The moment Madame Pomfrey deemed Mr. Potter fully recovered and the students left to celebrate the Gryffindor victory with what would no doubt be a raging party in their Common Room, she bid Madam Pomfrey thanks and marched herself straight to the Headmaster's office.
She was still fuming with rage at the utter audacity of that woman! How dare she think she deserves sole control of when Mr. Fenton can or can't use his abilities. From what she understood, his abilities were to him what magic was to every witch or wizard within the magical world!
Not bothering to knock she swung the door to the office open and stomped into the room, thoroughly starling Albus in the process.
"Minerva? What is-"
"I will not tolerate much more of her nonsense, Albus! I barely restrained myself from cursing her into oblivion just now!"
"Ah."
Albus set the parchment he'd been looking at down, and wearily gestured for her to sit in front of his desk.
"Tell me Minerva, what has our resident Ministry official done now? I'm a little surprised, has the quidditch match ended so soon? It's barely noon."
Far too angry to dignify that with a coherent answer, she growled angrily and paced before the headmaster's desk, forgoing the offered seat to try to work off some of her frustration.
"Yes, it's over. But it's the events that followed the match that I can not tolerate!"
"Events that followed?"
She took a deep breath, standing still a moment before beginning her explanation. She told him everything, starting with the Gryffindor win, Mr. Potter getting hurt, Mr. Fenton helping him, and then ended with Dolores' ridiculous ban on Mr. Fenton's powers.
Albus let her speak her piece, hands folded before him. He only spoke when he was sure she had finished.
"Well, this is certainly troubling. Is Harry still in the Hospital wing?"
"No, no, Mr. Fenton had helped as best he could while bringing him to Madame Pomfrey, and she was able to heal Mr. Potter in a matter of moments. I believe it's the shortest amount of time the boy has ever spent in the Hospital wing after being injured; and Mr. Fenton is repaid for his help and his worry over his friend by being forced to hide his powers away, only to be used when Dolores finds it to be in her best interest and gives him her permission!" She fumed as she finished her rant, but decided to finally take the offered seat as Albus thought on her words.
At last he spoke, "How could Mr. Fenton have helped to heal Harry?"
"He… he has the ability to create and control ice."
"Does he now." Dumbledore looked on with extreme interest, but not as much surprise as she would have thought.
"You knew he hadn't told us about all of his abilities?" She hedged, her anger fading now that she had time to cool down, but in no way was it forgotten.
Albus smiled serenely with a knowing look. "Minerva, surely you noticed when you first met the boy. He was wary, cautious of everyone and everything around him. He is accustomed to fighting for his safety. I'm genuinely surprised he told us anything at all about his abilities that first day, but it seems that meeting others his own age who were quick to accept and reassure him helped us there. But the fact that he kept some of his abilities a secret does not surprise me Minerva. I wouldn't be surprised if there are even more that he is keeping to himself."
Albus' smile was serene, but there was a spark of eager interest in his eyes. She supposed this would be one of the few times that Albus didn't know something, and he was eager to rectify that.
"I will think on what to do about Dolores, but my hands may be thoroughly tied in this case. For now, tell me Minerva-" He leaned forward, the spark of curiosity burning in his expression.
"It seems I may be one of the few who haven't seen Mr. Fenton in his ghost form. Will you describe it for me? How did he manipulate ice in a way that helped Harry? How did Miss Granger fly with him; was he actually carrying her weight or does his flight transfer to those he carries?"
And so the afternoon was spent. She described what she saw of Danny Fenton and his abilities. They then begun to speculate how his abilities may work, and how he may have used his abilities before coming to Hogwarts.
At some point, Albus summoned tea and biscuits as their conversation drifted to their other students; to how they can be so impressive in their ability and growth as people and still have episodes of such stupidity that gave the professors migraines at the time but a good laugh in hindsight.
By Tea time, they had made it back to the subject of how to fix the situation with Mr. Fenton and Dolores' treatment of him, but they were suddenly interrupted by Filius, who was out of breath and wheezing.
"Albus!" The Charms Professor gasped, "And Minerva as well! Thank heavens! There is… a bit of a situation… in the Great Hall. We need your help!"
They were on their feet in an instant, following Filius quickly through the halls towards the Entrance Hall. As they got close, they could hear great crashes and shrieks, accompanied by the shouting voice of a certain Ministry witch.
"-you going to do about this?! This is unacceptable!"
"I don't know what you expect me to do right now, we've tried to solve this and it didn't work. The Headmaster is on his way, and we will sort this out, but for the moment, shouting won't solve anything." Severus' cool voice cut through the clamor, and she could clearly hear the exasperated dislike.
The scene they arrived to was one of heightened tension and slight chaos. Students from the nearby house common rooms, Hufflepuff and Slytherin, were pressed against the walls to allow there to a be an open space before the closed doors of the Great Hall. Within the clearing were Severus, Pomona, Aurora and Dolores, as well as Sir Nicholas and Professor Binns; they all were either looking with apprehension at the terribly troubling noises being made within the Great Hall, or at the Headmaster making his way through the students towards them.
"What seems to be the problem here?" Albus spoke calmly, but there was power in the command that reminded everyone why Albus was the Headmaster of Hogwarts.
Well, almost everyone…
"Dumbledore! That blasted poltergeist has sealed the doors to the Great Hall and is refusing access to everyone!" Dolores blustered and raged, getting as close as she could to the Headmaster's face despite the significant height difference. "Just listen to the sound of all the destruction! No one has any clue how the doors were sealed! Not even the ghosts can get through them to stop this!"
Just as Albus was about to reply, the students of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw arrived from their towers, no doubt to see the event unfold for themselves. She noted that her Gryffindors were still clad in their house gear from the match. They must have been summoned to the chaos from the middle of their victory party.
The surrounding noise swelled as the students asked in low tones what was going on, and with the presence of every Hogwarts student, Dolores seemed to think that she needed to prove herself a competent adult, and promptly started shouting again.
She didn't care to listen to the vitriol, and allowed Albus to take care if it for now. She instead decided to discretely look for the troublesome trio- or quartet now she supposed. She finally caught sight of them, halfway up the grand staircase, speaking with a few students from Hufflepuff. As she watched, Mr. Malfoy made his way over to them, which was odd on it's own, but the Slytherin had the body language of shy embarrassment rather than the usual swagger with which he carried himself. She felt Severus' attention tracking the interaction as well.
Mr. Fenton caught sight of Mr. Malfoy first, and greeted him with a smile. They spoke for a moment, before Mr. Malfoy turned to speak directly to the other three Gryffindors. They seemed surprised at first, but then replied to whatever the boy had said to them, a perfectly civil conversation taking place in the midst of a horde of curious students. She hid her surprise well, but the rush of pride had brought a small grin to her face.
She was roughly brought back to issue at hand by another bout of noise coming from within the Great Hall, a strange muffled squeaking and riotous, echoing laughter from behind the closed doors. The Entrance hall was brought to silence as they could only stand by and listen to whatever mischief Peeves was up to now.
Albus let the silence hang a moment, gazing at the doors with a bemused interest. Finally he spoke, addressing the entire hall.
"It would seem that our resident poltergeist has been up to a fair bit of mischief. He has blocked entry into the Great Hall, but rest assured we will work on a way to get this sorted so that we may all enjoy a nutritious dinner tonight." He turned to the adults standing with him in the clearing, and lowered his voice so that they could hear. "Now, what has already been attempted to get in?"
"We have been trying to get through the doors, and the Professors have tried to open them up with charms, and when that didn't work a nullification spell was tried. We called on you when not even that worked to either open the doors or allow us through to see what Peeves is up to in there." Sir Nicholas was quick to answer, blocking Dolores from starting what was sure to be another angry tirade.
She sighed internally. This won't be an easy fix it seems. Her attention was drawn to Severus, who was still subtly watching the quartet of Gryffindors. She glanced back at them as well, noticing that Mr. Malfoy was still standing beside them. What made her heart nearly stop was when Mr. Fenton looked away and locked eyes with the Weasley twins, giving them a subtle nod. As they nodded back, their grins turned predatory as they set their sights on Dolores.
Oh. Oh dear.
Dolores was back to shouting to be heard over the renewed sounds of students gossiping and the strange sounds within the Great Hall.
She locked eyes with Severus for a moment, and knew that he had just seen what she had. He shook his head slowly, glancing at Dolores quickly.
Alright then. They were going to let this play out.
"If magic isn't going to work then what will you do about this mess?" Dolores seemed beside herself with the lack of control she had on the situation and the numerous eyes on her.
"Hey Danny, why don't you give it a try?"
"Yeah, you have experience with rowdy ghosts, right?"
The hall fell deathly quiet at the twin's loud questions, all eyes either finding them or Mr. Fenton within the crowd.
Mr. Fenton seemed completely at ease, even with the attention focused on him, and sent the twins a grin.
"You know… I do have experience with ghosts! But, I'm just not sure it's my place. This situation seems way too complicated and magical for my poor, teenaged, non-magical mind to comprehend." He put his hand to his head, sighing dramatically, causing his friends and many other students in the hall to snort with laughter.
"Besides, even if I could help…" he continued, voice resonating loudly for all to hear, "I'm not allowed to use my powers anymore. Mrs. Umbridge decided I didn't deserve that privilege." His cold, cold blue eyes found Dolores, and she saw the Ministry witch stiffen. The students stared her down for a breath before incredulous whispers broke out.
"Not allowed-?"
"Privilege? I thought he was-?"
"What did he do…?
"She just decided he couldn't anymore-?"
"How is that fair?"
"Can she really do that?"
The whispers continued, growing louder and more accusing. Dolores was getting redder and redder, looking like she'd been force-fed bubotuber pus. She glared angrily at Mr. Fenton, but he refused to backdown or look away.
"Oh. Have you not told everyone about your new decree yet, Mrs. Umbridge." He spoke with wide-eyed innocence, but it was clear that the young half-ghost knew exactly what he was doing.
"Well- I- I haven't had a chance-" Dolores spluttered, wildly searching for anything to defend herself. They all just watched the stand-off in silence. Peeves even seemed to be listening, as the wildly confusing sounds within the Great Hall had stopped.
"Oh, well then allow me! I'm the first one you used this new power on, after all!" He was walking forward, the crowd silently parting to let him pass.
"In your own words, your new decree allows you the supreme authority over all punishments, sanctions and removal of privileges pertaining to the students of Hogwarts." He paused and let his words hang, the students and professors digesting their meaning.
"Isn't that something?" He finally made it just inside the clearing, standing tall. Proud. Protective. The students of Hogwarts standing beside and behind him on the grand staircase were watching silently. "To have absolute control over every student here without any repercussions to yourself? That's a lot of power for one person to hold over so many. You sure you can handle it?"
She held her breath. The air seemed to be swirling around the boy and the students he stood before, but no cloak was stirred. The temperature seemed to drop but no one shivered. She would blink and see the the green reflected in his blue eyes right as she closed her own, but there wouldn't be a trace of the color when she looked again.
She could now see the truth behind the tales of this boy defeating old gods.
She almost felt bad for the target of his cold gaze.
"Oh. I'm sure I'll be up to the task, Fenton. Thank you for your concern." Dolores' tone was sickly sweet, but she was shaking, with rage or with fear, it was unclear. What was certainly clear was that she was oblivious to or outright ignoring the fact that the entire student body was not going to be taking her ultimate authority over them laying down. They stood behind Mr. Fenton with determination and mutiny written on all their faces.
"But now that you're here, it would be very useful of you to fix this problem of ours. Therefore, I give you my permission to use your… abilities to sort out the poltergeist." She said with a casual wave of her hand in his direction. Her matter of fact tone seemed to echo through the silent hall.
The shock and disgust she felt at the witch's words were nothing to the expressions of the students standing behind Mr. Fenton. Before she lost her composure completely, Danny Fenton began to laugh.
"Oh! Oh man! That's a good one Mrs. U!" He lost himself to more full bellied laugher, looks of shock morphing into confusion on every face of the silent audience.
"I'm- Hah ha!- I'm not- I'm don't want to get in your way here. You're a competent and powerful witch, right? Why would you need my help?" He asked, still grinning wide, wide enough to show his sharp teeth.
"Well- You- You're-" Dolores tripped over her words, the other adults present doing nothing to help her get out of the mess she made for herself.
"Is magic not working? Do you really need my help?" Mr. Fenton's playful tone caused a few chuckles and laughs to be heard throughout the hall. Aurora and Pomona both snorted softly behind their hands.
There were several moments where all eyes turned to the Ministry witch for her answer, but she seemed unable to pry the words from her clenched teeth.
Albus, bleeding heart or curious to see what Mr. Fenton would do, decided to step in.
"Mr. Fenton. Your unique experiences and abilities would be a great help to us if you would be willing to assist." Albus spoke gently, and with a quick look to Dolores, continued with "And I assure you, you are free to use your abilities as you see fit as long as they aren't harming anyone, just as the students of this school are free to use their magic in the same way."
Dolores spluttered indignantly, but Albus held up a hand and spoke directly to her before she could truly begin. "I am aware of the new decree. I understand that you have new power over the students, but I will be speaking to the Board and with the Minister about it, for it does seem like a large amount of power for a single person to have. We shall have to see what the parents of the students have to say about the new decree."
He turned, ignoring Dolores' shock, back to Mr. Fenton who'd been watching the exchange with interest, and she noticed that Mr. Potter, Weasley, Malfoy and Miss Granger had gathered behind him, a quiet show of their support.
"Hmm." Mr. Fenton considered a moment, and after a glance at his friends, he turned back to the adults in the clearing with a grin. "Sure. I can help out."
Without a second thought, there was a great flash of silver light that near blinded them all. There were gasps of surprise and awe as many got their first close-up look at Phantom. He flew up and over the adults in the clearing and stopped just before the doors. He gave a sharp toothed grin at the staring crowd, and then smartly rapped on the door with a gloved hand.
"Wha- What are you doing?"
"Knocking. Honestly, don't you have any manners." His scorn was met with more sputtering from Dolores and outright laughter from many of the students watching. She even saw a muscle twitching in Severus' cheek and grins quickly hidden on Albus and the other Professors faces. She wore her own grin proudly as he flew through the doors.
The Entrance Hall was silent as they all listened intently, after a moment of silence they all jumped at hearing another strange squeaking noise following by Phantom's echoing laughter cascading through the closed doors. Before anyone could do more than exchange questioning looks with each other, Phantom's head popped through the door, still giggling hysterically.
"Haha! You- You guys have to see this!"
He pulled his head back through the door, and slowly, ever so slowly, the Great Hall doors opened to reveal…
What…
What in the world?
They were everywhere. The House tables had been pushed to the walls, everything in disarray, just to make room for them.
Ducks. Everywhere.
Made of the synthetic stuff that Muggles use; plastic or rubber, or so she was told by Professor Burbage.
They covered the floor, the window sills, the rafters above the enchanted ceiling; every surface that could hold the toys, they were piled high. Everywhere she looked there were rubber ducks of different sizes, colors and shapes.
She was speechless, turning her eyes to Phantom who was grinning from ear to pointed ear, floating above them next to Peeves who looked incredibly pleased with himself.
The adults, and some of the bolder students made their way through the doors.
"Woah. What are these things?" Mr. Weasley was the first to break the silence, as Mr. Potter and Miss Granger snickered lightly at the sheer number of students with the same question written on their faces. Many other muggle borns seemed to find the question quite funny as well.
"Oh Ron, these fine specimens are called-"
"Rubber ducks." The Weasley twins said dramatically, with wide grins and raised eyebrows.
A look of sudden realization crossed the young Weasley's face as he muttered, "So this is what Dad was talking about…" causing Mr. Potter and Miss Weasley to break down further into laughter, Mr. Malfoy looking on in utter confusion.
She glanced at one such rubber duck sat near her on a table, and realized that they were not ordinary muggle toys. These had been enchanted. She picked it up and realized that it was softer and more pliable than it seemed and changed color from sky blue to deep magenta as she touched it. But who could have-?
The conversation was brought to an abrupt halt as a loud squeak sounded. Dolores had stepped on a small green duck. She lifted her foot slowly, only for the duck to let out a long, gasping wheeze as the air was sucked back into the small toy. There was a ringing silence as every eye was pinned to the blushing and abashed ministry witch.
And then… someone snorted. And they all broke.
The laughter was loud and contagious as the students flooded into the hall, picking up as many of the ducks as they could. The squeaks and wheezes of the toys as the students picked them up or accidentally stepped on them overlapped with their delight.
The students collected as many different kinds of ducks as they could, all of them changing colors as soon as they'd been touched, causing shouts of laughter and astonishment.
However, students being students, and having emotional maturity granted to them for all of a few moments every month, a duck was eventually thrown through the air. This was apparently the signal for the beginning of an all out rubber duck war.
Students of all Houses and years took shelter behind the tables which were made into make-shift bunkers, as they pelted each other with the toys. Shouts of laughter and battle cry's rent the air as the toys were sent flying at each other.
She spotted the trio, along with Mr. Malfoy tossing the ducks at Phantom who was catching them and distributing them to groups who were running low, all of them smiling and laughing and working together to pin their classmates with the squeaking toys.
It was chaotic. It was nonsensical. It was so, so stupid.
It was the best thing she'd ever seen in her entire teaching career.
Eventually the chaos died down as the students realized they were still hungry, but that did not dampen their moods or stop their fun. Albus asked the kitchens to send up food for their supper, but with the tables overturned and covered in ducks, large platters and plates were sent into the no-mans-land in the center of hall and a truce was called so that everyone could eat.
They sat together, still laughing and smiling as they ate together as not four separate houses, but one school. She beamed proudly at the sight.
To think, all it took was the impossible summoning of an impossible boy to make this a possibility. She shook her head as she watched Danny Fenton create green glowing stars and planets circling his hands to entertain a gaggle of first and second years sitting beside him. She could feel Albus and Severus, and even Dolores had their eyes on him as well, but for different reasons she was sure.
Finally, as the evening waned and night began to creep up on them, the Weasley twins decided to end the night by charming one of the ducks; enlarging it and making it multicolored, reminding her of a galaxy.
Ah. So they had helped with this.
She grinned as the students reverently placed the giant rubber duck outside the Great Hall doors to commemorate the glorious battle, and began to slowly make their separate ways back to their own Common Rooms, each carrying their own rubber duck as a souvenir.
She sighed contentedly. No matter who was really behind Peeves starting the whole event, or who helped him do it; no matter how long the camaraderie lasted, she would remember the event of the Battle of the Ducks fondly, for many years to come.
"That… was bloody brilliant!" He said reverently as he sat in the common room with Harry, Hermione and Danny. They were a few of the last people up as they'd needed to take a moment, several moments, to just process the historical event they'd just taken part in.
"I still can't believe you got Peeves to figure out a way to keep both the Professors and the Hogwarts ghosts out." Hermione said idly to Danny.
"And I can't believe you had Fred and George team up with him to pull that prank with those duck things! And you didn't tell us!" He said half jokingly and half annoyed.
Danny only shrugged with an easy smile, "I wanted it to be a surprise. Plus, Fred and George came to me wanting to help me get a little payback for the ban on my powers, I would never ask you to risk getting in trouble for me."
"You wouldn't need to ask Danny. You're our friend, and getting back at the toad is always a genuine pleasure. To think she's only been here just over two months." Harry sighed contentedly, and they sat in comfortable silence as the last few Gryffindors left to head up to bed.
"Just over two months, huh?" Danny said quietly. "Time sure does fly doesn't it? And to think, Thanksgiving is coming up soon."
"Thanksgiving? What in Merlin's name is that?" He asked sleepily, the days events starting to catch up to him.
"Oh, that's right, you guys don't celebrate it in the UK, do you? I remember Sam saying something about that..."
"No, but I've heard about it. How do you normally celebrate it Danny?" Hermione asked curiously.
"I'm the last person you want to ask that. At the last Thanksgiving, my Mom somehow brought the mashed potatoes to life. No one knows how she does- did it, but the only thing of my Mother's that could be eaten safely was her cookies."
They laughed softly, trying to overlook Danny's slip. Hermione got up to stretch, depositing Crookshanks into Danny's lap before heading over to the window, which showed the first snowfall of the year gently covering drifting onto the lawn.
"Blimey-" He said as he stifled a yawn that caused Harry to yawn widely too, "With everything that happened today, I'm surprised I'm not asleep already. What else could possibly-"
He was interrupted suddenly by Hermione's sharp gasp. She whirled around to them, still standing at the window, and they were all suddenly wide awake once more.
"He's back!" She whispered excitedly.
"Who's back?" Danny asked confused.
"Hagrid! He's back!"
He jumped to his feet a second after Harry did, Danny getting up quickly as well.
"Let's go!" Harry said urgently, as he ran upstairs, he and Hermione rushed to follow his example.
After they'd made it back to the Common Room, Harry with his invisibility cloak, Hermione had grabbed a scarf, mittens and hat, and he'd grabbed his cloak and scarf, Danny was still standing, looking a little lost, right where they'd left him.
"C'mon Danny! We're going to go see Hagrid!" Harry looked giddy with excitement, but it was tinged with a little worry as well.
"Your friend that's been away? The regular Care of Magical Creatures Professor?" Danny asked quickly.
They nodded, and made their way to the portrait hole, about to cover themselves with the cloak.
"Wait, why don't I just stay invisible? Or better yet, I'll fly us all down, so we get there faster." Danny suggested eagerly after realizing that the cloak wouldn't cover all of them at once.
He looked quickly to Harry and Hermione, both of whom had flown with Danny before, and at their grateful looks knew that travel by ghost-boy seemed to be preferred over huddled-under-cloak-through-the-castle.
Soon enough, he knew why. Danny quickly transformed and had them all grab onto his arms or shoulders. Then, they'd shot through the castle wall and out into the chilly, snow filled air. He gasped in surprise, but found he could do little else as they were already descending towards the little snow covered mound that was Hagrid's cabin. The windows were lit up with a warm glow and he could only smile at knowing that Hagrid really was back at Hogwarts at last.
They were carefully deposited before Hagrid's door, Harry stuffing his cloak away as Danny transformed back. Hermione rapped on the door quickly, which was immediately followed by the booming barks and squabbling of Fang the boarhound at the door.
"Hagrid! It's us!" Harry called through the keyhole.
"Shoulda known!" Came Hagrid's gruff voice, and he beamed with Harry and Hermione at Hagrid's pleased tone.
"Bin home three seconds, and here ye are… out the way, Fang… out the way, yeh dozy dog…"
The bolt was drawn back and the door creaked open to reveal… bloody hell. Hermione's scream of surprise was quickly shushed but he did not blame her for it.
"Merlin's beard! Quiet! Come in, come in quick!"
"I'm sorry!" Hermione gasped as the four of them squeezed past Hagrid into the house. "It's just- Oh Hagrid!"
"It's nuthin', it's nuthin'!" Hagrid said hastily, as he shut the door and quickly shut the curtains. He finally turned and they got the full, horrible view of what had become of him. His hair was matted with congealed blood, and there wasn't a patch of visible skin that was free of a bruise. His eyes were near swollen shut in a mass of purples and blues, and there were numerous cuts on his face and hands, some of which were still bleeding.
He moved gingerly, favoring his ribs, and began to move about his house, moving his traveling cloak and bag from the chairs onto his bed in the corner. It was obvious that he's only just returned home.
"Want a cuppa?" He said, avoiding their eyes as he placed a copper kettle onto the fire.
"What's happened to you?" Harry demanded, as he gently maneuvered Fang away from excitedly licking all their faces.
"Told yeh, nuthin'."
"Come off it." He began exasperated, "You're in a right state!"
"I'm tellin ya, I'm fine." Hagrid said firmly, finally turning to look at them all head on, straightening up and beaming down at them all. "Blimey, it's good to see you threeee… eh? Who're you?" Hagrid said looking at Danny, having apparently only just noticed he was there.
"Oh, this is Danny, he's with us."
"Hi." Danny waved awkwardly with a small smile at Hagrid's bemused look.
"Yes, and we'll tell you more about how we met, but I'm sure he's just as worried that you've been attacked!" Hermione said anxiously. "Have you been to see Madame Pomfrey? Some of those cuts look really nasty!"
"'Fer the last time, it's nuthin'. I'm dealing with it, all right?" He walked past them and twitched aside a tea towel on the enormous wooden table to reveal a huge, green tinged steak that began to drip blood down his hand as he picked it up.
"You're not goin to eat that are you? It looks poisonous…" He said apprehensively.
"It's dragon meat, it's meant ter look like that."
"Dragon meat.." Danny echoed softly, staring at the slab of bloody meat twice the size of a quaffle with a mix of interest and disbelief.
Hagrid gave Danny a curious look as he sat down in his giant armchair and slapped the steak over his puffier eye and moaned in satisfaction.
"Ah, tha's better."
"Are you going to tell us what's happened to you now?"
"Can't Harry. Top secret. More'n me job's worth to tell ya."
"Did the giants beat you up, Hagrid?" Hermione asked quietly.
Hagrid spluttered in surprise, and the steak slipped off his face onto his chest. He grabbed it before it could fall further and slapped it back onto his face as he babbled.
"Giants! Who ever said… What are'ya… Who told ya what I was… eh?" Hagrid looked anxious and befuddled, shooting a few worried glances in Danny's direction who was currently busy scratching Fang's ears.
"Come off it Hagrid, Danny's heard all of the stuff we've done and knows all about the Order and about Sirius and You-Know-Who as well. And we kind of guessed what you were up to when you weren't here for school." He said, holding back a snort of laughter at Hagrid's stunned look.
"That's right, it wasn't that hard to figure out Hagrid."
"So, have you been to see the giants?" Harry asked eagerly.
Hagrid gave them a look, huffing as he got up once more to pour them all cups of tea. When he was settled again, he gave Danny one last furtive glance, before sighing resignedly.
"Yeah, alrigh', I went to see the giants."
"And you found them? What happened? How did you get so hurt?" Hermione asked in quick succession.
"I'm tellin' ya, I can't tell ya anymore'n I already have." Hagrid said stubbornly.
"Aw, Hagrid, c'mon." He moaned. But then, an idea occurred to him. "If you tell us about the giants, we'll tell you about how we summoned Danny in Divination." He said with a grin, Danny choking on his tea beside him.
"Summoned?!"
"Yeah!" Harry's face lighting up, "And I'll tell you how I was attacked over the summer by a couple of Dementors!"
"Attacked?! Dementors! Gulpin' Gargoyles, what have you lot gotten into now?"
"You didn't know?" Hermione asked wide-eyed.
"Don't know 'bout anything that's been goin on since I left." He looked to Danny and then Harry quickly, "You were summoned… and you were attacked!?" He asked worriedly.
"We'll tell you everything if you tell us about the giants." Harry said stubbornly.
Hagrid gave them a disbelieving look that quickly morphed into exasperation. "You lot'r too nosy fer your own good." He said in a resigned voice, but his beard still twitched in a hidden smile which made them grin.
Hagrid began his tale with when he left with Madame Maxime to seek out the giants in the mountains near the border of Austria, Hungary and Croatia. A month long trek, not counting the time they spent to throw off the Ministry spy who'd been tailing them.
He told them of finding the giant settlement, of introducing themselves, giving the chief gifts and the message from Dumbledore to try to persuade them to fight for their side in the battles to come. He then told them of the brutally fatal fight for the chiefs position in the middle of the night, how the new chief was not as receptive of them, and much more inclined to accept gifts and sweet words from the Death Eaters that had arrived to recruit them. After trying and failing to convince a few of the more overlooked members of the giant's tribe to join the Order against You-Know-Who, Hagrid and Madame Maxime had come home, unsuccessful.
"Wow." Danny said in awe, as Hagrid paused to drink some tea.
"But that still doesn't explain how you got into this state, Hagrid." Hermione urged, gesturing at his injuries.
"You also haven't said why you're only returning now. Sirius told us that Madame Maxime returned ages ago." Harry added.
"Who attacked you?" He asked quickly, coming to the only logical conclusion.
"I wasn't-"
"Shhh!" Danny quickly interrupted Hagrid, quieting all of them instantly. "Someone's coming." He whispered.
"Who?" Hermione asked worriedly, matching Danny's hushed tone. Danny cocked his head, listening, before his eyes grew wide and flashed that toxic green, making Hagrid gasp in surprise. "It's her!"
The four of them jumped up instantly, running around the table into the corner so that Harry could throw his invisibility cloak over them, while Danny quickly grabbed their tea cups and phased them into the ground before turning invisible himself. Hagrid just sat dumbfounded, having not moved a muscle and staring at the place where Danny had disappeared. He jumped a mile in the air when a loud knocking could be heard on the door, inciting Fang into barking and scrabbling like mad at the uninvited guest.
Looking quickly at their corner, as if to make sure they were all still invisible, Hagrid got up, pushing Fang away from the door with his foot so he could answer it.
There stood the toad herself, wrapped up in a green tweed cloak to stave off the cold and the still falling snow. She arched her head back to look at Hagrid's face, as Hagrid was easily three times her height.
"So," she said slowly, as if speaking to someone hard of hearing. "You're Hagrid, are you?"
Without waiting for an answer, she strolled in, swinging her handbag at Fang and snapping at him to 'get away'.
"Er… I don' mean to be rude, but who the ruddy hell are you?" Hagrid asked, as he closed the door with a hint of annoyance.
"My name is Dolores Umbridge." She said, again in the same tone as before. She was too busy roving her bulging eyes all around Hagrid's house to notice him stiffen minutely, and narrow his eyes at her further.
"Dolores Umbridge, eh? From the Ministry?"
"Yes, that's right. But I am currently the Professor for the Defense Against Darks Arts." She answered smugly, no doubt reveling in calling herself a Professor to someone who has yet to hear of her non-existent qualifications.
"Tha's brave of ye. Not many would take that position. So, why have you come to visit me now?" Hagrid said quickly, speaking over Umbridge as she made to interrupt him, as he sat back down in his chair. He felt a gentle chill settling beside him, and knew that Danny had come to stand beside them in the corner invisibly.
Umbridge frowned at the subtle slight, and continued on with more fake sweetness they'd all come to despise.
"Well, I've also been made Hogwarts High Inquisitor by order of the Minister of Magic, and as such have come to demand an explanation for why you've been away from your teaching duties for such an unprecedented amount of time." She finished smugly, mouth stretching into her wide grin.
Hagrid just looked down at her for a moment, not saying a word.
"Not sure it's any'er business, but I was away researchin' and helpin' tame a herd of Abraxan horses down the south of France."
Oh, what a clever lie. He could practically feel Hermione's joy radiating off of her and matched Harry's grin under the cloak at the dumbfounded look on the toad's face.
"But…" Umbridge rallied, schooling her expression once more, "That does not explain why you have returned so late, and why no one here could tell me where you had gone!" she accused angrily.
"Abraxans are'a protected species. I was givn' special permission to travel to their secret location by a Madame Olympe Maxime. And I was given permission by the Headmaster to be gone this long." Hagrid's tone had remained cool and even, surprising them as they'd never seen Hagrid act this serious or this cold to someone before. "Now if that's all, I've on'y just got back, and could use some shut-eye 'fore classes on Monday, so if ya wouldn't mind?" He got up, and opened to door to his house, signaling quite clearly that Umbridge was meant to leave.
Umbridge just stood there stupidly, glaring at Hagrid, all false sweetness forgotten. For a moment he was afraid she would try something, and he could feel the tension rising in Harry and Hermione, and the deepening of the cold chill beside them that had nothing to do with the open door. Finally, Umbridge made her way to the door, and just as Hagrid was about to close it, she had a final word. "Just to let you know, my job as High Inquisitor also gives me the unfortunate duty of evaluating my fellow… Professors, to make sure they are adequately teaching the students. The Ministry has decided to weed out unsatisfactory teachers, you see. I look forward to sitting in on one of your classes." She gave another wide smile before turning and making her way back through the snow to the castle.
Hagrid closed the door with a huff, and peeked through the window a moment before sighing in relief. "She's gone."
Harry immediately lifted the cloak off of them and stuffed it away again, and Danny reappeared beside them.
"That hag!" Hermione said emphatically, glaring at the door as if Umbridge was still standing outside it. "The moment she gets a chance to feel like she has power over someone again she pounces. What a sick, twisted-"
"Hagrid, that was brilliant!" He interrupted quickly. He agreed wholeheartedly with Hermione of course, but he knew that Hermione could go on for ages about Umbridge. They all could.
"Yeah! How'd you come up with that story so quick!" Harry added.
"Set it up with Olympe 'fore we left to come back home. Figured it would help cover our tracks and all that." Hagrid answered, dazedly watching as Danny phased their teacups out of the ground and placed them back on the table.
"But the look on your face when she told you her name, have you heard of Umbridge before?" He said, bringing Hagrid's focus back onto them. But when Hagrid's expression darkened, he almost wished he hadn't.
"Aye, I've heard of 'er alright. She made a whole bunch of laws n' regulations 'bout werwolves two years ago when Professor Lupin was exposed. She's done a whole lot o' the same thing with giants n' half-giants since that Skeeter woman's article 'bout me last year." Hagrid growled angrily, flipping the steak over so the cool side was against his eye. "Teachin 'ere now is she? Allowed to inspect other teachers is she?"
"Yeah, Trelawney's on probation already." Harry said slowly.
"Probably because she was the one who summoned Danny, honestly."
"Yeah, that wasn't a fun class." Danny agreed, shaking his head at the memory.
"Tha's another thing!" Hagrid suddenly sat up and pinned Danny with an incredulous stare. "Who are you? How did you do tha' with the cups and the disappearin without a cloak? What's this they're sayin about you bein summoned?"
Danny chuckled nervously, and rubbed a hand on the back of his neck. Before they could answer though he let out a jaw cracking yawn, as the events of the day caught up with him all at once.
"Oh Ron, don't you'll make me yaw-" Hermione was cut off by her own yawn, which made them all chuckle lightly.
"Alright, alright, I'll hold off on gettin me answers. For now." Hagrid said, "Now you lot better get back up to the castle. Next time you visit, you better tell me what's been happenin', no leavin out any details, y'hear?" He pointed at them severely, one at a time. They assured him that they would be back the next day, and promised to tell him everything about their crazy year so far.
"Alright then, see you tomorrow. Make sure to wipe out yer footprints on the way back."
They grinned at each other knowingly, and Harry gave Hagrid one last mischievous look as he placed a hand on Danny's shoulder.
"I don't think that'll be much of a problem."
.
They'd had a good laugh at the look on Hagrid's face as Danny had flown them back to the castle, but they were all tired and went to bed rather quickly.
The next day dawned bright, with a thick layer of snow on the ground, which meant they had to fight their way through it this time to get back to Hagrid's. The moment they knocked on his door, he was bombarding them with questions; about Danny, about his powers, about Harry's summer and how he'd heard he'd gotten expelled for a time.
They quickly calmed him down, and told him everything that had been going on, starting with Harry's dementor attack and subsequent Ministry hearing, and ending with the Battle of the Ducks, the day before. It was fun, being able to talk and joke with Hagrid again. Danny seemed to have warmed up to him very quickly, especially after Hagrid had so quickly accepted him with a laugh and twinkle in his eye after being told that Danny was both a muggle and half ghost. The topic of conversation quickly morphed to the lesson plan, and Hermione was adamant about finding out what Hagrid had in store for them to make sure Umbridge couldn't use it against him, but Hagrid was stubbornly keeping quiet about it.
"It's somethin' I've been savin' for yer OWL year. I can't wait to introduce you…"
Hermione tried her best, but eventually had let it go in favor of following all of them back up to the Great Hall for lunch.
At the sight of Hagrid, many students shouted in joy and happy greetings, while others looked a little forlorn at the end of safe Care of Magical Creatures lessons with Professor Grubbly-Plank. While he was fiercely happy that Hagrid was back, he couldn't help but remember the Skrewts, and the giant spiders; acromantulas, Hermione called them, and wince at the idea of something similar for their next lesson.
Time seemed to pass quickly, and the anticipated Tuesday lesson of Care of Magical Creatures had arrived. The four of them trudged through the snow down to Hagrid's house, huddled into their winter cloaks and scarves to keep warm, save for Danny walking down in nothing but his normal school robes (ghostly icicle powers be darned.)
They approached the Slytherins who were already present, and he internally marveled at how quickly your view of someone could change. Malfoy made his way over to them, as well as Daphne and Tracy, and they all greeted each other like old friends, without a sneer or veiled threat in sight.
"Are you not cold, Fenton?" Malfoy asked, as Harry and Hermione fell into conversation with the Slytherin girls.
"Nah, I've got an ice core. Cold weather doesn't bother me."
"Hmm, convenient."
"That's what I've said! He doesn't need a cloak or fifty pairs of socks, or anything!" He said in playful exasperation, huddling further into his cloak. They both snorted in laughter, Malfoy trying to hide it behind his hand.
"Alright now, gather 'round!" Hagrid had arrived, still looking like he'd been through a meat grinder even if some of his bruises looked to be getting better, carrying what looked like half a dead cow over his shoulder. Nonetheless, they made their way over to him. "We're working in there today, so make sure to keep up!" Hagrid said, gesturing at the Forbidden Forest, and his stomach dropped with dread as they followed Hagrid around a clump of bushes, and into the dense trees. "What are we doing today Hagrid, what's in the Forbidden Forest?" Came a hesitant voice from Neville. He could see Malfoy looking apprehensive as well, but he didn't voice his distaste and still walked beside Danny, keeping in step with them. Another point into the 'Malfoy-may-not-be-that-big-of-a-prick-as-I-thought' column.
"This is ridiculous. Why do we have to walk to the creatures, when they can be brought to us?" Malfoy said disdainfully. Ah, but he's still a prick.
Hagrid chuckled a bit, "The Forest is more secluded. They like their space, and the dark."
"What does?" Came a somewhat panicked question from the group of Slytherins huddled near the back. Hagrid only smiled and led them on.
They eventually arrived at a clearing within the woods. The canopy above was so dense that the clearing was even free of snow. Hagrid placed the cow carcass down in the middle of the clearing and made his way back over to them.
"Alright, now I'm going to call for 'em, and the smell of blood will attract them here. But don' worry, they don't eat living meat." That didn't ease as much worry as Hagrid thought it did.
Hagrid raised his hands, and cupped them around his mouth. He made a long, drawn out cry that echoed around the empty clearing. No one made a sound as they waited for what may answer a call like that. Hagrid repeated it a few more times, and only stopped when there was a rustling of leaves in the bushes on the other side of the clearing.
"Ah, here they are now!" Hagrid said happily.
He turned to both Harry and Danny when they gasped in surprise, and found they had their eyes locked on something in the clearing. He looked back, but still couldn't see anything.
"Hey, can you see anything?" He whispered to Hermione, who happened to be standing near Malfoy and Daphne. All three of them shook their heads in confusion. But behind them, he saw Neville and another Slytherin boy staring wide eyed at the clearing, just like Harry and Danny were.
"An, here comes another one!" Hagrid said excitedly, and he turned back to the clearing, again seeing nothing.
"Now- Put your hands up- who can see 'em?"
Harry, (looking immensely relieved for some reason), Danny, Neville and the Slytherin boy all raised their hands, still not taking their eyes off of whatever they were watching in the clearing.
"Yeah, knew we'd have a few this lesson. Can one of you now-"
"Excuse me!" Parvati's voice was shrill and accusing, "What are we supposed to be looking at exactly?"
In answer, Hagrid just pointed to the carcass in the clearing, and they watched it for a few quiet moments, waiting for something to happen. Which is when he saw it.
He gasped along with the others who noticed. There were pieces of meat being torn from the whole and disappearing into thin air. Parvati and Lavender shrieked and hid behind a tree they were standing beside.
"What's- What's doing that! What is it?" They demanded, terrified.
"Thestrals." Hagrid said proudly, as if that explained everything. Apparently it did, because Hermione gave a soft 'Oh!' of comprehension beside them.
"I've tamed a whole heard, and they all live 'ere in the forest. Now who knows-"
"But… those are supposed to be really, really unlucky!" Lavender interrupted. "They're supposed to bring horrible misfortune onto anyone who can see them, and Professor Trelawney told us-"
"Nonsense." Hagrid cut her off gruffly, "That's jus' a load of superstition. Thestrals are dead useful and gentle creatures. There's two more, look!"
He'd take Hagrid's word for it, because he still couldn't see anything.
"Now, as I was saying, who knows why some people can see Thestrals, an' some can't?"
Hermione's hand shot into the air, and Hagrid beamed at her.
"Go on then, Hermione."
"The only people who can see thestrals, are those that have seen death." She said.
He started at that, turning to Harry and Danny, both still watching the invisible creatures.
Ah. Right.
"Tha's correct, so take ten points ter Gryffindor, but there's a little more to it than that…" Hagrid said, turning to speak to the whole class. "Thestrals can on'y be seen by people who have seen death an then accepted it. Put a differen' way, you need to have an emotional understanding of wha' death means."
Huh.
"Can someone who hasn't seen death gain that understanding, and then be able to see them?" Dean asked curiously.
"Excellen' question! It's-"
"Hem, hem."
The clearing silenced at that dreaded sound. What on earth was the toad doing here? Didn't she know that they, especially Danny, wouldn't let her get away with anything?
"Oh. Hello Mrs. Umbridge, I'm glad you'er able t'find us." Hagrid said to the witch, who had her hated clipboard ready and poised to take notes.
"I will be inspecting your lesson today," Umbridge said slow and loud, like she had Saturday night. "What creature are the students learning about?" She exaggeratedly looked around the clearing, which looked empty to her, save for the cow carcass in the middle.
"Right." Hagrid said baldly "We were just talking about Thestrals, and-"
"I'm sorry?" Umbridge interrupted loudly, hand cupping her ear. "What was that?"
"Thestrals." Hagrid repeated, looking confused.
"Once again, I couldn't hear-"
"Oh for the love of-" Danny had had enough, his eyes flashed green in his anger. "He said thestrals. Stop trying to force an image that is completely rude and judgmental onto Professor Hagrid, he was just telling us something really cool!"
The class rallied behind him quickly and agreed, save for the select Gryffindors and Slytherins who apparently did not like the lesson. Umbridge looked affronted and angry and turned her ire again onto Danny.
"Fenton. It's rude to interrupt your superiors. I will-"
To his ultimate surprise, Neville's somewhat panicked voice cut the toad off. "Danny- Danny they're looking at you!"
They all looked back at the clearing, and while he still couldn't see anything, he saw Harry and Danny stiffen when their eyes returned to the invisible creatures.
"Would'ya look at tha'…" Hagrid said into the quiet. Danny had taken a step backwards, almost without thinking, away from the group.
"Look at what? Harry what are they doing?" He asked quickly, not taking his eyes off of Danny, who didn't seem afraid, more at a loss for what to do.
"They're- They're all walking towards him; all at once. They seem to really like him." Harry said, a bit of amusement tinging his tone. Danny shot him a betrayed look, that only made Harry chuckle.
"There's an old belief that may explain why they 'im so much." Hagrid said. "It's said that thestrals are emblems of journey's to other worlds and differen' dimensions."
"I've had a few of those." Danny said absently as he backed up further, holding a hand up as if waiting to catch something.
"This is nonsense. The Ministry has classified Thestrals as dangerous creatures, and the fact that you are trying to tell these impressionable children that they aren't is completely-"
No one was listening to the toad, and she grew angrier and angrier because of it, but they were all far more interested in Danny apparently being backed up against a tree by several creatures that most of them couldn't even see.
"No need to be 'fraid of 'em. They're very loyal and kind to anyone who shows them trust."
"Trust, huh?" Danny said. He finally squared his shoulders and pushed his hand out a little further away from him. The moment it seemed to press up against something, his eyes shone bright green and his breath misted in front of him.
The class gasped in surprise as black began to bleed into the air touching Danny's hand. Parvati, Lavender and several others screamed, and several others took to getting as far form Danny as possible, Umbridge amongst them. None of them could tear their eyes from the frightening and impossible sight of the skeletal form that was appearing before their very eyes.
"What? What's happening?" Harry asked confused.
"The… thestral… We can see it." Hermione said breathlessly, her surprise morphing into awe as she looked upon a thestral for the first time.
It really was a sight. The bony, yet somewhat reptilian head pressed lovingly into Danny's hand, the gleaming black fur that still showed every rib, every bone of the spine. The folded, leathery wings, tucked close to the creatures body.
Alright, he could see why some would call them bad omens.
But looking past what the thestral looked like and at the way it was now nuzzling into Danny's chest, it couldn't be that bad. He watched as Malfoy's fear and shock morphed into surprised curiosity, and Hermione gave a soft, 'Aw!' that Danny did not miss, if the look he shot at them was anything to go by.
He looked quickly at the rest of the class, and they were quickly recovering from their shock and looking with awe at a creature that they would normally hope to never be able to see.
Umbridge was a different story. She was purple in the face, and staring. Had she stopped breathing?
"You- STOP THIS THIS INSTANT!" Apparently not. Shame.
"What? I'm not doing this on purpose! They came to me!" Danny said defensively, as another two thestrals were beginning to materialize beside him, nuzzling his shoulder and hair, him none the wiser.
"You are forcing us to see these disgusting reminders of death! I will not stand for it!" she was shouting, her voice ringing in the quiet of the forest clearing. One of the now visible thestrals turned it's head to her, ears pricked. It began advancing on her, more curious than hostile.
"NO! NO! Keep it away! Stay away from me!" She shrieked, waving her clipboard at the advancing creature. When the clipboard came a bit too close to striking it, it bared its fangs in warning, and she screamed bloody murder and tore from the clearing as fast as her stout legs could carry her, dropping the clipboard in her haste.
They watched her go, many turning back to the thestral who decided that Danny was much more interesting and returned to his side. Many giggled or outright laughed at how flustered Danny was becoming at receiving so much attention from the thestrals, as even more began to materialize.
Soon enough the entire class, including those who had the most misgivings about the thestrals at first, were all going and petting them as well. Hagrid was right, they really were very friendly to those who treated them kindly.
Hagrid grinned through his beard, his beetle black eyes crinkling, and happily teaching and answering questions. It was one of the best Care of Magical Creatures classes they'd attended, and he was sure to never forget it.
As they made their way away from the clearing and back up to the castle, he made sure to turn back and look at the thestrals one last time. As he watched, the thestral's blank white eyes still staring, they faded back into nothing.
Hello again! Sorry for the wait, I had to sort some stuff out for a bit and writing this got away from me. Life happens, you know? But I'm back, so thank you for your patience!
As far as this chapter goes... do I have a love for rubber ducks and magical kids acting their age in a world that forced them to grow up too fast? Maybe.
In any case the Battle of the Ducks made me laugh so I hope it made you laugh, too. :D
Thestrals! I love thestrals. So much. They get all my love. Also, the part about them being emblems for journeys to different dimensions is something I found when I looked up their bio on Pottermore. It was so perfect, I needed to include it!
Again, Thank you so much for reading!