CHAPTER FOUR: THE PORTAL

Voldemort apparated to a small, unnamed spot in central England. There lay a small tear in the fabric of reality and impossibility, a rip in space and time. A stitch could fix it... or a tug could open it further. Voldemort hoped to do the latter. For beyond this tear lay his new army, an army unlike anything that had ever been seen on Earth. Nogran had created the tear, and Grindelwald had first contacted the denizens of the world beyond, but neither was able to bring make a doorway. That task would fall to another.

It would be he, Lord Voldemort, the latest in a line of dark lords, who would build a portal to this world of Gre'nor. It would be he who brought forth the Orcs to Earth. And it would be he who would forge the empire so long-desired by practicioners of the Dark Arts.

At Hogwarts, the first evening of school went as usual. The Sorting Hat sang its song, sorted the first years, and then Dumbledore gave his speech.

"Before we begin this feast, I must ask for your attention while I make a few announcements. Mr. Filch, our caretaker, has added all of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes' products to the list of banned items, bringing the total to-what is it, Argus?- 900, I believe." This drew a laugh from the students; the Weasley twins had single-handedly nearly doubled Filch's list. "The full list is, as always, posted inside Mr. Filch's office, for those of you who wish to review it. The Forbidden Forest is just that- forbidden. As is the village of Hogsmeade to all students under 3rd year." As Dumbledore spoke, a cloaked figure entered the Great Hall and sat at the Professors' table. Dumbledore then smiled. "Also, I would like to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor- Mr. Sirius Black."

Aside from Harry, Ron and Hermione, few people applauded. Most people still didn't trust Sirius, even though the Ministry had dropped charges over a month ago and publically acknowledged their error.

"As most of you do not know, Mr. Black has been exonerated of all charges by the Ministry of Magic. I can assure you, Mr. Black is no danger to any of you. Unless, of course, you aggrivate him; then you are on your own against his rather extensive knowledge of pranks." Dumbledore chuckled as he said this last bit. Sirius unhooded himself, shooting Snape a glare as Snape returned it full force. He then sent Ron a rather mischevious look, unnoticed by Harry and Hermione- who had, after catching each other staring- had become rather interested in their plates.

The following days of school were-to say the least- interesting. Professors Black and Snape were continually at each other's throats over one minor issue or another. The Gryffindors, of course, supported Sirius, while the Slytherins-most of them, anyhow- supported Snape. This animosity culminated when an arguement between the two men escalated.

Snape walked into the DADA classroom and stood before Sirius's deck. Sirius looked up with an exasperated expression. "Good afternoon, Snape. Well, at least it was until you showed your presence in my classroom. What do you want?" Sirius sighed. Snape merely smirked. "Believe me, Black, I have no desire you watch your Gryffindor-pampering class-" "Gryffindor pampering!?! What the hell do you call your class, then? Slytherin worship?" The members of Slytherin and Gryffindor houses watched with amusement as the two professors verbally fought one another.

"No, Black, I call it 'Potions Class'. Of course, if the current trend holds, I won't have to worry about you being here next term." Snape said, still smirking. Sirius stood up and said "Well, if the current Death Eaters-being-sent-to-Azkaban ratio holds... well, by Christmas the halls will be devoid of your lovely begreased presence." Angered beyond words at the old insult, Snape threw a punch at Sirius, who dodged and started fighting back. The students were either cheering for Snape of Sirius, looking frightend at the spectacle, or running for help. Professor McGonagall got their first, and automatically said "Mr. Black, Mr. Snape, detention!" before she realized her error, and then proceeded to place both Professors in the body-bind curse.

"You all are dismissed until your next class." she said to the students as she levitated the two men (still glaring at each other) to the Hospital Wing.

Harry sat conversing with Remus in the Gryffindor fireplace. "Fistfight, eh? Sounds like the Marauder Years all over again. How badly was Snape hurt?" Confused, Harry asked "Aren't you going to ask about Sirius?"

Remus laughed. "No, no. I know him; bounce back on his feet in the morning. Snape's the one who got hurt the most, I can promise you that!" "Yeah, Remus, he was. Sirius has a couple of bruises around his ribs, and Snape had a black eye, a broken arm, and a broken toe." "Well, if this is anything like the fights of old, Snape will try to make a prank on Sirius involving a Blabber Potion (AN: makes the afflicted person unable to speak in coherent sentences), and Sirius will respons with multiple pranks of his own. So, my advice is: sit back and enjoy the show."

The Blabber Potion failed- Sirius had expected it and taken the antidote before he came into contact with it. Of course, Snape walked right into the pranks played on him.

On Monday, his hair started spewing grease (even more than it already did). On Tuesday, Snape was found turned upside down -with grey underpants showing- near the staff table. On Wednesday, every single cauldron in every class emptied its contents onto Snape.

On Thursday and Friday, Snape was so nervous that no pranks were necessary on Sirius's part. Nor were they allowed- Dumbledore had to draw the line somewhere, amused though he was at Sirius's ingenuity. The students felt a bit of disappointment-and relief- at the fact that things were going back to normal.

Elsewhere, Voldemort had succeeded in opening the Portal to Gre'nor. Orcish warriors began pouring through the gateway, averageing 300 a day. Voldemort set them up in places all over England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, preparing for a simultaneous assault on every major wizarding center in the British Isles. Soon, I will rid myself of Dumbledore and that wretched Potter. Then the world will be but my oyster... and no one will be able to stop me. Lord Voldemort smiled.

In the darkness of his bed at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry Potter's scar burned... and he screamed.

R&R, s'il vous plait. Chapter 5 is due out sometime tommorrow (October 11).