HARRY POTTER AND ICE CREAM DELIGHTS
Author: Luckner
Disclaimer: The characters and their world are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers and Warner Bros. No money is being made and no copyright infringement is intended.
CHAPTER 11: DRACO'S WORST DAY
Harry was late in arriving at the Great Hall for lunch on that first day of class, having remained behind after charms class to speak to Dumbledore about Professor Flitwick's condition. He hoped to get some good news for Luna, as she was very concerned about the condition of her favorite teacher. He was delighted when the Headmaster informed him that the diminutive charms instructor would be released from St. Mungo's the very next day, and that he had decided to finish his convalesce at Hogwarts, where he felt most at home.
Entering the Great Hall, Harry made straight for Ravenclaw table, ignoring the many looks that he was receiving from around the room. Seeing that she wasn't sitting with her housemates, Harry scanned the large room in search of his blond friend. He finally spotted Luna sitting at Gryffindor table, where she seemed to be involved in a very earnest discussion with a less than happy Ginny Weasley. As Harry approached he noticed a very uncharacteristic frown on Luna's face, and he quickened his pace. He slid onto the bench next to her, but she was so involved in her conversation that she didn't even notice him.
"What's wrong, Lu?" He asked as he gently laid a hand on her arm.
She turned and looked at him, deep sadness in her eyes. "I have to go Harry, I need to find Neville. I'll talk to you as soon as I get back," she promised. And with that she stood up and hurriedly left the room.
"What's going on?" Harry asked Ginny with concern.
"I found out what's wrong with Neville; he's upset and he's angry," Ginny said sadly.
"But why?" Harry asked in surprise.
"Because we took care of the Death Eaters who were injured at the train; and he seems to regard it as some kind of a personal betrayal. Neville feels very strongly about You-know-who and those who serve him. The pain of loosing his parents is still very real and raw for him. You remember those days he missed training during the summer, and we all joked that he lost track of time while working in his gardens? Well he spent those days at the hospital with his Mum and Dad. He tells them everything, just like they can still hear him," Ginny said as tears began to run down her face.
Harry reached out and took her into a hug, ignoring the looks he was getting from other people at the table. "Well maybe they can hear him; and they must be very proud of him, just as I am that I can call him a friend."
"It's so terrible to imagine him there all alone, holding their hands and talking to them, and knowing that they will never answer him," Ginny sobbed into Harry's shoulder.
"I need to talk to him," Harry said grimly. But as he started to leave Ginny reached out and took his hand.
"Harry, please let Luna talk to him first, you can speak to him later," Ginny asked sincerely.
The young man thought for a moment, and then sat down at the table. Ginny was right, if anyone could help Neville it was probably Luna. She seemed to possess a natural gift for helping people and steering their thoughts in the right direction. Harry reluctantly admitted to himself that he wouldn't really know what to say. It was true that he had lost his parents when he was an infant, but how much worse it must be for Neville to know that they still lived but weren't really alive.
"Would you like to go for a walk?" Ginny asked, seeing Harry's somber mood and feeling that a walk might make them both feel better.
"I think I would like that," Harry said sadly, as he turned to look at her. As the two left the room the eyes of those present followed, wondering why they appeared so unhappy.
At Ravenclaw table the two Fawcett sisters watched Harry leave with barely controlled anger; the memory of their summer embarrassment still fresh in their minds. Sarah was still finding brown feathers in her bed; and although she had no idea of the source, her hair did seem a bit thinner. The fact that younger students now regarded Luna Lovegood as a hero almost equal to Harry Potter only served to increase their rage, and it had finally started to boil over in angry talk and nasty remarks.
"Will you two please give it a rest?" Demanded a frustrated third-year student who had been listening to their crabbing since lunch began.
"Mind your own business, midget," ordered an angry Sarah Fawcett, flashing the younger boy a superior look.
It was the wrong thing to say and the wrong person to say it to. Ever since the Weasley twins had left Hogwarts their position as "mischief-makers-and-chiefs" had been open, and this young boy was one of many hoping to assume it. He glared at the two sisters and then nodded across the table at a friend. A minute later two platters of sausage and eggs levitated silently from the table and floated behind the two girls. The other younger students, knowing well the reputation of the two boys, sat quietly in their places and watched the coming attack with wide grins.
A moment later loud screams could be heard coming from Ravenclaw table, and two very outraged sisters started shouting obscenities at a young boy sitting innocently opposite them. The two girls were covered in fried eggs and sausage from head to foot. And as they flailed their arms about eggs and sausages were flung like missiles at those sitting nearby; but the effected students were laughing so hard they failed to take notice. In fact, almost everyone in the Great Hall was laughing except the teachers, who were converging on the disturbance from all directions.
"Ladies, silence!" Professor McGonagall ordered sternly, shocked at the kind of language the two teens were using. "Now what is the meaning of this?"
The two girls stared at the woman in shock, unable to understand why she was unable to use her own eyes.
"Can't you see?" Sarah demanded, in a tone that had never been used to the Deputy Headmistress before. "He did this to us," she declared angrily as she threw out her arm to point at an innocent looking boy sitting opposite. The violent movement of her arm launched a fried egg from her sleeve into the air. The thin disk soared through the air like a flying saucer and landed in front of a startled first-year girl. The result was that another burst of laughter swept around the room, and Professor McGonagall had to call in other teachers to help subdue it.
"My eyesight is fine young ladies, and so is my hearing. Because of your use of crude and obscene language you and your sister will have three days of detention starting tonight. My office at five o'clock," she said firmly, leaving no room for debate.
Then she turned to the young boy who sat snickering nearby. "As for you, Mr. Pitt, I wish you to report to my office immediately." As the boy left the room everyone noticed the happy grin on his face, as he felt well on the way to his goal.
As the Fawcett sisters passed the Gryffindor table, accompanied by the laughter of their fellow students, Ron Weasley found the moment too good to resist.
"I thought that you two only laid eggs, I didn't think you wore them too," he said with a grin.
The two girls turned to confront the red-headed boy, but then they saw that Professor McGonagall was still watching them closely. They gave the boy a dirty look, and then turned around and continued their pursuit of clean robes.
- o -
After leaving the Great Hall, Luna began her search for Neville in the wide green courtyard that lay in front of the castle. She knew the boy loved plants and gardening, so it was a natural place for him to be. After a quick search produced nothing more than two seventh-year students snogging behind a hedge, Luna followed the winding trail that led down to the Black Lake. There sitting on a rock under a lonely willow tree sat a silent Neville Longbottom, staring out at the troubled grey waters.
"May I sit with you Neville?" Luna asked carefully.
Neville didn't say a word, but slowly nodded his head and shifted over to make room for her. She sat down on the rock beside him and for a long time neither of them said anything, feeling the awkwardness of the moment.
"You can't possibly understand…no one could," he mumbled sadly, more to himself than to her.
The silence returned as the two teens were each lost within their own sad memories, and then Luna spoke softly. "When I was nine-years-old I asked my Mum why I had no grandparents to share Christmas with. All the other families living near us seemed to have big family gatherings, but there was just the three of us. My Mum told me that my grandparents had been killed by Death Eaters before I was even born; but that I mustn't be sad because they died bravely. I never knew them but I've always been very proud of them. As it turned out it was just me and Dad for Christmas that year," she added sadly. Her voice held no aspect of self pity, but just a sad determination that she would never let her Mother down.
Neville looked over at his friend with a knowing expression. "Then you have as much reason to hate them as I do."
"Perhaps…but I can't allow myself to do it. My Mum told me never to allow hate to control me like it does them. She told me that if I gave in to those dark thoughts the Death Eaters would win, and I won't allow that to happen," Luna declared firmly, as tears began to roll down her cheeks.
As Neville listened he couldn't help but admire her courage. Ginny had told him that Luna had witnessed her Mother's death when she was a little girl. 'Maybe Luna can understand, maybe she's the one person in the world that can,' he thought to himself sadly. Then he felt her small, warm hand take his and give it a gentle squeeze; and the tears he had been holding back began to fall.
"It's just that…it was so hard at the train. I knew what they were trying to do, and what they would have done to those children if they had been able. I just couldn't help them…I couldn't feel anything but hate," Neville said, struggling to explain. He didn't even realize it that Luna was taking him in her arms and holding him as he cried.
"It's always hard….It's always hard to do the right thing. We have to fight them together, and we can never let them win. But we mustn't ever become like them. They are watching over us you know; your parents and my Mother, and we do want to make them proud of us, don't we?"
"Yes…Yes we do," Neville said heavily, and hugged his friend tighter.
At that same moment Harry and Ginny were returning to the castle to start their afternoon classes and they saw their friends together, and he felt Ginny touch his arm.
"You know, we're so lucky to have her," Ginny said sincerely.
Harry nodded in agreement, and led Ginny back to the castle. With Luna's help, Harry was certain that Neville would be alright.
Harry's first class after lunch was Care of Magical Creatures, and the young man wasn't at all surprised that Neville missed it completely. 'After all,' he thought, 'there are some things more important than class.'
Indeed, Neville and Luna spent more than two hours sitting by the lake talking; having completely forgotten the time. Finally realizing that they had missed their first class of the afternoon, the two started to walk back so they would be in time for the second. In the past Neville would have been terribly embarrassed to have missed a class, but right at that moment he was far to content to worry about anything.
"Thanks Luna," he said as the two parted to go to their separate classes.
"What else is family for," she responded casually.
"Family?" he responded curiously.
"Of course, that's what we are," she answered with a grin.
"Yes…family," he replied, a smile appearing on his own face.
"I always wanted to be part of a large family, and now I've got Susan, Ginny and Hermione as sisters and you and Ron as brothers," Luna said happily.
"Don't you think of Harry as a brother?" Neville asked without thinking.
"Of course not!" Luna answered in an appalled voice. "Do you think of Ginny as a sister?" She asked with a smirk.
"No…no I don't," Neville answered as he blushing slightly pink.
"I'm glad to hear that, because she doesn't think of you as a brother either," Luna added with a smile as she walked up the hallway, ignoring Neville's rather large grin.
Harry's last class of the day was Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. As he took his seat next to Hermione the stern head of Gryffindor House walked over to his desk, a look of concern on her face.
"Mr. Potter," the formidable teacher began uncertainly, "I missed Miss Lovegood in class last period, is everything alright?"
"Neville was having a problem and Luna was…helping him with it," Harry explained, hoping that she wasn't going to get in any trouble.
"Well it looked like she did the trick," Professor McGonagall responded with a half smile as she looked towards the back of the room.
Harry turned and saw a smiling Neville Longbottom coming through the door. He politely turned down the offer to sit next to Seamus Finnigan, and instead took a seat next to Harry.
"Feeling better, Neville?" Harry asked with a smile.
"Yah, much better; my sister really set me straight," he responded mysteriously.
Harry didn't know quite what he meant by the remark, but concluded that Luna would probably tell him later.
- o -
At the end of her last class of the day Luna rushed up to her dorm room and threw open the lid of her trunk. Digging down deep in a protected corner she pulled out several pieces of Mugwart Root which she had brought from home. In addition to the Mugwart Root, she had also brought several other roots and tubers that she thought Professor Snape might wish to include in their research. She was looking forward to the opportunity to do some practical research in a subject that she considered very important. As a little girl she had often watched her Mother at work in her laboratory at home, and one of her proudest moments was when her Mother allowed her to start making simple potions on her own. Pulling herself out of a dreamy reverie she carefully placed her specimens in a wicker basket, closed her truck, and left for her meeting with the potions master.
Earlier that day she had remained behind after potions class to speak to Professor Snape, and the two had agreed to meet after the last class of the day. Luna hurried down the stairs that led to the dungeon level of Hogwarts Castle; but as she neared the potion master's office she began to get a bad feeling. The torches on the wall had burned unusually low, casting long shadows in the corners; and she had the distinct feeling that she was being watched. She slowed to almost a stop and listened intently, and then shifting her basket to her left hand she slowly withdrew her wand from her pocket.
"A little out of your area, aren't you Looney?" A hard voice from the shadows asked, and at the same moment an accio spell ripped the wand from her grasp.
Then the torch on the wall flared up and Luna was confronted by three of the people that she would least like to meet. Draco Malfoy with his cronies Crabbe and Goyle advanced towards the young girl with their wands drawn.
"What, no Potter to protect you? Well we'll just have to see that this young lady doesn't get lost, won't we boys?" Draco asked with glee.
"That's right Draco," Crabbe responded with a coarse laugh.
"A lot of dark corridors down here; all kinds of bad things could happen," Draco said gloatingly. And then he noticed that Luna was carrying a basket. "What have you got there, Looney?" Draco demanded, as he tore the basket from her arm and dumped the contents on the floor; a spur on the handle tearing a cut on Luna's arm as it was pulled away from her.
"Stealing potion ingredients from Professor Snape, Looney? Well I guess we'll just have to put a stop to that," Draco said menacingly, as he took a step forward.
"I was just…" Luna began quietly.
"Never mind what you were 'just;' we caught you with the evidence. This will mean expulsion for you Lovegood!" Draco declared happily.
But at that moment an angry voice behind them could be heard. "What is the meaning of this?" The three boys spun around and were confronted by a very angry Professor Severus Snape.
"We just caught Looney with a basket of stolen potion ingredients. She must have taken them from your private stock, Sir," declared Draco in triumph, unaware that his world was about to come crashing down.
Professor Snape looked past the boys and saw Luna standing there holding her arm and with potion ingredients scattered around her feet. He walked roughly past the boys and took her arm gently in his hands.
He examined the cut carefully and then looked back at the boys with an expression of intense displeasure. It was at that moment that Draco realized that his time that afternoon might have been better spent in study.
Professor Snape waved his wand above Luna's arm and the blood ceased to flow. "Is that better, Miss Lovegood?" He asked gently.
"Thank you Sir," she answered softly.
Then turning to the three boys his eyes hardened, and they all knew that something had gone horribly wrong. "Would you please wait in my office for a minute, Miss Lovegood?" he asked.
"Yes Sir," she practically whispered, and started to reach down to pick up her roots.
"No, I'll get those. Please just go in and sit down….And close the door behind you," he added.
"Return Miss Lovegood's wand immediately!" He ordered Draco, and there was only anger evident in his voice.
Draco sullenly returned the wand to the girl and she walked into the office and closed the door behind her.
Then the potions master rounded on the three boys, white with anger. "How dare you attack a student in this school, I should have all three of you expelled immediately!" He declared.
"But Sir…" Draco began in shock.
"Not another word," Snape said in rage. "A week's detention, starting tonight at six o'clock and fifty points each from Slytherin. And if this ever happens again I'll see you all expelled," Snape said firmly.
"I…I can't Sir, I'm already doing a detention tonight," Draco said reluctantly.
"Already doing a detention, Mr. Malfoy? You seem to be following in Mr. Potter's footsteps. Very well, you can make up the last day on Saturday night. Now get out of my sight," Snape said with a sneer.
Draco wanted to protest, but one look at Professor Snape's eyes convinced him to remain silent. The three boys made a hasty retreat down the corridor. Draco glanced back and saw his Head of House using his wand to gather the roots into the basket. The young man couldn't believe how bad his day had gone; first being embarrassed in Defense Class and now this, and it was all Lovegood's fault.
It turned out that Professor Snape was pleasantly surprised with some of the specimens that Luna had brought, as he had already considered adding some of them to their project. It was almost as if she had read his mind, and her bringing them along would save a considerable amount of time getting started. The two spent more than an hour discussing the details of their research and setting up work times, and Luna had to run to the Great Hall to be in time for dinner.
She sat down next to Harry with a happy smile on her face that literally lit up the room.
"I didn't think that you were going to make it," Harry said with a smile.
"Just barely," she responded, completely out of breath.
"Good meeting?"
"Yes, very good," she answered brightly.
"An hour with Professor Snape; that must have been torture," Ron declared in horror.
"No, it was really very interesting. He's arranging it so I can take my Potion Owl in October, and he wants me to start in his advanced potions class immediately," she responded happily.
"That's great," Harry said supportively, although personally he was delighted that he would never have to take another class with his least favorite teacher. Having failed to achieve the necessary 'O' on his Potions Owl, he could not move on to the advanced class.
At that moment Professor Dumbledore rose from his seat and held up his hands calling for silence.
"After a long day of learning I know that you must all be quite hungry, and I myself am looking forward to a rather excellent custard tart. But before we begin I have a rather important announcement to make. It has long been the responsibility of the heads of our four houses to decide on those who will hold the office of prefects for their houses. But in light of the very dangerous world in which we currently live, I've decided that additional student security is required. Therefore I wish to take this opportunity to announce the appointment of four additional prefects whose sole responsibility is the security of the school and its students, and who will report directly to me. Recent events have proved that they are capable of dealing with almost any emergency," Professor Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes. Immediately whispers erupted from around the room as students discussed what he meant and who the new prefects might be.
"Ladies and gentlemen, if I may please continue," he asked and waited for a moment for silence to return to the Great Hall. "From Hufflepuff House I name Miss Susan Bones…," immediately he was interrupted by loud cheers from the members of that frequently under appreciated house. "From Gryffindor House I name Mr. Harry Potter and Mr. Neville Longbottom…," and again the Headmaster was interrupted by thunderous applause. "And finally, from Ravenclaw House I name Miss Luna Lovegood." Once again there was applause, but many noticed that the older members of Ravenclaw simply looked at each other in confused silence. In response Harry and his friends simply applauded all the louder.
Probably the student in the room most upset by the announcement was Draco Malfoy, who was having the worst day of his life. From his first class of the day, when Looney Lovegood had knocked him unconscious with a stunning spell, he had known that it would be a bad day. Then only an hour past the man who had been like a second father to him had turned on him viciously; and once again Lovegood was the cause of his misfortune. To make matters worse, together with Crabbe and Goyle, he had lost Slythern 150 points. It was only a matter of time until his housemates noticed the loss, and nothing that he could say or do would allay their anger at being knocked out of the race for the house cup. And now Potter and Lovegood were honored in front of the entire school. At that moment the 'Prince of Slytherin' silently resolved that he would make Looney pay for what she had done to him.
But while Draco was pondering on the unfairness of his life, a tall boy wearing Gryffindor robes entered the Great Hall and walked towards the tables.
"Look!" Cried Ginny in surprise, and pointed at the boy as he passed their table.
"What's he doing here?" Ron asked in amazement.
The red-haired boy waved casually as he passed by his siblings on his way to Hufflepuff table, and a very unsuspecting Susan Bones.
"May I sit here?" He whispered coyly in her ear.
"Fred!" She exclaimed in surprise as she spun about to face him. She stood up and the two exchanged a warm hug, completely ignoring the grins that they were receiving from around the room.
"I think there's your answer, Ron," Luna said with a knowing grin.
At that same moment Susan was questioning Fred on his presence in the Great Hall, and in Gryffindor robes too.
"I just decided I wanted to finish my education; and besides, I didn't think it a good idea to leave such a beautiful redhead unattended," he said boldly as he observed the many teenaged boys who had found a place near Susan.
The young girl blushed sweetly, but was extremely pleased by his remark, and quickly made a place at the table for him.
At that moment Professor McGonagall came by with Susan's new prefect badge.
"Welcome back, Mr. Weasley," the formidable head of Gryffindor house said before she moved on to Gryffindor table.
"I hope he's not planning to make me a prefect," Fred said with mock fear as the eight teens left the Great Hall after dinner.
"If he does then I'm transferring to another school," Hermione answered with a shudder.
"How can you be so cruel, Hermione; especially since you and I will someday be related," Fred responded with a smirk.
Ron gave his older brother a dirty look for making the embarrassing comment. "And just why exactly did you come back to school; I thought that you were so glad to be out of it?" Ron asked.
Fred draped his arm over Ron's shoulders condescendingly. "Well I'll tell you little brother, I just decided that I wanted to complete my education," he said, glancing over at Susan slyly.
Ron rolled his eyes in disbelief and shrugged off the arm. "Don't give me that, you were ready to leave school in your second year."
"Ron, he's talking about Susan," Ginny declared with a grin.
"Maybe I was, but now I'm not sure. Dating a Prefect could be bad for my reputation," Fred replied smirking at his friends.
Susan jabbed him in the ribs, but then reached over and took his hand. "Careful, Mr. Weasley; I guess you haven't noticed all my new admirers."
"Oh but I have, Sue. That's another reason why I came back," he responded, and was rewarded when Susan squeezed his hand.
"What about George; he isn't coming back is he?" Ron asked, hoping to change the subject from Fred's love life.
"No, we worked out a deal. He'll stay in Diagon Alley and run the business and I'll conduct the human testing here."
"Not on our 'First Years,' you won't," Hermione said hotly.
"Why of course not, Hermione. I have a whole houseful of unwilling Slytherins to help me out," Fred responded with a cunning leer. "I thought that with the return of 'The Marauders' to Hogwarts you guys could use some help in developing some really good pranks."
Everyone but Hermione eagerly looked forward to Fred's ideas, but she was positively terrified at the rule-breaking that would probably be involved.
- o -
Meanwhile, at a crumbling mansion on a lonely stretch of the Cornish Coast a certain rather frustrated dark lord was in a truly terrible mood, and was taking out his fury on any Death Eater unfortunate enough to cross his path. None of his terrified followers had ever seen their master in such a rage, and they were trying their best to stay clear of him.
The cause of his anger was known to all: the complete failure of his Death Eaters to kill Harry Potter and those with him. That failure led directly to the disaster at the Ministry of Magic, where Auror forces had rallied on the news and drove his Death Eaters into retreat. Only one of his followers who had escaped the attack on the train had dared return to his Master; and that was his misfortune. Before the man died he gave Voldemort a full accounting of all that had transpired. The Dark Lord listened carefully, surprised that a group of teenagers had put up such strong resistance.
At first the Dark Lord had doubted that Harry Potter and his friends could have possibly mastered such advanced spells as the Bone-breaking Curse, let alone possessed the skill to establish Anti-apparation Wards, but a thorough probing of the survivor's mind finally convinced him otherwise. Under the power of his Cruciatus Curse no one could lie for long, and the man was willing to tell anything in order to stop the pain. Voldemort hardly noticed the man's death scream, as his mind had already moved on to other matters.
It annoyed him to realize how seriously he had underestimated his opponent, and that failure had cost him dearly. Not only had he lost followers, of which only a few were left, but the public perception of the Dark Lord had also been changed. The shadow of fear that he had so carefully crafted was beginning to dissipate, and people were becoming convinced that Harry Potter would be victorious in the end. That change in public sentiment could prove disastrous to him.
After a great deal of thought he decided that a fundamental change in his strategy was required. He would leave Harry Potter and the Ministry alone for the time being and instead would concentrate his resources on spreading fear among the wizarding population of the country. He would use his remaining followers to attack soft targets, such as the homes of those who had openly supported the Ministry and Harry Potter. It didn't take long for him to think of a list of likely victims. In addition the need for new recruits was becoming critical, and one way or other additional troops must be found. He knew that he needed to be cunning and crafty, and he would have to take his time. While the soft operations were unfolding, he would be moving forward on an even more ambitious undertaking, one that would strike fear in even the bravest of hearts. With the decision made, he called on his followers to assemble so he could lay out his plans.
