Chapter Three: Things long Overdue
Harry was wondering just what was taking Julie so long. The evening meal should be winding down about now, and so Harry decided to step back inside to find out if she had forgotten (although she hadn't forgotten a single lesson in the month and a half she had been taking them), or at least discover what the delay was about.
Unfortunately, the broom closet in which Madam Hooch kept the school brooms was completely on the other side of the grounds from the South Courtyard in which Julie and Harry practiced in (He had decided on there even though the South Courtyard was considerably smaller… because it didn't have a Whomping Willow). Thus it took him a lot longer than he would have liked to cross the distance.
As he progressed, he happened to sense from his scar that Troy Ailona was approaching, and rapidly. As much as he would have liked to tail the suspected vampire, especially since dusk set quickly this time of year, he was determined to give Julie his priority.
He finally found her, being accosted by Draco Malfoy.
Harry had demanded to know why Malfoy, of all the Aurors working in the Ministry of Magic, was selected to investigate, and all he could glean was that it was an order that came from the highest ranks in the division, and possibly even higher. Malfoy had been a bully and general slime while a student, and now that he had returned, it didn't appear much had changed.
He had taken the broom that Julie had been given, and said nastily. "I wasn't aware that the rule forbidding first-years to own brooms had changed."
"It's not mine!" Julie hissed, quite contrary to the shyness he had come to expect from the girl. Living with the other Gryffindor students was beginning to have an effect on her. "It's Madam Hooch's!"
"So you stole it from her…" Draco intentionally misled. "That could get you expelled."
"I didn't steal anything, you git. Madam Hooch…"
"Disrespecting an Auror now?" Draco said with a smug grin. "I think some detention is in order… and I think you can forget about your flying lessons until you learn to treat your elders with the proper respect." Draco started to flip the broom onto his shoulder, when a firm grip grasped the top of the handle, preventing further movement.
Harry had been so irate, and prepared to intervene on his own; that he hadn't even realized that Troy had stopped right behind Draco, moving so silently that the Auror hadn't even suspected anyone had approached. "Let go… now…" The caretaker ordered sternly, and in his surprise, Draco complied.
Troy reached around Draco, and held out the broom for Julie to take. "Here, Miss Fitzsimmons, enjoy your lesson."
Julie took the broom happily, and skipped off again down the hall. Harry grabbed her as she passed by, and pulled her to the side, silently gesturing for her to be quiet so that he could hear as Troy spoke again.
"I wonder how tough you'd be trying to pick on someone your own size." Troy said flatly.
Showing none of the respect he had just preached about for the caretaker, Draco didn't even turn around as he spitefully queried. "You mean… someone like you?"
Troy lunged so quickly, slamming Draco face first into the wall that it seemed to happen without any movement. "Yeah… someone exactly like me, in fact." The caretaker then intercepted Draco's right hand as it drifted towards his wand pocket, and twisted Malfoy's wrist in a manner that could not have been pleasant. Draco yelped painfully as he tried to escape Troy's grasp, only causing his joints to torque at an increasingly unnatural angle.
"You will stop harassing the students in this school, and you will start doing the job you were sent here to do. Do we have an understanding?" Troy said calmly.
"I don't answer to you." Draco huffed.
"Disrespecting the caretaker now?" Troy mocked with Draco's taunting voice inflection. "I think some pain is in order…" Troy then wrenched Draco's wrist almost a full one-hundred and eighty degrees, causing the Auror to squeal like he was being stabbed repeatedly with a dull knife. Harry pleasingly noted that no one was exactly rushing to Malfoy's aid, even though the entire wing would have had to have heard him. "Once more… do we have an understanding?"
"Yes! Yes! All right!" Draco howled then staggered a few steps after Troy abruptly released him, clutching his wrist. "Damn it…" Draco sneered, his features contorting in anger as Troy began to leave. With his left hand, Draco reached into his pocket, pulled out his wand, and raised it above his head with all the grandeur his wounded pride could muster…
"Going to hex our caretaker now?" Harry quipped, stepping out from around the corner. Malfoy froze, clearly not expecting any witnesses. "Oh, please, don't let me stop you. I'd love to be the one who stamps the crate sending you back to London."
With an angry growl that did nothing to mask his humiliation, Draco slammed his wand back in his pocket then walked back towards the Slytherin section of the school with as much speed as he could muster without jogging, the emerald pendant Harry noticed earlier casting a soft green glow as Draco jogged into the progressively darker hall.
"You should have let him curse me." Troy said blandly.
Harry rubbed the back of his head. "He is an Auror, and knows quite a few nasty Dark Arts, I'd wager. I wasn't sure just what he was going to do."
Troy scoffed, unimpressed. "I guess we'll never know now. Have a good evening, Professor Potter." Troy disappeared down the hall as Harry reluctantly admitted that in one regard, having Malfoy around, as annoying as he could be, would be a boon, especially if what Harry feared of Troy was true.
Two mornings later, Harry had taken some of his fifth-year students to the school exterior. He wanted them to practice the various concussive class spells they had been reading on the last few class periods… spells that could do a good deal of damage in an enclosed area like the Great Hall or the South Courtyard.
He had set up a long series of training dummies for the target practice pointing out to the water, but as he tried to get their attention he noticed that one topic of conversation was still dominating.
"Gregory Croshere told me that there's likely a vampire enclave somewhere in the area, and that's why there are so many vampires here now." One of the Hufflepuff students, Michelle Trowley, said slightly above a whisper.
"There's been all of two." One of the more disbelieving Ravenclaw students, Ryan Turntop said with a roll of his eyes.
"They say that vampires are like cockroaches." Still another Ravenclaw, Darrin Fredsue, retorted. "For every one you see, there's about ten or twenty you don't."
"That's if there is a Vampire Lord in control." Turntop replied. "Any other time, vampires are solitary creatures."
"But what are the chances of two solitary vampires showing up in roughly two months… especially since I've heard there haven't been any vampires here for almost thirty years?" Michelle asked.
"Darn near zero, if you ask me." Darrin answered.
"But hardly impossible." Ryan added, equally adamant.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, while I am glad to know that you have retained your knowledge of vampires and vampiric lore, I am afraid to say that is not why we're out here today." Harry said with a slightly raised voice. At that moment, he began to feel his scar tingle, likely from Troy's presence, possibly walking along the interior hall nearby.
"Besides, I suspect you have very little to worry about concerning vampires at this point in time." A slightly humored voice from the castle drawled. Troy was leaning against the entry to the east wing, bathed perfectly in the shadow being cast by the castle.
Harry smiled smugly, and replied, "Yes… because even Muggles are aware of the fact that vampires cannot stand underneath the unblocked sun."
Troy nodded, "Some of the more scientifically inclined among the wizarding world believe that the ultra-violet radiation from the sun causes a chemical reaction in a vampire's undead flesh." Then with one hesitant glance at the sky, Troy stepped out into the sunlight, walking towards Harry. With each step, Harry could barely believe what he was seeing, and thus didn't fully register that Troy had stopped right in front of him.
"Good thing for the vampires there aren't any around right now, is it?" Troy asked smugly.
"Yes…" Harry replied dumbly, awestruck. He had been utterly certain… but there was no way that Troy could be standing where he was… unless there was some sort of protective charm or artifact that he wasn't aware of. But even then, a vampire couldn't be enchanted by almost anything simply because the inherent magic that kept them alive interfered with most other magic.
Troy looked like he was about to return to the castle when his head jerked suddenly towards the docks towards the southwest. There was a loud, angry, inhuman roar, then the heavy thudding of what sounded like hoofbeats.
"That sounds like a…" Harry began, but the bull headed creature with a vaguely human torso and four long, powerful bull legs that suddenly burst around the castle exterior finished his sentence for him. The minotaur paused for a second, and the instant it caught sight of Harry began charging once more.
Harry prepared his wand to meet the attack, but the instant the students panicked, Harry's concentration was immediately broken as the students frequently ran into his path of vision, and potentially into the minotaur's deadly path.
Fortunately, he was not the only person on the grounds to keep his head, although at first it didn't seem that way. Troy also burst into a run, but directly at the bullish creature. Before Harry could even finish, "Are you barking mad?" the two collided with tremendous force. The impact sent Troy's sunglasses flying, and the caretaker yelped painfully, overpowered by the gigantic bull-man, and pushed back steadily.
Troy was rather large and built for the average human, but the Minotaur dwarfed him by at least twice. Figuring that Troy was only trying to slow down the creature to allow the class to evacuate, Harry tried to restore order as quickly as possible so that he could help the caretaker's efforts. That turned out not to be the case.
After about 5 meters, Troy completely halted the minotaur's push, locking his arms around the beast's horns. Amazed simply by that display of untold strength, Harry would prove to be even more awestruck as Troy then hefted the bull-man completely off the ground, slamming the minotaur back to the ground in a earth-shaking suplex, then quickly switching his hold while the monster was stunned, so that his arms were wrapped around the minotaur's neck, his feet locked around one of the bull-man's arms to prevent it from getting enough leverage to rise off the ground.
Troy's eyes were clenched tightly in what Harry assumed to be exertion, the caretaker's arms tightening steadily around the beast's neck. The minotaur's eyes began to bulge then rolled into the back of its head as there was a sickening pop. Its head went limp, as if connected to the rest of its body by nothing more than skin and muscle. It took nary a moment longer for Harry to realize that Troy had broken its neck.
"What in Merlin's name happened here?" Draco Malfoy asked, as if magically appearing on the grounds, quickly followed by several other professors, including the centaur Firenze. Harry filed in the back of his mind at how quickly the Auror amazing seemed to be nearby as the sudden attack happened. "A minotaur? Who would be stupid enough to have one of those things on school grounds?"
As much as he despised Malfoy, Harry knew what Draco was leading to, and couldn't totally argue. Hagrid had been known to take several dangerous creatures into his care, and a minotaur definitely would fit that description. It certainly was not beyond the realm of possibility at least.
"Does anyone see my sunglasses?" Troy asked somewhat loudly. His eyes were still clenched shut, his hands feeling blindly along the ground. As Harry silently wondered what sort of person or creature would need sunglasses during the late October sun, one of the Hufflepuff students dutifully grabbed said article from where they had fallen about three meters from where Troy was hunched over. The student then equally dutifully handed the shades to the caretaker, who put them on and said, "Thank you, Mr. Ponteroy."
Draco rolled his eyes at the interruption, and continued, "I've always known that gameskeeper was going to get over his head, and that somebody would get hurt like I had been."
Harry couldn't totally fight back a sanctimonious scoff. Draco had been slightly injured after repeatedly taunting a Hippogriff in their third year, then tried to pin the blame on Hagrid's care, with some success.
"Well, that's it. I'm informing the Ministry of this, and recommending that half-breed madman be removed from his duties once and for all."
"That would be all well and good, Mr. Malfoy, if Hagrid was responsible in any way for this Minotaur being here." Troy interrupted, examining his kill carefully.
Draco huffed, insulted that someone would challenge his accusations. "Who else would be responsible? How do you know the half-giant isn't the source of this beast?"
Troy turned his head to Malfoy, and began counting off reasons. "Firstly, the centaurs in the forest would not tolerate a minotaur anywhere in the vicinity. Is that not right, Professor Firenze?"
Harry turned his gaze to the centaur, who was rather regarding the bull-creature with a great deal of disdain. "I would certainly not have associated with such a brute, and I would have also known had Hagrid been keeping one. The other centaurs would also have known, and had it killed within two nights."
"Secondly," Troy continued, pointing over to where the monster had appeared. "The minotaur came from the southwest, near the docks, not from the gameskeeper's pens, which are to the east. You can also see the fresh rub marks from the cage it came in. This animal was just delivered."
"Then Hagrid recently acquired the creature then." Draco suggested.
"Not with the school's galleons, he didn't." Troy countered. "I would have to approve such a sale, and I can guarantee you that Hagrid doesn't have the personal funds to make such a purchase."
"I never said anything about purchasing." Draco sneered. "Hagrid has garnered such dangerous beasts without paying as much as a knute."
Harry's mind reeled back to Hagrid winning a dragon egg from a heavily cloaked man in his first year. He instantly began to wonder how much Draco knew about that incident.
Troy then argued, "Which brings me to my third point; this Minotaur has a pen brand on its shoulder. If I know this mark correctly, this monster came from the Grumatony Estate, a prominent Italian wizard family. As a rule, the Grumatony's have rather archaic ideas about proper bloodlines. They would not have sullied themselves catering to a half-blood… it would be an insult to their station."
"But I suspect they would have very little issue selling to a Malfoy…" Harry retorted.
Before Draco could respond to the less than subtle implication, Troy had continued, "Fourth, this creature clearly had been trained to find and attack Professor Potter by the behavior it displayed. Why would Hagrid have done such a thing, even if he had the knowledge to do so?"
Draco turned sternly towards Troy, and muttered bitterly, "You appear to have pretty good eyes for a caretaker."
Nonplussed, Troy shot back indifferently, "And you appear to have pretty poor ones for an Auror." Troy stood again, straightened his clothing then said, "I am going to report this recent development to the headmaster. You may come along if you wish to relate your observations as well, Mr. Malfoy."
"That… won't be necessary, I don't think." Malfoy said with a sneer, tromping off seconds later.
"Professor Potter, I trust you can arrange for Hagrid to dispose of our guest in a proper and timely manner?" Troy asked, but in a way that didn't seem as so much of a request.
Dumbly, Harry nodded then said, "I suspect I won't get much teaching done at this moment in time… might as well do something useful."
"Thank you." Troy said in parting, clearly not wasting any time getting out of the open sun... even if it wasn't turning him to stone. Harry shook his head, trying to clear it. Intrigue had once again swirled around him to the point where he wasn't sure if he was surrounded by friends, or under siege by several different foes.
Naturally, he sought out the only friend he knew he had. Unfortunately, they both had classes to teach until the evening meal, and he didn't feel comfortable discussing his concerns about the events swirling him with Dumbledore merely three chairs away.
Finally, he was able to get some relative privacy with Hermione to go over his version of the events of the day. Hermione gave him a sympathetic hug, and said softly, "I am so sorry, Harry. If anyone deserved any semblance of peace after all that's happened, it's you."
Most times, Harry was rather amused by Hermione's physically affectionate nature. However, right now, in the middle of the library, too many young gossip-hungry students would get the wrong idea. As it was, a group of girls were glancing back at the two professors, and giggling knowingly.
He gently pried himself away, and Hermione used the break to delve further into the myriad of problems surrounding his newest stay at the school. "So, we are rather certain that someone is trying to do you in once again."
"That minotaur certainly wasn't charging to shake my hand, if that's what you're asking." Harry said with a slightly patronizing tone. "But I can't help but think this is somehow related to all the other attacks that have happened."
"But the vampires didn't attack you…"
"I know… but I can't shake the feeling that they're tied together somehow."
Harry suddenly noticed Julie step into the library, her eyes scanning around, and he instinctively knew that she was looking for him. He quietly cut Hermione off from whatever she was about to say then pointed discreetly towards Julie as the first-year approached their table.
"Professor Potter… um… I was wondering…" Julie began nervously, "If we could find another time for my lessons… since… it gets so dark so early this time of year…"
Harry had actually been giving it some thought, but nonetheless, he paused dramatically, and rolled his eyes upward as if deeply considering the matter.
Hermione sighed, and clearly did not share Harry's humor. "I suspect if you don't dawdle during the lunch period, that you could probably squeeze a half hour or so in for flying."
Harry was partly miffed at Hermione for ruining his fun, but also partly amazed that she was able to discuss flying lessons without shuddering. He still couldn't understand why his old friend despised flying so much… she wasn't afraid of heights, and her bravery was unquestioned. It was something that even Hermione didn't seem terribly certain as to why… she just didn't like it, and no further discussion would be welcomed.
Julie smiled confidently, "We can do that. My friends will certainly understand. They want Gryffindor's next seeker to be ready as much as I do."
"So, you plan to be a seeker, is that right?" Harry said casually. "Well then, I do believe we're going to need a slightly bigger practicing ground than the South Courtyard from now on. I'll talk to Madam Hooch, and I'll see what I can do for next week."
"That would be great!" The girl chirped, dashing out of the library as fast as she could manage.
"Energetic young lady, isn't she?" Hermione observed.
"Gryffindor has done wonders for her." Harry acknowledged.
"Well, let's just hope she doesn't have to kill a basilisk before she finishes her second year…"
Harry chuckled modestly, and replied, "She's smart enough not to put herself in that sort of situation. I just said I saw a little of myself in her… not all of me."
"That's good. One Harry Potter in this world is one too many for my own health."
Harry playfully slapped her on the back of the head, and he heard the giggles from the students behind him suddenly go silent, before starting to mutter conspiratorially amongst themselves. Harry almost began laughing as the rumors that he beats his girlfriends would no doubt start circulating within days.
Surprisingly enough, all things were quiet on the gossip front, or at least, as far as Harry could tell. October yielded to November, and the snows began to arrive and compile in earnest. Nonetheless, every Tuesday and Thursday, Julie would approach the professor's table, tell Harry she was ready then he would send her to retrieve their brooms, and wait for him at the castle exit.
This mid-November Tuesday was no different.
"Professor Potter?" Julie asked politely, so as not to sound boorish while interrupting. "I am ready whenever you are."
"You got enough to eat?" Harry asked, noting that they were only 15 minutes into the normally hour long lunch period.
Julie nodded. "Yes sir. I even had seconds."
Harry intentionally ignored whatever sour comment Snape made on the other side of the table, and then asked, "Make sure you're bundled up nice and warm. I suspect you know the drill by now."
Julie hopped down the slightly raised floor that the professor's table resided, and dashed off happily on her set tasks. Harry politely finished off the last bit of his meal, and was about to join her when Flitwick asked, "Professor Potter… if you would be so kind as to drop off your plans regarding concealment charms before you go in my office, I'd appreciate it."
Harry nodded as his tray vanished, apparated into the kitchen, most likely. It was merely a short detour to Flitwick's office in the Hufflepuff Tower, and he had to admit that the sooner the two were able to consolidate plans to teach a section that really crossed both their classes, the better off they both would be.
Thus, he wasn't where he would have been when things blew up… literally.
He was taking the stairs back down the tower when a deafening explosion nearly blew out his eardrums, and knocked several bricks loose from the walls. The sound was so pervasive that he could adequately tell just where it had originated, but somehow he knew it had come from the castle exterior grounds… where he gave Julie his flying lessons.
He dashed down the steps so quickly that on several occasions he came perilously close to tumbling the rest of the way down. Upon hitting the ground floor, he actually did stumble into the far wall, but righted himself with desperate speed before taking off once more.
This time, however, he wasn't even close to being the first one at the scene. By the time he emerged out of the school, he had to quickly pull to a stop before he ran down the back row of a large mass of students. Not that it would have mattered, since he started pushing his way through the mob rather roughly until they got the hint, and started to clear a path for him to pass.
Once he finally broke through the seemingly endless rows of students, little Julie dashed forward, burying her face in his stomach with her hands around his hips, crying so fiercely that she couldn't put two words together.
Fortunately, Hermione was there to explain what apparently had happened. "It appears your broom had been hexed with a powerful Detonation Curse. When Miss Fitzsimmons touched the broom, the curse activated. Madam Hooch… she… took the broom and flew off over the water… I think she tried to jump off… but she didn't quite make it in time…"
Harry's heart leaped into his throat as he followed Hermione's finger to the edge of the land, where several white robed wizards were lifting a badly burned body towards what he identified as a portkey about ten meters away. "She isn't…"
Snape interrupted them, "Not yet. Madam Hooch will definitely be taken to St. Mungo's… but I'm not sure what they can do. The damage from both the explosion, and her impact with the water, was severe."
With that, the Slytherin House head turned nasty, saying, "Congratulations Potter, another victim of your popularity. I wonder how many more people are going to wind up on the brink of mortal peril due to attacks meant for you…"
From behind him, Troy's voice said with equal venom, "That is quite enough out of you, Severus." Harry blinked repeatedly as he hadn't even noticed through all the panic and fear that his scar was indeed itching.
"Yes… I suppose I shouldn't blame Potter…" Severus glared maliciously, "After all, I understand that was why you were brought here, 'Mr. Caretaker'; to prevent exactly this sort of thing from happening…"
Snape's words were cut off with a choked gurgle as Troy's left hand shot forward like a viper, snatching Snape by the throat. The older professor's eyes bulged in a mixture of surprise and alarm as Troy said, "I suggest you take greater care as to who you to try to antagonize. I will not tolerate it. Now, why don't you do something useful for a change, and help Professor McGonagall restore order in this school? Some of your house students are as it stands taking advantage of the unexpected break to try and sabotage the Gryffindor Quiddich equipment. Perhaps you should inform them doing so would likely result in expulsion considering the current events."
Snape nodded, and was instantly released from Troy's grip. With a subtle squaring of his shoulders, Snape moved with a flourish back inside the school as if he had meant to do that all along.
Troy's voice was considerably mellower when he addressed Harry, but it still sounded less like a request and more like an order that would not be wise to refuse. "Potter, follow me."
He began to walk away, and Harry locked into step a couple strides behind. The caretaker stopped next to Dumbledore, and pointed to the school. With that same non-negotiable tone, he said darkly to the headmaster, "Albus, we all need to talk… now…"
Dumbledore nodded solemnly, and said back, "I will join you once I confirm that Madam Hooch is situated. Wait for me in my office."
Troy moved towards the school, Harry not even three steps behind. He suspected that the recent attack was going to lead to full disclosure of the secrecy surrounding him, although he was rather certain the price of said disclosure was a little high for his tastes.
"May I be so bold as to join you two?" Hermione challenged just as Harry and Troy were inside the castle.
Troy stopped abruptly, and commented wryly, "Since you would be upon Harry for details like a rabid hyena within seconds of the meeting's conclusion, I suspect it would be prudent for you simply to be present." Without further comment, Troy resumed his pace.
"Just what is this about, exactly?" Harry asked, "Who is trying to harm me?"
"I'd rather you hear it from Albus, to be perfectly honest." Troy answered, "I suspect it will be slightly easier to accept from him than from me."
It took slightly longer than five minutes for Dumbledore to appear in the middle of the office. For the first time since Harry had ever known him… the headmaster simply looked old. His face was grim, and defeated, as if the moment he had been dreading since the start of the year had come at last.
"Perhaps I have an apology to make first." Albus said in regret. "I seem to have forgotten you aren't eleven anymore, Harry. However, I was sure that you would never agree to teach for me had I told you everything."
"Well, you never bothered to find out, did you?" Harry answered darkly.
"Perhaps we should just explain the matter… then we can worry about who wants to yell at whom." Troy interrupted, taking a place leaning against the wall just to the right of the east window.
Dumbledore then replied, "Well, then do begin… since this story appears to start with you."
Troy tilted his head thoughtfully, and said, "Perhaps you are right." His head turned towards Harry and Hermione, and said, "Firstly, as I suspect you both have guessed, I'm not some simple Squib hired on as a caretaker. I am actually a Special Investigator and Covert Operative for the Department of Mystical Forces… the American equivalent to your Aurors in the Ministry of Magic. You could say I'm currently on loan to Albus here."
Harry nodded, as he had met a couple of his American counterparts in his Auror training, which as he understood, called themselves the SICOs with some juvenile amusement.
Hermione opened her mouth, but Troy cut her off by answering her question before she even had the chance to ask it. "It began when I was trailing a Vampire Lord by the name of Barbaras along the Pacific Coast of Oregon. In Mid-June, he suddenly jumped the Atlantic, and fortunately, I was able to glean sufficient information from a straggler I was able to get my hands on."
From the right hip pocket of his trench coat, Troy pulled out a neatly folded piece of white parchment, but not without adding. "I'd hold it a distance away… this little vampire wasn't exactly speaking quietly as it made this confession."
Harry complied, taking the sheet at arms length before slowly unfolding it. Once completely unfurled, the tormenting howling of what probably would have been a rather charming female voice said:
Barbaras… he was approached by a man who only called himself… the Disciple of Voldemort. We didn't want to go, but our lord demanded it… I didn't want to follow… but we were to go to England!
Our lord was not himself… that wizard was controlling him… I am certain of it! Barbaras wouldn't leave the fertile lands here willingly… so many fresh, warm, bloody bodies… IEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! STOP! STOP! It's true, even if you hurt me! Our lord had to have been controlled, his ample will dominated by this man… if he was indeed human… I could sense something odd about him!
That's all I know! I swear! Please… end my suffering… I am so hungry…
The letter promptly cut off, and Harry, somewhat disturbed not just by what was said, but also imagining the means that were likely used to get this unidentified vampire to talk. "That's preposterous." Harry finally commented as he handed the parchment back to Troy. "Even with an Imperius curse, the amount of power needed to dominate the heavily enchanted mind of a Vampire Lord…"
"It seems entirely possible given the circumstances." Troy contended. "For example, that Detonation curse had to have been done from a great distance, likely using some sort of proxy as an antenna for this wizard's power."
Harry frowned. "The only Dark Wizard I can imagine having that sort of power is dead."
Hermione paled. "No… no… no… no…" She began muttering.
"I doubt it is Voldemort, if that's what is worrying you, Miss Granger." Troy said with a sardonic smirk. "Voldemort was too egocentric to ever label himself a "disciple" of anything. His pride wouldn't allow it. Anyway, I informed the Ministry of Magic of what I had discovered then I contacted my old friend Albus. His story picks up from there."
Dumbledore nodded. "Firstly, word from a college of mine in Peru, noted the emergence of one of the last stable giant clans from the Andes. One night, the clan was camped along the foothills bordering Peru from Argentina… the next morning they were gone. There were remnants of a Portkey in the center of the camp."
"Porting an entire giant clan? The sort of energy needed to cast that large of a rift would kill a person!" Hermione gasped.
"I certainly wouldn't hold it beneath someone who labels himself 'The Disciple of Voldemort' to sacrifice several wizards to get the power he needs." Troy remarked.
"And I take it the giants appeared in Britain?"
"As of right now, we do not know." Dumbledore said with a sigh. "However, we did discern from spies watching the giants that they were visited by a wizard who was almost radiating power. The description fit what Troy's… informant gave as to the wizard who visited Barbaras."
Dumbledore tapped his index fingers together, and continued, "It also appears that this wizard is not acting alone. An Auror that you might know Harry, Nathan Thigpen, had mysteriously disappeared in June."
Harry remembered that. He had wanted to be assigned to the investigation, but Alastor had denied him, explaining that there were others more experienced with handling such a delicate case. "I assume they found out what happened?"
"Not… exactly." Dumbledore answered. "They found his robe, his limbs, and his head. The Ministry determined from examining the remains that he had been killed by several different curses from several different wands… then dismembered after the fact."
"Disgusting…" Hermione shook her head. "So you think that this mysterious wizard has gathered up another group of followers like Voldemort once did?"
"It would appear so." Troy nodded. "The vampire I killed that attacked the Ravenclaw students was in possession of a Disillusionment bauble. It could have only come from some rather skilled wizard… skilled enough not to have it taken by force."
"Giants, Vampires, and Wizards… oh my…" Harry sighed. "It looks like someone is trying to build his own personal army of supernatural creatures."
"That is our fear, and evoking Voldemort's name no doubt only helps him in that cause." Dumbledore admitted. "But all that is only preface to what you no doubt wish to know, Harry."
"No… I can't imagine that I might be interested in how this relates to me." Harry said with a hint of bitterness, fists clenching as Hermione gently placed her hand on his arm to try and reassure him.
Dumbledore said, "The Order of the Pheonix got involved once Voldemort's name began to appear. Early in July, Remus and Nym… Tonks… intercepted an owl transferring orders from this 'disciple' to his various forces. In those orders were instructions to kill you in the name of his fallen master and how best to go about it."
Harry didn't respond… and that prompted Dumbledore to add, "You were an Auror at the time… they were planning to draw you out, then once you were out in the open, there were any number of ways to eliminate you that seemed accidental. I suspect the disappearance of Mr. Thigpen was one such ruse."
"So you brought me here?" Harry shouted, absolutely dumbfounded by what he saw as an epic lapse of judgment on multiple levels. "This insanely powerful wizard capable of dominating vampires and commanding giants wants me dead, and so you bring me to a school full of children? I can't believe I'm about to ask this… but… what in bloody hell is wrong with you? Have you actually gone completely barking insane?"
Hermione's hand tightened on his arm, but he could tell that even she was having a hard time wrapping her mind around such a potentially tragic plan. "That could have been Julie on that broom! An eleven-year-old girl! Do you mean to tell me that possibility didn't even enter your skull?"
"I… underestimated the power and influence of this madman, obviously." Dumbledore answered. "I had figured the protections on this school would be enough to keep the children safe, while at the same time forcing our enemy to come to us to get to you."
"Well, obviously you figured wrong!" Harry retorted in full bellow. "I can't believe you would do something like this! Then… then… you keep it all from me like I'm one of your first-years! You have completely flown off the wrong end of your broom! How could you do this to me… or your professors… or your students… or even yourself? It makes me wonder…"
Dumbledore's head slumped, and Harry realized that he had utterly crushed the headmaster. For a moment, Harry had pangs of sympathy until the image of Julie, flying into the air, then getting blown into pieces, stirred up his rage once more. How could Dumbledore have been so utterly careless?
Harry was about to dole out another scathing harangue when he felt an impossibly strong grip pinch down on the joint between his neck and shoulder blade. Harry yelped in pain, and Troy felt he had sufficiently got the young wizard's attention. "Potter… take a walk with me."
"Why?" He snapped back.
Troy's response was to again apply a little pressure to the tendon under his fingers. "That was not a request. You need to cool off before you say something that all of us here will regret you saying."
Hermione turned to follow as Troy led Harry towards the stairs, but the taller black coated man stopped her with an extended hand. "Boy talk, Miss Granger. Besides, why don't you get Albus some tea to calm his nerves?"
Once fully down the stairs, Troy moved into an empty hall, where he stopped; apparently choosing the dark, empty, and largely unused hall for their discussion. Harry went on his guard, quite aware of the tingling in his scar, and what he now knew of those trying to kill him.
Even before Troy had turned around to face Harry, the caretaker commented with slight amusement, "If I wanted to kill you, Professor Potter… believe me, I would have had ample opportunity before now to do so."
"Then what do you want?" Harry demanded, not entirely dropping his guard. "To tell me to leave your old friend alone?"
Troy laughed, "Of course not. To be honest, he deserves every second of it. I tried to convince him to let you in on the secret earlier, but he didn't want to disappoint you, and didn't want to trouble you with such terrible news."
"Disappoint me? Disappointment doesn't even begin to describe what I'm feeling. I was brought here under a lie so that I could be kept safe in this den of lies."
Even though Harry hadn't expressly noted what he was referring to, Troy seemed to know exactly. "Oh, come off it." The man said with a dry chuckle, "Surely you can't be so flustered that you can't do simple math."
Harry glowered questioningly, and Troy asked, "When did you get the offer to teach here?"
"Early June." Harry answered, as he did so inwardly running through the calendar himself, not wanting to concede the issue so quickly.
"Your name didn't even come up into the mix until July. Let me assure you, Albus made the decision to offer you the position quite a while before he knew you were in any sort of danger. He claimed he didn't tell you to prevent exactly this response… he didn't want you to think that you had been chosen simply because of this mess."
"Maybe that's true…" Harry remarked, "But that still doesn't excuse him for shielding me like I was one of his first-years!"
Again Troy laughed, "Harry, a parent never fully gets used to the fact that his child is all grown up. I can guarantee you there is a part of Albus who will always see the wide-eyed eleven-year-old in you."
Harry momentarily was aghast. "What are you prattling on about?"
Once again, Troy eyed Harry knowingly. "Oh please… don't be coy. I could tell the relationship the two of you had within the first couple of days." Troy placed a hand on Harry's arm, and said softly, "Albus views you as the son he never had the chance to have, and I am quite certain that you see him in a parental light… the father you never had the chance to know."
Troy's take seemed slightly too canny to be mere observation. "You got all that from just a couple of days, right?"
"Well… that and how he couldn't stop talking about how proud he was of what you had done every fifteen minutes." Troy admitted with a smirk. "The point is, that's why he always seems to treat you like you are simply a child… because there will always be this part of him that rather endearingly thinks you always will be."
"That's no excuse the take the sort of risks he did." Harry shot back. While he had calmed considerably, he still wasn't thrilled with how Dumbledore's plan had formed or progressed. "Had I known, I could have taken measures of my own to help."
"I know that… I had pressured Albus almost daily, especially as the incidents continued to mount. At a couple points, I was about to tell you myself… but I had gathered you somewhat distrusted me. Although, I suppose that was understandable. Besides, I'm not disagreeing with you. Albus had this coming… and he deserves it. I just sensed you were about to say something you would seriously regret later."
At that point, Harry became certain that Troy was some sort of mind-reader. Because no one could have simply guessed that Harry had been about to tell Dumbledore that, "It makes me wonder who's side you're really on. At least with Voldemort, I knew he was against me from the start… rather than have to learn it well after the fact…"
Troy didn't seem the least bit perturbed by Harry's empty stare. He slapped Harry on the shoulder, and then said jovially. "Now, let's go back upstairs, and give our good friend Albus Dumbledore a nice, proper chastising, okay?"
Shaking himself out of his semi-stupor, Harry nodded, and this time took the lead back into the halls…