Yo! Apologies on the lack of updates for, well, literally everything over the past few months. If you're reading The Secret Rune, you might be aware I have some ongoing health issues, specifically, my eyes. Long story short, arthritis in the eyes sucks balls and the eye drops I've been taking for the past year aren't good enough anymore, so I've been put on an immunosuppressant to weaken my immune system to get it to stop attacking my body for no damn reason. Two of the many side effects of this medication are depression and anxiety, both of which I already have, and both of which have gotten worse since I started taking the meds. So yeah. Kinda lost my muse recently due to that. And my will to live. Although, to be fair, I haven't really had that last one since I was six. I had this chapter finished back in July, but then the depression got worse thanks to the meds, and I just...didn't have the interest or energy to bother putting it up. I'm basically forcing myself to do this right now because I feel like it's been forever since I even bothered logging in. Thank you to all readers so far!

It started three days later, on Monday. Harry walked into the Great Hall for breakfast at the same time he did almost every morning. He joined Hermione at Gryffindor Table and, after exchanging greetings and plating his food, the two began talking about where he was in the Lord of the Rings now that some time had passed. Those sitting around them paid them little attention, mostly because they either didn't know or care about what they were talking about. Ron, seated across them, was stuffing his face as usual, and Ginny was flirting with, well, whoever that guy was.

All in all, everything seemed perfectly normal. The students were behaving as always, and the staff up at the Head Table was behaving as always. There was absolutely no reason to suspect anything abnormal would ever even happen, let alone already was happening, and happening it was.

Peeves flew into the Great Hall, upside down and screaming at the top of his lungs. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared, but Peeves, still screaming, left the hall as suddenly as he had arrived, without stopping to let anyone know why he was even screaming in the first place.

The students and staff both exchanged looks of confusion, everyone wondering what had just happened and why, Harry doing the same thing as the rest of them, looking just as confused, which only told people that this wasn't something he was behind. For once. That was almost kind of a relief, really.

The really strange thing was that that wasn't the only time that day where Peeves did, well, that. At the beginning of every period that day, and break, and lunch, and dinner as well, Peeves either flew into the Great Hall or through the castle, upside down and screaming his head off, though he never stopped to explain any of this at all, regardless of who asked him. And when Dumbledore was the one to ask him, Peeves only screamed even louder, a grin on his face. It was rather disturbing, in more than one way.

Yes, Monday certainly was a very strange day. Madam Pomfrey wasn't happy with the number of people who came to her requesting relief for their headaches.


Tuesday was quiet, almost eerily so, and it unnerved everyone. Peeves didn't make another appearance, and they still had no idea why he'd been screaming the day before. Still, the silence really was very strange. There were no ambient sounds either. No wind in all the cracks and crevices in the castle, no creatures or pets despite there being many both inside and outside, no crackling of the flames of the torches and hearths.

The only sounds anyone could hear were the ones they and those around them were making, and that was all. It just seemed very...unnatural. And that feeling only worsened when they realized that no one received any post that day, not even those who had subscribed to the daily editions of the Daily Prophet. Not even one owl showed up.

All of this made everyone feel like they were on their own, cut off from anything outside the castle. No one understood any of this, and no one had any explanation for it either. All they knew was that they really didn't like this at all. It was incredibly...disconcerting, for the students and staff alike. Even Dumbledore seemed confused, and that was awfully rare!


Wednesday ended up being pure chaos. For some odd reason, no one could understand English anymore! No matter how fluent they were at the language, and no matter how hard they tried, literally no one in the entire castle could understand it, even though they were clearly still speaking it. But only English. The students who also spoke other languages could still speak and understand these without any problem at all.

These people, the ones who knew more than just English, gathered with others who spoke the same language, even if they were in different Houses or weren't friends, trying to figure out what was going on. The professors were all trying to do the same, but were having just as much luck as the students, which was to say, no luck at all.

So caught up in the speaking and listening, few realized they could still write perfectly normally in English. And those who did figure that out didn't bother bringing it up to all of the others. It was kind of funny seeing everyone freaking out when the temporary solution was so simple.


Thursday was just as strange as the days before it. Everyone could speak and understand English again, and all the noises were back, and Peeves was being normal again, but something else happened that day. The House-Elves boycotted for the day. Apologetically. Except Dobby who was very enthusiastic about the entire thing.

No one's uniforms had been cleaned and pressed, there was no breakfast or lunch or dinner, and the rubbish was already piling up, despite it only being a few hours since the House-Elves had stopped working. All it really did was tell all the Muggle raised people just how much everyone relied on House-Elves to do things.

Many people complained throughout the day, but no one really did anything about it themselves, most of them seeming annoyed and even a little disgusted when they did see people helping themselves. It was mostly the Muggle raised ones who weren't bothered, though Harry was the first one to show up with clean, smooth robes, and a plate of food that he had cooked and fixed himself in the kitchens.

While Hermione had been very confused about all the strange things that had been going on this past week, Thursday's incident was something she made very clear she approved of wholeheartedly.


Friday ended up being another strange day. The boycotting House-Elves had returned to their duties as if nothing had happened the day before, Dobby included, but while they were working again, the same couldn't be said for the students. No one went to class. Not even one single student.

When the students woke up in the morning, they all found a new notice on the noticeboards in their common rooms. The notice declared, in very large and bright letters, that classes were cancelled for the day due to a hoard of stampeding bowtruckles.

None of the students questioned it. Everyday had been strange so far this week, so why would today be any different? Instead of bothering about it, they just enjoyed the day off and the beginning to what had turned out to be a long weekend. They'd never had a long weekend like this before.

And while the students enjoyed their impromptu long weekend, most of the professors stood in their empty classrooms, gazing out at the unoccupied desks, wondering where everyone was...


"...While I've gotta admit this week's been pretty entertaining, I don't see how any of this is supposed to help stop Dumbledore and his stupid plans," said Harry. He and Marvolo were in Professor Bright's rooms, the quarters warded against intruders and eavesdroppers so that the man could drop his glamour...even though it was really kind of pointless since Dumbledore already knew who he was.

"I did say I have a plan."

Harry frowned slightly. "Well, yeah, but I just don't get what the point of this past week is suppo-"

A little amused, Marvolo leaned into Harry, his breath tickling the teen's ear as he trailed a finger down his cheek. "You doubt me, Harry?" he asked in a whisper.

Blushing, Harry took a hasty step back to put some space between them again. "I-I'm not-"

Marvolo straightened as he chuckled, but didn't seem bothered. "I understand your hesitance, but I did in fact have a reason to the asinine things that have happened this week."

When Marvolo said nothing more, Harry raised an expecting brow and folded his arms over his chest. "Yeah? What's the reason then?"

"Reactions."

Harry blinked. "Reactions?" he repeated, a little caught off guard. That certainly wasn't the answer he had been expecting, and if he was being honest, he wasn't really sure what it was even supposed to mean. "Whose reactions?"

"The students and staff both," said Marvolo calmly, sitting down and leaning back in his chair, crossing his legs neatly. "I wanted to see how everyone would react to things that are...out of the ordinary, even at Hogwarts."

Harry frowned again. "And what did the reactions tell you?"

Marvolo sighed and closed his eyes. "It told me that this castle is filled with idiots."

"...You needed to test that to find out?"

"I needed to test it to confirm it."

"So how will this help whatever you've got planned?"

"It tells me that I might have to...simplify my plans so that the idiots can understand."

"Oh."

"Indeed."

That's it for now. This chapter was inspired by a chapter in Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman, entitled, 'Freaky Weeky' if I'm remembering correctly. In that chapter the protagonists cause very out of the norm situations of occur at school that the students cheerfully go along with and the teachers are very confused about. Man, I love Captain Underpants. Good series. I don't care how old I am, I'm always going to love it. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!