Chapter dedicated to Nicoletta, my 1300th reviewer! Thanks everyone who reviewed to get me this far!!
In Every Darkness
Chapter Thirty Seven: Clean Up
3.9.1996
Harry woke with a start, sunbeams playing across his face. He'd drifted off in the Gryffindor common room, not able to be bothered to get himself up to the dormitory.
It was early still, and he couldn't hear anyone stirring yet. Many of the fifth years and above were tired after a hard nights work, and those in the younger years were probably enjoying a sleep in.
Suddenly a voice rippled through the corridors of Hogwarts – Professor McGonagall's. "All students report to the Great Hall immediately. Classes are cancelled for the day, we will be doing something else instead."
A few moments later, people were tumbling downstairs, pulling on clothes. "Maybe we're having a ball!" Pavarti Patil squealed excitedly. "And she wants us all to help plan it."
She saw Harry at the bottom of the staircase looking tired and unhappy. "Nothing so fun," he muttered, voice cold.
"What do you mean?" Lavender asked. "It's as likely as anything else, isn't it?"
"Death Eaters attacked the school last night. She wants us to help clean up," Harry responded. "Me and some of my friends helped out last night, that's how I know."
A fearful silence passed over the Gryffindors, broken moments later by terrified whispers. "It's alright. All of the Death Eaters are gone, and no one was hurt too badly, I don't think," Harry reassured them, pushing the portrait hole open and heading in the direction of the Great Hall.
The rest of the Gryffindors fell in around him, accompanying him grimly towards the Great Hall. They met up with Ron, Hermione and the other students who'd ended up sleeping in the third floor corridor part way down.
"Where were you?" One of the third year boys asked curiously.
"We helped fighting against the Death Eaters last night," Ron replied, and glared at Harry. "He sent us to go to sleep, and conveniently forgot to wake us after the fighting was done."
"I didn't forget. McGonagall said to leave you there," Harry protested, eyes widening in an innocent expression.
"I'll bet," one of Cho's friends growled under his breath. Harry completely ignored this, not deeming it worth acknowledgement.
"What's happening?" Ron asked Harry.
"We're helping clean up," Harry replied, answering the question for the second time that morning. "Come on, we'd best hurry up and get down to the Great Hall."
Harry's group flowed into the Great Hall a few moments later, and found that most of the school were just arriving now, also.
The front doors had been reduced to rubble after the night before. Harry winced when he saw that – they'd be helping to repair it today, but the front doors had been beautiful creation, one which would be difficult to replace.
The students settled down at their tables, all of them now apparently aware of the Death Eater attack the night before. Harry and his companions were the object of much scrutiny, by which he could only assume it had gotten out that they had been helping out the night before.
Dumbledore stood up as the last few stragglers entered the Great Hall. Everyone fell into a respectful silence. "As most of you seem to be aware, Death Eaters attacked the school last night. Mr. Potter and Professor Hagrid were able to warn me in time, and so the attack did not place students in danger.
"Mr. Potter, twenty points to Gryffindor for alerting me to the threat, and another ten for saving Hagrid. Every student who helped in the attack – again including Mr. Potter – ten points each to your house.
"While the attack produced no fatalities, Professor Snape has gone on long service leave to recover from an injury he sustained, and will be replaced by Michael McGonagall for a time. Professor Sinistra will be taking over the mantle of Head of House for Slytherin.
"Now, the attack was also not without damage to the school. For the next little while, students in second year and up will be aiding in the repairs. First years will be taught by whoever is spare at the time. This may be an older student, and it may be a teacher.
"The main damage was to the front doors, but Hagrid's hut will also be in need of rebuilding. There was some damage sustained to the edges of the Forbidden Forest and to three of the Green houses. If the students would separate into four groups and head to the area that you wish to extend your aide to?"
"Let's go and help Hagrid," Ron suggested. Most of the Gryffindors nodded at this, though Neville decided to help out at the green houses, and a few of the younger students, who didn't know Hagrid well, went to other stations.
The majority of Hufflepuffs appeared to be helping out with the trees, the Ravenclaws were mainly ranged between Hagrid's and the front doors, and the Slytherins were nearly all clustered around the front doors – which Harry noted no Gryffindor was helping with. A few of the Slytherins seemed to have gone to help with the trees.
Hagrid saw them coming down across the grounds, Harry, Ron and Hermione in the lead, and smiled gratefully up at them from where he'd been crouched, apparently mourning his house.
"Ye'll be helping me wit me house?" he asked Harry.
"Yeah, Hagrid. We all will. The Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor students behind him nodded in firm agreement.
Hagrid seemed a little bit overwhelmed by the support. "Righ … well … Umm … wha' do we do first?" he appeared to be more than a little lost.
"We can start by clearing away the rubble and salvaging what we can from the wreckage," Hermione took control of the situation. Directing the students, she explained what she wanted done, and what charms could be used to do it.
She became somewhat disgusted when, on numerous occasions, she would ask someone to do a spell, and the entire group would look at her blankly. Hermione then quoted several obscure reference points, and when no one looked any wiser, performed the spell herself.
Harry and Ron both found these displays somewhat amusing – they needed something to laugh over anyway, after the night before.
By lunch time, the rubble had been cleared and banished, what could be salvaged had been, and the crew reported to the Great Hall for lunch.
"Mr. Potter!" Dumbledore's calm cut through the muted conversations that were taking place over lunch. "Once you have done eating, would you remain here? I'd like you to teach the First Years some Defence Against the Dark Arts, if you would."
Harry sighed softly, but he knew that although the headmaster had phrased his words as a request, they were a command, pure and simple.
When lunch was over and Harry's friends were about to head back down to where Hagrid's hut had once been located, Harry stood up and turned to head away. "Have fun," he told them, over his shoulder, before heading up towards the Staff Table.
Michael McGonagall hadn't arrived yet, it seemed. Harry didn't worry about that though – his attention was taken up by the group of thirty odd students who formed the entire first year.
They were watching him with awe and respect. Harry wondered if he'd be able to get them to learn anything this lesson, or if they'd simply spend it staring at him.
"Um … Hello. I think that after last night, at least one older student must have pointed me out for those of you who didn't know me in the first place. It is my continual misfortune to end up doing things to bring my into the limelight, for those of you who don't know me, my name is Harry Potter," he started, nervous. He wasn't sure exactly what to do with these younger students.
One, a young girl, who he thought he'd seen at the Hufflepuff table the night before, raised a hand. Harry nodded to her, inviting her to speak. "Excuse me if I'm a bit forward but … you sound like you don't like being famous, but that can't be right, can it?"
"Actually, it's spot on," Harry replied. "I dislike being under the public eye. I lived the first eleven years of my life thinking I was no one special. Then on my eleventh birthday, it turns out I'm a wizard, one of the most famous wizards alive today. It was a bit of a shock to the system, and I never really got over that. Unfortunately, just about everything I've done since has made me more famous than before. It's rotten bad luck."
Some of the girls giggled, and most of the boys grinned. They thought he was playing, probably. "But we aren't here to talk about me. I'm supposed to be teaching you Defence Against the Dark Arts … I'm really not sure what to teach you about though. My first two years were a bit of a joke," Harry sighed, feeling completely lost.
"Since it's only their second day, you should probably do some theory," a familiar voice remarked from behind him.
Harry turned to see Michael McGonagall watching him with an amused smile. "I just arrived," the man added, noting Harry's look of surprise.
"So what sort of theory should I do? I pretty much learned curses on the fly, and a little from Moody, but he just plunged straight in," Harry begged the new Potions Master for help.
"I'm sure you learned plenty about dangerous magical creatures from Remus Lupin," was the amused reply. "Teach them some of that. Or some wand movements so that they can be ready to pick up on spells soon. Oh, I have to go, Aunt Dragon is waving me over. Luck to you, Harry!" with that, Michael was gone, leaving Harry with the first years.
"I heard that Remus Lupin was a werewolf," one boy said, looking at Harry. "So why did he teach you about magical creatures."
"Remus was a friend of mine. He was bitten by a werewolf when he was very young. I think he wanted other people to be able defend themselves, if something like that happened to them," Harry replied. "But that's a good idea. Come with me and we'll go up to the library. I'll show you how to tell different magical creatures apart, and some of their weaknesses."
The group were chattering excitedly amongst themselves as Harry led them out of the hall. "Converting the new Slytherins are you Potter?" a sneering voice rang out behind them.
Draco Malfoy had been leaning against the wall, doing nothing to aide his housemates fix the rubble around the Front Doors. He looked at the new Slytherins, who edged back with looks of fear and waring loyalties. "Don't get too attached to Potter. He's a Gryffindor, and Slytherins and Gryffindors don't get on. Unless you want to get hurt, you'll keep away from him – unless someone orders you into his presence."
With that, the unpleasant boy turned his back on the group, to watch his schoolmates working on the doors with apparent disdain.
"Why
was he so mean?" one girl, a Ravenclaw, asked Harry. "What did he mean,
Gryffindors and Slytherins don't get on?"
"There's always been a lot of rivalry
between Gryffindor and Slytherin. We're too different … It started a long time
ago, when the school was founded. Salazar Slytherin thought that only
pure-blooded witches and wizards should be taught. Godric Gryffindor believed
that everyone with the power to do magic should be allowed to study it.
"Basically, things got testy between them, and eventually it led to a sword fight. Godric won, and Salazar left the school. To this day, the two houses rarely get along. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw are neutral, they make friends with any of the other houses, and no one comments. But there's never friendship between Gryffindors and Slytherins.
"It's a pity, because the school shouldn't be divided now, of all times. We need to know and trust each other if we are going to survive this. But I don't think that I'll ever get on with the older Slytherins – it's too engrained to hate Gryffindors for them," Harry explained.
"He didn't sound like that was the end of it," the Ravenclaw girl protested. "He sounded like he really hated you."
"He does, and I hate him. He's made my life a misery for most of the time I've been here – especially last year. Draco Malfoy's father is a Death Eater, he fought against my friends and I in the battle at the Ministry of Magic last year. He's in Azkaban, the wizard prison, now. I think that Malfoy blames me for it."
"Wow. I don't think I like him," confessed a young girl with black hair and eyes. She had the look of a Slytherin, Harry thought, idly. "I know I'm in his house and all … but his father's a Death Eater? That's horrible!"
"Slytherin does tend to have a bit of bad reputation for turning out dark wizards," Harry said. "But meeting you guys makes me think that not all Slytherins are evil – it's not their fault that they are placed in a house because they have certain traits … You lot should all be friends, you know. You could mend the rift between Gryffindors and Slytherins. If any of the older people in your house try to hurt you, come to me, another prefect, or a teacher. They won't stand for it, I assure you."
Some of the first years looked surprised by his words. "But you're a Gryffindor, doesn't that mean that you don't like Slytherins?" a boy, another Slytherin, Harry thought, asked.
"No. I just haven't had any particularly good experiences with them," Harry replied, shrugging. "You lot don't seem too bad. If we catch the meanness now, before it can be nurtured by your house mates, we could be good friends."
"Oh," the boy said, sounding surprised. "When you put it like that, it makes sense."
"Does it? It didn't to me," Harry replied, grinning, and all of the first years grinned too, as they reached the library. He was glad to see that they'd relaxed around him now.
"Well," Harry said, leading them through the towering shelves of books. "Here we are. I'm going to get a few books, and we'll through them to look over the pictures so that you can see what they look like, the ones that look like Muggle creatures, I'll go over the points to tell them apart."
Not what I expected to be doing on my second day back, Harry reflected, flicking through the pages of various text books.
***
Well, there we go! I managed to get it out on what is still, for me, the day after I uploaded the last chapter! *cheers* I made it! Now there's just tomorrow … and the next day … and the- *stops because she is depressing herself*.
~WolfMoon~