarts Express at five. Professor Snape will be waiting at the main doors to see you to Hogsmead safely and to give you your wolfsbane potion. The train ride will be approximately four hours long, so there is no doubt you will have to transform on the train. The train will stop at the Bellus Station. Remus will greet you at the BACK side of the train. Whatever you do, do not leave through the normal doors. The train conductor will lead you to the proper exit. Remus will give you instructions from there. Now, do you understand? Do you have any questions?"
"What will I have to bring with me?" George asked.
"All of your things will be taken to the train by the house-elves," Dumbledore told him.
"I guess that's it. Oh, and all of your assignments for the next few days are right here. Don't want to get behind, now do we?" Dumbledore let out a hearty chuckle.
"No, I guess not," George smiled.
"You don't have to go to classes today, if you don't want. I suspect you'll not be able to concentrate. And if I don't see you again, good luck."
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George sat in his dormitory for a good part of the day. He mostly contemplated whether or not he should tell Hermione, or anybody for that matter. He tried to get started on his homework, but found it surprisingly hard to concentrate. He moped around the empty common room, trying to find anything to lift his spirits but did not succeed. Everything he saw reminded him of his departure.
Finally, the time came to leave. George left the Gryffindor tower, towards the main entrance. The bad part, something George had not counted on, happened. A straggler who was late for dinner was in the hallway. He gave George a quizzical look.
"Where do you think you're going?" the boy sneered.
"That's not business of yours. You best be getting on your way," George told him.
"I have as much right to be in the hallway as you," he said in a nasty tone of voice.
"Don't you want to eat?" George said in a sweet, sarcastic voice. As if on cue, the boy's stomach emitted a large growl. The boy glared at George, then walked away without saying another word. George continued walking and glanced back and smiled at the boy who was still shooting daggers at him.
George approached the main entrance to the castle. Snape was standing there already, expressionless. He handed George the goblet he was holding. He took it in one swig, trying not to prolong the nasty taste it left. Snape was silent, still expressionless. This puzzled George. He thought the professor would be angry, but he showed no signs of any emotion.
"Come along, Mr. Weasley," Snape said in a monotone. George followed him. He was so consumed by the professor's odd behavior that he did not notice the figure creeping along after them...
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A/N: There was something I was going to explain here...what was it? I can't remember. Oh, well. If there's something that you don't understand, tell me in the review. In the next chapter, we learn why Snape was acting strangely and who the person was that was following George. I recommend that you follow the story because I'll start updating regularly. The next chapter is really exciting. I can't stand it; I have to give you a hint: George never safely reaches Remus. That will have to do.