Chapter III- The Wand of the People
Harry Potter felt quite nervous, and with good reason too. Here he was, alone, isolated, and worst of all, surrounded by a crowd of warmongering, Harry-hating, revenge seeking, Slytherins. Fortunately for him, the Sorting had just begun so he wouldn't be killed- yet at least.
He could feel all of the Slytherins continuously glancing significantly at each other for a brief second before they'd turn to him and smile viciously. All of them were whispering secretively to each other, all of them were trying to make him feel like an outcast, and worst of all, all of them hated Harry Potter. The Boy-Who-Lived knew that they were planning to do something- something malicious and terrible- and that made him very nervous.
But his fears of being maimed were temporarily replaced by an even bigger fear- the Sorting of Carmela Potter. The thought of having her in Slytherin was a nightmare of epic proportions for the Boy-Who-Lived. She gracefully walked over to the stool and placed the far too big Hat over her head. The exact moment that the Hat touched her head, it proclaimed that she was to become a Ravenclaw.
The Boy-Who-Lived sighed in relief while he loudly clapped, very much unaware that he was the only person clapping in the Slytherin table. The green-eyed boy grinned when he saw his sister eagerly walked towards her new House, so eagerly in fact that she forgot to place the ragged Hat back into its stool.
Unfortunately for him, his fears soon returned when dinner started. As the whisperings in the Slytherin table became louder and louder, Harry desperately looked at the Gryffindors and for an instance his eyes met with the eyes of Ron. But then the red-haired boy quickly looked away from him.
He knew that it had started. He knew that his friends from his former House would start abandoning him now, and that he was alone. Nobody could help him.
"Welcome!" said the Headmaster excitingly after the Sorting was finally done. "Welcome all of you to yet another year in Hogwarts! I am very pleased to see many new and old faces in here. I have quite a few announcements to make before we can finally start feasting upon the meticulously prepared dinner. The first, and most important, of these announcements is that for this year and maybe more, our school shall be playing host to a handful of soldiers from the Omni Brigade."
Everybody who knew about the Omni Brigade, and almost everybody did, instantly looked up at the Headmaster. The Omni Brigade, a battalion made up of the best and brightest Aurors, was globally known for their military might and eternal loyalty to the people. In fact, both Dumbledore and Mad-Eye were alumni's of this universally respected brigade. This elite bunch of soldiers was, in fact, responsible for spearheading the offensive against the seemingly unstoppable horde of rebels that threatened to destroy the stability of the Wizarding world in 1989, a feat that was only a small part of their legacy. But their biggest claim to fame was that they alone, out of all of the several Auror battalions, fought with grim determination against the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters. The Brigade alone was untainted by the power of Lord Voldemort, and because of this, they became the premier battalion in the Aurors Office.
So what were they doing here, asked the Boy-Who-Lived to himself as he analytically glanced at Dumbledore, by the looks of it, the Headmaster doesn't seem him very happy about this.
"The Brigade has only one objective in their stay here- to protect Hogwarts from anybody who seeks to do it harm. Many of you are probably asking what they are guarding us from, and that is a perfectly legitimate question to ask. To put it simply, the Ministry of Magic has received information that the terrorist group, the People's Wand, have made infiltrating Hogwarts their most important mission," said the Headmaster gravely as the student body gasped collectively when they heard this. "We do not know what they are planning to do, but nonetheless, the Ministry of Magic is willing to do anything to protect the sanctity of Hogwarts.
The People's Wand were to put it simply, a small group of highly organized magical beings who wished to annihilate the current Ministry of Magic and replace it with an anarchistic one. They adopted a quote from the Muggle philosopher Jean Rousseau as a way to justify their acts of violence against the Ministry of Magic. "Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains," was the motto of the group, and armed with only a handful of wands, they set out to liberate man.
According to the many books that Harry had read (his mother always emphasized on the importance of politics), the People's Wand actually sprouted from several Muggle groups that fought during the 1930's in the name of anarchy against the other two rising ideologies of the time- communism and fascism. The Muggle anarchists of that age were decisively defeated in the war of ideology, but they would eventually become the blueprint for the People's Wand.
The group, which was mostly composed of Muggle-borns or Half-bloods, adopted the ideologies of several Muggle anarchists and they set out to accomplish a gargantuan task- the immediate destruction of all forms of organizations. This would include but not only limited to the utter annihilation of the blood hierarchy, abolishment of the Ministry of Magic and all law-enforcing establishments, complete destruction of the capitalist system which according to the anarchists gives much of the spoils to the already powerful and lastly, equal rights to all magical creatures capable of thinking competently.
Many would probably say why would anyone try to do this and they were right to think so, thought Harry Potter to himself.
After all wouldn't the country be engulfed by chaos and destruction if there was no one to keep the people in check?
Wouldn't the powerful that according to them runs amuck without any real burden, become even more powerful without anymore laws to stop them?
And wouldn't man who was inherently born with flaws become even worst without a master to make sure that he was following the law?
According to the People's Wand, the answer would be no to all of the questions. To put it simply, their entire argument as to why anarchy would result in good was because they believed in the natural goodness of mankind. They believed man became evil, not because they were born evil, but because the society around them made them so. Man was an easily influenced animal- the temptations around him, whether it be the moralistic Ministry of Magic, or the greed-enticing capitalism of the Wizarding world, made him into an evil being which would lead to much corruption and maliciousness in this world.
And the People's Wand believed that in order to bring back order into a world that so clearly needs it, they'd need to destroy all organizations that caused evil to be born in the heart of men. Once they finally do this, man would be reverted back to its natural state- good, kind and sharing. This was the objective of the group, and despite being faced with so much powerful enemies, they were still dead-set on achieving it.
Harry, who was already alarmingly cynical at such a young age, though he disagreed with all of the views that the People's Wand held, actually admired their sheer idealism. The views and opinions of the anarchist group, foolish they maybe, were incredibly idealistic and utopian in nature.
Everybody, including the Pure-bloods, feared the People's Wand.
"The Omni Brigade shall be led by Captain Gawain Robards," the Headmaster then continued after seeing that the initial surprise at hearing that the People's Wand were trying to infiltrate Hogwarts wore off.
A man of medium height, bowed aristocratically at the students who clapped enthusiastically and rather loudly. He was definitely somebody who looked like he belonged to a rock band rather than as a commanding officer in the Omni Brigade.
Robards had soft wavy black hair that almost reached his shoulders, which along with his slim build and gracefully concise movements, made him seem weak, almost feminine even. But as the Boy-Who-Lived quietly observed the man, he was anything but weak.
The Auror had cold, aqua-colored eyes that revealed nothing while it simultaneously absorbed every face like a sponge. For a very brief moment the Harry and Robards locked eyes- and the Boy-Who-Lived felt as if the Auror was staring right into his soul. The Chosen One flinched, and he looked away.
But deep inside his heart, though Harry would never reveal it, he was intimidated by the man. The last time the Boy-Who-Lived saw eyes like that was when he was a mere baby. Those eyes belonged to Lord Voldemort.
Whoever he is, thought the green-eyed boy to himself, I know that he shall is definitely no one I should underestimate.
After the clapping and cheering was done, and actually it was mostly the teenage girls who clapped with such enthusiasm, Dumbledore once again continued his announcement. "Captain Robards shall also be leading along side with another Auror who has decided to come back to retirement to face this new threat, Captain Alastor Moody."
At this exact moment, the doors were loudly opened and a boisterous clang echoed throughout the dining hall. The Boy-Who-Lived was speechless, along with the entire student body, as Mad-Eye confidently walked towards his seat in the faculty table. For a brief moment, Harry made eye contact with the Auror who actually winked at him.
After the initial surprise wore off, Dumbledore once again continued. "The Omni Brigade shall be conducting investigations in the school in an effort to make sure that the safety of this school is guaranteed. If anyone has seen anything suspicious please tell the Brigade- any information is of great help to them."
No wonder the Headmaster is so grave, mused the Boy-Who-Lived, the Ministry is turning the school into a hunting ground. They're interfering with the school.
"Now onto lighter news," the Headmaster continued. "Please welcome Professor Sirius Black as our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this year. The students are in very capable hands indeed- Sirius Black is lauded as one of the most superb Aurors to have ever fought against Voldemort. He has plenty of things to teach you." The professor stood up and he bowed melodramatically in an attempt to imitate Robards. The entire Great Hall burst into an enthusiastic applause and once again, Harry was the only person clapping in the Slytherin table.
The Boy-Who-Lived nodded appreciatively at the Headmaster. The elderly man was being quite ingenious- Dumbledore was quietly filling in all the vacant spots with people that he could trust to protect and sponsor Harry whenever it was needed. That was the reason as to why Mad-Eye and Sirius Black was there, because he could rely on those two to protect the Boy-Who-Lived when it was needed.
After this, the Headmaster then briefly went over the list of items that were forbidden this year, before he finally said, "Now that we are done with the announcements, we can finally go to the most important part of the day- the feast!" Almost instantly a medley of tasty-looking food appeared instantaneously in the long table. The enticing scent lulled the Boy-Who-Lived into a sense of false security, and that was definitely not good, considering that at the moment he was being surrounded by hundred or so enemies.
Harry quickly snapped himself out of that state, and he immediately reverted back to his paranoid state. The green-eyed boy carefully avoided garnering attention while eating- he would've been content with not talking with any of these dirty Slytherins for the rest of the year. Unfortunately for him, that was not going to happen.
"Pass me that drink, blood-traitor," sneered a particularly hideous looking sixth year. Harry knew what the Slytherins were planning to do- they would provoke him continuously until the point where he would hex and maybe even fatally injure one of them. When that happened, the Slytherins could then force the Headmaster to expel the Boy-Who-Lived. Of course, they couldn't really use spells against him, because doing so would result in giving the green-eyed boy the justification to fight back.
The Boy-Who-Lived bit his tongue- he knew exactly what they were doing, and his ego refused to let him be manipulated like that. He gingerly handed a goblet filled with pumpkin juice to the Slytherin.
"Oops, sorry about that!" snickered the Slytherin as he 'accidentally' spilled the juice all over the Boy-Who-Lived. "I forgot that we had a dirty traitor like you in our presence!"
Harry gritted his teeth as he tried his best to ignore the urge to hex the ratty looking Slytherin. The student widely grinned, revealing his unkempt and admittedly colorful teeth, when he saw that the Boy-Who-Lived was only going to ignore him. "Oh are you gonna hex me, Potter? Why won't you do it then- go ahead and make all sorts of disgusting things happen to my head," said the Slytherin provocatively.
"Nah, you're not worth it- and besides, there's nothing I can really do to your face that could make you anymore hideous," Harry retorted. The green-eyed boy just couldn't help himself, and if the man pulled out his wand, he'd have a good enough excuse to hex him. "I honestly wouldn't be surprised if I discovered that years of breeding with pigs have resulted in a face like yours."
"Fuck you," cried out the Slytherin dumbly as he reached for his wand. The Boy-Who-Lived grinned- the second that the wand was out of his pocket, he could destroy the pig and claim that it was self-defense. Unfortunately for him, the angry Slytherin stopped when a harsh voice told him to cease what he was doing.
"Stop what you're doing," commanded a fairly tall black boy as he looked coolly between Harry and the enraged Slytherin. "If I were you, I wouldn't pull out my wand."
"Shut it Zabini," replied the Slytherin rather angrily. "This is a fight between the blood-traitor and me, and you'd do well minding your own business."
"Think with your head, Pluny," Zabini replied coldly. "If you had idiotically pulled out your wand, Potter would have been given the perfect excuse to blast you across the Great Hall."
"I could take this little shit," Pluny whined as he reluctantly put his wand back inside his pocket. "I'm a sixth year if you haven't notice."
"And that matters how?" the black Slytherin sarcastically replied. "Potter might be an arrogant prick, but any half-brained person can obviously see that he's abnormally powerful. Someone like you couldn't stand a chance against him."
"Fine," huffed Pluny rather childishly, "but I'd watch out if I were you Potter." The troll then proceeded to pick up his plate, and he walked away from the Boy-Who-Lived.
"Gee thanks Zabini," the Boy-Who-Lived replied sardonically, "never thought that I was so highly thought of in Slytherin."
"Don't let it get to your head, Potter," Zabini told him. "I was just looking out for a fellow Slytherin. The House might be filled with cunning and ambitious people but we look out for our own- especially against outsiders like you."
Harry merely shrugged; after all, Zabini was one hundred percent correct. He was an outsider, despite the fact that he wore green, and that the Slytherins had a tendency to look out for their own against outsiders. After all, the Boy-Who-Lived admitted, they were usually the most disliked out of all the Houses and most hated- with good reason, of course.
The rest of the feast went without any real incident, after all, the Slytherins just acted as if he wasn't there. And that was perfectly fine with him. After everybody was done eating, the Slytherins started to walk towards their common room and he stood up, prepared to follow them quietly from the back. Of course, Harry already knew where the common room was, thanks to his Polyjuice adventures in the second year, but he pretended to be ignorant of its location.
The green-eyed boy started walking, only to cease when he heard a voice call out for him. The Boy-Who-Lived instinctively turned around to see Professor McGonagall gesturing for him to come closer, and he did. "Hello professor, need anything from me?" asked the Gryffindor.
The elderly lady curtly nodded, and she told him that the Headmaster wanted to see him. Harry followed the Transfiguration professor without so much as saying a peep- he and McGonagall had never really had the best relationship. She disliked him for his arrogant attitude, but nonetheless, they still managed to uphold a respectful student-teacher relationship.
As they walked quietly to the Headmaster's office, Harry tried his very best to ignore all of the obnoxious glances that the people were giving him. They still couldn't believe that the Golden Boy, Harry Potter, was in Slytherin. In fact, the Boy-Who-Lived couldn't believe it either.
McGonagall muttered the password as they approached the office, and the gargoyles allowed them entrance. She nodded at him to enter the room by himself, and he did.
"Hello, Harry," the Headmaster jovially said as he gestured for the Boy-Who-Lived to enter his office.
"Hello to you too, professor," replied Harry as he sat down on a comfy chair. "Why did you invite me in here, sir?"
"I know that you have plenty of reasons to be worried right now, and I fear that I would only be adding more to your list of burdens, but I feel that you should hear what I am about to say." The Headmaster was very grave indeed. "Remember when I announced in the feast that the People's Wand's objective was unknown? That is a lie. I know the reason as to why they are here, and to put it simply, the Ministry of Magic has asked me to keep it quiet."
"And what is the reason?" asked the astonished green-eyed boy tiredly. Harry knew that whatever the reason was, it probably involved him. After all, if it didn't, then why did the Headmaster call him here?
"My sources have told me that they are after you," Dumbledore told him. The Boy-Who-Lived asked the elderly man who the sources were, but he shook his head to show that the sources would remain anonymous. "But the question is what do they want with you? Do they want to merely kidnap you? Kill you? I personally do not know, but nonetheless, my sources have told me that they have infiltrated Hogwarts. The Omni Brigade is here not to protect Hogwarts, but to protect you. Unfortunately for us, Captain Robards is not a man whom we can trust to do that."
"Is he a Death Ea-"
"No he is not," the Headmaster said with so much certainty that Harry just had to believe him. "Nor is he a member of the People's Wand."
"Then why can't we trust him?" inquired the Boy-Who-Lived.
"It is because the Captain is a man of power, a man of cunning, a man of brilliance, and most dangerously, a man of ambition." Dumbledore had a grave expression on his face, and even more shockingly, fear. He had rarely seen the seemingly omnipotent man be scared by anything, so whoever this Robards was, he was as dangerous as the Headmaster said. "Since Robards is one of the co-leaders of the Aurors responsible for keeping you safe, he shall not hesitate to use his position to do whatever is needed to further his career."
"Good thing you have Mad-Eye there to act as a buffer, right?"
"Yes it was relatively difficult, but I managed to squeeze Alastor in as a co-captain," Dumbledore muttered. "But nonetheless, Robards is a slippery man. In the next few days he shall most probably ask to meet you, and when he does, be wary. Be weary of whatever he tells you and be cautious in what you say to him."
The Boy-Who-Lived nodded, and he asked if there was anything else that he'd like to tell him. Dumbledore shook his head, told the green-eyed boy the Slytherin password, and after saying goodbye to each other, Harry walked out of the office. After leaving the office, he groaned loudly to himself.
What else was going to happen to him this year? Harry was already being forced to go be a Slytherin, now he was being hunted down by a powerful organization! As Harry Potter promenaded to the common room, he thought to himself that things couldn't quite possibly become anymore chaotic.
Author's Note- I generally liked this chapter, though I'm a bit worried that I tried to pack to many things at once. Expect Zabini and Robards to be integral characters to this story.
Next chapter will be Harry's first few days as a Slytherin. Until I see you next time…