[A/N: WARNING! Trigger for angst of a minor learning the consequences of his actions the hard way. Also the usual disclaimers about non-ownership of fandoms.]
Chapter 14: A Weasel Amongst The Pigs; A Wraith Undone; and the Beginning of Something Wonderful
The Burrow just after Arthur left Headmaster Daggerclaw's office
Arthur Weasley exited the floo and immediately cast a strong stinging hex at his youngest son, Ronald. The boy yelped in pain and dove behind his mother.
"Arthur! What was that about?" she screeched as she pushed Ronald behind her.
"This pig of our son just caused more embarrassment to our family as well as destroying school property, threatening to hunt down a fellow student with physical harm after striking her in the face and theft of food from another student and a bunch of other things!" Arthur roared as he tried to get in another stinging hex.
"Arthur, it can't be true! It was probably just some silly misunderstanding. Ronnie's a sweet and caring boy who wouldn't hurt a fly!" Molly cried her denial.
"You wouldn't be saying that after the pensieve memory I just witnessed. Ronald, I am so angry with you that I don't want to see your face for the rest of the day. Get your miserable arse to your room and stay there until I call for you!" He thundered and pointed up the stairs. Ron grabbed his trunk and hauled it up the stairs as fast as he could.
Arthur stormed into the kitchen and just stood at the sink, gripping the counter edge in frustration. He dimly heard Molly poke her head in and just as quickly pull back again. He was in no mood to deal with her mollycoddling of their youngest son. He stared out the window, not really seeing anything until one of their pigs crossed the yard. An idea started to form in his mind, 'If he wants to act and eat like a pig, let him live like one.' He opened the back door and strode out into the pig pen. There was a sheltered area plus a small storage shed where they kept the dry feed for the animals. He poked around and thought to himself that there was enough room for a makeshift camp bed and the boy's trunk.
Ten minutes later, he had the Weasley family assembled in the yard. Ginny, their only daughter; looked terrified, Ronald was near the edge of collapse and Molly was wringing her hands, clearly fretting about her babies.
"I have made my decision about your future with this family, Ronald. Seeing as you insist on behaving and eating like a pig; you shall spend the next three months out here sleeping with the rest of the barn animals until you prove to me that you can control yourself. The dry goods shed is large enough for a camp bed and your trunk. You will lose your wand until I decide otherwise; your meals will be left in a bucket on the back porch after the rest of us have eaten. You are forbidden from flying or practicing Quidditch. You will not be allowed to leave the property for any reason unless accompanied by myself. You will have no communication with anyone outside of the family. Everything in your former room will stay where it is and I will be warding it from entry by your mother or your sister so don't bother trying to beg them to get anything for you. You will be required to perform chores around the house to earn the continued privilege of sleeping in the shed. Those chores will be posted on the kitchen door; if you fail in your chores, you will lose the ability to sleep indoors. Do not test me on this Ronald; I've had it with your despicable attitude." With that, he turned and headed back inside. Ginny stared at her brother with tears in her eyes before bolting inside as well. Molly started wailing her anguish and held onto her now crying son.
Two weeks later, the twins and Percy arrived home to a very tense scene. Their mother had ensconced herself in her kitchen, Ginny was heard doing something up in her room (judging by the squealing and girly chattering, it sounded like their neighbor Luna Lovegood was over for a visit), there was no sign of Ronald and their father had dropped them off before heading to his work shed. Percy peered around the living room taking in the tension before shrugging it off and disappearing to his room.
"Wow, tough room," George commented to Fred who agreed. The two dropped their things off in their room and headed into the kitchen where they found their mother making food.
"Mum."
Molly greeted them wearily, "Oh, hello boys. There's a plate of biscuits on the counter, don't fill up too much; dinner will be ready soon."
"Um, where's Ronnie?" Fred asked carefully.
Molly sniffed sadly and pointed to the pig pen, "Your brother sleeps there now."
Ronald was currently hard at work digging out the muck in the chicken coop with a shovel, trying to clear it out before dinner time. He was hot and sweaty, dirty from the work and hungry. All he really wanted to do was to get his food and disappear into the shed for the rest of the night. Mucking out the chicken coop was the only thing left to do on his list of chores for today so he hoped that after dinner, he'd have enough light to work on the bulk of his homework. He hoped that the candle stub he'd found would last until he could beg for a new one from his dad. It had only taken only one night sleeping (or trying to) curled up with his thin blanket and wearing all the clothes he owned, huddled up with the other animals hoping to generate enough heat so he wouldn't freeze before he gave up trying to tough out his father's resolve and two days before he'd broken down and started in on his studies; there was literally nothing else to do when he wasn't working.
His days were monotonous; he woke up at dawn, fed and watered the animals before being allowed to have his own breakfast. At first, his mother tried to serve him a hearty breakfast like an ordinary boy but his dad quickly put a stop to that. Now, all he got was a tin of herring, a couple of hard-boiled eggs and leftover toast. Once that was eaten and the trash disposed of, he was back at work usually de-gnoming and weeding the garden, tending to the orchards, collecting the chicken eggs if there were any, milking the cows if they needed it, mucking out the pens and doing the laundry. He'd had the brilliant 'idea' once to secretly try to sneak food from the garden (he got caught and earned a stinging hex to his hands) and even toyed with the idea to kill one of the chickens for a dinner but lost his nerve in the end. It wasn't all bad though; by the end of the first week, he'd managed to earn his first reward; after proving that the yard and pen was to his dad's satisfaction, Ron was gifted with one of his Chudley Cannons Quidditch magazines. Lunches and dinners were basic fare; a sandwich (or two if he was lucky), some kind of fruit and a hunk of cheese. There was even one time his mother managed to slip him a large bowl of beef stew with all the trimmings when Arthur wasn't home by leaving it near the back of the shed. Oh, how he feasted that night!
Ron heard the roar of the engine from his dad's car as it drove up the roadway but ignored it to keep shoveling. He barely glanced up when he heard the gate rattle.
Fred and George watched their youngest brother with a bit of trepidation as he continued to shovel out the muck with barely any reaction to their presence. Normally, Ronald would've been eager to shirk his duties to go goof off. Now however their youngest brother just kept going, not even stopping long enough to say hello. It was unnerving…
"Um, hi Ron. How are you?"
Ron sighed, "I'm trying to get this done so I can eat and have a dry place to sleep tonight. Can we wait until later before we chat?"
"Sure…we can wait. Do…do you want any help?"
Ron shook his head, "Not allowed. Rules are posted on the kitchen door next to my chores."
The twins turned and looked over the rules and saw how restrictive they were, "Forge, I'm guessing the 'no helping' rule was put in place for our dear mother."
"I agree, Gred. Wow, no Quidditch. That's harsh." George continued to run his finger down the list while Fred examined the chores list which contained nothing really unusual that they hadn't done themselves before.
The two turned back to watch their younger brother for a few minutes. Ronald was busy trying to shoo the chickens away from the area he'd just cleaned.
"How long do you figure before he completely cracks up?"
That evening, Fred and George stopped by Ron's shed and knocked on the open door. Ron looked up from his umpteenth reading of his magazine and gestured for them to come in.
"I got a couple of buckets for you to sit on if you're not picky," he said as a way of greeting.
George was clearly uncomfortable at the sight of their brother treating this situation as nothing more exciting than a trip to the watering hole, "How have you been doing? Um…You seem to be settling in pretty good?"
Ron resignedly shrugged his shoulders, "Better than sleeping with the animals, I guess. Who knew that the pigs snore? It's not all that bad in here. I don't have to listen to the ghoul above me, and the garden gnomes leave me alone. I'm even getting all of my homework done!"
"Any word on when dad might let you back in the house?"
Ron slowly shook his head, "No… I doubt it will be before you leave to go back to school."
"Is there anything we could slip you?"
Ron looked panicky a bit. He worriedly glanced out the door, listening hard to hear if their father was anywhere nearby and whispered, "Could you get me some more candles? My current one is just a stub and probably won't last more than another evening."
The twins agreed and after a bit more awkward conversation about what happened at school after he'd left, bade him goodnight.
The twins came through and brought Ron a handful of candles they'd pinched off from who knew where. Ron showed them the secret space under a loose floorboard where it butted up against the wall near the head of his cot that he kept his prized possessions in. Inside was the stub of a candle, a box of matchsticks, his Quidditch magazine and a thick blanket Molly managed to get to him.
"So what do you do for heat?" Fred inquired after handing over the candles.
Ron silently slipped the candles into his hiding space then settled back down on his cot, "Usually I just wrap myself up in my blanket but if I get particularly lucky, I'll start a small fire in that metal bucket there. I figured out how to use the matchsticks I found in dad's work shed to create fire and burn the bits of wood that fall off the trees."
"Why do you hide that stuff under there when you have your trunk?" George asked.
"Dad goes through it at random times ever since I tried to steal vegetables from the garden and hide them in there."
When the twins went back in the house, they found their dad sitting at the kitchen table sipping a cup of tea with an odd look on his face, "Have a good time out there?"
"Uhh…yeah, it was…nice…" George stammered lamely.
"Have a seat, you two. I'm not angry that you snuck the candles out to Ron. I'd be surprised if you hadn't." The look of surprise on their faces caused Arthur to chuckle, "Ron thinks I don't know what goes on out there? I have a listening and monitoring charm on the inside of the shed plus I installed a ward that keeps out the worst of the cold weather, the temperature is set to about 10 C. I'm not so callous as to leave him completely unprotected. I know about his 'secret stash' and his meetings with his mother to get food or supplies. I'm just waiting for him to finally realize just how good he's had it and apologize honestly from the heart that he'd made a mistake and will learn from it."
Both boys wilted in their seats from relief, "We thought you had gone Dark or something. Ronnie thinks that this is going to be permanent and is starting to think long term about rearranging things in his trunk to store food for later."
Arthur hummed at that, "Then I'll have to hint to your mother what Ron needs to do to rectify things. Please don't say anything, alright?" The twins agreed.
"What's going on with Ginny? Has she said anything about what's going on?" Fred asked quietly.
Arthur sipped at his cup of tea, "I've had to explain the circumstances to her but I think she'll be fine. Any time the mood gets too tense around here, I suggested that she go spend the night with her friend Luna."
When Arthur took the twins and Percy back to King's Cross at the start of the new term, Ronald watched wistfully from his shed. It had been raining hard enough that Arthur had given him the day off from his chores. Thankful for the reprieve, Ronald decided that he'd go down to the pond to take a bath. The water was near freezing but it was better than whatever drained off the shed's roof (it had a weird smell to it.) He trudged back to the shed and dried himself off with one of his towels he'd recently washed, put away the tiny cake of soap before he slipped on his clean clothes and settled down on his cot, retrieving his treasured Cannons magazine from a converted box nightstand and pulled his 'illicitly gained' blanket up over himself. He glanced over and smiled proudly at the small bowl of fruit he'd earned earlier in the day for getting the gnomes cleared out in record time and selected an apple to munch on.
He'd noticed the early morning arrival of two men two days after Christmas. He remembered that day quite clearly because he'd gotten a temporary reprieve of being allowed to visit with his mum and sister for the day though he still wasn't allowed inside the house. They'd apparently come for the twins then returned with them at the end of the day to speak with his parents. (Whatever the topic of conversation was, the twins were ecstatic and mum and dad were proud.) It made him sad to realize that he wasn't going to be making them proud.
After a month of no one besides the twins to really talk to since Ginny and Percy wanted nothing to do with him (the occasional garden gnome who managed to find its way into the shed didn't count), he was ready and willing to accept whatever requirements the school and his father had for him just so he could get back inside.
Malfoy Manor
Lucius was confused, not a state he enjoyed one little bit. He was Lord of his Manor, everything reported to him yet there was just something that seemed a bit…off today. The wards weren't reporting an attack of any kind, there weren't any owl deliveries and Narcissa was currently visiting friends. The manor was quiet, a little too quiet… Then it dawned on him, he'd not heard from Draco in a while.
"Dobby!"
There was a pop and a diminutive creature appeared before him, its tea towel 'uniform' was splattered with stains of who knew what, "Yes, Master?"
"Where is Draco?" Dobby cowered a bit.
"Master Draco is being in the kitchen."
"The kitchen? Why… Fine, you may go Dobby." Dobby popped away.
It took Lucius a few minutes to remember where the kitchens were and how to get down to them. When he did enter the correct room, he spotted the heir of his family name standing before a counter wearing an apron and bent over examining a book while holding some kind of cooking utensil. The counter was covered in spilled flour and there was an eggshell on the floor.
"Draco?"
Draco glanced back to where his father stood perplexed at his son's activities, "Father?"
"What are you doing?"
"Baking…or at least attempting to bake."
Lucius approached the counter and peered at the page that Draco was examining, "Does this have something to do with that demonstration that Potter put on?" Draco nodded then reached for a small bottle.
"Yes, sir. I wanted to try my hand at baking as well mostly to see if it was as easy as he made it appear."
Lucius dropped his head a bit, "And what are the results of your investigation?"
Draco mumbled something then straightened, "Um, haven't finished yet. I'll let you know."
Curiosity finally got the better of Lucius, "What is it that you're trying to make?"
Pointing to the title of the recipe with his spoon, Draco replied, "Chocolate chip biscuits. I think I have it ready to be scooped onto the baking sheet."
Lucius sighed, 'This is not what I had in mind for my son and heir when I suggested that he take an interest in a hobby.'
Granger Residence
The phone rang in the Granger residence prompting a mad scramble of bodies to answer it. Hermione slid underneath her father's outstretched arms and yanked the receiver off the hook, "Ha! Gotcha! Hello?"
"Hermione! It's Sally-Anne. What was that all about?"
Hermione giggled, "Old family tradition. Whoever answers the phone first gets bragging rights for being the quickest." Sally-Anne laughed in response.
"Mine has a tradition to see who could clean their rooms the fastest. Guess what? I got the dragon!"
Hermione squealed in happiness for her friend, "That's wonderful! Have you chosen a name?"
"Uh-huh! It's a boy and so I chose the name of Paidin."
"Why that name?" Hermione asked.
"It sounds like something you'd find in a fantasy book and he seems to like it. Paidin the Lemon Biscuit Snatching Dragon."
Both girls erupted in uncontrollable laughter.
"So how have you been, Sally-Anne?" Hermione asked when they recovered from laughing.
"Not too good. I had an episode last night. I was sitting with my mum and dad watching the telly, Paidin was nestled on my chest when I thought I heard voices behind me. They…well, what they were saying isn't important but what Paidin did was. He linked into my mind! I could hear him speaking to me just as clearly as I hear you now. He was looking right into my eyes and he soothed my hallucinations down to where they went away! Mum and dad are thrilled."
Hermione gasped, "Oh, Sally-Anne that's wonderful to hear! Not about the hallucinations but that Paidin could help you. So what does his voice sound like?"
Sally-Anne giggled, "Like Yoda from Star Wars." She affected the weird speaking mannerisms, "Help you, I can. Yes…"
"These are not the droids you're looking for."
"Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope!"
Hermione's giggles rang out through the house. In the kitchen, Dan and Emma smiled happily that their daughter found a female friend to be girly with.
Department of Mysteries, Director Croaker's Office
Croaker leant back in his seat and covered his eyes with a hand and grumbled quietly. The experiments to see if they could separate Quirnius Quirrell from the wraith-like embodiment of Lord Voldemort had hit yet another snag. The parasitic spirit shard of the Dark Lord just did not want to give up its host! The Unspeakables assigned to the task had tried everything they could think of but to no avail. A couple of the team members finally threw their hands up in disgust and suggested they just label the experiment a failure and chuck the host and parasite into the Veil of Death and be done with it.
He'd vetoed that idea; there was always something else that could be attempted though right now he was getting close to capitulating. The latest attempt involved causing the host's heart to stop; effectively rendering the man dead in hopes that the spirit would leave the corpse for a new living host. Nope, didn't work. The wraith just stayed within the head of Quirrell, patiently waiting until they revived the man.
Knock, knock! "Come in!"
The door opened to reveal his second in command, Talon, "You got something?"
Talon shook their head. Even within the confines of his office, Talon never revealed their face, "No, unfortunately. Boss? Why don't we just encase the pair in amber and ship it off downstairs?"
Croaker sighed and reached for his bottle of chilled water and took a long drag, "Yeah, I hoped it wouldn't come to that so soon. What about getting more information out of the wraith first? Has it told us any more about the Horcruxes?"
Talon consulted his notepad, "It's told us about the ring in his mother's childhood home, the diary is with the Malfoy's and the Diadem has been retrieved from Hogwarts. Incidentally, the room that the Diadem was found in needs to be examined further. New information shared seems like that the Hufflepuff chalice is located with the LeStranges somewhere, most likely in their vault. That's a total of four so far."
"Okay, keep going. Use the Analyzer if you have to get anything more out of the damn thing."
Talon bowed their head and left.
His intercom buzzed, "Yes?"
"Director Bones is requesting to see you."
"I'll be right there."
Director Bones' Office, Department of Magical Law Enforcement
"Amelia? You wanted to see me?"
Amelia looked up from her never-ending stack of paperwork, "Yes, Croaker, come in. I wanted to let you know that Albus won't be standing trial for his crimes. The Healers taking care of him report that he's not competent enough to withstand the rigors of a trial."
Croaker grumbled, "So what happens now?"
Amelia grinned sardonically, "Just because he's not fit to stand trial doesn't mean he's completely invalid. That just means we get to bind his magic down to Squib level, obliviate his memories of being a wizard and dump him in the muggle world somewhere."
Croaker winced, "Ouch. To go from the exalted position of Supreme Mugwump to the ignominy of muggle life. Shame that we can't leave just a bit of his memories intact to let him know that he's lost something big but just can't figure out what."
Amelia's grin was shark-like, "I'm sure the techs could figure something out. As it happens, I've already found a position in the muggle world for him. I reached out to my counterpart in the American DMLE and they have a program for senior citizens to help them transition from a full-time active lifestyle into retirement. They say that Albus can keep his original name but that his age will be reduced to a more believable number like seventy instead of the hundred and twenty or whatever he is now."
"Oh? Do you know what they'll have him doing?"
Amelia flipped through her piles and pulled out a blue folder and scanned through it, "Yes, here. He'll be a door greeter for a muggle company called Wal-mart somewhere in the state of Florida." Again she was giving that shark-like grin.
"Amelia? What's with the grin?"
"Florida's weather is hot, humid and not at all what someone like Albus would be used to. He'll most likely die of heat exhaustion within the first month."
Croaker rolled his eyes as he got up, "Amelia, I think you need a vacation."
A couple of weeks later…
Albus Dumbledore woke up after yet another weird dream. This was the third time he'd dreamt that he had been some great leader or something in a far-flung country. He shrugged it off and got out of bed to begin getting ready for the day. Today was something special after all; he was starting a new job after so many years of languishing and bouncing off the walls in that retirement home. 'It wasn't all bad. My accent made me popular with the ladies...' After showering and trimming his beard, he got dressed in the uniform provided by the staffing agency. He chuckled at the bright colors of his uniform, the blue was a touch harsh on his eyes but he figured he'd get used to it. He lined up on the footpath, 'er…no, they call it a sidewalk here' after breakfast with a couple of the others. There was a shuttle service from the retirement home to his new job as a freshly hired senior citizen door greeter for Wal-mart in the great sunny state of Florida. The moment he stepped outside he started to perspire; it wasn't surprising given the local climate and the fact that he was more used to the temperate climate of his homeland of London, England. After getting off the shuttle, he was escorted by another employee to the break room where he was introduced to the duty supervisor.
Albus was checking over his appearance in the floor length mirror attached to the door. He smoothed down his blue vest and made sure that his name plate was on correctly. He turned his head to see if there were any visible straggly hairs from his short beard but didn't see anything amiss. 'Well, there's nothing amiss with my appearance at least. I still have that nagging feeling that I was someone important though. Oh, well it'll come to me eventually.'
"Albus? You ready?" his supervisor called to him. He smiled genially at the woman.
"Yes, ma'am. I'm ready."
Department of Mysteries, in an area known as the 'Magical Deep'
Director Croaker watched as Quirnius Quirrell and his parasitic 'guest' were floated to a chamber within an industrial containment facility. There was an incredible amount of noise, smoke, gasses being exhausted and the sounds of liquids and other materials best left undescribed. The techs were dressed in reflective suits commonly found in blast furnace smelters with their total bodies including their faces covered. Air tubes ran from their masks to backpack mounted air filters. Because of all the noise, they communicated via hand signals.
'Quirrellmort' as the former professor had been labeled was loaded into a canister just barely wider than the man's shoulders and about a foot longer than he was; the lid locked down into place. It looked like some kind of biopod one would find in a science fiction fandom. Internally, Croaker would agree though the process of creating the hibernation process was closer to that movie thing he'd seen back in the eighties. 'What was it called? Star…something. Whatever.' He'd come back from that showing with a host of wonderful experimental ideas. Some of which were being used this very moment…
There was a screech of some kind of super-cooled liquid through chilled tubes. The occupied canister was rapidly filled with a slightly glowing red liquid then with throw of a lever, the canister and its occupant was flash frozen. There was a sudden silence as the canister was raised up out of its cradle and checked over by the techs. A slowly blinking green light must have indicated something favorable to them as one of them used a crane to move it to a conveyor belt.
In stark comparison to the hibernation facility several stories above his head, the 'Magical Deep' was silent as a tomb. It was entered through the one door that was always kept locked and warded via the rotating entry chamber. Croaker always got a good chuckle out of those who thought they were studying the effects of love behind that door. 'If only they knew…'
Croaker slowly walked along the aisles of hibernating monsters and indescribable eldritch horrors. The newest occupant had just been installed between a strange aquatic creature their teams had uncovered in the Arctic ice and something the size of a large bear that resembled a cross between the lower half of a shaved rabbit and the tentacles of a Giant Squid. Croaker leant in closer to peer at the identification card, 'Cuddlepus…discovered in the desert mountains of Afghanistan, June 1969. Ambush predator; killed and consumed three members of the containment team before finally captured. Team Leader rendered disassociated from reality after contact with slime oozed by the creature's mouth. Creature is extremely hostile, DO NOT REANIMATE!'
His footsteps echoed off the walls as he made his way back to his office.
Hogwarts Express, steaming north to begin the new semester
Harry was busy catching up with his friends just as Hermione was catching up with hers. Neville came in a while later and dropped down next to her, a smile growing on his face.
"Nev? What's with the smile?"
"I was just thinking back to the most wonderful gift someone sent to me for Yule. It's a beautiful plant that starts singing when it's around happy people. I wonder who could've sent it to me?" He glanced exaggeratedly over at Harry who laughed and playfully shoved his friend's shoulder, "You're welcome, you goof."
"So how were your holidays, Harry?"
"Pretty good, actually. Uncles Sirius and Remus came by to exchange gifts. The Weasley Twins came by a couple of days later too. They demonstrated some of their products and would you believe it; Padfoot and Moony are going to be helping them develop their business plans!"
Neville was incredulous, "You mean that joke shop they're always talking about?"
"Yep, apparently the twins have been developing a lot of stuff for years. Some of their trick sweets and daydream bracelets can't be found anywhere else in the world, so they say."
"What sort of education requirements will Moony and Padfoot have the twins fulfill?" Hermione butted in curiously, "I mean, I can't see them just investing in something this risky without requirements of their own."
"Um, they have to get Exceeds Expectations on their OWLs and NEWTs at a minimum and hold a part-time job for a while until the joke shop hopefully takes off."
"Well, congratulations to them," Neville responded, "do you know where they're sitting so I can go wish them well in person?"
Harry shrugged, "I haven't moved from this spot since we got started, sorry."
The twins were found by the simple expedient of seeing them passing by the compartment a short while later. Hermione stuck her head out the door and yelled at them to come on in. Congratulations were offered and accepted.
"So, Fred…how are things…at home, I mean."
"You mean with Ronnie? He's got his good days and bad days; fortunately they're mostly good days. He's reached the point where you can tell he's just about ready to apologize and make amends; he just doesn't know how to say the words."
Hermione frowned, "How hard can it be to say, 'I'm sorry. What can I do to make it up to you?'"
George shrugged with his hands, "Ronnie's not the most eloquent of the family. I think dad can see it in his eyes but he's still got two months left to go on his suspension so even if he did win dad over, he wouldn't be able to come back to school."
"Would the school have to re-sort him or would they hold him back to try again next year?"
George hummed, "If I were in dad's shoes, I would hold Ronnie back until September and try again. This year was obviously too much for him and he lashed out." He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed, "But I dunno what dad's going to do."
Great Hall, Welcoming Feast
The Great Hall was loud and rowdy as everyone was trying to find their friends or classmates. Harry found a spot relatively close to the front and sat down. Hermione plopped down next to him on his left with Neville on his right. He looked up at the Head Table and spotted Daggerclaw watching the proceedings.
Finally, Daggerclaw got up and welcomed everyone back to the school, "I do have one other announcement then we can get on with the Feast. Back in September of last year, Miss Hermione Granger of Hufflepuff along with our caretaker Argus Filch; discovered a remarkable set of rooms hidden away on the right hand side of the third floor corridor. These rooms eventually revealed themselves to be a grand ballroom, exercise rooms and a Roman-style pool and sauna. Tomorrow, we will be hosting a Grand Opening of the new facilities. Morning classes shall be canceled so that we can greet our guests. Those guests shall include the Minister for Magic, several members of the Wizengamot and other dignitaries so we expect you to be on your best behavior. We will have more information available come morning so in the meantime, let the Feast begin!"
The groaning of the tables signaled the sudden appearance of the heavily-laden platters of food.
Friday 3 January, 1992 Great Hall
The whole school woke up nearly at the same time and arrived in the Great Hall for breakfast on time and whatever final announcements Headmaster Daggerclaw had for them. Harry was digging into his selection of bangers and mash topped with freshly sliced avocado, shredded cheese and grilled onions. Hermione had filled a bowl with porridge and cream topped with blueberries and apple chunks. Neville had gone for a more eclectic breakfast of grilled tomato, sautéed mushrooms, beans, eggs and bacon. He added a cup of seasonal fruits and berries to round out the heavier elements.
Once everyone had eaten, the students turned to face the High Table where Daggerclaw had stood on the small platform built for him and Flitwick.
"Good morning, everyone! As I mentioned last night, today we will be hosting several prominent members of the Ministry, the press and the Wizengamot. They are here because of the discovery and subsequent refurbishment of the third floor socialization and entertainment center. Yes, it's a bit of a mouthful; I wouldn't be surprised if some of you come up with a better way to describe it. If you do, please let me know." The doors to the Great Hall opened and a stream of adults walked in.
"Ah, our guests have arrived! Ladies and gentlemen, please have a seat and we'll begin the presentation."
A half hour later…
The presentation proceeded with the introduction of Argus Filch and Hermione Granger to the assembled guests. It was a source of great surprise to many to find out that Argus Filch held a Masters degree in Art History from Aberdeen University and had traveled to many of the world's historical sites as well as being part of a student work-study program to investigate and restore or repair priceless works of art in Naples, Italy. Hermione's credentials weren't as spectacular as Argus' but she was credited with being scouted by her House Quidditch team and also beginning a study group consisting of all four Houses in an effort to bring down the enmity of those from noble births towards those of the non-magical world.
Once that was done with, Argus was given the leave to lead the assembly to the third floor. As they were walking, Hermione spotted her parents amongst the guests and nearly burst with excitement. She dashed into the crowd and pulled them to the front so she could hold their hands. As they were climbing the stairs, one reporter commented that he was surprised that the staircases weren't changing as they were normally wont to do.
"Down at the base of the stairs, there's a statue holding its hand out. To return the stairs to their starting points, you must shake its hand and say, 'Mission Accomplished;' then to lock them into position, there's a brick next to the statue that needs to be pressed," Argus calmly explained.
Fred poked Harry, "I thought only Moony and Padfoot knew that?"
Harry rolled his eyes and looked at him like he'd grown a second head, "Fred, I'm not surprised that he knows that. He probably has a cheat sheet in his files. Honestly…"
A tap on Harry's other shoulder caused him to turn around; he nearly stumbled in shock when he saw that it was his aunt and uncle standing there! "Aunt Petunia! Uncle Vernon! Wow, you got invited too?"
Petunia drew her nephew in for a hug, "Yes, Daggerclaw thought that we should see the castle as well since he was already bringing in Dan and Emma Granger. Who are we to pass up such a wonderful opportunity?"
There were gasps of surprise at the sheer opulence of the Grand Foyer and Ballroom. Lady Malfoy was heard to exclaim that she couldn't wait until the first society ball was held and wondered who it was that would be in charge of organizing it. Millie finally got her chance to see the weightlifting room in all its glory. She traced her fingers over the matte black free weights and roved over the machines with glittery eyes. The animated exercise form charts demonstrated the proper method to achieve a good workout caught her eye and made her practically drool with anticipation. She had to be physically dragged out of the room by Tracy and Pansy with promises that she could come back when all the excitement and crowds died down.
The best highlight in Harry's mind was seeing a lazy river meandering off from the Roman-style pool and lounge area. He reached in and tested the waters; the water was pleasantly cool to the touch with a slight current to the river. The river had trees and fragrant bushes lining the spillway, a slight breeze tickled his hair. He heard the chirping of birds and when he looked up, he could see clouds scudding across the enchanted ceiling.
He slid up alongside Hermione who was standing there basking in the glory of being a co-discoverer, "Hermione, have you seen the lazy river section? I can't wait to go tubing down the river after class!" The group was shown where the supplies and equipment were stored and got a chance to look over the rules regarding usage of the facilities. It was made patently clear that any sort of horseplay or dangerous activities would result in at least a week long suspension and a severe loss of House points.
After all the questions were asked and photos were taken, the guests slowly trickled out the door. Minister Fudge came up to Harry and asked him if he'd put anything together for a banquet but Harry apologized and said that he didn't even know that this was going to be happening so there wasn't any time to plan for anything. Fudge looked disappointed but clapped him on the shoulder then asked when his next demonstration was going to happen.
Harry shrugged, "Not for a while. My classes are starting to pick up and I don't always have the time to even plan out a simple snack. I'm sure that the elves would be more than happy to assist you though. They have copies of my cookbooks and idea notebooks, you see."
"Ah, that's a shame. Well, nothing for it I guess. Oh, I did contact the Wizarding Board of Education about the possibility of getting a professional chef instructor to work in the school. They said they'll look into it."
Harry smiled pleasantly, "Thank you, Minister. I hope it works out."
Because Petunia, Vernon as well as Dan and Emma had their own portkey; Harry and Hermione invited them to see more of the school. This wasn't the first time that the Grangers had been there so for them, it was their choice to go visit the Library they'd heard so much about. Minerva appeared and after greeting the Dursleys, suggested that Petunia visit Gryffindor Tower where her sister had spent her seven years in. Petunia was brought to tears after the guardian portrait for the tower swung open and she stepped over the ledge and into the common room. There were still a couple of older students seated at a couple of tables, studying intently for their upcoming tests and whatnot.
Vernon was impressed by how opulent and regal it all appeared to be, "It's almost like walking into one of those king's sitting rooms you'd find at the museums."
Peeves made an unexpected visit to the tower; normally he didn't enter the House Common Rooms or dorms for personal reasons. This time however, he floated up to Petunia and bowed deeply before her.
"Welcome to Gryffindor Tower, Mrs. Dursley. My name is Peeves and I had the pleasure of knowing your sister during her education here at Hogwarts. You may not be aware of it but your sister spoke of you often and shared several pictures of the two of you during your childhood. When we here at the castle learned of her murder, we were saddened greatly. You have my and all those who haunt these castle walls deepest condolences."
Petunia smiled through her tears and whispered, "Thank you, Peeves."
Peeves turned and floated over to a landscape painting of water lilies and swung it open by the frame. He reached into a previously hidden cache and removed a wrapped package before closing the painting. Peeves floated back and handed the package to Petunia. Petunia was staring at the painting behind him, "Isn't that one of Monet's paintings of water lilies?"
Peeves glanced back and smiled, "Yes, it is. Mr. Monet painted it himself for your sister upon her graduation from the school."
Vernon was puzzled, "But Monet died years before Lily would've been born!"
Peeves nodded solemnly, "True but he likes to visit every now and again. Anyways, that package I've given you is your sister's private journal of her time here at the castle. She would've wanted you to have it." He bowed once more and disappeared.
Minerva was surprised by Peeves' behavior. It was completely out of character for the poltergeist to behave himself in the presence of others, "That was…unusual."
Vernon turned to her, "How so?"
"Peeves is the resident poltergeist and is normally an incredibly chaotic entity. He's usually known for causing mischief and pranks to the staff and students."
Petunia sniffed, "I remember reading about the kindness that Lily gave to him. She always treated him with respect and never tried to treat him as if he were less than she was. I guess that's rather rare and it resonated with him."
Great Library
The library was peaceful. The students who graced the aisles looking for the books needed to do research or homework were quiet and respectful. A family of three was camped out in one of the elegant study areas with the leather couches and deep wingback armchairs that invited one to spend hours while in deep contemplation. This is where Peeves found them…
"Mr. Granger, it is a pleasure to see you again."
Dan looked up in surprise, "Ah, yes. Peeves, was it?"
Peeves smiled, "Yes, sir. If you'd permit me sir, I have something I'd like to share with you? I took it upon myself to do a bit of research since you reminded me of someone from long ago."
Dan gestured for the poltergeist to continue. Peeves unrolled a scroll onto the table and secured the corners, "This is the known history of the Granger family starting with your daughter here all the way back to the distant past. You have a magical great-uncle by the name of Hector Dagworth-Granger who was the Head of the Noble House of Dagworth-Granger. Prior to him is someone which you had reminded me of." His finger pointed to a name that shocked all three to their very core.
Dan blinked as he breathed out the name of their ancestor, "Princess Sophia…"
No recipes this chapter, sorry.
