Chapter VI: OWLS and Troubles

            "They're coming today?" Neville Longbottom asked at the Great Hall table during breakfast.

            "Yes," Hermione responded, eagerly awaiting her results. "They should be here any second. Oh yes, here they come!"

            Hundreds of owls flew from the large windows and dived toward upper class wizards everywhere. Several thick envelopes sealed with the crest of each house were half encased in pancake syrup as they dropped into the breakfast plates. Hermione grabbed hers as fast as she could and ripped the top off of it.

            Six gold pins and two silvers fell onto the table. She eagerly picked them up and read the back inscriptions on them. The first read 'Outstanding' as did the other gold ones. There was another subject she passed but did not excel as greatly as the others. It was Divination. Luckily, she did not care about that one as much as her real courses; and so, she smiled greatly and gave Neville a kiss on the cheek.

            "Um, thanks, I guess," he said in a low voice, not really realizing what had happened. He slowly opened his letter. Only three silver pins fell out and two bronzes. He read the inscriptions, trying to figure out what classes he passed and ones he did not.

            "How did I fail potions?" he asked himself and smacked his head on the table.

            Hermione shrugged and turned to Ron who didn't even open his letter. He sat still and continued eating his breakfast as if the letter wasn't even there.

            "What's wrong?"

            Ron turned to Hermione and then to the letter. "If I don't pass everything, I don't know what I'll do."

            "Open it and you'll find out. I'll do it for you!"

            Hermione grabbed the letter and opened it. Ron pulled his head and tucked it into his robe, hiding his red face. But then, he heard the noise of metal drop. Several pieces of metal, and he knew he had to have at least passed most of them. Slowly, he lifted his head up and stared over at the pile of silver, bronze and… Yes, there were some gold ones as well.

            Ron jumped out of his seat and leaned across the table. He grabbed the two gold pins and grinned with felicity. Hermione gave a sigh of relief, happy that Ron passed his courses. She then turned to where Harry usually would sit, but he wasn't there that morning. A thick envelope full of pins sat on an empty plate, waiting to be opened.

            "Do you know where Harry is?" Hermione asked. 

            Ron shook his head. "Not sure. I saw him leave the dorm this morning though. Better give it to him." And with that said, Ron grabbed the OWLS results and tucked it into robe.

            "Professor?"

            "This is a pleasant surprise," a tall bearded wizard responded as he walked down the spiraling, yellow staircase. He played with his half moon spectacles and nodded a few times. "What brings you to my office?"

            "Well, I think Marcus is up to trouble," Harry blurted out.

            "Mister Malfoy? Whatever do you mean?"

            Harry sighed and looked about quickly. "Well, first, he keeps coming into the Gryffindor dorm room and said he'd keep his eye on me."

            "I know, I asked him to."

            "What?" asked Harry stunned.

            "Mister Malfoy was hired to be somewhat of a counselor. He will make sure that no student is bullied and that everyone is properly supervised. Is there anything else you wish to address with me?"

            Harry hesitated about revealing what he saw the other night, but he knew keeping secrets never got him anywhere. "I saw him with his brother and another person last night outside the Gryffindor Tower."

            "Explain."

            "I heard some voices, and when I went to the window, I saw three robed figures."

            Dumbledore rubbed his beard a few times. "Did you see their faces? Hear what they were saying?"

            "Well, no, not exactly. I saw Marcus's boots, and he has distinct shoes… And I saw Lucius's hair and eyes. It definitely was him."

            Surprisingly, Dumbledore laughed. "Mister Lucius Malfoy is standing trial. There is no way you saw what you think you saw."

            "I'm not lying!" Harry protested.

            "I have no doubt you saw something, but it was not Lucius Malfoy. As for Marcus, well, you didn't see his face. Do you have any other proof?"

            "No."

            "Then I'm afraid I cannot do anything on the mere speculation of three people standing outside the Gryffindor Tower. Now, I must go and deal with some other pressing matters."

            "The threats—" Harry started, but realized he may not know anything about them.

            "Threats? Well, I have heard about such things. I am to visit Miss Laura Kane in the hospital wing and question her. You may join me if you wish, but I do believe your OWLS results have arrived."

            Harry completely forgot about them. Without saying goodbye, Harry ran off toward the Great Hall in hopes of finding good results. As he ran, all he could think about besides the OWLS results was why Dumbledore didn't seem so concerned about what was happening. Within two days, three people received letters that hurt them in some way. McGonagall wanted to keep things quiet, Marcus Malfoy was snooping around and nothing seemed to make sense at all.

            "Well?" Ron asked after handing over to Harry the thick letter. Most of the Great Hall was empty, except for Harry, Ron, and few students here and there finishing their breakfast.

            Gently, Harry tore the top of the letter and turned it upside down. Five thick gold pins fell down, two silvers and one bronze… Ignoring his gold ones, he clutched the bronze one quickly and read what class he possibly could have done poorly in. Gold always meant Outstanding to Excellent, Silver meant Good to Adequate, and Bronze meant Weak to Very Poor. If you didn't get a pin, you didn't pass at all.

            "Figures," Harry said as he read the inscription noting his grade in Potions. However, he did pass, and he was delighted about that.

            "Knew you would do fine, mate," Ron said. "Where were you anyhow?"

            "Speaking to Dumbledore. Oh, don't worry! He already knows about the whole threat thing… But…"

            "But what?"

            "He doesn't seem so concerned as I thought he was. I don't understand why it seems acceptable to have a student hospitalized within the first two days of school."

            "It's not." But it wasn't Ron that responded. Instead, a deeper, manly voice interjected that Harry knew could only belong to one person. "You two do have classes don't you?"

            Ron stared at Marcus Malfoy wearing jeans and boots again. His hair was slicked back into a ponytail, and he wore a new badge stating his position as Hogwarts. Slowly, the man grabbed Harry by the collar of his robe and tugged him upward.

            "Let go of me," Harry muttered.

            "Mister Potter," he said in a low voice. "I advise you to stay clear of business that does not concern you. Matters are being dealt with swiftly. There is no need to make unnecessary, well, accusations."

            Just then, Marcus let go of Harry's collar as he caught sight of Professor Snape entering the Great Hall. Before Snape could see anything, Marcus turned around and ran off quickly. Ron helped Harry up and gathered all of their OWLS pins. Right when they were about to leave, Snape approached them.

            "Hello again, Mister Weasley," he said, reminding Harry that Ron and Hermione had gone to him the other day about the threats. "Mister Potter…"

            "What do you want from us?" Harry snapped back.

            Snape rolled his eyes. "Tisk tisk. Just when I was about to tell you about my discoveries."

            "Wait. Please, Professor, tell us," Ron begged, something Harry didn't expect he would ever do for Snape.

            "Very well then. I was intrigued to find that the chemicals used in the substance were not from my office supply; however, quite rare indeed. Miss Granger informed me yesterday that the letter came from inside Hogwarts. This troubles me greatly, and Professor Dumbledore has been informed about all of this."

            So he did know, Harry thought. Was he hiding something? Was everyone in part of some conspiracy? It might sound crazy, but it seems that all the teachers at Hogwarts are concealing a hidden truth.

            "Now, get to class. Both of you," growled Snape. Just when they turned their backs, Snape continued, "We never met here today."

            "That's odd," Ron whispered to Harry as they headed toward the doors. "Snape is on our side for a change?"

            "I don't know. But something is going on, and we're going to find out what."

            "Welcome to Advanced Astronomy," the centaur proclaimed as students took their seats. "Ah. Here comes a late student. Of course, everyone here already knows Mister Weasley."

            "Sorry," Ron spit out as he quickly found a seat.

            "Quite all right. Just your first day of this course and all."

            Puffs of air swirled out of the centaurs nose as he stuck it high up. The class quieted down and tried to balance themselves on the stumps of trees. All around them were maples, oaks, moss and fresh grass fielding everything wall to wall. The ceiling was a painting of the sky made of glass so that it could actually open up when needed. A black chalkboard lined the wall at the front of the classroom and written on it in white lettering were strange symbols.

            "This one here is called Herachio," the teacher said as he pointed to the largest symbol in the middle of the board. It had a square border and an eye in the middle. Five slanted lines crossed it and there were several little star markings in it. "Does anyone know what this stands for?"

            After some silence, a Slytherin 7th year student raised her hand and was called on. "It means Luck."

            "Very good. Five points to Slytherin. Now, you wonder why this could help you at all with understanding the stars. Well, Astronomy isn't just about locating a constellation in the sky, it's about the history behind them. These symbols represent stories and ancient times, recording where certain stars were and what they meant.

            "I am sure that all of you read your assigned reading. Oh, don't worry. There was no assigned reading. I don't want you to learn about the sky through books written by ancient wizards. I want you learn about the sky by seeing it, smelling it, knowing it. By the end of this year, I guarantee that each and every one of you will be able to identify at least one hundred constellations."

            Three girls giggled in the back row, distracting the centaur momentarily. He stared at them and started to gallop slowly toward them. As he reached their spot, he looked down to them and smiled.

            "You three seem to be very interested in each other's social lives. Stand up."

            Two immediately jolted upwards while one gave a sigh of disgust. Eventually, she joined her two friends and waited for her punishment.

            "Hillary Whitecorn, is it? From Hufflepuff? I knew your father. Daniel, correct? He was quite a loud mouth and not so bright. He always went on late night tours of the Forbidden Forest. I had to scare him away constantly.

            And you, Cho Chang from Ravenclaw? You find it necessary to blab about your crush, who was it, ah yes, Harry Potter. Oh don't be so shocked. I have superb hearing and that is why I cannot stand chattering in my class!

            Finally, Miss Pansy Parkinson. Don't like centaurs do you? Think I only eat grass and have a horrid odor? Let me tell you, you don't smell very good yourself. I recommend bathing once and a while."

            Pansy's face turned beat red as she tried to hide it in her robe. Cho and Hillary laughed at her, but tried not to do it for long. After the class settled down, the centaur continued his lessons. When it was over, Ron rushed over toward Cho and stared at her, giving her the look of 'So, you still like Harry?'

            She quickly looked away and hurried off to make sure Pansy wasn't completely mortified. After a few seconds, Cho disappeared from Pansy's side, hoping that another Ravenclaw did not catch her comforting the dreadful Slytherin. Ron tried to catch up with Cho but lost her down a corridor. He sighed and walked off to his next class of Advanced Potions, a class he dreaded very much. As he turned right toward a narrow passageway, he spotted something kneeling on the ground in the lotus position. As Ron approached, he realized it was a boy, most likely a first year.

            "Are you lost?" he asked. Yet, there was no response. He crept closer until he recognized the boy to be Chester or rather known as Chad. The boy wasn't moving at all, not a whimper, not even a breath.

            Ron poked him in the shoulder, and Chad's body sluggishly fell over to the side. Half of his body was covered in red rashes and some of them were cut open and dripping blood. It was an atrocious thing to see. Shocked, Ron screamed, alerting other students near by. A few wizards stopped and hurried over, each giving pale faces and 'ahs'.

            The group of six students, including Ron, carried Chad off to the hospital wing. It didn't take too long to get there, since students in the hallways tended to move to the side seeing Chad's injured, limp body. When they arrived, Dumbledore was standing over the bed of Miss Kane and questioning her. He turned his head seeing Chad and raised his eyebrows high.

            "Oh dear," he said in a deep voice.

            "Professor Dumbledore, he may be dead! Now do you think others should be warned? What will it take? Another death?" Ron asked hysterically, concerned for other Muggle born wizards like Hermione.

            "I've already sent out notices. Classes will be canceled for the rest of today and tomorrow. There will be neither owl deliveries nor any kind of mail sent. Now, I want all of you to go back to your common rooms."
            The group slowly left the room. They couldn't help but stare at Chad's body lying in the bed sheets now soaking up his blood. His skin was peeling off at the edges and half of his head was warped beyond measure. If this was what would happen to anyone who received a letter, Hogwarts would be losing a lot of students soon…