Chapter Three
Two scorched skeletons on the ground. One a woman's, the other a small babe's. Hand in hand, the bone-corpses stretched for the door, struck down in flight. The woman's body covered the little one's, protecting it even in death from the harsh flames surrounding it. A green glow saturated the room. It was too late. Voldemort's deed was done. The echoes of his hideous laughter reverberated from the ceiling, mocking his tears.
What a pity they died defenseless. The echoes cried. A real man would have been there to save them. He raised his tear-stained face to answer angrily. The voices increased in volume, adding the wails of the victims to the growing din. Coward! They accused him, pain and resentment filling the voices. Die now, they screeched. Die as you live, spineless sniveling weakling! Blackness dropped around like a veil.
The feast was well under way. Harry and Ron dug ravenously into steaks while exchanging summer vacation stories. Harry hadn't really gone anywhere, as usual. He had spent most of his summer in his house. Ron, on the other hand, had gone to a Quidditch tournament in Scotland. He had seen several teams play, but couldn't remember which played which.
Hermione had picked a seat well away from them where she could sulk in peace. Every so often she cast Harry and Ron venomous glances as they continued on, blatantly ignoring her pout. Slight pangs of guilt plagued Harry during the meal, but he did not mind much. She was stubborn, that was all. By the end of the meal she would be back and apologizing. As the meal ended, however, she showed no sign of changing. Harry wiped his mouth off and cut Ron short in the middle of a Quidditch excursion.
"Should we apologize to Hermione?" he asked. "She usually doesn't start out this bad. Beginning the year on the wrong foot would not be pleasant. Especially considering she does some of our homework for us."
Ron thought slowly and replied. "Let her go pout. She is just trying to convince us of 'Vandermine's evilness'." He rolled his eyes in disgust. "She is jealous that Lockhart was not everything that he said he was. Vandermine could own Lockhart with one finger."
"Yeah, so could I…" Harry listened distractedly while he watched Hermione. She avoided his gaze and turned to a nearby Gryffindor. Harry grimaced and nudged Ron. "Does everyone know that Vandermine has a job here yet? One would think that news of him would sweep like a brushfire. From what you've told me, he's quiet a celebrity…"
As if to answer his question, the Great Hall doors swung open. Dumbledore entered the room followed by Vandermine and three others. Dumbledore marched in with his usual gait and air of authority, albeit his mouth was twisted upwards in a grin. Vandermine was walking just behind him to his side, walking stiffly and conversing in low tones with Dumbledore. The other three were shoulder to shoulder and were chatting amiably, ignoring the eyes watching them.
Their entrance drew the whole school's attention. Not a sound was heard except the gasps of awe coming from a group of Ravenclaws. Harry was not surprised. They were an impressive sight.
Lee Jordan whispered to Ron out of the corner of his mouth. "Is this for real? Is that Vandermine and his Shrike Squad?"
Ron did not take his eyes off of the four figures as he answered. "Yeah, that is them. Do you see their badges?"
Jordan ogled the men and woman of the famous group. "Wow." He let out a long breath. "They are so cool."
Cool indeed, if not dead terrifying. Ankle length cloaks died blood-red hung over their shoulders. In each one's right hand was a three foot dueling wand. The blades on the wands glistened like fire. Under their cloaks hung so many weapons and tools that Harry could only imagine their uses. Dragon scale boots clicked in unison as they marched down the middle aisle, eyes fixed on Dumbledore's chair. They each looked well enough equipped to take on a small army.
Harry studied each face as the four walked by. Vandermine's face had not changed. He still had his dragon-scale cloak on and his eyes darted between various students as he passed them. He looked straight at Harry for a moment and nodded his head a mere fraction. It was just noticeable enough for Harry to sense a handful of people turn from the group to stare at Harry in wonder.
The next man was a muscular giant, easily standing six foot five. He made Lockhart look like a dead hobo. His face was smoothly set with light blue eyes and a blond mullet. His figure reminded Harry of something he had seen on the old propaganda posters from the Muggle World War. He had seen the poster when he had snuck into the library and started reading the open book. A grin flittered on the man's face as several adoring girls tried to catch his eyes.
Next to him strode a woman with a very slight build. Her rich brown hair flowed gracefully down to her waist as she marched in step with the others. While the contrast of the blood red cloak on her pale features drew attention, it was her face that captivated Harry's eyes. Harry's breath caught in his throat as she briefly flicked her eyes over him. Her deep brown eyes seemed to hold his heart as she gazed at him. Ron and the other guys around him all appeared to be under the same affect. They stared openmouthed at her as she looked over their side of the room. Her face had a playful look on it, as if teasing him with her flirtations. She winked at him and his heart leapt to his throat. He felt giddy and lightheaded. Before he lost his senses, she returned her gaze to Dumbledore.
With a relieved gasp he fell back into the solidity of his seat. His gaze shifted to the last man in line. If the woman had been the highlight of the procession, the last man was the low point. The man was heavyset and just under six feet tall. He had at least a dozen scars crisscrossing his body and sported a grim frown. His narrow features and sharp eyes gave the impression that he was scanning each individual student in case it was a threat, or a potential meal.
Ron sighed contentedly after they passed by. Harry leaned over to him and whispered, "Do you know the names of those three?" he indicated the three others.
Nodding dreamily, Ron pointed to each separately. "That first one is Judder McDouglass. He's a regular chick-magnet. Once he single-handedly downed two Death Eaters and a giant on his own. I think he's also the only one on the team without a record with the Department of Justice. Of all the team, he is the most liked and approved by the wizarding community."
Harry analyzed the information in his brain. "I can see why. He is definitely a second Lockhart. What about smiley over there? Who is he?"
The group of wizards arrived at the head table and took their seats. Ron hurried in a brief description. "He is the resident hulk of the team. Martin Schmitt is his name, I think. Rumor has it that he is a vampire. All of his victims are found drained of blood." Ron closed his eyes and swallowed hard. "His record with the ministry has its own folder. Before Vandermine picked him up he rested in the top twenty of the Wizard Criminals List."
Harry indicated the woman to Vandermine's left. "What about her?" The woman briefly turned her head to watch them as he spoke. It was as if she could hear them. Quickly Harry dropped his gaze and stared at his feet. Blood rose in his cheeks as he felt her eyes resting on him.
Something similar to a sigh escaped Ron's mouth as he watched her. "She is Kathryn Stringer. Isn't she gorgeous?" Ron felt rather than saw Hermione's indignant gaze. He shook himself and added "Of course she is a Veela. It is hard to not think that she is beautiful."
"But what about-" Harry started to reply, but Dumbledore rose to his feet, forestalling further conversation. Dumbledore acknowledged the four and addressed the student body.
"Students of Hogwarts," he began, "It is good to see you all back this year. As some of you have noticed, the Ministry has placed a guard around this school for the time being."
Ron discreetly nudged Harry. Harry casually glanced over and saw Ron form the word "dementors." He silently agreed.
"That is because there is a dangerous criminal abroad in this land. He is considered arm and extremely dangerous, so I would beg of you to do nothing foolish in the unlikely event that you do see him.
"In addition to the Ministry's security team, I have taken the liberty of appointing my own security for the school. Most of you have heard of Lucas Vandermine and his Shrike Squad, but for those of you that have not, they specialize in counter-wizard and counter-animal operations. These four will oversee security for the school this year. Although they will hopefully not be necessary, they will make sure that the school will suffer no interference from outside forces. They will neutralize any threat deemed credible, so do not try to test them with pranks, spells or practical jokes." His eyes focused pointedly on Fred and George as he spoke the last bit. Their good-natured grins faded when they saw the seriousness in his eyes.
"Please treat them the same way you would treat the staff. They are here to prevent harm, so do not give them reason to put their considerable skills to work." At this point his eyes focused on Harry and Draco. Both students blanched under his imperious gaze. "For the most part you will never see them on-duty. If you do notice them on-duty, however, get out of their way. Disrupting their work could be dangerous. That is it. You may continue eating."
With a merry bow he returned to his seat. The momentary lull in conversation continued on until Harry and Ron exchanged glances. Worry and anxiety flooded back and forth. How dangerous could their work be? What would they be doing?
The majority of the students returned to their meals with renewed vigor, eager to finish up so that they could speculate on the year ahead. Harry and Ron lowered their heads and spoke quietly in between mouthfuls.
"So… how much do you know about the Shrike Squad itself?"
Ron took a few more bites of his steak and swallowed hard. "I'd say I know a lot about their operations. After all, they did have a running tab of them at the Ministry where my dad works. He used to let me read it when I went with him to work. Then they moved it to the security wing. I still do not know why."
"What exactly do they do? Besides security, that is."
Ron thought a moment before replying. "They tend to do their own work hunting down vampires, werewolves giants and the like, but they will take Ministry jobs occasionally. Last I heard they were keeping a public tally of their missions and the results, but not much has come of that. The Ministry quickly banned it from publication. There are still a few copies in Knockturn Alley behind Diagon Alley. I wouldn't recommend going there without a riot squad though. It's full of trash."
A movement at the head table diverted their attention. Vandermine stood and cleared his throat noisily. The students ceased talking again and watched him anxiously. He nodded appreciatively.
"Students of Hogwarts, My name is Lucas Vandermine. Some of you know about me, a lesser number have seen me, and still fewer have ever met me. These three are, as some of you already know, Judder McDouglass, Martin Schmitt, and Kathryn Stringer. You all know that we will be providing security. However, each of us will be assigned to a House for odd jobs, chaperoning and basically just to get to know you all better." He let out a low chuckle as several students squirmed in their seats. His voice rasped harshly in the air, quelling the budding murmurs. "Do not try to use them as tools or favor pointers. We know our places and so do you. Actually, we hope that you will not have to use our help." He accepted a rolled-up parchment from Professor McGonagall. Unfolding it, he read its contents and frowned. Then he grinned and looked up at the waiting students. Everyone was leaning forward, ears straining to hear, as he announced the contents in a crisp booming voice.
"McDouglass...Ravenclaw!" Cheers erupted from the girls on the table. Judder suppressed a grin and strode over to the table, where he greeted the Ravenclaw prefects.
"Stringer...Hufflepuff!" Louder cheers echoed across the room as both guys and girls applauded the appointment. Stringer sauntered over and grabbed a seat by the flustered male prefect.
"Schmitt..." He paused and looked up, clearly enjoying himself. He purposefully 'dropped' the scroll. Harry and the others scowled at his beaming face as he bent down to retrieve it. Only the teachers and team members appreciated the humor. They all knew that no one preferred Schmitt as a top choice. No one, except...
"Oh, Slytherin!"
Scattered applause greeted the statement. The only ones who seemed truly happy were the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff crowd. Gryffindor braced itself for the impending proclamation.
"Vandermine..." He crumpled the paper and tossed it over his shoulder. The paper burst into flames as it fell. "Gryffindor. Welcome to the new year, kids."