Chapter 5: Calculated Subversion
Most people were unaware that the Grey Lady was the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw. Helena Ravenclaw was one of the first students to attend Hogwarts when it had been established, along with other English locals. After a young suitor had killed her as a young maiden in her early twenties, she continued to live on as a ghost. That, however, was not the complete story. Her killer was unfortunately also the ghost of House Slytherin. He too was a student who had fallen in love with Helena in her later years. When Helena had stolen the legendary diadem that her mother had created, she had run off to Albania. Her mother had fallen fatally ill and had sent the young hothead man to bring her daughter home.
Helena's personality became muted, as the magic stored within the crown had overwritten her identity. She suddenly had no affection for the young man she had taken any moonlight strolls with, and accidental spellfire had killed the girl. The young man had killed himself, after not being able to bear the pain of losing his beloved. Just when the ghost of the woman considered that perhaps things were not so bad, her spurned lover had also come back to haunt her in the afterlife. Now they resided in the same castle.
The Grey Lady and the Bloody Baron made a deal not to talk to each other unless it was absolutely necessary.
As the centuries passed, things at Hogwarts changed very slowly. The latrines were replaced by flush toilets, uniforms became standard, the language changed, and magical cameras along with newspapers became commonplace. Even plumbing had arrived. The food served at Hogwarts had become different. Modern Hogwarts students were not eating roasted boar and the acclaimed Roman Parthian chicken. Nor were modern students eating the number of vegetables that their predecessors ate. What would current students know about dipping their coarse, heavy and flat loaves of bread in their vegetable broth?
Potatoes and Tomatoes came to Hogwarts in the 16th century, from the Americas. Hogwarts hardly ever served Fish anymore either – the modern students had forgotten that the purpose of the lake was to get a free source of seafood. Salazar Slytherin loved fishing the 'muggle' way, as it was relaxing. Even the famed Butterbeer was initially far more alcoholic. It was a recipe that was adopted from the Muggle world in the early 16th century, and it too had changed. The Butterbeer of Hogsmeade hardly had any alcohol in it and was more of a luxury than a refreshing drink. And even with all these changes, for the ghosts life stayed very static. Suddenly, Grindelwald and Voldemort arrived during the last century, and while the ghosts were aware of many hidden secrets, they did not interfere with the world of the living. Rowena knew exactly what Lord Voldemort had done with her diadem. While she could not remember his muggle name, she knew his face and mannerisms, all too well. She could even as a ghost, feel when the item was desecrated. Then, the last Wizarding War occurred. The Dark Lord had been vanquished and everything was quiet, once again.
That was until the Storm Lord and the Storm-priestess had arrived. As she listened to the whispers, she wondered if a new age of darkness was coming. Every founder had a preferred weapon for fighting. Godric preferred his sword, Rowena used an enchanted bow, Helga used a war mace and Salazar preferred daggers. While offensive combat spells were developed as the centuries went by, none of them could eclipse how the founders fought in combat. They were untouchable and unquestionable, as they all fought with wandless magic. For some reason, the ability to enchant weapons had become a lost art. Magic went through a fundamental change when the Peverells brought wand-making to England.
That was until Helena observed the suits of armour during the troll incident. Summoning water and lightning wandlessly? Punching and cracking concrete? Modified apparition within her mother's wards? And finally, the Diagon Alley rumours had reached her. The new magicals had magical guns and it indicated that the Wizarding World was ready for a higher form of warfare. With the rumours of the Dark Lord reappearing only a couple of months ago, she asked the Fat Friar to assist her.
"Fabby?" Helena asked.
"Hmm Lena?" the Hufflepuff ghost replied.
"I need a favour." Helena continued.
"What do you need?" the other ghost asked kindly.
"I need you to follow the trio. Find out where they go. They don't stay at the castle. They are working for an entity outside of the school. They have an artefact that does an untraceable apparition. I saw someone earlier this year and the person seemed familiar, but something still does not check out…" Helena explained.
"You mean somebody beat your mother's wards? That is impressive!" the fat friar replied.
"It is. But what is concerning is that Hogwarts is changing. This is the first time that students are not carrying textbooks to class. Quidditch broadcasts? What about all the luxuries that are being sold in the castle? It has to be those Weasley twins. And worse, they have fooled the Headmaster. That is no easy feat. The entire Weasley clan has suddenly become invisible?"
"Helena, we don't interfere with the affairs of the living." The Fat Friar responded.
"Usually we don't. But the Dark Lord is alive. And you and I know of the only book that could have been used to accomplish such a feat, and it is freely available on the library bookshelf. Even the mere fact that such a vile piece of magic exists? We cannot have another Herpo the foul." the Ravenclaw ghost replied, as she dared not mention that one student had already used the book.
"But our trio, haven't they been explementary students? Did you consider helping them when you saw them late last year? Oh, Mistress Helga would have adored Ronald! He is our new national Quidditch Keeper. He is a good, hard, working boy. I don't think the three of them are involved in any plots!" the fat friar insisted.
"Yes, they are all good students. But they knew about the Dark Lord's immortality long before he made an appearance recently. And they have been training to fight. They will be the first group of students in Hogwarts to finish school in half the time because they are learning magic from elsewhere. I do not trust the motivations of persons outside the castle. Myrtle was killed fifty years ago, and she refuses to speak about what happened to her. Hogwarts was supposed to be safe. And yet I feel something stirring, deep within the castle." Helena responded as she made her case.
The fat friar's face softened, as he nodded.
"Very well, I will have to follow them. Perhaps I can ask Nicky and Bernie to keep an eye on the others. The trio are friends with Ms Greengrass and Ms Davis, secretly. We will see how far the rabbit hole goes." the Fat Friar answered.
"Can you remember for foreboding we sensed about the last Wizarding War? It is already in the air. Even the Centaurs know. Something is coming again, and we need to know," Helena insisted before she floated away.
In the middle of October, the four Ghosts gathered to share their observations. While the Grey Lady stayed her distance from the Bloody Baron, the Fat Friar began with his report.
"Well, what did you find Fabby?" Helena asked.
"Nothing of note over the last two weeks, Lena. Ronald Weasley generally exits the Hufflepuff common room, has breakfast and attends his classes. However, in between his classes and his Quidditch practice on the field, he is almost untraceable. He has a device that can make him invisible, and he usually avoids other students. He only keeps the company of his other four friends."
"Nicky? What about you?" Helena asked.
"Besides what Fabby said, all I can say is that they use an old Transfiguration class and a piece of the old Ravenclaw wing to teach the other seventh years Defense Against the Dark Arts. Neville and his group have been a lifeline for the older students. Not only can they cast the spells, but they also seem to understand how to fight very well. They have been getting practice, but it is not at the castle. That suspicion is correct. What about you Helena?"
"Tracking Luna has been difficult. She paints beautifully in the Ravenclaw common room. She has been touching up the old portraits, with the Headmaster's permission. She also has a muggle piano instrument and she and the others practice in an abandoned Ravenclaw wing. They often do one-on-one training sessions with the seventh years if they need extra help. Sometimes it seems as if she is talking to her friends but they are never present. They are an enigma." Helena replied.
"Reinbern, do you have anything to add?" the Fat Friar asked. The ghost looked uneasily at the Grey Lady before averting his eyes away before he made his report.
"I had far more success than most of you. My primary source was Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis. We do not need to worry about them, nor do we need to worry about the external collaborator." the bloody baron commented smugly.
"Who is it?" Nicholas asked.
"The Storm Lord and the Storm Priestess. But if you wanted names, they would be Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. Two students who managed to fool the letter system. They were supposed to be enrolled, but they decided to skip out on school. Not that they need it, they could teach the staff at this point."
"I thought he had passed away? Harry….Potter?" the Fat Friar asked.
"He did not pass away. That is a deception that he engineered. A plot worthy of Salazar Slytherin himself. The story begins when I discovered that the 'fantastic five' as they call themselves with artefacts that allow them to communicate with each other and…"
The bloody baron continued with his explanation - he had been floating and invisible next to Daphne Greengrass, as he attempted to listen to her conversations which were hidden by a silencing ward. As he had put his ear right next to her cheek to bypass the ward while invisible, he found himself transported to an apartment in Hogsmeade. From there, the entire group had apparated into Peverell Manor, the residence of the current Lord Peverell
"Did you say…Peverell Manor? And Lord Peverell?" the Grey Lady asked.
The other two ghosts were shocked. The Grey Lady never addressed the Baron directly, for many centuries. Yet, he had nodded, and the Grey Lady went into an explanation of the person who had created the wands of the founders. Glaucon Peverell was one of the most legendary artificers at the time and it was said that he was Godric's equal in combat. The only other person in Magical England who possessed warlock magic and the builder of the famed Deathly Hallows. A family originally from Rome, they had migrated to France and finally settled in England before the Founders had commenced Hogwarts.
Harry Potter as the current Lord Peverell was a great shock.
As the conversation continued, it became obvious that Harry Potter had confirmation of Lord Voldemort's return and he had faked his death, as he prepared for the war that was on the horizon. He like his great grand ancestor had created an entirely new suite of weapons. The description of the rifle practice, cursed fire swords and even the ongoing upgrades to the Thunderbolt-II had left the ghosts shocked.
Then, the discussion shifted to Hermione Granger, the next of Morgana's line and her ability to blend arithmancy, runes and muggle mathematics. She was a young muggleborn who had invented a runic schema based on mundane technology. She was now at the point where she could exploit wards easily. Her runic system guaranteed perfect integration and control of magic across multiple artefacts - something that Lady Ravenclaw had wanted to implement, but had no idea how to start.
The other ghosts were surprised when they heard about the stun cannons and the brutal style of combat, that the pair practised. Harry's halberd was far more dangerous than the legendary sword of Godric Gryffindor, and it could slice through concrete and pretty much anything else. After all, Harry had been testing new modifications and the Bloody Baron had seen all of it. Hermione was the fastest woman in England and had openly outrun Magorian the centaur, not too long ago. Her times on the obstacle course were consistently dropping. Finally, the explanation of Grace and the miniaturised portkey system that could go to new locations stealthy, made the disappearances make sense.
"As good as Godric? Surely you jest?" Nicholas asked.
"No. Far better. Very strategic and cunning. I doubt that even anyone could take that pair, even if they did not have their wands or access to their magic. Even without their wandless magic, they will break bones and snap necks. You could swear both of them look like they are approaching fifth years. Impressive maturation." the Bloody Baron replied.
The extended explanation by the Bloody Baron included that he had learnt their schedule and would float close by as the transporter emulated the Phoenix magic, to carry them wherever they wanted to go. The idea that Harry owned a phoenix alone was controversial until the Daffodil was introduced.
"So a phoenix and a dragon live with them?" Nicholas asked.
"Yes. I understand that Dragons can be taught how to speak. Hermione has been teaching the excitable creature. She lives a life of comfort. As for Grace, Harry Potter's Phoenix, never have I seen such a troublemaker. I suspect she can also speak. She also delivers food to the castle, because she thinks it is funny. The Weasley contraband is stored at their apartment." Reinbern explained.
"It was rumoured that the dragons in Norway openly spoke to the other magical races. A rumour that I heard many centuries ago. These discoveries are momentous." Helena Ravenclaw replied.
Reinberg continued with his explanation – there was no Artificing Guild. No, Harry and Hermione had developed every single recent innovation, and they were financial titans. They even had polite relationships with the Goblins and the Centaurs. And finally was the explanation of the M.E.F Lilly Potter – A flying fortress that would be the largest magical vessel ever built in history. Designed for the war, but eventually, it would serve as the lifeline for a journey to the heavens. A large room sized illusion was being worked on, as they finalised the details. The ship would be approximately 700 hundred feet. Then a comprehensive discussion of the family members occurred. And then, things got far more complex.
"So you are saying that one of mine, adopted Harry Potter? Oh, I remember Priya. She was such a sweetheart! She was Pomfrey's best student." the Fat Friar asked the Bloody Baron.
"Correct. Priya Singh. And her accomplice was one of mine. Lorna Findlay. They engineered a plot that was so stealthy, that they tricked the whole of England. The boy then reacquired Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, after he murdered the Dementors of Azkaban. Then he started to get in touch with families who would support him. He did the exact thing that Salazar would have done – he demanded that they take rather lucrative financial opportunities. His long-term goal is not only to defeat the Dark Lord but to uproot all pureblood supremacy. A goal that Salazar would have championed himself when you consider his wife. And yes, he is aware that Salazar was not a nutcase, as he likes to say. As the modern expression goes….what a lad!" Reinbern laughed.
"What do we do now?" Nicholas asked.
"If you say Harry Potter is working towards protecting our students and fighting the Dark Lord, then I will introduce the group to the Room of Requirement. And perhaps in time, there is one other secret I will share." The Grey Lady responded.
"But according to Bernie, doesn't the group have access to whatever they need? They even built multiple escape tunnels underground. This almost feels like a giant prank?" the Fat Friar suggested.
"Perhaps. The Marauders were the worst pranking force that arrived at this castle in its entire history. I suppose the son will outdo the father." the Bloody Baron commented.
"Oh, that was the entire plan! Nice try Bernie, I am glad you enjoyed our combat drills on the obstacle course." Harry replied as he and Hermione continued to listen to the Ghosts through the transmitters.
Harry had seen the Bloody Baron with his Mage sight and had tasked Invictus to monitor his movements when Daphne had transported back to the castle. As they checked in on those particular transmitters, Harry tuned in and listened to the conversation. Time to comb through the Hogwarts records that Percy had scanned, to find out about the Room of Requirement.
The Gryffindor practice match had given Minerva hope. While Ginny was not as fluid as her brother, she was still on par with the other seekers. Gryffindor would be playing Slytherin once more, and the Gryffs were surprised when Slytherin had changed their entire lineup. All the faces were new and the only unusual and predictable selection had been Draco Malfoy.
"Is Draco their new seeker?" Oliver Wood asked.
"From what we heard, Tracey Davis tried out and was a far better option. Lucy the peacock threatened Sluggy." Fred replied.
"Isn't Davis friends with your older sister Greengrass?" Katie asked.
"Sure. I heard that it is mostly neutrals that make up the quidditch team. There was almost a fight in the Slytherin common room, and some of the other students decided that they would let the information about the purchased contraband slip. Oh boy…it was spicy! Our favourites were forced to relax this round. Daffy told me." Astoria explained.
"I had heard rumours about your family. I think you are perfectly alright!" Katie replied as she rubbed Astoria's head.
"Thanks, girlfriend. As I say my older Slytherin sister is deeply in love with the most Gryffindor person ever. Lurve is lurve, baby!" Astoria replied as Ginny started to laugh. Katie wondered who could be the Gryffindor who captured the attention of Daphne the Ice Princess.
"Well, let us see the new team. When they are done we can practice. It seems the Slytherins brought trainers to get them into shape. Let us have a looksie?" Wood suggested.
"You are like the most muggle pureblood I have ever met?" Alicia Spinnet commented as she spoke to Astoria. The Greengrass family were known heavyweights in the Wizarding World. They were easily the equal of the Malfoys, but Astoria was just too cool for the Gryffindors.
"Oh my padawan, that comment pleases me to no end. You should see how I eat Big Macs! I am just one of the boys until I am ready to let down my hair!" Astoria replied, with her signature one-eye wink. After the assembled Gryffindors filled the stands, they concluded that the new Slytherin team was talented. Ginny had asked Astoria to explain who were the new people.
"Well, from who I know, no Death Eater spawn. We might have a civil game for once. A tale for the ages!" Astoria joked with an overly dramatic hand expression, as many of Harry's mannerisms had rubbed off on Astoria. While she was never overtly rude at Hogwarts, even Minerva had commented to Albus that Astoria Greengrass is the opposite of her sister - she 'had a mouth on her.' The Gryffindor quidditch team were laughing at her quips, as Oliver Wood asked the obvious.
"You hate Death Eaters don't you?" Oliver asked, cautiously.
"Look Wood, you see the Diagon Alley thing last year? I was in an alley with my mother. They were going to rape Hannah Abbott's older sister. Lucky a heavily armoured figure with a badass sword murdered the whole lot of them."
"You…..saw the Storm Lord? So he is…real?" Katie asked.
"Yes. No, I don't want to talk about it. That was the day that the Slytherin converted into the House of the brave. I grew a lion mane overnight," Astoria replied, as the people in the Quidditch team realised that the girl had a close encounter that day.
"What does he look like? You have to tell us!" Angelina insisted.
"Like if Commander Shepard had a baby with Master Chief, and then decided he was showing up to a Warhammer 40K convention with mint new Mechanicus models. Then, he buys enough guns to kill every Terminator ever created," Astoria replied before everyone frowned. The Weasley twins, on the other hand, began to laugh loudly – the description was sort of accurate. Angelina was not familiar with Mass Effect or Warhammer, but her younger brother was non-magical and only played Halo for the entire holidays. Between that and the Terminator movies, she understood enough.
"So he uses guns? You know as a muggleborn I kind of..like that?" Angelina replied as Katie began to wonder why people didn't use magical guns. For her, this cemented the idea that the Strom Lord had to be a muggleborn.
"Hey, I am a pureblood and I think it is fucking cool. But I and Ginny are more RPG kinda girls. More kaboom is more better-rer!" Astoria idly commented. Katie wondered how Astoria knew about modern military weapons, but then she dropped the issue, as soon as the snakes began to land. The Slytherins were now finished, and the team approached the Gryffindors. Draco looked angry, and he took his broom and walked off by himself. The captain of the Slytherin team made his way over to Wood and extended his hand. Wood found it strange, but after he looked at Astoria, she nodded. Wood shook his hand.
"Atticus Mallory. A pleasure Mr Wood. I am aware that our Quidditch teams don't have….polite relationships." Atticus cautiously stated although he was relaxed.
"You can say that again!" Katie commented.
"Easy Ms Bell. Look, House Slytherin is a complex place. Our predecessors have never been civil because it wasn't a value that their parents instilled in them. Other values that require a mask and black robes were important, for that special bunch. We aren't all bad. We hope to win, and we hope to make a clean win. No hard feelings if you can forgive the history." Atticus continued, as everyone relaxed.
"Fair enough. That would be welcome. We are a bit tired of the kicks" Wood responded.
"Hey, we are hoping that professional sportsmanship might do us some good. I am hoping to put myself out there for those French birds!" a rambunctious sandy-coloured hair boy replied. There was a small bit of laughter before the members of all teams shook each other's hands. Slughorn made note of the interaction as he decided that this would merit a report to Albus Dumbledore.
Things were getting a little better.
Later that day, Albus Dumbledore found himself perplexed – his informants were unaware of any French Artificng Guild. And yet it seemed that Daphne and Tracey had indeed gotten offers from such places. If they were leaving England, perhaps it did not matter. They were not participating in the war in any case. As of right now, Albus suspected that the Dark Lord was hiding in Albania. For some reason, he seemed to frequent that place. He also stewed over the revelation that Lord Aurelian Black had mentioned casually.
Lord Peverell was aware that he owned the Elder wand. And yet he had not made any type of overt move to reacquire it. This hinted at the possibility that he was busy with other things, and he would deal with the issue when he was ready. Or perhaps the other possibility was far worse. He was designing a replacement. And he would only come for his ancestral wand when he was ready to decommission it.
His lineage had built the wand, and he had an understanding of how to craft items intimately. His notes were often discussed between himself and Professor Flitwick, as they tried some of the techniques that Lord Peverell had developed. Albus was surprised at the easy workaround he had found for issues like the Stabilisation Matrix problem. He had also developed methodologies for constantly revising and maintaining his artefacts. There was an entire list of modern Muggle materials that could be used, and Albus and Professor Flitwick had recently retrofitted a muggle light bulb with an improvised ink battery. Alex, their trusty advisor had frequented the castle that evening, as he continued to be a consultant of sorts.
"Well Headmaster, this is fascinating. I think he shared his methods for creating this ink battery because he has long past this stage. I almost want to agree with him. Power stones are just rocks. His designs are based on capacitors." Alex commented.
"I found his analysis of what stores the energy in Runic etchings surprising. His liberal use of copper and gold is also in line with Alchemic principles. His diagrams are well drawn. I will share a secret with you, my boy." Albus explained. Alex's ears perked up.
"Perhaps you should hear this too, Professor Flitwick. I know that the Avada Kedavra cannot kill him. He made a new material that can resist the killing curses. Something far more durable than Dragon Scale armour. I am beginning to wonder if he had used the same material to shield his electrical components?"
"This is great news, Albus. If the Storm Lord wanted to minimise casualties, he could always sell his armour. Without the threat of death, that could tilt a battle." Flitwick replied as he held his hand excitedly.
"We will continue our investigations. The Priestess' arguments about how language develops and how language shapes magic around mental constructions imply that they have moved beyond verbal spells. That is a rare thing. It also seems that she had developed a new runic alphabet, based on some muggle language that we do not understand. And this alphabet grants her access to ideas that we cannot conceive. Some of these topics were discussed at the Magical Guild in Norway. Private conversations between myself and Erilaz Njord Skallagrimson, who is an expert on Runes. He always had a better grasp of these esoteric ideas. I might have to send him a copy of this, although it has been decades since we spoke." Albus explained.
Professor McGonagall entered the office, with a severe look on her face.
"Headmaster, we need you immediately. Filch's cat has been petrified, and a message was left on the wall. Albus, the Chamber of Secrets has been reopened!"
Albus Dumbledore's face took on a surprised and grave expression.
"Alex thank you as always. You may use one of the exit only floos. I would suggest this one, that goes to Ms Weasley's kitchen. Go have something, and tell her the tab is to be billed to me. I would advise that you do not share this with anyone. Hogwarts has exactly two floos that can be opened to the outside and they are only known and used by the Headmaster of Hogwarts. I trust you to utilise it wisely."
"Thank you. This was fun. Please message me about whatever happens at the castle with this whole Chamber business." Alex replied as he stepped into the floo. Albus nodded severely.
"Minerva, please take us to the place?" Albus requested as they all left the office. Invictus who was listening to the humbug decided to follow Minerva, with a drone that had been parked up on a ledge outside the Headmaster's office. Whatever had happened, would be discovered very soon. He would have to merely review the camera footage. If the issue merited Harry's involvement, he would inform the boy who was scratching a chin over a past paper question in his corner of the shop.
Albus, Minerva and Fillius found themselves in a corridor where Ms Norris, Argus Filch's cat was suspended upside down with a charm. The cat was rigid, and it had the look that a person would associate with an animal trophy. Draco Malfoy was now leaving the scene when he yelled aloud:
"Enemies of the heir, be aware. You will be next, mudbloods!"
He stormed off, with Vincent and Gregory close behind, and there were disapproving looks on the face of Minerva and Fillius. The other students began to frantically whisper. Some of the muggleborn students were terrified and Colin Creevy a year one student who had sorted into Gryffindor, was about to take a picture when Percy gently stopped him with his hands.
"What is going on here? Go on. Make way, make way!" Argus Filch insisted as the caretaker made his way through the crowd. Now the man was looking at his cat. Then, he looked at random students in the crowd to pick a scapegoat to blame.
"All of you! I will murder all of you! All of you did this! I am going to strap the lot of you if I see you in the corridors! I will…" the caretaker screamed.
"Enough Filch. Enough. Students will go to their dormitories. Who discovered this?" Albus asked firmly.
"I did, headmaster?" Penny Clearwater replied as she stepped forward from the crowd of Ravenclaws.
"You will stay, Ms Clearwater," Albus replied as the other staff members arrived in the corridor. Even the famed Gilderoy Lockhard was shocked. He was uncomfortable, and contemplating what to do, as he put his hands on his waist.
"Ms Clearwater, I know you well enough. While Mr Filch is distressed, I am sure you merely discovered the scene of the crime. Is there anything else you can tell me?" Albus asked.
"There was a heavy thud that I heard. I wonder if the person who did this, was tall and big? I am not sure. I happen to be a cat owner myself, and I would never harm Mr Filch's cat."
Filch did not look convinced until Albus waved his wand and realised that the cat was alive.
"Argus, Ms Norris is merely petrified. Professor Sprout will have to brew some mandrake, and she can be restored. Ms Pomfrey and Hagrid will look after her. I do not think Ms Clearwater was responsible, and I do not think she has ever been a rule breaker, either."
Filch nodded uneasily, as Matroness Pomfrey came over and patted his back. The old man began to sob and slowly made his way to his office, which was ideally a small cleaning area in one of the abandoned corners of the castle.
"Ms Clearwater, you can return to your dormitory. You and the other prefects will ensure that students do not roam the castle unnecessarily. Good night, Ms Clearwater." Albus explained before we went to his office to contemplate this new development.
Percy had been researching the Chamber of Secrets for a while. He turned a corner after the assembled crowd dispersed, and apparated directly to Peverell's manor. Harry and Hermione were scrubbing the footage. More interesting was that some of the Protean charmed mirrors were broken.
"Well Harry, I think you already know what happened," Percy replied.
"Yes. We also discovered another exploit. We didn't build anything in the mirrors to check if they were broken or cracked by magic on the other side. We were not any the wiser?" Harry explained.
"That is inconvenient. What about the proximity sensors?" Percy asked.
"We are checking through the records Perce. And…wait a moment….the only person who was in that part of the castle was….Susan Bones?" Hermione asked, rather confused.
"Timestamp?" Harry followed.
"Er…eight fifty to nine ten. Cross-checking the video feed. Right we are on the big screen and…..WHAT THE FLYING FUCK IS THAT?" Harry yelled as a huge twenty metre snake seemed to drop from the ceiling.
"Er Harry, I can remember the joke you made last Yule. That is not a giant Boa-Constrictor. In Wizarding measurements…that is sixty feet?" Percy whispered.
"Correct. Merlin's pants! The castle is a freakshow. Gramps?" Hermione asked.
"Already checking against the records with the keyword snake….and…oh." Invictus replied as he displayed a scanned copy of an obscure Greek manuscript.
Everybody was looking at the drawing of the Basilisk.
Harry and the other two people began to review the proximity sensors. After Susan Bones had written the message on the wall with her wand, she walked off to her dorm room. She did not seem to be herself. Harry zoomed into the video footage and saw that she was holding a book.
"This reeks of Lucius fucking Malfoy! That book might be our wild item, that he planned to deploy. It probably happened at Flourish and Botts. We have a wild fucking Basilisk just having a jolly fucking walk around Hogwarts. Who knows, next year a real honest Cockatrice might arrive!" Harry exclaimed, with his arms up in the air.
After the girl had left, then the video footage became blank. After some thinking, Hermione realised that only if the cameras had been coincidentally within the cone of the snake's eyesight, they had cracked. Other cameras had managed to record the back of the twenty metre monster, as it seemed to slither out from the wall which implied that Hogwarts had holes in the walls. Invictus began the translations and continued to search the scanned copies of the Hogwarts restricted section. Soon enough, all the information about the creature was now available. Harry then called everyone on a group call and explained the specifics.
"Well, my lovely people. This year's choice of deathtrap is a fucking Basilisk." Harry replied.
"I have to admit. This one is interesting. I think I am going to take on a side project to compile all the magical creatures its own index." Invictus insisted.
"That will be handy. Call everyone up, time for a PTA meeting I suppose…." Harry joked as Hermione and Percy got comfortable.
Beep-Beep…..Beep-Beep.
After the call was answered, the parents and the students became silent as the video footage was sent to the data slates. While they had not seen the front of the creature, the view from the back had been frightening. Suddenly Cyrus and the rest were happy that Harry had decided to set up surveillance at the school, and that their children generally got around the castle with transporters.
"What do you plan to do, Harry?" Ophelia asked.
"I am already armouring up. We need to figure out how this tunnel network in Hogwarts works. Hermione and I are skipping out on classes tomorrow. We are modifying our radar into a type of improvised sonar. We will map the network and then see if we can get into the Chamber of Secrets. Then we are killing the Basilisk."
That statement earned nods from the rest of the people. Neville messaged Harry privately and offered to run distractions, while Harry was allowed to operate freely. The Peverell manor investigation squad had omitted the explanation about Susan Bones to those who had answered the call. While Harry suspected that the object had to be a Horcrux, he needed to confirm that this was the case.
"We will also look into patching the walls or utilising the tunnels for our personal use. We will keep you updated. Any tunnel which is a vulnerability will be sealed off with Graphcrete. And if we find the Chamber of Secrets, we will investigate the place and see if we can recover any lost lore." Hermione commented. As the call concluded, Harry and Hermione looked at Remus and Sirius.
"Looks like we are going back into tunnel mode?" Remus asked.
"Sure. Tunnels are a very British thing from the history that I read recently. Hermione, can you do anything about the mandrake?" Sirius queried.
"Neville has been experimenting lately. He believes he can ask the Mandrake plant to give him what he needs, by trading some magic for it. That is a better thing than cutting them up and stewing them. Far more humane, I think." Hermione replied.
"Perce, it might be time to get our first foreign recruit. Ask your girlfriend if she wants to work with us. We need a prefect grade operative in the eaglefoot division." Harry suggested.
"I will speak to her," Percy replied.
"Good on you. Let us see what we can dig up." Hermione replied.
About one hour later, Harry and Hermione were transported into the castle with their modified sensor. Percy went into his apartment, and Fred and George began to prepare the Killer Bunny Rabbit for possible emergency deployment.
When Neville exited the common room the next morning, an elf materialised from his invisibility and stood at the entrance of a small broom area. Neville followed the diminutive creature, and sat down on the random stool, after clearing the dust.
"Hello, Dobby."
"Master Longbottom knows humbles Dobby?"
"I do. Draco brags about his father shutting your ears in the Malfoy kitchen oven. I have seen you accompanying Lord Malfoy sometimes." Neville replied.
"Dobby has come to warn Master Neville. Hogwarts isn't safe!"
"I know. I can even tell you that the animal that attacked Ms Norris is a giant snake. It can freeze people if it looks after you. We don't leave our common rooms in any case. I honestly think Draco has a higher chance of meeting the snake."
"How does Masters Neville knows so much?" Dobby asked Neville.
"I got a message from an anonymous person. The person claims that they have it handled. Dobby, it will be fine. It is not wise to be seen speaking to me. If the news gets backs to Lord Malfoy, he will probably kill you. Or injure you terribly."
"Dobby knows this, very much."
"Go and do your work at home. Keep listening to your master. You will know what to do – I know that he is responsible. Want a snack?" Neville asked.
"Yes?" the elf replied rather nervously.
Neville handed the elf a snickers and the poor creature cried long tears after making the usual comments – He had been treated like an equal, Neville was the greatest wizard, and his terrible living conditions were because his master was a 'bad man'.
"I honestly wish I could get Lucy to hand you a piece of cloth. If I ever wink at you…..understand that I am going to free you, and you are to play along. We will have to figure something out. I don't know how it might happen, but we will see…" Neville suggested.
"Can Dobby do anything to helps?" The little elf asked hopefully.
"Maybe you can. So our friend Ronald needs to build muscle mass. He usually needs to eat at other times besides dinner and lunch. When you can afford to be away from Malfoy Manor and are at Hogwarts, wait until he calls for you."
"Dobby can does that for Masters Neville. Anything for his friend, Mr Wheezy!" Dobby replied, excitedly. The Weasley family were known to give a lot of magic via thanks to any of the Hogwarts House Elves.
"Come let me hold your hand. I am going to give you some thanks." Neville replied before he gently grasped the elf's hand to his surprise and began pouring magic into the creature. He shook his head slightly, as some of the more grievous injuries were repaired.
"Very powerful wizard! Master Neville's gratitude is very strong!" Dobby replied.
"Yes, but sadly after your next beating, you will spend the magic to repair yourself. But take what you can get from me, yes?" Neville suggested.
Neville was pleased. He and the group were expecting their growth spurt to hit them any day now. While they could not do as much exercise as Harry and Hermione, even small feats of wandless magic at their age were considered to be an unusual sign of strength.
The fantastic five had decided that terrorising Lockhart was advisable. The five students would often use the standard Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom to teach their seventh-year compatriots during mandated class hours. So, how did they ensure this?
Neville had set the drone to continuously dog Lockhart and trip him on the way to the seventh year class. The drone would deliver a random jinx every fifteen seconds.
That combined with the choice of rumours of the younger students had encouraged everyone to think that Hogwarts disliked Gilderoy Lockhart. The castle itself was planning to "do him in." The rumour had taken off like a rocket, and suddenly Lockhart had stopped reporting to the seventh year classes. He also stopped strutting around the castle, and the usual spot in the abandoned Ravenclaw wing was utilised for the additional Defense classes in the evening. Neville and the rest considered their efforts to be the beginning of a para-military force of students that they would command when the war arrived.
Professor McGonagall was pretty shocked when she stood at the door and saw Neville teaching the class the next day after the Camber of Secrets incident, almost like a professor. Better yet, he seemed okay with throwing random stunners in the class and having students deflect the spell, with very minimal flicks. Most people could not shield and it was often a spell that people skipped at the NEWT level examinations. How did he manage to teach it so quickly? She decided that she would ask him later. McGonagall looked on and went to fetch Slughorn via the Hogwarts internal floo system, as he was the only other teacher who was dealing with the group.
Of course, when Brighton and Queensbury had insisted that Neville lecture the class, he had asked Harry what was the advisable thing to do.
"Teach them the way I taught you. Controlled casting in a classroom. Talk about it being intent-driven. Make them cast it until it is naturalised. Make them draw upon the feelings. Use the environment, to your advantage. Then set up small situations where they have to combine the charms and the defence material into spell chains. Force them to work under fire. Let Luna help them with the charms. Ronald can give them tips on how to lead the targets. Daphne and Tracey are your helpers. Discuss tactical decisions."
Soon enough the five students had become popular enough and some of the light side houses from year six asked to join the class. The few students from the darker houses in year six were not pleased about being tutored by a Gryffindor student, and they decided to skive off. Minerva had chosen to drop by on a day when Neville was comfortable and in his element. Now Minerva had arrived at Slughorn's quarters and the dumpy professor was speaking to Pomona and Fillius, as it was close to lunchtime. Minerva decided that it would be good for the rest to see their top students in action. The four Heads of the Houses returned to the Defense classroom and gingerly peeped into the demonstration.
Neville cracked jokes as he fired stunners around corners and employed all types of creative tactics that Harry had taught him. Daphne was shielding, and Tracey was leading her targets as she only replied to the stream of offensive spells. Luna was Neville's backup, and Ronald was narrating the tactical strategy. Ronald explained how a team of two could delegate different tasks, to keep constant bombardment going against the enemy.
"Oh my, they are a truly gifted bunch, aren't they! I say fifteen points for all of them Minerva?" Pomona commented.
"Indeed. Fifteen points to Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Thirty for Slytherin." the lioness replied with a smile on their face.
"Oh, those girls make me proud. They earn handsomely for my house! Ms Greengrass and Mr Weasley could become master potioneers if they wanted to! They are brewing a lot of our potions for the hospital wing!" Horace beamed, as he concerned himself with who he could collect.
"Neville's mannerisms remind me somewhat of Lilly Potter. She too got excited like that, when she practised her charms." Fillius replied thoughtfully before the implications hit him like a truck.
It was at that moment, that Fillius Flitwick began to suspect who was the real ringleader.
Could it be possible? Percy in his casual conversations seemed to know things about the Founders that had come from an external source. His charms work had become fluid and were often non-verbal. There was no way Lilly's mannerisms and her personally optimised techniques that could only appear if Harry was alive and in hiding. Those were things that were in her diary, and Harry had to be alive to access his inheritance. Lilly had shared her plans for the broom company too – she had been making progress with new broom creation spells. What if she had completed it, and Harry had advanced it even further?
The Thunderbolt broom had become the…Stormbolt? That was it. Harry Potter was alive, and he was the Storm Lord.
It was a far stretch, but it seemed to make sense. And he was a Potter, who would reach out to his godbrother first. And he had inherited another House too. A powerful house that had a great lineage of making great objects. And now with Lilly's research to advance those practices?
Suddenly Sirius Black being broken out of Azkaban made sense. Only Harry Potter could know that Peter Pettigrew was the traitor – he had access to the will and the diaries. And the other man in the Azkaban breakout. Could it be Remus Lupin? Now the motive for killing Death Eaters had made sense. And the friendships and the slow attempt to gather allies – The Weasleys, the Lovegoods, the Davis and Greengrass families? Lilly had been friends with Ophelia and while she had not mentioned it, nothing ever passed Fillius' observational skills. Who else was the perfect person to understand the Dark Lord? Somebody who already had been exposed to his magic.
But then what was the comment in the poem about being disposable? Unless…
Albus Dumbledore had planned to sacrifice Harry Potter to battle the Dark Lord. And he had come into the knowledge and decided to kill all of them. He was playing by his own rules. He did mention that they were hiding right under his nose, and that 'trust but verify was a good maxim.' Harry Potter was teasing Albus Dumbledore. Albus had met a person who could out scheme him.
"Fillius are you alright?" Minerva asked.
"I just had an emotional moment. I remembered Lilly. No, I am fine otherwise. I get the feeling Ms Lovegood and the others will be sitting the Charms NEWT next year. I will organise an accelerated syllabus for her and the rest." Fillius replied, with a smile on his face. Minerva looked on proudly at her favourite students, as she decided that this was a piece of good news that Albus would enjoy.
Unbeknownst to the Professors, Harry and Hermione were simultaneously in the castle. It had been an utter surprise to know that a healthy amount of illusions had been used. The upper part of the walls had a large number of pipes, and the entrances were concealed by illusions that made everything look like solid walls. Now the ability of the Basilisk to move around the entire school was demystified. Harry listened to Neville, as he walked around the pipe system and occasionally guided Neville with some of the more creative tactics. The drones were mapping the passageways and they were being added to the Marauder's Map. Since their arrival last night, they had not left the castle.
"Moony, Padfoot any sign of the reptile?" Harry asked.
"Noy yet. Perhaps he is having a nap. Might be beneficial if we could find his lair?" Remus responded.
"Exactly what I was thinking. I have a souped-up transporter waiting to send him to a cave in Gringotts. We plan to drain every last bit of venom out of him before we break him down for potion ingredients. Right, let us see….this entrance looks extra big. And…."
Harry and Hermione then landed in a dimly lit chamber after following the longest tunnel from the sonar readings. He continued:
"Sending coordinates. I think we might have found the Chamber of Secrets. Too many snake statues and there is a big sculpture of Salazar's face. Everything is green-black stone too. Very spooky." Harry explained. When the entire team transported into the cavern, it did not take long for Harry to see through the large sculpture.
"Well, snakeyboi is behind the head, there is a little pocket. The mouth is the passage. Looks like the tongue slips downwards to make the passage." Harry explained, as his eyes flared.
"Well, what do we do now? Should we wake him up and have a word?" Hermione asked as she examined the runic arrays. As she looked at the readouts, she realised that the runes were in a new script she had not seen. She called the Goblin Wardmistress and sent a video feed. Her suspicions were confirmed.
"Well Harry, Parseltongue everywhere. Very clever. How do we get the tongue down?" Hermione asked.
"We can blow the tongue out with a micro-semtex charge, and when he slithers out we can lop his head off. I think the reflective coating on the helmet will stop him dead in his tracks, especially with the winning stare. We will have to skip home for our full armour." Harry replied.
"Won't that spill a lot of blood? I can get a clean shot with the cannon?" Remus suggested.
"Oh yes, it is a vicious thing with the new power crystal. Power it up, let us smoke him once and for all." Harry replied.
One hour later, the group of four people were looking at a dead Basilisk and they were now repairing the broken sculpture of Salazar Slytherin. The creature had a smoking hole in its head, and even the brains of the creature had almost evaporated under the shot. Hermione was quite flexible and she offered to go into the former resting place of the snake and investigate. All she found was a pitch-black cave with a skeleton. After collecting the pieces and placing them in an extendable compartment on her armour, she was looking at the many shafts of sunlight that illuminated the cave.
"Harry, where is this light coming from? It is very dim, but it seems to me that there is a direct passageway to the surface?"
"You know I was wondering about that. It seems as if the tunnels were designed to reflect enough light during the daytime. This place might be pitch dark during the night. How did Moldypants guide Susan down here?" Harry asked.
"He probably knows it well enough, that he needs just a Lumos to get around. Susan is a conundrum. If we leave her be, she will help us to find out more. But she will have to suffer his presence." Hermione wondered.
"This is a dilemma. But the weapon of choice is now dead on the floor. She would have to obtain a new weapon. If I know Voldy, he might even force Susan to harm other students. It could get complicated." Harry wondered.
"Well, we can give the book to someone else. If Lucius Malfoy wants a certain result, let his son fulfil the mission. I don't care if he is psychologically broken, not after he took part in the assault of those two girls. No sympathy from me." Hermione replied.
"Harry, are we going to the Department of Mysteries this afternoon?" Sirius asked.
"No. I mean we are getting the prophecy if there is one – but we will do a drone pickup. This afternoon, we are going to get this whole D.A.D.A jinx solved." Harry replied.
"Will that cause problems? Using the drone?" Remus asked.
"No, if the prophecy can rest on a shelf, it can rest on a servo-driven claw hand. Simple is simple." Harry replied.
"What about Albus? He will know somebody tampered with it?" Sirius asked.
"Sure. I plan to leave my Dumblegoat Plushie with a letter. I will even explain that such minor protective enchantments, amuse me. What tampered? This is my prophecy. I should leave a big dildo on the shelf." Harry suggested.
"Oh, I think we can arrange for that. Perhaps we can make it….arm-sized?" Sirius snicked. Harry then touched his communicator.
"Oi Lorna, I need you to locate the largest dildo that you can. Priority shipping. We plan to leave this one for Albus. I am going for my prophecy in the D.O.M"
"One huge phallus coming right up! Priority shipping. Might look to get it from a local store?" Lorna replied as she giggled. She loved taking part in these silly jokes.
"Always been curious about that DADA jinx. Perhaps we can at least allow Hogwarts to have a decent teacher for a while?" Remus suggested.
The Basilisk had been transported to Gringotts, and King Ragnok was only too happy to harvest the creature for both speciality potions ingredients and other things. He was now speaking to the group via communicator, as they looked around the Chamber of Secrets.
"Harry, how do you and the rest of your associates feel about Basilisk Hide clothing?" King Ragnok queried.
"That is a thing?" Harry asked.
"Yes. A far more expensive thing than Dragon hide."
"I think you should skin that Basilisk. Take every little bit off, and perhaps I can modify the scales, by increasing the titanium content. Then we get to wear nano-laminate armour as fashionable clothes."
"Oh yes, that would be fashionable and safe. Have you found anything else in the Chamber of Secrets?" King Ragnok asked.
"No. No rooms, no hidden alcoves, nothing. It is just a snake lair essentially." Harry replied.
"Perhaps the enchantments are opened by Parseltongue. I can send one of our teams to investigate."
"That is a great idea. I was wondering if we could retrofit the Hogwarts tunnel system with a hoverkart system. And if we could tie the tunnels up together. That will be good for moving a large number of students around the castle in case of an emergency. It would be nice if students could get to classes with the system eventually, after the war." Harry wondered.
"Oh that we can do, Harry. Send specifications for your preferred segments and we will manufacture what you need?" King Ragnok suggested.
"Excellent. See you later King Ragnok!" Harry responded before he hung up.
"Well, what now?" Hermione asked.
"We are going to jetpack out of here very slowly. I want to see the top of this cave?" Harry wondered.
Hermione had begun to giggle when she realised that the aerial entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was right under the suspension bridge – and even worse, the cavern had always been open. Nobody had ever accessed the Chamber because the cavern entrance had been covered by an illusion. This was a nifty trick as far as Harry was concerned – rainwater and sunlight would enter the Chamber of Secrets by merely travelling into the earth. So Salazar's pet was not cut off from the environment.
"Well shit. And we used to think that we knew the castle!" Sirius commented.
"That is why the drone will plant sensors that will add these places to the Marauder's map. If you are crawling in a damned tunnel, I want to know. And you better believe me, Pettigrew will come scampering back eventually. As soon as his name pings the map, it is a bloody priority alert, and then I will skin him alive. I have alerts for all the old Death Eaters." Harry replied. The entire group, who was not visible under the shadows, then apparated into Peverell Manor to get their armour off and to shower.
Now it was time to deal with the prophecy – this item was responsible for Albus Dumbledore's entire motivations and it would provide clues as to why events had played out in a certain manner. The group were just finished with lunch and they were sitting on the couch, as they looked at the inscription on the prophecy.
S.P.T to A.P.W.B.D
Dark Lord
and (?) Harry Potter
Harry then rechecked his old scrap board – a project that he was running since the days of the first drone he had ever built. He was quite pleased to see Trelawney listed as "Sybill Patricia Trelawney". This meant that 'good ole bat eyes' had delivered this prophecy to Albus, and somehow Snivellius had overheard the thing and reported it to Lord Moldypants. As Harry touched the orb, a whispy imitation of the Divination teacher's voice spoke in an almost ethereal voice:
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."
After this revelation had occurred, Harry who was not one bit superstitious asked:
"So you are telling me that he put faith in a random prophecy, instead of making a concrete plan to deal with the motherfucker? That my entire life is the result of Dumbledick playing crystal ball, instead of doing jackshit? And I am supposed to admire this cunt? I should kill him. Honestly." Harry retorted.
"He ruined my life when he put all these things in motion! He ruined your life too!" Sirius complained.
"Harry, this neither can live while the other survives, do you think it has to do with you being a Horcrux? As long as you were alive, technically he could live on. He could have eventually overwritten your brain like Quirrell?" Hermione suggested.
"Well, the logic of that argument is exquisite. However, I see survival as a choice. If that prophecy was true according to Albus, all I would say is fuck your prophecy! My fate is only mine to decide, and that is final. My mind, my identity, my choices, my fate? – these are mine, and mine alone to own." Harry replied.
"Well Prongslet, what about the stupid orb?" Sirius asked.
"Perhaps if Dumbledore wants his prophecy, we should give it to him. The power that the Dark Lord knows not, could be classed as scientific knowledge. That is something he will never be interested in, and it will be the cause of the Dork Lord's demise. This prophecy caused all of this as a self-fulfilling error. We should deal with the thing….properly?" Hermione suggested, and Harry already know what she meant.
"I think so. Right you are, Mione! The first thing to do is this!" Harry replied before he took a crescent wrench and wrapped the entire prophecy in an old oily cloth. Everyone knew what was coming next.
SMASH!
"Good, he can get the pieces then?" Remus asked.
"Oh, he certainly can! In a couple of years." Harry replied as he wrote another insulting letter for the headmaster, to mail to him immediately.