Harry Potter and the Siege

by Yoda

[Book V AU:] Voldemort holds the castle, Harry and Dumbledore are back with three new friends could hold the key to salvation, and the final battle has begun....WORK IN PROGRESS

3. Parts 7 - 9

Chapter 7: Hogwarts

It was nearing blackness as the familiar voice came over the intercom: 'We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes time. Please take your luggage off the train, we will be supplying extra coaches.' As Ron and Harry went up to the windows, the door slid open to reveal Dudley, who had been separated from them since the attack. Harry gestured him to come to the window as they approached the small platform, which was unusually lit up by several lights. 'Please note that first years will also be expected to travel by coach to the school this year.' Harry gave Ron a look, the teachers were reacting to the attack by getting everyone into the school as quickly as possible. 'Will all parents and guardians please travel with their children, all other relations must journey in separate coaches.'

'I better tell mum and dad' Dudley said.

'You can come in my carriage,' Sirius said, 'otherwise it would just be me and my trunk, Lupin's going with the Ministry officials.' As Dudley left Harry noticed that the lights were in fact the wands of the teaching staff who were all gathered on the platform. The Express slowly drew to a stop so Harry opened the door onto the platform, and began lifting his trunk down from the rack. He helped Neville with his grandmothers, then stepped out onto the platform, none of the other carriages were open yet. Among the assembled teachers Harry saw Hagrid, Professors Flitwick and McGonagall, but surprisingly Filch was there and there was not sight nor sound of Albus Dumbledore.

Harry pulled out the others trunks then aided Granny Longbottom in descending from the compartment. By now the other carriages were opened by the teachers, and the Prefects were helping other students get their parents and luggage into the carriages lined up on the other side of the platform. Harry supervised the two younger students who had been in his compartment, then went to find Viktor, Ron and Hermione. 'Harry, over here.' Ron waved Harry over to where he and Hermione were standing with Hagrid.

When he arrived he found himself enfolded in a hug by Hagrid, whose whiskery beard was sodden with tears. 'Harry, I thought yeh were a gonna when I heard. What yeh did was fantastic.'

'Mmmph!' Harry made a desperate attempt to get some air, Hagrid stopped hugging and released him. 'I was nearly a goner there instead!' Hagrid's face looked even more downcast at this: 'It's good to see you too Hagrid, how did you know about the fight.' To his side Ron gave a significant cough, then gave Harry a chirpy smile. 'Thank you Mr. Weasley, now lets get to Hogwarts.' With a grin he led the others to one of the last coaches remaining, while the teachers boarded the others. While the coaches bumped and bounced their way up the path, Harry lent forward to speak with Ron and Hermione while Hagrid was distracted. 'You know that Death Eater me and Viktor brought in, it was Karkaroff!' Before Ron or Hermione could voice an opinion Hagrid turned back from the window, so Harry broke the conversation.

In a few minutes they were at Hogwarts, and Harry stepped out to view the magnificent castle once more. The towers and fortifications looked as impressive as ever, and the black sky made the pale structure stand out as even more impressive then he remembered. Most of the students had already been escorted inside, they left their luggage in the carriages as instructed by McGonagall, then entered into the Entrance Hall, and as he did so, Harry saw a group of house elves appear from nowhere to start unloading the luggage. It was more crowded than ever before, there were parents, teachers and students in every available spot, no one had yet opened up the doors to the Great Hall, so there was chaos.

'Attention please, will everyone please clear a path for me so I can get to the doors.' Minerva McGonagall's voice rang over the noise, and the mob readily cleared a passageway for the deputy headmistress. 'Students, will you take your normal seats at the tables, first years, please line up at the front of the hall for the Sorting, parents and other adults, please accompany your children, we have extra seating at the sides, please sit in the nearest available space to your child.

As everyone filed in Harry saw the Dursleys trying to wade through, while Sirius attempted to make a path for them to get to Harry. Eventually they made it, with Dudley giving Harry an excited look as he gazed around the castle foyer, Uncle Vernon managed a cheery grin, while Aunt Petunia could only look confused. The crowd had thinned so Harry managed to get to the Gryffindor table and saved himself a seat between Ron and Viktor, with Hermione seated opposite with the twins. He then helped Dudley and his parents grab seats at the side, however he finally had to ask professor Binns to draw up a chair for Uncle Vernon. While the ghost did so, Harry remembered to explain about the ghosts and poltergeists to a petrified Uncle Vernon, then he rejoined Ron at the table. Looking up at the front table, Harry saw the rest of the familiar teaching staff, Professors Binns and Flitwick, Sprout, Hagrid, Sinistra, Madam Hooch, Snape and oddly Sirius was beside him, but who was missing? He was about to start up the Karkaroff conversation again when the Sorting Hat was brought into the room by Professor McGonagall and placed it on the stall.

The whole room was quiet except for the murmurs of the wizarding families explaining the to the Muggles the significance of the Sorting Ceremony. Harry gazed with anticipation at the brim of the hat, where its mouth would appear to announce the placement of the new students in their houses. But before that – his thoughts were distracted when the brim split and the song began:

Gryffindor and Slytherin,

Two houses in this hall,

Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw,

Four is the total in all,

The Lions' hearts are brave,

The Badgers bold and true,

The Serpents are all cunning,

The Eagles' thoughts come through,

I am the Hogwarts Sorting Hat,

Your future mine to see,

You can go to any house,

They're all the same to me,

There is one thing that I do know,

The same to be said for all,

Courage, friendship, chivalry,

United in this hall,

No matter which house,

Each student does attest,

To the Hogwarts history,

Their characteristics best,

So put me on your head,

And do not be afraid,

Whichever house you get,

A good decision has been made,

For I'm the Sorting Hat,

Impartial to the end,

So put me snug on your head,

I'll give your house a friend.

The Great Hall erupted into the usual cheers that greeted the end of the song, while the first years looked more relaxed and the students at the tables waited for the first student to be sorted. Professor McGonagall said the first name; 'Alcott, Emma'. As she put the hat on, the hall quietened leaving her squirming on the chair, as the hall waited, the brim of the frayed hat opened:

'Gryffindor!'

'Boot, Edward'

'Hufflepuff!'

'Briars, Thomas'

Hufflepuff'

As the sorting continued Harry turned to Ron and continued the conversation from the coach. 'What do you reckons gonna happen to Karkaroff?' Harry asked. Ron shrugged, while he was interested to know, his stomach had taken over for most thoughts. Harry turned round to see how the Dursleys were faring after a puzzling and exciting day. Uncle Vernon was doing another slack jaw at the Sorting Hat, while Aunt Petunia was engaged in gossip with Mrs. Weasley again. Dudley was looking all around the hall, at the houses' drapes, the enchanted ceiling (a pale moon hung in the ceiling that evening) before eventually resting his eyes on the floor of the hall, where he scanned all the faces before stopping on Harry. With a large wink he gave him the thumbs up, then scurried over as 'Matthews, Gregory' approached the stool.

'Hi!' he said excitedly, like a little student on his first day ever at school. 'This place is so amazing, you never told me about the ceiling.' As Harry managed half a conversation with Dudley, he also listened to the Sorting. 'How are they going to deal with the non-students that got on the train like me' Dudley asked.

'I dunno' Harry replied as the last student (Williams, Catherine) came to the Gryffindor table, then Dudley's question was answered by Professor McGonagall.

'Will all other students please approach the front now.' She shouted over the chattering that had followed the last student, 'They will now also be Sorted into houses that will be adopting them this year.' At this there were murmurs from the adults, why couldn't they just go home with their children? Dudley gave Harry a nervous look, then walked up to the front, he wasn't the only person who looked out of place, and he had robes. Most of the others were too young to be in Hogwarts, but he was surprised to see Viktor and a few older non-students as well. 'Now, as I call your name, you will don the Sorting Hat as the first years did, then go to your respective house tables.'

Before Dudley could wonder how she had got a list of names, the first was called. 'Bole, Albert'

'Slytherin' Dudley saw the young boy run over to where his brother lifted him high above his head. He hardly heard the next person as his nerves built up, and then:

'Dursley, Dudley!' He nervously approached the stall, and with great effort he managed to calmly put the Sorting Hat on his head, this disappeared when it began to talk to him.

'Oho, a Muggle eh? I haven't had a Muggle under this hat for years, course they could do something. So let's see, ah! You're Harry Potter's cousin, I must say, you should have some wizarding heritage, it is on your side of the family. Oh well, only time will tell…Gryffindor!' The hat shouted the last word to the entire hall, and in a daze Dudley walked down to sit beside Harry, while the entire table cheered him on. As the rest of the non-students were Sorted Harry tried to snap Dudley out of his daze.

'Earth to Dudley!' he said. 'This is Harry Potter to Dudley Dursley, I repeat, Earth to Dudley!'

'Y-yeah?!' he stammered eventually.

'Are you okay, you look more nervous than before the Sorting!'

'I'm fine, but the Sorting Hat, it said I had wizard blood in me, how is that possible?'

'Well my mother had wizard blood in her, that's why she was a witch, I guess it was dormant in Aunt Petunia but came back in you.'

'Then how come I haven't been able to do anything, y'know like when you were at our school and jumped on the roof.'

'I guess it's because your parents never encouraged you to think you were any different to anyone else. We'll have to ask one of the teachers, I'll try McGonagall, she's our head of house.' Harry then trailed off as the food appeared in front of all the students at the tables, looking over his shoulder, he saw all the parents had been given tables, and his uncle and aunt were in conversation with the Weasleys and Neville's grandmother.

As Harry continued eating with the rest of the Gryffindors, the conversation gradually turned to the new staff members, and the presence of so many Ministry officials. Harry was engaged in conversation, but kept snatching glances at the main table, who was missing, he just couldn't figure it out, the house heads were there, so were all the teaching staff. He was distracted again as the conversation turned from staff to the upcoming Quidditch season after the Triwizard Tournament had led to last year's being cancelled, eventually it turned to who Harry would most likely select. As he was still bothered about the teachers, all Harry would say was that it would be settled by the tryouts, even when it came to who would be the team's Seeker.

By the end of that conversation, most of the students and parents had finished and many began to drift off to sleep at their tables. At the head, Professor McGonagall addressed the hall again; 'Will all students please make your way to your house common rooms in about twenty minutes, if the parents and relatives can stay behind we'll deal with your sleeping areas next. One Prefect from each house should go on ahead to the entrances in fifteen minutes to set the password. For now could Harry Potter, Viktor Krum and Draco Malfoy please accompany me.'

Shooting Viktor a puzzled glance, Harry rose and went up to the head table, where McGonagall waited with Malfoy. Before he could ask what was going on, 'No questions for now Potter, please just all come with me.' As Viktor arrived she led them out of the Great Hall, and into the Entrance Hall. Going up the marble stairs, she led them to a familiar gargoyle on the floor above the library. 'Blast it, what's the password?'

'Erm…is it still Cockroach Cluster?' Harry asked tentatively, but before a shocked McGonagall could reply, the gargoyle leapt aside, revealing a small staircase. Ron and Malfoy gave Harry a weird look, then followed McGonagall up the stairs to a small wooden upon which she rapped three times. The door to the office opened by itself, then McGonagall left the boys, and while Harry and Malfoy uneasily eyed each other, Viktor went over to admire the collection of books in one of the shelving cabinets. A soft caw made Harry turn to see Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, on his perch, he gave Harry the usual benign look, then turned his magnificent head and started preening his plumage.

Before Harry could do anything else, the office door opened again and McGonagall returned with Lupin and Sirius. 'Now, as you may have noticed, Professor Dumbledore was not present at the Sorting.' That was what Harry had failed to notice, Dumbledore, he hadn't seen him at all that evening. 'I have two pieces of news, the first is that Quidditch tryouts are tomorrow, sorry about the short notice but their you go, pass that on to the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff captains will you two.' This was addressed to Malfoy and Harry. Professor McGonagall took in a breath, then gave them the next bit of news; 'now boys, what you're about to find out is not to go beyond the Prefects, possibly even yourselves…' Giving them a stern look as she spoke, Professor McGonagall placed herself behind Dumbledore's desk. 'As you've probably guessed' she continued, looking specifically at Harry, 'Professor Dumbledore is here, that is why Fawkes is still here,' at this she selected one of the books Viktor had briefly looked at. However, this one did not slide of the shelf, but caused it to shift aside from McGonagall to reveal another secret passage. 'Now if you'll all follow me, Professor Dumbledore wants a word.' Walking away slowly, she led the boys inside and Lupin followed up, as he was about to close the door, Fawkes called out and swooped to land on Harry's shoulder where he perched contentedly.

Chapter 8: Dumbledore

The passageway was made of stone, and looked to have been recently made, the stones were cut cleanly and it was still smooth. McGonagall led the boys onwards into the passage, it curved left and right, up and down until Harry had no idea where they were in relation to Dumbledore's office. After a few more turns they reached a sturdy iron door, that McGonagall simply opened without the need for a charm or spell. As Harry passed it he noticed an inscription on the back; Sometimes the obvious is the greatest disguise.

Now inside Harry saw that they were in a simulacrum of Dumbledore's office, except most of the shelves were clear and there were no cupboards against the walls. Fawkes released a burst of song and flew from Harry's shoulder to perch on the edge of the desk, which still held prime position in the centre of the room. Behind it stood Albus Dumbledore, hands clasping his wand, his twinkling eyes focused on Fawkes, the old wizard was nothing similar to the tired old man he had appeared as to Harry last year. A movement behind the elderly wizard attracted Harry's attention, and he saw a familiar map mounted on the wall, as he studied it he saw a dot marked Remus Lupin close the door to the knew room, which appeared to be in the middle of Moaning Myrtle's toilet.

Coughing slightly, Dumbledore began to address the three boys; 'Welcome back to Hogwarts again, this conversation is not to leave here, it is, in a sense, my debriefing of the attack. I have received a letter from the driver of the Hogwarts Express, thanks to your quick thinking Harry. I also was owled by Minister Fudge about the clean up, he was fortunate that the Muggle police thought it was a terrorist attack. The Ministry have explained the attack to me, but I would also like to hear it from each of you as well…'

With a nod to Viktor, the new Head Boy began relaying the event from the portal's explosion to the capture of Karkaroff. Harry wasn't paying much attention though, he was more worried about the presence of Malfoy, why was he here? Harry knew his father, Lucius Malfoy, to be a Death Eater, was Dumbledore foolish to trust Draco? As Harry's thoughts meandered Dumbledore asked Malfoy to give his version of the attack, but his particular focus was the absence of any friends, students or parents that Malfoy would have noticed, having been there since ten thirty.

'Harry, do you have anything to add?' Snapped from his reverie, Harry stumbled out an answer.

'Erm…only that when Viktor went to help the Ministry wizards I went to the driver to get him to owl you.' Satisfied with the answer, Dumbledore lent back in his chair and clasped his hands under his chin. While he thought, Harry shot a glance at Viktor who gave him an equally puzzled look, he then turned to Malfoy, but he was studying the Marauder's Map with interest. With nothing else to do, Harry sat in silence and also studied the map, the Great Hall was nothing but a mass of dots with nametags, while several labels bobbed about representing the ghostly population of Hogwarts. Occasionally Dumbledore put his wand to his head and put some thoughts into his Pensieve, until on the third dip, Lupin gave a short cough that seemed to awake the headmaster.

'We need to take the boys back now headmaster, was there anything else?'

'What? Oh yes, thankyou Remus, could you and Minerva please wait outside, I'll speak to you in a minute' he said with a nod at Professor McGonagall. As the two left, Dumbledore got up and went over to the map again, he then turned back to face the trio again. 'I have decide to share some news with you boys, Voldemort's attack today has signalled a series of similar events worldwide, most Ministries abroad have come under a siege so to speak. I fear this may happen here in Britain as well.' He paused, then turned to face each boy in turn. 'This place will be my headquarters if you like, where I will gather all the news on what I am calling the siege. I may call you all here or individually from time-to-time, all the announcement will say is that there is a Quidditch problem. However before you go, I want you all to know this, while you may not fully trust each other, I trust you all as I trust all my staff, completely and utterly, I would gladly put my life in your hands if the situation ever arose.' With this sombre note he dismissed them and called in Professor McGonagall, then Lupin escorted the boys back through the passage.

'Right boys, if you go back to the great hall, I think you'll find they're almost ready to send everyone to their houses.' Lupin sat behind Dumbledore's desk as the boys left and lifted some files he had put there earlier. A siege he thought grimly, that's what's coming, and by God I hope we've chosen our defence well. He stared blankly at the door the boys had just exited, then with a sigh placed the files before him, each carried a title in green ink, written by a spidery hand; 'Viktor Krum', 'Harry Potter', 'Draco Malfoy' and 'Hogwarts Academy: In event of emergency'. With another deep sigh he opened the first file, and buried his mind in the information it contained.

* * *

Just before they entered the hall, Malfoy suddenly spoke to Harry; 'Can I have a word?' Harry nodded and Viktor raised an eyebrow but continued walking, leaving the two alone in the corridor. Glancing around, Malfoy then opened his mouth to speak; 'Um…first I want to apologise about Diagon Alley, my father was nearby.'

'Erm…sure' replied a confused Harry.

'Secondly, our new password is Salazar, you may need it, I may need you to need it.' At this confusing suggestion, Harry looked for a trick in Malfoy's eyes, but all he saw was sincerity. 'I can't expect you to give me your password, after four years of madness, you should account for that first…you've probably noticed how few of us Slytherins there are this year, as I told Dumbledore, Crabbe and Goyle have both gone, so have several others.' Harry was more bemused by this, and tried to interrupt, but Draco cut him off again. 'Look, I've always trusted you, even though I wasn't allowed, I trust you over my own father, you can guess why. I trust you to trust me now, especially with what's about to happen, I know it's a lot to ask, so think about it, give me an answer when you can.' With this he hurriedly moved into the hall, leaving Harry with questions and answers.

Stumbling over a column, Harry went into the Hall where he met Ron and Dudley. 'Hey! What did they want?' Harry waved off Ron's question and mumbled about the attack. 'Viktor and Hermione have gone up to the common room, hey, why did they take that git?' he said with a nod to Malfoy who was sneering among the Slytherins again. Harry just mumbled about Quidditch, which then focused Ron and Dudley on a new subject. As he explained the earlier tryouts to Ron and Dudley (Excellent! I'll try for Keeper!) he saw Malfoy go over to the new Hufflepuff captain, Ernie Macmillan, a friend of Harry's from Herbology.

Remembering his duty as a Prefect, Harry left an excited Ron and Dudley and looked for the Ravenclaw captain, Roger Davies, at their table. As he approached the table a figure detached itself from a conversation, as he drew closer Harry recognised it was Cho Chang. Harry hadn't spoken to her since the year before, he'd seen her earlier in the attack for a brief moment, but unbidden her mournful image at the previous year's Leaving Feast, Cedric's Feast came to his mind. Before he could form a word, Cho interjected; 'Hello Harry, I-I saw you earlier, you erm…still fly well.' The conversation, if that's what it was, lapsed into an awkward silence, 'uh, who are you looking for?'

'Oh, Roger, I have news about tryouts for the Quidditch teams this year.'

'He left earlier, you can tell me if you want, I'm a Prefect as well as Seeker, I'll give out the news.'

'Oh…well it's just that the Quidditch tryouts are going to be tomorrow…I'll…I'll see you there.'

'Okay.'

With this Harry gave her a nervous smile and retreated back to Ron and Dudley where they were arguing over who would become the new Keeper for the team. As he arrived Professor McGonagall re-entered the hall and announced that everyone should make their way to their houses, Harry let Ron and Dudley go on ahead and then went over to his aunt and uncle to see how they were doing. Mr. Weasley arrived at the same time having just spoke with Professor Sprout who was handling the allocation of all the parents. 'Harry, you can tell everyone else where we are, Vernon, you and Petunia will be in Flitwick's spare classroom, we'll be next door in his main room.' Having cleared the arrangements, Harry made his way to Gryffindor tower. At the familiar portrait of the Fat Lady, Harry found several new Gryffindors who had been late to leave their parents in the Great Hall.

'Password please Mr. Potter.' Asked the smiling portrait.

'Pigwidgeon' Harry quoted, and the Fat Lady swung forward to admit the Gryffindors. On the other side, the common room was a haven of soft chairs and a warm fire, while there was also the beginning of term bustle as students moved back and forth, the new Gryffindors, as well as the adopted ones, were being shown about. Harry bypassed the crowded hearth conversations, where the Creevey brothers, Colin and Dennis, had challenged the Weasley twins to a game of exploding snap. Looking over the crowd, Harry could see that George was already down to one eyebrow, while little Dennis, who was so small he'd been standing on the table, looked like a spit roast that was slightly overdone.

Chuckling Harry moved up to the stairs where he met Seamus Finnigan and the two went upstairs, talking about Lupin's reinstatement as the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Seamus was especially enthusiastic, the practical lessons had stuck in his memory, as had his full marks on Lupin's exam. As they entered their dormitory that now had 'Fifth Years' embossed on it, Harry ducked a flying pillow that had zoomed across the room.

'Football' cried Dean, then he lobbed another pillow.

'Quidditch' responded Ron, while using his wand to deflect the pillow and zoom it anywhere, this time Neville peeked from around the corner and got it in the face.

Suddenly Dudley appeared in between the two feuding clutching two pillows, gave a loud resounding cry of 'Basketball' then ducked. He held up the pillows as the blasts from Dean's and Ron's wands shot into them, then the pillows rebounded into the owners. As Ron and Dean were clotheslined by the pillows, Harry and Seamus dived behind their beds as a tickling charm erupted from Ron's wand frantically windmilling arms. Then Dudley got caught and fell on his bed (which had been squeezed in by Filch earlier) rolling with laughter until Neville shot the counter spell at him.

Tired after the initial tussle, the earlier attack and stuffing his stomach, Harry fell straight into bed. Seamus and Dean also followed suit, but they then continued the argument between football and Quidditch. As this hushed argument continued, Ron clambered into his bed, closed the curtains and within two minutes Harry heard his contented snores. Neville was also asleep quickly, leaving Harry to talk with Dudley, whose bed was on the other side. 'Going for tryouts then?' he asked in a sleepy voice, in response Dudley gave him a tired shrug, 'you probably want to get some sleep, we're gonna have a long day tomorrow.' Reaching up for his curtains Harry looked to the day ahead. Quidditch tryouts, his first lessons, seeing all his old friends and enemies (although this was now a confusing area), his teachers and the castle. He now heard Dudley slumbering contentedly, and remembering his first night at Hogwarts, Harry drifted into a deep and relaxing sleep.

* * *

That night Harry dreamt, a dream of blood and violence. He was outside the school's main entrance, Ron at his side, all around them were explosions and jets of crackling light from spells launched by approaching Death Eaters. Without being in control, Harry sent charms and curses back at many of the Death Eaters while looking around. To his right he saw Draco Malfoy, blood pulsing from a deep gash on his forehead, then with a wild scream he leapt forward onto a Death Eater whose mask was ripped off only to reveal Lucius Malfoy, who calmly threw off his son, then turned to unleash a curse at Harry.

The curse flew overhead and Harry turned to see the George and Fred Weasley on his left, under a hail of curses. Shoving his brother down, George was hit and fell with a puzzled look, then as Fred rose and turned, gawping at his fallen brother, another lethal curse hit him in the back. Harry heard a hoarse scream and saw Ron run over to his brothers, then a breathless Hermione entered Harry's vision to throw him aside. A green light flashed, and from his stumbling view, Harry saw her lying crumpled on the floor, her eyes blank and grey.

A massive roar snapped Harry's view away, and he saw Hagrid emerging from the Forbidden Forest leading a crowd of beasts and creatures. Harry shot off an Impedimenta Charm and froze Lucius Malfoy as he raised his wand at his retreating son's back, however as Draco ran back to the cover of the entrance, a large fireball erupted from a wand held in a silver arm. The ball smothered Draco, and despite casting the Extingus Charm, Harry couldn't stop him from collapsing in a burning heap. As more Death Eaters charged forward the doors behind Harry opened and a host of students, parents and staff rushed out with Dumbledore in the lead. Then a large explosion erupted with belching green smoke next to Harry, the scene faded into black as he saw Ron's limp body smack into a pillar, and his face turned to see Dudley lying in a pool of expanding blood.

Lying in his bed Harry tossed and turned, Dudley pulled back the curtains to see his scar had gone a brilliant green. Abruptly Harry stopped moving and returned to a normal sleep, his scar faded to normal as well. Yawning Dudley climbed into his bed, he'd ask his cousin about the dream, or whatever it was, in the morning.

Above Gryffindor tower, a large scar shaped mark had appeared, only one pair of eyes saw it in the castle, they narrowed as it faded, then returned to the view before them. The grounds of the castle were moonlit in a harsh picture of black and white. From the forest the figure heard the life of the animals, but they were disturbed, there was more howling than ever from the werewolves, and the unicorns were matching this for whinnying. Sighing, Lupin moved back inside to meet with Dumbledore again.

* * *

Deep in the forest, the centaurs were gathered in a hollow; Bane, Ronan and Firenze were there among others, from the side furthest from Hogwarts an ageing centaur couple emerged. The rest bowed on their agile legs, then turned to listen as their king began to speak.

'I have seen the Potter Boy's mark tonight, many of you have also, of this I have no doubt. As he was not attacked, I am sure this is the beginning of what we knew would come…'

'Firenze, you have met the Potter Boy before, so you will lead tomorrow's delegation. Ronan and Bane, you will accompany him to speak with Hagrid, while Cascade and Sienna will go with their brother to speak for us.' He gestured at this point to two younger female centaurs, both were the same Palomino colour, although their eyes were a pale blue, not yet a startling sapphire like Firenze.

'I sense the end to the struggle may be near, I cannot see the end, only Tenna would have been able to, alas now she has no more sight.' With this he gestured to his wife, who rested her pale yellow eyes on the source of his voice. 'Now my people, be vigilant for the time of great strife approaches, and this time we cannot watch it pass by, this time…we will play against our own fates in the sky.'

With this the old couple left the circle of centaurs once more, leaving many to ponder the battle to come, Harry Potter may have dreamt it, they knew soon everyone would have to live it.

Chapter 9: Lessons to be Learned

Harry awoke feeling refreshed and alert after a good nights sleep, he couldn't remember his dream, but it must have been good, especially if he wasn't woken up. Thinking back he remembered his prior dreams, normally causing his sleep to be abruptly halted, with his scar hurting. Unconsciously he reached up and felt the red mark, why had it come back?

Why hadn't it faded? He expected it was now simply a dormant warning, that appeared only when he, or his family and friends, were in imminent danger. It had been green at the Dursley's house, at platform nine and three quarters, but why hadn't it just faded again, now his famous red scar was back.

Yawing, Harry pushed off his covers, pulled on his robes and opened his curtains, he'd worry about his scar later, he could go and ask Dumbledore. Emerging into the sunlight, he was surprised to see Neville and Dudley had already vacated the dorm, he'd expected both to sleep in due to their previous day. However, behind Ron's curtains he heard a low and grumpy moan, signalling that he had slept in slightly after the day before. As Harry smiled, Dean and Seamus also emerged from their beds and joined Harry as he left the dormitory.

Sleepily they wandered down the stairs and into the common room. It was quite full, although batches of Gryffindor students were now leaving by the portrait hole for breakfast. As he finished descending Harry saw Neville, Dudley and Ginny by the fireplace, carefully dodging a line of first years all scrambling for the exit together, he meandered over to the group.

'G'mornin'' he muttered to an equally drowsy crowd, 'when we goin' for bre'kfast?' From a garbled response Harry gathered they were waiting for Ron and Hermione, and plonked down beside Dudley in a squashy chair. 'Wassamatter?' he asked Dudley, while stifling a yawn, who had just nudged him.

'When's tryouts?'

'After lunch, McGonagall said we've only got to do morning lessons today.' After this Harry was sufficiently awake to discuss what he needed for the Gryffindor team in terms on new players. 'Essentially it's a Keeper I'm after, Oliver Wood left last year and the rest of the teams already filled. There's Ron's brothers, George and Fred, the 'Human Bludgers' as Beaters. Our Chasers are Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet and Angelina Johnson, and I'm Seeker, but I'll probably end up swapping with Viktor.'

'You should probably try for Keeper' he said, pointing vaguely at Dudley (or was it the mantelpiece?) 'but you could also go for a reserve place on a team, we need substitutes sometimes.' After this Dudley started looking thoughtfully at the fire while Harry joined in Neville's conversation with Ginny. After a few more minutes a drowsy Ron stumbled down from the boys' tower while Hermione emerged from the girls' dormitory.

'Where's Viktor?' she asked.

'He left earlier,' Neville replied, 'something about seeing Dumbledore, Quidditch problem he said.' As everyone else nodded at the news, Harry's heart did a little flip, wasn't that Dumbledore's secret signal? Forgetting the immediate intrigue, Harry followed everyone else down from Gryffindor tower to the Entrance Hall. However as they reached the lower stairs Harry fell into the trick stair that Neville agilely skipped over. Windmilling his arms desperately, Harry was pushed upright by Neville and lifted out of the stair by Dudley. As he did this Harry marvelled at Dudley's strength, maybe it hadn't all been fat! He was also surprised that he'd been able to pull himself, as he passed the mirror into the Great Hall he noticed he'd gained a few inches, no wonder Ron looks smaller! and also he was thicker around his arms and legs.

Ruminating on this as he entered the hall he tripped over the pillar again and was lifted by Neville, he's grown too! As he dusted his knees Harry's nose was invaded by the delicious scents of honeyed porridge, soup and cooked breakfasts. As they reached the table and walked to the far end, Harry noticed that Viktor wasn't anywhere to be seen, however a loud laugh revealed that the rest of the Gryffindor team were there, and that Fred or George were their normal exuberant selves.

Neville and Ginny grabbed the end of the table as it was vacated, and as everyone else sat down and began to tuck in, the owl post arrived. A great swarm of brown and mottled owls piled into the hall, glancing up Harry noticed Hedwig immediately, her distinctive snowy coat revealing her location. He also noticed that the flock seemed larger, and this was immediately accounted for when a mass of tiny Screech Owls descended down, one for each student.

Swooping in with ease, Hedwig landed right beside Harry and gratefully swallowed a crust of toast. But before he could remove her somewhat bulky letter, a small THUMP on his head announced the arrival of a school owl. Reaching up he grasped his letter as Ron's personal owl arrived and landed in his soup, splattering one of the first years seated nearby. As Ron complained at his owl ('you silly feathery dustbag') Harry opened his letter to reveal his timetable. Putting it aside he popped a small piece of toast into the Screech's mouth and it flew off with a contented chirp.

Ruffling her feathers at being ignored, Hedwig nipped Harry on his finger to attract some attention. She was rewarded with the removal of the letter, which contained some parchments, more toast and a scratch on the head. With a delighted screech she took off and left Harry with the thicker letter and parchments that were inside it, putting them aside, Harry opened his letter – it was from Dumbledore.

Hello Harry,

The large parchment enclosed is the Marauder's Map, I found it in Moody's trunk at the end of last year. You know doubt saw the larger version Sirius and Remus helped me construct in my new office.

I have also enclosed a pardon slip for you, as you'll be showing your cousin around, and for some classes, like Divination, he won't be where you are, the parchment will give you twenty minutes of a lesson when required.

'You lucky git!' Ron fumed as Harry pointed out the word 'Divination', it wasn't exactly a favourite among them.

Finally, I would like you to come and see me during lunch, I have a problem about Quidditch this year and also some questions concerning your scar, I entirely failed to notice it yesterday, lucky for me, Remus's mind is sharper than my own in the evenings.

Professor Dumbledore

Swiftly pocketing the Marauder's Map, Harry ate the rest of his breakfast while looking at his timetable.

'Ah no!' Ron moaned as he read his, 'Double Potions first, then Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology.'

'So, they aren't all bad' Hermione said referring to the last two.

'But they're all with the Slytherins!' Ron was positively wailing now, ' I can't take that slimeface for four hours.' He was nodding towards Malfoy who was reading his owl post, as Ron turned back Harry continued watching Malfoy who finished his letter, then after a pause he secreted the letter and looked up to see Harry staring back. With a slight nod Harry indicated the letter in his own hand, Draco returned the nod, but then beside him Millicent Bulstrode turned round. Seeing her look as he stared at Harry, Malfoy let out a shout; 'Hey scarface! Ready to watch your giant friend cry again?'

Harry turned away as the Slytherin table jeered, but on the Gryffindor table Ron's face turned as red as a volcano about to blow its top. 'I'm gonna get that weasel this year, I bet his dear old governor dad got us separated from the Hufflepuffs.' Ron was referring to Herbology, but Harry was wondering whether it was Lucius Malfoy or Dumbledore's doing.

'Hey Harry, I've got the same lessons as you!' Dudley interrupted Harry's thoughts, 'good job mum and dad have gone into Hogsmeade to get me some more equipment.' Harry looked to see Dudley was right about the lessons, he was surprised, but then realised he'd never needed his wand for any of them before, except possibly against the Skrewts the year before. Breakfast went too fast after that, and Potions was just around the corner.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Dudley arrived just in time to see Neville and the rest of the Gryffindors entering the classroom. Casually they walked in as if they'd been there all along, and surprisingly they weren't automatically swooped upon by Snape. 'Welcome back,' came the silky voice from his office, 'I thought to start by seeing what you dunderheads have forgotten over the holidays, and of course to check that some, newer, members have bothered to learn anything.'

He said this with an ominous glance at Dudley, but also at a new Slytherin student. 'You, Masterson,' he said pointing at his own pupil, 'What is the common name or the root of Asphodel once it is burnt?'

'I-I' the boy stammered.

'Tell me then, do you know…Mr. Dursley?' at this Hermione's hand shot up beside Dudley, but somehow he plucked up the courage to answer.

'I believe the name is Herbiscus, and is one component of the draught of the Living Death.' He replied smoothly.

'Astoundingly correct, your side of the family obviously got Potter's brains.' Harry stung inside at this, but he knew that Snape wasn't started yet. 'Now we will attempt to brew some Pericles Juice, this amazing plant will heal any small wound, as such it requires phoenix tears, kindly the headmaster has lent me his.'

With this he opened his cupboard and whistled, to which there was a haunting melody in reply, and Fawkes burst in, and settled on Harry's shoulder. 'Excellent, perhaps Mr. Potter will be kind enough to bottle some tears.' Snape said this with a smile and the Slytherins sniggered appreciatively.

Harry reached up and stroked Fawkes's plumage, then almost willingly the great bird bent his head over Harry's phials and cried. He filled everyone, then with a soft hoot flew back into the cupboard and disappeared, leaving a sallow-faced Snape to dispense the pearly liquid. The rest of the double lesson passed without incident, and to everyone's surprise Neville's potion worked on the small cut inflicted on his finger.

At the end Harry eagerly packed and was about to leave when Snape called him back. As everyone else filed out Harry made his way to the front desk. 'Well Potter, I suppose this is what you call justice, you have a smarter cousin and now you can aptly prove yourself a potions master, I have never known a student to persuade a phoenix before.'

'However do not think this makes you an exception, you are like any of us, fallible. Even my house members, such as Mr. Malfoy, although I gather he may have changed his stead as well. Now, I may not like you but I will tell you this, I will help you if you help me, we will all need it soon. Now, go, before I regret this conversation. By the way, although Slytherin is now my house, it wasn't always, remember this if you need to trust me.'

Harry left with his mind whirling, Snape had gone somewhere after the Triwizard fiasco last year, was he spying for Dumbledore again. He obviously knew something was up, and that it's coming to a head, and now he pledged Harry aid. What in the hell was going on?

The rest of the morning passed quickly, Harry couldn't even remember what Hagrid had taught him about Kelpies from the lesson. As the Herbology class drew to a close, Malfoy walked close to Harry and breathed 'meet you at the gargoyle,' then he stalked off with the rest of the Slytherins. Making excuses Harry skipped lunch and went straight to Dumbledore's office entrance where he met Draco, a quick password and they were in again