Chapter Forty-Eight
Hufflepuff Common Room, Hogwarts, Scotland, 17, January, 1991
"Henry!"
Henry looked up from his book and grinned at Cedric Diggory, his first friend at Hogwarts. "Hey Cedric." He'd thought he was alone in the common room.
"How've you been?" Cedric asked, smiling. "I don't see you around much anymore. Got some new friends, now, eh?"
Henry nodded, ruffling his shaggy black hair. "Yeah, I do. We have a lot of fun."
"I can see that," Cedric said. He took a seat across from Henry. "What's that you're reading?"
"Oh, it's a, ah, well a bit of a side project that I'm working on with the Fi- er, with my friends," Henry said, covering his slip-up quickly. He raised his book, which was entitled 'A History of Things: Oddities, Curiosities, and Rarities in the Wizarding World', so that Cedric could see it.
"What kind of project?" Cedrics asked, picking up another of Henry's books, which was entitled 'Oddball Spells and Enchantments', and another called 'Wards Which Never Fail'. "I'm guessing that it has something to do with the Third-Floor Corridor?"
Henry looked up, startled, and Cedric shook his head, smiling. "Honestly, Potter, we aren't all mindlessly trusting idiots here."
"How did you figure it out?" Henry asked.
"Hagrid is a very, ah, verbal drunk. My owl had a broken wing, and when I went to visit him, he was 'trashed', as my American cousin would say," he replied. "All I had to do was ask."
"Clever," Henry muttered.
"I like to think so. Despite what all the Gryffindors seem to think, I am more than just a pretty face, Potter," he said haughtily.
Henry bit back a laugh. "I see."
"Now, if you want to get past the Cereberus, all you have to do is play the thing a bit of music," Cedric advised. "It's after that that things get hard."
"You've gotten past it already?" Henry spluttered.
"Of course I haven't, but if that thing is disposable enough to be the first- and therefore weakest- line of defense, imagine what the professors have as back up," Cedric said.
Henry gaped at him.
"It's basic logic, Potter," Cedric reasoned, tapping his head knowingly. "Sometimes, you have to slow down in order to go faster, mate."
"So, even after we get past that monster, you're telling me that things will just get harder and harder, the further we go?" Henry asked.
Cedric nodded.
"Oh, Neville's not going to like that at all," he thought aloud. Looking up suddenly, he said, "What time is it?"
"It's nearly ten. Why?"
"Oh, damn!" Henry cried, leaping out of his seat.
"Somewhere to be, Henry?" Cedric asked, amused at his younger friend's antics.
"Um, yeah, I have to, er, go up to help tutor Ron in History of Magic," Henry lied, gathering up his books hurriedly.
"Up? Isn't Weasley in the Slytherin Common Room? In the dungeons?" Cedric asked, trying to hide his smile.
"Oh yeah! Thanks, Cedric!" Henry called, dashing out of the Common Room.
Cedric shook his head and stood, walking slowly toward the dormitories.
"First years."
Unknown Location, Hogwarts
"Shhh!"
"Hehehe, this is going to be excellent!"
"Ade! Shuttup!"
"Seriously, though, this is going to cinch it for us!"
"Not if you get us caught, git!"
"Okay, okay. I'll be quiet. Have you got that, Neville?"
"Not… quite… Ade."
"Hermione, Blaise, will you help him please?"
"Sure, Mister Black."
"Here you go, Neville. That should do it."
"Oof, this damn thing is really heavy."
"There!"
"All set?"
"Yeah, now let's get the hell out of here before we get caught."
"Agreed."
Great Hall, Hogwarts, Scotland, 17 January, 1991
"Holy shit."
"Oh, Merlin."
"My God, they must be mad!"
The entire student body was abuzz with excitement, and this made Remus Lupin nervous.
Nothing good came from gleeful, snickering teenagers.
He knew from experience.
Shouldering his way through the growing crowd, he entered the Great Hall.
There, he saw what the students were looking at.
Floating high above were all of the tables, benches, and chairs in perfect formation, complete with the Headmaster's chair in the center of the staff table.
Except for the fact that they were all upside down in the air, and the legendary enchanted ceiling was now the cloudy gray floor.
The only thing that looked to be right side up was a huge black banner, with a flaming phoenix emblazoned across it, the word 'Firebrand' literally burning just below the apparent insignia.
"What in Merlin's name…"
He took a step into the upside down room and was instantly disoriented, turning upside down and slowly floating toward the ceiling.
Floor.
Whatever.
Luckily, one of the more astute seventh years saw what was happening and grabbed a fistful of his robes, dragging him back into the entrance with the help of Percy Weasley.
Once he'd recovered from his second bout of vertigo in as many minutes, Remus nodded his thanks to both the boys and began setting up a barrier to keep the, ah, 'less observant' students out of harm's- or at least confusion's- way.
Suddenly, there was a huge roaring noise and a spell whizzed past his head, entering the hall just as the barrier went up.
Another huge banner appeared, hovering below the first.
It was gaudy, magenta and gold that glittered and sparkled. In neat, albeit somewhat childish, block lettering, there was a simple message:
"You Win."
And thus I return from another long absence.
Yes, they are getting rather ridiculous, but college is on its way, and I have to set my priorities.
Thanks for sticking with me!
-TheNefariousMe
