Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. That would violate anti-slavery laws.
The next day at lunch Hermione was still steamed about the encounter. "Who does he think he is?" she hissed.
Ron sniggered and said, "He's the prefect."
Hermione shot him a nasty look, and Harry decided to try to distract her by asking, "Has anyone seen Hannah?"
Ginny seemed to catch on what he was trying to do and quickly answered, "I heard that she's been seen hanging around in the library. But when people try to talk to her, she just shies away."
"That's really strange!" Ron said, "That's not like her at all, is it Harry?"
But before Harry could reply, he noticed something odd. Justin Finch-Fletchy had risen from his seat and was walking very oddly, towards the Gryffindor table. A lot of people were noticing Justin's odd behavior, and Dumbledore rose from his seat.
When Justin arrived at the Gryffindor table, he stopped across the table facing Harry. Harry quickly grew alarmed as Justin drew his wand, and his eyes widened as Justin blankly said "Avada Kedavra"
Harry dove to his right, barely avoiding the killing curse. He looked up and saw both Ron and Ginny struggling to wrest the wand from Justin's grip.
Dumbledore shouted "Repurgare!" pointing his hands at Justin. Justin let out a high pitch scream, which didn't sound like his voice at all, and sank to his knees. "What happened?" Justin asked in a confused voice.
Before anyone could say anything, Seamus Finnegan, three seats away, rose as well and drew his wand. Dumbledore, with the slightest tint of panic in his voice, yelled "Repurgare" again. Before any more people could attempt to kill Harry, Dumbledore shouted, "Exigo Larva." Harry felt his skin prickle for a moment – he wondered what spell Dumbledore had cast.
Dumbledore was watching the Great Hall like a hawk; a minute later he seem satisfied he knew what happened and said, "I ask that no one panic. You are safe now." He then turned to address the rest of the staff. "Hagrid," he asked, "Will you look after the students? Keep them calm, and keep them in the Great Hall. The rest of you please follow me."
Dumbledore led them to an adjoining room, but before he could say anything, McGonagall asked, "Headmaster, what happened back there?"
Dumbledore replied gravely, "A possession. Five years ago, Voldemort was able to partially possess Quirrel's body. However, he now seems to be able to fully possess, even in an unwilling host."
The teachers seemed shocked at this, and Snape finally asked, "What are we going to do about this?"
Dumbledore thought a minute and said, "I cast a ward inside the great hall. Unfortunately, wards are not permanent, and require focus. I want each of you to try to cast 'Exigo Larva'."
Each of the professors cast the spell, but only McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, and Fleur were able to create the ward. McGonagall saw the problem immediately and whispered, "We don't have enough to guard the students at all times." Dumbledore shook his head no.
Snape hissed, "Potter."
Flitwick looked up and said, "Yes! Potter would almost surely be able to create the ward."
Dumbledore grew thoughtful and McGonagall said angrily, "Surely you can't be thinking this! Harry just had two attempts on his life!"
Dumbledore looked at her and said, "Minerva, we have no choice. The only alternative is to close the school, which would still leave the students at risk after they left." McGonagall didn't have anything to say at this, and Dumbledore softly said to Snape, "Get Harry."
Harry was still in shock. He had nearly died, twice, and didn't see how Hagrid guarding the hall alone would help. The rest of the hall was buzzing, and Harry felt a lot of worried looks on him. Ron and Ginny were both looking nervously at him as well, and Hermione was even biting her lip. Many were looking suspiciously at Seamus and Justin, clearly expecting them to try to kill Harry again.
"Potter, come here," called Snape's voice over the whispers. As Harry walked over, the voices grew even louder. Clearly everyone was anxious to know what was going on.
Upon entering the room, Snape immediately shut the door behind him. Without preamble, Dumbledore said, "Harry, will you cast 'Exigo Larva'?"
Harry did as he was asked, and felt the same small prickle as before. Dumbledore seemed relieved and said, "Harry, we have a problem."
Harry smiled weakly. Two people tried to kill him and Dumbledore simply called it a problem! And if whatever force was controlling Justin and Seamus was trying to kill him, he had a good idea who it was. Dumbledore continued, "As you might have guessed, you have just witnessed a possession. There are ways to combat this, but we need your help. Will you?" Harry slowly nodded.
"Then I should think it is time to address the students," Dumbledore spoke, and led the group back to the Great Hall.
"Silence," Dumbledore loudly
said. The Great Hall grew completely
silent, and Dumbledore continued, "Hogwarts is now host to a hostile possessive
spirit." At these words, the hall burst
with noise and Dumbledore had to quiet the students again before he could
continue. "There are ways in which we
can combat this. First, Professor Snape, Professor Flitwick,
Professor Delacour, Professor McGonagall, and Harry
Potter will be casting wards throughout the day. You are to not, under any circumstances,
leave the protection of these individuals.
I myself will protect the castle at night. Therefore, from 8:00 PM until curfew, and
from dawn until 10:00 AM you are free to move about the castle, provided you do
not leave the castle proper."
The students were still deathly quiet, taking Dumbledore's words in shock. "Second," Dumbledore continued, "After
breakfast tomorrow, everyone is to remain in the Great Hall. Possession can be prevented individually as
well, similar to the Imperious Curse. We
will be checking for which students are immune to possession. Those students will be exempt from the rules
I just discussed."
A few students looked around hopefully. They were obviously wishing to be declared immune, so they would be free again to wander the grounds. "Finally," Dumbledore finished, "There obviously cannot be a quidditch season this year. The Ward Wizards will be far too busy to supervise Quidditch practices." Harry took a moment before he realized that Dumbledore was referring to the group, including him, which would be casting the protective wards around the castle. "That is all. Prefects, please lead your students back to the dorms," Dumbledore said. He then turned to Harry, who was starting to walk to Lee Jordan and said, "No, Harry, I need to talk with you for a moment."
Dumbledore looked around at the five other witches and wizards who would be guarding the castle at day. "Each of you should practice your ward spells for the next several hours. You will all have a difficult day tomorrow. I will also make sure that no Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, or Defense Against the Dark Arts classes meet the first day. I will see you at breakfast tomorrow."
Harry decided he would find an empty classroom to practice. Although it was relatively easy for him to cast the ward, Harry found it difficult to keep it going for more than a few minutes. He realized that's why Dumbledore had asked them to practice tonight. Harry focused again, and tried to keep the ward going as long as he could. Every so often, he'd look down at his watch, keeping track of the time. After 38 minutes, Harry sank to the floor, lightly panting. After a quick sigh, Harry got back up on his feet. One last time! Harry's mind ordered. It seemed to be requiring less energy each try, and Harry was able to keep the ward up for almost two hours. He half collapsed on the stone floor and it took him a minute to get his bearings again. Half dreading the next day, Harry went back up to the Gryffindor commons.
When he entered the portrait, he found the entire house waiting for him, even though it was somewhat late in the night. "Harry," Ron called, "what exactly is going on – why are you with the teachers casting wards?"
Harry explained, "Dumbledore told you – there is a possessive spirit in the castle."
"Yeah," Ron continued, "but why you?"
Harry thought a minute, and decided to not mention that not all the professors could perform the ward. "Because," Harry explained, "they don't have enough professors free to escort all the students around. So they asked for my help. I assume I'll be walking people to class and stuff."
Harry was feeling extremely tired, and was still brushing off questions as he climbed the stairs to the 5th year dorms. He collapsed in the doorway, and Ginny said, "Knock it off! He's obviously had enough problems for the day." Ginny gently helped Harry up and into his bed. Harry smiled as Ginny tucked him in and gave him a kiss on the forehead.
"Goodnight, mom," Harry murmured with a smile. Ginny chuckled and hit him playfully on the arm. Harry barely felt it, and was asleep within seconds.
The Gryffindor's all headed down to breakfast, and they all gasped when they saw the schedule. Ron shrieked, "The classes are all 2 ½ hours long, one day a week?!"
Neville cried, "Oh no! What about potions!" At this, many of the Gryffindors shuddered. Harry did as well, but it wasn't because of the potions. He realized that he would be required to sit in on every class as well. After all, unless the teacher was one of the other Ward Wizards, he would be required to guard the students during class as well.
"3rd year Arithmancy, 5th year Arithmancy, 7th year Arithmancy, 4th year Muggle Studies, and 6th year Muggle Studies!" Harry cried, looking at his guard duties. He did the math in his head, and realized he'd be working 12 ½ hours today, not counting transit times between the classes. He privately didn't know whether he could keep a ward up that long.
"What? We have to spend the time between classes in the Great Hall?!" Hermione said, outraged. Harry sniggered; she wasn't going to be able to spend all her free time in the library this year.
"I see you have all noticed the new schedules," Dumbledore spoke, "Now we have an unfortunate duty to perform. I will be putting on a modified Imperius Curse on anyone who wishes to be declared immune to the Possession. Understand this is completely voluntary; you do not have to undergo this if you wish." At his words, a lot of the students were looking scared. Harry understood why, since Imperius was an unforgivable curse. He wondered how Dumbledore had cleared this with the ministry.
No one looked willing to go up. Harry decided to help out a little. "Professor," he called, "I'd like to." Harry and Dumbledore both knew he wouldn't have a problem with this, since Harry had handled a full-fledged Imperius curse from Voldemort.
"Ok, come here Harry," Dumbledore said. Harry walked over, and Dumbledore simply pointed his finger at Harry. Harry felt himself lose concentration and a small whisper said, "Raise your hand." Harry mentally chuckled, and thought, "Nice try, Professor."
Dumbledore chuckled out loud, and said, "Thank you Harry. You pass. Is there anyone else?" At this, a lot of students came forward. They obviously saw what little was required, and were eager to be exempt from the new rules.
However, it appeared the rest didn't have nearly as easy of time with the curse. Only about a fourth of the students refrained from raising their hand. Harry looked around at the students who passed, and saw that only Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Parvati, Parvati's twin sister Padma, Cho Chang, and a couple of Slytherin and Hufflepuffs Harry didn't recognize. Fred, George, and Lee failed, which really upset them.
"This is great! I've got to rub it in those three's faces that I can wander the grounds and they can't!" Hermione said gleefully.
Harry and Ron hadn't thought about effect of the new schedule in regards to Divination. They were surprised to find both Firenze and Trelawney at the front of the class. Ever since the first lecture, they purposely kept as much distance as they could from each other.
"Unfortunately, events have forced our Divination studies to be compressed into one class. Also, the headmaster felt that dividing the class in two segments was inappropriate," Trelawney spoke. Harry could tell that the professor didn't seem too happy about this chain of events, and was loathing to be teaching alongside Firenze.
"Today," Trelawney addressed, bringing back Harry's attention, "we will be learning Onychomancy." This didn't have the effect she hoped, and continued, "Onychomancy is a very advanced seer method of putting ash on the thumb, and gazing into it to see the future." At this, Firenze gave a loud snort. Trelawney shot him a nasty glance, and continued, "Please watch as I demonstrate how to do this." Trelawney put some darkish dust on her thumb and examined it very closely. Firenze let out an even larger snort, but looked down as Trelawney glared at him.
"Now we turn to page 103 in 'Diput's Guide to Seeing'." Trelawney launched into an explanation about what she saw and what it meant. About every sentence, Firenze smiled and shook his head slowly. Harry could swear he was softly chuckling.
Trelawney noticed this, and said nastily, "Perhaps Firenze has a problem with my Onychomancy technique."
Firenze looked at her, and seemed to be considering her. He finally said with a small smile, "Actually, I don't think I've ever seen anyone with a more effective Onychomancy technique." At this, most of the class broke into laughter. Patil and Brown were visibly angered. Trelawney seemed to be angry as well, and said, "Perhaps you would like to teach the class!" She then sat down at a spare poof and glared at Firenze with her arms crossed.
Firenze smiled again, and addressed the class, "Let's start out by seeing how far your Astrology is coming." He waved one of his hooves; again the ceiling grew transparent and the sky darkened. "Does anyone," Firenze asked, "Know what the sky says now?"
The students all looked at the sky, and seemed to be trying to work out the details. "There's Mars!" Harry whispered, pointing to the west.
A few minutes later, Ron hesitantly raised his hand. "Yes, Weasley?"
Ron slowly said, "Only the chosen ones may be immune?"
Firenze looked startled at Ron, and said, "Weasley, how did you get that result?"
Ron looked at his parchment and said, "Well, Mars is 20 degrees off the inclination, approximately 270 degrees from north. It's the 287th day of the year, so we take the sine of 270 add it to the…" At this point Harry zoned out, but several minutes later, Ron extracted the words from the large series of resulting numbers.
Firenze looked at him, slightly amazed, and said, "That was very close!" Harry gasped; apparently Ron actually knew what he was talking about! Ron was slightly disappointed, thinking he must have made an error along the way.
Firenze saw his look, and said, "There's a small flaw in the equations you have all been taught by the school. The centaurs memorize a conversion table when they are newly born, but I decided I should write it out for you." At this, Firenze handed out a complicated looking chart.
"How do we use this?" Ron asked, clearly afraid of all the complicated symbols.
Firenze looked at him oddly, and said, "You look up the angle on the left, and use the symbol on the right. That takes you to the second to last step."
"What?" cried Ron, "No trigonometric equations? No angle theory?" Ron was beginning to grow excited.
"Of course not!" Firenze said, clearly confused, "This is divination, not math class!" Ron sported a smile bigger than Harry had seen in awhile, certainly the biggest he'd ever had in divination. Trelawney, however, appeared less than pleased, and let out a giant snort.
"I take it you disagree, professor?" asked Firenze calmly. Harry's jaw dropped as Professor Trelawney proceeded to lambaste the centaur for several minutes. All trace of her misty voice was gone, and she sounded just like an angry Professor McGonagall.
For some reason, Firenze smiled through her rant. When Trelawney finished, Firenze simply said, "Perhaps we could both predict the future, and see whose prediction comes true. Will that make you happy?"
Trelawney calmed down a little and considered this. "All right," she agreed, "but I go first." At this, she drew out a small bag from her desk. "Mediterranean Chicken Bones," she whispered reverently. "Mediterranean Chicken Bones are the surest way to predict the future in times of need." At this she tossed the bones across the desk and looked closely at them. "Potter," she spoke slowly, "will be champion again. But not again will he finish." She looked up, and said, "Harry Potter will be the Hogwarts champion, but will die before the competition finishes."
Harry snorted; she had predicted his death countless times before. He shouldn't be too surprised she'd do it now.
Firenze had a trace of a smile, and said, "I'm sorry for the bad news Harry." Ron and Harry burst out laughing, to Parvati and Lavender's displeasure.
Firenze continued, "As for mine - Hermione Granger will get detention." It was Trelawney, Parvati, and Lavender's turn to laugh. Harry had to admit Firenze picked an unlikely thing to predict.
"Who," chortled Trelawney, "will give Miss Granger a detention?"
"Professor McGonagall," Firenze answered. The three women cracked up again, but Harry didn't have to worry about it too long, since class was about over.
"So either I'm going to die, or Hermione's going to get detention?" Harry asked.
Ron smiled and said, "My money's on you dying!"
----
Hmmmm… I didn't get many reviews during the break. I did get some good points about Lee vs. Hermione and the trumpet. Tell you what, give me a lot of feedback over the next few chapters. I'm thinking about rewriting parts of the story, and some feedback will help me figure out if I should. I might take out the trumpet parts, although I'd still have Lee be one of the prefects. Hmm… co-prefects with Hermione could be interesting.
Anyway, give me some feedback! Let me know whether this story is the greatest thing you've ever read, or the most revolting story you've ever purged from your browser's cache.
REVIEW!!!!! Please?!