Shadows of the Past

Aurors, teachers, and prefects searched the castle from top to bottom, and in the end there was good news and bad news: the good news was that no one had been murdered, but the bad one that they had no idea who had conjured up the Dark Mark.

"It was Nott," Ron growled as they stared at Hermione's Daily Prophet the next morning, with the words 'Horror in Hogwarts!' on its front page.

"It can't have been Nott," Hermione said with her forehead ruffled as she read the article. "He was just dueling with Malfoy when the Mark was made. It wasn't him.'

- "And you know that because...?"

- "Because I'm the Head Girl, Ron, in case you forget that. If someone is thrown out of here, Neville and I need to be informed."

- "Nott and Malfoy flew out?" Harry quipped.

Hermione sighed and looked up from the newspaper. "Nott flew out, Malfoy only has to do detention with Professor Slughorn for a week."

"Why did they duel?", Ginny asked. "They always seemed to get along quite well - both Daddy's Death Eaters and so on."

- "Before," Hermione sighed. "The fact that Lucius Malfoy helped the Ministry while Nott's father was still on the run certainly didn't do their relationship any good, don't you think?"

"Why did they duel now?", Ron asked.

"Apparently they didn't agree on how to judge a Dark Mark over Hogwarts," Hermione said.

"But-"

"It was because of Greengrass," Parvati interrupted Ron. The others looked at her curiously. "Daphne told Terry and Terry told me," she said with a chuckle.

"When exactly did Terry tell you that?", asked Lavender curiously. "How come you have seen each other today? Even before breakfast?"

Parvati looked at her sternly. "Do you want to hear the story or not?"

"We want to hear it," Harry said, before Lavender could reply.

Parvati took a sip of pumpkin juice.

"Nott laughed in their common room about the fact that the Mark was being summoned today, and Astoria told him off about it. Nott got angry and tried to curse her, and that really pissed Malfoy off. Apparently they devastated the whole common room, and only Slughorn's appearance could end the whole thing."

- "Why did Malfoy get detention at all?", Seamus asked confused, and Harry quietly agreed.

"Because of the curses they both used," said Neville, who had only just come for breakfast. "It wasn't unforgivable stuff, but it was pretty dark."

- "What exactly-?", Harry began, but Hermione choked him off by cursing so loudly that even half the teacher's table looked up.

She sat there staring at her Daily Prophet, her face bright red with anger, and Harry's heart fell into his pants.

"It's about me?"

Hermione turned the newspaper around and held it to him. The article in question was on pages six and seven and was headlined:

Skeeter Releases Potter Biography - Record at Launch!

Harry swallowed. Between all the worries he had had before Remembrance Day and the Dark Mark in the sky, he had completely forgotten that Rita's book had been published yesterday.

"This..."

Ron used a word for which Molly would probably rip his tongue out if she ever heard him say it, but Harry agreed with him when he started reading.

'The Chosen One(?)', Rita Skeeter's fourth book, is likely to be as best-selling as her first three works. This at least yesterday suggests, because never before have so many issues of a new publication been sold in the first 24 hours as of Skeeter's Potter biography.

"It's a record," says Adalbert Tuddleby, a spokesman for Flourish&Blotts. "We had to order new copies in the early morning because they were all already sold!"

Skeeter herself was pleased, but not particularly surprised by the success of her book.

"People are thirsty to finally learn the truth about Harry Potter - the real truth, not what Albus Dumbledore told the public."

What Skeeter regrets is that 'The Boy Who Lives' himself did not comment on her book.

'I was very disappointed that Harry didn't get involved, after all, we've both known each other for quite a while and have worked together successfully in the past.'

Rita Skeeter alludes to the sensational interview Potter gave her three years ago for the Quibbler (see page 23-27 for the text of this interview). When I mention the public argument she had with Potter in Hogsmeade a few weeks ago, Skeeter just waves off with a laugh.

"A small disagreement among friends, my dear, nothing serious!"

Here is an excerpt from Skeeter's latest bestseller, which she kindly provided to us:

Even the headline brought Harry to the brink of vomiting.

CHAPTER II: ABUSE IN LITTLE WHINGING

As described in the first chapter, little Harry found himself in the care of his mother's sister, Petunia, who lived with her husband Vernon Dursley and their son Dudley in Little Whinging, Surrey, after that fateful Halloween night. None of the Dursleys belong to the magical community, they are muggles, and despite the distant relationship that Petunia and her sister Lily had, the Dursleys did not hesitate to welcome Harry into their home like a second son.

"The brat made it difficult for us," says Vernon Dursley, 41. "He caused us a lot of trouble."

While some of the anger (rapidly growing hair, for example) is not uncommon for a young wizard who is not yet able to fully control his powers, there have also been several incidents that give cause for concern.

"It was Dudley's eleventh birthday," says Petunia Dursley, 40. "We were at the zoo (a park where the muggles look at wild animals) in the snake house when the boy hurled a snake at Dudley!"

Yes, you read correctly! Harry Potter, the celebrated hero of the magical community, hurled a full-grown boa constrictor, a giant snake, at his own cousin, who had grown up with him like his brother, even before he set his first foot over the threshold of Hogwarts! Years ago, I was able to reveal that Potter is a Parselmouth, but this incident is only now coming to light and it is a frightening fact that a child who was capable of such an offence was even allowed to visit Hogwarts.

Of course, life in the Dursley house changed dramatically from then: the whole family lived in fear of Harry Potter and what he might do to them, a fear that, understandably, soon increased to fear of all wizards, and, as it turned out, not unjustly. For when Harry Potter received his Hogwarts letter from Rubeus Hagrid (Dumbledore's most strange decision not to appoint a more qualified member of staff for this delicate task was already discussed in chapter 41 of 'Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore'), the gamekeeper of Hogwarts bewitched Dudley Dursley, a helpless child. A crime that Dumbledore, who was after all the Supreme Mugwump of the Wizengamot, covered up, even though it was a terrible violation of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy and of many other laws! Not only that the desperate Dursleys were left with an abused son on a small island off the British coast, Hagrid and Potter also stole their boat!

"It took us almost two days before the Coast Guard (Muggels who help other muggles in distress) rescued us," Vernon Dursley reports. Dursley's son Dudley himself was not available for a comment, as his parents report he is still severely traumatized by the event.

Before Harry could read to the end, Ginny angrily ripped the newspaper away from him, snarled it and burned it with a scooped out 'Incendio!'.

"This..."

Harry didn't know what to say. For ten years, the Dursleys had made him live in a broom cupboard, given him Dudley's old things to wear, mistreated him, and made his life hell, and now Rita Skeeter portrayed him as the evil one. He was so angry that his hands trembled. How could this woman do this to him, how could she write something like that? How could you publish something like this?

"Harry?", Ginny asked hesitantly.

He looked up and noticed that the others were running hastily to their first lesson, while her, Ron and Hermione looked at him anxiously.

"Go ahead to Sprout," he said angrily. "Tell her I'm coming."

Ron and Hermione exchanged a nervous look, but then left hesitantly.

"Can I do anything?", Ginny asked.

Harry shook his head. "No. I... I just need a moment, okay?"

Ginny nodded hesitantly and then gave him a long kiss, which calmed him down a little. "Don't do anything stupid, okay?"

So left too, so as not to come too late to Charms.

Don't do anything stupid, okay? Harry clenched his fists furiously. Oh no, he wouldn't do anything stupid, but he would do something. Give the Quibbler another interview, or... but that wasn't enough, he thought, that was crying out for more serious action. And unlike three years ago, when he was powerless to watch lies spread about him, he was now far from helpless. He briefly considered asking Kingsley for help, but then rejected it. The minister would make life hell for the Prophet anyway, and he was old enough to take care of his own problems. He staggered out of the Great Hall and sought an abandoned classroom to be undisturbed.

"Tupsy," he said softly, his house elf appended with a loud bang.

"Master called Tupsy!", the elf said enthusiastically and made a small leap of air. "Master has never called Tupsy!"

Even Tupsy's enthusiasm could not alleviate Harry's anger.

"Tupsy, I want you to find out who has shares in the Daily Prophet", he growled. "The goblins at Gringotts should know this. The same goes for the publisher that publishes Rita Skeeter's books."

- "Yes, Master Harry!"

Tupsy disappeared and Harry said, a little quieter, "Kreacher."

Kreacher appeared with an equally loud bang and bowed to the ground. "Master Harry has called, and Kreacher is coming."

"Kreacher, I want you to find me the best lawyer in the wizarding world," Harry said.

Kreacher nodded eagerly. "Kreacher's mistress always relied on Mr Croaker, but Mr Croaker is already retired," the Elf croaked. "Mr Tudgeberry now runs his law firm. Master knows his sister from the ministry."

"Very good," Harry said. If Tudgeberry had half as much bite as his sister, he was exactly the man he was looking for.

"Arrange a meeting with him in the Three Broomsticks next weekend, Kreacher."

- "What should Kreacher give as a reason, Master Harry?"

"Tell him to sue Rita Skeeter so much for me that she doesn't deserve a knut with her cursed book," Harry growled. "That would be all, Kreacher."

- "Kreacher will do what Master orders!", cried the old Elf and disappeared with another bang.

Harry took a deep breath and, now a little quieter, went to Herbology. Although he came far too late and everyone else was already circumcising weird plants with tentacle-like branches, Professor Sprout did not give a damn, for which he was extremely grateful to her. Pansy Parkinson looked in disbelief, throwing an outraged side look at Goyle.

"Where were you?", Hermine asked shyly as Harry stripped his gloves of dragon skin.

"Made plans," Harry said, taking his scissors.

"What exactly?"

"Not now, Hermione," Harry hissed. "I've already put enough strain on Professor Sprout's patience. So, what are these things?"

On the way back to the castle, he told the others about his planned revenge campaign, which made Ron and Neville nod contentedly. Hermione, on the other hand, was chewing on her lower lip.

"What's the matter?", asked Ron, sighing.

"Do you both seriously believe that Harry is the first to sue Rita Skeeter?" she asked.

"Probably not," Neville said slowly, "but which judge would dismiss Harry Potter?"

"That's not what it's all about," Harry growled. "This book is full of lies, and I want the truth to come to light!"

"That's what I want, Harry," Hermione sighed. 'But the problem is that Rita doesn't lie - she twists the facts so much that they give a false picture, but she doesn't present her guesses as facts!'

"I get it," Harry said stubbornly. "And if I have to spend every galleon I have, I still won't let her get away with it."

- "Don't you just want to ask Kingsley..."

"Kingsley mustn't get involved, Hermione," Harry said succinctly. "Or do you want him to vacate his post because he is involved in my problems? That would be just what the press want."

Hermione sighed when she saw a third-year play with a Fanged Frisbee. "Excuse me briefly, I have to confiscate it..."

- "What do you have in mind with the Prophet once it's yours?" Neville asked curiously, while Hermione had a brief discussion with the third-year.

"I don't know yet," Harry admitted with a chuckle. "In any case, they will publish an article that tears Rita's book in the air, and she will surely never write for this lot again."

"You should just close the thing," Ron snorted. "When did the Prophet ever do anything good for us?"

- "Didn't your father once win the annual lottery?", Hermione asked, who had come back to them with the Fanged Frisbee.

"Oh, yeah..."

Unsurprisingly, some classmates seemed to be among those who helped Rita's book become a bestseller with their purchase. Pansy Parkinson couldn't resist reading out the paragraph dealing with the incident in which he inflated Aunt Magda, with a broad grin in her pug's face.

"That she can actually read," Hermione growled grimly.

"Hey, Potter!", Zabini cried. "Will you teach me the spell that you can inflate muggles with?"

Slughorn, who opened his dungeon door at that moment, saved Zabini's life. The Potions master himself had, of course, already read the book and, while inspecting Harry's impeccable Pertikoff Mixture, he violently hinted that he would like to arrange a meeting with Eldred Worple. Harry was grateful that Pansy Parkinson's cauldron contents splashed all over the dungeon at that moment, claiming Slughorn's full attention.

"I don't understand one thing," Harry growled as they left the dungeon. "That everyone is worried about this damn book, but no one cares about the fact that the Dark Mark was conjured over the castle only yesterday."

"I don't think so," Hermione said grimly. "The first-years hardly dared to venture out of their dormitories, and I know that Professor McGonagall is meeting Proudfoot again today."

"They won't find anything anyway," Ron said angrily as they entered the Great Hall. "And what about Nott, what do you think he's doing out there? I bet he's on his way to Selwyn.'

After lunch, Ron and Harry had a free period, which they spent together in the common room to finish their homework for tomorrow's Transfiguration.

"Unbelievable," Ron said as he put his pen away. "We've never been finished so early."

Bang. Ron shrugged so hard that he threw his ink well over his finished essay.

"Evanesco", Harry said hastily, before the ink could dry.

"I still have to rewrite the last paragraph," Ron said, disapprovingly, but Harry didn't listen to him anymore, but nodded to Kreacher, whose appearance had been the reason for the noise.

"Kreacher executed Master Harry's command," the Elf croaked after ending his bow. "Mr Tudgeberry has reserved a room in the Three Broomsticks for Saturday at four to discuss the details."

"Very good, Kreacher," Harry said contentedly.

Kreacher snapped briefly and a piece of parchment appeared out of nowhere.

"Tupsy gave Kreacher this list, Master Harry."

"Thank you," Harry said, taking the list. "Do tell her thank you, okay?"

- "Yes, Master!"

With that, the house elf disappeared.

"Look at that," Harry said to Ron, who looked up from his essay curiously. "Balthasar Fenwick, Alius Parkinson and Beatrix Rosier hold 54 percent of the shares, that should be enough."

"The Parkinsons and the Rosiers will never sell to you," Ron said, shaking his head. "These are pure-bloods of the worst variety."

- "Hmm... Maybe Tudgeberry has an idea," Harry said. "Fenwick... the name rings a bell, but I'm not sure..."

"Benjy Fenwick," Ron said slowly after a while. "He was friends with Mum and in the Order."

- "So definitely no pure-bloods of the worst variety?"

"It should be worth a try," Ron said.

Harry managed to send a letter to Balthasar Fenwick before Charms, in which he made him an extremely generous offer for his shares and asked for a meeting. That and the good Quidditch training in the evening, after which he and Ginny were left alone, raised his mood noticeably, so that he sat down next to Hermione in a rather good mood when they were back in the common room. Ginny walked up to her dormitory after she briefly winked at him. Hermione looked up briefly from her Transfiguration essay and grinned at him.

"You don't have to grin so stupidly every time you're both undisturbed, you know," she said.

Harry turned bright red. "Um."

Hermione laughed briefly and devoted herself to her essay again. "Shouldn't you better work on this?"

"Ron and I are done," Harry said with a broad grin. "We did it in our free period."

Hermione stared at him in a mixture of horror and pride. "You did your homework? In a free period? Without me?"

Harry nodded proudly. "Times are changing, Hermione. Hasn't Ron told you yet?"

She shook her head in confusion. 'He's not back from training.'

Harry frowned. "What do you mean he's not back yet? Why not?"

- "I thought he was with you and Ginny."

- "While we - you know?"

Hermione smiled. "I didn't think about it. But where is he then?"

- "Prefect's bathroom?" Harry thoughtfully suggested.

"Harry," she moaned.

"What? Oh... just a moment," he said embarrassedly, pulling out the Marauder's Map. "You know we should give him a little privacy?" he asked with a grin.

"Says the guy who's been monitoring the whole castle with this thing for five years," she said dryly. "Someone summoned the Dark Mark here yesterday, so I'd know where he is."

Harry shrugged. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Names, rooms and stairs formed on the parchment and the two critically sampled the map.

"He's not in the bathroom," Hermione said.

"Not even in the library," Harry said, unsurprisingly. "And not in the kitchen either..."

- "There," Hermione suddenly said sharply, pointing to the part that showed the castle grounds. A lonely dot titled 'Ronald Weasley' was at the lake.

"What is he doing alone at the lake at this time?", Hermione asked, confused.

"That's at Dumbledore's tomb," Harry said slowly.

"Harry," Hermione hissed, grabbing his upper arm. 'He's not moving. Why isn't he moving?"

- "Come on," Harry growled and pulled her up. "There's something wrong with that."

"Where are you going?", Hermione said angrily as he dragged her to the stairs leading to the boys' dormitories.

"We're taking a shortcut," Harry said in a hurry, holding up his firebolt.

They didn't pay attention to Seamus and Neville, who stared at Hermione in confusion, and opened the window. The castle grounds were dark and deserted. Hermione climbed on the broom behind Harry and clung tightly to him.

"Uh, folks...?", Seamus asked perplexedly, but Harry repelled himself vigorously and turned left to where the tomb was. Hermione's fingers clawed painfully into his chest - flying was not her thing at all, but this flight lasted only a few seconds before they slid up next to the unmoving body lying next to the white tomb.

"Ron!", Hermione cried, stumbling over to him as Harry threw away the firebolt and pulled out his wand.

"Lumos."

He took a hasty look at the Marauder's Map; no one was nearby. "Expecto Patronum", he said, sending messages to McGonagall, Neville and Ginny. Then Harry turned the lights on Ron and gasped for air in horror. Ron was unconscious and full of blood.

"Ron," he moaned, and got down on his knees next to Hermione, who was raising her wand shakily. "Accio Diptam!"

- "Is he..."

"He's alive," she sobbed. "But for how long..."

Harry sent another Patronus to Madam Pomfrey, while Hermione caught the approaching vial and tried to close the countless cuts on Ron's torso.

"Everything is going to be fine, Ron," she whispered hoarsely.

Harry looked at the Marauder's Map again and saw McGonagall, Dawlish and Flitwick approaching, closely followed by Neville and Ginny.

"Does it work?", he asked nervously.

"Yes, but he's lost a lot of blood."

Dawlish arrived first, wand in his hand and his face tense. "What happened, Pott- Weasley!"

He took a hasty look at Ron. "Who was that?"

"We don't know," Harry said succinctly, while McGonagall and Flitwick arrived.

"Mr. Weasley," McGonagall said, visibly shaken, and immediately began to perform healing magic. "Filius, notify Poppy-"

"She's already on the move," Harry said, letting the light of his wand wander around, now that Flitwick also cast light on Ron. And then he saw it: the white tomb was broken, the large marble slab lay in two pieces beside it. Dawlish saw it at the same moment and cursed quietly. They rushed closer and looked inside.

Dumbledore's body lay there, his hands folded, but the wand Harry had buried with him after the battle was gone.