Author's Notes: Once again, thanks to all of you who read my story in the past week. We are now over 12,500 hits and I don't think it's going to slow down any time soon. And a special thanks to all my reviewers.
ProfessorChris: Yes, Gryffindor won the Cup convincingly. Thanks for your support.
Last chapter's Monty Python reference was Megan shouting at Henry, "Shut your bloody gob!" This comes from episode 31 of Monty Python's Flying Circus, in a sketch titled "Watney's Red Barrel." In this sketch, Eric Idle plays a man who just won't stop complaining about things, while Michael Palin tries to get him to stop. He's polite at first, but then starts losing it. It's very funny.
Well, I hate to say this, but its time to bring a different atmosphere into this story.
Chapter 21: Gifts
Christmas at Hogwarts was an odd affair that year. Headmistress McGonagall placed Professor Slughorn in charge of gathering up the names of those who would be staying on the school grounds over the holidays. It probably would have been a better idea to get the names of those actually going back home for Christmas, as the latter list would have been much shorter. It seemed as if the only Hogwarts students going home for this holiday break were those from Slytherin, who desperately sought to get away from the ever-widening grasp of Professor Gryffindor for as long as they could.
As for the students staying at Hogwarts, it was mostly a matter of security. Geoffrey himself strongly encouraged his students to stay at Hogwarts for the holidays for their own safety, as Death Eater attacks were becoming more prevalent across the whole of Great Britain as time had gone on. At the same time, Geoff had to convince the families of the students at Hogwarts that they would be safer at Hogwarts than if they returned home. Some parents were easier to reason to about this (Arthur and Molly Weasley, whom Geoff had been friends with for years, were among this group), while others were almost impossible to convince for various reasons (he had a hard time convincing the Parvati's about their daughters really being safer at Hogwarts, while the Hazan's didn't seem to like the fact that their son was spending so much time among magic users period). In the end, every Gryffindor and Hufflepuff student would be staying at Hogwarts over the holiday break, and all but one Ravenclaw student would be doing the same. The one Ravenclaw exception was Luna Lovegood, about whom Professor Flitwick was talking to Geoff in his office about now.
"Geoffrey, did you even try to convince Xenophilius to let her stay?" he inquired while standing on the chair in front of Geoffrey's desk. From the look in his eyes, Geoff knew that his former teacher and current colleague wanted some solid reassurances.
"Filius, relax," Geoff assured the short Charms teacher with a chuckle, "The extended lifespan your goblin heritage provides you will be useless if you keep straining yourself like this. Besides, you know how the Lovegood's don't change their minds once they set them on something. In any case, I don't think Luna's in any real danger outside of Hogwarts. The Death Eaters have no reason to go after her."
"Her father keeps printing in support of Harry Potter," Flitwick reminded Geoff, "They would certainly want to silence him."
"No one who reads The Quibbler actually believes what's written in it," Geoff laughed, "The only thing that the Death Eaters would do by attacking him or his publication is to make people think, and believe me, that is something the Death Eaters don't want to do."
Flitwick knew all that to be true, but he shook his head slowly. "I don't know, Geoff, I just have a really bad feeling that we won't see Luna again," he warned solemnly, "I'm really worried about a lot of the things that I've been hearing lately. I feel like everything we've worked so hard to build since You-Know-Who fell is starting to unravel before our eyes."
Geoffrey nodded in understanding. He knew better than anyone else in the castle besides Headmistress McGonagall how bad the situation on the outside had become. To Geoff, it was a miracle that the Ministry had withstood the Death Eaters this long, but even miracles have their limits. From all indications, Voldemort would have full control of the Ministry for Magic before 1997 was over and that the ordinary wizarding citizens would have no idea that such a thing had happened. It was to be a seamless transition to pure-blooded tyranny. Geoff knew from the start that he couldn't work to both save the Ministry from Voldemort's grasp and assist Harry Potter in his task, but he had hoped that it wouldn't matter, as they had destroyed three of the remaining four objects within the space of three months. However, Harry's injured arm had sidelined any Horcrux-destroying until at least March. All Geoff could do was wait for Harry to heal and to exploit any opportunity to weaken or delay the Death Eaters that he could take.
"I know how you feel, Filius," Geoff replied as he sat down in his desk chair, "But we must stay strong. So long as there are those who are willing to fight and die for a cause they know to be righteous, there will always be hope of seeing tomorrow's sunrise."
Professor Flitwick nodded in agreement. "It's good to see that we have such a powerful wizard on the side of good, despite what many say about your past," he said as he jumped off the chair, "You will defend this school with me, Geoffrey?"
"To my last breath, Filius," Geoff vowed, "To the bitter end."
Filius nodded in approval and left Geoff's office. Once he was gone, Geoff picked up a Self-Inking Quill he had purchased from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and quickly wrote, Ask Xeno about using Quibbler to spread messages to allies. Geoff figured that when the Death Eaters took control of the Ministry, they would still ignore The Quibbler as a joke publication. Geoff and his allies would then use the "tabloid" to send messages to those who were fighting against Voldemort (these included Geoff's contacts and the still-living members of the Order of the Phoenix, along with many other individuals who wanted to stand against the Death Eaters). However, Geoff knew that any resistance would be futile until Voldemort was actually made mortal again.
Geoff then pulled out a sheet of parchment to begin a letter that would signal such a resistance to begin when Minerva McGonagall entered his office. "Geoffrey, I hope I'm not interrupting anything," she announced.
"No, not at all," Geoff answered as he gestured to the seat in front of his desk, "Would you like to sit?"
"Thank you, I would," she replied as she sat down. Geoff knew that this was going to be an interesting conversation when that happened, "Working on next semester's outlines?"
Geoffrey shook his head. "No, I had those done a month ago," he claimed, "This is something else I need to do now."
Geoff heard the office door shut from McGonagall's mental spell. "Is this something relating to when the Ministry falls?" she inquired.
Geoff nodded in reply, knowing that he and Minerva were on the same side and both equally informed. "Yes, it's a coded message that I'm intending to send to Xeno," he explained, "If you want to Minerva, inform the Order to purchase subscriptions to The Quibbler immediately. They'll be able to pick up the hidden messages there, while the Death Eaters should pay little attention to them. At least for a little while."
Minerva nodded, knowing that everyone on their side of the line in this war were going to be scattered and on the run soon. "You know they'll be coming for us first after they get the Ministry," she pointed out, "They'll try to sack us and put their people in our places. Send the Muggle-borns home or worse."
"They can try, but they won't get me to leave this castle," Geoff declared.
"You know what will happen if you do resist a Ministry order, Geoff," she reminded, "They'll put the school under siege until you comply. How will you get your messages to Xeno out once that happens?"
"They can't stop all the owls from getting out," Geoff explained, "I'll set up everything that I need tomorrow and then come back to Hogwarts and wait out the storm. Don't worry Minerva. I'll take care of everything."
"What about Harry and your brother?" McGonagall asked.
"I'll go check up on that tomorrow as well," Geoff answered, "Gary tells me Harry is recovering, but these dark curses linger for a long time. He won't be ready to go back out into the field until March, at the earliest. But we can't face Voldemort directly until Harry finishes his task. Don't be fooled, Minerva, time is on our side."
"Tell that to Scrimgeour," Minerva retorted, "He's going to die in less than two weeks, and we both know it."
"Sacrifices will have to be made, Minerva, you and I both know that," Geoff replied, "We can't save everyone, and if we try to do that, we'll save nothing. We can defend this castle, so that's what we'll do."
The Hogwarts Headmistress knew and understood all that, but it didn't make her feel any better about what was happening around her. Everyone had already gone into hiding, waiting for the hammer to fall. All they could do from now on was to keep moving and stay out of sight until they could eliminate Lord Voldemort. And all that was about to be partially removed from Geoff's hands.
"How are you holding up, Geoffrey?" Minerva asked, changing the subject.
Geoff sighed. "Honestly, this job burns you out," he admitted, "And I do miss my family. I'll have to try to find a place for us to live near here during the summer."
"Hogsmeade is always a possibility," McGonagall suggested.
Geoffrey nodded. "Yeah, that's true," he answered, "But that's something I'll have to think about later. There are more pressing matters to attend to right now."
Minerva knew what Geoff was talking about. Indeed, very few Hogwarts staff members were married, though one having a family, as Geoff did, certainly wasn't unheard of. "How is your family doing?" she inquired.
"Well, Amy is doing well, though she and the children all miss me dearly," Geoff informed the Headmistress, "My siblings are all a bit anxious about my safety. Gina has actually moved to France in order to avoid any Death Eater attacks and I've already asked Amy to pack our bags to follow her, just in case things start getting bad for us."
"And she'll be able to find that hidden message in The Quibbler?" Minerva inquired.
Geoff nodded. "She knows what to look for," he said, "But until then, she'll be helping to defend the Muggles of Great Yarmouth as much as she can."
"I think that's a good idea," McGonagall replied, "The Muggles will be in grave danger soon. We must do whatever we can to protect them. In any case, Geoffrey, it seems like you'd be more suited for leading the Hogwarts community in a time like this."
Geoff knew this was going to happen sooner or later. And he wasn't going to take this bait. Not yet, anyway. "Minerva, I have absolutely no interest in taking your position at this time," he said, cutting her off, "I feel that I can better serve this school if I can continue to train the students to defeat the Dark Arts without any distractions."
McGonagall was caught completely off guard by this quick rejection of power. "Geoff, I thought you always wanted the position of Headmaster," she explained, "And you seem like the perfect person to lead Hogwarts through the next few months."
"With all due respect and honesty, Minerva, I do want your position," he answered, "But not right now. The timing isn't right. I will still need to make a second trip back to London during the Easter break. I'm going to use a conference in Barcelona as an excuse to get out of here."
"I believe Charity is going to the same conference," she pointed out, "Why do you need to go to London at that time?"
Geoff hesitated a moment before answering that. "The truth is that I'm afraid to tell Harry the truth, but I know I'll have to tell him eventually," he finally answered.
"Geoff, you have to stop blaming yourself for what happened," Minerva replied strongly, "It was pure luck that you happened to be in that position at all."
"But I WAS there," Geoff countered, and then sighed, "Regardless, I'm not ready to tell him tomorrow. But come Easter, they'll be no more running from him. I will tell him everything, but only when I have to. Only when I have as much of his trust as I can possibly earn."
Knowing that he didn't want to talk about this anymore, McGonagall took the easiest detour given to her. "I've heard from many students that Charity's classes are starting to border on indoctrination instead of teaching," she informed.
Geoff had heard this to, and it frustrated him. "Again?" he asked incredulously, "I've talked to her before about this, and she's at it again?"
"I guess so," Minerva replied, "I'm not a pure-blood maniac, but I just don't feel that kind of action belongs here at Hogwarts."
"And I completely agree," Geoff joined, "To say that the end of pure-bloods in the Wizarding world is a desirable end is very suspect to me. It encourages discrimination against pure-bloods, in my opinion, not equal treatment of all wizards and witches."
"Her own parents were murdered by Death Eaters," Minerva pointed out, wanting to see how Geoffrey dealt with his own hypocrisy.
But he was too clever for that ploy. "I don't let my personal vendettas influence my professional work, Minerva," he countered, "If she has a vendetta against Voldemort, that's fine. But she can't pass it on to her students. I'll have to talk to her again about this once I confirm this. I believe Miss MacDonald takes her classes."
"It seems you'll have to be more forceful this time around," McGonagall said.
Geoff nodded. He knew that was true, but he knew Charity would make him hate himself for being so hard on her. She always made doing the right thing, which was so hard to do in the first place, harder than it needed to be. But Geoff would get through to her. He had to. Otherwise, she'd be dead the moment she left Hogwarts for any reason. Like Geoffrey Gryffindor, Charity Burbage had become an enemy of the Death Eaters. Unlike Geoffrey Gryffindor, she wouldn't be able to handle what they could throw at her. It was no fault of her own; Geoff just had so much more natural magical talent than she did.
"This place is going to be pretty well-packed for Christmas, with three whole houses staying here," Geoff pointed out, changing topics.
"Actually, quite a few Slytherins are staying as well," McGonagall corrected, "Most of the first and second years of that house are staying here."
Geoff knew that was due to Megan's influence. And she knew that she would put herself and her family at risk if she went home now. Her mother and father were very disappointed with her decision, but Geoffrey assured them that it was in everyone's best interest for her to stay at the school. They'd still be able to send her Christmas presents by owl. The news that Megan was staying at Hogwarts over the holidays made Henry happy, however. Geoff was expecting his son to come shortly to discuss the gifts he wanted to get for his friends.
"Is there anything else you wanted to discuss with me, Minerva?" Geoffrey inquired.
"No, that's about all," she answered as she stood up and began to leave the room, "Stay safe, Geoff."
"Same to you," Geoff replied as she left the room, leaving the door open behind her.
Moments later, Henry Gryffindor walked into the office. "Professor, I'm here," he announced.
"Henry, if this is personal business, you can address me as you would normally do," Geoff allowed.
"Dad, I have a list of gifts I'd like you to get for me," Henry explained.
"Only if you have the money yourself to pay for them," Geoff answered, "These are your gifts, you know."
"I do have the money," Henry affirmed, placing three Galleons on his father's desk.
"Right then, tell me what you need, son," Geoff answered as he grabbed the Self-Inking Quill again and prepared to write down a list of things to get.
Henry went through his list one by one. And when he read off the gift that was meant for Megan, he and his father both shared a hearty laugh. "Oh, she'll just love that!" the elder Gryffindor commented.
----------
"Happy Christmas, Mohammad," Henry said the morning of December 25, 1997 as he handed a present shaped as a tube to his friend and teammate.
"Thanks Henry," Mohammad replied as he picked up his own present, which was shaped like a box, and handed it over to him, "And this is for you."
"Thanks," Henry thanked as he unwrapped the red wrappings and found that the box actually contained a Quaffle, with the navy blue and gold logo of Puddlemere United stamped across its surface. "Oh, man, thanks Mohammad! I always wanted one of these!" he exclaimed as he held the ball in both his hands.
"Where in blazes is Puddlemere, anyway?" Mohammad inquired as he opened his gift, "I couldn't find it on any Muggle map."
"They're the only Quidditch team in the British and Irish Quidditch League that plays in southeast England," Henry explained, "They play in Ipswich. The name Puddlemere comes from a long, long time ago. The club was founded in 1163, you know."
"That's an old team," Mohammad noted as he found a rolled up poster was his gift. He unrolled it and knew what he was looking at immediately. "Oh, I remember this like it was yesterday," he remarked with a smile, "Marcus Gayle sinks Man U 1-0 in the FA Cup. I was at that game! Happiest moment of my life before coming here!"
"Now you can see the winning header over and over again on your wall," Henry commented, "How did Wimbledon do in the FA Cup?"
"We lost to Chelsea in the semifinal," Mohammad answered dejectedly, "We got so close to that cup, too. But we're up near the top of the Premiership right now, so the Crazy Gang is doing plenty of singing this season."
"Good luck with that," Henry said, "And thanks for the Quaffle."
"Hey, it's Christmas," Mohammad explained, "So, what did you get for Megan?"
"A poster," Henry answered with a grin, "It's a bit of a joke, actually."
"Who's on it?" Mohammad inquired.
Henry told him and they both had to laugh. "She'll love it," Henry finished.
"Oh, she'll kill you for this," Mohammad assured, "But in a couple of years, I think she'll leave flowers at your grave to thank you."
Mohammad laughed again, though the joke obviously went a bit over Henry's head for now.
----------
The Christmas Meal proceeded without any major incidents, though Geoff heard that some of the House Elves were complaining about the unusually high workload they were under this holiday season, but they knew they couldn't complain about their current jobs when the Death Eaters would subject them to slavery or worse.
As the students were starting to finish their food, McGonagall stood up and addressed everyone in the Great Hall. "Witches and wizards," she began, waiting for the noise in the room to die down before continuing, "I am pleased to see so many happy faces here at this time of year. I'm sure you were all happy with your presents this morning. But now we must give you some words of wisdom. And for that, I'll defer to Professor Gryffindor."
The Gryffindor table shouted out and clapped with enthusiasm as their Head of House stood up and faced the students present. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs gave some respectful applause, while the few Slytherins present basically did nothing as the newest member of the Hogwarts faculty began his speech to the students. "Hogwarts students, I wish you all a Happy Christmas," he began, "It warms my heart to see so many of you here, safe and sound inside this castle, eating to your hearts' content. And I'm sure all your gifts were wonderful. Unfortunately, dark times are approaching us. I will not say what it is that haunts this land, but I will tell you that it seeks to divide you from one another. It seeks to destroy the unity of this castle and conquer it through division. And so, I have two pieces of advice to impart upon all of you today. First, do not let your suspicions of each other get the better of you. We are all witches and wizards here in Hogwarts. Put your trust in each other, and we cannot fail. And second of all, always remember to try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations."
Some scattered laughing popped up at the latter remark. Megan herself smirked, having heard that phrase before.
"Well, that's all I have to say," Geoff finished as he surrendered the spot to the Headmistress as his snowy owl, Merlin, flew onto his arm with a small piece of parchment attached to his right claw, "You have the floor, Headmistress McGonagall."
"Thank you Professor Gryffindor," Minerva said as she stood up again and Geoff read the message, "Students, heed those words just spoken. They will help you when all seems lost. Unfortunately, our Christmas Meal is over."
Minerva was about to continue speaking, Geoff interrupted. "Headmistress, I must speak," he said tersely.
Minerva was caught off-guard by the words, but even more by the expression she saw on his face. He had turned pale as a ghost, holding the small piece of parchment in his right hand with an obvious death grip. She nodded as Geoffrey stood up again. Whispers started racing through the students as they saw their formerly confident professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts obviously shaken and disturbed.
"Students, it is none of my business to tell you what you may or may not do at this time, but I would encourage all of you to stay inside the castle until further notice," Geoff advised, "We faculty members have something that needs to be discussed immediately."
Most of the older students knew immediately or had a very good idea what had just happened. Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley led the students out of the Great Hall and toward their dormitories.
"Henry! I think the castle is about to be attacked!" Megan exclaimed to Henry as she caught up to him and Mohammad.
"What makes you say that?" Henry asked her.
"Your father seemed rather distraught once he read whatever message he got from his owl," she explained, "Have you ever seen him like that before?"
"No, not exactly," Henry replied, "But if we were under attack, he would have told us to go back to our rooms immediately. He just suggested that we do so."
Megan thought about this and realized that Henry was right on this account.
"Ah, let them come," Mohammad boasted, "I'll tear them limb from limb."
Henry glanced over at his friend, then returned his attention to Megan. "Oh, and by the way, I have a Christmas gift for you, Megan," he stated as he handed over a tube-shaped gift to her.
"Is this one of those wizard posters where the things move?" she inquired as she opened the gift.
"You'll see," Henry replied, a smile widening across his face.
Megan finished removing the gift wrap and opened the tube to see what was on the poster. Her smile immediately left her face upon seeing the image. "You bloody, cheeky bastard!" she criticized, "Just because I like Manchester United doesn't mean I'm goo-goo ga-ga for him."
"Oh, come on, he's the real reason any girl cheers for Manchester United," Mohammad teased.
"That is such a lie!" Megan retorted, "Gary Neville is so much better than Beckham is. Oh, this reminds me. Henry, I want to show you what my parents sent me this morning."
"Oh, this must be good," Henry stated, "Lets see it."
Mohammad and Henry followed Megan to the entrance to the Slytherin common room in the dungeons of the castle.
----------
"Geoffrey," Minerva began tersely, feeling that her authority had just been trodden on as the last of the students left the Great Hall, "You had better give me a damn good explanation for this."
Geoff said nothing. His reply was to hand the small piece of parchment he had just received from his owl over to Minerva. Annoyed, she began reading it aloud. As she did, her annoyance turned to utter shock.
"The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming," she read, her face also turning pale as the words left her lips.
There were only ten words there, but they sent a chill down every person present in the room. Horace was especially affected, as he knew that he had directly assisted in creating the situation that now faced them. Fear had crept into most of them and they were now looking around, as if waiting for someone hidden to appear and attack them. Some even put their wand hands into their robes and gripped their wands.
"Kingsley's first Christmas gift to me in a long time," Geoff commented, breaking the nervous silence, "And it's one I didn't want to see."
"Well, what do we do now?" Charity inquired nervously, though with a hint of anger as well.
"There's nothing we can do right now, except to resist the Ministry's intentions," Minerva answered, "We will continue to teach the students and do the best we can with the situations presented to us."
"I agree with that, Minerva," Geoff announced, whom everyone else was basically looking to for guidance at this point, "Things may look bleak for us right now, but this has happened before and we survived."
"Can we rely on another Harry Potter appearing to save us?" Horace asked.
"What makes you think we need a new one?" Geoff inquired hypothetically, "The old one is out there, somewhere. He'll keep fighting, and so we must fight as well."
"Should we restrict the students to being indoors from now on?" Professor Sprout inquired.
"Perhaps that would be prudent, at least for now," Minerva agreed, "I also think we should cancel all Hogsmeade visits indefinitely."
"I second those motions," Geoff vouched, "We have to keep the students safe."
"Any objections?" Minerva asked. She had the final call, but she wanted to make sure such a drastic step wasn't taken too quickly without further examination.
"It just seems like this is going a bit too far, to restrict the freedom of the students this much," Professor Vector pointed out, "I mean, the Death Eaters aren't going to abduct the students in broad daylight."
"What's to stop them?" Geoff inquired, "I can't play chaperone and teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, you know."
"I could watch over 'em," Hagrid vouched, "It's me job to do that, you know."
Geoff smiled at Rubeus, but shook his head. "Could you stay awake and alert for the next six months, Hagrid?" he asked rhetorically, "Because that's what it would take to keep the students safe from the Death Eaters. I have no doubts that you can handle multiple Death Eaters, Hagrid, but you can't watch them all the time."
"He wouldn't have to," Ancient Runes teacher Emelius Browne pointed out, "The students aren't allowed outside the castle at night."
Geoff chuckled at that statement. "That's never stopped students who really wanted to get outside at night for various reasons," he informed the old professor. He glanced at Charity, who blushed slightly, though no one except Geoff noticed this.
"Hagrid, would you be able to continue teaching Care of Magical Creatures if you needed to watch out for the students outdoors?" Professor Grubbly-Plank asked of the half-giant.
"Course I could," he answered immediately, "Was doing both before you arrived, Wilhelmina."
Which was kinda why she was hired to teach your classes in the first place, Geoff thought to himself. Initially, Geoff didn't like the idea of having students going outside at all now that the castle would be surrounded by Death Eaters, but he saw that the opposition to such a measure from the other teachers was immense and probably unbeatable at the moment. "I suppose that we can trust Hagrid to keep any intruders away from Hogwarts," he relented, "But I cannot see how Hogsmeade visits can continue with this development."
"We could stretch our area of control to Hogsmeade," Professor Trelawney offered, "It has been done before."
For the first time in many years, Geoffrey Gryffindor found himself completely surprised. He was unaware of such an event ever taking place. "Sibyll, you forget that when Dumbledore did that, it was because some students had to go through Hogsmeade to get back to Hogwarts safely," Minerva reminded the Divination teacher, "The extension lasted only an hour, which is about as long as you could maintain such a defense without Ministry help. I'll have to agree with Geoffrey on this one. From this point forward, no more Hogsmeade visits. And I would strongly encourage the Heads of House to talk to their students about watching out for trouble and staying together when outdoors from now on."
All the other teachers nodded. "Stay safe everyone," Minerva announced as a departure.
----------
"Oh, that's a nice cat you got there," Henry congratulated as Megan turned around.
Her arms cradled the gift she had received that morning from her parents. It was a black cat which was rubbing his head against Megan's chest at the moment. When he opened his eyes, Henry and Mohammad saw that the cat's eyes were a dull shade of yellow or orange. It lay on its side on Megan's forearms and stared at its two new visitors.
"What breed is it?" Mohammad inquired.
"I think he's a British Shorthair," Megan answered as she examined her new pet, "His cheeks are kinda chubby and his body is rounded a bit. He's also got a broad chest, just like Mohammad here."
The three of them shared a good laugh at that, especially Mohammad. "You think I'm big now, just wait until I'm 14 or something like that," he warned.
"I don't know, his tail looks all wrong for a British Shorthair," Henry pointed out, "It looks like a lion's tail. And his ears are kinda big for his breed."
"Yeah, I noticed that too," Megan affirmed as the cat squirmed a little in her arms, but showed no signs of leaving them at this point, "Well, they seem to be breeding new types of cats all the time. My parents found this little guy in a shop called Magical Menagerie about two weeks ago and knew that if I were to be a proper witch, I would need my own black cat."
Mohammad chuckled at that statement, while Henry just shook his head. "You know, I'd love to clear away all those superstitions that Muggles have about us," he stated, "Then we wouldn't have a need for so much secrecy."
"So, what's his name?" Mohammad inquired.
At this, Megan looked up from her cat to her friends. "That's another reason why I brought you here," she informed, "I really don't have one yet. I've been going through some names in my head, but I don't know what I should go with yet. I was wondering if you guys could help me out here. I'm stuck between Salazar and Flyer."
"Why Flyer?" Henry asked.
Almost as if an answer to his question, the cat stood up on Megan's forearms and immediately jumped onto the top of Henry's head. Henry kept his head still as the cat kneaded his brown hair with his front paws and then laid down on it.
"That's why," Megan finally answered, "He loves to fly around from place to place like that."
"Then Flyer it is," Henry announced.
"I don't like Flyer, it's too awkward," Mohammad announced, "Megan, how do you like Altair?"
"You mean like the star?" Henry inquired, turning toward his friend slowly enough so that Megan's pet didn't latch its claws into his hair or scalp for balance.
"Yeah, like the star," Mohammad replied, "Altair means 'The Flying One' in Arabic, which fits him, I think."
"Yeah, I like that name more than Flyer," Henry said, "Altair is a great name for him."
"Yeah, I like it too," Megan agreed, "Altair it is."
Altair stood up upon hearing his name and jumped back to Megan, landing on her head. Megan giggled as she picked Altair off her head and cradled him in her arms again. "Welcome to Hogwarts, Altair," she announced.
Altair showed his happiness with his owner by purring loudly as Megan stroked his fur. Henry sensed that there was something magical about Altair, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it at the moment. "That's a very nice cat your parents got you," Henry stated.
"Yeah, he is," Megan agreed, "Happy Christmas, you two." She then began to walk back into the foreboding Slytherin common room.
"What, nothing for us?" Mohammad exclaimed, "Your best friends in the world?"
"You didn't get me anything, Mohammad," Megan pointed out.
Mohammad paused for a moment, then replied, "I didn't know what to get you!"
"As for Henry here," she continued, still petting Altair, "He still owes me 10 Galleons for scoring on Mohammad in that match a month ago."
And this brought up a point that Henry and Megan had been arguing about ever since she had scored a goal against Mohammad in the November Quidditch match between the Gryffindor and Slytherin reserve teams. "That money was never meant for someone outside of my team," he explained for what seemed to be the thousandth time, "It was meant for the player who scored first against Mohammad in practice, which still hasn't happened."
Mohammad gave a huge grin at this, while Megan remained unearthly calm. "From what I heard, the bet was for the person who scored first on him," she pointed out, "Nothing about it being in practice at all. The other five gave me the Galleons a month ago. So who misunderstood the bet, Henry, you alone or your five teammates? Which seems more likely to you?"
Henry wasn't going to answer that one. "You stole our plays!" he exclaimed as he pointed his finger at Megan in accusation, "I know you did while Mohammad and I were out in the hall that day."
Altair took offense to Henry's tone of voice and pointing of fingers. He responded by swiping at the extended digit with claws extended, causing Henry some minor pain as he retracted the finger. "You can't prove that, Henry," Megan retorted, "But I can assure you that you won't be getting any Christmas gifts from me until you give me what's mine." And with that, she went back into her common room and the wall sealed behind her.
"You should just give her the money," Mohammad advised his friend as they began walking toward Gryffindor Tower, "She won the bet fair and square."
"It's the principle of the thing, Mohammad," Henry replied, "She wasn't involved in the bet. She didn't have to risk anything, so she can't win anything."
The two would continue to argue about this most of the way back up to the Gryffindor common room.
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About thirty minutes later, Geoffrey Gryffindor was addressing all the students of Gryffindor House in the common room. He had a grim, yet determined look on his face as he explained what was going to happen to them.
"I suppose there's no point in hiding the truth from you at this point," Geoff began, "I received a message at the Christmas Meal from a good friend of mine. You will see headlines in tomorrow's Daily Prophet that Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour has resigned from his position, probably citing his health as the reason. This will be a lie. In fact, from now on, the Daily Prophet and all the state-owned media outlets will be filled with lies and propaganda."
"What exactly are you saying, Professor?" Mohammad inquired.
"Rufus Scrimgeour is dead," Geoff declared, sending a shock through many of the younger Gryffindors, though the worst was yet to come, "He was tortured and murdered by Death Eaters. The Ministry is now under the control of You-Know-Who."
Practically everyone in the room gave a very audible sound of despair. Some gasped, others shouted, and yet others started to weep; but the shock was universal, no matter how it was expressed.
"You-Know-Who?" Henry said with confusion, "Don't you mean Vol . . . "
But his father cut him off before he finished. "Henry, don't say the name anymore," Geoff warned quickly, "The name may have been tabooed already, so lets not take any unnecessary chances now."
Henry understood immediately, as did many other Gryffindors, most of whom gave an involuntary shudder. But some were clueless as to what Geoff meant "Tabooed?" a girl in Henry's year asked, "What does that mean?"
"It means that the Ministry can track anyone who says a certain word or set of words," Henry explained, cutting off his father, "They want to track down those who are resisting the Death Eaters, who are the only ones who are brave enough to use his actual name and capture or kill them."
This sent the same involuntary shudder through most of the students who hadn't understood before. "Yes, what Henry just said is about right," Geoff affirmed, "But that's just the beginning of the changes you'll be seeing outside of Hogwarts. More than likely, you'll start hearing lots of pro-pure-blood propaganda from the Ministry through the Daily Prophet and other state-owned media outlets. I would advise you to remember that everything you hear that goes against what you have learned here so far this year is not true. The Ministry will boast that those who do not have magical parents have stolen magic from some wizard or witch somewhere and should be thrown in Azkaban for such theft."
"That's absurd!" a second year boy shouted, "You can't steal magical powers! You have to be born with them!"
"Yes, that is true," Geoff affirmed, "But the Ministry will inundate all of you with information that such a thing can occur. And some of it will be quite convincing, I assure you. If you ever find yourself doubting your abilities, just remember that you are in Hogwarts because you deserve to be here. You are all wizards and witches in your own right, and no one can take that away from you."
Most of the Gryffindor students gave a big shout as Geoff finished this statement in affirmation of their identities as magic users. It took about a minute for everyone to quiet down enough for him to continue.
"I also have to inform you that the Ministry will attempt to enforce its will upon this school," Geoff continued, which caused many of the Gryffindors to feel their stomachs sink in their chests, "They will push for many things, including new teachers who will enforce the Ministry's new line and policies to expel Muggle-borns from the school." At this he saw many of the Gryffindor students lose the color in their faces, including Hermione Granger. "However," he continued, stopping any panic that might have arisen, "I will do everything in my power to ensure that they will not succeed in removing any of you from school. However, you have to promise me that you will do whatever you can to keep out of trouble from now on. Many of the Slytherin students with Death Eater leanings will be looking for any excuse to report you to Ministry officials, which may force me aside and give them access to school policies. I don't need to remind most of you of what happened here two years ago. If the Ministry gets involved now, it'll be even worse. I've been a bit lax on the rules with you so far, but now I have to ask you not to put any toes out of line or put yourselves in a position that will jeopardize the security of this castle."
"What about SCAM and Dumbledore's Army?" Ron Weasley inquired, "Will we have to shut them down?"
Geoff shook his head. "SCAM is a legitimate student organization and will be maintained," he announced, "As long as we keep Dumbledore's Army a secret from the Ministry, that should be safe as well."
"I think we should force that Slytherin girl out of the DA," Ron suggested, "We just can't risk our security like that anymore."
At this, Henry immediately stood up and turned to face the Head Boy. He could not let this stand. "You take that back, Weasley!" he shouted as Mohammad stood up as well, ready to back up his friend.
"Henry, you know as well as I do that no Slytherin can be trusted," Ron argued as he stood up, standing more than a foot taller than either of the first years who had initiated this, "She may be your friend, but what if she decides that it would be to her advantage to go along with You-Know-Who?"
"She would never do that!" Mohammad exclaimed, knowing that he and Megan were alike in a way that ensured they would never join (or more accurately, be allowed to join) Voldemort's side.
"Then why is she in Slytherin?" Ron inquired, "Nothing good has ever come out of that house."
"Enough!" Geoffrey shouted, stopping the exchange then and there, "Sit down, all three of you!"
Ron, Henry, and Mohammad complied with the request, though the tension in the room was now at the point of breaking and everyone could feel it and were reaching for their wands. "I will speak to you about this after this meeting is over, Mr. Weasley," he declared, "But let me just say that I'm disappointed that you blindly label all Slytherins to be unworthy of trust because of the actions of some of them. Let me remind you that many Slytherins have helped our side and that Gryffindors have betrayed us.
"I also have to announce that you will be allowed to go outside for recreational activities." At this, a collective sigh of relief was heard from all the Gryffindor Quidditch players. "However," Geoff continued, "All Hogsmeade visits have been canceled indefinitely." And at this, a loud groan arose from the students who were third years and above.
"When outdoors, I would also HIGHLY advise that you never do so alone," Geoff warned, "I would not be surprised if the Ministry surrounds the grounds with Death Eaters over the next few days in an attempt to intimidate the teachers and students into surrendering the school's autonomy. However, I would not put it past them to use any opportunity they have to kidnap students and hold them for negotiating power or even to torture them for information. For this reason, make sure you are always with a friend or a group of friends when you go outdoors. And always be aware of your surroundings at all times. If you see a strange person or group of persons approaching you, do not attempt to fight them. Move back into the castle or find Hagrid as quickly as you can. Very few of you would stand a chance against a single Death Eater, let alone a group of them. Any questions?"
"Can our parents ask us to withdraw from the school if they were to move abroad?" Parvati inquired, looking almost ashamed to ask such a thing.
"Your parents are free to withdraw you from the school at any time, yes," Geoff answered, "However, I assure you all that as long as you stay within the castle, you will be safe. I swear. You will be safe here."
Parvati nodded in reply, obviously very worried about what was going to happen to her family.
"Let me be frank with you all," Geoff concluded, "You will hear terrible stories on an almost daily basis. The Death Eaters will target those you love in order to force us to submit. I am sure of it. It will start soon, and it will happen often. I have already sent out messages to everyone I can trust to defend everyone they can, but there is only so much they can do. We must remain strong and resolute. We will win this war, but it will not be easy. This is war, and unlike what you'd like to believe, there are no rules in war, not to these Death Eaters. But if we stand strong, this evil will fall. I assure you of that."
And with that, the meeting of Gryffindor House ended. Everyone started to go their separate ways, with Henry and Mohammad making sure to deliberately avoid Ron. Geoff looked around and saw Ginny heading toward her room. "Miss Weasley, may I have a word with you?" he called.
Ginny turned and walked over to Geoff. "What is it, Professor?" she asked, her eyes growing lonely knowing that her letters from Harry were at an end now.
"I have a gift here for you," he replied as he pulled a small, wrapped box out of his robes and handed it to her, "Don't open it out here. Do it in privacy, please. Also, clear out the Gryffindor common room by midnight and watch the fireplace. You'll know what to do then."
Ginny nodded as she took the gift and walked up to her bedroom, which was deserted save for her. She turned on a light in the room and sat down on her four-poster bed and quickly unwrapped the gift. She found a smooth, wooden box that opened on a hinge. Ginny opened the box slowly and found a white piece of parchment inside. She lifted the paper and gasped. Underneath was a beautiful necklace of gold with rubies, sapphires, and emeralds embedded into it. A gold chain was attached to either end of the necklace, with fasteners connected to the ends of the chains.
"It's so beautiful," she remarked quietly as tears began to well up in her eyes as she lifted the necklace out of the box slowly. She examined the necklace more closely and found the name "R. Ravenclaw" engraved on the back. At this, Ginny was stunned. Has he been cheating on me? she wondered, a thought that had never entered her mind before.
Her thoughts turned back to the paper that covered the necklace. She picked it up and started to read it. The letter and the necklace were both from Harry, and the letter explained what the necklace was (which explained the name on the back). He also noted that she would be seeing him very shortly, but did not elaborate further on that. Harry also requested that Ginny not actually wear the necklace around Hogwarts, as many would probably want to steal it and would certainly lead to many questions being asked that Geoffrey would rather not deal with.
After reading through the letter several times, she placed it and the necklace back into its box and stored that inside the cabinet next to her bed. And then she wondered about what Harry meant by saying that he would be seeing her shortly.
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Author's Notes: Yes, Henry got Megan a poster of David Beckham. Perhaps a little history lesson is in order here. In the season after the one taking place during this season (1997-98), Manchester United would earn The Treble, winning the Premier League, the FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League (my apologies to Bayern Munich fans) in the 1998-99 campaign. It was the most successful season for any English soccer team ever, and Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson was knighted for his successes (which is why he's commonly called Sir Alex). So the season that was going on during this story was the one immediately preceding that season of unparalleled success that has not been duplicated by an English club since.
Interestingly, Gary Neville is still playing for Manchester United today. In fact, he is now the team's captain. Sixteen years and counting for his time at the club.
The name of the Ancient Runes teacher, Emelius Brown, is another reference to the Disney musical "Bedknobs & Broomsticks." It is the name of David Tomlinson's character in the movie. You may remember Tomlinson more for his role as George Banks in another Disney musical, "Mary Poppins."
Well, that's all for now. Until next time, readers!