Disclaimer: Believe it or not, no money is being made through this as all characters etc that you recognize belong to Madame Rowling. Anything else is, most obviously, property of Egyptian Flame unless stated otherwise. Egyptian Flame does not have an army of lawyers like the aforementioned literary genius but that doesn't mean to say he hasn't got an army…
Chapter 14: I reclaim Thee
The rays of sunlight poured down everywhere, its warm rays penetrating the cracks of the ancient castle and its surrounding land. It was almost seven in the morning as two figures stood facing each other in the Quidditch pitch for a full minute, each waiting cautiously for the other to attack.
Suddenly, Harry and Blaise waved their wands at each other in a complicated wave, while their eyes never left their opponent. A thick orange beam of light erupted from Harry's wand and sped accurately towards Blaise who produced a vibrant blue shield, protecting her from the curse.
Blaise waved her wand rapidly at a tree branch nearby, changing it to a dog and sending a stunning spell at Harry. The spell was about to hit Harry and the dog was running in his direction at the same time hoping to distract Harry, when he slapped the spell with the tip of his wand and sent it flying into the dog, making it fly back a few feet and changing back as it landed.
Slashing the wand diagonally, a rope of fire flew from the tip and headed toward Blaise who stood patiently waiting for the rope to come near while beads of sweat formed on her forehead from concentration. Just as it was about to hit, Blaise slashed her wand downwards then jabbed it at the rope. A flock of firebirds flew back transfigured from the previous rope, making Harry's eyes widen and Apparate a distance behind Blaise.
"Hey! No apparating, that's not fair," said Blaise pouting, as she deflected the stunning curse headed her way, leaving Harry a second to banish the firebirds following him.
"Someone had been studying behind my back," said Harry grinning and dodging a slashing hex. Blaise smirked and sent stinging and blinding hexes towards Harry, who simply dispelled them as they hit his shield.
"Cattus barba"
The hex hit Blaise in the face, making her sprout cat whiskers. Getting angrier, Blaise responded with a beam of cutting hex flying towards Harry at a high speed and hit him on his ankle as he was dodging and resulting in a large gash. Seeing the blood pouring out of Harry's leg made her hesitate for a second where Harry sent her flying with a banishing charm from his place on the floor. He got up and healed his leg as Blaise recovered from being thrown ten feet in the air.
Blaise kept throwing hexes and curses while Harry changed his tactics to just stepping aside or dodging, while he concentrated hard, making Blaise step up the power of her spells confidently thinking she had him cornered. Suddenly she saw Harry stop and drop his wand hand to his side, smiling at her.
Seeing him just smiling as if mocking her, she took her chance and sent a high-powered stunning spell towards Harry who stood grinning as the spell hit him in the chest. A moment later, Harry flickered before disappearing and Blaise realized her mistake as a Petrificus Totalus hex hit her in the back. She looked up from her position to Harry who waved his wand, releasing her from the hex.
"You've improved, Blaise. Do you know what you did wrong?" said Harry helping her up. Blaise nodded her head and looked down, fearing to see the disappointment in Harry's eyes. Even though Harry had been nothing but wonderful and caring towards her, she feared that she would let him down or push him away from her.
"I powered up my spells at the wrong time, I focused on long incantation spells, and I let my guard down. I am sorry," Blaise said softly, returning her wand to her holster. She was about to look up into Harry's eyes as she heard nothing but silence, when she found his arms pulling her into an embrace, stroking her hair softly and kissing the top of her head.
"You don't need to apologize for anything, Blaise, and you do not need to fear my disappointment. I will never abandon you or push you away as I care about you. I know that your experience in Voldemort's dungeon was your worst nightmare and you will never forget it, but I need you to know that I will do everything in my power to make sure that Voldemort thinks twice about coming near you," said Harry soothingly, stroking her hair smoothly and softly.
A sense of warmth and security filled Blaise as she pulled back from the embrace and saw a smile on Harry's face that she couldn't help but return. Another girl came and waved at Blaise to come over, making Harry pat Blaise on the back and nudge her to go.
"Brilliant transfiguration by the way," said Harry and he was rewarded with a blush and brilliant smile from Blaise before she frowned slightly.
"You were holding back a lot, weren't you?" asked Blaise annoyed.
"Yes I was holding back because your training is still in the beginning and beating you within the minute would not help your self esteem and would extremely help my ego," said Harry with a grin. Blaise smirked and went to her friend and Harry smiled to her and waved until they disappeared from his view.
"You are such a sweetheart."
Two arms circled Harry from behind, kissing him on the cheek. Harry smiled and turned to kiss Rowena fully on the lips and grinning as he pulled back. He was mesmerized with Rowena's beautiful face, thanking the stars and wondering what he did to deserve such a great woman. His days in the past with Helga and Godric flashed quickly in front of his eyes, leaving him with a sad smile. How he missed his other best friends and the peace of living in the past.
"What's wrong, Harry?"
Harry shook his head, smiling sadly. "It was nothing, Rowena. I was just wondering what I did to deserve such a beautiful intelligent woman. I am really lucky to have you by my side Rowena." Rowena smiled beautifully before pecking him on the lips.
"It is I, who wonder what I did to deserve you, Harry. I love you," replied Rowena sweetly, before sinking in Harry's embrace in a deep kiss again. It was a dark figure standing in the shadows and shook with unadulterated pure rage and sadness upon witnessing this scene with a face filled with tears.
A few hours later, Harry could be found walking through the corridors of Hogwarts, stopping in front of an unused girl's bathroom, one that brought many memories. He could still remember the brewing of the Polyjuice potion and Hermione turning into a cat. It brought a smile to his face as he remembered their adventures.
'Well, it is long gone now,' Harry thought, before hissing 'open'. The entrance appeared and Harry strode forward and jumped in, sliding down the tunnel all the way down.
After hissing 'open' for the second door in the Chamber of Secrets, Harry found Salazar engrossed in modern scrolls and tomes of Draughts and modern ingredients, excitedly making his way through them. His blood brother's excitement upon learning of newly invented potions and newfound and discovered ingredients was overwhelming and he spent most of his time looking through formulas and directions of several potions.
"Salazar, I will be taking a trip to Gringotts in a few hours for a few unfinished business and also to discuss their role in this war if they ever have one," said Harry clearing his throat as he sat in front of his blood brother. Salazar looked up from the scrolls of modern potions in front of him and raised an eyebrow.
"I want you with me, Sal. I will also be claiming Hogwarts and I cannot do so without its co-owner as it seems one of Godric's descendants had decided to leave it in the 'capable' hands of the ministry until such time where an heir reclaims it. Moreover, I need your help as I am helpless with politics," explained Harry, giving his brother his lost puppy look.
"Fine, I will be ready when it is time to leave, just don't do that. It freaks me out," answered Salazar, rolling his eyes at his brother's antics before getting back to what he was doing. Harry left the room and went to search for Bellatrix and Blaise and to prepare for his trip to Gringotts.
Dumbledore summoned Harry as he was coming out of Myrtle's bathroom urgently to his office. Harry strode rapidly towards the headmaster's office, checking if he had everything in case of an emergency. He arrived at the gargoyle, which sprang aside upon recognizing its master and the stairs appeared in front of him.
"Enter."
The Headmaster's voice came as Harry knocked on the office door. He found Dumbledore sitting behind his mahogany desk, looking through some old looking papers and some letters that had the ministry seal on them.
"Ah, Harry, please have a seat," said Dumbledore smiling kindly. Harry sat down and waited for Dumbledore to begin the discussion. After a few minutes, Harry grew bored as Dumbledore silently skimmed through the letters giving no indication that Harry had arrived or was waiting for him to speak.
"What is urgent that you would send me a house-elf for, Albus?" asked Harry annoyed.
"Ah, I am sorry about that, my boy," said Dumbledore with a kind smile. "I wanted to discuss with you the upgrading of the castle wards."
"What about them, Headmaster?" replied Harry conversationally.
"As you know, the wards around the castle are extremely weak and needs to be properly recharged. And since I have no experience with some of the wards around the castle, there is no one better to recharge the wards than its founders."
"Voldemort will be suspicious, Albus. He will feel disturbance of magic if they were recharged and it will make him more set on finding out about it. We don't want to risk Salazar and Rowena being exposed so early," replied Harry tensely.
"The safety of the students is more important than Voldemort being suspicious, Harry. It is nothing that we can't handle and the wards will be powerful enough to stop him from attacking with an army. Only he and any former Hogwarts students will be able to pass the wards without being ejected, since they were former students here," said Dumbledore critically.
"I know how the wards work, Dumbledore, I created them. Voldemort's eyes are set on Hogwarts and if he finds that no army will be able to penetrate the wards after they are recharged, he will concentrate on other easier targets, mainly Diagon alley or the Ministry of Magic," said Harry angrily.
"It is worth knowing that these children are safe, Harry. The Ministry officials are more than capable of defending themselves and the ministry has capable Aurors who patrol Diagon Alley day and night to prevent such things," Dumbledore said softly.
"Most of the Aurors are weak, Albus. Voldemort knows that Hogwarts is the most powerful base of the light side and it is his main target beside me. Tom cannot take the Hogwarts wards down, as he will not be able to destroy the foundation stone so he will turn to killing other people do draw me out. You will be risking many people's lives if he finds another thing for him to occupy his time and you know as well as I do that without the Horcruxes being destroyed, killing Voldemort is beyond us. And even if he tries to attack here, Hogwarts has four of the most powerful wizards to ever grace its lands and Voldemort will have problems trying to attack here."
"These children are the future, Harry, and I will do everything in my power to provide them the safety they require. You do know that nearly every year Voldemort was able to enter Hogwarts and hurt its occupants one way or another. I do not wish to sacrifice others for the sake of keeping the children safe but the children's safety is my top priority and I'm pleading to you to keep what is left of their innocence, Harry," Dumbledore said pleadingly, his eyes showing weariness and old age.
"Very well, Albus. We will recharge them very soon but please warn Fudge of the consequences of what will happen so that he will be prepared and would be able to provide the essential precautions. I will be going to Diagon Alley in an hour, do you need anything else from me?" said Harry with a sigh of defeat.
"I thank you very much my boy, have a safe trip to Diagon alley, and be careful."
In the Gryffindor common room sat Ron and Hermione doing their homework or in Ron's case, coming up with new strategies for the team. McGonagall had chosen Ron as the team captain when everybody else either turned it down or left the team altogether and as Harry was a teacher, he would not be playing on the team anymore.
Both were stunned at the drastic change in their best friend and the amount of stress and the world's burden on his shoulder. It took a while and seeing Harry everyday for them to sink in that their best friend had grown up and felt as if he was leaving them behind and moving on. It was as if he was older than Dumbledore and fiercer than Voldemort and both of them cursed the fates for manipulating and using their best friend in such a fashion. They realized the he would be the new Merlin to the people and he would provide them with hope, a word that was lost to some when they thought their savior to be dead.
They had just finished their homework and in Ron's case team plans, when he turned to Hermione, kissed her softly on the lips, and moaned as she responded back eagerly with passion. Both of them had gotten together as they realized that they were all that is left of their trio and they only had each other, not excluding the fact that Ron had had a crush on Hermione since he saw her at the Yule ball, dressed beautifully. He had dated Lavender for two months before confessing to Hermione his love for her and breaking up with Lavender.
They sprang a part when they heard a student enter the common room and turned to see who it was, when they realized that they were at the end of the wands of Colin and Dennis Creevey. The last thing they heard was a stunning spell before their world turned black.
At another place, Salazar and Harry had appeared at the apparation point of Diagon Alley and walked confidently towards Gringotts. They were dressed in majestic robes, giving them the looks of royalty as they walked with graceful steps. They attracted the looks of most people in Diagon alley and even some seductive glances were thrown their way from pretty looking women. Salazar had a sneer at most people while Harry just ignored them altogether; hating the attention which he was constantly receiving. Salazar looked around on his way to Gringotts, having never had the chance to properly look at the place as the fight with Voldemort occurred.
They entered the bank and searched around for a goblin who was not involved in any business, until a man had finished his business with a goblin and left. They headed for said goblin, who Harry had recognized from his first visit to Gringotts with Hagrid. He had a sneer and a disgusted look on his face as he saw another human that he had to deal with.
"We request a meeting the elder goblin responsible for leading the goblin race, Mr. Griphook," Harry said politely in Gobbledygook, as he recalled what he learned from the goblin he and Salazar saved in the past. Griphook's disgusted look disappeared and was replaced with a shocked one upon hearing his own language being talked back at him from a non-goblin. The goblin stepped down from his high chair and faced Harry and Salazar with a sneer and a look of anger on his face after he recovered from the shock.
"Look human; you have no right to request a meeting from my direct boss, let alone our king. You either tell me what business you have here or you leave," growled the goblin back. Salazar's hand was about to go to his wand when Harry stopped him with a look but did not stop him from speaking.
"How dare you talk to us like some commoners, you stupid impudent disgusting creature," hissed Salazar back with a scowl, pointing a finger at the goblin in front of him, unknowingly uncovering his goblin gifted mark slightly for another important looking goblin coming their way to see what was going on. As the other goblin reached them, he was pale or as pale as a goblin could possibly be and asked with a tremble coursing through him.
"Do…Do you mind uncovering that mark again, sir?" asked the other goblin with a tremble. Griphook was about to protest when his boss threw him a 'shut up' look and looked back at Salazar and Harry. Salazar had his sneer as he uncovered the mark again and both blood brothers watched as the higher-ranking goblin bowed so low that Harry was shocked that his spine was still in one piece.
"My lords, please forgive us for our ignorance and accompany me to my office, where you shall be properly welcomed," said Griphook's boss, managing not to stutter as he directed the humans to his office, leaving a confused looking Griphook behind. They walked through a series of corridors before coming to a door, where the goblin invited them to enter. It was a well-designed office, which could tell that he was a high-ranking goblin in Gringotts and not another worker.
"Please sit down my lords and I shall inform my superiors of your arrival. I apologize again for our ignorance, my lords. By your leave," said the goblin shakily and disappeared as Harry nodded to him.
They looked at each other for a second before laughing hard. They stopped after a while and Harry turned to Salazar. "I didn't know that the mark was that important, as the goblins in the past never made a party out of it."
"That is because they never saw it, Harry," Salazar sighed in exasperation, rolling his eyes. "They were treating us fairly because we contributed in the building of this bank and not because of our marks."
They did not have to wait long as the same goblin came back accompanied with several others dressed in strong armors and carrying spears. The goblins looked pointedly at the two wizards and then at their wrists before they snapped back to reality.
"If you would follow me, our king requests your audience," the leader of the guards said with a sneer before walking out the door with Salazar and Harry following him. They walked in a corridor filled with portraits of several goblins and pictures of several places. They came upon a portrait that shocked Harry as it was a portrait of the goblin that they helped in the past when the wizards tortured him. One of the goblins saw the wizards watching the portrait with shock and decided to enlighten them.
"That is Lord Silverhook the third, one of the most important and respected Goblin seers in the history of our race," said the goblin to Harry and Salazar, who tried very hard to hide their shock. One of the goblins said a password and the Goblin in the portrait nodded and opened to reveal a door, but not before nodding with a smirk on his face to Salazar and Harry as they entered. The room they entered was bare with the exception of two golden keys set on a table.
"Please touch the Portkey, the king waits. This will take you to our home," said a goblin, presenting the Portkey to Harry and Salazar, who touched the key and disappeared with other goblins taking the other Portkey.
They appeared in a dark forest in front of a large cave. It was very dark forest that not a ray of sunlight penetrated anywhere, leaving the place midnight dark. The goblin motioned for Harry and Salazar to follow and they went inside the cave to a cart similar to the one in Gringotts. The ride was a short one as they passed through a series of tunnels before coming in front of a magnificent beautiful palace made of white marble and surrounded by a beautiful garden.
The palace had many goblins protecting it and they looked fiercer than Harry has ever seen and looked ready to kill anyone who passed uninvited. Some of the goblins carried bows and arrows and others carried swords and lances, an eager expression on their faces as if begging Harry and Salazar to make a wrong move so they have some action.
They entered the palace, looking everywhere in a well-disguised awe as they observed the magnificently decorated place around them. Up until few hours ago, Harry had thought that the leader of the goblins was one of the Gringotts elders or something, never realizing that they were a kingdom in their own right.
They entered what would be a guest room and sat down as two goblins asked them to wait. Meanwhile, they were offered some coffee until the king was ready to meet them. Harry took a sip from the coffee, his eyes immediately began to water, and his tongue was as if it was on fire. Salazar put down his coffee as he watched his blood brother choke on his own, smirking at Harry as he looked back at him with a murderous glare.
"You find this amusing, Slytherin?"
"Indeed, I find it amusing that you would be stupid enough to drink Goblin's coffee," said Salazar smirking, as Harry kept breathing hard from the coffee. "There is a reason why it is called 'Goblin coffee', Potter. It is for goblins, not humans." Harry's retort was cut short as a goblin entered the room. He looked from the cup to Harry and smirked before turning back to the two humans.
"The king is ready to see you."
Both wizards stood up, followed the goblin out of the room, and walked through a corridor that had a huge door at the end of it. The door was made of pure gold and had a series of runes on it and a large banner similar to the one in Gringotts and two guards stood on either side of it, glaring at Harry and Salazar, and keeping their lances in check.
The door opened and both wizards were escorted into what would be a throne room, beautifully decorated with white marble and chairs made of silver. The chairs were full of old looking goblins, but at the end of these goblins sat a goblin on a high throne made of pure gold, embedded with rubies and emeralds. The throne room was elegantly designed and was full of symbols, runes and writings on the floor and ceiling which Harry assumed where runes of protection.
After looking around the room quickly in awe, Harry and Salazar approached the goblin king gracefully and bowed respectfully, careful not to make any wrong move that might be mistaken for hostile. The Goblin king was an old looking goblin, with a wise look in his eyes if someone was to look upon them.
Unlike the other goblins and the guards who escorted them, the goblin king had no disgusted sneer or a glare but a proud and respectful glance. He knew the wizards in front of him and respected their achievements and the power they held. It was rare for a goblin to perceive such deduction upon a glance, and the king knew the tales of both wizards and how the greatest and most powerful seer in their history, Silverhook the third, had bestowed the mark of honor upon them and about their contribution in the existence of Gringotts.
"Welcome to my palace, noble lords. I am King Demnar of the Goblins and I have heard a lot about you. It is fortunate that I get the opportunity of meeting the only couple of wizards to receive an honor from the great Silverhook. Please have a seat and allow me to introduce you to my council and advisors," said the Goblin king, waving his hands towards the other goblins sitting in the room.
After a while full of introduction and strange goblin names, Harry and Salazar sat down on a couple of chairs to begin the conversation about what they really came for. First, they had begun to tell their tale about meeting with the goblin and the mark and gifts he bestowed upon them. Some council goblins had a sneer upon hearing that the ones who tortured their great seer were two wizards. However, king Demnar nodded gratefully for hearing the tale and with the help of some memory projection spell, they saw the memory of what had happened with the goblin and most of them sat in awe at seeing one of their history figures. Finally, it was time to discuss the reason of why they were here in the first place.
"King Demnar, We called upon this visit for an important reason which relates to the events surrounding the magical world as a whole," said Harry seriously, a grim expression on his face.
"What reason would that be, Lord Potter?" asked Demnar, the look of impassiveness never left his face.
"The situation with the Dark wizard who calls himself Voldemort, King Demnar," said Salazar, speaking for the first time since they entered the throne room.
"It is human's affair, wizard, why should we concern ourselves with your human problems? We are neutral beings," said one of the council goblins with a sneer on his face. Salazar's own sneer surfaced which reminded Harry of Snape when he had the similar facial expression permanent on his face. Even after spending a decade with Salazar, Harry couldn't make his blood brother let the past with the Slytherin family go and live in the present, though it was an improvement of what Salazar would have turned into when having no one to care about him.
"If you get your head out of your arse, you would realize that Voldemort takes no consideration of neutrals. Either you are with him or against him or dead; there is no other option available. Voldemort looks down upon everyone, even his pureblood followers as inferiors and he will not hesitate to kill any race he thinks are inferior or light," said Salazar with a glare and a sneer and Harry paled dramatically as he heard the insult. Thankfully, King Demnar just chuckled and nodded his head in agreement making the color in Harry's face return and Salazar to calm down enough to hear Harry scold him through their link.
"Alas, you are right Lord Slytherin. Voldemort will not hesitate to kill any race he thinks are inferior to him but what are you asking of us? To take part in the war right now would be suicidal for our race and our business, for Voldemort will turn his eye on us rather than keep it on the wizards," said King Demnar grimly.
"We only ask, King Demnar, of your assistance when it is needed in dire times. We shall not call upon your help unless it would be necessary to do so and in the mean time, Voldemort will have other things to focus on," said Harry reassuringly. They needed to know that the goblins would either side with them in the war or not side at all.
"If you would give us an hour to discuss the matter between ourselves, noble lords," said Demnar and both wizards were ushered into the guest room they previously occupied. As soon as they entered and the goblin guards left, Harry turned rapidly to Salazar with anger in his eyes.
"Are you stupid, Sal, or do you have a death wish? The goblins could have killed us any minute and you go insulting the elders' goblin council?" growled Harry angrily. Salazar smirked and shook his head with a sigh.
"They wouldn't have killed us, Harry, unless we harmed their king which was something not in our intentions. This mark," said Salazar, showing the mark on his wrist, "is of extreme importance to them and they would never kill us without an extremely good reason."
"We didn't need to test that, Salazar."
An hour later, the goblin guards came back and escorted Harry and Sal to the throne room. They entered and Harry's concern increased at some smirks on the faces of some goblin elders, as if they were announcing that they were victorious. Both wizards approached the king, bowed, and sat down on their previous chairs.
"We have decided, noble lords, that the goblins will take no part in your war and shall stay neutral throughout the entire ordeal, for it is a great risk to enter such a war," said King Demnar with a stone expression on his face. Harry and Salazar were disappointed and stood up, bowing to the king once more.
"Then it is of no use wasting more of your valuable time, King Demnar, and we thank you for the meeting. By your Leave, your highness, and May the gold flow your way," said Harry politely as he and Salazar, whose face was on the verge of exploding from anger, retreated from the room. As they approached the door, the king called for them to wait as he strode towards them regally.
"I know it upsets you, noble lords, but to risk entering such war openly is a great jeopardy to our business. Many pureblood families in the wizarding world side with Lord Voldemort and their money is in our bank. However if you shall require any other assistance aside from the war, you only have to ask. Our ancestors respected and helped you and so shall we," said the King before returning to his throne and nodding to them. Although it had not progressed as they expected, the visit had a benefit after all and it did not go waste.
They were escorted back to another office of a goblin named Silvertooth, where they asked to reclaim the property of Hogwarts from the hands of the ministry. Silvertooth was in shock but spoke rapidly to another goblin who disappeared for a few minutes before coming back with an expensive looking box.
"Place two drops of your blood on the box, my lords," asked Silvertooth carefully. They complied, both placed two drops from their fingers, and the box opened with a click. Removing its lid, Silvertooth took out the papers and handed them to the founders of Hogwarts. Harry and Salazar put their right hand on the parchment and whispered in unison.
"I reclaim thee."
Harry and Salazar spent a few hours in Diagon Alley, where Salazar headed for his heaven or in other words, the apothecary, while Harry strolled down the alley
Watching whatever in display and having an ice cream from Florean's Fortescue Ice Cream parlor. They headed to the apparation point after buying everything they needed and disappeared.
Apparating to the edge of the wards, Harry and Sal walked slowly and as they entered the range of the wards, Hogwarts herself seemed to be in panic and called for her masters. They ran swiftly to the castle and entered the Great Hall to find all the students on the tables with some refreshments. However, not one single face was smiling with the exception of some Slytherins who had smirks and smiles on their faces.
It was the grim face of the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, which told Harry that something went horribly wrong. Harry looked around to the Gryffindor table and his eyes swept upon the students and resting on a sobbing Ginny and a pale faced tear stricken Ron. It was then that the answer dawned on him.
'Hermione,' was the only thought in Harry's mind before he opened his mental link with Hogwarts.
"Hogwarts, where is Hermione Granger, and what happened to her?" Harry sent to the sentient school. A series of images entered Harry's mind, filling him on what happened and the regret Hogwarts felt when her wards were not strong or recharged enough to prevent what happened. He opened his eyes with extreme rage filled in them to find Dumbledore and Rowena standing in front of him.
"Hermione is missing, Harry, she seems to have been kidnapped. We found Ron stunned and with a few injuries in the Gryffindor common room but no traces of Hermione anywhere," said Dumbledore gloomily, his eyes showing weariness. "We also found Colin and Dennis Creevey to be under the Imperius curse but with no memory of what happened."
"Voldemort has Hermione and he wants me to go rescue her."
"Where was everybody when this happened?" asked Harry gritting his teeth. 'How could a kidnap happen and no one realizes until it is too late? In a school full of children and professors for Merlin's sake!' Harry thought angrily.
"I was casting the Fidelius charm on the burrow with Minerva's help, Albus was at the ministry, and Miss Morgan was in Hogsmeade village," said the Ravenclaw head of house, Filius Flitwick. "The other professors were not informed of the incident as of the nature of their work."
"My only question is why Voldemort would only kidnap Hermione and leave the kid of a pureblood light family behind?" asked McGonagall confused. Dumbledore, however, was not the person who had answered the question but a hate filled Harry, brimming with rage.
"So he would deliver the message," hissed Harry angrily, his aura wrapped around him as a blanket and the anger discharged from him in waves. The events were piling up together inside Harry, which made even Occlumency unable to calm him down.
"I will hunt you like a dog, Tom, mark my words." The words came out in Parseltongue and vibrated throughout the school, ringing in every corner and made everyone shiver in fear as Harry swept out of the room to prepare for the task ahead.
