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Harry Potter and the Smallest Change.
Chapter 11. 3rd Year, Part 2. 1993.
Two weeks later, during Ancient Runes, Harry looked out of the window overlooking the courtyard and watched a team of red robed Aurors rush into the castle, led by a mop of messy black hair that could only belong to his father.
His stomach plummeted.
The Ancient Runes class tables sat three, so Harry had Hermione on one side and Susan on the other. Susan's hand gripped his own under the table, having also seen the Aurors.
'What is distracting the two of you, Mister Potter, Miss Bones?' Professor Babbling asked and eyed their joined hands under the table.
'Sorry ma'am, a team of Aurors just rushed into the school from the courtyard.' Harry said, and the class stilled.
Babbling fell silent for a minute, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
'Keep working class. The Aurors will have a good reason for being here. Mister Potter, Miss Bones? I'd like to see you after class, please.' Professor Babbling asked with a soft smile and the two nodded to her.
Harry and Susan returned to their work, re-joining Hermione in their task of disassembling a Rune cluster to study it.
After class ended, Harry and Susan made their way to stand by Professor Babbling's desk where the pretty witch removed her glasses and placed them on the table, then rubbed her eyes.
'Everything is as under control as possible.' She said, her voice heavy.
'I agree, ma'am. My father and Susan's Aunt are the best and I have every confidence in them.' Harry paused.
'I wish that Hogwarts would be safe for just one year though.' He admitted, and the Professor gave a solemn nod.
'Apart from needing a new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor every year, nothing strange happened here until your first year.' She admitted and Harry smiled.
'Thank you, Professor, for being honest with us.' He said, and she returned his smile.
'I've never seen a group of more gifted students than your group of friends.' She sighed, her gaze moved between both students.
'I am proud that all four houses are represented as well. Now, off with you.' She waved them off.
'Thank you, Professor.' Harry gave her a small nod as he and Susan left the classroom.
Harry and Susan walked down the corridor away from their class.
'So, dinner or back to the common room to drop off our stuff?' Harry asked.
Susan shrugged.
'Why not dinner?' she suggested, and he grinned.
'Perfect.'
The two made their way down to the ground floor from the central staircase.
'What do you think your dad's doing here?' Susan asked, turning into the corridor that led to the Great Hall. Harry shrugged and hefted his bookbag onto his shoulder.
'I hope it's just checking over information or something.' He said, slowing as the doors to the Great Hall came into view, clogged with students.
'I don't know what's going on but let's get a closer look.' Harry whispered and Susan nodded beside him, following close to his side.
Harry pushed his way through the crowd and caught sight of Holly's messy black hair. He made a beeline for her and made a path for Susan to follow him. His larger body coming in handy to push other students out of the way.
'Holly, what's going on?' Harry asked, and he stopped beside her.
She said nothing, and he followed her gaze and froze.
In front of the staff table, between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables, stood a man holding a wand to his own head.
Dumbledore stood in front of the man, holding both hands out to the man, empty. The Headmaster glanced at the gathering students and paled. Harry saw the worry in the Headmasters face, but also fear. But what did the Headmaster have to fear from a man with a wand to his own head?
'Make way, Aurors coming through, make way.' His father's voice broke through the murmuring students.
James, wearing his red Auror robes, led three other Aurors through the crowd that parted with little hesitation.
James moved toward the lone man and still the man did nothing, standing in silence and hadn't moved a muscle since Harry first saw him.
'Sir, please, lower your wand.' James soothed as he approached.
Dumbledore's eyes flicked toward him, then back to the man.
The man remained as still as a statue.
James held out a hand toward the man.
'Sir, I ask again, please lower your wand.' James repeated and Harry noticed some discolouration on his robes.
Harry blinked and stared, then noticed it wasn't discolouration on his father's robes, it was blood. He watched his father as he moved closer to the motionless man, and he glanced at the other three Aurors.
One of them had blood in his hair.
Harry gasped, squeezing Susan's hand.
'This isn't what they came here for an hour ago.' He breathed and Susan tore her gaze away from the scene in front of them.
'What? Why do you say that?' she asked in a whisper.
'Look at their robes, that Auror at the back has blood in his hair.' Harry hissed, and Susan gasped a moment later.
Holly took his hand, and he turned back to the unknown man.
James stepped within ten metres of the man, and he sprung to life. The once statue-like man spun to face James and turned his back on the Headmaster. The man's glazed eyes locked on James with a passionate fire dancing in them.
'This is all James Potter's fault.' The man screamed; his wand still held to his temple.
'Head Auror Potter is not the man you all think he is.' The unknown man continued, his voice lower, but still heard throughout the Hall.
Harry squeezed the girl's hands, not taking his eyes off the scene in front of them.
'Both of you, call mum and Aunt Amelia, now.' Harry whispered.
Both fumbled in their robes with their off hands, not letting Harry go.
A few moments later, two mirrors pointed toward the confrontation.
'Solve this mystery Head Auror Potter, or else more people will die. The next one will be a student.' The man declared, and Harry watched in dawning horror as the man's hand clenched around his wand.
Harry spun both girls around, pushing their faces against his chest.
'Bombarda.' came the man's voice, ringing through the Great Hall.
'Stupefy.' James shouted a moment later, too late.
Harry stared in horror as the man's head disappeared.
Red chunks of flesh and bone exploded out to the man's left, showering the empty Ravenclaw table with pieces of the man's head. Then the man's body dropped to the floor, hit with James' stunner.
A moment of silence reigned.
A shriek of terror was joined by more a second later, and Harry heard a handful of students vomiting and retching at the sight. He held Holly and Susan close to him and pulled them out of the Great Hall.
Even though they hadn't seen it, they knew what happened.
'Don't look, please. I'll get you out of here.' He whispered as he navigated around frozen students, staring at the carnage in front of them.
Harry moved the two around puddles of vomit amid the rush of students fleeing the Great Hall. As he went, he met Daphne's gaze, and she fell in beside Susan. Their other friends joined them as Harry led them out of the Hall, toward the entrance hall.
'Flippendo.' Harry muttered, knocking a suit of armour to pieces with a flick of his wrist.
Harry released Susan into Daphne's arms and drew his wand, muttering the spells to transfigure the fallen pieces into couches along the wall. He took Susan back and pulled her and Holly down to a couch, their other friends joined them a moment later.
'I can't believe that just happened.' Holly whispered, her face pale.
Harry pulled her and Susan tighter into an embrace and both burrowed into his chest.
'Everything is going to be okay.' He said and looked up from Holly and Susan to Hannah and Daphne, who both looked pale.
Then he turned to Ginny and Luna, who trembled.
'I want to ask you guys to always be around one of the three of us. We have mirrors that can call our parents.' Harry said and Daphne nodded.
Her face looked a little green as she rubbed Hannah's back. Ginny and Luna held each other's hands, both shaking and breathing hard.
Harry watched as students fled in all directions, some screaming and others silent as they sought safety. Professors ran after the students, calling for them to remain calm, and Harry held back a scoff.
Quiet sobs came from Ginny and Luna while silent tears created tracks down Hannah's face.
A few minutes later, Amelia and Sirius burst into the entrance hall from outside, Lily right beside them.
Harry didn't see them as his mind raced. The man was being mind-controlled somehow. Was the Imperious powerful enough to force someone to kill themselves? What a horrible spell.
He considered the bracelet he was designing, but before he could visualise it properly, he heard his mother calling his name.
'Harry!' Lily called, right in front of him, and he jerked back, blinking.
'Oh, Harry, Holly. Are you okay?' Lily asked, pulling her children, along with Susan, into a hug.
Harry nodded while the two girls clung tighter to him. He looked up and found Sirius and Amelia had left, probably to enter the Great Hall. Harry absently stroked Holly and Susan's hair as he met his mother's worried gaze.
'Did you see everything?' he asked, and she nodded.
Harry sighed and released his grip on Holly and Susan to take his notebook out of his pocket. He waved his wand over it.
'Geminio.' He muttered, producing a copy of the notebook he handed to Lily.
Her eyes widened at seeing the notebook, a perfect copy of the original.
'Skim through it, I've had some ideas for a bracelet that could block mental intrusions.' Harry said, then replaced the original notebook into his robes and returned to his embrace with Holly and Susan.
Lily gasped as she flipped through the notebook.
'I originally wanted to block the Veela Allure.' He shrugged.
'But according to my research, it'll also help with other mental attacks like the Imperius.' He explained and Lily flipped back and forth through the notebook.
'This is amazing work Harry.' She gushed; he gave a weak smile.
'It'll only last a day or two.' He admitted and Lily nodded before she wrapped the three in another hug.
James walked out of the Great Hall. He fell to one knee beside Lily, who had just released the three. Sirius stood behind him, worry in his eyes. Lily stood, resting a hand on James' shoulder.
'I'm sorry, all of you, for having to witness that.' James started and Harry gave a wry smile.
'These two saw nothing, but even so, they know.' Harry said and James nodded.
James looked around at the others and nodded. He placed his hands on both Holly and Susan's knees and met Harry's gaze before sighing.
'The man who killed himself was a wizard who went missing during May and hadn't been seen since.' James started, his eyes never left Harry's.
'It appears he'd been under the Imperius and a mixture of potions in that time.' James continued.
Harry nodded, his mind struggling to connect all the information together.
'Because of the threat, the Ministry is considering closing the school, but until the choice is made, Aurors will be stationed here.' James said, and the seven children sighed in relief.
Harry narrowed his eyes.
'Do you have any ideas about who it is controlling these people?' he asked.
James sighed.
'No, but after tonight, I think it's someone with a personal grudge against me. This makes it more dangerous for you and Holly.' James said, and Harry's eyes widened, he squeezed Holly tighter against him.
James broke his gaze from Harry and looked around at the other students.
'You all might be in danger due to your friendship with Harry and Holly.' James admitted.
'I've already asked them to be near Susan, Holly or myself as much as possible for our mirrors.' Harry said.
'That's a good idea.' James smiled.
Harry cleared his throat, he glanced down at Susan before back to his father.
'What were you called in for earlier today? We saw you enter the school in our last class.' Harry asked and James closed his eyes, he ran a hand through his hair.
'We had a confrontation with a person trying to break into the library. But they were trying to steal books on Hogwarts' History.' James frowned.
'The perpetrator fled into the forbidden forest, but not before leading us into a trap. There is a nest of Acromantula in that forest. Please never go in there.' James pleaded, and Harry gulped.
'Acromantula? How would they be in the forest?' Harry asked, then remembered Neville telling him during the Chamber incident about the giant spiders, fearing the Basilisk.
Had Neville not told anybody else about the nest?
Harry looked away from James as Dumbledore stepped out of the Great Hall, looking old and weary. The Headmaster held his knobbly wand to his neck and spoke.
His voice echoed through the castle.
'Please return to your dorms. Dinner will be served in each dormitory this evening because of the tragic events that took place in the Great Hall. I say again, please return to your dorms for dinner.' Dumbledore lowered his wand from his neck and seemed to crumple.
Dumbledore didn't look like a tall, strong warrior anymore, now he was just a tired old man.
'Time to go to bed kids.' Lily said, and Harry nodded.
Holly clutched at Harry, who held her tight.
'It's okay Holly. Luna needs your help tonight. Can you do that for me?' Harry whispered in her ear, and Holly nodded.
Holly pulled back and Harry saw her tear-streaked face for the first time that evening.
Harry watched as Holly led Luna away along with the Ravenclaws. Ginny had a twin brother on either side, joking as they walked along with the other Gryffindors.
Daphne walked alone amid the Slytherin group, a gap between her and the closest student.
'Go on Harry, take care of yourself and the others, won't you?' Sirius asked, a faux smile plastered on his face, and Harry nodded.
'Always.' Harry whispered, following the rest of the Hufflepuffs, Hannah and Susan close by his side.