Ugh. I think I neglected my classes too much this past semester. Oh well, not much I can do about it now. Hopefully I escape Academic Probation…on to the chapter!
ShadeDancer
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and can't get money for this, but I can make him into a Mafia Prince.
Warning: Some chapters (the ones including pranks) might not be appropriate to read at work. Laughter may ensue leading your co-workers to see you as even more insane than they previously thought.
Chapter 13: Accusations
"It seems like over half the school is doing the same damn thing we are" Blaise complained "almost all the books we were using are gone now."
"It doesn't matter" Harry said as they left the library "we found out nothing from those books. We learned more from Trevor and Severus than from those books, and they didn't know much either. I don't think we'll come to any conclusions unless we catch the person in the act."
"But then that means waiting for another attack" Blaise pointed out.
Harry stopped suddenly "I don't think we're going to have to wait."
There lying on the floor in front of them in the darkened corridor was a Hufflepuff in their year, Justin Finch-Fletchley. Next to him was another figure, a sight that gave Harry pause. It was Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor Ghost, no longer pearly-white and transparent, but black and smokey. He was floating horizontally in the air with his head frozen halfway in the process of falling off, his face wearing an expression of shock identical to the one upon Justin's face. Shaking off the uneasy feeling that had settled over him, Harry quickly knelt down next to Justin to seek his pulse. Justin was rigid and cold, his eyes staring blankly upward as if he was dead, but Harry managed to detect the faintest of pulses with some difficulty.
"He's still alive" Harry told Blaise who had knelt next to him "he's been petrified like the others it seems."
His training kicking in, Harry got to his feet and pulled Blaise up with him against the nearest wall. Besides the two petrified bodies and themselves the corridor was nearly empty except for a line of spiders scurrying away from the bodies towards a crack in one window. Normally Harry wouldn't have thought much of the spiders except for the fact that there were a lot of them and all were heading in the same direction as if fleeing for safety.
"We need to get a teacher" Harry finally said "but we don't know if whoever did this is still around. Stay close to the wall and watch for any sign of movement."
The moment Harry finished talking, Peeves came shooting out of a door to their right, startling both Harry and Blaise as the two whirled to cover the poltergeist with their wands.
"Oh" Peeves cackled, looking around as he flipped through the air "Potter and wee Zabini. Up to trouble I hope—"
"We need to find a teacher Peeves" Blaise cut him off "there's been another attack."
Peeves stopped halfway through a midair somersault as he spied Justin and Nearly Headless Nick before he began to scream "ATTACK! ATTACK! ANOTHER ATTACK! NO MORTAL OR GHOST IS SAFE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! ATTAAAACK!"
"That was not what we meant" Harry groaned as door after door flew open along the corridor and people flooded out.
For several long minutes there was a scene of such confusion that Justin was in danger of being squashed and people kept standing in Nearly Headless Nick. Harry and Blaise kept themselves up against the wall as the teachers futilely shouted for quiet. Finally Harry had enough and whistled sharply as Manuel would to regain some semblance of order. Unfortunately it didn't work as well coming from a teenager and directed towards other teenagers as it did from a mafia leader to his men.
"Caught in the act" Ernie Macmillan, a Hufflepuff, yelled "it had to have been him. Look at him sulking in the shadows, he was there at the first attack too! And what about the snake at the dueling club? He picked it up as if it was a kitten! It's unnatural for any decent wizard to be able to control snakes like that! I almost expected him to start talking to it next. Both his parents were Gryffindors and yet the boy-who-lived ended up in Slytherin. No one knows how he survived the killing curse; it must have been dark magic. He must be Slytherin's heir!
"That will do, Macmillan" said Professor McGonagall sharply as she arrived "everyone back to what you were doing."
Surprisingly Peeves had remained quiet through all the chaos, but after Ernie's vehement speech the poltergeist began to act up and started chucking gum wads and chalk at the Hufflepuff. It was all Harry could do not to grin, it had truly been a good idea to befriend the poltergeist; not only were they immune to his attacks, but Peeves was willing to go after anyone who insulted them.
"This way Potter, Zabini" Professor McGonagall drew their attention away from the poltergeist tormenting Ernie; Flitwick and a few students were taking Justin and Nick to the hospital wing.
Harry inclined his head slightly and followed silently; she was probably taking them to Dumbledore. Yet after all that had just occurred, the one thing that disturbed Harry the most happened just as he was leaving that cursed hallway; he could have sworn he heard a voice calling for blood and this time the twins were nowhere nearby.
… … … … …
"Ah, Minerva" Dumbledore's eyes, while twinkling, were unusually serious "I see you've brought Mr. Potter and Miss. Zabini. If you could go check upon Mr. Finch-Fletchley and Sir Nicholas, I will speak with them."
Professor McGonagall nodded that she understood and left as Headmaster Dumbledore turned to the two children, who were unabashedly surveying his office. It was full of odd devices that whirled and clicked, pictures snored on the walls or conversed with their fellow portraits, and the Sorting Hat was mumbling to itself.
"I must ask that you tell me everything that happened when you found Mr. Finch-Fletchley" Dumbledore settled back in behind his desk, ready to listen as he gained the children's attention.
Harry and Blaise exchanged glances, before Harry began to speak "we had just left the library and were walking down the hall when we saw them. Justin was stiff as a board and Nearly Headless Nick was floating horizontally in the air, all discolored. We checked to see that Justin was still alive when Peeves came shooting into the hallway and started yelling. Within moments the hall was filled with people and Professor McGonagall arrived to restore order. She then brought us here to speak with you."
"Do you have anything to add Miss Zabini" Dumbledore turned to Blaise.
"No sir" Blaise's voice was steady, even after finding a petrified classmate.
"Are you both sure you have nothing else you would like to speak with me about" Dumbledore was asking them both, but Harry was sure the question was directed more towards him.
"No sir" they both replied as Dumbledore scrutinized them both.
"Very well then" Dumbledore almost seemed to want to sigh as he dismissed them "thank you for telling me what happened."
Harry and Blaise readily got up to leave, but at the door Harry paused "Headmaster, what could do that to a ghost?"
Suddenly Dumbledore looked his age "I do not know. Perhaps very dark magic, but I know that none within the school that would be capable of such, nor have I sensed such spells."
Harry and Blaise left then, walking down the eerily silent halls until they were a few corridors away from Dumbledore's office.
"Dumbledore's worried" Blaise's voice was slightly uneven now that it was just her and Harry; they may not have been too fond of the manipulations of the headmaster, but they acknowledged the power he held and it made them uneasy to know he was worried.
"I'm not going to let anything happen to you" Harry reassured Blaise "and your dad is here as well. We'll get to the bottom of this. It's what a Darkov and a Zabini does. We don't go down without a fight, and even then they can't keep us down."
Blaise nodded determinedly "then we need a new plan of attack. We should focus on how instead of who as that isn't getting us anywhere. Dumbledore said he hasn't sensed any dark spells, so we can rule that out."
Harry looked thoughtful "that leaves us with potions and creatures then. Let's go talk to Severus and see what he knows, he might be able to help us narrow some things down."
A/N: There you go. Harry and Blaise have now been given a track to follow.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Sorry for no replies this chapter, I want to post this too bad.