Chapter 15- Among the idiots who's the bad guy
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The school year progressed as all school years progress except for the attacks made on me. Just about the time i figured they had given up they would try again. Unfortunately the serious attempts were intermixed by the stupid attempts.
My first thoughts were that it had to be the older students because I did not see any of the attackers. The 'disillusionment charm was a charm taught in the seventh year. But that assumed it wasn't one of the professors. Then I thought Magic could not normally detect Muggel tricks because most magic users are totally ignorant about mundane things.
My first thought was tar and feathers but hot tar was a scalding event. Then I thought of superglue but I settled on harmless water based glue.
I set it up in a dimly lit unused corridor. And what little magic I used should not be detected. The twine lay by the boot of a suits of armor and ran across the corridor and slid through an eyebolt. It ran up the side of the wall and through another eyebolt. The final connection was on the roof where a spring loaded buckets of glue and bundles of feathers were waiting.
Next time I had the feeling I was being followed I headed for the corridor and as I passed I magically tied the twine to the ankle the suit of armor. This let the twine loosely hanging approximately ankle high. I wasn't too far down the corridor when I heard, "Twang!"
I should have hurried but my target was running off at great speed. I did pick up my pace as I heard screams from various students further toward the Great Hall. While the 'Disillusionment' charm stop people from seeing you the glue and feathers still attached and must've made a scary sight. It wasn't long before everyone knew that Ron Weasley had been pranked.
/Scene Break/
"Daphne, I am no superhero nor do I have any superpowers. I have some redeeming capabilities and good reflexes but I think I'm going to lose it and hurt somebody. While I am unable to catch the perpetrators throwing curses at my back I don't think Dumbledore is even trying to stop these attacks. With all the portraits spying for him and the school wards, somebody's going to get hurt if these attacks are not stopped."
"Harry what do you expect Dumbledore to be doing?"
"I don't know, but something! If nothing else Dumbledore needs to shut Draco's bigoted mouth or maybe Slytherin houses aggravating other students. Don't forget the pleasant thought of removing Snape from everybody's lives."
"We both have classes in about ten minutes so we best get moving." Daphne gave me a quick kiss and rushed out the door.
Unbeknownst but to a few, a Hogwarts student was now on his hands and knees in front of the Dark Lord . The student had received a message early that morning that demanded he immediately leave Hogwarts and make his way to a remote farmhouse.
"I have been told that you have the capability to learn the killing curse. Your father will do the training when you are ready, we have procured a number of mudblood's for you to practice on, do not fail me!" The Dark Lord then disappeared via portkey.
/Scene Break/
As I look back it still seems to me like a bad dream. It started with me feeling like I forgot something but just then the head boy rushing into my classroom and stating that I was report to Dumbledore's office immediately.
The second I stepped into Dumbledore's office I knew there was a serious problem. The Minister Skidmore was there with two of his Aurors.
About then is when the fog started rolling in and my bad dream begins as Dumbledore stated, "Harry I'm sorry to say but Daphne was attacked in the hallway with the killing curse and is no longer with us."
As I yelled that I want to know who and where all I remember is that Dumbledore and the Minister didn't give a shit. Not even thinking about 'flashing' I stormed out of Dumbledore's office and into the Great Hall as lunch was beginning. There was a couple of Slytherins I plan on beating a confession out of or something. Dumbledore used Fawkes to beat me there and I found myself in a magical cage with reinforced bars.
I vaguely remember all this...well sort of…I was ranting and I was feeling emptiness and an overwhelming rage . After I had stopped beating on the magical cage with my magic I start yelling at Dumbledore and the Minister who had by now also arrived. Screaming that I wanted all of Slytherin's wands searched and the truth drug administered to all of them especially the students Draco, Nott and Montague. I wanted the killer of Daphne found, N0W!
Skidmore and Dumbledore gave me some very diverse answers… Skidmore answered no because the influential parents would not stand for it and the no from Dumbledore because he is a manipulating bleeding heart liberal. That's when I have to say I calmed down as a comfortable feeling surrounded me and I said something to the effect… "Good! Voldemort is now your problem!" and that's when I dropped dead.
The reason I calmed down was a funny feeling ran through my body which caused my brain cells to engage. In all my reading I had gone over about bonding and I suddenly realized that all this ranting was all for nothing. The book said that the other bonded partner of a bond usually departed very quickly after the first of them died. And, I just had the feeling, Daphne was calling for me.
Madam Pomfrey rushed from the head table as the caged disappeared and a wand wave later she announced, "Dumbledore, he's dead!"
Students in the Great Hall got to see what appeared to be Dumbledore almost fainting as he staggered to find his seat on the headmaster's great throne. Hysteria then erupted in the Hall. What the students weren't privy to was Dumbledore's first thought, that he Dumbledore never did get a last will and testimony signed by Harry Potter.
Dumbledore looked toward Longbottom and was trying to recall his plans in manipulating the prophecy. Minister Skidmore broke him from his thoughts as the Minister had lost it and in front of the student population…
Dumbledore fired a blast from his wand to restore order...
"We can't keep kept this quiet, there will be panic in the streets, they will want to kick me out of office!" The Minister was in full panic.
Dumbledore knew it was time to save the day as the leader of the light, so he must announce his new plan to the populace. Now what was that plan he had for Longbottom?
/Scene Break/
When I open my eyes and saw the white room I knew it wasn't the hospital wing at Hogwarts. Then again I didn't look all that solid and neither did Daphne who was lying next to me. I guess that's why they call it the next great adventure. The next thing that I noticed were the white and black phoenixes from the library perched on a bushy tree limb that didn't seem to be attached to a tree. Off to the right Fawkes and Hedwig had their own floating tree limb. I was thinking that perhaps this could be the psychiatric ward in St. Mungo's but I knew better as Daphne sat up and said...
"Hello Harry! I've been waiting for you. Seems were attached to each other forever and forever." Daphne seemed to be chuckling at the last part.
Fawkes then started chirping, "We have some more information to give you. Since you are bonded you both can return or you both can leave for the next great adventure, the bosses have given you a choice."
"How the hell are we going to return when everybody knows where dead?" exploded out of my mouth before my brain engaged.
"Do they? Right now your bodies lay in the hospital wing and we've adjusted time here in this town before." said the black phoenix
Of course that meant that the time adjustment would mean we were away from Hogwarts for only minutes. That way a story could be made that we were not really dead but petrified or something rare or unusual. Magic was always doing something stupid.
"I don't think that there is any other logical choice but to go back, right Daphne?"
"Why? Look at all you have been through in you life, is it really worth your going back?
"That's a tough question! The easy answer is that it's the right thing to do, but I want this over with so I can live and dying is not living. Does that make any sense?"
"Harry, your right. I for one want to marvel at some of the different countries, enjoy some of the different activities in the physical world. We should have plenty of time after we passed over to the next great adventure, so I'm willing to live a real life with you."
Fawkes and Hedwig flamed away and in no time had reappeared with our bodies. I was mentally still betting myself that this was the psychiatric ward.
The white phoenix told us, "Just step into your bodies." while everything seemed to go black I woke up to find Daphne staring at me. It also seemed that the phoenix town did indeed have regular human beds.
/Scene Break/
Meanwhile back in the real world, in the Great Hall:
"I always said Potty was a lot of hot air. I wonder what the Griffindorks are going to do when the Dark Lord shows up?" Malfoy's words carried across the Great Hall loud and clear.
The Daily Profit had arrived at breakfast the day before laying out the entire story which had a lot of the typical trash that it shoveled. i.e. Skidmore was responsible for Potter's death for releasing the prophecy making Potter a target. Dumbledore was responsible for not providing the name of the students that cursed his bond mate in the back. Dumbledore's new plan was generally ridiculed and since the chosen one is dead… "Were all going to die!". Mobs were storming the Ministry while howlers chased Dumbledore.
Ron Weasley figuring that Hermione's protection was gone and was lying in wait for her. He was planning on taking her as she was rightly his to take. He was a pureblood after all.
Fawkes and Hedwig dropped us off in unused room on the second floor which we thought was odd.
"Oh come on Harry breakfast is almost finished with, so we better hurry." We had barely cleared the classroom when…
"Morgana! Would you look at that!" I heard Daphne in my mind as I stood there with my mouth open and my eyes focused down the corridor.
"You little worm! You planned on attacking me with that little thing! I've seen five years old with bigger tackle!"
As we approached Daphne and I could only laugh as Hermione was screaming at Ron Weasley. Weasley was stripped naked and glued to the wall while Hermione was venting a tirade of nonintellectual insults.
"Eep! Damn you two are too solid to be ghosts… but aren't you two kind of dead?"
"Why don't you let us explain over breakfast as both of us, especially Daphne, well we're quite hungry."
The three of us walked walk into the Great Hall joking and laughing over what Hermione had done to Ron. The hall became deadly silent for an instance until a few screams and a number of students and faculty fainted. It became apparent that the phoenixes weren't exactly truthful about the time delay.
Of course Daphne and I are then dragged to the head pastor's office where I conjure a large loveseat for Daphne and myself and await his sermon.
"How!" was all the Dumbledore got out before I made a few statements.
"As the old saying goes it's for us to know and you to find out. Unfortunately, what I do say is if you don't expel Ron Weasley I will be forced to castrate him and have his wand broken as he physically attacked Hermione."
Further discussion was interrupted as Minister Skidmore came charging in through the 'Floe'." Dumbledore is the rumor is true?" The Minister took one look at us and... "Dumbledore this can't be happening! Can't we just kill them and hide the bodies?"
/Scene Break/
Special edition Daily Profit, Headline: Harry Potter is Un-killable!
The chosen one is un-killable and is currently in search of He-Who-Must-Not-be-Named to end the war. Dumbledore cancels all classes for the day in celebration at Hogwarts... Blah, blah, blah. They had another pile that they were shoveling.
It was only one week later when another attempt is made on my life, but this time… I was walking down the corridor toward the landing door and the stairs when the green light of the killing curse lit the corridor. Had I been any closer to the door I would not have had time to leap to my left and behind a pillar. As the curse sped by and before the door could close I fired a number of stunners at the opening.
Now the question was do I wait or as a Gryffindor is noted for and rush forward into another green curse. As I cautiously ease my Hufflepuff way through the corridor door and onto the landing, I found nothing. However there was a great amount of activity on the lower floor when I arrived.
Whether Nott got one of my stunners or just tripped while trying to get away, he apparently went over the railings and fell to his death.
/Scene Break/
It was the graduation feast, for a lot of Hogwarts students and it was the end of their schooling. A lot of things had transpired, Pansy Parkinson appeared to be the new head of the wannabe Junior Death Eater squads, we had been killed, and some of the soon to be Death Eaters would not be returning as students. With all the killing curses flying around, people dying and not to mention that the Dark Lord was still running around, there was a lot of interest in DADA. The defense club was getting new students daily. It was sure to be continued next year.
Even though we passed our NEWTs two years ago we awaited McGonagall's tapping of the crystal goblet for the feast to begin. Riddle had tried to take the Ministry and failed, there have been numerous raids on the muggle communities then there was Daphne and I but in the end everything important Voldemort tried seem to end up failing. Pansy new leadership role was because Draco had suddenly gone quiet and was hardly seen.
In anticipation of the end of the year and going home the students were already in the Great Hall anticipating the feast and happiness could be felt in the air.
Draco walked in and passed by the teacher's table, an odd route to get to the Slytherin table. As I turned my attention back to rejoin the conversation… Draco whips out on his wand and yells 'Avada Kedavra' and Dumbledore collapsed to the floor. I could feel the wards fall and before McGonagall can take over control of the wards Draco tossed an orbs like that I had seen at the Ministry to the floor.
"Crack", the sound echoed throughout the hall as at least 30 masked figures stood with wands pointed at the still startled professors. I was unable to get a clear shot at the orb which is still somewhere on the floor. Although the great majority of the Death Eater wands covered the professors a few were pointed at the students. The dark figure at their head strode briskly to the professor's table and stated, "I Lord Voldemort now have you and your school…"
That's when a hundred different curses, spells, jinxes, and hexes flew towards the head table hitting just about everyone in that area, luckily I wasn't one of them. Of course this had a disastrous effect on the Death Eaters as they were standing between the students and the teacher's table.
Some of the Hogwarts students had let out a storm of spells, firing anything and everything they could at general area of the Death Eaters. Professor Flitwick fell off his chair and under the table missing a wild stunner from a student. Charity Burbage was in a full body bind. Argus Filch caught a stunner, while Aurora Sinatra, Septima Vector, Pomona Sprout dived, ducked or fell out of the way of the plethora of hexes from the students. We had no idea were Snape was nor did anyone care at that moment.
The professors that were still capable rolled, dived or ran in different directions and were firing their most effective spells.
McGonagall finally got control the wards surrounding Hogwarts so whoever was here would stay. What was obvious was that Voldemort had a surround body shield as spells and curses bounced away but he was now trapped, Hogwarts wards were up and effective. All this ensured was that Voldemort was slightly upset as he started hurling the unforgivable curse, 'Avada Kedavra'.
My attention was on Voldemort and saw one of his 'Avada Kedavra' curses heading towards Daphne and myself.
I did a quick transformation into my phoenix form and leapt into the air with thought of flashing Daphne away but Hedwig flamed in and grabbed Daphne. Hedwig flamed with Daphne. I saw from the corner of my eye that Daphne was being set back on her feet away from the main fighting. I saw the killing curse intended for Daphne was going to pass me and hit multiple people further in the room. They seemed frozen in fear and unable to move. Someone intercepted the curse with a wooden bench that was now splinters. I refocused my full attention toward Voldemort but he was saying another 'Avada Kedavra' curse that would be heading toward a group of huddled students off to my right …at that point I just flat lost it.
Time seemed to almost stop as I dived down towards Voldemort in my Phoenix form, I was going to transform at the last second and crash into Voldemort and rip him apart with my bare hands. Somewhere in my anger and outrage I started to screech in anger or maybe it was in frustration. Instead of a screech of anger what issued at Voldemort, from my throat, was a stream from hell. It was not of fire but a stream of cold that could never be duplicated by any curse. It enveloped Voldemort freezing him solid as a large multi-faceted crystal of ice. This stop me dead in midair. But his 'Avada Kedavra' was released and it was moving as in slow motion, and as I had calculated it was heading toward the huddled students.
Now I have been told I am not the swiftest in my thinking. If you ever been married you know what I'm talking about. I've also been told that I have this people saving complex. Further I will not attempt to describe to anyone what I was thinking I just flashed towards the ice sculpture, I'm not sure myself that I was thinking.
I flashed between the huddled students and the curse, I opened my mouth with the intention of trying to freeze the curse. BUT… I ended up swallowing the stupid thing, yeah the stupid killing curse!
Now when Fawkes swallows the killing curse he has his burning day and is reborn from the fiery ashes. I never did get an answer as to why Hedwig and Fawkes flamed while Daphne and I flashed. Any-who today I got my answer, I'll ask later what it looked like. The instant I swallowed the curse I felt as if a cooling charm had been applied to me on a hot summer's day. I found myself on the floor as a baby phoenix amidst a comfortable pile of ice shards. I looked up and saw the crystal encased Voldemort, about then the world seem to turn back to normal speed.
Daphne rushed over and asked, "Harry can you hear me, are you all right, say something."
I looked up and nodded my head as all I could get out was, "chirp". I guess I was to young of a phoenix to phoenix speak with Daphne.
Hedwig arrived on Daphne's shoulder and started whispering in her ear leaving me comfortably sitting amidst my pile of ice and watching the surrounding activity. I notice that Hedwick is hanging around so I don't get stepped on, there is still a lot of panic in the hall. Happily the students are racing away from the ice sculpture and me.
Voldemort is frozen, Aurors and Goblins are arriving and transporting Death Eaters out of the Great Hall. Azkaban is going to be full of Death Eaters as most of the students spells and curses were not lethal. Most of the professors had been revived and are now ushering the remaining students out of the hall. McGonagall is apparently the new acting Headmistress and approaches her new ice statue occupying center stage within the Great Hall. Then, as she had done in many times before she tapped the crystal statue with her spoon as if it was a goblet.
I chuckled or maybe it was a cluck but anyway, she did as she did with her crystal goblet during every arrival and departure feast. The result was a ringing and vibration that quieted the Great Hall more so than any feast beginning or end. I'll have to ask later if maybe it was just a curiosity tap to see if indeed it was real. As she tapped her spoon on the crystal statue, it vibrated and tilted and the crystal looking Voldemort crashed to the floor shattering into a thousand crystal shards. Professor Flitwick jogged up and banished them with a wave of his wand. I had a sudden thought…how accurate was that prophesy…or was it another Dumbledore manipulation?
/Scene Break/
It had been the leaving feast and the school year was over with, but it was not fair! I never wanted to be treated as a hero as that kind of attention always bought me a great amount of embarrassment. But my treatment was downright embarrassing in a different way when every thing quieted down in the Hall.
Daphne conjured a shovel and actually shoveled me up with my pile of ice shards. I was then transported to our apartment in Knockturn alley in a cardboard box and placed in the kitchen on a large block of conjured ice.
While I found the ice to be extremely comfortable but I wanted to transform back to my human form but Fawkes stopped my efforts. I would have to wait until I became old enough as a phoenix to be able to transform into my appropriate teen age form.
Daphne was doing a lot of giggling over my status as she lovingly tended to me, the little chick. Hedwig finally flashed in stating that I would have to wait two months before I could safely transform. I had the feeling that Hedwig felt the whole thing was quite amusing.
While I was having trouble communicating my feelings to anybody, everybody was able to communicate to my stupid baby chick form with snide comments like, "My little chickadee". My friends were beginning to aggravate me as they all thought it was funny and giggled and made up those little names. I thought about giving them the cold shoulder but then I thought about giving them frozen feet instead of the proverbial hot foot.
