Mass chaos followed for several days. The staff was unsure of what to do.
They had now stationed invisible guards throughout the school, and the
security was increased tenfold. The Ministry had authorized several new
enchantments to be placed upon the school, making it near impossible for
any stranger to get on to the Hogwarts grounds. Yet still, no one could
have been found walking alone in a corridor, and even the teachers seemed
frightened. Perhaps the worst part of the whole ordeal was that people were
pointing fingers at Jessica. The rumors were flying, and many were starting
to believe them. Jessica couldn't walk down the hall without people
pointing and whispering or trying to run away. Infact, one time she turned
a corner, a pair of first year girls broke down in to terrified sobs and
started to run. She was starting to become very frustrated with everyone's
behavior, for even the teachers were starting to suspect her. Indeed,
Professor Snape, who since the first day had stationed her at the back of
the dungeon and never spoke to her, was starting to glare at her
suspiciously. Before this incident, she could very well have slept during
Potions, and he wouldn't have noticed. She also noted that now her every
move was being watched by some person or another. The teachers stared at
her in class, and the students kept a wary eye on her during breaks. It
seemed to her that the only place she could get some peace was in her room.
So one night, she found herself sitting on her bed, trying to concentrate
on her Transfiguration homework. She found it hard however, because she her
mind kept straying to the events of the day.
A pair of second year Ravenclaws had thrown paper at her in the hall, and a Hufflepuff had become hysterical at the sight of her. Perhaps the worst part was when a couple of seventh year Slytherins enchanted her books so that they would fly out of her arms and zoom around her head at any given moment. She still hadn't been able to catch her Arithmancy book. Jessica looked up and watched as it drifted lazily three feet above her head. Sighing, she turned back to her homework. The Gryffindors were being halfway decent, but perhaps it was just out of fear. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were the only ones that still wanted to know her.
She sat, milling over the day in her head, and suddenly found herself quite angry. This isn't fair!, she thought, I shouldn't have to put up with this! She slammed her book shut and strode out of her room.
Ever since the Dark Mark had been sent up, the teachers had been having daily meetings. None of the students were supposed to know about these, but it was hard not to notice that the teachers all disappeared around six o'clock in the evening.
Jessica walked down to the staff room. She had just raised her hand to knock, when she heard voices drifting toward her. Something inside of her held her hand back, and she stood frozen, trying to identify them. Soon, she recognized Professor McGonagall's stern voice, and at the moment, she sounded quite scared. Intrigued, she shifted quietly to the left. The door was open a tiny crack, and by shifting, she could just barely see inside. Professor Dumbledore sat at the head of the table, his face was grim and pale. The other teachers stood huddled around the table, some had their hands clasped on their mouths, others were looking disbelieving. McGonagall had just gotten to her feet and was talking in a very quiet and shaky voice.
"How many were found, Albus?" she asked quietly.
Professor Dumbledore looked down at the table and then back at her. "Twenty five so far, Minerva," he answered quietly.
Snape gripped his hands together very hard. "But sir, is there a chance that there could be more?" he asked harshly.
Dumbledore nodded. "Indeed there is Severus," he said, "However, we do have our best forces out there right now, searching the Forbidden Forest for more bodies."
Jessica jumped a little. Bodies? And what did that have to do with the Forbidden Forest and the Dark Mark? Jessica wondered as she stared at the dark floor. Suddenly, she realized that the Dark Mark had been floating oddly close to the Forbidden Forest…
"Twenty five Aurors, blimey," Hagrid whispered shakily. She leaned forward even more and saw that he was leaning against the wall, shrinking in to the shadows.
"Yes, Hagrid. It is indeed a very disturbing bit of news, however, the students must never learn of it. For now, all of the outside classes will be held in the spare dungeons. These new statures will remain until we can be positive that we have collected all of the bodies," Dumbledore said gravely.
"But more importantly," Professor McGonagall said suddenly, "What are we going to do? There are only so many Aurors out there to kill dark wizards! And at the rate that the dark side is growing, we have no hope of training enough wizards to take their place." Jessica saw that she was clearly panicking.
Professor Dumbledore leaned forward on the table and said, "I do not know Minerva." There was a long pause and the Dumbledore said quietly, "There is a legend, however. A legend that has been kept secret for a very long time. It goes back to the dawn of the magical world. The story says that at the creation of magic, there was a prophet who said that one day a Dark Lord was going to rise, twice." He paused to clear his throat and let the teachers absorb this information. "The legend goes," he continued, "That, despite the fact that they were unsure of the factuality of this statement, the wizards and witches had a meeting and elected ten people. Ten people who now hold the fate of the world. They sent them to different locations and different worlds. They had been given a special potion that is long since lost in the pages of time. This potion enabled them to live an immortal life, so that no matter when the Dark Forces gained power, they could be summoned to do battle." A very tense pause followed this statement.
"I have also heard this legend," tiny Professor Flitwick said, "But how do we summon them, Dumbledore?" He was gripping the edge of his chair, looking like a child listening to a fairy tale.
"There is," Dumbledore continued simply, "Only one known way of summoning them. They were each given a communicator that, when properly activated, would become a Portkey, and transport the holder back to London." He glanced around the room, and finally his eyes fell on Professor Trelawny, the Divination teacher. "Sybill," he said quietly, "I will ask you to please look in to finding that spell. As I already have jobs in mind for the other professors, I must ask this of you. Will you do it?" he asked.
She looked distinctly flustered. It was a well known fact that she thought coming down out of her office fogged her inner eye, and blocked her ability to predict the future. This had never actually been proven, but she still believed it was real.
"Very well, Professor Dumbledore," she said resentfully. Dumbledore nodded and turned to the other teachers. Jessica stood stunned in the doorway, not taking in what he was saying to the teachers. Suddenly, she heard the scraping of chairs and realized that they were leaving the staff room. She turned and started to run back down the corridor. Jessica did not stop running until she reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, which was the entrance to Gryffindor Tower.
"Chocolate Frogs is the password," she gasped, panting for breath. The Fat Lady nodded, and, looking somewhat concerned, swung forward to admit her. Jessica stumbled in and scanned wildly around for Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Finally, her eyes fell upon them. They were sitting by the fire studying, but they were not alone. A girl that was perhaps a year younger than them was sitting beside Hermione. Jessica recognized her red hair and brown eyes. She knew in an instant that it was Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister. Jessica's stomach dropped, she didn't want to tell them what had happened in front of Ginny. She stood for a moment, and suddenly had an idea.
She approached them carefully. Hermione had just lifted her head, and upon seeing her she smiled and said, "Hello, Jess. We've just been looking for you. We're working on Arithmancy right now…" She stopped dead at the look on Jessica's face. She was looking extremely anxious.
"Oh, well. I just had to ask Professor McGonagall a question about our homework for Monday. I couldn't find her though, so maybe you guys could help me," she said hurriedly, with a pointed look at them.
Harry shut his book. "Alright," he said, "What's the problem?"
"Um, well maybe I should show you. It's kind of hard to explain," she said, sounding somewhat exasperated. Harry raised his eyebrows quizzically, and Jessica widened her eyes. How can he be so thick?, she asked herself.
Hermione, however, had got the point. She turned to Ron and Harry, "Come on, you guys. I may need some help," she said. Then she turned to Ginny. "You stay here, Ginny. We'll be right back, and besides, you don't even have Transfiguration."
Ginny looked a little suspicious, but finally shrugged and went back to her Divination. Jessica had to work very hard to hide her sigh of relief. She beckoned to the three of them, and led them in to her room.
A pair of second year Ravenclaws had thrown paper at her in the hall, and a Hufflepuff had become hysterical at the sight of her. Perhaps the worst part was when a couple of seventh year Slytherins enchanted her books so that they would fly out of her arms and zoom around her head at any given moment. She still hadn't been able to catch her Arithmancy book. Jessica looked up and watched as it drifted lazily three feet above her head. Sighing, she turned back to her homework. The Gryffindors were being halfway decent, but perhaps it was just out of fear. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were the only ones that still wanted to know her.
She sat, milling over the day in her head, and suddenly found herself quite angry. This isn't fair!, she thought, I shouldn't have to put up with this! She slammed her book shut and strode out of her room.
Ever since the Dark Mark had been sent up, the teachers had been having daily meetings. None of the students were supposed to know about these, but it was hard not to notice that the teachers all disappeared around six o'clock in the evening.
Jessica walked down to the staff room. She had just raised her hand to knock, when she heard voices drifting toward her. Something inside of her held her hand back, and she stood frozen, trying to identify them. Soon, she recognized Professor McGonagall's stern voice, and at the moment, she sounded quite scared. Intrigued, she shifted quietly to the left. The door was open a tiny crack, and by shifting, she could just barely see inside. Professor Dumbledore sat at the head of the table, his face was grim and pale. The other teachers stood huddled around the table, some had their hands clasped on their mouths, others were looking disbelieving. McGonagall had just gotten to her feet and was talking in a very quiet and shaky voice.
"How many were found, Albus?" she asked quietly.
Professor Dumbledore looked down at the table and then back at her. "Twenty five so far, Minerva," he answered quietly.
Snape gripped his hands together very hard. "But sir, is there a chance that there could be more?" he asked harshly.
Dumbledore nodded. "Indeed there is Severus," he said, "However, we do have our best forces out there right now, searching the Forbidden Forest for more bodies."
Jessica jumped a little. Bodies? And what did that have to do with the Forbidden Forest and the Dark Mark? Jessica wondered as she stared at the dark floor. Suddenly, she realized that the Dark Mark had been floating oddly close to the Forbidden Forest…
"Twenty five Aurors, blimey," Hagrid whispered shakily. She leaned forward even more and saw that he was leaning against the wall, shrinking in to the shadows.
"Yes, Hagrid. It is indeed a very disturbing bit of news, however, the students must never learn of it. For now, all of the outside classes will be held in the spare dungeons. These new statures will remain until we can be positive that we have collected all of the bodies," Dumbledore said gravely.
"But more importantly," Professor McGonagall said suddenly, "What are we going to do? There are only so many Aurors out there to kill dark wizards! And at the rate that the dark side is growing, we have no hope of training enough wizards to take their place." Jessica saw that she was clearly panicking.
Professor Dumbledore leaned forward on the table and said, "I do not know Minerva." There was a long pause and the Dumbledore said quietly, "There is a legend, however. A legend that has been kept secret for a very long time. It goes back to the dawn of the magical world. The story says that at the creation of magic, there was a prophet who said that one day a Dark Lord was going to rise, twice." He paused to clear his throat and let the teachers absorb this information. "The legend goes," he continued, "That, despite the fact that they were unsure of the factuality of this statement, the wizards and witches had a meeting and elected ten people. Ten people who now hold the fate of the world. They sent them to different locations and different worlds. They had been given a special potion that is long since lost in the pages of time. This potion enabled them to live an immortal life, so that no matter when the Dark Forces gained power, they could be summoned to do battle." A very tense pause followed this statement.
"I have also heard this legend," tiny Professor Flitwick said, "But how do we summon them, Dumbledore?" He was gripping the edge of his chair, looking like a child listening to a fairy tale.
"There is," Dumbledore continued simply, "Only one known way of summoning them. They were each given a communicator that, when properly activated, would become a Portkey, and transport the holder back to London." He glanced around the room, and finally his eyes fell on Professor Trelawny, the Divination teacher. "Sybill," he said quietly, "I will ask you to please look in to finding that spell. As I already have jobs in mind for the other professors, I must ask this of you. Will you do it?" he asked.
She looked distinctly flustered. It was a well known fact that she thought coming down out of her office fogged her inner eye, and blocked her ability to predict the future. This had never actually been proven, but she still believed it was real.
"Very well, Professor Dumbledore," she said resentfully. Dumbledore nodded and turned to the other teachers. Jessica stood stunned in the doorway, not taking in what he was saying to the teachers. Suddenly, she heard the scraping of chairs and realized that they were leaving the staff room. She turned and started to run back down the corridor. Jessica did not stop running until she reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, which was the entrance to Gryffindor Tower.
"Chocolate Frogs is the password," she gasped, panting for breath. The Fat Lady nodded, and, looking somewhat concerned, swung forward to admit her. Jessica stumbled in and scanned wildly around for Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Finally, her eyes fell upon them. They were sitting by the fire studying, but they were not alone. A girl that was perhaps a year younger than them was sitting beside Hermione. Jessica recognized her red hair and brown eyes. She knew in an instant that it was Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister. Jessica's stomach dropped, she didn't want to tell them what had happened in front of Ginny. She stood for a moment, and suddenly had an idea.
She approached them carefully. Hermione had just lifted her head, and upon seeing her she smiled and said, "Hello, Jess. We've just been looking for you. We're working on Arithmancy right now…" She stopped dead at the look on Jessica's face. She was looking extremely anxious.
"Oh, well. I just had to ask Professor McGonagall a question about our homework for Monday. I couldn't find her though, so maybe you guys could help me," she said hurriedly, with a pointed look at them.
Harry shut his book. "Alright," he said, "What's the problem?"
"Um, well maybe I should show you. It's kind of hard to explain," she said, sounding somewhat exasperated. Harry raised his eyebrows quizzically, and Jessica widened her eyes. How can he be so thick?, she asked herself.
Hermione, however, had got the point. She turned to Ron and Harry, "Come on, you guys. I may need some help," she said. Then she turned to Ginny. "You stay here, Ginny. We'll be right back, and besides, you don't even have Transfiguration."
Ginny looked a little suspicious, but finally shrugged and went back to her Divination. Jessica had to work very hard to hide her sigh of relief. She beckoned to the three of them, and led them in to her room.