THE FEAST
"This year, we have something of an abnormality. A student has joined us from overseas, and needs to be Sorted. Can Lupin, Lupa please proceed to the stool and Hat."
Professor McGonagall looked pleased to see her send a glance to Harry and his group of friends- at least she had friends already, to protect her from Malfoy and his cronies. Lupa reached the stool, and sat down. Meant for the dwarf-like First Years, her knees were a bit too high for comfort. Behind her, a woman swaddled in pink woollen… cloth… glared daggers at the werewolf's back. Harry knew she'd be trouble.
As McGonagall lowered the Hat over her hairline, she felt a presence slip straight through her mental defences.
Ah, another late Sorting, I see. No Occlumency can keep me out, girl, I'm not using Legilimency. I am you, judging yourself on your own qualities. Now, I see you're brave, I see you wish to be with Harry until you find somewhere safer to be, but think on this awhile- if you stand with him, you will be put in danger, your secrets will be known, and the world will never be the same again. Are you sure Gryffindor is the best House for you?
Loyalty is oft stronger than strength…"
"I want Gryffindor- danger is nothing new."
Final Answer?
Lupa nodded.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
The whole Gryffindor table erupted into cheers, people who'd been here when Lupin had taught threw their school hats into the air- word had travelled fast that she was Lupin's daughter.
The lithe girl looked pleased as punch to be put with her friends- excluding Luna, seeing as she was in Ravenclaw. She waved to the blonde over the heads of her peers, and went to sit with Harry.
"Before the Feast begins, I must reveal some astonishing news. No doubt this summer you heard of Harry Potter's going missing. And, no doubt, you have seen him alive and well. However, there have been astonishing reports of late. Vampires of the lowest order have been seen once more upon our shores, and thus we have need of some protection. This much young, magical blood would call to the beasts like nothing else.
"Please welcome to our halls the Sanguinius Assassins and their leader Pandora Drakul, who have all sworn the oath to protect each and every student from Dark creatures and wizards alike. Doubtless over the holidays, you have read some article or other claiming Lord Voldemort still dead, me insane, and dear Harry a bumbling idiot. DOES HE LOOK LIKE A BUMBLING IDIOT, TOO CONFUSED TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ACCIDENT AND MURDER?! NO! HE DOES NOT! Over the last few months, I have been gathering resources. Although a subjective term, safe is probably the only word we can use to describe Hogwarts right now. With us, we have Dolores Jane Umbridge, on loan from the Ministry of Magic to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts this year. I trust you will treat her with the respect befitting her station."
The old man's eyes glittered at the Twins, daring them to do their worst. A challenge, from Dumbledore of all people? They couldn't let him down! Once again, the strange, pink-wrapped woman was glaring daggers, this time at both Dumbledore, and the vampires lining the halls.
"Now, on with the Feast!"
As the clattering of silverware gradually came to a close, until the youngest Weasley male was the only one left eating, Dumbledore stood for his after-feast announcements.
"Well, now that we are all fed and watered, I hope that all of your holidays were as fun as mine! This year, as we have the last fifty or so years (I lost count, I think), we have a new Professor here to take up the mantle of Defence Against the Dark Arts. I'd like for everyone to give Madam Umbridge a round of applause, and wish her good luck." The old man led the students in what could only have been the most patronising and demeaning round of applause a human being had ever been subjected to. Before he could continue with his speech, however, a small hem hem! Broke his train of thought.
"Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts has brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historic school, and that is as it should be, without progress there will be stagnation and decay. There again, progress for progress's sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often required no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, permanence and change, between tradition and innovation..." As she spoke, the small, toad-like woman bedecked in pink frogmarched around the head table, taking point beside the headmaster. Nobody missed the memo; this lady thought she was equal to Dumbledore.
"… truth must come first, above all else. Thank you." She gave a simpering laugh that sent shivers down the students' spines. This year would not be a good year…
Later, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville all escorted Lupa to the Gryffindor common room, pointing out landmarks on their way. Later, Harry planned to show her her father's greatest achievement- the Marauders' Map. For now, it was time to sleep and get ready for the weekend. Lots of exploring to do, pranks to coordinate with Fred and George, and, more importantly, a Horcrux to find.
Dawn broke over Hogwarts, the Astronomy Tower lit up in gold and crimson from the fiery rising sun. The sun cracked in through the Gryffindor boy's dorm, finding four boys asleep. One bed was empty.
Harry Potter walked the halls of the Seventh Floor, feeling the thread connecting him to the Horcrux, but he just couldn't find it! It was as if there was a hidden room, but the Marauders' Map told him it was just another wall. Walking back and forth, the young man pondered on his situation.
I need to find where the Horcrux is hidden. I need to find where the Horcrux is hidden. I need to find where the Horcrux is hidden. I need to-
Harry paused. To his left, out of the corner of his eye, he could spy a door that had not been there twenty seconds earlier. He yanked the door open to reveal a vast, larger-than-possible room that held an atrocious quantity of junk, crap, antiques and curiosities. Books, boxes and bellows, capes, cowls and cat skeletons. In the distance, Harry could feel the thread end. But that was a long way away in a very long room. Better get started.
Harry started to run, aiming for the lowest point on the mountain ahead of him. Jumping at the last second, he cleared the mountain, and slammed straight into a wardrobe on the other side. Shaking the shattered planks off, as well as the wigs stored within the shredded armoire, Harry re-thought his tactic.
"Accio Broom!"
A small, stunted twig of a thing came soaring out of the distance, leaving Harry stunned that people over the centuries had only ever hidden one tiny broom. Oh well. Slipping a leg over, he pushed off carefully, and started to fly erratically in the general direction of the Horcrux in this bizarre room. It took nearly five minutes of bobbing and weaving in the air for his to come to a satisfactory proximity to ditch the broom and destroy the rest of the crap in his way.
Much more fun to do it this way.
Using Blasting Curses of various origins, Harry made his way the last two hundred metres through enemy territory, imagining Death Eaters' masks among the detritus. At last, he came to a halt in front of a small wardrobe so much alike every other one he'd seen in the fabulous Room. A moth-eaten wig rested upon a bust of a really unpleasant-looking wizard. Laid upon the wig was a beautiful diadem, with sapphires laid into the bronze backing in the shape of a raven. Harry felt the black magic within it, swirling, congregating in the central, largest sapphire. However, he could also feel the enchantments that felt older, centuries older.
Must be Rowena Ravenclaw's lost Diadem! thought Harry. Levitating the relic, he slipped it into his trunk for later disposal, once he could find a way to look at the enchantments.
Harry made it back to his dorm before any of the boys woke. Slipping between his sheets, he pretended to wake when he heard Dean and Seumas murmuring on the opposite side of the room. He was about to greet them, when he heard what Seumas was saying.
"Bloody nutter, as if You-Know-Who can come back from the dead! He's just trying to add more to his bloody legend! It's his fault me mam didn't want me to come back this year!" Seumas spat.
"Hey, we don't know that. He's never flaunted his fame, and you've seen how he reacts to praise for what he's done. I reckon the Prophet has been speaking out of its arse again, like it did last year. If he did see Diggory die, he wouldn't want to speak out about it, especially seeing as he was seeing Chang for a while, remember? So don't crack down on him for it, ask him. He'd appreciate it more than the Spanish Inquisition."
Harry rolled over, pretending to continue sleeping. He'd let Seumas ask him later, if he had he manners. Meanwhile, Harry rolled over and went back to sleep, safe in the knowledge that it was a Saturday, and he wasn't needed to save the school this early in the year.
Not even five minutes later, or so it seemed to Harry, Ron came storming in (wasn't he still snoring in the bed next door?), and immediately began to shake Harry awake. "Harry! Lupa and Malfoy are duelling in the Entrance Hall, come on!"
Without further ado, Ron bolted out of the dorm again, leaving Harry staring at his canopy. He'd spoken too damn soon.
Harry hated taking the stairs. Somehow, knowing he could jump the lot and be fine, but still having to rundown the whole seven floors made it infinitely worse than having to put up with the slow-moving, planking staircases. Once he'd reached the first floor, he gave in and jumped. No one was around besides the portraits, but heck. Lupa was in trouble already. Breaking his fall with a roll, Harry came to his feet in the back of a huge throng of fellow students. The robed kids gave way quickly when they saw him, expecting an even greater show. The vaulted ceiling was flashing with various colours as spells were exchanged between Lupa and Malfoy.
She was fierce, as much was obvious. Her teeth bared in vicious defiance, Lupa was holding her own against the borderline-Dark Arts being thrown around by the blonde-haired ponce. Poor boy. He didn't know what he'd let himself in for, did he?
"MALFOY! What on Earth are you doing?!"
Both Lupa and Malfoy froze in mid-cast, staring in shock at the Boy-Who-Lived. Despite the cavernous size of the Entrance Hall, people's ears rang with his words. Drawing his wand, Harry swiftly disarmed the pureblood, and then turned his wand on Lupa.
"Lupa, what exactly happened here?" The girl looked surprised at being held at wandpoint, but her nature forced her hand.
"I'm sorry Harry! He tried to curse me from behind, but I heard him, and we've been duelling ever since. I- I'm not used to having an opponent, or I would have beaten him earlier… I didn't start it, I swear!" The girl was working herself into a panic, becoming incoherent. Harry stepped up to her and wrapped her in a hug, quickly quietening her before she had a true panic attack. Stepping back, he looked into her amber eyes, seeing them slowly darken back to their beautiful brown.
"It's OK, Lupa, come with us, and we'll get you a hot chocolate or something, and then, you can tell a Professor what happened." Before they left the area, Harry tied up Malfoy before he could flee the scene, and picked up his wand. "Nobody touches Malfoy. Understood?" The students began to trickle away, even Crabbe and Goyle, leaving Parkinson to look pitifully at the hog-tied boy.
"You should have been more Slytherin, Draco. You're such a fucking Gryffindor!"
The Gryffindors, plus Luna, sat on the long tables in the kitchen surrounded by overly-helpful house-elves as Hermione looked on in disgust. They all sat, listening to Lupa describe her terrible first morning.
"… And then Harry burst out of the crowd, giving us the scare of our lives with that foghorn of a voice, and disarmed the Malfoy brat."
They all sat back, satisfied that she wasn't the type to start fights. The Gryffindors had enough points being taken during Potions without a second teacher-student rivalry taking place. Harry sat at the head of the table, plotting. He could tell Dumbledore, but Heaven- Hell knows what he would do with her, alone and unprotected. Speaking of, Harry needed to find a way to track Dumbles, and make sure he wasn't doing anything he shouldn't. Maybe Sirius would know. Harry desperately wanted to confide in his friends, but he knew that most, if not all of them worshipped the old man, and may report to him, even.
"I think that, for the meantime, Lupa, you shouldn't go anywhere without either myself, Hermione, or the Twins. I'd say that we're the strongest duellers in our years, correct?" Looking around, he say only nods. Heck, even Ron knew he was outclassed. "Good. Now that this is all sorted, shall we actually enjoy our last remaining hours before education begins?"