A/N: I was discharged a bit early from the nursing home, it was decided that I could benefit more from outpatient therapy at this point. This was a great relief to me, as I had acquired an 85 year old stalker suffering from advanced dementia. I was also so bored that I picked up the smoking habit again. I will strive to quit once again . (sigh) My sojourn in the hospitals and nursing home has given me a great appreciation for life and the freedom of movement I once had and look forward to having again. As always, I own nothing of the Potterverse other than this plot. I hope that you enjoy these scribblings. HW
Chapter 14
Back to School, Pt 2
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
The Welcoming Feast had never started as late as it had this year. Having to re-sort every student under the new dorm system had taken quite a while, and had ended up with some surprising results. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all ended up in different dorms. All of the new Lords and Ladies were distributed more or less equally between the 4 dorms. The Sorting Hat seemed intent on breaking up old, but dangerous alliances. Draco was placed in Dorm 1, while Crabbe was in Dorm 3 and Goyle in 4. Harry was placed in Dorm 2, as was Daphne Greengrass. Ron was disgruntled to be placed in Dorm 1 with Draco. No longer would he be able to lean on Hermione to do the homework assignments as he had in the past. Reflecting his modest O.W.L. scores, Ron lost his prefect badge, but to his surprise and delight, was named captain of the Raven Quiddich team. Harry and Daphne were made prefects of their dorm, as were Draco, Hermione, and Ginny. Harry was offered the captaincy of the Serpent Quiddich team, but passed on the honor, not knowing if he would even have time for the sport this year.
Once the students were all seated at their respective Dorm tables, Minerva McGonagall sent a very weary Sorting Hat back to her office, then tapped a spoon against her goblet to get everyone's attention.
"Good evening, Hogwarts students. As you can see, we have begun a new era with new traditions at Hogwarts. No longer will we cling to the old and dangerous rivalries of the past, it is time that Hogwarts will come together as a unified student body. We must do this in order to survive in these perilous times. Inter-dorm cooperation should be the new paradigm under which you will learn your craft."
"We have made several changes as far as faculty is concerned. While many of the professors are familiar to you, we have new faculty aboard. Our new Care of Magical Creatures teacher is Professor Grubby-Plank. The professor has agreed to come out of retirement for this year due to Professor Hagrid moving to France to join Beaubaxton's Academy. Our Potions instructor, following the retirement of Professor Snape will be Professor Horace Slughorn. Professor Slughorn will also be the faculty advisor to Dorm 4, located in the former Slytherin quarters. Our new Defense against the Dark Arts instructor is Professor Tashimoto, formerly an Auror and head of the DADA Association in Tokyo, Japan. I hope that you will give him a warm welcome to Hogwarts. Professor Tashimoto will also be the faculty advisor to Dorm 2, located in the former Hufflepuff quarters. We have not filled the Transformation post at this time, so I will continue teaching that subject to the 4th through 7th year students, with assistance from a temporary instructor, Professor Nymphadora Tonks teaching the 1st through 3rd year students. The faculty advisor for Dorm 1 will be Professor Sprout, located in the former Gryffindor quarters, and the faculty advisor for Dorm 3 will be Professor Sinestrsa. Dorm 3 is located in the former Ravenclaw quarters."
"As always, the Forbidden Forest is just that, forbidden. The rules against magic in the hallways still applies, and our new caretaker, Mrs. Arabella Figg has inherited the list of forbidden items from our retired Mr. Filch. She will decide which, if any, items to keep on the list. You may contact her for details. Quiddich tryouts will be next Saturday, a sign up list will be in the Great Hall tomorrow. Teams will not be restricted to dorms, anyone can sign up for any team. Since tomorrow is Saturday, I suggest that you spend this weekend getting to know your new dorm mates, and for the post-O.W.L. students, choosing your courses. Now enjoy the feast!" With that, McGonagall clapped her hands, and, as had happened every year for a millennium, the food appeared in front of the students.
Following the feast, Harry and the other prefects led their dorm mates up to their new quarters and helped the younger ones get settled in. After completing that duty, he noticed that his belongings had apparently not arrived. Harry figured that this was due to the house-elves having to wait until everyone was sorted in new dorms. He went down to the common room to wait. As he entered the common room, he met Daphne Greengrass, who also had no sleeping quarters prepared. Just then, Professor Tashimoto entered the common room and motioned the pair.
"Ah, Miss Greengrass, Mr. Potter, your presence is required in the Headmistresses office. The password is 'watchtower'."
"Thank you, Professor." Harry said. "Welcome to Hogwarts. I hope that you will enjoy your tenure here."
"I am sure that I will. I will also be starting a martial arts dueling club. With your… unique situation, I look forward to your attendance. But enough of that, you should hurry along to the Headmistress' office. We can discuss this later." With that, the two teens hurried out of the dorm.
Arriving at McGonagall's office, Harry and Daphne were surprised to see the other new Wizengamot members, also looking clueless. A door in the office opened and Minerva McGonagall stepped in.
"I am glad to see that all of you made it. I want to go over your duties and living arrangements with you. If you notice, all of you have been made prefects for your respective dorms, however you will not be living in those dorms. There is too much at stake to place you in the regular dorms. I have had the house elves open a suite of rooms with a common room. This was an area that has not been used in several centuries. It was originally intended to be for visiting VIP's, however the last time it was used was a situation much like this. There were 6 Heads of Houses who had received their titles prior to finishing school. Unfortunately, the reason they had inherited was through the assassination of their parents. We kept them safe then, and we will keep you safe now. You will have house elves to serve you, you can either use the school's or bring in elves that are bonded to you. You will each have your own bedroom which you can password protect if you so choose. You will also be allowed to take your meals in your common room, if you so choose."
"As far as your prefect duties, I expect you to patrol nightly in your home dorm areas. You will also be setting the schedules for the 5th year prefects. There will be no 7th year prefects, the faculty will make up the difference since we have found that the 7th year students have, in the past, allowed either their prefect duties or their studies to suffer. You may have noticed also that we have assigned extra 5th and 6th year prefects. This will also help make up the gaps in coverage. I expect you to work with them. All of the 5th year prefects must have their patrols done prior to 11pm and be back in their dorms. Lord Potter-Black, I assume that you still have that map that your father and his friends made when they were here?"
At Harry's stunned look, McGonagall smiled a tight smile. "Yes, I know all about it. I would like to borrow it for a few days in order to duplicate it so that each of you will have a copy. Remus Lupin gave me the notes that he made during its creation. All of you need to be aware of your surroundings, and I think that this will be an invaluable aid. Although I still believe that Hogwarts is the safest place in the wizarding world, I cannot fool myself into thinking that there is no danger here. The last 5 years has shown me the folly of that belief."
"Professor, I will send the map back with a house elf as soon as we get to our quarters," Harry said. "Speaking of, where will we be located?"
"On the 6th floor. I will have an elf take you there now. Warbler!" A wizened elf appeared in the office and bowed low.
"How can Warbler serve Headmistress McGonagall?"
"Please take these students to the new quarters that were prepared earlier." The elf bowed again and motioned for the students to follow him.
At Gringotts, Flickaxe smiled as he turned off the monitor that was covering McGonagall's office. Humming a tuneless ditty, he picked up the list of tutors that he had prepared for Harry. These were all reliable wizards, in other words, they would report to him in detail every thing that the Lords and Ladies did during their learning sessions. The part about the new rooms caught him by surprise, he would have to get someone in there to wire those rooms so that he could keep an eye on his charges. He made a note to himself to do that first thing in the morning.
Spinner's End
Same day
The Potions Master looked around at his dwelling and snorted. Severus Snape was not having a good day. He had been sacked from Hogwarts after Dumbledore's conviction and was in hiding from the Dark Lord. He had been able to put his house under the Fidelus charm, but it had cost him dearly. Being a teacher had not been a very financially rewarding position, but it had taken care of his needs. During his tenure at Hogwarts he had been able to sell some of his potions in the open market, but those days were past. He dared not show his face in public for fear of being spotted by people on either side hostile to the idea of his continued existence. Snape had considered his options, leaving the British Isles for other places in Europe or even America, but none of these appealed to him. If he went to Europe, he could be found easily by Voldemort's spies, and he detested Americans with their self righteous and superior attitudes. He also did not have the money to travel overseas.
Sitting down at a dusty table, he reached in his pocket and pulled out a vial. This was his last option. Should he be discovered by the Dark Lord, he would take the potion, committing suicide before allowing himself to be subjected to the tender mercies of his former master. Putting the vial back in his pocket, he was startled to hear a pecking at the window. He turned to see a very familiar snowy owl.
"Potter?" he wondered. "What in the name of the Maker could he want? Does he want to rub in my shame?" Getting up and going to the window, he let Hedwig in. She flew over to the table and held out her leg for him to take the attached parchment. Snape took the parchment and opened it. He noted that the owl stayed put, waiting for a reply.
Professor Snape:
I know that we have had a rocky relationship, however I want you to know that I respect your abilities. The fact that you are in hiding from Voldemort shows me that you are on the same side in this war, or at least you are neutral. I have a proposition for you. I would like to hire you as a potions master I need someone who I can trust in the event that I would need healing or restorative potions. I have a full potions lab set up awaiting your reply. You would be on a salary as well as commission for any potions that we can sell, such as the Wolfsbane potion.
By the way, the reason that Hedwig was able to find you is that you hired Gringotts to install your Fidelus charm. They agreed to assist me in getting a message through to you. It is still secure in that only Gringotts knows your location and Hedwig was disillusioned for the delivery.
I await your return owl.
Lord Potter-Black
P.S. The salary will be quite a bit more substantial than your previous employer.
H.P.B.
Snape reread the letter, hardly daring to believe it. As much as he hated anything having to do with Potter, he had to admit that he may have misjudged the son and godson of the two men he hated most. He had also misjudged Dumbledore, thinking him to be the ultimate in light, but finding out too late that he was just another pawn to the conniving wizard, disposable as any other person. Picking up a quill, he penned his agreement and attached it to Hedwig's leg. He then gave the owl a bit of meat and sent her on her way.
Dumbledore Manor
The next day
The young Lord Dumbledore, along with his mother and Aberforth, were sitting in the parlour discussing the letter that they had just received from Jennifer. She had been sorted into the same dorm as Harry Potter. This pleased the trio to no end. Jennifer was a trusting soul, uninvolved with the schemes that were second nature in the pureblood community. Jonathon Dumbledore had not made up his mind about Harry Potter yet, he was not really convinced that Albus was as innocent as Aberforth and Violet believed, rather he was in awe of his great-great uncle's skill in manipulation. He did think that it was a shame that Albus had gotten so sloppy that he not only got caught, but put the welfare of the family in jeopardy. He vowed that if he ever got to that point, he would abdicate as head of the family in favor of a new generation.
"So, do you think that she will be able to get close enough to Potter to make a difference?" Aberforth asked.
"If she follows my advice, she should. Within the next two years, we should be able to marry her off to him and join the two families. Then after she produces an heir, Potter will be disposable. I plan to send her some mild potions that she can take and slip to him to make both of them more… how should I say it… attractive to each other."
"What about the Black estate?," asked Violet.
"I don't believe that we will be able to do much about that. Potter will probably take a second wife in order to produce an heir for that family. If he doesn't, then it is a possibility that it could go to a child of Jennifer's by default, but realistically would probably end up either with one of the Malfoys or Tonks. I don't believe that we should count on that. Dear little sister Jennifer just needs to concentrate on reeling in Potter and making lots of babies. We just need to make sure that You-know-who doesn't kill off Potter before that happens. And that means getting as close to him as possible and giving him what he needs to win. A wise man once said, 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer', and that is what I plan to do. I just don't plan to let Potter know that he is an enemy. Right now he has the upper hand and real power in the Wizengamot, whether he knows it or not. It may take a generation or even two to restore us to the top of the heap, but get there we will. I have patience."
Warcry watched the monitor, fascinated. Flickaxe would want to know about this threat to the Potter account. He placed the memory in a vial, marked it 'urgent', and placed it on Flickaxe's desk. After switching the monitors to check out various locations related to the Potter-Black accounts, he shut down the system and left for the night. It was because of this that he did not see the vial with the Dumbledore memory roll off the desk and fall among discarded pieces of parchment in the trash bin. An hour later, a low ranking goblin came into the office, straightened up, and dumped the trash.