The journey to Hogwarts was a rough one. It rained quite heavily and the winds were atrocious. Harry was quite sure that he lost a man as they were flying over the sea, but he wasn't for sure. When they finally spotted the mountains that would lead them to Hogwarts, they rejoiced. As soon as they approached that old iron gate that was at the entrance of the sacred school, Harry hopped off his broom about three feet from the ground. Several of his men rolled their eyes at his theatrics, but several of the men laughed at his actions. Harry slowly approached the gate and pushed it open. When they met no resistance, they started to make their way across the grounds.
Suddenly, they were stopped by a booming voice. "Stop right there. Who do you think you are?"
Harry turned to his right and noticed a large, hairy man that went by the name of Hagrid. Harry put his hands up in surrender when they saw the crossbow in Hagrid's hands. "My name is Harry Potter and I am here to defeat the monster."
Hagrid lowered his crossbow and a grin spread across his face. "I'll take you up to the castle. They'll want to know that you're here." The man turned and started to lead the way up to the old stone castle. Harry turned to his men, who were all giving him confused looks, and merely shrugged, then indicated that they should follow the man up to the castle. As soon as they reached the castle, just before the giant door, Hagrid stopped them. "'Fraid I have to leave you lot here for a few minutes. I have to tell the castle that you're here." With that, Hagrid left the befuddled men behind while he entered the castle.
The sandy haired man that was known as Remus, plopped down on the ground first followed by the two red haired twins, Fred and George. Their brother Bill followed, and Sirius was the first to remove his cloak. "I don't get this, Harry. They want our help, but they leave us out here to wait. It just seems rather odd if you ask me." Remus tried to point out, but Sirius just laughed.
"Moony, you worry too much. Relax a little. They need someone to kill this monster, and they know that we are the only ones that can do it. They're just surprised at how quickly we were able to fly over here." He glanced over at the large oak doors and then turned back to the group. "I hope they let us in soon; I need some mead."
"Sirius be serious. We can't worry about that right now," Harry said, but there was a smile on his face.
Suddenly, the large doors swung open to reveal none other than Minerva McGonagall. She looked shocked to see Harry and his fourteen men. "Potter, what are you doing here?"
Harry stepped forward. "I've come to see Dumbledore. Tell him that I'm here to defeat the monster that has been threatening this school and terrorizing the students."
McGonagall, to Harry's astonishment, shook her head and crossed her arms across her chest. "Potter, you may have fooled Hagrid in this fantasy that you have created, but I will not be bam-bamboozled. Potter, why should I even let you in the school? You usually cause nothing but trouble."
"You know, Professor, in Beowulf, the guy just lets Beowulf just go and talk to the king. He doesn't stop him and lecture him on how much trouble he may or may not have caused. That man even praises them as he takes them to the king."
"Potter, like I stated before, you cannot fool me. I will only let you in this school if you promise not to cause trouble."
Harry nodded in agreement. "Alright, I can do that. However, I make no promises for my men, Sirius in particular."
"He has a valid point there," Sirius pointed out, agreeing with Harry's statement wholeheartedly.
"Fine, Potter, I shall bring you to Dumbledore, so you can tell him that you are here to defeat the monster. Come along now."
The large group followed McGonagall into the castle. She led them through the school all the way to the stone gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's throne room. McGonagall turned and smirked at Harry. "Would you like to stand here and guess the password, oh mighty hero?"
"Are you making fun of me? Maybe I'll just let the monster eat you or something," Harry replied with a slight pout.
This only caused McGonagall to laugh. "Harry, just be lucky that you met me rather than Severus when you arrived here." She faced the gargoyle again. "Toffee Mead. Apparently it's a real thing, don't ask." McGongall replied to the confused looks as the staircase spiraled upwards. They all ascended upwards, and McGonagall knocked on the door that greeted them at the top of the stairs. Someone bade them entrance from behind the door. McGonagall motioned for them to wait for a moment as she entered the room and closed the door behind herself. She returned only moments later, "He wishes to see you now."
Harry hesitantly stepped around the stern looking woman and walked into the inviting room. In the middle of the room sat Dumbledore in a throne-like chair behind his desk. He gestured for Harry to sit in the seat across from him; Harry took the seat while his men stood up against the wall. "Harry, my boy, what brings you here?"
Harry puffed out his chest a little and proclaimed, "I'm here to defeat the monster that has been terrorizing this school and has managed to destroy the entire Hufflepuff house. I am ready to fight to the death. Actually, not really, but if I die, we all can just blame it on fate or something like that. I am also ready to destroy Voldemort with or without magic. I would prefer with, but I'll take what I can get."
Dumbledore let a chuckle, but he quickly sobered. He gazed at the man sitting across from him over the top of his half-moon spectacles. He cleared his voice before speaking. "Harry, I admit that your proposal is very inviting. We were quite sad to see the Hufflepuffs go, and we are currently witnessing the same thing happen to our Ravenclaws and Gryffindors. I know that you have had some good adventures, my boy, but I don't know if you're really what we need."
Harry slammed a hand down on the desk, causing the old man to startle. "What is with this place? I come and tell you that I can help you get rid of a monster that is wiping out your student population, and you turn me down? Look, Beowulf did not have these problems when he went to defeat Grendel. They welcomed him with open arms. The king was all for Beowulf killing the monster. But when I offer the same thing, you make me deal with McGonagall and then tell me that I may not make the cut. And what is with you saying that what I've done isn't good enough? Dumbledore, I have seen and done things that would make most grown men cry. Shall we recap?
"I saved the Sorcerer's Stone when I was eleven. Remember when I made my way through that enchanted obstacle course that you created? Yeah, I may have left my friends behind at the end there, but I saved the stone from that evil professor with the extra face on the back of his head. Then let's not forget the next year when I slayed that giant snake with the sword of Gryffindor. Still not good enough? I also traveled through time and saved my godfather. I also went through those three brutal tasks in my fourth year even though that whole tournament was pointless. Do you need anything else to convince you?"
"It would appear not, Harry. It seems that we have found the right person to take on this monster. Congratulations," Dumbledore rose and walked around his desk to stand in front of Harry. He placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Let's go to the Great Hall and have a feast. Let's inform the students that they shall have nothing left to fear."
