Whispered conversations filled the Great Hall all of the Hogwarts students were gathered. The sudden disruption of their classes and cancelation of their remaining classes for the rest of the day was certainly a cue that something had happened. Only the 4th year Gryffindors and Slytherins who had come from their double Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons had any real idea as to what had happened.
Harry and Hermione followed Neville and Ron – two of the tallest Gryffindors – as they made a beeline for Ginny and the other 4th years of their house.
"It's the work of Sirius Black."
"He's leading the Death Eaters."
"No, You-Know-Who is back."
"No he isn't!"
"They used Polyjuice to disguise themselves so that they could attack the Minister."
"Someone pretended to be Umbridge."
"An Auror was bewitched!"
The lithe but athletic youngest Weasley slipped through the crowd and made her way to the group of fifth years before leading them away from the throngs of students.
"Sensei noticed something was off about Umbridge," she stated in a whisper. "Several ministry officials were supposed to take her to meet with the Minister but sensei attacked the fake Umbridge. Two of the Aurors are suspected to be imposters using Polyjuice and another Auror might be bewitched. Dumbledore, Percy and the other Auror went to check on the Minister – apparently he's in Hogsmeade where he and other Ministry officials were supposed to meet Umbridge to review how she's been handling things at Hogwarts."
"How did the Aurors get to Hogwarts – they couldn't have Aparated," Hermione blurted out even as she tried to run through the possibilities."
"Could they have used the Floo network?" Ron pondered. "If Umbridge had her fireplace hooked up to the Floo Network someone could have used it to access her office, subdue her, complete the Polyjuice potion, and"
For a moment Harry glanced at his bag – both Ron and Hermione understood immediately – but this was not the place to use it.
"You're both Prefects," Seamus stated as he joined the group, "why don't you just say that you're escorting us to the loo?"
"Good idea," Ron remarked. "Hermione, you tell"
"Look who's leaving," Neville said in hushed tone, drawing the group's attention toward the side door that the professors tended to use to enter the Great Hall. Draco Malfoy (Slytherin Prefect) was leading three older Slytherins out the door while another Slytherin Prefect was distracting the Head Boy and Head Girl. "Hermione, Ginny – find Li, Monroe and Nott – keep an eye on things here."
Before Hermione could even utter any protests Ron grabbed her hand, "All the Gryffindors know that you're the one who will speak out if something is odd, so they'll look to you for reassurance. I'm just an enforcer if needed but you're the one that they turn to. Even the other Prefects in Gryffindor know that. I won't be missed in this situation but you will be."
They watched her as she processed their words and the situation. "Fine," she relented, "but how are you going to get out of here without anyone seeing you?"
"Ozzy," Neville called out.
In a flash the loyal house elf appeared before him. "What does the young master need of me?"
"Can you turn us" he indicated the five boys "invisible for five minutes?"
Ozzy nodded, "Master, join hands." The boys did as the elf suggested before the elf took Neville's hand in one of its own, the snapped his long fingers of his free hand. "Now only house elves can see or hear us."
"This is how the house elves get around the castle without anyone seeing them," Ron surmised. "Brilliant."
"We just have to avoid bumping into anyone," Dean added.
"There is no need," Ozzy stated as he snapped his fingers again, this time each of them felt a slight vertigo as they were disapperated to just outside the main doors to the Great Hall.
"I thought we couldn't Disapperate in Hogwarts," Ron exclaimed.
"Witches and Wizards can't," Harry explained, "but house elves can."
"Thank you, Ozzy," Neville said as he released the elf's hand.
"The Mistress is calling me," the elf announced. "I must go."
"Go, take care of her," he said with a sad smile. In a flash the elf vanished again.
"Now, how do we find Malfoy?" Seamus asked.
"They left through the staff entrance – who knows where they could have gone by now?" Dean added as he headed off towards the side passage.
"Harry, do you have the Map?" Ron asked.
Harry hesitated.
"Come off it Harry," Ron said with an exacerbated sigh. "Seamus and Dean are here to help."
"Hey!"
"And Neville too of course," the Prefect added. "Fine – the three of us are now unregistered animagus – I turn into a dog, Seamus is a badger"
"Wolverine."
"sorry, wolverine, and Dean is a bird"
"Falcon."
"right, falcon," Ron finished. "We did this because we're not gonna take the extra training that you two are going through, but we're doing something in secret so that we can help you out."
Harry was dumbfounded, coming to a complete stop as the quintet reached the intersection.
"So, the map?" Ron said as he reached his hand out as he and the others stopped.
Harry pulled the map and wand out of his robes, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
They watched as ink filled the magical parchment filling in the castle's outline and placing the witches and wizards (though not the house elves).
"Wicked!" Dean and Seamus exclaimed as Harry unfolded the map to show the side of the castle where the Slytherins had departed the Great Hall.
"There they are," Harry said as he pointed the group out. "It looks like they're headed to the"
"Prefects' bathroom on the third floor." Ron finished. "Malfoy, Roy Hall, Peter Clarke, and Rachel Martin."
"Hall, Clarke, and Martin are in the dueling club," Seamus added, "they're probably the best Slytherins in it."
"Right," Harry said, steeling his resolve.
"Right," the others chorused as they set off for the Prefects' bathroom.
"Ron, you open the door; Neville take the Hall; I'll take Clarke," Harry ordered as he glanced down at the Marauder's Map one last time. The names were clearly spelled out and spaced out in the small bathroom. Clarke to the left of the door, Hall to the right, leaving Malfoy and Martin close to the center of the room. "Seamus, take Malfoy; Dean, take Martin; Ron, close the door so that no one gets out and then help whoever looks like they need it the most."
The others nodded.
As they cleared the last steps to the third floor Harry took his wand and touched it to the map, "Mischief managed."
They group came to a stop just outside the hidden entrance to the bathroom. Two shiny suits of armor with their long axes crossed stood guard. "Itron an Lenn."
The suits pulled their axes back, revealing a door. Ron grabbed the handle, turned it enough to open the door, then kicked it in so that Harry and Neville could rush in. Hall was still near the door, though Clarke had moved closer to the center of the bathroom by Malfoy and Martin. Neville threw a spell tag at Hall, hitting the tallest of the quartet then followed up with a splash of water. Hall quickly leapt out of the way of the water and avoiding the catalyst. "Accio!" The spell was not to shield himself but to protect Clarke as the other boy had his back to the door.
"Expelliarmus!" Harry's spell hit Hall's makeshift barrier of a rack of towels.
"Confundus!" Dean's spell also impacted the rack sending a few towels flying.
Malfoy and Martin had their wand hands together and were completely off guard as the Gryffindors barged in. A golden thread from Clarke's wand was wrapped around their hands.
"Stop!" it was Neville. "They're doing performing an Unbreakable bond – if we forcibly disrupt the ritual it'll knock us all out and possibly kill the three of them."
The other Gryffindors considered their options.
"What's going on here?" Harry asked as he eyed Draco.
"We're promising to protect each other," Hall stated as he cautiously walked towards Clarke, his arms outstretched and hands open though he still gripped his wand. "Malfoy needs protection from the Slytherins who follow the Dark Lord."
"Wait, what?" Dean remarked.
"Potter needs to leave, but the rest of you can stay," Hall suggested. "Please."
Before Harry could object, Ron placed a placating hand on his best friend's should, "We've got this, guard the door."
Though reluctant, Harry accepted, leaving the bathroom peacefully and closing the door behind him. Pulling out the Marauder's Map he activated it. Only Professor Trelawny was not patrolling the school or grounds while the rest of the student body was in the Great Hall. He waited patiently for close to thirty minutes, occasionally glancing at the parchment to see that the names of his dormmates and the Slytherins pacing around the bathroom. Finally Ron, Neville, Dean and Seamus moved to the door.
The armored guardians pulled their axes apart, allowing the quartet to leave.
"What's going on?" Harry finally asked once they reached the stairs.
"We need to learn Occulmency," Ron stated. "It's a magic of the mind that is meant to shield your mind from others."
"We can't tell you until you've mastered Occulmency," Dean seconded.
"I'll talk to sensei about it," Neville added. "For now you'll just have to trust us."
The apprentices were glad to have the cleansing soak at after their grueling evening training. After spending a few weeks apart their sensei had wanted to test them to ensure that they had not slacked off during their break. Neville and Theodore had it the easiest as they had spent part of the break with their sensei and Theodore had spent the last week of the break with the grandmaster, while Harry had trained with the grandmaster the first week of the break then spent the last week with the Weasleys. Neither Su or Helene had spent any time with any of the masters yet they had been up for the sparring.
Sparring had been a pleasant break from his thoughts on the day. The entire incident with the Slytherins in the Prefects' bathroom and the secrets that the others in his dorm kept from him had made him a bit uneasy. He had wanted to talk about whatever Draco and the others were up to but none of them were willing to tell him.
The long session of sparring allowed him to vent some of his frustration and the long soak helped him clear his mind and helped his body relax. He'd failed to notice that the others had long departed, leaving him the only one remaining under the cold water of the underground waterfall.
His mind finally clear, he made his way out of the water. It was still odd that the boys wore only white loin clothes and the girls had sheer white robes, and once wet the cloth did little to hide their growing figures though the water did much to embarrass the boys as the cold water did not help make a favorable impression on the girls.
"Harry," Ginny called out to him. He had been so spaced out that he'd failed to notice her presence. Then again, they were only to leave the waterfall once they had cleared their minds and emotions so that their minds and thoughts were as still as the surface of a lake on a windless day.
Despite the cold he couldn't help but feel the heat in his face as he noticed her erect nipples and full breasts straining against the sheer fabric.
She reached her hand out to him.
He could feel the warmth of her lips pressed against his, then her ample bosom pressed against his chest. The cold water seemed to heat up as they embraced. They were filled with fire and passion though they lacked experience. It didn't matter.
Harry sat upright suddenly as he felt the warm thick liquid cover his groin.
He hoped that the others behind the curtains of their fourposters didn't hear him as he silently cleaned his sheets and pajamas. Despite the chill in the air he was covered in sweat and had partially kicked off his blankets.
Straining his ears, he listened to make sure that the others hadn't woken before he lay back in his now clean bed. He took several deep breaths to try and clear his mind of the dream and the visions of the nearly naked Ginny. Try as he might he couldn't get that image out of his mind. Slowly, forcefully, he tried to substitute Ginny for Cho. Though they both had a slender build needed for a seeker, it was becoming obvious that Ginny was going to have more of a Chaser's build with a bit more meat to her frame.
After a half hour Harry knew that he couldn't get back to sleep, not without polishing his wand. Holding back a sigh, he gathered his things so that he could take a late night bath.
Ranma could feel the spike in lust despite the wards around the castle and the number of hormonal teens that currently resided in Hogwarts.
"You are certain that this will work?" the Headmaster asked.
"I am certain of it," the young Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor replied. "Every time that Voldemort tries to access Harry's subconscious mind he will encounter the dreams of a teenaged boy."
Dumbledore eyed him skeptically.
"From what I hear, Voldemort has started to feel the effects of those teenaged urges," Ranma added. "If he's caught wind of what Voldemort has been doing with his parents it's likely that he's become disillusioned with the guy. It is likely why Draco has reached out to some of the Slytherins who are not in favor of the Voldemort."
Hall and Martin were both from no-maj families and Clarke's father was no-maj – all three were recognized in Slytherin only because they had become accomplished duelers who had been able to hold their own against any one in their classes.
"We were fortunate today that you were able to deduce that Delores had been impersonated," the Headmaster said as he repressed a sigh. "Had Rufus not been part of the detail that were to meet with Delores and the others, and seen first-hand that his Aurors were compromised, he might have stayed the course and supported Cornelius in maintaining the status quo. With all that has occurred in the past few months Rufus and a good number of others feel that Cornelius has focused too much on merely keeping his position and not on the safety of the magical community."
"So Fudge is stepping down," Ranma remarked.
Dumbledore nodded, "There are too many who have lost faith in Cornelius and this last attempted attack was the last straw. There are too many who feel that the Ministry is compromised and this incident confirmed their fears."
"No one wants to accept the harsh reality," Ranma sighed. "I'm not from here and I'm too young to have experienced any real wars, but from what I've read you Brits think pretty highly of Voldemort even though he didn't do nearly as much as Grindewald. Sure he created a small army of inferi and he killed a good number of people, but Grindewald did all that throughout Europe and America, came back to Europe and had outright war with several different ministries – outright overthrew the Ministries of Bulgaria, Romania, Austria, Poland, and Germany – killing thousands of witches and wizards in Europe alone, and we're not even talking about the number of no-maj that were killed."
It was Dumbledore's turn to sigh as he recalled those dark days. "I lived through those days and through the Global Wizarding War, and Brittan's First Wizarding War – both were filled with dark days – days that I do not feel the need to compare."
"You saw how both of those wars developed and played out"
"Things are progressing now just as they did then," Dumbledore finished. "People are afraid – and when people are afraid they sometimes make bad decisions."
"Like Malfoy reaching out to Clarke and the others or"
"It is too soon to say if that is a bad decision – it may benefit us, right now but will it benefit the Malfoys in the long run?"
For a moment the pair remained silent as they contemplated the information before them. This was perhaps the most that they had shared since Dumbledore had revealed the existence of the prophecy to Ranma. "We'll see what the morning brings."
Morning training was as a rare subdued event as sensei focused on making sure that everyone had not slacked off during the holiday break even though he knew that they hadn't. Sensei's picks and punches were always pulled just enough that no one was seriously hurt but the speed at which the blows came was always faster than they could anticipate yet today was different – he had shown them just how far out of their league he was compared to them in a rare display of skill and ability that only stopped after they six of them were completely exhausted.
The apprenticed were so used to the morning routine that they needed no instruction as they climbed the stairs up from the frozen lake to the small hidden rooms that the young instructor used only for his private lessons. They were too beaten and exhausted to ponder the significance of their morning session.
"What did you learn today?"
His question caught them off guard.
"That you're better than us," Helen replied.
"There will always be someone that you cannot beat," Su added.
Sensei shook his head, "Everyone can be beaten - you just need to find a way to beat them. Starting tomorrow, use every trick that you know as long as it won't kill someone or destroy the castle – no holding back. Use what you learn in your other classes - wands, spell tags, magic circles, ki, chi, chakra, whatever."
No one knew what to make of his proclamation – all they could do was stand in stunned silence.
"I came to Hogwarts knowing that there was trouble but I've realized that there's a war out there."