I do not own any of the characters the all belong to JK Rowling.
As hallway fights become out of control Dumbledore gives house unity one last chance, setting up a pen pal system across the rival houses. New relationships could occur or everyone might just end up getting very pissed off…
Please review it keeps me writing.
It was not three weeks into the term and already Hogwarts had turned into something that few could find better words to describe than 'war zone'. Fights had broken out in the corridors and classrooms between the different houses. The Hufflepuffs tended to steer clear of the violence and only attack when absolutely necessary. Ravenclaw favoured booby traps and poison of the less deadly Varity, too outright violence. This however was not the case amongst the Slytherin and Gryffindors who would attack any other house member on sight.
Students refused to wander the halls alone anymore and would move in packs. Even the great hall had seen the effects of this aggression. The different houses had set up shields and defences around they're given tables, anti curse and detection charms where also used around the vicinity of the individual dinners.
Most of the staff were at breaking point with the situation, each and every house was in negative points; lessons had turned into mayhem, until it was decided that the different houses would have to be magically separated from each other in the classroom.
Dumbledore watched on with disappointment in his eyes, as an unconscious first year Ravenclaw was floated into the Ravenclaw defences upon a shielded stretcher. The situation had become way out of hand, this had got to stop.
It had begun in the first week of term, after the defeat of Voldermort in the final battle, all thanks to a Mr Harry Potter and his wide variety of curses. Many students who had lost their parents or relatives in the Great War were out to seek revenge. What had at first started as a few insults and hexes had turned into a complete chaos, the hospital wing had never seen so many patients.
As the noise level grew in the hall, with threats and insults flying thickly in the air, the headmaster rose from his seat and bellowed across the room.
"Enough".
The students fell silent and all eyes went to the headmaster, the only person all houses mutually respected.
"I am disgusted by all of you, Hogwarts is supposed to be a sanctuary, and safe place of education and social activity. Look around you; see what you have turned our brilliant home into. Look! You have turned this ancient building into a doghouse.
There is no point in yearning for revenge and justice, those who are gone are gone and threw no fault of your own or those around you.
Your justice has only brought more pain to an already wounded society. You my children are the next generation, you are meant to be intelligent and insightful.
With current events you have only proved yourselves to be but a pitiful bunch of fools. This cannot and will not continue. In order to break these barriers that have been created, we are in serious need of communication. I am hereby setting up a timetable of a series of events. Each of you will be presented with a messenger bottle, containing a Parchment of Links and a pendant.
Upon receiving this bottle each student will set theirs free, you will notice when receiving these items that the bottle does indeed have legs. Your bottle will then roam the castle in search of a partner in a rival house who is compatible with you.
You will not be given the identity of the owner of the bottle. The only information about your new pen pal will be which house they are in, this you will be able to determine by the animal entrapped inside the bottle. Failure to release your bottle or the destruction of any of the objects provided will result in severe punishment.
Everything has been charmed so that any aggressive behaviour or failure to comply with instructions will result in immediate expulsion. All of these shields are to be removed this evening and any violence in the halls will result in wands being snapped"
With that he returned to his seat, clapped his hands and continued his evening meal.
The students by this time where left mouths agape, before a few of the more alert ones began ordering the removal of the defences around the tables.
The golden trio where among the first to start to move, and soon had the Gryffindor shield removed with the help of housemates.
As soon as the evening meal had been finished the students where sent to their respective dorms, to find the new arrival of their items.
"Well at least something is finally being done, even if we are being forced into talking to the enemy." Hermoine commented as they walked into the common room. Harry and Ron both nodded in agreement both feeling fed up with not being able to leave their common room, alone or in pairs feeling confidant that they would both return with the same number of limbs.
Running up to their respective bedrooms, to see what Dumbledore had left them, they agreed to meet back in the common room to read the note through together.
Harry was the first to reach his room (being in seventh year did have its advantages), and quickly spotted the small black leather box with his name inscribed on it. Picking it up he walked swiftly back to the common room to the trios preferred spot by the fire.
It did not take long for the other two to join him each carrying a similar box under their arms.
"Well looks like he was pretty serious about what he said" Ron mumbled as he took the lid off his box.
Inside was a largish spherical bottle with a fire red lion curled up in a several feathers, with one eye open.
Both harries and Hermoines contained the same bottle, only Harry's lion was a deep black with a very impressive mane, Hermoines bottle contained a chestnut brown female lioness with very sleek fur.
Around the neck of each bottle was a small pendant in the shape of a quill, when they put it around their necks the quill morphed into a small silver question mark.
"Well he certainly has it all thought out" said harry removing his bottle from the velvet interior revealing two fleshy little legs that sprouted from the underside of his bottle.
Hermoine squealed which she did not often do and declared the bottle to be really quite cute. After each removing their bottles and watching them run around in circles for a bit; Hermoine scanned the note in her box, finding that they had been instructed to pluck a hair and drop it into the bottle, and then set their bottle free outside of the common room portrait.
By the time they has reached the portrait it was already crowded with excited pupils setting their bottle free to totter off to find their pen pals. After shoving quite a few younger students out of the way, Ron managed to elbow enough students to create room for his two friends. As soon as harrys bottle was set on the ground it zoomed off down the staircase bumping a very pissed off lion along the way. Both Ron and Hermoine soon followed his lead and their bottles too clinked off amongst the other running bottles to find their match.
"Well I suppose all we do now is wait right?" Harry asked
"Yeah seems so mate, wake me up when they arrive" and with that Ron went to sleep on the sofa under the disapproving stare of Hermoine.
Three hours later and Ron, Hermoine and Harry where looking apprehensively at three, legged bottles, containing three hissing displeased serpents.