AN: I love, love, love, LOVE you guys. I felt as though you guys needed to hear that. The reason this chapter took longer than the others is because you all gave me some serious reasons to think about where I want this story to go. I really had to consider it. So, one viewing of X-Men: Wolverine, a Twilight Zone marathon, a cleaning binge, fifteen listenings of the Hello, Dolly! Soundtrack, and countless Christmas sweets later, I've realized something. This story is meant to be about Harry, the Gryffindors, and house unity. No more, no less. Yet, I was trying to make it something it wasn't. Thanks to all of you who let me know you weren't happy. Thanks to my 344 followers and 188 favorites. Special thanks to Cateagle, Kairan1979, NATWEST, The Sea's Wings, Danvighar, red-jacobson, Vixen Uchiha, Majerus, Wonderbee31, NERC, mwinter1, southern-reader, Kine X, wolfish-willow, NameHasBeenTaken, Spring Raine, SomeGuyFawkes, MariusDarkwolf, phoebe turner, A Lady of Time, Books are air, kentrek1, JannaKalderash, TwilightEcpls, Kazztar, alucard964, serialkeller, serentityselena, Lightningblade49, and slicerness for reviewing. Final word count before gigantic author's note: 2,653
Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise.
"Why won't you let me go upstairs?" Ginny demanded.
"It's just, um, don't you wanna hang out with us?" Alicia asked.
"I've been talking to you for hours," she complained. "What's so important that I stay here?"
"A, uh, surprise party?" Neville attempted.
"You all better tell me right now why I can't even use the loo without supervision," she said, slowly raising her voice.
"Alright, alright," Lee surrendered. "Your diary is totally evil!"
"What?" Ginny frowned.
"Lee!" Alicia hissed.
"You-Know-Who is in your diary. Repeat: You-Know-Who is in your diary. You must stay away for the sake of your safety," Lee whispered urgently.
"Lee! Shut up!" Angelina ordered.
"Are you kidding me?" Ginny exclaimed.
"Well, not exactly…" The twins said.
"Look, you can stop with that silly game you're playing. I don't even have my diary."
"Wait, you were telling the truth?" Angelina asked.
"Of course I was. I thought for a while that Harry might have it, but when I tried to look, someone had already beaten me to it," she shrugged. "Don't know why the diary's so important. Unless…"
Percy, Hermione, and Katie burst through the portrait hole.
"Ginny!" Her brother gasped, panting. "Don't…go up…the stairs!"
"Oh not you too," she snapped. "I don't have the diary anymore! Did Harry put you up to this?"
"Why…do you think…Harry did this?" Katie still couldn't catch her breath.
"He seems to think that Lucius Malfoy is the one who put the diary in my cauldron. Honestly, I can't believe I ever thought that was heroic. It's just a bother." Ginny rolled her eyes.
"You don't have it?" Percy struggled to grasp this concept.
"No! I already told you that," she huffed. "Now can I go?" Without waiting for an answer, she turned and dashed up the stairs so fast that no one could stop her.
"If Ginny doesn't have the diary, then who does?" Hermione asked.
"How did you even get in?" Oliver asked incredulously.
"It was rather simple. Marie just wanted someone to talk to, that's all," Luna smiled.
"Who the bloody hell is Marie?" Ron exploded.
"I believe you call her The Fat Lady. Personally, I think that's a bit rude. She's lonely, y'know. Anyway, after we had a very nice conversation, I told her that I needed to help a friend. She was reluctant at first, but she wanted to see the school more united, so she let me through."
"After that, I just got into your dorm room. At first I had trouble locating it, but once I concentrated on the energy, I found it. Although I did have the small problem with getting the diary out from under the mattress," Luna smiled calmly and glanced out towards the Black Lake.
"Really Harry? Underneath the mattress?" Oliver tsked.
"I wasn't really thinking," he muttered, blushing.
"How did you get in the dorms?" Ron asked.
"It's an enchantment on the staircases," Oliver explained. "Boys can't go into girls' dorms, but girls can go into boys' dorms. I think it was created because girls were considered more trust-worthy."
"Who would trust Hermione more than me?" Ron snorted.
"A smart person," Oliver told him seriously.
"Well, at least we don't have to worry about Voldemort anymore," Harry said happily.
"The Giant Squid is having a bit of a rough time digesting its food," Luna commented.
"What?" Oliver peered over her shoulder. All of the blood drained out of his face. "Oh no…"
"What is that?" Katie said disgustedly.
"That is the diary. Looney Lovegood stole it for Ginny, found out it was evil, threw it into the lake, the Giant Squid tried to eat it, threw it back up, and we brought it back for you. Isn't it great?" Ron remarked sarcastically.
"You mean I brought it back for you. I was the one that had to touch it when it was covered in Giant Squid spit," Oliver corrected.
The diary was completely soaked through with water and a little something else, and was covered in tiny bits of green.
"What are the green thingies?" Alicia wrinkled her nose.
"I think they're seaweed or algae, but I'm not completely sure," Oliver scratched his head.
"Where's Harry?" Hermione asked worriedly.
"He split from us halfway here. McGonagall said that Dumbledore wanted to talk him. We decided Harry would tell him what's going on and clear everything up," Oliver said.
"That's not going to work," Percy informed them. "We just came from his office to tell him everything, and he brushed us off."
"Dumbledore?" Ron asked in shock.
"No Ron. The other tall, ancient wizard in the Headmaster's office. Of course, Dumbledore."
"Maybe he was busy?" Angelina suggested.
"Doing what?" Percy challenged.
"Where is it?" Dumbledore shouted from the portrait hole. Harry stood next to him, looking ridiculously small in comparison. The Headmaster stalked towards their group. Everyone unconsciously bunched together to surround the diary.
Dumbledore picked up the small, black book and examined it quickly, his face becoming somber.
"Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Harry," Dumbledore said gravely. "I'll resolve this matter immediately."
"Wait just a minute," Percy began tightly. "In case you've forgotten, I approached you earlier today with this exact same concern, and you swatted me away like a fly! How did you go from telling us to figure it out on our own to swooping in to save the day? It makes no sense!" He screamed.
"Mr. Weasley, you're older and wiser-"
"I'm sixteen and you expect me to go up against a dark lord? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! Maybe the rumors are true. Maybe last year was an elaborate scheme-"
Dumbledore's eyes turned cold. "Mr. Weasley-"
"You know what? I'm done. You can expect my resignation as prefect by tomorrow." And with that, Perfect no-longer Prefect Percy marched up to his dorm
"Are you insane?" Oliver shouted. Their Hogwarts class was incredibly small, and Oliver and Percy were the only male Gryffindors of that year. The room was clearly divided between the two. One side was kept perfectly neat and organized, while the other side had clothes strewn all over the floor with Quidditch posters tacked up everywhere.
"Leave me alone," Percy murmured as he scribbled on a spare piece of parchment.
"No! You've wanted to be a prefect for ages. Prefect, then Head Boy, then Ministry job, then Head of a department, and then a big finish as Minister for Magic. You had it all planned out. I did too. First I was gonna make it on the House team, then captain, then training camp, then second-string for Puddlemere United, and then I'd actually be on the team for them, and finally I'd be picked for England's World Cup team. I don't really have time for prefect in there," Oliver joked meekly.
Percy didn't respond.
"C'mon Percy. Don't you think you're being a bit rash?" Oliver regretted saying it instantly.
"Rash? Rash? Oliver, Ginny could've died! He didn't even do anything. The only person he listened to was Harry, like he's doing it to look good in front of The-Boy-Who-Lived. I can't just blindly follow a man like that," Percy shook his head.
"Maybe he just made a mistake?" Oliver offered.
"A mistake that could've cost my sister her life. A mistake he refused to own up to. Ginny may not know what kind of danger she was in, but I do."
Oliver continued to try to talk to Percy, but it was no use. The ginger's mind was made up.
The next day, when Professor Minerva McGonagall had a free hour, she made her way to the Headmaster's office. In her hand she carried a letter, but in her head, a large number of complaints clamored to be heard. She ascended the stairs and didn't bother knocking; she knew the old man had charms that told him exactly who was coming.
"Minerva, what a surprise," Albus said warmly. He sat at his desk, hands folded atop a massive stack of papers. Severus Snape sat in the chair opposite Dumbledore, a sneer on his face. Minerva didn't let the sour man deter her. She marched right up to the bearded wizard and slapped the letter down on his desk.
"What is this?" he asked, befuddled.
"That is exactly what I said when Percy Weasley presented it to me directly before Transfiguration this morning. You know what he told me?" Minerva didn't wait for an answer. "My resignation as prefect, he said. Percy Weasley! So then, after class, I offered the position to Oliver Wood, as he's the only other one eligible. But then, he tells me he doesn't want it, because then he would have to deal with you. Yes, you, Albus Dumbledore!" She raged.
"As if that wasn't strange enough, my fourth year class came in, and they wouldn't stop chattering. At first, I didn't bother with it, because Merlin knows that nothing good comes from interrogating the Weasley twins. But eventually, it got to the point where I could no longer teach. I caught Lee Jordan with a piece of parchment. They were betting on how much longer you would last as Headmaster!" She screeched.
"At the top of the wagers was the option of 'Until he dies, because the Wizarding World trusts him too much to fire him like they should.' Nearly all of the class, Gryffindor and Slytherin, voted for that. Later, at lunch, the Head Boy informed me that there is a notice up on the board in the Common Room about all the questionable decisions you've made. He wanted to know if it was true, and I had to tell him that I didn't know!" Minerva finished her rant.
"Finally realized that your foolish little Gryffindors aren't quite as innocent as you thought?" Snape asked sneakily.
"It's not as though you-"
"They've always been that way," he snarled, cutting her off. "I tried to tell you, I tried to tell you years ago, that they were the worst kind of monsters out there. But did any of you listen to me? No! And now look what's happened. You don't even know what to do with them. It's like you think their antics are funny, like you always did. Letting those four muck about-"
"Severus, it's been fifteen years since you graduated. Why can't you let it go?" She said tiredly. "Let her go?"
His eyes flashed. "Never," he promised, and left.
"I hope you're happy," Albus sighed. "You may have broken him."
"Broken him?" Minerva sputtered. "You might have an uprising on your hands, and all you can think about is Severus Snape? It might not be just my house, Albus, it could spread. The Slytherins already hate you, add the Gryffindor fiasco and some Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw support and you won't be here much longer. I am a prefect short and I have an out of control house," she snapped.
"What do you want me to do about it?" Dumbledore massaged his temples.
"I want you to fix it!" She left him alone, drowning in his thoughts.
Dumbledore's idea of fixing it was to call a staff meeting after dinner that night.
Sometimes Pomona Sprout really regretted becoming a teacher. She easily could've worked at a greenhouse, surrounded by all kinds of plants, happily going about her day. But instead, she had mistakenly agreed to be Herbology professor and Hufflepuff Head of House at Hogwarts. Oh, she knew she could quit now, but frankly, she was getting old. She could hardly leave her post now, not when she had been there for almost 60 years!
Still, she thought, days like this made her seriously reconsider.
"I knew something like this would happen!" Sybil Trelawney declared. "I saw it many moons ago."
Minerva scoffed. "Oh really, Sybil?" She asked skeptically. "You knew that Gryffindor House would rebel against Albus?"
Trelawney ignored her.
"And now, I'm down a prefect, because neither Wood nor Weasley wants to take the position," Minerva carried on.
"Perhaps those fools have finally realized that the badge will be given to anyone, even terrible beasts," Severus sneered.
"Excuse me!" Minerva gasped, appalled. "But Remus Lupin was a good man-"
"Oh yes, yes!" Snape shouted, a bit of madness entering his eyes. "Him, Potter, and Pettigrew were just so great! Let's not even acknowledge the little Black spot on Gryffindor's perfect, gleaming record-"
"James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin were better men than you'll ever be," Minerva yelled heatedly.
"Alright, that's enough," Dumbledore called. Pomona noted that he had never looked older. Was it really that serious? Or was there something else?
"Albus, let us get straight to the root of the problem," Filius Flitwick squeaked. "The Gryffindors no longer trust you. But the real question is, why?"
"I'm afraid that I truly have no idea," Dumbledore said calmly.
He's lying, Pomona thought suddenly. He won't look at any of us, he seems more subdued. There is a reason, one he doesn't want us to know.
"Sorry I'm late," Gilderoy Lockhart burst through the door, smiling at them all.
That man, Pomona rolled her eyes. You'd think he didn't understand the meaning of urgent.
"Glad you could join us Gilderoy. Please, take a seat," Dumbledore offered genially.
Lockhart foolishly took the chair between the still feuding Minerva and Severus, neither of whom looked happy about the current arrangement.
"So, what do we do?" Aurora Sinistra asked worriedly.
"I'm not sure yet," Dumbledore answered, slowly stroking his beard. "But I am confident that as long as this mess remains contained to Gryffindor, it should blow over."
Minerva and Severus were both outraged.
"In case you hadn't noticed, Dumbledore-"
"I've already told you, Albus-"
"-my house hasn't-"
"-the whole of Slytherin dislikes-"
"-no one really cares about-"
"-it's like everything I say-"
"-seem to think we're being moody-"
"-no wonder I was the one chosen-"
"-it's almost like-"
"-it's as if-"
"-you never listen to me!" The two finished together in a manner eerily reminiscent of the Weasley twins.
But the truly terrifying thing was Albus's reaction. He didn't move at all, and simply stared off into the distance.
"Albus?" Poppy Pomphrey asked uncertainly.
"Oh, yes," He said, suddenly breaking out of the trance. "I thank you for for your time, professors. You are dismissed."
"But sir, we haven't come up with any sort of plan," Filius protested.
"Yes, yes, but I am confident that I shall be able to come up with something," he said, waving them off.
Slowly, everyone rose and filtered out of the staff room. The last to leave was Professor Pomona Sprout, who cast a concerned glance over her shoulder and shut the door.
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore sighed and rested his head in his hands. How had it all gone so woefully wrong? He hadn't meant for it to turn out this way, any of it. He had tried so hard. He only wanted what was best for them, to achieve the Greater Good. He didn't want to see anyone hurt or killed.
Lily and James Potter, Frank and Alice Longbottom, Peter Pettigrew, Marlene McKinnon, Benjy Fenwick…the list just went on and on. He had cried so many times during the war. He had been so relieved when it was all over, when no one else would suffer because of his own mistakes.
But then that Weasley boy had told him what was going on, and he hadn't wanted to believe it. So he had stupidly sent the poor boy away, as if that would prevent Tom Riddle from coming back. But when he was forced to think about his actions, he realized his error. So he called for Harry Potter. But he should have called for Percy Weasley. He didn't and that created a long list of horrible events that would seemingly never end. Albus could only hope his students were prepared for what was coming.