The Library
"I'm sure it was him who was jinxing your broom, Harry", Hermione was saying. "I saw him chanting. He was not breaking eye contact. He must have been trying to bewitch your broom so you would fall off".
They were sitting in the library talking about the broom bucking, trying to throw him off. Hermione had told him what she had seen through the binoculars. how she had seen Snape incanting spells looking at Harry, not breaking the connection for even a second. Harry was more miffed that Sirius had taken his Nimbus 2000 away to get it checked to see that the charms imbued in it had not malfunctioned.
Ron said in indignation, "The greasy slimeball! He couldn't stomach a defeat for his snakes".
Harry looked at Neville and gave a smirk. He already knew Snape hated him for another reason altogether. A simple quidditch defeat was not the reason for it. In fact, when his broom started acting weird, he had not even spotted the snitch. What they did not understand was why Snape would act so foolishly, trying to kill him in front of the entire school. That surely would have attracted everyone's attention to him.
Sirius had been so worried about the broom bucking, trying to throw him off that he had it taken away from Harry. He was going to the Nimbus Company to get it checked for any enchantments. Harry knew it would yield no results but he could not change Sirius's mind once it was made up.
They had their theories which they were discussing but none of them had any solid reason as to why Snape would try to kill him. Harry had a few facts but it was not a lot to go on. However he was not going to discuss even that with these two. They had not yet earned his confidence enough to discuss secrets with them.
Harry noticed Daphne had arrived in the library. She went and sat at their usual spot in a distant corner. He stood up saying, "Thank you for telling me about Snape, Hermione. I will see if I can do something about it. I have to see Hagrid for something. I will see you both later".
Neville stood along with him, "I will also be taking my leave. I have to go see Professor Sprout about Dittany".
Since Harry knew Hermione would not even notice if they had gone out of the library, they turned a corner around a shelf. By walking behind shelves, they reached the table where Daphne was sitting and Harry hastily erected the wards. They took their seats at the table.
Harry and Neville knew that Daphne had shown up because she wanted to talk about what happened to Harry's broom. They decided to have some fun by sitting, quietly, looking gormless and waited for Daphne to snap.
She did not disappoint them, "Are you two idiots just going to sit there and say nothing?"
Harry pacified her, "Hold your horses, Daphne. We have a lot to talk about. We were just trying to decide where to start.".
She arched an eyebrow, "Exactly what has happened since Samhain if you do not include Isobel McDougall showing interest in you?"
Neville answered, ticking events off on his fingers, "Well let's see: we were attacked by a troll; Snape was going where he should not have been; Harry was almost thrown off his broom. Oh one more thing, we had a trip to London".
She gave them the evil glare, "So with all these adventures, you lot did not think to include me?"
Harry snorted, "Adventures? We could have been pounded into an unrecognizable paste by the troll. Falling from about 100 feet up from a bucking broom could have had a serious impact on my life expectancy. That wasn't adventure, it was scary".
She snapped, "You two always beat around the bush instead of coming to the point. Will you tell me what's going on or do I have to hex you into oblivion?"
Harry turned to Neville, "Mate, she is threatening us!"
Neville concurred, "Indeed! What shall we do now?"
That was enough for Daphne. She seemed to produce her wand out of nowhere to hex them but Harry and Neville had already disappeared under the table. A few seconds later, they both came up waving white flags, begging for mercy.
Finally when Harry and Neville were back in their seats at the table, Neville started saying, "Do you remember how Quirrell collapsed in the Great Hall during the feast? Hermione was not in the Great Hall. Parvati told us that she was in the bathroom on the second floor, crying her eyes out. We went to find her to alert her about the troll. That was when we spotted Snape heading towards the third floor. We knew that Dumbledore had asked the teachers to follow him to the dungeons.
We found the troll on the second floor. Harry and Ron started to distract it from killing Hermione Granger. Harry sent me to fetch help. Luckily, Hagrid was coming up. He was on the grand stair case when he found me. He dashed off and beat the troll to a pulp".
Harry cursed loudly, "Merlin's beard!"
Daphne asked him, "What happened? Did someone put a garden gnome in your trousers?"
Harry looked at her warily, "My elves make sure nothing like that ever happens to me, thank you very much. I just realized two things. Neville, was Hagrid carrying something with him when you found him?"
Neville frowned in concentration. Then spoke after a moment, "Yes, now that I think about it, he was carrying a burlap sack over his shoulder. He dropped it on the floor before he came to your aid".
Daphne asked him, "What is the matter, Harry?"
Harry had a theory ready, "Daphne, I do not know why I did not think about it earlier but now I think that Snape is after whatever was there below the trapdoor on the third floor".
Daphne's eyes were spread in surprise, "Why do you think so?"
Harry turned to Neville, "Mate, do you remember that we saw him limping when he came to the girl's bathroom? He had his trousers torn. Was there a gash on his leg?"
Neville nodded, "I did notice that. He is still limping from it".
Harry nodded, "Correct, so my theory is that he brought the troll in..."
Daphne cut him off mid-sentence, "Harry, he may hate you but he would not do something to put everyone in danger".
Harry shook his head, "Maybe he brought it inside to keep everyone distracted while he went for the beast, trying to find a way to subdue it? And the beast mangled him in the process? Remember how all the teachers were in the dungeons looking for the troll but he was briskly running up to the third floor? I can bet he was going there. I am also ready to bet that the dog has something to do with Hagrid".
Neville shook his head, "That is too far-fetched, mate. Hagrid is a simpleton".
Harry however continued saying, "Think about it, Neville. He is not a teacher, nor a student. His role is that of Groundskeeper. As such, he does not need to be in the castle unless he needs something. I have never seen him in the library. He was not hurt to be going to the Infirmary. Also as you said, he was carrying a burlap sack which could contain anything. Considering the beast's size, only someone like Hagrid could pet it or control it. I would bet all the galleons in my trust vault that the beast belongs to him. He was on his way to the third floor to feed it that day".
Daphne shook her head, "What you say makes sense Harry but I think you are making some broad assumptions. Who do you think is making Snape go after the thing beneath the trap door? What do you think it could be?"
Harry thought for a moment about whether to tell her about the whisper in the night or not. Finally he decided that she was their best friend. As such, she deserved to know the truth, "One night, Neville and I were prowling the corridors when I heard whispers from a room on the fifth floor. It was someone weeping, asking forgiveness from VOLDEMORT. I know that he is not dead. Perhaps he is sending Snape after the thing which is beneath the trap door. Perhaps he thinks he can benefit from whatever is beneath it".
Daphne was still not convinced but to pacify him said, "Ok. I can understand things make sense if you look at it that way. But we still do not know what is there or whether the beast actually belongs to Hagrid".
Harry smirked, "The only way to find out is by asking Hagrid".
Daphne nodded, "You will have to do it without me, Harry. I don't think he would look at me with favor because I am a Slytherin. Now what happened with your broom that day?"
Harry had a theory about that too, "Someone was jinxing my broom for it to throw me off. Hermione claimed to have seen Snape jinxing my broom. She told me that Snape was not blinking while incanting. That is what he would have to do if he were the culprit, doing the jinxing. I think that maybe Snape wanted to kill me for foiling the troll plan".
Daphne was considering everything he said, "Harry, you will need to be careful around Snape at least. If you are right about the events as you have observed, he wants you dead. Doing something like that stunt he did with your broom means that he's not being very discrete about it either. You will have to be really careful with him".
Harry nodded, "Don't worry. I can always keep an eye on his whereabouts", as he patted the pocket where he kept the Marauder's map.
So, You Like Dungbombs
Harry had not forgotten the Slytherins who had bombarded Filch. He was just waiting for an opportune moment to strike. He had solicited help from the Weasley Twins, Ernie, Susan, Hannah and Justin.
He would need the twins to 'borrow' the schedule of daily patrols from Percy. It was important for their plan. They needed to know who they could expect to find in what part of the castle because Harry could not be everywhere at all times with the map.
For the Gryffindors, he had met them in the Common Room. They were sitting in sofas around the fire in the common room. Harry turned to them. "We are going to plan a prank. I need your help", he flatly said, "If you think you cannot help or you want to walk away, this is your chance. If you stay and later snitch on me to McGonagall or any of the Professors then I do not need to tell you that I will have my revenge upon you".
The twins were first to offer their support, "You do not even need to ask, mate".
When Harry saw that everyone was ready to help him, he began sharing his plan, "About a week ago, Filch threatened to whip Ernie Macmillan for bombarding him with dungbombs. Ernie had nothing to do with it. I have already dealt with Filch. But now I want to go after the Slytherins who were responsible for framing Ernie". He turned to the twins, "I want you two to find the patrol schedule for the next week. I am willing to bet that the two of you can persuade Percy to be helpful if you put your minds to it".
The twins grinned, "Oh Perce will be happy to help us, even if he doesn't know it".
He had the same talk with his other friends. They all agreed to the plan. The schedule was 'found' and copied by the twins. Harry knowingly chose a night when there was no Astronomy class so that there was little chance of getting caught. They could not attack the Slytherins near their own Common Room because it was too close to the Serpent's Pit.
He stalked them for a few days to monitor their movements and their numbers. When he was certain that there were 20 of them, plan started to form in his mind.
On the chosen day, there were two Professors on Patrol duty until mid-night. Professor Quirrell was on patrol from Dungeon to 3rd floor. Professor Vector, the arithmancy witch was to patrol from 4th to 7th floor. There were 8 Prefects on duty until mid-night- Two 6th year Gryffindors, two 5th year Hufflepuffs, two 7th year Ravenclaws and the Head Boy with the Head Girl.
Harry had Neville stalk them while they were on their patrols. It turned out they were lazy on patrol duty. They would perfunctorily make one round, then return to their common rooms. They had about an hour to do their pranking and make their escape. A clear message which was given to each member of the team was that if there was any chance that a Prefect could catch you, then stun them and leave because they could not risk getting a single one of them caught.
On a recon mission with the Hufflepuffs in their group, they noted what the Slytherins did when they were breaking curfew. Of the 20, five could be found in the kitchens, five were on the Astronomy Tower, five out on the grounds near the edge of the Forbidden Forest and five of them were harassing students from other houses who were also breaking curfew. After all, they were not the only ones who could think of such things.
For the actual strike, Harry had chosen only 4 of them. It would be easy for four of them to strike swiftly and strike hard then escape unseen than it would be for a larger group of them. They all had done their bit in the prank. Now it was up to the four of them to execute it. With the help of the map, Harry had marked the best places where they could hide so they could easily strike then leave.
Since the twins practically knew every inch of the castle, they could choose their hiding place themselves. Harry and Neville decided to start with the kitchens because that is where the desserts were.
Hiding in the kitchens was very easy with the invisibility cloak. They sat at one of those big tables in the kitchen facing the door with the Fruit bowl. They patiently waited till the Slytherins came in while they munched on Treacle Tarts and Éclairs. There were only a couple of elves milling about. Harry had sent them to sleep sometime ago so there was no one who could report on them but Harry did not realize his mistake until later. If they stunned the Slytherins in the kitchen, how would Filch find them? But the answer to his predicament came to him almost instantly.
When the Slytherins were engorging themselves with food, Harry and Neville stunned them before they knew what was happening. After they were done, Harry and Neville started lobbing Dungbombs around in the kitchen. After making it sufficiently dirty, they rubbed the stunned students hands with grime then stuffed their pockets with the dungbombs before they left. When they were at a sufficient distance from the kitchen in a room with no portraits or ghosts, Harry raised his voice, "Peeves".
Peeves came floating to them about 2 minutes later, cackling, "Naughty students making trouble. Call on Peevsie, he'll make it double". He doffed his hat and sketched a bow, "Potty calls Peevsie. Peevsie helps".
Harry was amused at his words but he had work to do, "Peeves, remember those Slytherins who had stunned you?"
Peevsie nodded eagerly. Harry continued, "I found them. I have left them stunned in the kitchen with dungbombs in their pockets. Give us about ten minutes then make sure Filch finds them. Can you do that?" Peeves nodded again. Harry finished, "They will be put in detention and you will have your revenge".
As expected, the poltergeist fell for their prank. He left cackling. Harry and Neville did not waste a moment in moving on to their next task. Their work there was accomplished anyway.
The twins had their work cut out for them. Unlike the other duo, they did not wait for the Slytherins. Since they did not have an invisibility cloak, they did not have the leisure to sit and hit their targets. They had to rely on guts and luck. For those on the Astronomy Tower, they followed them from near their Common Room. When they passed through a corridor where there was little to no light, they sent stunners everywhere. They were not sure if they got everybody but the sound of falling bodies was sufficient to tell them that some of their spells had found their mark. Before the Slytherins could get themselves together and cast lumos to light their wands, 4 of them were already down. The last one could not see them either because they were out of the range of his wandlight. With a quick stunner, he was also down. They pelted the Slytherins with dungbombs to their heart's content. Then with some cannon bangs from their wands, they were gone before Filch could arrive to catch them.
For those in the Forbidden Forest, it was pretty simple. The forest was mostly dark without any lanterns which students generally took when they went into the forest. They had already seen what the Slytherins did in the forest and knew where they would be found. With some quick spells, the five were down. A cannon bang near the Hippogriff paddocks brought Hagrid running towards them. He found the five of them and hauled them back to the castle where he handed them over to Filch.
For Filch, it was like a dream come true. He had never caught so many of them in a single night before. What's more, he did it without making any effort whatsoever. Even that pesky poltergeist, Peeves had helped him for once, telling him that students had entered the kitchen. They had desecrated it with dungbombs. How dare they!
The night however was far from over. Harry and Neville were on the prowl. Wherever they found a Slytherin breaking curfew, they would stun him and leave him in the open for others to find. Sometimes they gave a cannon bang to attract Filch or one of the prefects on patrol. Since no Slytherin prefect was on patrol tonight, there was no way that they could escape detention.
There were a couple of them that Harry and Neville had to reluctantly lock in a broom cupboard. They knew that the moment the students were conscious, they would have no problem escaping, so they put Peeves there to harass them when they got free. If they were not caught, they would not have a pleasant night either.
The next morning
The first thing that the students noticed the next morning was that the emeralds in the Slytherin Hourglass had decreased to half of what they had been a day before. A casual look at the detention log showed that 16 students from the House had 20 points apiece deducted from them for breaking curfew and they had all been placed for two night's detention with Filch.
Harry and his friends had chosen the Gryffindor table this morning for breakfast. Lisa was saying, "I take it that this was your doing? Nobody else could have done it".
The twins protested, "It was our doing. These two were our minions".
Harry turned to Neville, "Mate, did we not have a partnership with these fine blokes?"
Neville mock-frowned, "Looks like they need reminders that none of us were playing minion last night".
Lisa raised her hands in a stop gesture, "why we were not included?"
"Lisa there was nothing that I required of you both this time. Four of us were sufficient for the execution. Our friends in the badger's hole scouted them. They told us where they could be found. That was it. Next time, I will definitely ask you both before anyone else".
Lisa grumbled, "You better, Potter-Black. The eagle's nest is a boring place with everyone after knowledge but not about how to use that knowledge for some harmless fun".
Neville however was making some calculations. He said, "Mate, it looks like four of them escaped our nets".
Harry waved him off, "Don't worry, mate. We will have time to get them later. This single night has brought their score below ours. I don't think that Snape will take kindly to his snakes damaging their reputation anymore. We would need to stop all our activities for a week or so because he would be on the prowl looking for those who did his snakes in".
Neville said to him in an undertone, "And Daphne will murder us the next time she sees us".
Harry cringed but said rather valiantly, "We will make her see reason, mate. She is not unreasonable".
The face of the foe
True to Neville's prediction, Daphne had threatened to hex them into oblivion for targeting the snakes. Harry and Neville had escaped by a hair's breadth by telling her that they had nothing to do with the fiasco. Since there were no witnesses other than Peeves, and he wasn't talking, she could not pin it on the two of them. She had all the grounds to suspect their complicity but there was not enough evidence. Their friends refused to discuss the topic with her because they knew what she was up to.
Their classes went at their usual pace with nothing out of the ordinary happening. They loved every moment of those classes where the teachers would show them interesting things but were terribly bored in the classes where the teachers were not worth their salt.
McGonagall was teaching them elementary transfiguration. Flitwick had moved on to the severing charm which was handy as a regular household spell. Quirrell could not speak half of the time. When he did, it was hard to make out what he was saying. Thankfully, Moony had sent him a schedule after he had made a plea to him about doing something about defense. The schedule contained a course work of spells befitting a first year. Needless to say, the schedule had come in triplicate. Neville and Daphne's copies were delivered to them with Moony's love. The schedule lined up things that a firstie was expected to know by the end of the year.
The only mistake Harry had made with the schedule was to study it in the Common Room where Hermione spotted him with it. He was looking at the list of spells, marking which ones he was done with when Hermione ambled into the seat beside him, "What are you doing, Harry?"
He did not stop to consider who had asked the question. He answered her nonchalantly, "I am comparing my progress to this schedule of Defense against the Dark Arts".
She saw the schedule then frowned, "This is not the schedule that Professor Quirrell has set for us".
That was when Harry realized who he was talking to, "Hermione this is not his schedule. He is incompetent as a teacher. This schedule was set for me by my guardian. He obtained 11 Outstandings during his time at Hogwarts".
Hermione's eyes were round as Galleons. She almost snatched the schedule from him, "Can I see it? Will you teach me too? Can I meet him? Can you tell me more?"
Harry sighed. He had invited this on himself. He had been careless with his words. Now it was going to cost him. "Hermione, I am a student myself. I doubt that I can teach you. I cannot tell you more because I know only as much as you do or may be less than you. You can meet Uncle Moony if you can come over during the winter vacation. That is if he has not planned holidays somewhere else".
It had been a week since the Slytherins had been caught in the dead of night. Due to previous warning, no students from the House of Gryffindor had been caught. Snape, true to Harry's predictions kept wandering around the Fat Lady's portrait portal to Gryffindor tower after curfew. He would remain there for an hour after mid-night despite the weather turning to winter. Harry knew that Snape suspected the Gryffindors were involved in the act so he was after them. Luckily, he had not gone after other houses or someone might have squealed to him.
That night, Harry felt a need to go out, take a walk around the castle. Neville told him that it was chilly outside and he was not Gryffindor enough to brave it. Harry wanted to walk about the castle, nothing more. He was near the 5th floor when he heard two people talking in whispers.
Under the invisibility cloak, he levelled himself with the wall and slowly walked forward to find out what was happening. When he came upon the occurrence, he sighed. It had kind of become the usual scene for him to find Snape with a wand pointed at Quirrell.
Snape was growling, "Did you find a way to get past the three headed dog yet?"
Quirrell was whimpering, "Seve. Severus, I don't know what you are talking about. I was just taking a walk".
Severus had dug his wand into Quirrell's chest, "Don't try to fool me. I know you are trying to find a way past the dog. There is still time to think about your loyalties, Quirrell. We will talk again".
Harry felt pity for the defense teacher. He was already a fragile bloke. a man like Snape was threatening him to find a way around the Cerberus. He was coercing Quirinus Quirrell. Since Harry could not find a way to console Quirinus, he decided to lend him some moral support. If there was someone standing between Snape and the dog, it was the defense Professor who despite not being very strong was standing up to the potions professor.
Harry also was intrigued now. Just what was beneath that trap-door that Snape was so eager to get? Maybe it was time to meet with Hagrid, ask him some questions. Thanks to Moony, he already knew that the groundskeeper was terrible at keeping secrets. He was unfailingly loyal but terrible at keeping his mouth shut.
Library
"And that is what happened", Harry had just finished telling Neville and Daphne about what had happened the previous night.
Daphne was thinking things over. She understood that Severus Snape was after the thing beneath the trap-door. It must have been something invaluable or powerful for him to be interested in it. She took her time to form an answer, "Putting together every fact which we have unearthed, it is certain that Snape is after that thing but I do not think we should get involved in it. May be we can try to find out what is beneath that trap door. If it is invaluable, we would tell the elders and leave it to them to protect it. For that you will both need to meet with Hagrid though".
Harry nodded, "I understand, Daphne. In fact this evening we are planning to pay him a visit".
As soon as they left the library, they came across the duo of Hermione and Ron. Hermione asked him, "Hi Harry. Where are you going?"
Harry did not want to involve her in this but he could not think of an excuse fast enough. He allowed them to tag along with him to visit Hagrid. It was likely they would not understand what was going on.
Hagrid was in his hut, tending to his dinner. He jovially welcomed them. He presented them with his rock cakes and tea. A subtle shake of the head from Harry was enough to tell the others to stay away from the cakes. They were deep into their cups when Harry asked him, "Hagrid, what do you think happened to my broom during the match?"
Ron said, "I'll bet that Flint hexed it when he collided with you".
Hagrid waved his big dustbin lid size hands, "That is some complicated dark magic. I can't expect a student to know that".
Hermione said, "I already told you Harry that I saw Snape jinxing your broom".
Hagrid said vehemently, "Rubbish. Snape is a teacher. He would not do anything like that".
Harry was glad that Hermione had given him the opening, "Then why was he trying to go near the three headed dog?"
Hagrid dropped his cup, "Who told you about Fluffy?"
Harry snorted, "That thing has a name! And it's Fluffy? Are you sure that you did not mix up his name with Fang's? Anyway, I have seen Snape going towards it".
Now Hagrid was threatening them, "you four! Keep away from whatever it is. It is dangerous for you to involve yourselves in. I gave Fluffy to Dumbledore to guard something. It is between him and his friend Nicholas Flammel..." He clamped his mouth as he realized what he had blurted. He started muttering, "I shouldn't 'ave said that! I shouldn't 'ave said that!"
Meanwhile, Harry stood up and was walking out, "Thank-you, Hagrid. You have been very helpful".
On the way back to the castle, Hermione asked them, "What three-headed dog was he talking about?"
Harry stopped and stared at Hermione, "What? Only one question? You're an imposter. What have you done with the real Hermione?"
She answered with her patented Hermione glare, then Harry said, "Okay. You pass". Then he turned to Neville and said, "Minion, would you please do the honors?"
Neville acted offended, "Minion? Me? I thought it was your turn to be the minion".
Harry quipped, "Nope. It's Friday and you're on minion duty Fridays".
There was no way that they could keep it secret from her any longer. She already knew a little about it. If she said the wrong thing in the wrong place or started asking the wrong questions from wrong person, it could mean trouble for them. The safest way out was to tell her about it. Neville told her the bare essentials about their first meeting with the dog, what little they knew about Snape's involvement in the whole episode. They did not brief her about Snape's history with his parents or anything like that. After all, Lord Black always played his cards close to his chest. He had taught Harry and Neville the same thing. The old man had shaped the two young wizard's lives with a decision of his.
Ministry of Magic
The hearing for Fudge and Malfoy's attempt to usurp the Lordship of House Black was scheduled for today and Lord Black was ready to maul the two of them. Lucius perhaps understood that. He also realized that he had little power under the current regime. There was no way for him except to heed Lord Black's demands. Besides, the older wizard was more powerful politically. He could create more problems for Lucius than he needed.
Fudge had been making noise among his fellow lords that Lucius had backstabbed him. Most of them knew he was speaking the truth. Lucius also knew that they would not go against him. Being a former member of the inner circle of the Dark Lord had its privileges.
The hearing was a closed matter which could be decided without the Wizengamot being involved. As such, it was scheduled before Rufus Scrimgeour, the head of DMLE.
When Lucius entered into Scrimgeour's office, Rufus pointed him to a seat, "Have a seat, Mr. Malfoy". When Arcturus arrived, Rufus stood from his place and warmly shook hands with him, "Welcome Lord Black. Please take a seat while we wait for Mr. Fudge". The demeanour of Scrimgeour towards Arcturus was sufficient warning to him that this was not going to be favourable to him at all. The one most poorly treated was Fudge. Rufus did not even speak to him but just pointed him to his seat.
After they were seated, Rufus started to speak, "As you all know, you all are here for a hearing on a complaint lodged by Lord Black against you both for violating his rights. Do you wish to say something in your defense?"
Malfoy went first, "I do not have any defense to make against these allegations made by him. I was in the wrong for having violated his rights. I tender an unconditional apology to him and I vow to pay reparations as he chooses".
In truth, Malfoy knew he had lost in the political field against Lord Black. The old wizard had the upper hand. Howsoever he may try Arcturus Black would always end up on top. It was better to retreat when the time was not opportune. When it was his time again, Lucius would avenge for all the insults which had been caused to him.
Rufus turned to Fudge, "Mr. Fudge, do you want to say something in your defense?"
The former minister started gibbering, "I had no role in this. It was Lucius's doing. He convinced me that his son was the next heir. Accordingly I made the appointment".
Arcturus growled, "You fool. Did he show you a decree from Gringotts naming his son as the heir apparent?"
Fudge tried to say something more, then thought better of it and kept his peace. There was nothing he could say anyway.
Rufus prompted him, "Do you have anything more to say, Mr. Fudge?"
Fudge shook his head, "No. I accept my responsibility. I agree to pay reparations as he chooses".
Rufus turned to him, "Would you like to say something, Lord Black?"
Arcturus decided to appear magnanimous to the head of DMLE, "I have nothing to say, Mr. Scrimgeour. Minister Bones has appointed you to adjudicate upon this dispute. I will respect your decision".
Rufus smiled brightly, "if you all are so agreed then I leave it upon you to decide as to what you want in the way of reparations from them".
Arcturus turned to Lucius, "last I heard you had ten million Galleons in liquid assets in your vault when you were trying to bargain for your family honour. I will take 5 million Galleons out of that".
Lucius blanched, "But you said you do not want to touch my gold".
Arcturus gave him an evil smirk, "I have changed my mind now. I want 6 Million Galleons from you. Every time you refuse, I will keep raising it. It is your call now, Lucius".
Lucius knew he should agree to his demands quickly. After all, it was far less than he would have paid to redeem his family honor if it came down to that. If the matter went before the Wizengamot, the debacle which would happen would be nothing short of getting his family honour impugned. The only way for him was to accept his demands. He reluctantly said, "Lord Black, I accept your demands. I agree to pay reparations in the form of 6 Million Galleons to you".
Arcturus turned to Fudge, "May I enquire about how much you have in the form of property and liquid assets in your vaults? That is, provided that you are considered important enough at Gringotts to be given a High Security Vault like the old families or do you have an ordinary vault which can be opened with a key like the trust vaults which we give to our heirs?"
This was the cruellest thing that Lord Black could say to Fudge. Of course this was an insult which he could not stomach easily. Everyone knew that Fudge was not issued a high security vault which was reserved for the old families mostly. The emphasis on vaults was to show that House of Black was far superior to House of Fudge.
Fudge was seething but controlled his emotions. He replied a bit smugly, "Last time I checked, House of Fudge had a manor, two apartments in Muggle London, shares in a business in Hogsmeade and about 5 Million Galleons in the vault".
Lord Black turned to Rufus. He grinned, "That is one problem solved, Rufus. Mr. Fudge has just told you the extent of his properties. Now the ministry does not have to bang its head against the wall in this matter, I presume".
Rufus returned the grin, "I am indeed very thankful to you, Lord Black. We can now move directly to seize the said assets of house Fudge".
Lord Black turned to Cornelius who was gaping in shock, "So Mr. Fudge, I want 3 Millions out of those 5 Millions which you have squirreled away in your vault".
Hogwarts
Harry was sitting with Isobel while thinking about Nicholas Flammel. He knew he had read the name somewhere but he just could not recall it. He knew if he asked Moony or Sirius, they would tell him in a minute but it was an unnecessary risk which he did not want to take.
It had so happened that Neville had stayed behind to help in the Greenhouses. Harry had gone to the library to study.
Isobel had walked into the library, saw him at a table and took the seat beside him without asking. When he did not greet her or say anything but kept poring over a hefty tome, she asked him, "What has occupied your mind that you are looking over such a tome without any reason to do so?"
Harry realized that she was sitting beside him. He said formally, "I was just trying to find a bloke in these books. I have read about him somewhere but just cannot recall where".
She said simply, "you can always ask, Harry. We are your friends. we will help you, if we can".
Harry lightly smacked his forehead, "yeah, I tend to do this often. Anyway, I was looking for Nicholas Flammel. I cannot remember where I have read his name".
Isobel smirked, "Looks like you do not know your Chocolate Frog Cards, Harry".
Harry frowned, "What has he got to do with Chocolate frog cards?"
She pulled a card out of her pocket and handed it to him, "Here, read the description on this one".
Harry read the name of the wizard. It clicked into his mind where he had read the name. He smacked his head, "What an idiot I am. Thank you Isobel, you have been very helpful".
She was grinning, "Now can you find the encyclopedia or do you need my help with it?"
Harry grinned sheepishly, "Don't embarrass me more, please".
Nicholas Flammel who was a friend of Dumbledore, was an alchemist who had a wife named Perenelle Flammel. they both were more than 600 years old. He was credited with the discovery of the Sorcerer's stone which could turn anything into gold. It could also create the elixir of life which gives long life and good health to the user.
This was enough to get the bells ringing in his head. The Sorcerer's stone was being housed in the school. Snape was after it. He could not wait to tell his friends about it but that would have to wait. If he ran to them leaving Isobel there, she would get suspicious.
"What is your favourite subject, Harry?", Isobel was asking.
That brought Harry out of his musings. He turned to her, "My favourite subjects yet are Transfiguration and Charms. I like defense but the Professor is a sub-standard teacher who does not know what he is teaching. I like my plants well enough but I am not mad about them like Neville is". She snorted at his answer. He decided to keep the conversation going, "What is your favourite subject, Isobel?"
She said simply, "I am intrigued by transfiguration. I have heard it is the most complex branch of magic only after Arithmancy but we do not get to take our electives until third year".
Harry asked her out of curiosity, "Isobel, I know that your family lives in Scotland but have you been to Hogsmeade yet?"
She shook her head, "We always do our shopping in Diagon Alley. Grand-father told me that I can visit there in my third year. I feel like third year is really far away".
Harry asked her, "Would you like to go to the village?"
She immediately nodded, "yes please but how?"
Harry smirked, "Follow me. Let me show you one of the many talents of Hadrian Potter-Black".
She followed him out of the library to the fifth floor where there was the statue of the humped witch. When they stopped there, she asked him, "Did you bring me to watch the crone?"
Harry shook his head, "No, I brought you here to show you the path to freedom".
He tapped the statue with his wand then muttered "Dissendium". The hump opened and he asked her to jump in. She reluctantly did so. Harry followed suit, closing the hump behind him.
When they emerged into Honeydukes an hour later, Mr. Flume was manning the counter. He welcomed him warmly, "Welcome Mr. Potter-Black. I see you have brought me another patron".
Harry grinned, "Since you are such an amenable host, it is hard to refuse the hospitality of your establishment, Mr. Flume. This charming lady here is my friend, Isobel McDougall, daughter of the McDougall clan. Isobel, this gentleman here is Mr. Ambrosius Flume, the secret behind the tasty chocolates of Honeydukes".
They took leave of Mr. Flume and went on a tour of the village. Once they had to dive behind the snow piled beside the road to escape Professor McGonagall. She seemed to be visiting the village with Professor Vector, the Arithmancy witch. When the two witches had passed, Harry breathed a sigh of relief.
When they got cold from walking out in the snow, they walked into the Three Broomsticks. Madam Rosemerta who had started to recognize him smiled jovially at the two of them. She said, "Oh my my! Looks like your talents exceed your father and god-father, Harry. They could not ask anyone out until their fourth year. You are already walking around with a pretty witch on your arm". They both blushed at her words. They were just 11 years old after all.
"Indeed you are right, Rosy. My godson certainly seems to be the magnet to attract witches when his poor father who was smitten by his mother at first sight could not get her to go out with him until their seventh year. As for me, I never cared about showing off, so you would not know about it", said Sirius Black who had just entered the inn with Remus in tow.
Remus frowned at him, "I knew it was a bad idea to tell you about the secret ways out of the castle, cub. How many times have you been on unauthorized visits out of the castle by now?"
Rosmerta chided him, "Hush you both. Don't you go chasing my patrons away. Besides, this one and the Longbottom boy remind me of you lot except they are much more civilized than you".
Sirius grumbled, "I would not have expected anything other than that from those who have been brought up by grandfather. These two are the perfect con artists. Be careful Rosy or someday, they will bereave you of your most valued possessions".
Isobel asked Sirius, "Are you always like this?"
Sirius was confused, "Like what?"
She said with a straight face, "Are you always trying to make yourself likeable with poor puns and lame humor?"
Remus started laughing at this comment while Sirius pouted, "No one appreciates my humor these days".
Remus said to him, "Let's leave Sirius before they further affront you about your epochly poor sense of humour. Prongs never said anything about it because he did not want to break your heart".
Isobel turned to Harry, "He looks like a decent bloke. Why does he always try to make fun of the situation?"
Harry sighed, "I suppose having lost his reason to live, having spent a decade in Azkaban with Dementors can have that effect upon people. I have not spent much time with him since he was released so I do not know for certain".
They ordered a couple of butter beers and shortly left for the castle to make it back before others noticed they were missing. They did not want a search party looking for them.
Lion's Den
Harry, Neville, Hermione and Ron were sitting in the Common room on chairs in a corner. They were discussing what Harry had found out.
"This evening, I found out about Nicholas Flammel. He is an alchemist who is said to be over 600 years old. He is credited with making the Sorcerer's stone".
Hermione interrupted him, "I remember now. I read about him in a book I had borrowed from the library. He is an alchemist credited with making the Sorcerer's stone which can turn anything into gold and can make the elixir of life which can give long life to the drinker".
Harry was scowling but decided to let it go for the time being. He started speaking from where she had finished. "So, I guess Snape is after the stone. It is below that trap-door. Remember Hagrid had blurted that whatever was there in that high-security vault at Gringotts had been removed that same day. Then a few days ago, he blurted that it was between the Headmaster and Nicholas Flammel".
They agreed that it was the Sorcerer's stone which was being kept in the school but they did not know what other protections were there. They had no interest in knowing what it was doing in the school or why Snape wanted to get his hands on it. What they were concerned with was enjoying their school lives as much as they could while excelling at their studies.
Arcturus had informed Harry in no uncertain terms that he would tolerate any amount of mischief so long as Harry kept his grades up. It did not matter for the old wizard that Harry was placed at the top of his class. He was to have sufficient knowledge of everything that he was taught. The same message in the same terms had been conveyed to Neville by Augusta. They did mischief but they put in the hard work that was required first. They were not about to embarrass themselves before their guardians.
Hermione asked him, "Harry do you think Snape could be looking for it not for himself but for someone else?"
That thought jolted Harry. He obviously knew Snape had been a death eater during the first war. Later he claimed to have turned spy for Dumbledore. It was on Dumbledore's word that Snape was not sent to Azkaban. But what if Snape had never changed his loyalties, was still secretly working for Voldemort? What if the whispering he had heard in the night was Snape and Voldemort? He shuddered at the thought of such a thing happening.
Before he could say anything however, Ron had opened his mouth, "It is possible that he would be willing to obtain it to make a lot of gold. I mean I would not mind a stone which can turn anything into gold".
This was a different thought however Harry knew that taking all factors together, it just did not add up. Snape would not have been after the stone for making gold but for making the elixir of life which would be worth more than all the gold in the world for someone like a disembodied dark lord for instance.
The next day, he met with Daphne. He discussed everything with her. She was a patient listener. She listened to everything he said. When he was done, she started speaking, "Taking everything together, it is certain that the Sorcerer's stone is being hidden at the school. Nobody would be fool enough to leave all the protection up to a three-headed dog. We do not need to trouble ourselves with it however there is a question which I want ask- If you got your hands on that stone, what would you do with it Harry?"
Harry replied simply, "The stone is of no use to me, Daph. I would return it to someone who can keep it safe. Such a thing that could throw the world into chaos should not have been made in the first place".
The mirror of desire
One night, when Harry was talking with Sirius, Harry asked him out of curiosity, "Padfoot was there any place in Hogwarts that you wanted to find but could not despite knowing that it exists?"
Sirius thought hard for a moment before he started speaking, "When we were students, we had over-heard Dumbledore talking to someone about Archives of Hogwarts which are accessible to the Headmaster. It is situated somewhere in the castle. We tried hard to find it and put it on the map but we never got anywhere close to it. It contains such secrets about the castle that no one else in living memory knew about it. It is rumored that there is also information available on the Founders secured in the archive which is otherwise unavailable".
That made Harry curious about these Archives. It definitely would have many secrets that would be worth all the gold in his trust vault. He made up his mind to go exploring the castle under his Invisibility Cloak to find something about it. Harry had taken it upon himself as a challenge to find it since Sirius said that the Marauders could not find it. If he did so, he would be the second person in the thousand year old History of Hogwarts to have known about it besides the current headmaster.
He had started walking away from the Gryffindor Common Room without any fixed destination in mind. Before he realized it, he was already on the fourth floor in the restricted section of the library. For improved visibility, he had brought a lantern with him which he was using by keeping his hand out of the cloak. He was trying to look for any book which might give a clue about the location of the archive.
He thought that perhaps some of the books in that section of the library would contain information about the archives or may be some indication about their whereabouts.
He pulled a book off the shelf at random. Without a second thought, he opened it. The book started wailing loudly. Harry dropped his lantern and the book which shut itself. The wailing stopped. Since he had dropped his lantern, its glass was shattered and it went out.
Harry panicked momentarily but was thankful almost instantly for the darkness because Filch was already on the scene, sneering, "Smell him, my sweet. The nasty little blighter will be here somewhere". He had found the shattered lantern and was inspecting it.
The infernal cat, Mrs. Norris, was trying to sniff where Harry was standing. Harry was scared for a moment. If Filch started to move his hands through the air and managed to catch hold of his cloak then he would be seen. He stood without even daring to breathe while the cat meowed. She tried to sense him standing there but it moved away after a minute. Filch followed her. Harry cautiously walked out of the library to return to the Common Room when he ran into Filch and Snape in a small corridor.
Filch was showing him the lantern, saying, "This was found in the restricted section of the library, Professor which is out of bounds to students. It is still warm meaning some student is out of bed at this hour".
Snape ran off in one direction followed by Filch. Harry slipped into a space beside a suit of armour so that nobody would collide with him. There was not much space in that little corridor.
When he was level with the wall, trying to hide himself, he realized there was a door behind him. As Snape and Filch passed him, he opened the door which was already unlocked. He moved inside.
It was an unused room which was somewhere on the 2nd floor since the suit of Armour he had seen was certainly somewhere on that floor. He locked the door behind him. Then he started inspecting the room at once. It was full of broken furniture, old portraits. There were cobwebs on the ceiling. There at the side of the room was a mirror, erected by the wall. It had some strange symbols and runes on it. Harry had not learned enough about runes to be able to decipher it. Despite it having been locked in an unused room for perhaps decades, it was clean without a speck of dirt on the glass.
Curiously, he peered into the glass. He felt longing in his heart. There in the mirror, he could see his parents (he had many pictures of them and had seen them in Moony's memories through the years), his grand-parents and many other people he was sure were his relatives. His mother was prettier than the photos he had seen of her. They both looked so young. James Potter had his hand on his son's shoulder. Lily was smiling at him in the mirror. What's more, there were more people in the mirror- Arcturus Orion Black, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Neville Longbottom and Daphne Greengrass.
He kept gazing at them making conversation with the images he saw in the mirror. While they did not reply to him, they would smile at him making him feel at ease with himself. He remained there for about 2 hours but had to leave when he saw Mrs. Norris walking into the room he was in. He promised himself to just come here once more to see those people in the mirror. He had to see them again.
Neville's dreams
Next morning, he had told Neville everything that he had seen. Neville was indignant, "You went off without me? You could have woke me up, Harry".
Harry waved him off, "Mate, you can come tonight. I am going there again".
They had also told Daphne about the mirror. She showed no interest in the said mirror saying that she liked to stay away from enchanted mirrors especially ones that had the power to show people who have passed away.
Their plan to go undetected to the mirror however was thwarted when Ron tagged along with them as they left the Common Room. He followed them out of the portrait hole and asked, "Where are you both going?"
Harry decided that they might as well take him along before he attracted too much attention. He asked Ron to follow him in a whisper. Together, they went looking for the room where the mirror was.
When they found the mirror, Harry let Neville have a look before he did. Neville reported, "I can see myself in the mirror as I am looking now and… and..." his breath was caught in his throat and his eyes were brimming with tears, "my parents are with me and there is you and Gran and Daph".
Harry was thankful he had not called Daphne by name but also puzzled. He had thought that Neville too would see the Potters in the mirror but evidently it showed different people to different persons.
To test his theory, he asked Ronald to look into the mirror. Ron peered into it and a grin spread on his face, "I can see that I am a prefect and the Head Boy. I have won the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup".
Harry was stupefied. The mirror was not even showing the Weasleys to Ron when it should have. It had just showed him and Neville their families.
However, he had no time to ponder because he could see that Snape was coming towards them on the Marauder's map. If they wanted to escape detention, they had to leave at that instant. Harry knew in his heart that he would return for the third night, just to find out the secret of the mirror. Neville and Ron had decided that they did not want to visit the mirror again.
The third night, as Harry arrived and took off his cloak, someone said, "I knew you would come again, Harry".
Harry had his wand out in a moment. He turned around to find Albus Dumbledore standing there in his midnight blue robes with its stars and moon pattern and the twinkle in his eyes. Harry said to him sheepishly, "I am sorry I did not see you, Professor".
Dumbledore chuckled, "That happens when one is intent upon a goal, Harry. Other things are easily overlooked". He gestured to the mirror, "I see that you have found the Mirror of Erised".
Harry asked him, confused, "What is that?"
Dumbledore pointed towards the mirror, "This is called the mirror of erased because it shows more than your face. See the writing on it? It reads Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi but if you read it backwards then it reads I show not your face but your heart's desire. Have you figured out what it does?"
Harry thought for a second before he replied, "Does it show our desires?"
Dumbledore said thoughtfully, "Indeed. Your friends Neville and Ron saw their desires. Neville saw him with his parents cured of their ailment, you, someone Daph as a family because he has not known his parents like you. Your friend Ron has 5 elder brothers. They all have done great deeds so he is over-burdened by expectations even when they are not there. He desires to do better than all his brothers so he saw himself as the Head-boy, a Prefect, holding the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup".
He paused for a moment to take a breath before he continued saying, "This mirror is a dangerous artefact, Harry. This makes a person bereft of their senses by showing something which is not reality. Wizards better than you have fallen to its charm, lost the meaning of their lives. It is good to have dreams, Harry but it is not wise to hold onto them when they can become toxic to you. Today this mirror will be moved to a new location. I would ask that you do not go looking for it again. Harry, promise me that you will not go looking for it".
Harry agreed, "I promise, Professor".
The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes had returned, "Now off to bed with you, Harry. It is quite late. I presume you do not want to be put into detention for being late to classes".
Harry started to go but stopped. He turned to Dumbledore, "Professor, what do you see when you look into the mirror?"
Dumbledore was thoughtful for a moment before he said, "I see myself holding a pair of fine woolen socks. You see every year people gift me a lot of books but never a good pair of woollen socks".
Harry returned to his dorm. He was in his bed when he realized that perhaps it was too personal of a question to ask the old Headmaster.
Duelling Class
Flitwick was having them work on increasing their casting speed. When they arrived for his class two weeks ago, he had them sit and asked them, "Do you both have any idea about how to increase your casting speed?"
Harry answered him, "Professor, casting speed increases with practice. As time is spent practicing, one's casting abilities get better".
Flitwick nodded, "You are right. Sometimes casting speed can make all the difference between a loss and a win. If you are a bit faster than your opponent, it may allow you to cast a spell even in the briefest of intervals, which would make all the difference. For the next week, I want you both to come here for an hour in the evening for at least two evenings to practice casting at the dummies. We will follow this pattern for this term. we will proceed to something new during the new term".
With that, he set them to practice casting colour changing spells at a dummy. The only catch was that the dummy was casting at them instead of defending or standing inert when they cast. There was an hourglass which they had to set before they started to practice. They had to keep casting. Neither of them could hit the other's dummy. When the hour was over, the dummies would stop casting. They were to count the number of hits they had made upon their dummies. That would be helpful for them to know how much they had cast in an hour.
The first evening of practice, Harry had made 120 hits in an hour while Neville was around 110. They both vowed to do better the next time. Last time they practiced, Harry was at 140 with Neville at 135. They were getting better but it would have to wait for the new term because the winter vacation was starting in 4 days.
Hermione who had missed her parents was going home. Ernie, Susan, Hannah, Justin, Michael, Lisa and almost everyone else was going home except the Weasleys.
Harry asked Ronald, "Why are you staying at the castle, mate?"
Ron shrugged, "Mother, Father and Ginny are visiting Charlie in Romania. The house will be empty therefore we are staying back".
Harry had talked to the Marauders. Then he met with Percy, "Percy, my guardian wants me to extend an invitation of hospitality to you and your brothers. Lord Black desires to meet you all. Will you accept my invitation?"
Percy had accepted after he had sent a letter home. After he received the reply from his parents, he found Harry to inform him, "We will be coming with you, Harry".
Harry was happy because they would not be the only ones in the tower on the occasion of Yule when everyone else was with their families. On the side, the twins would get to meet the Marauders.