Chapter Twenty-One
The Death Eater at Hogwarts
Hagrid's "baby" reared back and shot a long column of flames in the direction of Harry and his friends. With lightning reflex, the dragon keepers, Charlie, and Tabitha froze the flames in mid-air. The ice crashed to the ground and splintered into a thousand pieces. Norbert screeched as a thin sheet of ice formed over his nostrils, but his burning breath melted it away a moment later.
"Tough little bugger," Charlie grinned. "Don't get too close now—right where you are is just fine." Hagrid didn't listen and wandered forward, transfixed by the sight of his "baby."
"I can't believe you work with these brutes, Charlie," George said. "It's a wonder you're not d—well, I mean it's pretty cool."
Harry nodded toward the wizards surrounding Norbert. "Do they know? Why Norbert's here, I mean."
Charlie shook his head. "'Course not. But they know about Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel's old work with dragon's blood, so we told them Dumbledore wanted to do more research. I think they're a bit more suspicious, but they know not to ask anything. One of them," Charlie pointed to a large, brown-haired man, "is A.J. Moody, Mrs. Figg and Mad-Eye's nephew. He's the only one who knows what we're really using the dragons for."
"Are Mrs. Figg and Mad-Eye related?" Harry asked.
"Brother and sister," Charlie grinned. "Wouldn't have guessed, huh? A.J.'s dad was their brother. He was killed by Death Eaters." Charlie lowered his voice. "Mad-Eye didn't want to let A.J. know what the Order is doing. A.J.'s uncle on his mum's side was a Death Eater, and apparently, Mad-Eye's been suspicious of A.J.'s mum ever since she married his brother. According to Dad, Mad-Eye's sure A.J.'s mum was a Death Eater herself. But I know A.J. from Hogwarts—he was a year ahead of me, in Hufflepuff—and Dumbledore trusts him."
"Charlie, what are you going to do with Norbert during lessons?" Hermione asked. "It's not like we can do much with him."
Charlie shrugged. "Observation. Tabitha will be teaching the charms most commonly used to handle dragons, and Hagrid and I will let the whole class practice them on Norbert."
"Isn't that very dangerous?" Hermione asked.
"Can be. But my mates will be around, and Madam Pomfrey has been alerted. She's not pleased. She thinks the hospital wing will be full for the rest of term with Norbert around, but we're only letting sixth and seventh years deal with him directly."
"We're going to be starting practical lessons straight away," Tabitha said.
"When will you start collecting his blood?" Hermione asked.
"He should be ready in a few days," Tabitha said. "But we won't be able to start the potions until next week. They're very tricky. Everything must be precise. But if all goes well, we'll be protected against the Death Eaters by April."
"Whoa!" Ginny jumped as Norbert roared again. He darted forward and snapped at one of the dragon keepers.
"Get them back!" A.J. Moody yelled to Charlie. But Charlie and Tabitha had already pushed their students away from Norbert.
"Hagrid, move!" Charlie yelled, blasting Norbert with the same spell as the other handlers. Hagrid, sporting a fresh burn on his arm, lumbered toward Harry.
"If you're all right without me, I'll take them back," Tabitha yelled over Norbert's roars. Charlie nodded and waved her off.
"Come on, come on." Tabitha herded Harry and the Weasleys toward the castle. Hagrid followed behind, clutching his burned arm.
When Mrs. Weasley arrived a few days later, she, along with Dumbledore, saw to it that Hogwarts was decorated for a proper Christmas. It was clear to all that her holiday cheer was entirely forced, but everyone was happy that she wasn't going to let Percy's death weigh upon her shoulders when she still had the rest of her family.
On Christmas morning, Harry awoke to a thick blanket of snow falling outside his window. Norbert was roaring down in his keep, but Harry was used to the noise by now. He saw that Ron and the twins were already up, so he got out of bed and dressed in jeans and the handmade green sweater Mrs. Weasley had given him last year for Christmas. It was beginning to feel a bit small.
He ran into Ron on the stairs. "Come on, Harry, we're going down to breakfast. All our presents are down there."
Harry followed his friends down to the Great Hall, where a Christmas tree at least fifty feet tall stood in the middle of the floor. Dozens of brightly colored presents were piled beneath it. Beside the tree was a long table, set for twenty. The gold plates and platters were loaded with eggs, ham, steak, bangers, kippers, toast, fried potatoes—more food than Harry had ever seen at breakfast, even at Hogwarts. Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Mad-Eye Moody, Mrs. Figg, Hagrid, Snape, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill, and A.J. Moody were sitting around the table already.
"Happy Christmas," Dumbledore said as Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the twins sat down. He nodded toward A.J. "I don't think you all have been properly introduced yet. This is—"
"Albert Moody, Junior," Mad-Eye said, clapping his nephew on the back. His magical blue eye rolled around in its socket, first staring at Harry, then rotating back to A.J.
A.J. squirmed under his uncle's magical stare. Mrs. Figg sighed. "Stop it, Alastor, would you? You're making the kid nervous again."
"He understands," Mad-Eye said with a twisted grin. He gripped A.J.'s shoulder tightly. "Constant—"
"Vigilance, I know, I know," A.J. finished.
"I hope you don't mind that we wait to open gifts," Dumbledore said, ignoring Mad-Eye and A.J. "We are, ah, still waiting for a few people."
"Come here, all of you, and have some breakfast," Mrs. Weasley said, piling plates with food and passing them down to Harry, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and the twins. They had only just begun to eat when the doors to the Great Hall opened.
Tabitha came in first, beaming. Behind her, Lupin and Charlie were helping Tonks walk.
"Look who was released for Christmas!" Tabitha cried.
Tonks uttered a short, restrained laugh. "More like escaped," she said through puffy lips. "We had to bribe the Healers to let me out like this." A large bruise on her right cheek had made half her face swell up. She also had a black eye, but other than that, she looked well enough to Harry.
"Tonks! Welcome back!" Ginny squealed.
"Yes, we're so happy you're all right," Hermione said.
"Best I'm here," Tonks said. "I hear I almost ruined—"
"I told you, it wasn't your fault," Tabitha said soothingly. "I never should have told you about that. Just forget it. You didn't tell Narcissa and Draco anything."
"Don't fret, my dear," Dumbledore murmured. "All is well. The dragon's here."
Tonks did her best to smile. "Good to hear it. If only we'd had that potion when—" A sharp sob caught in her throat. Lupin put his arm around her and helped her sit. "I'm so sorry, Arthur, Molly," she moaned. "I tried to help Percy when I saw them coming, I did. And Kingsley, he pushed me out of the way to help me …"
Mrs. Weasley gave her a tight-lipped smile. "Don't worry yourself sick," she said. Harry saw tears forming in her eyes, but she held them back.
"We think Fudge is working with Voldemort," Dumbledore told Tonks. "And we think Percy had proof. If that's true, then he was a target. If the Death Eaters were sent there for him, well … there wasn't much you could have done."
"He had proof of Fudge and You-Know-Who being in cahoots?" A.J. Moody asked, a curious twinkle in his eye. "What sort of proof?"
"We don't know," Mr. Weasley said hoarsely.
"Can't we drop this?" Bill said firmly. "Just today? It is Christmas, you know, and we're in the safest place in the world right now, with the one person You-Know-Who wouldn't dare touch. Can't we pretend for one day like there isn't a war breaking out?"
Snape bared his teeth in disdain. "Yes, let's just pretend all is safe and happy and—"
Dumbledore held up his hand. "Bill is right, Severus. I don't see how we can have a very happy Christmas with Voldemort hanging over our heads. After all, if we've learned anything over the last year, it's that for some of us—" He paused, the continued quietly, "For some of us, this may well be our last Christmas."
A cold shiver ran down Harry's spine, and he knew his friends had felt it, too. Ginny slipped her hand into his, and he could see that Ron and Hermione, too, were holding onto each other tightly.
No one spoke much after that. Mrs. Weasley had a very forced conversation with Mrs. Figg about gardening, and Mr. Weasley asked her what it was like to live as a Muggle. Mad-Eye's magical eye roved around the table throughout the meal, though Harry noticed that he kept it trained on his nephew much of the time. A.J. spoke to Charlie about the dragon reserve, and he asked Tabitha a score of questions about her work with magical creatures around the world. Harry found out then that she'd done a lot of work with dragons while in Asia, and that she'd nearly been killed by a manticore during her first trip into the wild, a year after leaving Hogwarts.
"That's when I decided to train to become an Animagus. Professor McGonagall helped me that summer. I was only the seventh registered Animagus this century." She grinned at Harry. Sirius Black, James Potter, and Peter Pettigrew had all become Animagi while they were at Hogwarts, but they remained unregistered, or illegal, Animagi. "I was hoping to become something big and impressive, but being a bird is dead useful," she continued.
A.J. nodded. "I don't have the patience for all that training," he grinned. "That's why my dream of becoming an Auror turned into working with dragons."
"Was it your lack of patience for the training, or your poor marks in all your classes?" Mad-Eye growled.
"Will you stop picking on him, Alastor, really," Mrs. Figg huffed.
"Isn't that what family do at Christmas?" Mad-Eye murmured.
A.J. clenched his jaw and ignored his uncle, never taking his eyes off Tabitha. Harry could see that she badly wanted to catch up with Tonks, but A.J. kept her, even going so far to hold her arm to keep her next to him. Tabitha gritted her teeth and listened to him ramble on about how he was actually a top student at Hogwarts, but that his uncle never believed he was good enough. By the end of the meal, Harry decided that he didn't like A.J. Moody very much. Tabitha seemed to share his feelings.
Dumbledore clapped his hands, and the food disappeared from their plates. A moment later, tea and biscuits appeared.
"While we sip our tea, perhaps everyone can begin to open their gifts," he said.
Harry and Ron took it upon themselves to sit beside the huge tree and pass the gifts around. Snape received only one: rare potions supplies, from Professor Dumbledore. Each of the Weasleys, Harry, and Tabitha received handmade sweaters from Mrs. Weasley. Ron loved his broomstick-care kit from Harry, and Harry loved the book of famous Seekers and their hallmark moves that Ron gave to both him and Charlie. (Ron turned red when Hermione admonished him for giving two of the same gift, but Charlie and Harry insisted it was all right.) Fred and George gave everyone their very own new—and improved—Fantastic Freezing Gun. ("Three settings, for different levels of paralysis," Fred said. "I couldn't feel my left arm for a week after Lee Jordan hit me with level three," George added.) Charlie presented Tabitha with a proper Muggle wedding band ("She wanted one even without the Muggle ceremony," he grinned), while Ron tried to quietly hand Hermione a small box with a bracelet in it, but she squealed so loudly at the lovely gift that Ron turned bright red. Harry felt a bit stupid just giving Ginny a turquoise scarf, but she insisted she loved it. She gave Harry a pair of dragon-hide broomstick gloves that promised a "perfect, no slip-grip!" on any broomstick handle, and claimed to be "ideal for any Seeker!"
After gifts were opened and wrapping paper and empty tea cups had been cleared away, Dumbledore suggested they sing carols. Only he, Fred, George and Hagrid, who had poured almost an entire bottle of Ogden's Olde Firewhiskey into his tankard of tea, were singing with any gusto, and so they dropped caroling after a lackluster performance of 'Good King Wencelas.'
The Weasley children, Tabitha, A.J., Hermione, and Harry bundled up for a snowball fight. Tonks and Lupin watched from the sides, laughing as the fight evolved into a snowball-Quidditch match. Tabitha, Fred, and George were able to duck snowballs or whack them away better than anyone else, while Charlie, Harry, and sometimes Ginny simply caught the balls and threw them at someone else. A.J. Moody and Bill kept ending up with faces full of snow.
Afterward, they all sat in Charlie and Tabitha's flat and sipped hot cocoa by the hearth until dinner, which was a much better affair than breakfast. Everyone was smiling chatting merrily, finally caught up in the joy of the season. Harry went off to bed that night smiling and stuffed full with rich holiday foods.
The rest of the Christmas holiday passed by quickly. The Order met twice, but Fred and George promised Harry and his friends that there was nothing to report to them; the meetings were all simply planning for the potion.
Norbert had adapted to Hogwarts nicely. He only set fire to the forbidden forest twice, and Hagrid was leaving meetings with him with fewer and fewer injuries, though everyone in the castle could hear the roars the day the Order first collected blood.
"Poor Norbert," Hermione had said. Soon, though, the weekly collection and the subsequent roaring were as routine for them as was waking up in the morning.
The keepers kept a very close eye on Norbert the day the rest of the school returned. Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione were waiting in Hogsmeade when the train arrived, pretending they'd been the first off the train. They climbed into one of the thestral-drawn carriages with Neville Longbottom and Seamus Finnigan.
"Sorry about your brother," Neville mumbled to Ron and Ginny. "Gran read about the attack in the Daily Prophet and told me all about it."
"I'm sorry too," Seamus said. "Me mam sent your parents a card, I think."
"Thank you," Ginny told both of them.
"I wonder why they sent us all home for Christmas?" Neville wondered as they neared Hogwarts. "Gran says they've never done that before, ever. Hogwarts has always been open, especially when it's the safest place from You-Know-Who."
"Oh, I'm sure we'll know soon enough," Hermione said slyly.
At dinner, Dumbledore stood up to make an announcement. The entire school hushed. "I know you are all probably wondering why Hogwarts was closed over Christmas holidays. Well, your answer is currently asleep in its keep down by our gamekeeper's cabin. For the remainder of the year, Hogwarts will be home to a Norwegian Ridgeback that goes by the name of Norbert. Sixth- and seventh-years, during your Care of Magical Creatures and Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons, you will be working closely with Norbert. Your parents have been sent owls warning of the dangers of working with such creatures, but rest assured, you are in very good hands." He smiled at Charlie, Tabitha, and Hagrid.
Harry heard Malfoy snigger over at the Slytherin table, "That oaf can't even protect us from a mad hippogriff; how can he keep us safe from a dragon?"
"With any luck, Malfoy, Norbert will have the sense to swallow you whole," Harry shouted.
"Think you're so big and bad because you faced that dragon during the tournament, Potter?" Malfoy shot back.
They were both standing now, facing off from their own tables. The rest of the Great Hall was so noisy, the teachers took no notice of them. "I could take any creature before you could, Malfoy," Harry said.
"Harry, stop," Hermione said.
"Just like you took on Voldemort? Oh, wait, you didn't." Malfoy flashed an evil grin. "Your filthy Mudblood mother took that shot for you, didn't she?"
Without realizing what he was doing, Harry leapt across the table, Malfoy the only thing in his sight. Ginny and Hermione cried out, trying to pull him back, but he was too fast. After barely a moment's thought, Ron jumped up after him.
"Ron, don't!" Ginny yelled.
Malfoy had his wand out, but Harry yelled, "Expelliarmus!," knocking the wand from Malfoy's hand before Harry's fist met Malfoy's face. Crabbe went after Ron, who managed to duck the blow and kick Crabbe's legs out from under him. In the meantime, Goyle jinxed Ron, who recovered quickly and shot back his own jinx. Malfoy looked at Harry with the eye that wasn't swelling shut and landed his own punch right on Harry's nose.
They were beside the Slytherin table, which was a mess from Harry and Ron's leaping over it. From years of living with Dudley, Harry was quite good at ducking punches, and so Malfoy was coming off much worse. But the fight didn't last very long; Hagrid, Snape, Professor McGonagall, Charlie, and Tabitha had jumped in to stop it.
"Stop at once!" Professor McGonagall was yelling.
Tabitha yanked Malfoy away from Harry, while Hagrid pulled Harry back. Charlie, Snape, and Professor McGonagall grabbed Ron, Crabbe, and Goyle. They were still shouting at each other.
"Good thing one of your fans was here to stop me before I really got you, Potter," Malfoy snarled.
"Shut up," Tabitha snapped, shaking him slightly.
"I could tear you apart, Malfoy. I've taken on wizards three times your age and a hundred times more powerful; I'm not afraid of some sixteen-year-old Death Eater!"
The entire hall fell silent. Harry's throat felt tight with the realization of what he'd just said.
After a long silence, Snape said quietly, "Are you making a formal accusation, Potter?"
Harry didn't know what to say. He stared at Malfoy, who, behind his sneer, actually looked terrified. Tabitha was clutching his shoulder so tightly her knuckle was white; the look on her face told Harry that she had not been allowed to tell him Malfoy and his friends were Death Eaters.
"Well?" Snape pressed.
"Severus, please," Dumbledore said, walking toward them from the staff table. "Harry is simply guilty of an, ah, emotional outburst. He wasn't really accusing Mr. Malfoy of being a Death Eater. Were you?" Dumbledore fixed Harry with an intense stare. Harry knew Dumbledore was using Legilimency to tell him to agree, but Harry was smart enough to realize it on his own.
He shook his head violently. "No. No, I wasn't accusing Malfoy. I meant …" He smirked at Malfoy. He couldn't resist. "I just meant I could take on the son of a Death Eater."
At this, Malfoy tore out of Tabitha's grasp and slammed Harry against Hagrid. He raised his fist to punch Harry, but Tabitha pulled him back by his collar, making him gag as the robes bit into his neck.
"That is quite enough!" Professor McGonagall screeched. Her nostrils were stark white and flared in her anger. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy, you are in serious trouble."
"Tabitha, Hagrid, please bring Draco and Harry to my office," Dumbledore said. "Mr. Weasley, Mr. Crabbe, Mr. Goyle, I am docking each of your houses twenty points and giving you all two weeks' detention."
Harry's heart sank. He thought of all the points he'd be losing Gryffindor, and he was for sure looking at twice the amount of detention Ron and the others got.
"I'll be up in a moment," Dumbledore said. He wouldn't look at Harry. Tabitha and Hagrid led Malfoy and Harry out of the hall. No one spoke until they were gone.
"You'll pay for that, Potter," Malfoy muttered under his breath.
He suddenly tripped and fell forward, flat on his face. Harry stifled a laugh. Malfoy stood up and glared at Tabitha. "You stepped on my robes," he sneered.
"Oops," Tabitha said, shoving him onward.