*I did not create these characters
Chapter 3: Deceived By a Friend
"Are you okay?" Neville asked McGonagall as he handed her a glass of water. She had been passed out for about an hour when she finally came to, leaving a lot of time for Neville and the others to consider what she had said. Could Dumbledore really be dead? It had been rumored that only a wizard as powerful as Voldemort could commit such an act since Dumbledore himself was supposedly the greatest wizard of all time.
"Oh, I'm fine, Neville. I ...I just don't know what to do. Dumbledore has seen the school and the wizarding world through so many terrible times, what hope will we have now if another enemy should arise that is more powerful than Voldemort?"
"I don't think that will ever happen again, Professor," Harry said as he held Priscilla in his lap. "I think that with the final end of Voldemort we have seen the end of dark wizardry."
"That's not true, Potter! His allies must be angry with you and your horrid organization. Soon they will find the strength to attack us once more as he did," McGonagall spat out in a voice that didn't quite seem her own.
"Are you sure you're alright, Professor?" Seamus asked as he silently placed his hand over the wand in his back pocket, hidden from the Professor's sight.
"I don't know what's come over me this evening, Seamus. This has all been such a huge shock to me that I still can't believe what's happened. I think I need to freshen up a bit, collect my thoughts." With that said, McGonagall slowly walked to the nearest lavatory in the house.
While they all waited once more for McGonagall, Neville picked up her cloak and handbag which had fallen on the ground when she had fainted. They hadn't been retrieved since she had awoken because they were all so anxious and wonderstruck at what she had said. Hermione seemed to be taking it the hardest due to the fact that Dumbledore had been like a second father to her after her parents had been killed by Voldemort's followers. He was to have been the godfather of her and Ron's child, but now it seemed that this was no longer an option.
Being the clumsy person that he is, Neville dropped the bag again as he tried to set it on the kitchen table. As it fell to the floor, a large green bottle fell out of the bag and smashed on the floor. Neville and Ron bent over to pick up the shards, but before they could, Hermione had used her perfected levitation charm to lay the shards on the table. Neville noticed that the label on the bottle had fallen into three pieces, so he fit them together on the table top. The pieces together, the label read POLYJUICE.
"Blimey! What is McGonagall doing with polyjuice potion, do you think?" Neville wondered aloud. "You'd think if she needed a disguise that she would just become a cat or something."
"What are you doing with that!?" McGonagall had entered the room, stopping dead in her tracks at the sight of her cloak, handbag, and the broken bottle. "That bag is mine. You shouldn't be searching in it. It was supposed to be a surprise, it should have been easier!"
"Professor, what are you talking about?" Ron asked, obviously nervous. Looking at McGonagall's feeble body, he began to notice some changes. Instead of being the incredibly thin teacher he always knew, it seemed that she had gained weight. Ron also noticed that her hair was going from the normal grey to a dark brown that looked very familiar to him. Where had he seen those eyes, that nose? Before he could place the familiarity, McGonagall drew her wand and shouted EXPELLIARMUS with all her might. All of their wands flew to her and she grabbed them all; all except Neville's which he had stepped on so it would not be swept to McGonagall.
"Professor, what are you doing?" squealed Hermione as she looked at McGonagall, horrified.
"The attacks should have been quiet, were supposed to be quiet. That's how he planned them," McGonagall continued, ignoring Hermione. She was speaking directly to Neville, who was thinking of nothing but the wand under his foot and how he could get to it before it was too late. "I was sent to your home, to destroy you as one of the first. He sent me especially to your house because of what you did to his father. He has not forgotten, nor will he ever! You should've been dead already, but instead of going into your house, you got that letter and came here. Seeing this I came over here, still trying to keep things quiet, but then you let your predictable clumsiness foul things up again. You stumbled upon my potion. But no matter, it will still be done, and everything will proceed to his plans."
"What are you -" Neville stuttered.
Before he could finish his sentence, McGonagall had knocked him to his feet. Now Neville could see the same things that Ron had noticed, and yet he could not place where he had seen such features before. They certainly weren't all McGonagall's familiar features, but whose?
"How did you know to send that letter, huh? Thought you were pretty smart, didn't you, Neville? Well, you'll regret having come here, because now your pain will be even worse than originally desired."
As Ron watched hopelessly, he saw that Neville had kicked his wand over to Seamus. Signaling him quietly, Ron drew Seamus' attention to the wand. He tried to grab it quickly as McGonagall was hounding Neville, ready to strike.
"Bloody hell, that's Crabbe!" Ron screamed so that he could get his attention as Seamus finally got hold of the wand. Sure enough, it was Crabbe, and the polyjuice had finally worn off. If it was even possible, the ogre of a man was even bigger than he was in his school days.
"That's right! Now you will see the consequence of harming the family of the new dark lord, Claydrafomo!" Crabbe screamed at Neville with his wand raised. "Avada Ked -"
"Expelliarmus!" Seamus screamed as he held out Neville's wand. "Slumbernicae!"
With that, Crabbe fell to the ground in a deep coma. Harry, Hermione, Ron and Seamus all helped up Neville and retrieved their wands. Crabbe was placed in the magical closet that Sirius' mother had put in the house. He would never get out of there unless one of the members of The Order willed it.
"Well, we'd better head to Hogwarts to check things out, warn the real McGonagall, see if Dumbledore really is dead," Harry said.
"How did I send myself a letter to save myself? I didn't know he was in my home, Harry," Neville stated in a daze. "What was Crabbe talking about when he said he was sent especially because of what I did to 'his father'? Who is this Claydrafomo?"
"I have a feeling that we'll find out soon enough," Ron said distantly. It seemed that he had realized something that he wasn't telling the rest of the bunch.
"Its times like these when I wish Ginny were still here," Harry let out.
"Me too," Ron said.
"Yeah," Hermione agreed. "She would have known what to do."
Chapter 3: Deceived By a Friend
"Are you okay?" Neville asked McGonagall as he handed her a glass of water. She had been passed out for about an hour when she finally came to, leaving a lot of time for Neville and the others to consider what she had said. Could Dumbledore really be dead? It had been rumored that only a wizard as powerful as Voldemort could commit such an act since Dumbledore himself was supposedly the greatest wizard of all time.
"Oh, I'm fine, Neville. I ...I just don't know what to do. Dumbledore has seen the school and the wizarding world through so many terrible times, what hope will we have now if another enemy should arise that is more powerful than Voldemort?"
"I don't think that will ever happen again, Professor," Harry said as he held Priscilla in his lap. "I think that with the final end of Voldemort we have seen the end of dark wizardry."
"That's not true, Potter! His allies must be angry with you and your horrid organization. Soon they will find the strength to attack us once more as he did," McGonagall spat out in a voice that didn't quite seem her own.
"Are you sure you're alright, Professor?" Seamus asked as he silently placed his hand over the wand in his back pocket, hidden from the Professor's sight.
"I don't know what's come over me this evening, Seamus. This has all been such a huge shock to me that I still can't believe what's happened. I think I need to freshen up a bit, collect my thoughts." With that said, McGonagall slowly walked to the nearest lavatory in the house.
While they all waited once more for McGonagall, Neville picked up her cloak and handbag which had fallen on the ground when she had fainted. They hadn't been retrieved since she had awoken because they were all so anxious and wonderstruck at what she had said. Hermione seemed to be taking it the hardest due to the fact that Dumbledore had been like a second father to her after her parents had been killed by Voldemort's followers. He was to have been the godfather of her and Ron's child, but now it seemed that this was no longer an option.
Being the clumsy person that he is, Neville dropped the bag again as he tried to set it on the kitchen table. As it fell to the floor, a large green bottle fell out of the bag and smashed on the floor. Neville and Ron bent over to pick up the shards, but before they could, Hermione had used her perfected levitation charm to lay the shards on the table. Neville noticed that the label on the bottle had fallen into three pieces, so he fit them together on the table top. The pieces together, the label read POLYJUICE.
"Blimey! What is McGonagall doing with polyjuice potion, do you think?" Neville wondered aloud. "You'd think if she needed a disguise that she would just become a cat or something."
"What are you doing with that!?" McGonagall had entered the room, stopping dead in her tracks at the sight of her cloak, handbag, and the broken bottle. "That bag is mine. You shouldn't be searching in it. It was supposed to be a surprise, it should have been easier!"
"Professor, what are you talking about?" Ron asked, obviously nervous. Looking at McGonagall's feeble body, he began to notice some changes. Instead of being the incredibly thin teacher he always knew, it seemed that she had gained weight. Ron also noticed that her hair was going from the normal grey to a dark brown that looked very familiar to him. Where had he seen those eyes, that nose? Before he could place the familiarity, McGonagall drew her wand and shouted EXPELLIARMUS with all her might. All of their wands flew to her and she grabbed them all; all except Neville's which he had stepped on so it would not be swept to McGonagall.
"Professor, what are you doing?" squealed Hermione as she looked at McGonagall, horrified.
"The attacks should have been quiet, were supposed to be quiet. That's how he planned them," McGonagall continued, ignoring Hermione. She was speaking directly to Neville, who was thinking of nothing but the wand under his foot and how he could get to it before it was too late. "I was sent to your home, to destroy you as one of the first. He sent me especially to your house because of what you did to his father. He has not forgotten, nor will he ever! You should've been dead already, but instead of going into your house, you got that letter and came here. Seeing this I came over here, still trying to keep things quiet, but then you let your predictable clumsiness foul things up again. You stumbled upon my potion. But no matter, it will still be done, and everything will proceed to his plans."
"What are you -" Neville stuttered.
Before he could finish his sentence, McGonagall had knocked him to his feet. Now Neville could see the same things that Ron had noticed, and yet he could not place where he had seen such features before. They certainly weren't all McGonagall's familiar features, but whose?
"How did you know to send that letter, huh? Thought you were pretty smart, didn't you, Neville? Well, you'll regret having come here, because now your pain will be even worse than originally desired."
As Ron watched hopelessly, he saw that Neville had kicked his wand over to Seamus. Signaling him quietly, Ron drew Seamus' attention to the wand. He tried to grab it quickly as McGonagall was hounding Neville, ready to strike.
"Bloody hell, that's Crabbe!" Ron screamed so that he could get his attention as Seamus finally got hold of the wand. Sure enough, it was Crabbe, and the polyjuice had finally worn off. If it was even possible, the ogre of a man was even bigger than he was in his school days.
"That's right! Now you will see the consequence of harming the family of the new dark lord, Claydrafomo!" Crabbe screamed at Neville with his wand raised. "Avada Ked -"
"Expelliarmus!" Seamus screamed as he held out Neville's wand. "Slumbernicae!"
With that, Crabbe fell to the ground in a deep coma. Harry, Hermione, Ron and Seamus all helped up Neville and retrieved their wands. Crabbe was placed in the magical closet that Sirius' mother had put in the house. He would never get out of there unless one of the members of The Order willed it.
"Well, we'd better head to Hogwarts to check things out, warn the real McGonagall, see if Dumbledore really is dead," Harry said.
"How did I send myself a letter to save myself? I didn't know he was in my home, Harry," Neville stated in a daze. "What was Crabbe talking about when he said he was sent especially because of what I did to 'his father'? Who is this Claydrafomo?"
"I have a feeling that we'll find out soon enough," Ron said distantly. It seemed that he had realized something that he wasn't telling the rest of the bunch.
"Its times like these when I wish Ginny were still here," Harry let out.
"Me too," Ron said.
"Yeah," Hermione agreed. "She would have known what to do."