Spontaneous Magic
This Harry Potter story was written for fun. All rights belong to the wonderful lady (JK Rowling) who gave the world Harry Potter to read and enjoy. Love the movies showing again on TV for the holidays.
07 Hogwarts Express and First Year 1991-1992A week before it was time to ride north to Hogwarts, Gwen took Frank into Diagon Alley from Gringotts Bank front steps.
"I read in the Daily Prophet about some new robes available at Quality Clothes that I think you might like," she told her son.
"Okay…" Frank replied without much enthusiasm.
"You know, I could have left you with your father reading financial reports with Axeblood."
"You were as desperate as me to get out of that meeting," the boy replied cheekily.
"I read those financial reports when I can't fall asleep," Gwen replied. "Puts me to sleep every time and your father gets aggravated with the papers all over the bed in the morning."
In the shop, Frank realized why his mother brought him here – some designer in Paris put out a line of robes for tweens and teens based on the old Roman wizarding robes that were open and allowed the wizard to dodge spells and run about easily.
"This is great!" Frank exclaimed. Then he leaned close to his mum to whisper, "They don't look like a dress. Roger's going to be jealous."
"I'll bring him after you go to school to get him some."
Once Frank was fitted with four robes in this new style to wear as an outer robe over his school uniform, the mother and son headed back to Gringotts. Just across from the steps of the bank stood The Magical Menagerie. As Frank drew closer to the bank, he felt the urge to walk back toward the shop.
"Mum…can we step in here?"
Watching her son carefully, Gwen replied, "Certainly."
The moment Frank stepped inside the shop, he walked straight into the back and stopped when he stood in front the cage of a snowy owl who looked as though she were mourning someone.
"Hello beautiful," Frank said as he opened the wire gate and reached in to caress the owl's head feathers. "Why are you sad?"
The owl heard the boy's voice and felt his touch for a moment before she turned her head fully around and made one quiet sound.
"Yes, I think that I am your boy," Frank replied. "Would you like to come home with me? My sister will be very jealous because you are simply the most beautiful owl that has ever flown since Merlin was born."
"Frank… we have three owls," Gwen reminded her son.
The boy grinned and explained, "But she's mine…or I'm her wizard."
The owner looked confused and confided to Gwen, "That one sat there this summer looking for someone to come in the door. She'd about given up and I expected to find her dead any morning."
"Oh no," Frank said and pulled out his wallet. "How much?"
"Ten galleons," the owner said to open the bargaining but the boy immediately pulled out ten of the golden coins and set them on the counter.
"How about throwing in some mice?" suggested Gwen to save the man's reputation of honest dealing.
++**++ Break
John didn't notice the owl at first when his wife and son returned to Gringotts but the goblin did and after a moment, he sent for a box to be retrieved from the vaults. Searching through the box, he found the sought-after item and displayed it for Frank and his owl.
"This is the Black family owl protection ring. It opens to fit around the owl's leg and she'll be invisible to everyone except for you or the person you send a letter to."
"Is it marked with some emblem to identify it as being from the Black family?" asked John once he was up-to-speed on the purchase of the owl.
"No," Axeblood assured the wizard. "No, Mr. Scott. No one but the head of the Black family can use it and no one anywhere can see the ring on the owl's leg."
"Another owl, Frank? We got three," John reminded his son.
"This one is Frank's," Gwen explained.
"Nope," Frank replied. "I belong to her."
++***++ SCENE BREAKERY ++***++
Frank Scott was excited when he woke on 1 September but by the time breakfast was over, his heart ached.
"Honey, what's wrong?" Gwen asked her middle child as she passed Buttercup to Moppy to change her nappy. Oliver and Andrew raced around the dining room with Star Wars light sabres in hand pretending they were both Luke Skywalker.
"Mum, I don't want to leave! The twins are getting big and Butter will soon start to walk…I know it. And I'll miss it," Frank fretted.
"I promise to make pictures!" Gwen told him. "And I am sorry that I'll miss seeing you get sorted but that's part of growing up."
Frank muttered that Peter Pan was right not to grow up and Gwen grabbed her son to kiss his head and tell him that she loved him better than the shortbread cookies that Kobby made for the family. When it was time to leave, John Scott looked for Frank but his son was not in his room or in the lounge.
"Dobby, where is Frank?" John asked the air.
The excitable elf appeared and reported, "My Mr. Frank sits at the door with his trunk shrunk. He is playing Starry Wards with my Mr. Andrew and my Mr. Oliver one last time before leaving for Hoggiesmoggy."
"Hogwarts," Mr. Scott attempted to correct the elf.
That's be what Dobby says, 'Hoggiessmoggy'," the elf replied.
"Where's the owl?" John asked his son who climbed on top of the table to escape from Oliver and Andrew.
Again, Dobby answered and said, "Miss Hedwig pushed Mr. Frank into the kitchen and carried his trunk into the room. Then she flew off for Hoggiewaddle and expects Mr. Frank to be there tonight for the sorting."
"Frank, it's time to leave," John said and he noticed his wife wipe her eyes as the house elves distracted the twins to allow their brother and dad to slip out of the house without tears. In the car, father and son had small but important conversations.
"Got your books?"
"Yep."
"Got your spending money?"
"Yep," Frank replied.
"Don't forget to write at least once a week."
"Will write every day."
"Your mum will love that and so will the twins but when you get busy with school and friends, remember to write once a week."
"Dobby will remind me."
"Hmmm…."
"Dad, will the twins remember me at Christmas?"
John smiled and answered, "We will show them pictures of you every day. They'll drive Daisy and Roger crazy asking where you are."
"Butter won't remember me though."
"But within two days of you being home, she'll be reaching for you just like the twins do."
"Are you sure?" asked Frank.
John reached over one hand to ruffle his son's hair and said, "I'm very certain that Buttercup, Oliver and Andrew will be glad to see you at Christmas. Your mum and I want letters. Daisy and Roger are likely to show up at Hogwarts and demand letters from you in front of your friends if you don't send enough of them."
"No, they won't," Frank replied. "They'll call Dobby and tell him to dump sand in my bed if I don't write enough letters."
"You're correct. They are very sensible kids," John said. "…for wizards anyway."
++***++ BREAK SCENE
Hogwarts 1 September 1991Seated behind an antique desk in his ivory tower office above the halls, classrooms, dormitories and Great Hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the wizard with a long white beard and outlandish but worn robes gazed quietly about him. Albus Dumbledore sighed when he was unable to paste a smile on his face and then ignite the twinkle in his eyes that so many of his adoring public expected.
'It is hard work to live up to people's ideas of me,' he mused. 'I must be returned to my proper place in society once again.'
He frowned thinking about the day he was stripped of his title of Grand Wizard-uh-Grand Warlock of the Wizengamot of Magical Britain. 'They lost me as their leader that day and then took away my role in the ICW as Dreaded Mugwort…'
The elderly wizard's mind wandered for a bit until he remembered the proper title 'Grand Mugwump'.
'They will beg me to come back to my rightful place,' he declared in his mind. 'When Tom Riddle reappears, I must be there to lead them all.'
This afternoon, he dreading the coming arrival of the students and the traditional sorting ceremony. 'Severus is in Azkaban, the Slytherins are gutted. None of the seventh years returned and they took most of the sixth years with them to Durmstrang. There'll be no need to 'forgive' anyone this year because there'll be little fighting of consequence.'
Sighing again, Albus wondered further in his memories of recent changes. The castle herself–Hogwarts–wasn't particularly happy with him. Following the announcement of the death of Harry Potter two years ago, nothing had gone as he planned. In their horror at the mysterious death of the 'boy-who-lived', the citizens of Magical Britain turned against the wizard they blamed for their hero's death.
Someone had been angry enough to smash the geas Dumbledore had placed on his name to make the public adore him. And then they placed a geas on the name Harry Potter and 'boy-who-lived' to force an end to all merchandising and books bearing the name.
Then the goblin audits of his expenses took back every galleon he'd 'requisitioned' from the Potter vaults. He frowned thinking further, 'And the blasted goblins inflicted unwarranted penalties on me too! They took all my galleons from every vault in Britain, France and Switzerland. Grubby goblins left me without two coins to rub together and no new robes in eighteen months.'
Amelia Bones used her power as Director of the DMLE to investigate several of the Death Eaters who had claimed to have been imperioused and Severus had refused to cooperate. For some unknown reason, the potions master had drawn his wand and cursed the Director of the DMLE in the presence of many members of the Wizengamot. Fourteen stunners put the pardoned Death Eater on the floor where he remained for the duration of his trial, conviction and sentencing to ten years in Azkaban.
'Poor Severus. I had no power to save him and Malfoy didn't have the money to pay bribes to prevent conviction.'
'The Board of Governors appointed Andromeda Tonks as the new potions professor and head of Slytherin before I could say 'no'. The children will not receive a proper education I am certain,' he mourned.
Sighing once again, Albus Dumbledore rose and slowly made his way to the door of his office. The revolving staircase seemed slower than ever as the wizard descended from the heights of the tower to the common areas of 'his' castle. The children would soon return and the noise they brought meant he would not have a moment's peace for nine months…no, ten months!
BREAK OFF SCENE ^^&&&
On The TrainAmong the first students to arrive at the station were Frank Scott and Hermione Granger. They said farewell to their parents on the muggle side of Kings Cross Station before stepping through the portal at 9¾ onto the hidden platform.
"My brother told me about the train," Frank announced. "But seeing it for myself is something else."
Hermione remained silent as their trunks vanished into a compartment on the train – Harry's elf made himself useful constantly and the young witch was forced to admit Dobby was great. Another boy came through the portal with his trunk.
"Hi, I'm Justin Finch-Fletchley," he said, holding out his hand. Frank shook the boy's hand, introduced himself and Hermione, and then suggested that the three of them find a compartment.
"Come on, I'll help with your trunk too," Frank said as other children began arriving through the portal and from a receiving room in the station.
"Frank, why didn't your Dad just 'magic' you over from Crawley?" Hermione asked after Frank described what a receiving room was to the muggleborn boy.
"Because he wanted some time with me without the twins and Buttercup yelling in the background," Frank replied. Then he looked at the young witch and said, "And because my friend couldn't do that. I didn't want you to have to walk in alone."
Blushing, Hermione smiled and turned to ask Justin about the books he'd read ahead. As the train began to fill up, a lonely looking boy walked down the aisle, dragging a trunk and looking for a place to sit. At the door of Frank's compartment, he hesitated a moment and suddenly, his trunk was levitated away and into the compartment before landing in the overhead.
"Well, come on in," called one of the boys in the compartment.
"I'm Frank Scott," the boy continued. "And this is Hermione Granger and Justin Finch-Fletchley. We're all firsties headed toward Hogwarts."
"Welcome," Hermione added.
The boy stared for a moment before he said, "That's my dad's name."
"Great!" replied Frank with a smile on his face. "Which one? Justin, Hermione or Frank?"
"Frank," the boy replied quietly.
"Well then welcome Frank's son," Justin said. "But what's your name?"
"I'm Neville…Neville Longbottom."
"We're glad you're here with us for our first trip to Hogwarts," Hermione said. "What books have you read already?"
At the time for the trip to begin approached, the door of the compartment was opened several more times as other first year students introduced themselves. Neville knew Susan Bones, Hannah Abbott, and Lavender Brown from earlier meetings.
Only five minutes before the train was due to leave, a large collection of loud redheads poured onto the platform from the receiving room. One redhead who'd been on the train the whole time emerged to help them move their trunks onto the train. The four boys all kissed the cheek of their mum and little sister before climbing aboard. The youngest boy complained the entire time about muggles and not having anything to eat.
The children settled into sharing stories about their experiences in Diagon Alley and getting their wands as the train left London and headed north for Scotland. After thirty minutes, there was a pop and a large table appeared in the compartment followed by another pop as tea, a large bowl of fruit, and plates with small sandwiches appeared.
Justin's eyes grew very large at the appearance of the food so Hermione explained, "Frank has a house elf servant who makes certain he has everything he can ever possibly need at hand."
Neville said, "My grandmother said that I couldn't take Leafy with me to Hogwarts."
Frank replied, "She has been misinformed…"
"No, she just didn't want to not have Leafy at the manor. She does Gran's hair every morning."
"Sorry." But then Frank smiled and said, "Eat up everyone, Dobby always provides enough for everyone."
While the four enjoyed the lunch laid out for them, the door opened and the youngest redhead boy who almost missed the train looked in. "Great! Food! I'm starved," he declared as he grabbed a plate of sandwiches and began to swallow them almost whole without chewing.
"Hey squib," he mumbled while breadcrumbs and bits of chicken salad spewed across the table from his mouth. "How did you get a letter?"
The tea disappeared in the next minute and the boy yelled as the plate vanished, "Hey, I weren't finished. Give that back!"
Pulling out his wand, the boy glared at the four students and demanded, "Who took away the food! Put it back!"
Neville cleared his throat and said, "Ronald Weasley, perhaps I could introduce you…"
Pointing the wand at Neville, the boy, now named to be 'Ronald Weasley' again demanded, "Put the food back. I'm hungry."
"You're always hungry," said two voices in concert as taller red heads appeared in the hall behind the boy named as 'Ronald'. "Are you causing trouble already Ronniekins?"
"These mudbloods and squibs had food and I wanted some," Ron whined. "But then it disappeared and they won't put it back. I'm going to hex them until they put the sandwiches and biscuits back."
"Sandwiches and biscuits! Sounds like a feast that I should have been invited to attend," came a voice behind the red head who whirled around as everyone looked at the new figure in the door, a blond headed boy in adequate dress robes but nothing of high fashion.
"Good afternoon, I am Draco Malfoy of House Malfoy," the boy introduced himself.
Before anyone could reply, Ron began shouting, "Death Eater! What do you want?"
Sneering at the redhead, the blond answered, "Weasel, I am looking over the other firsties to see if anyone is worthy of being sorted into Slytherin with me."
The boy glanced about the compartment and announced, "I see I can pass on this compartment. Looks like squibs, blood traitors, and mudbloods."
"Dumbledore'll set you straight once we get to Hogwarts! He'll make you go into Hufflepuff with the other duffers and not be in Slytherin!" roared Ron.
"Like he helped the 'boy-who-lived'?" asked Draco. "I hear Harry Potter was murdered by the goblins because he tried to steal gold from Gringotts."
"Harry Potter defeated the Death Eaters! He should have killed all their families too!" shouted Ron.
Frank's patience was ended and he thought his three friends looked shocked by this argument. He stood and shouted, "Get out! Both of you berks, get out of our compartment!"
Ron and Draco turned their attention on the new boy and sneered. Ron replied, "Shut it, mudblood. We're purebloods! You're a muggleborn and your place is below us."
Draco's face looked pained to hear Weasel state that a Malfoy and a Weasley had anything in common. The blond spit out, "But Weasel, you belong here with the mudbloods."
Beyond aggravated now, Frank felt his magic whirling and igniting something nearby as he chose to educate the two pureblood bigots and announced, "Listen closely pure bloods. I am Frank Scott, son of Lord John Scott, grandson of Viscount Adam Scott, and great-grandson of His Grace, John Scott, Duke of Bristol. My family are descendants of King Charles II, the founder of Magical Britain."
Invoking the name of the muggle king was close to using 'Merlin' in an oath so Ron and Draco listened carefully. The unknown firstie lifted his nose in a most snobbish way and continued, "I must tell you; 'we' are royal magicals and you common magical people hereafter are forbidden to use such words or language while we attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. If you do, my family shall appeal to Her Majesty the Queen to curtail the privileges of the Ministry for Magic!"
Prepared to play her part, Hermione said, "Heir Scott, do not write to His Grace the Duke or Her Majesty tonight. Please, my lord, give them a second chance."
Frank frowned dangerously (a face he copied from Oliver and Andrew when they threw temper tantrums), "Miss Granger, as a witch under the protection of House Scott, I shall grant your request and give these miscreants one chance."
Frank glanced between Ron and Draco and hissed, "Make certain you do not come to my notice again."
Both boys were white as ghosts imagining their parents receiving a letter of complaint from a duke descended from the king who created the Ministry for Magic and separated Magical Britain from the muggles. Draco ran back to the compartment with the other students who expected to be in Slytherin, while Ron ran in opposite direction looking for his older brother Percy. In the seconds that followed, Fred and George crowded into the compartment as the door shut while Justin asked, "What was that?"
Hermione smiled and said, "When Frank and I spoke about what we were going to face at Hogwarts, I suggested we try a bit of drama to confuse the worst purebloods if they began to harass us. Frank is a descendent of King Charles and his great-grandfather is the Duke of Bristol."
"But there are uncles and cousins in line ahead of my Dad and older brother to be the next duke… I wouldn't want to be a duke anyway."
Justin smirked and joined George and Fred as they knelt before Frank and declared their admiration for an audacious prank.
George declared, "The professors will tremble before Frank Scott with marvellous pranks beginning before he has been sorted."
Fred added, "Even more important, his prank was completed before the Hogwarts Express reached the station at Hogsmeade!"
"Lead us 'Sir Prankster Extraordinaire' and plan another prank," Justin declared with a great deal of drama in his voice. Hermione smiled as the atmosphere in the compartment was friendly.
With another quiet pop, the food reappeared and Frank invited the twins to join them.
"We apologise for our brother," one twin said.
The other added, "He's never been allowed out of the house and doesn't have any manners."
"We are George…"
"And Fred Weasley…"
"The older, handsome brothers…"
"The intelligent brothers…"
"Well, so long as you have proper manners, please join us," Hermione said to end their weird conversation. Neville Longbottom sat quietly and listened to these children talking and being friendly. Frank included him in each conversation and asked a lot of questions about his family.
"Your dad was named 'Frank'?" Hermione asked at one point after Neville shared the names of his mum and dad. "Then you must be friends with our Frank."
"What house are you going to ask the Sorting Hat to put you into?" Frank asked the other firsties.
The twins stopped and stared before asking, "Who told you about the sorting hat? It's supposed to be a secret?"
"It just creates unnecessary nerves in firsties," Frank said. "And it will sort you to the best house for you unless you are adamant about which house you want to be in."
Hermione said, "I first thought I'd be in Gryffindor but after a few discussions with Frank, I'm going to ask for Ravenclaw and he's going to ask for Hufflepuff."
"But you could be in Gryffindor with us and pull endless pranks," one Weasley twin said.
"Ah, but think of the confusion it'll create among the professors if our brainy member is hidden in Ravenclaw, the men who do the leg work are in Hufflepuff, and the crafty inventors are in Gryffindor. You can appear completely innocent rather than being the ones who are always first on the list of suspects," Frank argued.
At just that minute Percy appeared at the door with Ron behind him.
"That's him! Says he is King of Britain!" Ron complained to his brother.
Fred and George remained silent while Hermione giggled and Justin and Neville both laughed.
"King of Britain?" asked Frank. "Did you tell your brother that?"
"Yeah! You claimed you were king and could have my head chopped off!"
Now Fred and George laughed. Fred managed to tell Percy the real story of what Frank said. "He sent both Draco Malfoy and little Ronnie scampering away before anyone could send letters to their mothers."
George added, "Ronnie was angry because the spread of food disappeared before he could eat his fill."
"The food vanished and I wasn't finished," the youngest Weasley complained.
"You weren't invited to join us," Frank announced. "You invited yourself and crammed food down…"
"I'm a pureblood and you're…"
"He's a wizard related to the royal family!" Hermione reminded the boy who shut up though he reached out to grab another plate of sandwiches.
A hex from the older brother hit Ron's hand and he jerked it back while Percy frowned and looked at Ron. "You've got to learn to tell the truth Ron. Don't embellish the story! Come on, I'll find you some place to sit."
"But I want to sit here! They got food!"
Looking back into the compartment, Percy said, "There's no room here. Come on, I know some kids who play chess during the entire trip. You can play in a round-robin with their tournament."
"A robin? What's a bird doing on the train?" asked the confused boy. But a sack of sandwiches and biscuits appeared in the air beside Ron who grabbed it and followed his brother down the aisle.
In the compartment, Neville found himself talking with each of the other kids like they were going to be friends. Other kids entered the compartment to introduce themselves and then depart. The Weasley twins hurried out to check on friends but they were soon replaced as Lavender returned at one point with twin girls, Padma and Parvati Patil. Eventually the three girls led Hermione from the compartment for a time to discuss robes, boys, and books. (Padma was almost as big a bibliophile as Hermione).
SCENE BREAK ==**++
Sorting 1991The Great Hall of Hogwarts was just as beautiful as Daisy had described to Frank and Hermione. The house tables were aligned parallel to each other along the length of the hall and the group of firsties entered following Professor McGonagall to a raucous celebration. The new students didn't realize the other students – even the remaining Slytherins – were celebrating the departure of their hated Potions Professor, Severus Snape. Frank noted that two professors walked along the tables, apparently to help keep order. He recognized both of them from descriptions by his parent and older siblings as Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick.
'Roger will be really ticked that Snape is gone after he left but Mum and Dad will be glad,' Frank thought. 'Got to make certain that's in my letter.'
The sorting with the magical hat proceeded in alphabetical order with Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones both going into Hufflepuff. Then Lavendar Brown was sorted into Gryffindor and Justin Finch-Fletchley went to the Hufflepuff table. The first hat stall that night was when Neville Longbottom argued with the sorting hat to put him into Hufflepuff. Frank imagined the hat arguing for Gryffindor but Neville insisted on Hufflepuff.
When it was Draco Malfoy's turn, the hat immediately put the boy into Slytherin, but announced to the hall that the hat would be watching his performance and would be speaking to Professor Tonks about the boy's attitude. After Pansy Parkinson was sorted into Slytherin, the Patil twins were sorted into different houses, Padma Patil went to Ravenclaw, while Parvati Patil was sorted into Gryffindor.
Then the sorting hat demanded the hall fall silent for sixty seconds. However, from the head table, Headmaster Dumbledore suggested that the sorting hat continue without delay but the hat floated up from the stool and turned around, his invisible gaze looking across the gathered students and adults.
"Have you already forgotten him then, Dumbledore? Or are you hopeful that others have forgotten Harry Potter? This is the moment that he should have sat on the stool and have me placed on his head. I could sort the 'boy-who-lived' into the house of the brave, the house of the crafty, the house of the loyal or the house of the smartest among us."
The hat paused for dramatic effect before shouting, "But he's not here, is he? And it is your fault, Albus Dumbledore! Hogwarts calls you negligent guardian and buffoon!"
"Now, since Dumblemore made an issue of my command for silence for one minute, everyone will remain silent for two minutes to honour the memory of Harry Potter!"
Frank was very uncomfortable during the two minutes of silence and when he sat on the stool, the hat blinked for a moment and then laughed aloud for everyone to hear.
"A prank before you even arrived at Hogwarts! Well done young Royal Scott!" the hat declared. "Everyone be forewarned, another member of the royal magicals is among us for the next few years. Mind your manners!"
"Better be Hufflepuff or he'd skin the mean kitty," the hat announced and watched as McGonagall's sour expression vanished in confusion.
Dumbledore hesitated to mention anything about the third floor that night and pretended to ignore the looks sent his way by professors and students who thought he'd forgotten Harry Potter.
Of small consequence to matters at Hogwarts, when Draco Malfoy opened his trunk that night in the Slytherin dormitory, he found that all of his clothes, books and potion ingredients had burned away. The trunk fell apart as the interior was charred and burnt. In Gryffindor, Ron Weasley opened his battered trunk and smoke rolled out to fill the dormitory for a moment. Then he found his belongings, hand-me-down clothes and used books intact but smelling of sulphur and smoke.
BREAK SCENE **^^))
Autumn Term 1991Frank enjoyed a few of the classes each week – potions with Professor Tonks was a good class. Transfiguration was boring because it was very elementary work that Frank and Hermione had completed before Easter earlier in the year. Charms class was interesting because Professor Flitwick gave the advanced students more challenging work while he worked with the students who didn't have any experience with magic before starting Hogwarts.
The students found that Frank, Hermione and Justin were always reading books from outside Hogwarts and talking about Charles Dickens, maths, science and computers at the house table and in the common room.
The only contentious hiccup for the school was the weekly fights between Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley. The professors kept the pureblood bigots in detention but nothing seemed to chance the behaviour of the two. Everyone noticed that Minerva McGonagall was tired already – she'd held too many positions for a long time without time to rest or think. At the end of September, the professor collapsed at the end of the day and was rushed to the infirmary.
A healer from Saint Mungo's was summoned and he proscribed bed rest for two months. When Dumbledore objected to the diagnosis and prescription, the healer frowned and declared McGonagall to be contagious and isolated her in a quiet, peaceful ward at the magical hospital in London.
Dumbledore was forced to fill in as transfiguration teacher and in a fit of desperation, told Percy Weasley to act as Head of House for Gryffindor. For three minutes, the fifth-year prefect let the notion of being head of house go to his head but then he cleared his mind and turned to the other prefects in Gryffindor.
"The headmaster has lost his head," Percy admitted. "This is something for us to resolve. How do we keep Gryffindor in shape?"
With the help from the head-boy and head-girl, the Gryffindor prefects divided up the responsibilities and it quickly became evident that the students managed the house better than Professor McGonagall had for several years.
In October, the boys and girls from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff started a formal study group to review and share ideas on their studies. Pansy defied Draco Malfoy's comments and joined the group. She quickly brought Millicent Bulstrode, Pansy Parkinson, Daphne Greengrass, and Tracey Davis. And they were also joined by Blaise Zambini and Theo Nott. More students joined including Erine McMillian, Lavendar Brown, and Parvati Patil.
The group was disturbed one morning when Lavendar was reported to be in the infirmary because Ron Weasley had hit her in the face.
"Why did he do that?" asked Susan Bones.
Parvati explained, "She wouldn't let him copy her homework, so he hit her and then hit her a second time. But Percy appeared and petrified the Weasel before rushing Lavendar to the infirmary."
While Madam Pomphrey healed Lavendar, the prefects met and gave Ron detention for a month. The boy was heard to mutter, "Next time, I'll make a mudblood do my homework."
Rumours spread among the students that Percy had written to his father about Ron's behaviour but there wasn't any visit or response. Then Frank offered his owl to carry a letter to Mr. Weasley at work during the day. Hedwig couldn't be seen by anyone except the recipient of the letter and she flew unencumbered through the ministry to deliver the letter to Arthur Weasley before lunch the same day Percy gave her the letter.
Mr. Weasley used the floo in the atrium to travel to Hogwarts and spent an hour talking with Percy and then Ron. The Gryffindor firstie sat down very carefully for the next week and Mr. Weasley returned the following Monday to hear a report on his youngest son's behaviour and schoolwork.
Hogwarts Express at ChristmasThe first term at Hogwarts ended quickly and the students climbed aboard the Hogwarts Express to travel to London for the holiday.
"I wish we could just floo home," Susan complained. "We lose an entire day riding the train to London and then use the floo to go to the house."
"Not everyone is on the floo network," Frank reminded the witch. This made Susan frown and vocally object to a muggleborn wizard speaking to her in such a manner. Frank, Hermione and Justin frowned and that made Susan sit back. And the look of distaste on the faces of purebloods Hannah and Neville made Susan apologise.
About halfway through the trip, Ron Weasley showed up and threw open the door. He stepped into the compartment and asked, "Where's the food? I'm hungry! Order up some sandwiches and biscuits…no, cakes this time."
"There are several wands pointed at you, Weasley," announced Justin. "Why don't you walk away while you can?"
"Haven't you mudbloods learned anything…" the red-headed menace began to pontificate before he vanished.
"You didn't throw him off the train, did you Frank?" asked Hermione.
"He'd bounce all the way home," Neville said. "Magicals usually bounce when dropped from any height."
Frank concentrated for a moment and whispered to someone invisible before he explained, "Mr. Weasel is sleeping in the girl's loo in the last car. He'll wake up once we arrive at Kings Cross Station."
"Are there any girls in that car?" asked Hannah.
"No, that car is empty this trip," Frank replied.
At Kings Cross, the group of friends were separating into the families that would floo home and the ones who depended on muggle transportation when Percy Weasley appeared with a sleepy Ron. Percy pulled his youngest brother over to where his father and mother waited with the twins and the younger sister.
"But I didn't hurt anyone!" Ron whined. "And I'm hungry!"
Arthur Weasley frowned and even Mrs. Weasley fell silent as her husband's displeasure to be embarrassed by his son in public was 'felt' by everyone.
Stepping through the portal from platform 9¾, Frank followed Justin and Hermione to their families. Justin's parents greeted him calmly as did Hermione's parents. When Frank saw his Dad with Roger, Daisy and the twins, he broke into a run before sweeping up Oliver and Andrew into his arms and spinning them around.
The older siblings joined the younger brothers and buried them in their arms. John smiled as he walked up to hug the gang of his children.
"Come on, Mum and Buttercup are waiting at home," John told his children who charged out of the station, seeking Dad's large car.
On the ride home, the twins sat between Roger and Frank, and they jabbered continuously with Frank as he explained his lessons over and over again. Daisy sat up front with Dad and smiled. Later in the evening, Frank learned that his older sister is about to become engaged to a very nice muggleborn wizard she knew from Hogwarts. Buttercup stared at Frank for a long time, but then she smiled and blew a few bubbles. Roger appeared only occasionally during the holiday because he had to study very hard in his medical studies at University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine. Mum smiled and hugged Frank, Oliver and Andrew over and over. At bedtime, the twins crawled into Frank's bed and slept all over him, just like they did when they were smaller.
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Winter and Spring Terms 1992During the winter break, when he had time to think, Albus Dumbledore decided that there were no signs of the Dark Lord sniffing around Hogwarts or attempting to look for Harry Potter. Professor Quirrell had proven to be a well-spoken and talented DADA professor without any signs of falling into the Death Eater frame of mind.
To flush out the dark lord, Dumbledore advanced his game and blackmailed a reporter to insert an article into the Daily Prophet about a mysterious robbery at Gringotts where a thief attempted to steal the famous Philosopher's Stone. The article continued with the announcement that to safeguard the stone, Dumbledore removed it from Gringotts but the headmaster declined to disclose the new hiding place for the stone. However, the picture of Dumbledore that appeared on the cover of the Daily Prophet with the purported stone in his hand included Hogwarts in the background.
Watching his staff closely, Dumbledore could not detect any changes in their personalities or powers in the weeks after the New Year. The only irritant in Dumbledore's days now was the appearance of Delores Umbridge from the minister's staff. She stalked around Hogwarts each day, searching for signs of misbehaviour by muddy students, half bloods and blood traitors.
Unbeknownst to Dumbledore or Undersecretary Umbridge, certain officials at the ministry made certain the pureblood families knew that the witch was not even a half-blood. Her parents were squibs so by her own definition; Delores was 'muddy' herself.
No one noticed that occasionally, the eyes of the Undersecretary flashed red and her snarl was particularly vicious on Friday nights when she found nothing after another week of searching for signs of the stone hidden in Hogwarts.
In early March, Umbridge began walking out in the evenings. No one paid attention to when the secretary returned to her quarters though Hagrid reported that something had begun to hunt the unicorns in the forbidden forest.
"I found a corpse of a unicorn, drained of all her blood she was," the half-giant reported to the headmaster within hearing of every student in the Great Hall.
The First Year study group consulted several books and spoke to Hagrid carefully about unicorns and the types of creature that might hunt them in the Forbidden Forest. They concluded it must be a creature of terrible evil magic to hunt and kill one of the unicorns.
Dumbledore was disturbed by this conclusion and spoke to the group about it being the 'Dark Lord He Who Must Not be Named'.
"Who is that?" asked Frank.
"Not what, who."
"Who is what?" asked Frank asked again.
"He Who Must Not be Named.
Looking perplexed, Frank asked, "Who is not named?"
"Exactly," replied Dumbledore and the students shook their heads and walked away.
When no one seemed to take Dumbledore's hints about the return of Tom Riddle, the headmaster decided to play on Neville Longbottom's obsession with magical herbs and other plants.
"There is a Munnings Flowering Wart that will bloom under the full moon this week in the Forbidden Forest," he told the boy. "If you can retrieve the plant in full bloom by moon light, Professor Sprout will certainly give you an O+ with Distinction in Herbology, Mr. Longbottom," Dumbledore told the boy. "It must be harvested with a silver spade under the light of the full moon."
Determined to be the student to earn this award, Neville planned to sneak out at that night but he found Frank Scott waiting for him at the door to the castle with a grimace on his usually cheerful face.
"What is the wart you want to collect?" Frank asked as he followed Neville out into the early June night.
In the Forbidden Forest, Frank kept his invisibility cloak handy, listened to Dobby who kept flinging the giant acromantulas away into the deep forest. When one of the spiders landed and broke a few of it's legs, the other spiders descended upon the injured spider to feed.
After an hour searching, Neville was discouraged, Frank was concerned about the dangers of the forest and Dobby was having fun flinging spiders about. Other elves from the castle came and joined in the fun of throwing the giant cow- and car-sized spiders across the forest. The spiders were fleeing the invisible elves when Neville and Frank heard a creature running toward them.
It was an injured unicorn, bleeding from her throat. Behind the beautiful magical creature hopped some time of toad with red eyes and a loud croak that shattered the silence of the night. Frank watched the ghastly looking toad launch itself into the air with a kick of it's large hind legs. The unicorn dashed to one side and toad landed on an overturned log and sent it flying in the opposite direction.
"Croak!" the toad roared in frustration but it turned and prepared to follow the unicorn once again.
Frank's anger proved to be greater than his fear because this monster would continue to pursue the unicorn until it tired and failed to move away from some future leap that night. His wand in his hand, Frank's spontaneous magic gathered about the toad. The monster stopped leaping as it twisted trying to escape the sudden heat that prickled along it's skin. Glancing toward Neville, Frank found his companion had fainted.
Turning back to the toad, Frank saw it shrink slightly as smoke rose from it's skin followed quickly by flames. A fireball consumed the monster completely as a few screams in a woman's voice and then something else filled the night air for only a moment. Whatever or whoever the toad had been was burned away by the magical fire.
Once he revived Neville, Frank led his friend back into the castle where they hid underneath the cloak of invisibility to avoid Dumbledore who appeared to be waiting for them. The next morning, Frank and Neville were surprized to learn that the newest rumour was that Ron Weasley had a great adventure story to tell.
The boy ranted through the whole of breakfast, "The Hufflepuffs are stealing dragon eggs and hatching 'em in their dormitory. Last night they tried to get two of the fire breathing dragons out of the castle by taking them to the astronomy tower and throwing them off the edge."
No one mentioned the missing Undersecretary and it wasn't until after the last of the students left two days later that the elves cleared out her office and stored all her personal items in the Room of Requirement beside the various belongings to other vanished professors from the last thousand years.
Frank, Hermione, Neville and Justin enjoyed a quiet ride back to London – Dobby provided Ron with a sack of sandwiches, cakes and biscuits before anyone climbed into the train for the ride back to London and the Gryffindor bully found his on compartment where he could stuff his face and then sleep through his food coma.
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