AN: Thanks to all who reviewed! Soccer held up this chapter, so sorry.
As they stepped out of the fire in The Three Broomsticks, the three were immediately swarmed by people. Harry could spot a couple with cameras trying to make their way to the front. He frowned darkly. Had Minerva alerted all of Europe that they were back? Harry fought the urge to apparate then and there, and just head back to America, but he remembered his promise to Albus.
Everyone thought Albus was dead. Harry had believed it, for a while anyways, until a death eater raid had provided him with a different story.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Harry checked to make sure the wards were down before sneaking past the guards in his invisibility cloak. Honestly, anyone could just waltz right in there if they knew the right spell that broke the wards. He opened the gate with a whispered, 'Alohomora'. The rusty gate would have alerted the guards of his presence if not for the handy silencing spell he had cast just a moment before. Shutting the gate behind him, he proceeded to the side entrance to the castle.
All prisoners were usually held in the dungeons of the massive, foreboding castles. Stories of the inside conditions were scarce because no one usually survived to tell the tale. The precious few that had been rescued had been driven to the point of insanity, so no one could get a coherent word out of them.
Once he found the side entrance, he was surprised to find that it led to the main chambers rather than the dungeons like he had thought. Creeping silently along, he debated whether to continue his path. There weren't that many people walking through, and those that did looked far to drunk to realize their surroundings. Harry assumed that there was some kind of party or lavish dinner going on. Glancing down the hallway a bit, he saw that an unusually large man was heading towards him, and as far as Harry could tell, this man took up the whole hallway. Harry quickly found the nearest door. Luckily for him, there were no inhabitants in the room he had entered.
Instead, there seemed to be massive amounts of books, loose parchment, and what looked like some stolen Ministry documents. Parchment, however, was hard to come by in America. Glancing though the closest pieces, he gathered that they were papers from London. Most of it was rubbish, but Harry found a letter addressed to Avery Nott from none other than the former Minister of Magic, Brendan Shafer.
Avery-
I have been recently informed that you know the where abouts of a certain wizard whom all assume dead. I do not need to remind you of the consequences if that information were to get out. I am sending over a representative, a Mr. Scott Platts, to retrieve you and bring you back to London.
Brendan
The letter was particularly interesting, mostly because Avery Nott had been turned up mysteriously dead about two months ago. Harry was puzzled for a moment. Who was thought to be dead? Tons of wizards were dead, as a result from numerous death eater attacks. However, which wizard would cause the crooked Minister to murder the only person who knew of his location?
The answer hit Harry like a ton of bricks. Albus. Albus was dead, but no body had been recovered. However, when he had failed to turn up for two years, people started to loose faith that he was alive. He was presumed dead, and there had been a grand funeral for him. Harry had gone, of course.
Harry knew he was jumping to a huge conclusion, but this was the explanation that made Albus's last words to Harry make sense. The old wizard had said, 'You must follow them, Harry. Do not stray to the dark. Follow them until I return.' The them, of course, being Minerva and Severus.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The search for any news of Albus was a frustrating one. Harry found tidbits of information here and there, but it was only enough to draw a general conclusion. Albus was trapped in a different dimension, but what was holding him there Harry didn't know. He also didn't know how one set about freeing a person trapped in a different dimension. He would have owled Hermione, as she could have helped him search, but he couldn't swallow his anger and ask for help.
The thought of Hermione brought Harry back to the present, where he could hear reporters asking Ron and Hermione about ten different questions at once. Ron seemed to be enjoying the attention. He would point to a reporter and say, "All right, you next," before hearing their question. Hermione looked torn between being highly flattered and highly annoyed, but she answered any questions with a Minerva-like curtness.
Harry clenched his jaw to keep his annoyance in check. What he was annoyed with, he wasn't sure. The damn reporters asking their stupid questions or Ron lapping up all the attention like he was the Queen of England. Harry made his way through the crowd- actually, it was more of a forceful push through the crowd. Freeing himself, he quickly walked into a darker alley before casting an invisibility charm. The reporters that had followed him looked disappointed and bewildered as they found the alley empty. Harry almost chuckled at the looks on their faces before walking back out into Hogesmade, still invisible of course.
Dinner was a nightmare. When he entered, he was immediately attacked (not literally) by his godfather, whom he had not seen in over four years. "Harry Potter! You stop this instant!"
Harry turned around slowly, in enough time to see Sirius come crashing into him and enveloping him in a hug. Harry, who had been expecting a punch or a hex, hugged him back.
"Sirius?" Harry said slowly, "I need to breathe." Sirius let him go but immediately started talking.
"Harry! I can't believe you would just go and leave like that! We didn't hear from you in four years! For all we knew, Voldemort had killed you," Sirius said, his worried tone making Harry feel a little guilty.
"Well, I told you I was leaving, didn't I? I had to, Sirius, I couldn't take it anymore. Both Ron and Mione had left me, I just couldn't." he paused angrily, struggling to find the right words.
"Harry, promise me you'll never go off like that again. I had no idea why you were leaving, and for I all know it could have been because of me!" As if realizing what he'd just said, Sirius immediately tried to change the subject. Harry, however, felt surprised.
"Sirius! It had nothing to do with you," he said, his guilt growing rapidly. "I'm sorry if I left you thinking that." Harry felt a tiny bit of remorse from leaving his godfather to worry, but they were interrupted by Snape, who scowled at Harry as he took a seat up at the staff table.
Ron, Hermione and Minerva entered the Great Hall. Instantly the Hall became quiet except for the excited whispers that instantly sprung up. Ron and Hermione made their way to the staff table. All of his old professors greeted them warmly, as well as some new professors he'd never met before. McGonagall was sitting where Dumbledore used to sit, and she stood up, holding up her hand for silence.
"As you have noticed, we have some guests. This young man is Ronald Weasly, who will be patrolling the grounds. He has been training to be an Auror, so you'd do well not to disobey him." As McGonagall was talking about him Ron smiled at the kids to show them he wasn't as nearly as intimidating as McGonagall made him out to be.
"And this young lady is Hermione Granger. She has studied at the New Zealand Research and Development center. She will fill in as one of our many defense teachers. Please welcome them both." As the Great Hall exploded with applause, Harry noticed that a lot more tables had been added in the back for adults. They had four times the amount of people as the students did.
"And, of course, I believe most of you recognize Harry Potter?" A look from Harry prevented her from saying anything more.
She sat down, pointing out three empty chairs that had been placed to the right of her, one of which was already occupied by Harry. Ron and Hermione sat down and began to eat.
Looking around Harry saw Lavender, Seamus, and Dean sitting together talking animatedly about something, and to their right was Padma and Paravati talking to what was probably their younger sister. She looked an awful lot like them.
Harry spotted most of his old Gryffindor housemates, as well as some old Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. There weren't to many Slytherins present, though, he noticed. He glanced around spotting the Weaslys, not including Percy or Fred, and Hermione's parents.
****~~~~****
After dinner Hermione had been thinking about something Harry had said earlier. He'd said, 'I didn't become an Auror because of my scar.'. He was an Auror? She didn't think she'd ever heard anything about him in the papers, and surely if the famous Harry Potter had become an Auror it would have been everywhere.
"Minerva? Can I see you a moment?" she asked her old professor on their way out of the Great Hall.
"Sure, Hermione, I was just going to collect you three for a meeting with the staff."
"Did Harry say he was an Auror?" she asked, quickly, almost interrupting her friend. Minerva frowned.
"Did he? I didn't hear anything about it. When I contacted him, he was working for the Magical and Muggle Cooperation or something like the for the ministry. I think he was stationed in America or somewhere utterly ridiculous like that," she said, distaste in her voice. "If he'd just stayed here, then he could have." she trailed off, a bit angry. She cleared her throat and said, "Why do you ask, dear?" Hermione shook her head.
"No reason, I just heard him wrong I guess."
"It's old age," Minerva said, chuckling. "Once you hit twenty four, there's no turning back." Hermione managed a small smile.
"All right, I've got to go find Harry but would you please find Ron and meet everyone in the staff room, please? As soon as possible," she said. She took off down the hallway towards the Gryffindor common room. Hermione went to find Ron, who was surrounded by all of his family and many of their old classmates, like Dean and Seamus. He seemed to be relishing in all the attention.
"Ron, sorry to interrupt but we need to meet with Minerva," she said, grabbing his arm and pulling him away. She noticed that she didn't get a funny feeling in her stomach the way she used to when she touched him.
They arrived at the staff room to find that the only person not there was Harry. Even Minerva was there. She did not look happy.
"All right, now that you two are here we can begin. I'm afraid Mr. Potter feels he had more important things to do and cannot attend this meeting. Hermione, I need you to tell him about all of this so that you guys can start teaching tomorrow." Hermione nodded.
The meeting basically introduced all the teachers to Hermione and Ron. It explained the rules for the students, both children and adult, and told them about the different ways Death Eaters frequently tried to enter Hogwarts' boundaries.
The whole time Hermione was wondering what Harry could be doing that was more important that this.
As they stepped out of the fire in The Three Broomsticks, the three were immediately swarmed by people. Harry could spot a couple with cameras trying to make their way to the front. He frowned darkly. Had Minerva alerted all of Europe that they were back? Harry fought the urge to apparate then and there, and just head back to America, but he remembered his promise to Albus.
Everyone thought Albus was dead. Harry had believed it, for a while anyways, until a death eater raid had provided him with a different story.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Harry checked to make sure the wards were down before sneaking past the guards in his invisibility cloak. Honestly, anyone could just waltz right in there if they knew the right spell that broke the wards. He opened the gate with a whispered, 'Alohomora'. The rusty gate would have alerted the guards of his presence if not for the handy silencing spell he had cast just a moment before. Shutting the gate behind him, he proceeded to the side entrance to the castle.
All prisoners were usually held in the dungeons of the massive, foreboding castles. Stories of the inside conditions were scarce because no one usually survived to tell the tale. The precious few that had been rescued had been driven to the point of insanity, so no one could get a coherent word out of them.
Once he found the side entrance, he was surprised to find that it led to the main chambers rather than the dungeons like he had thought. Creeping silently along, he debated whether to continue his path. There weren't that many people walking through, and those that did looked far to drunk to realize their surroundings. Harry assumed that there was some kind of party or lavish dinner going on. Glancing down the hallway a bit, he saw that an unusually large man was heading towards him, and as far as Harry could tell, this man took up the whole hallway. Harry quickly found the nearest door. Luckily for him, there were no inhabitants in the room he had entered.
Instead, there seemed to be massive amounts of books, loose parchment, and what looked like some stolen Ministry documents. Parchment, however, was hard to come by in America. Glancing though the closest pieces, he gathered that they were papers from London. Most of it was rubbish, but Harry found a letter addressed to Avery Nott from none other than the former Minister of Magic, Brendan Shafer.
Avery-
I have been recently informed that you know the where abouts of a certain wizard whom all assume dead. I do not need to remind you of the consequences if that information were to get out. I am sending over a representative, a Mr. Scott Platts, to retrieve you and bring you back to London.
Brendan
The letter was particularly interesting, mostly because Avery Nott had been turned up mysteriously dead about two months ago. Harry was puzzled for a moment. Who was thought to be dead? Tons of wizards were dead, as a result from numerous death eater attacks. However, which wizard would cause the crooked Minister to murder the only person who knew of his location?
The answer hit Harry like a ton of bricks. Albus. Albus was dead, but no body had been recovered. However, when he had failed to turn up for two years, people started to loose faith that he was alive. He was presumed dead, and there had been a grand funeral for him. Harry had gone, of course.
Harry knew he was jumping to a huge conclusion, but this was the explanation that made Albus's last words to Harry make sense. The old wizard had said, 'You must follow them, Harry. Do not stray to the dark. Follow them until I return.' The them, of course, being Minerva and Severus.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The search for any news of Albus was a frustrating one. Harry found tidbits of information here and there, but it was only enough to draw a general conclusion. Albus was trapped in a different dimension, but what was holding him there Harry didn't know. He also didn't know how one set about freeing a person trapped in a different dimension. He would have owled Hermione, as she could have helped him search, but he couldn't swallow his anger and ask for help.
The thought of Hermione brought Harry back to the present, where he could hear reporters asking Ron and Hermione about ten different questions at once. Ron seemed to be enjoying the attention. He would point to a reporter and say, "All right, you next," before hearing their question. Hermione looked torn between being highly flattered and highly annoyed, but she answered any questions with a Minerva-like curtness.
Harry clenched his jaw to keep his annoyance in check. What he was annoyed with, he wasn't sure. The damn reporters asking their stupid questions or Ron lapping up all the attention like he was the Queen of England. Harry made his way through the crowd- actually, it was more of a forceful push through the crowd. Freeing himself, he quickly walked into a darker alley before casting an invisibility charm. The reporters that had followed him looked disappointed and bewildered as they found the alley empty. Harry almost chuckled at the looks on their faces before walking back out into Hogesmade, still invisible of course.
Dinner was a nightmare. When he entered, he was immediately attacked (not literally) by his godfather, whom he had not seen in over four years. "Harry Potter! You stop this instant!"
Harry turned around slowly, in enough time to see Sirius come crashing into him and enveloping him in a hug. Harry, who had been expecting a punch or a hex, hugged him back.
"Sirius?" Harry said slowly, "I need to breathe." Sirius let him go but immediately started talking.
"Harry! I can't believe you would just go and leave like that! We didn't hear from you in four years! For all we knew, Voldemort had killed you," Sirius said, his worried tone making Harry feel a little guilty.
"Well, I told you I was leaving, didn't I? I had to, Sirius, I couldn't take it anymore. Both Ron and Mione had left me, I just couldn't." he paused angrily, struggling to find the right words.
"Harry, promise me you'll never go off like that again. I had no idea why you were leaving, and for I all know it could have been because of me!" As if realizing what he'd just said, Sirius immediately tried to change the subject. Harry, however, felt surprised.
"Sirius! It had nothing to do with you," he said, his guilt growing rapidly. "I'm sorry if I left you thinking that." Harry felt a tiny bit of remorse from leaving his godfather to worry, but they were interrupted by Snape, who scowled at Harry as he took a seat up at the staff table.
Ron, Hermione and Minerva entered the Great Hall. Instantly the Hall became quiet except for the excited whispers that instantly sprung up. Ron and Hermione made their way to the staff table. All of his old professors greeted them warmly, as well as some new professors he'd never met before. McGonagall was sitting where Dumbledore used to sit, and she stood up, holding up her hand for silence.
"As you have noticed, we have some guests. This young man is Ronald Weasly, who will be patrolling the grounds. He has been training to be an Auror, so you'd do well not to disobey him." As McGonagall was talking about him Ron smiled at the kids to show them he wasn't as nearly as intimidating as McGonagall made him out to be.
"And this young lady is Hermione Granger. She has studied at the New Zealand Research and Development center. She will fill in as one of our many defense teachers. Please welcome them both." As the Great Hall exploded with applause, Harry noticed that a lot more tables had been added in the back for adults. They had four times the amount of people as the students did.
"And, of course, I believe most of you recognize Harry Potter?" A look from Harry prevented her from saying anything more.
She sat down, pointing out three empty chairs that had been placed to the right of her, one of which was already occupied by Harry. Ron and Hermione sat down and began to eat.
Looking around Harry saw Lavender, Seamus, and Dean sitting together talking animatedly about something, and to their right was Padma and Paravati talking to what was probably their younger sister. She looked an awful lot like them.
Harry spotted most of his old Gryffindor housemates, as well as some old Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. There weren't to many Slytherins present, though, he noticed. He glanced around spotting the Weaslys, not including Percy or Fred, and Hermione's parents.
****~~~~****
After dinner Hermione had been thinking about something Harry had said earlier. He'd said, 'I didn't become an Auror because of my scar.'. He was an Auror? She didn't think she'd ever heard anything about him in the papers, and surely if the famous Harry Potter had become an Auror it would have been everywhere.
"Minerva? Can I see you a moment?" she asked her old professor on their way out of the Great Hall.
"Sure, Hermione, I was just going to collect you three for a meeting with the staff."
"Did Harry say he was an Auror?" she asked, quickly, almost interrupting her friend. Minerva frowned.
"Did he? I didn't hear anything about it. When I contacted him, he was working for the Magical and Muggle Cooperation or something like the for the ministry. I think he was stationed in America or somewhere utterly ridiculous like that," she said, distaste in her voice. "If he'd just stayed here, then he could have." she trailed off, a bit angry. She cleared her throat and said, "Why do you ask, dear?" Hermione shook her head.
"No reason, I just heard him wrong I guess."
"It's old age," Minerva said, chuckling. "Once you hit twenty four, there's no turning back." Hermione managed a small smile.
"All right, I've got to go find Harry but would you please find Ron and meet everyone in the staff room, please? As soon as possible," she said. She took off down the hallway towards the Gryffindor common room. Hermione went to find Ron, who was surrounded by all of his family and many of their old classmates, like Dean and Seamus. He seemed to be relishing in all the attention.
"Ron, sorry to interrupt but we need to meet with Minerva," she said, grabbing his arm and pulling him away. She noticed that she didn't get a funny feeling in her stomach the way she used to when she touched him.
They arrived at the staff room to find that the only person not there was Harry. Even Minerva was there. She did not look happy.
"All right, now that you two are here we can begin. I'm afraid Mr. Potter feels he had more important things to do and cannot attend this meeting. Hermione, I need you to tell him about all of this so that you guys can start teaching tomorrow." Hermione nodded.
The meeting basically introduced all the teachers to Hermione and Ron. It explained the rules for the students, both children and adult, and told them about the different ways Death Eaters frequently tried to enter Hogwarts' boundaries.
The whole time Hermione was wondering what Harry could be doing that was more important that this.