Chapter 7: The Hogwarts Address
Harry was unable to sleep that night. Dumbledore did not make an announcement to the school but he was sure that he had informed the teachers. What worried Harry was that in the distance he could see the large creatures and shadows forming a barricade in the distance.
He had, of course, told Ron, but he'd sworn him to secrecy. Harry had told Hermione's friends that she would be studying late in the library and did not want to be disturbed.
"24 hours," he said to himself, laying in bed that night. "One day. That's all I have to save Hermione."
Some how he managed to drift off into a nightmare-filled sleep around 2:00 AM. He dreamt of Voldemort's horrid face, of the evil, soul-thirsty dementors, and of Hermione.
At 7:00 AM the students were woken by the teachers and hurried into the Great Hall. Ron through Harry a knowing glance and he nodded
In the Great Hall Dumbledore stood in the front of the room by himself. The other teachers were stationed by the tables and guarding the doors. Harry gulped. A lot of things were about to change forever.
Dumbledore then closed his eyes, cleared his throat and began the speech that would always be remembered and recited by people everywhere, the Hogwarts Address.
"Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, teachers and staff, we are gathered here to accept the fate which has fallen upon us. In less than 18 hours we will be under attack by the most feared wizard of all time: Lord Voldemort.
"He will attack Hogwarts School at approximately 8:00 this evening and we can be assured that he will bring with him the dementors of Azkaban and his dearest friends among many others.
"I would like everyone to know that you will be perfectly safe locked deep underground where you cannot be touched. The teachers, myself, prefects, and our allies who are able to reach us by nightfall will join together to fight this battle. Any student who is over the age of 16 is also eligible to fight if he or she wishes.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is it. If this battle is lost the world will fall to their knees is fear of Voldemort. We will not allow this to happen! We will not allow evil to triumph over truth and justice. We will emerge victorious! We will win this duel of the fates. That is all."
Dumbledore stepped down from the stage to complete silence. Then Harry and Ron began tentatively clapping and the rest of the school quickly joined in. The thundering applause lasted for a full five minutes.
When it had finally quieted down the teachers hurried the students into the dungeon. They began to settle down but McGonagall, using her favorite pen that she always kept with her, tapped a code into the wall and a secret door opened up. It reminded Harry of Diagon Ally.
They walked down a small, damp tunnel for about a minute before arriving on a spacious room that Harry could only describe as gigantic.
"Five of the Dursley's house could easily fit in here," he whispered to Ron.
"No shit," he muttered, entranced by its size.
The students crowded into the room and McGonagall gave them a brief tour. Five rows of twin beds took up three quarters of the room and the rest was filled with couches, books, toys, and cordless TV's.
"It's almost like Disney World!" Harry breathed to Ron.
"Come again?"
"Never mind, just…it's wicked."
"You're telling me."
"And there's no barrier between the boys and girls," Neville added with a wink at Harry. It was now common knowledge that he and Hermione were going out.
"Um…yeah." Harry forced a smile, but Neville didn't fall for it.
"She still hasn't come back from the library?"
"Look, I know where she is, but…" Harry dragged Neville into a corner and Ron followed.
"Last night while I was looking for her, I heard her scream…I can to her, and…he had her." Neville didn't need to ask who "he" was.
"Shouldn't you tell somebody? McGonagall's right over there. C'mon!" Harry reluctantly allowed himself to be dragged over to the teacher who was just about to leave.
"McGonagall, Harry has something to tell you."
"Not now, Potter. I must return to Dumbledore."
"But it's about-" she slammed the door in his face.
"You-Know-Who," he whispered. For the first time in his life Harry was unable to force the feared name to his lips.
That's it! I promise the next chapter or 2 will be up on 3/31/03. I can only log in at school and usually only on Mondays so be patient!