A/N: I don't speak Latin. Wo bu shou hua Ladin (haishi zhongwen). If you are offended for a liberal use of google translator, you have problems.
Chapter Twenty-One
Black is Back!
Black is Back! Trouble in Hogwarts!
by Annaline Addison
Sirius Black, escaped convict, has again been sighted! Where is he now? He was sighted by the guardian portrait of the Gryffindor Tower at Hogwarts! Have not our children suffered enough? Is the security of Hogwarts so atrocious that a mass, unstable memory charm can be cast over the entire student body and a dangerous Azkaban escapee can walk away unapprehended? The Daily Prophet wants reforms! The staff of St. Mungos wants reforms! Even the students themselves are taking measures into their own hands and attempting to force reform! To what effect? To what end? Black is still on the loose, still terrorizing our sons and our daughters. And who is looking for reform?
What can you do to help? As always, be wary of Black, and if you see him, contact the Department of Magical Law Enforcement immediately. If you have any information on how Black broke into Hogwarts, or information on the Memory Charm at Hogwarts, please contact the Department of Magical Law Enforcement immediately. If you are sheltering Black, or whomever cast the mass Memory Charm, remember that harboring a fugitive is punishable offense and please contact the Department of Magical Law Enforcement immediately.
As for the Hogwarts situation, reforms can only be implemented by the Hogwarts Board and Headmaster Dumbledore. It is these individuals to whom you should address suggestions, advice and concern to. As always, letters to the editors here at the Daily Prophet are always welcome. I quote from a letter written by a sixth year Hogwarts student who wishes to remain anonymous: 'We're in trouble. The school is in trouble. I think all of us students have woken up and realized are fundamental problems with our society and we are honor bound to try and rectify these problems. I don't care what the government thinks of me, what the school thinks of me; but my education is suffering because of the poor standards of Hogwarts.' The full letter may be found printed on page seven.
This quote only vaguely summarizes the problems at Hogwarts. In the past two weeks alone, Professor Severus Snape, potions, and Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, have taken a combined total of six hundred and eighty-nine points from the houses of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. In the past two weeks, there has been no documented evidence of Professor Snape removing a house point from his personal house of Slytherin. Dedicated students have been documenting the points given and taken by various professors during the past two weeks, and these numbers are printed for convenience on page three. I believe you will find the unfair point spread to be shocking.
Hogwarts is the top school in all of England and it always has been. Our graduates school the highest on international tests and come out of the school with the best overall education. But is this a case of where the ends justify the needs? Along with the point spread, these dedicated students provided detailed reasons for why points were taken from each individual. "Ten points from Gryffindor for breathing!" is a most shocking display. It is the opinion of this establishment that Severus Snape should not be allowed to teach children. And yet, while his graduating class is small, those who have graduated under the tutelage of Professor Snape have become the best brewers and pioneers in the world. I sought out Samuel Bathsheba, the youngest ever to receive commission employment from St. Mungo's Hospital for the Magical Ailment, and a student of Professor Snape.
'Everyone hated him,' said Bathsheba, 'Even I did. But the man taught a dangerous subject and I respect him for the knowledge he forced into me.' Bathsheba continued to talk about Snape's bias and how he was impossible to learn from if said professor disliked you. Should not this be enough judgment, if one of the foremost pupils of a professor can cite multiple reasons for why a teacher should not be a teacher?!
Hermione lowered the Daily Prophet and looked at her friends, wondering how she was going to summarize this article. It continued on and on and on, completely arguing for the removal of Snape, Lupin, Binns, Trelawney, Filch, Burbage, Hagrid, and even Dumbledore. It dithered back and forth between keeping Babbling or removing him. It further argued that McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick, Vector, Sinistra, and the current Board of Education should be under review until their abilities teaching ability could be confirmed. The Gryffindor book-worm flipped to page nine and read the mini-biographies of the people that Addison believed would make excellent teachers to replace those who she argued should be kicked out. It seemed as if the whole Prophet had been written by the one, very abrasive woman. "Um," Hermione said, glancing at her friends again, "basically this report wants to kick out everyone but the best and then put those best under the review. She was… vague… about why she disliked Lupin." She laid the newspaper down on the table and stared at Harry. The boy had a guilty look on his face. "You know what's wrong with him, don't you?"
Harry nodded.
Hermione kept staring. "Well?"
"No."
"Harry—"
"He said no, Hermione," Neville said, munching on a piece of toast. "It's Professor Lupin's business, not ours."
"This Addison person is very thorough," Hermione commented, picking up the Prophet again. "Aside from not specifically stating her problems with Lupin," this was disapproval in her voice, both at Addison and Harry and anyone who kept secrets from her, "it's a very, very well argued piece." Able managed to pry the paper from Hermione's grasp and start reading it. It was during lunch on Tuesday, November 2nd. Classes yesterday had happened, but none of the teachers had tried to teach anything and none of the students had the willingness to cause any problems. There was a notably increase in the size of groups that traveled the halls together. Even Ginny and Patricia and the other loners didn't go anywhere without a year mate or each other. Most everyone was gathered together within the Great Hall; Harry theorized that people subconsciously recognized that there were too many hiding places in the library.
The house tables were set up again, but no one bothered with them; Harry and his four close friends were at the Ravenclaw table as the Gryffindor table was full when they arrived. A few of the second year girls were sitting near Harry, but he didn't really reach out to them. He vaguely remembered one of the girls as the prime kid that Luna Lovegood had named in her rant against Hogwarts. She knew. She knew even before all the fuss came about. Maybe he should right to the Prophet and talk about Luna… Um… No. No, he couldn't do that. He wouldn't do that! That, he wouldn't even think about doing that!
"What's the spell for non-aggressive color change? Colo-something."
"Colore illusio," Harry, Hermione, Neville and Able answered in unison. No one noticed the red apple that turned green.
Sarah dipped her quill back into her inkwell and kept writing an easy. "And the timed reverse?"
"Colorusio consolare." Again, all four voices answered her. No one noticed the apple that faded from green to red. None of them had their wands out.
"Really, Sarah," Hermione said, "you could just look those up in The Standard Bo—"
"It's in the dorm," Sarah said, dismissively. "Besides, I'm only using them as comparison for the aggressive color change, because that's the spell we were supposed to write the essay on. I know colore mutatio."
"Ego amare Latinum," Harry muttered under his breath. Only Hermione heard him, and yet again, her glare told him that she was in a bad mood. "Pulchra es quasi flos, Hermione," He said, keeping his tone level, knowing that she would hate him for it.
Hermione glared. Neville snickered at them. "What did you say?" Hermione demanded.
"Nǐ shì xiàng huā yīyàng měilì," Harry replied. By now, Sarah and Able and tuned out their discussion, knowing that Harry would just annoy Hermione until she finally snapped and shrieked at him to stop using other languages. He'd taken more of an interest in Chinese, having someone to speak it with now. Su still laughed at him whenever he tried to say a full sentence, but he was getting better at correctly saying things in the tonal language.
Hermione huffed. "I'm going to smack you!"
Harry grinned and took out of piece of parchment and a quill. He didn't have homework or anything, but… He… This should be done.
o.o.o.o.o.o
It was Wednesday's edition that carried a particular powerful letter-to-the-editor.
Dear Editor,
I am a Hogwarts student. I claim no part in the events unfolding, but I feel as if a certain aspect of what has happened to this school has been overlooked. Several weeks ago, a second year Ravenclaw was taken away from our school and confined to, we assume, a St. Mungo's ward for the insane. No one at Hogwarts has heard or seen her since. To Luna Lovegood and her family, I wish you the best and hope that good fortune may follow you. What worries me about this is what Luna did to be classified worthy of confinement within a mental institution.
I was nearby when she and Gryffindor third year, Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter, had a very odd conversation. They were not being secretive, and several of the nearby Ravenclaws were actively listening in. They were talking about truth and lies and how communication occurs if one cannot establish a truthful basis on which to communicate. It seemed as if young Lovegood had never thought about this problem before. Is this a mark of insanity or just a sheltered lifestyle? Had, as a child, Lovegood been exposed much to other children? Had she learned to play and laugh and be innocent with others her own age? I do not know and I do not begin to postulate. Lovegood's and Potter's conversation was brief, and it ended with Lovegood reaching some epiphany of sorts. She began to tell the truth. Bluntly.
And what were Lovegood's truths? She disliked her roommates having been tormented by them, an unfortunately frequent occurrence. She had a crush on a well-liked teacher, a not abnormal thing. Her name is Luna Lovegood. This third blunt statement is the first of the most heartbreaking. I have, since the date of this incident, discovered that only Professors ever called her by her true name. Her roommates, her yearmates, her housemates, and anyone introduced to her by other students knew her only by the moniker of 'Loony.' Name calling is discouraged in the best of circumstances. It is demeaning, derogatory, and hurtful. Luna dealt with such horrors constantly.
The young Ravenclaw continued to reveal a systematic abuse that she had suffered during her time at the school. Stolen shoes and destroyed homework were only two of the grievances Lovegood brought forward. She stated that the establishment of Hogwarts did nothing to alleviate this systematic torture. The school is there to protect and teach and mentor its students, and in Lovegood's case, the school failed on each and every level. At that point, Lovegood's rant escalated. She talked about the previous year, about how a giant basilisk had roamed the halls, petrified multiple students and kidnapped a girl for its own. She stated that You-Know-Who had possessed a fellow first year at the time. She stated that the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher of the time was a moronic fraud. And what did Lovegood do next? She blamed Albus Dumbledore. At the time, it had fully circulated on the rumor circuit that Harry Potter lived in an abusive household, and Lovegood stated that Headmaster Dumbledore was the one responsible for this.
I cannot confirm or deny this; I do not know the truth in this circumstance. But I saw the truth in Luna's eyes. I witnessed everything and do not believe that girl was capable of lying while she stood in front of the school and bared her whole existence to those who tormented her. Following her laying blame on Dumbledore, a stunner hit her in the back – it had to be from a teacher. It was Headmaster Dumbledore who ordered the school nurse to take the girl to the hospital wing to receive a mental analysis. No one at Hogwarts has seen or heard from Lovegood since. Luna, if you're reading this, know that we do believe you. The facts, they speak for you. Feel better.
Thank you for your consideration,
Anonymous
Hermione started banging the newspaper against the table. "People need to stop writing anonymous letters! They need to stand up and acknowledge that they did what they did." Harry stared at her, rather calmly, and did not argue. She'd already read aloud four anonymous letters to the editors from people at Hogwarts. The one about Luna – the one that Harry had agonized over for hours – had been the only one he actually listened to. It sounded horrid and pathetic coming from Hermione's mouth. They were sitting with Su, Anthony and Kevin at the Gryffindor table. Able, Neville and Sarah had all shifted to sit with different people. Sarah had not gone willingly. Harry had had to beg Clara and Clementine to invite her and then wheedle and whine at Sarah before she'd accept. He was trying to get Sarah more comfortable with more people.
"I think the anonymous letters are effective," Kevin said. "If that person had given herself/himself an identity, I think the letter would be a lot less powerful. Think about it, Hermione, if that letter was signed by Melissa Ackerly, would you believe it?"
Hermione blinked. "Who's Ackerly?"
"Second year Raven," Harry said, after taking a sip of pumpkin juice. "Regarded as Lovegood's main antagonist; and Kevin, that's a bit of an extreme case. I'd probably believe it if it came from Fawcett or Sally Wood or other older Ravenclaws."
"I just don't like anonymity," Hermione grossed, folding up the paper and sliding it in her shoulder bag. "People should be brave enough to stand up for what they believe in."
"It's really not that simple," Anthony murmured. The Goldstein was normally rather timid; he rarely joined any of Hermione's arguments lightly. "Sometimes people can't express their opinions or they'll be persecuted for it."
"Well it's wrong," Hermione persisted. "We have freedom of speech! We shouldn't be condemned for choosing to say what we believe!" Su watched the discussion, not particularly interested.
"But we are," Kevin and Anthony said together. They looked at each other, and Kevin continued. "Look, Malfoy calls someone a mudblood. In retaliation, that muggleborn calls Malfoy some version of a bastard." Hermione's face was turning a ruffled shade of red. "Malfoy isn't going to get in trouble," Kevin said, "but the muggleborn will, because the Malfoys have power. This society isn't what you think it is, Hermione. We're very, very centered on the golden rule."
The color in Hermione's face faded, only to be instantly replaced with confusion. "Do unto others as you want them to do unto you?"
"He who has the gold makes the rules," Anthony, Kevin and Harry parroted back to her. Harry liked that statement; he had the gold. He had far more gold than Malfoy and his cronies. Sure, he was still a kid, but as soon as he was an adult, he'd bring change. He would. He had the means and the motivation… He'd help people. "It's time for our next classes," Harry said. He and Hermione had Potions. The Ravenclaws had History. The group split immediately after getting up from the table. Harry and Hermione collected Neville, Tracey and Millicent from the various other tables and the five of them headed down for Potions. No one, not even the four vile Slytherins were looking forward to the class.
Professor Snape lounged in his chair, his feet propped up on his desk, a maniac grin on his face. Black ropes accented his elongated limbs. The man looked evil, there was no other word for it. The instructions for brewing a mid-level healing draught were written in meticulously small script on the blackboard. "Begin," was the only thing Snape said, when the students filed to their assigned desks. Seamus greeted Harry cordially enough, and the two of them started heating the specific base – a liter of water infused with lavender and cinnamon. Seamus mostly handled the base while Harry cut up the ingredients for the actually potion. It wasn't a difficult potion to brew. It was just impossible to focus with Snape lounging uncharacteristically relaxed above the classroom.
Half an hour into the class, Snape stood and began strolling through the cauldrons. Neville and Pavarti's cauldron was smoking. Hermione and Lavender's potion was perfect. Ron and Dean were struggling, probably more than Neville and Pavarti. Harry and Seamus's cauldron was closest to Hermione's than any other of the Gryffindor's concoctions. Snape sneered. What happened next was so subtle Harry could have almost convinced himself it wasn't intentional. Professor Snape's hand snaked out and tipped over Ron and Dean's cauldron. The cauldron fell. The inept potion spilled, splashing over Dean. Ron jumped away. The potion hit the fire beneath it and the fireball was one to remember. The fire caught hold of Dean, who hadn't moved away, who couldn't move away. There were screams. Shouts. Snape did nothing. Harry leapt forward and pulled Dean away from the fire, pushing him to the ground and smothering the flames. Dean was screaming, not out of fear, but pain. "Pavarti, get Madam Pomfrey," Harry ordered. Dean's entire front seemed burned.
"Miss Patil," Snape drawled, stopping her run for the door, "if you leave this classroom, you with not be allowed to return."
She stopped.
Horrified.
Harry got to his feet, glaring at his teacher. "He needs medical attention!"
Snape snorted. "Mr. Thomas is fine."
"No he's not!" Harry shouted. "Pav, go!" She went, bounding like a fleet gazelle through the dungeons. He'd chosen her because she was the smallest and the fastest kid – excepting him – in the class. Hermione was keeping the rest of the students away from Dean's shivering body, repeatedly telling them to give him room to breathe. Harry struggled to not pay any attention to the Potions Professor as he took inventory of Dean's injuries. His face and chest was badly burned. "Tracey," Harry said, figuring she'd know, "are there burn potions in the cupboard?"
The Slytherin girl had already retrieved a bottle of burn soother from the cupboard. Harry grabbed it from her and applied some of it to Dean's left check. He knew that the potion was supposed to fizz a soft white color, but it didn't. It foamed into an ugly red and spread over Dean's check. Snape laughed. Dean screamed. It was making the burns worse! Harry slashed at the cream, pulling it from his friend's face. The mutated potion burnt the tips of Harry's fingers. Something had reacted badly. Dean, still on the floor, started to rock in pain. The burns were bad. "Ron," Harry nearly shouted, "what did you put in that thing!"
Ron stammered.
"Cayenne?' Hermione said. Her nose was buried in both Ron's and Dean's spice cabinets. "You idiot! You used cayenne instead of cinnamon. Of all the idiotic-!"
"Miss Granger," Snape oozed, still laughing, "an innocent mistake to be sure." Dean, still on the floor, started to shudder with pain. His moans filled the room. Harry didn't know how to help him. He bent over his friend, desperate, and suffered Snape's temper. The teacher launched into him, belittling, blaming, bemoaning. Snape called him names, profanities, anything to get Harry riled. The words grated over Harry's irate temper. He didn't notice Malfoy, Goyle, Crabbe and Parkinson laughing at him. He didn't notice Hermione's and Millicent's pleas for him not to act. He didn't notice Seamus and Lavender's panic, Neville's horror, Tracey's and Daphne's eagerness for something to be done, Blaise's shock, and Theodore's anger. His classmates were nothing at that moment. There was only Dean and Snape. Snape, who was acting more and more like Uncle Dursley. "You're a good for nothing freak," Snape said, ending his anti-Harry rant.
Harry stood, slowly, his breath gone. His chest was constricted; he couldn't breathe! "You sir," Harry said, his voice deadly calm, "are letting a student suffer for your own enjoyment. You, sir, deserve every second of whatever punishment the Ministry gives you, because believe me—" His voice rose in pitch and pace until he was screaming at Snape, "—they will punish you for this!"
Snape slapped him. The back of his professor's hand flung downward and connected with Harry's cheek. The entire class could see the momentum carry through Harry, spinning him to the side with the sheer force of the blow. Harry's lip cracked. The boy straightened, and only those behind Professor Snape – Daphne, Blaise, and the ones no one would talk to – could see the fear and panic and pain in Harry's eyes. The boy opened his mouth to say something. He didn't.
Snape kicked him in the chest. Harry flew backward. His head connected with the edge of a desk and he slumped to the floor besides Dean. Harry blacked out.
The class stared.
It was Hermione who first reached for her wand. "Petrificus totalus!" Her shaky voice cried. The spell sped towards Snape, but he raised a shield to block it. "Miss Granger—"
Neville, Seamus, Lavender, Tracey, Millicent, Daphne, Theodore, Ron, Blaise and Hermione all shrieked the petrification charm at their teacher. He couldn't block them all. Pansy's shriek "You attacked a teacher!" caused Daphne to whirl on her. Daphne and Blaise froze their four housemates in quick succession. And that was when Pomfrey and Pavarti returned. That was when Hermione and Millicent broke into sobs. That was when, for most of the third years, the Gryffindor/Slytherin rivalry ended for once and for all.
o.o.o.o.o.o
Harry opened his eyes, and found himself not at all surprised to see the familiar ceiling of the hospital wing. He looked around. That was Dean, in the bed next to him, spread out in a very straight, unnatural position. Was he okay? Harry found Madam Pomfrey talking with Aurora. He coughed. Pomfrey jumped and hurried towards him; the two women followed her. "You're awake, Harry."
"Yeah. How's Dean?"
"He will heal," Pomfrey said. She cast a diagnosis spell on Harry's head. "It will be slow, due to our inability to use most burns salves, but he will heal. You've just got to stay overnight for observation, that man gave you a mild concussion." She wasn't even calling him Snape. That was impressive. "I believe some of your friends will be visiting after dinner, which, I believe, would be just a few minutes from now." Pomfrey moved back to check on Dean. Aurora was looking down at him. She looked scared.
Aurora collapsed into the chair beside Harry's bed and started fiddling with the hair on his forehead. "I was only out for a few hour, right?" At her nod, Harry relaxed a bit. "What happened? What's going to happen now?"
"Your classmates petrified Snape and those four Slytherins," Aurora said, slowly. "Pomfrey transported you and Dean here and tended you. All of the unpetrified students came with her; she left Snape petrified in the classroom. And… yeah. I'm pretty sure Dumbledore went to fetch him, but I'm not sure."
There was a knock at the hospital wing door. Madam Pomfrey went to go see who it was. She opened the door and let in two intimidating aurors. The aurors marched up to Harry's bedside. "Ma'am," the lead auror addressed Aurora, "may we ask your charge some questions?" She nodded.
"Mr. Potter," said the lead auror, "can you describe the events that led to Severus Snape's assault on you?"
Harry shrugged again. "He tipped over two of my classmate's cauldron. The potion spilled. It caught fire and leapt to one of my classmates. He… he just let Dean burn! I pushed Dean to the floor and tried to smother the flames. He'd already be burnt pretty bad when I succeeded. One of my classmates went running for Madam Pomfrey and another handed me a burn potion. The teacher did nothing! I started to apply the burn potion, but it reacted badly to what, um, something in the spilt potion. Cayenne?" Harry took a deep breath. "I tried to help Dean. It wasn't working. Snape started verbally attacking me and, and," Harry trailed off. He wasn't brave enough to keep talking. He didn't want to keep talking. "I got mad. I told him he'd be punished. He hit me." Harry hunched his shoulders and stared at his hands. His right hand was bandaged. Wh…why?
"Do you believe Severus Snape is entirely responsible for this altercation?"
Harry shrugged.
"Mr. Potter, can you tell us why you told Severus Snape he would be punished?"
Harry looked at Aurora for support, but her face was stony and upset. It wasn't very comforting. "He's an adult," Harry said. "He's an adult and a teacher no less. No adult should be allowed to do what he did to Dean. I get that the student body has made him mad with our rebellion, but this is physical abuse."
The aurors nodded and left. Pomfrey came over and half smiled at her patient. "You up to seeing visitors? There's already some twenty something people asking to see you."
Harry blinked. "Um, sure."
Poppy pulled the curtains closed around Dean's bed. The mediwitch then went to the door and looked out into the packed antechamber. "Two at a time, five minutes each, Miss Granger, if you will be so kind as to see to the order…"
Neville and Seamus were the first people to come in. They stood at either side of Harry's bed and grinned at him, somewhat sheepishly. Seamus started talking first, "You missed it during dinner tonight. These two aurors burst into the Great Hall with an arrest for Snape. Dumbledore tried to argue with them, but they wouldn't budge. They hauled Snape off in cuffs!"
"Dumbledore is livid," Neville said, "absolutely livid. He kept saying it was all lies and mistakes. He tried to say it was the students who should be punished for antagonizing a teacher."
"But the aurors set him straight," Seamus said, "they even complimented Hermione and the rest of us for strong petrificus totaluses."
"We all ate dinner together," Neville said, figuring that Harry would want to know about that, "all the Gryffindor and Slytherin third years. Daphne and Pavarti discovered they get on really well. It was cool. The rivalry, at least for us, is pretty much over."
"I'm sorry I missed it," Harry said, wishing he really had been there. If what Neville said was the case and the rivalry was truly over… that would be awesome.
"Ron didn't eat with us, though," Seamus said, "I heard him mocking Malfoy though, so he probably still supports the rivalry." Neville nodded.
"Well, feel better, Harry," Seamus said, putting a small stack of packages at the table by the foot of the bed. "All the goodies are for you and Dean to split, when he's feeling better." They left. After Neville and Seamus came Theodore and Blaise. It was a bit of an awkward conversation which mostly consisted of Theodore saying that Harry had his support, no matter what happened, he'd have the support of the current generation of the Zabini's and the Nott's. It astonished Harry, a little, that they'd be so willing to give them their support. According to Neville, it was a really powerful pledge, to give support to another house without asking for any support in return. And so Harry lessened the strength of their pledge by some complicated acceptance speech that Mary had taught him. Blaise looked rather relieved at that.
Hannah and Susan came in next, and both were really excited to confirm that Harry was okay. They chatted about senseless things for five minutes before running out. Anthony and Kevin came next. Then Su and Terry. Pavarti and Lavender. Wayne and Justin. Daphne and Ernie. Tracey and Millicent. Megan and Sally-Anne. Paradise and Romilda. Harry Bailey and Harry Bellwood. Artemis and Pallas. Gracelyn and Sapphire. Zach Wood and Sebastian. Katie and Queenie. Eliza and Mary. Dakota and Demelza. Able and Kenneth. Eddie and Persephone. Selene and Nora. Julius and Jacob. Fred and George. Alicia and Angelina. Emma and William. Big Sarah and Oliver. And so by the time Hermione and Sarah entered the hospital wing, Harry was exhausted. It had been over two hours, but he was glad that Madam Pomfrey wasn't keeping them away. Hermione and Sarah said hello, added to the pile of goodies, and left immediately, leaving behind good-wishes. It was good to see them. Harry whispered goodnight to those still in the hospital wing – Aurora had never left – and fell asleep.
His nightmares that night blended Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and Severus Snape into one horrific villain. He both felt and saw the beatings. The dream refused to fade.