Beta: Demos – Dialogue is too uniform
Original release date: 9/28/2014
Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Harry Potter or any other universe.
Chapter Sixteen – Neon Pink What?!
/* a few days after receiving the watches */
Initiating a call via his watch, Harry doesn't have to wait long before Remus's face appears. Seeing some concern on Harry's face, Remus asks, "Harry, what's the matter?"
"Just wondering when you and Sirius will reply to my letter."
Blinking a few times, Remus asks, "Uh, what letter?"
"The letter I sent nearly a week ago about Fluffy."
"Fluffy?"
"Fluffy is the three-headed dog I told you, Sirius, and Amelia about over Christmas."
The sounds of paper shuffling is heard from Remus's end before he asks, "And to whom was the letter addressed to?"
"Sirius."
Sighing, Remus replies, "And there's where you went wrong. Sirius is the one to talk to about girls or pranks, but not about the happenings of what happens at Hogwarts, money, and the likes. Let's talk about what you wrote in your letter."
Roughly half an hour later Remus says, "Let me make certain I'm understanding this correctly. The three headed dog is named Fluffy, it's guarding a trapdoor, and the trapdoor leads to something that is between a Nicholas Flamel and Dumbledore. Is that correct?"
"Yes."
"I'm glad you told me. Just remember Harry, when dealing with information like that, use the watch. With the privacy charms on it, no one else should be able to listen in to your conversations."
"I will."
Sitting back in his chair, Remus suddenly leaps to his feet pulling out a Padfoot's Amaranth Wind, which was inflating itself. Disgusted, Remus throws it aside and resumes sitting in the reclining chair, deep in thought. Minutes or possibly hours later Remus again jumps to his feet and quickly places a video call to the one person who he thinks could help.
/*at the Ministry of Magic*/
Sitting in her chair, Amelia thinks to herself Is leaving a three headed dog at Hogwarts ok? According to Susan, Dumbledore gave an announcement about a third floor corridor being off limits unless someone wants a painful death. That corroborates Harry and Neville's account—when the sound of a bell chiming brings her out of her thoughts. Looking down at her wrist, Amelia sees a picture of Remus's face and a video call invite with an accept virtual button and a decline virtual button. Accepting the call, Amelia's face quickly adopts a look of concern and asks, "What's wrong, Remus?"
Remus begins, "You remember the three headed dog at Hogwarts? Harry called a bit ago and revealed that Fluffy, the three headed dog, is guarding something is between Nicholas Flamel and Dumbledore. Here's what scares me is that Flamel is the only known maker of a Philosophers Stone and the Elixir of Life. If what we think is true, then Voldemort isn't dead, there's a Philosophers Stone at Hogwarts, and there's the potential of Voldemort gaining a corporal form!"
Eyes as wide as dinner plates, Amelia replies while getting to her feet, "I'll see if there is anyone in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and go to Hogwarts with a few aurors as well. If there is a Philosophers Stone, it needs to be removed and secured elsewhere."
Exiting her office, Amelia sweeps through the department, on her way to Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures to discover if anyone was still there. Arriving, Amelia is dismayed to find the office closed for the day, causing her to go back to her department. Seeing a few aurors still in their cubicles, Amelia barks, "I need a handful of aurors front in center for an immediate task!"
Within seconds a handful of aurors line of in front of Amelia, at attention. Inspecting them, Amelia barks out, "Longbottom, Jones, Moody, trainee Tonks, and Shacklebolt, you're with me. We're off to Hogwarts."
"Why Hogwarts?" pipes Tonks as they enter the lift.
"Quiet missy" barks Moody, artificial eye spinning rapidly.
Entering the atrium, the eclectic group storms across the atrium towards the invisible line marking the apparition barrier. Within seconds the group moves from London to just outside the Hogwarts gate. As if expecting the group of aurors and one trainee, the gates swing open silently, ushering in the group. Amelia sets the pace at a brisk jog towards the castle.
Within minutes the group enters the castle and head towards Dumbledore's office, no longer jogging, but with an air of importance. At the statue guarding the stairwell to Dumbledore's office, Amelia speaks clearly, "Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia Bones, to see the Headmaster."
As if supporting the unspoken goal of Amelia, the statue jumps aside, letting the group enter and get to the top of the stairwell. Without knocking, Amelia barges into the room "Albus Dumbledore, you've got some explaining to do."
With a twinkle in his eye, Dumbledore replies, "What ever do you mean?"
"You have a three headed dog, which is against the rules of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Now explain!"
The twinkle in his eye still apparent, Dumbledore replies, "Yes, Fluffy is in the castle. But what about it?"
Without missing a beat Amelia replies, "Why would you need a three headed dog that is against the rules Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures unless you are hiding something?"
A hardened look appears in Dumbledore's eyes, replacing the twinkle. "What I have here is none of the business of the Ministry of Magic."
"You know as well as I Headmaster that I'm only here because of some concerned parents."
"I doubt it is of concerned parents, Director Bones" replies Dumbledore icily.
"If you remember correctly, you said at the beginning of September that those not wishing for a painful death to not visit the third floor corridor. Any number of students could have and may have written to their parents regarding that statement from you.
"I fail to see any one from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures my aging eyes deceive me."
Slamming her fists onto Dumbledore's desk, Amelia replies, "That is not for you to be concerned with! What are you hiding under the trapdoor that Fluffy is guarding?! And don't say anything about there being nothing, I have it from a good source that something of Nicholas Flamel's is being hidden here at the castle!"
Sitting back in his chair, Dumbledore asks coldly, "What would make you think that?"
"Hearing that the information came from Hagrid, the groundskeeper? Would that be enough?"
Reeling in shock, Dumbledore replies, "But this is all for the greater good!"
An eerie quiet encompasses the room as Amelia and Dumbledore have a staring contest. Without breaking eye contact, Amelia states, "I'll ask this once, so think about it long and hard before answering me. Do you or do you not have a Philosophers Stone hidden somewhere in the castle, guarded by a three headed dog named Fluffy?"
Visibly paling, Dumbledore quickly recomposes himself and replies, "Why does it matter if there's a Philosophers Stone here or not?"
"This is a matter of security! An illegal three headed dog is somewhere in the castle where students can stumble across it and possibly be injured or even die from it is of great importance! Who knows what a student could do if they get past the dog and get the stone", turning around to aurors behind her, Amelia speaks, "go round up the professors. We're beginning an investigation starting tonight."
Silently the aurors troop out of the office. Facing back to Dumbledore, Amelia continues in a more normal volume voice, "Headmaster, we are aware that Voldemort isn't completely dead yet, and we think you know that too. We need to work together to prevent him from coming back. We're making an investigation and do what we must to prevent him from rising back into power. You can either cooperate and be seen as on the side of the light or you can refuse to cooperate and in the best light, seen as doing nothing to stop him from coming again. The choice is yours, but we will stop Voldemort."
Amelia turns and begins to leave the office when Dumbledore says quietly, "Yes, there is a Philosophers Stone in the castle. But I assure you, it is for the greater good!"
Shaking her head, Amelia leaves the office and makes her way to the Great Hall. Minutes later, most of the professors have gathered in the Great Hall, alongside a blank faced Dumbledore.
"Attention! Please take a seat while we conduct some interviews!" announces Amelia.
Moody and trainee Tonks go off to a corner, Frank Longbottom to another, and Shacklebolt to one, with Amelia conjuring a seat in front of Dumbledore stating, "Now, we need to discuss the arrangements of the stone and Fluffy. I need you to hand over the Philosophers Stone for safe keeping. The issue of Fluffy. Fluffy is against the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures rules, but until Monday morning when someone arrives at the office, Fluffy would need to stay here, but with extra safety precautions in place."
Steepling his fingers, Dumbledore replies, "Did you have any ideas?"
"Some form of physical barrier or the likes. Other than that, no."
"Hmm. I have an idea, but let's get the stone for you, Director Bones" states Dumbledore, as he and Amelia make their way out of the Great Hall.
In the Gryffindor Common Room, wrapping up a video call with Remus, Harry whispers to Neville, "Remus thinks that there's a Philosophers stone in the castle, which can extend someone's life and/or turn metal into gold."
"Why is it here?"
"Didn't say, but he didn't sound happy. I say we leave it to Amelia."
"Agreed."
/*a couple hours later*/
Finishing up the interviews of the professors regarding the Philosophers Stone, Amelia calls out, "Aurors, back to the ministry!" blank parchment in front of Amelia.
"Now, let's go over the interviews one by one and find out what they all have in common" states Amelia.
/*a few days later at the Ministry of Magic*/
"What do you mean you can't do anything?" exclaims Amelia hand balling up into a fist.
"I'm sorry Director Bones, but we can't do anything about the beast in question" replies a worker in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.
"Why not?"
"Typical procedures, complaint from public, committee to review, and so on."
Amelia briskly walks out of the office, fuming, thinking to herself, Clearly this is going to be much harder than expected.
/*a few days into February*/
"Are you really going to do this?" asks Neville seemingly in disbelief.
Trying to smile but ending up with little more than a grimace, Harry replies, "Yes. Sirius thinks it is a good idea. I think it'll be hilarious."
"Don't get caught" comes Neville's reply as Harry dons his invisibility cloak, armed with his school bag and his Marauders Map.
Slipping out of the portrait hole, Harry quietly and slowly ambles his way towards the Great Hall, anxious to achieve his plan as quickly as possible. Arriving at the solid wooden doors to the Great Hall, Harry quickly scans the map looking for professors when his stomach clenches. Not even fifteen feet away from him stands Snape hidden in the darkness. Having traversed the halls with his wand lit but under his cloak, Harry is surprised to not have been spotted. Quickly erasing the map and turning out his wand light, Harry waits for movement from Snape.
With a long pause Snape begins to move, slowly, as if checking for an apparition. Harry steps back until his head hits the wall, eyes watering. As Snape nears Harry's location, a distant screeching sound causes Snape's head to jerk up, as if hit by an uppercut. Jowls a quiver, Filch comes alongside Snape, "Students out of bed, students out of bed professor."
Snarling quietly, Snape goes "I'm WELL aware that are students out of bed. Come Argus" before striding off. Waiting a minute or two to make certain that the coast is clear, Harry continues on, finally entering the Great Hall. Standing in the middle of the hall, Harry begins to levitating tubes to the ceiling, far above the floor, making them almost impossible to spot.
Finishing up his work, Harry turns towards the door, still under the invisibility cloak where Dumbledore stands, looking out through the glass at the back of the hall, reveling in the moonlight. Seconds turn into minutes as Dumbledore just continues to stand, unmoving. Harry begins to edge towards the door, waiting for either Dumbledore to leave or his chance to run for it and hope for the best when a house elf pops into the room squeaking, "Here is yous hot cocoa sirs."
Hearing Dumbledore speak something, but nothing specific before the house elf pops away.
"The Ministry hasn't gotten themselves involved in Hogwarts affairs for many years, so why start now? I have to wonder if it has anything to do with the appearance of Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom. This is disrupting my plan for the Greater Good" before placing the empty mug down on a table and striding out of the Great Hall.
Twice. Twice this evening he had come close to getting caught by a professor. It is definitely time to get back to the common room.
Back in the common room, only Neville sits on the couch, reading J. R. R. Tolkien's 'The Hobbit'. "So, how did it go?"
Sinking into the nearest armchair, Harry exhales loudly before replying, "Objective complete. I think Sirius is a bit insane for suggesting this, but it should be entertaining."
"How do you think the professors will react once it happens?"
Chuckling softly, Harry replies, "I don't think they will be able to do too much. But we'll see once the day comes.
/*the fourteenth of February*/
Like any other day of classes at Hogwarts, the fourteenth of February, 1992 started out normal. Sitting down to breakfast, Neville reaches into his bag, stomach feeling like it is full of butterflies, pulls out an envelope and hands it across the table to Hermione, who, with surprise etched across her face, opens the envelope revealing a card with a few hearts on it. Opening the card, Hermione sees the words, "Will you be my valentine?" on the right hand side of the card. Looking up at Neville who is staring at her intently, Hermione smiles, replies, "Yes, Neville, I will be your valentine", before giving him a kiss on the check.
Harry checks his watch and comments, "It's time to see what happens", tapping a few things on the watch. For a few moments nothing seems out of the ordinary, until a pink mist descends slowly from the ceiling, soon covering everyone. At first nothing happens, but roughly thirty seconds after touching the inhabitants of the Great Hall, everyone's hair begins to change color, slowly at first but rapidly changing to a different shades of pink.
From the view from the staff table, many professors blink rapidly, thinking their eyes were fooling them. Soon the hall is in an uproar, volume climbing ever louder, until Dumbledore stands, pink beard and all, causing a round of explosions erupt from his wand, resulting in the hall falling quiet.
"As we can all see, we have been pranked. Classes will temporarily halted." announces Dumbledore.
A half an hour or so later, having zero luck on removing the hair coloring, the rest of the professors gather around Dumbledore.
"Albus, in all my years of teaching, I haven't seen this level of pranking since Potter, Black, Pettigrew, and Lupin came through" states Flitwick, hints of a smile tugging at his lips.
Eyes narrowing, Snape states coldly, "None of my potions seem to have an effect."
"I think classes should resume, Albus" says McGonagall.
Dumbledore, sighs, stands, and announces, "Despite many attempts to remove the hair coloring, we haven't succeeded. Therefore, classes will begin as normal."
Sitting in Transfiguration before class starts some time later, Neville turns to Harry, gives him a high five, and says, "Good work. What's in the formula?"
Returning the high five, Harry replies, "Not certain, but I think Sirius still has pink hair."
Professor McGonagall strides into the room, and tersely calls roll, before saying, "I'd like to make it known to you all that if anyone knows ANYTHING regarding the mysterious hair coloring event that happened earlier today, feel free to come to myself or any other professor."
Later that evening, Harry and Neville sit at a table alone in the common rom when the Weasley Twins enter through the portrait hole.
"So, gents, who was the mastermind behind our lovely hair color changing event?" queries Fred.
Grinning ruefully, Harry replies, "It was I. But I know that a few good washes will remove the coloring. But you didn't hear that from me."
Author note: I look at my use of commas and find that I use quite a many of them. Does anyone find my use of commas to be excessive or well placed? Yes, Dumbledore does seem out of his normal character, but I do have a reason for some of that, but I'm afraid it will take a LONG time to get to that. So I hope you all aren't upset with me with Dumbledore's irate state at what happens.
I'd like to thank you all for reading, especially those of you all who routinely leave reviews on how I can improve things, point out issues, etc, follow, have favorited, etc. You all make feel good inside. :)
Jharry1960 pointed out that Amelia should have some action regarding Fluffy. As the author I know what will and won't happen, but normal human beings [read as not me] would become very concerned [even in the wizarding world, or so I would think] about a corridor on the third floor [right hand side if my memory serves me well] about being needing to be avoided unless a painful death is wished.