Disclaimer: I solemnly swear that Harry Potter belongs to the amazing JK Rowling and that I am most definitely up to no good.
Previous Chapter Summary: Nell begins to teach Harry what he needs to know in order to battle Voldemort when the time comes and finds out just how good Cedric is at Quidditch when the older boy beats him at the Hufflepuff Quidditch tryouts. Lucius Malfoy is put in his place by Nick when he attempts to have Draco's punishment overthrown by the Board of Governors and is in danger of losing his position on the board once all is said and done.
As the Halloween feast approached, Harry could be found walking aimlessly outside during his early morning free period. The past month and a half had been great. His training was going well as he had managed to learn the disarming, severing, stunning, and banishing charms along with the jelly-legs and tripping jinxes. They were all fairly easy to learn and although some of them had rather long incantations, Perenelle had admitted that she did that on purpose, as she wanted them to get used to saying the long incantations quickly without compromising the casting of the spell itself.
Neville and Hermione were also getting better, Neville especially since he decided to start running with Harry and Hermione in the mornings, as he hadn't really felt the need until he realized a few weeks in that Hermione was getting much better than him at dodging and he didn't want to be left behind. All three were excited for Christmas, not just for the obvious reasons, but also because Perenelle had mentioned that if they kept up the excellent progress that, after the holidays, she would start them on one on one dueling on Saturdays while the third person worked on their aiming.
His classes were going great too, although History of Magic was a big disappointment for him and he could barely keep himself from falling asleep while in class. How anyone could make wars and rebellions sound supremely boring was beyond him, but Professor Binns had managed it. DADA was still his all time favorite but Potions and Transfiguration were close behind it as Harry simply enjoyed Nicolas' classes and he was getting progressively better at Transfiguration, even managing to perfect transfiguring his spool of thread into a thimble before Hermione, which bothered her to no end as the two of them seemed to have developed some sort of competition regarding who could master a spell the fastest, though Harry couldn't remember ever officially declaring such.
He found Quidditch to be much more fun with a whole group of people rather than just one or two and enjoyed the practices held three nights a week, though they hadn't gotten to play a game yet. The best part of their practices though, had to be the one time a week when Dominic would ask for help from some of the upper years in constructing a monstrous obstacle course, similar to the one from tryouts but nearly as big as the pitch, and have a competition to see who could get through it the fastest with the least amount of hits. Whoever won would get a prize, usually candy, but it was so fun that nobody ever griped about losing and people from other teams would even find themselves wandering onto the pitch to give it a shot. Harry couldn't wait to watch an actual game being played and was glad that the first game, Slytherin vs Gryffindor, would finally be happening the week after Halloween.
Speaking of, that brought him around to his current dilemma. Harry wasn't entirely sure how to feel about Halloween. Not because of any religious reasons or anything like that but because, before being taken in by Nicolas and Perenelle, he had never known what day his parents had died and so never had a problem with Halloween per se, other than the fact that he never got to actually celebrate it. It used to be that he would be locked in his cupboard while Uncle Vernon handed out candy and Aunt Petunia took Dudley around the neighborhood and then he had to watch as the large boy made himself sick trying to eat every piece of candy he had gotten in one go.
Therefore, he was thrown off guard when Perenelle had asked him during their Sunday dinner if he was going to be all right celebrating Halloween at the feast that would take place on October 31st. It wasn't until that moment that he had thought about the fact that his parent's had actually been murdered on that night and he felt terrible that it didn't seem to upset him as much as he thought it should. The feast was supposed to be the best of the year, according to the upper years, and after all the hype and anticipation, Harry found himself really wanting to go to it.
Both Flamels had set him down after they ate and talked to him about it once they realized what was going through his mind. After much discussion, they finally convinced him that he wasn't a terrible son for wanting to hang out with his friends and have fun on Halloween but they suggested that if he still felt bad that he could spend some of the day just thinking about his parents. Nicolas and Perenelle had told him plenty of their stories and shared what pictures they had of them, so he was immensely grateful that he had something to go off of while thinking about the people they had been.
He was only about 20 minutes into his rumination and thinking about where he should go when a friendly voice boomed across Hogwarts' lawn. " Hello there Harry! Wha' are yeh doin' out here so early?"
Harry smiled as he made his way over towards Hagrid's hut. He and the others had met Hagrid a few weeks back when they were exploring the grounds and had become fast friends with the giant man, though Daphne and Blaise took a little longer to open up. "Hello Hagrid. I'm just thinking about some things. What are you doing?"
"Oh, jus' gettin' these ready fer the feast tonight." He said and gestured to the gigantic pumpkins scattered around the pumpkin patch.
"Are you going to carve them all yourself?" Harry asked as he eyed the closest pumpkin. He had never gotten to help carve a pumpkin before but had always wanted to try it.
"Naw, I jus' grow 'em. The professors take care o' the carvin'."
"Do they ever let students help?"
Hagrid ran a hand down his beard as he thought about it. "Not tha' I know of but yeh can always ask 'em if yeh wan' ter. Try Professor Flitwick, he usually 'eads the decoratin' commitee."
Harry's shoulders slumped slightly in disappointment and he decided to ask Professor Flitwick next chance he got. Maybe they could even hold some kind of pumpkin carving contest for the houses if enough students showed an interest.
"Yeh wan' ter come in fer a cup o' tea?" Hagrid asked.
Harry nodded and followed him into the warm hut. They spent the majority of Harry's remaining free period talking about his parents and the group his dad used to run with and Harry found himself wanting to say something whenever Hagrid practically growled out Sirius Black's name like a curse any time he mentioned him, but held his tongue. According to Nicolas, the Head of the DMLE was still working to get his innocent godfather a trial to prove to everybody that he had not betrayed his parents and to possibly find out who did.
Though Amelia Bones hadn't said it outright, Nicolas guessed that it was only taking so long because Minister Fudge was probably trying to stall as long as he could, since a story like this would have the wizarding populace of Britain up in arms over an innocent man going to prison, without a trial no less. The Minister couldn't stall forever though, and Amelia was confident that Sirius would have his trial sometime in November, or so her last response to Nicolas' continuous inquiries said.
About a minute before classes were out, Harry trudged up the stairs to the Charms classroom to see about speaking to Professor Flitwick before his Potions class. The bell rang as he was about halfway down the hall and the Gryffindors and Slytherins came filing out of the classroom in a hurry and just as he spotted Neville and Hermione walking towards him, Ron Weasley's voice could be heard all along the corridor.
"She's a nightmare, honestly!" He said to Dean and Seamus and Harry saw the moment Hermione realized the red head was talking about her because her eyes teared up, but Ron wasn't done. "It's no wonder she hasn't got any friends."
Whether Ron hadn't realized that Harry and Neville, as well as plenty of others, were her friends or he just chose to ignore that fact, mattered not a jot to Harry. As Hermione tried to run past him, with her head down so nobody could see her crying, Harry grabbed her arm gently and passed her to Neville, who had already been on his way to chase after her, before he walked angrily up to Ron.
"I don't know what your problem is Ron but nothing gives you the right to speak about anyone like that." He fumed and Ron started trying to splutter out a reply but Harry rode over him. "Hermione is a great person and she has plenty of friends that enjoy hanging out with her. Just because you can't see that, doesn't mean its not true, and the next time you choose to speak to her, it had better be to apologize."
When he was done, Harry spun on his heels and walked off without waiting to hear what Ron had to say for himself. As he got to Hermione, who was being comforted by Lavender and Parvati along with Neville, his anger bled away and he gave her a smile when she looked up at him with tears still leaking down her face. "You ok Hermione?"
"I… I was just try… trying to help him with his s… spell." She said between hiccups.
Harry winced internally. Hermione had gotten so much better at helping people but to someone like Ron, it would have only seemed like she was trying to be a know-it-all and show him up. "Well, it's certainly his loss if he chose not to listen now isn't it? I bet you managed the spell on the first try while he spent the whole class grumbling and waving his wand to no avail." He said, handing her his handkerchief.
That brought a small smile to the girl's face and she wiped her tears as she nodded her head.
"You see, he's just jealous at how great you are so don't listen to anything he says ok?"
"Harrys right Hermione. You're better than any of us here and shouldn't let people like Ron make you think otherwise." Neville chimed in but blushed brilliantly when Hermione looked at him in gratitude.
It was too late now to talk to Professor Flitwick before his Potions class so Harry decided to try and corner the diminutive professor later. As he began guiding them down the hall, they all heard Ron yell out from behind them but Parvati and Lavender sent twin glares his way as he advanced on them and Dean, the most perceptive of the three, grabbed his red headed friend by the back of his robes to stop him going any further when he noticed the looks they were receiving. Ron struggled for a moment before finally taking in the looks the two girls were giving him and wisely decided to retreat for now, but not before giving their group a dirty look.
By the time they split ways, Hermione was well on her way to feeling loads better. And to think, she had planned on hiding away in a bathroom for the rest of the day so she wouldn't have to speak to anyone.
The feast that night was everything Harry imagined, and more. The pumpkins Hagrid had worked so hard on were displayed above the tables, floating in midair, and the live bats flying around them just added to the wondrous sight that was the Great Hall.
The students had hardly gotten situated before the tables were groaning with all of the different foods that appeared out of thin air and Harry didn't mind one bit when his regular menu didn't appear on his plate because he immediately started piling all different kinds of food onto it instead.
Chatter was at maximum volume when silence, then laughter could be heard coming from across the hall at the Gryffindor table and all eyes turned to the table of red and gold. Before Harry could get a good look at what was happening, the same thing happened behind him at the Slytherin table and he spun around, hoping to get a better view, but was not prepared for what he saw. One of the fifth years was sitting in the middle of the table and his whole head was encased in a pumpkin, much to the amusement of those around him. No sooner had he taken this in than other students all around the hall found themselves with pumpkin heads.
The Pompion Potion was a potion that Nicolas had had them brew the previous week, to get into the spirit of Halloween. Though he hadn't let them take the potions out of the classroom, probably to try and avoid this very thing happening, he had made sure to set aside some time towards the end of class so they could each try it out if they wanted. It had been a strange feeling, to have your entire head encased inside a pumpkin but still be able to see, hear, and breath perfectly and Harry didn't know whether to be grateful or disappointed that the effects only lasted for about 30 seconds. It seemed like someone had smuggled some potion out of the classroom or someone else had heard about it, the Weasley twins, and decided to play a prank on the whole school by brewing their own since it wasn't very difficult.
Soon after everyone settled down from the excellent prank, the food disappeared from the table, only to be replaced with massive amounts of all kinds of different sweets. As great as the various desserts were though, the main attractions were the much smaller pumpkins than the ones floating above them that sat at random intervals down the tables and, to the delight of the students, the faces would occasionally morph into a sick expression, looking like it was going to throw up, before its mouth would open wide and candy came pouring out of it.
After everyone had stuffed themselves silly, the feast was finally beginning to wind down as everybody sat back with full bellies and content smiles on their faces. There was still a slight buzz about the hall as people continued to chat with one another and laughs could be heard every so often as student's heads would randomly be encased in pumpkins but the volume wasn't nearly what it had been an hour ago.
The first sign of something amiss was the silence that slowly descended, starting with those students sitting closest to the closed doors of the Great Hall and continued down the line in a wave until everybody could smell the foul stench of rotting dirty socks and moldy bathrooms. Harry covered his nose and mouth with his sleeve and looked around him to see if anybody had determined what was causing the smell but all of the students he could see looked just as confused and disgusted as he did.
"It's coming from outside." He heard someone shout and turned his gaze to the front of the hall where he saw Evan Snyder, a seventh year Hufflepuff get up and approach the doors. Just as he put his hand on the knob to pull it open, there was a loud shuffling from the staff table and Hagrid's voice boomed and reverberated off the walls, stopping the boy in his tracks. "Don' open it, get away from there, all of yeh!"
All eyes turned to gaze in confusion at the usually gentle giant as he yelled at them but before he could explain his outburst there was a magnificent crash from behind the doors and they shook violently, causing everyone to jump and some to cry out in alarm and Evan started backing away with a look of awe and fear at the huge crack that now adorned the magnificent oak doors. Harry pulled Susan and Hannah up from the table and gestured for Justin to follow them up towards the High Table just as Hagrid was making his way to the side of it, they weren't the only ones to make the move, as Neville and Hermione joined his group in short order, along with Daphne, Tracey, and Blaise, but there were still quite a few people just sitting and staring, mesmerized.
"Professors, we have ter get the students out o' here, I think there's a tr…" Hagrid never got to finish his sentence as another crash was heard, immediately followed by a second and the doors exploded inwards. There were shrieks and cries as students were pelted with bits of wood and then mayhem ensued as everyone got a glimpse of what was standing in the wreckage. Two monstrous twelve foot trolls were gazing around dumbly at the chaos as if they were just as surprised to see all the students there as the students were at seeing them. It didn't take them long to get over this however and as students were trying their best to get to the professors, one of them gave a roar as he brought his club down on the end of the Ravenclaw table, smashing it to smithereens.
Thankfully, there were no students within striking distance at this point, as everybody was in the process of packing themselves as tightly as they could around the High Table with some of the 6th and 7th years pulling their wands and placing themselves between the younger students and the trolls. This proved to be a terrible thing to do however, as it was causing difficulties for the professors to get through the crowd of scared students to confront the beasts. The only one that was making any headway was Hagrid, who, though being as gentle as possible, was still bowling people over left and right trying to get to the front. Headmaster Dumbledore could be heard giving instructions to some of the professors to start leading the children out of the side door while the rest of the staff took care of the beasts. As Harry had instinctually made his way towards Nicolas and Perenelle when guiding his friends to safety they would now be some of the last to leave since both professors sat at the opposite end of the table from the door.
There were more screams as the troll that had not destroyed the Ravenclaw table directed his gaze to the scared children and proceeded to make his way rather quickly towards them. Hagrid gave a great bellow as he finally broke through the masses and everybody watched in horror as he sprinted straight for the beast. Harry knew it was preposterous, but he could have sworn that someone must have cast some sort of time delay spell on the inhabitants of the hall because both Hagrid and the troll seemed to be moving in slow motion as they made their way towards each other and all any of the rest of them could do was stand there and watch.
As the troll lifted its club above its head Hagrid put on a burst of speed and before it could bring the club down he lowered his right shoulder and barreled straight into its gut. The troll didn't stand a chance, Hagrid may have been half a foot shorter than these beasts but he had gained enough momentum to not only stop the monster in its tracks but also lift it off its feet and propel it backwards where it landed on the Hufflepuff table with enough force to completely obliterate it and cause the very walls and floor to shake. Hagrid wasn't far behind and he landed hard just to the right of it and as the troll's club went flying, he rolled away and got heavily to his feet.
Harry couldn't lie, he was transfixed at the scene before him. Not only had his giant friend charged an enraged troll to protect them but had actually managed to bring it down with a tackle worthy of any rugby player. What he noticed next though froze his insides and he wasn't the only one. The first troll had its club above its head and had advanced on Hagrid from behind as he was getting his bearings and it didn't look like he had realized it.
"Hagrid, look out!" Harry yelled but he was drowned out by the numerous screams from the others that were still in the Great Hall. He heard Hermione whimper and felt it as she grabbed his arm in a death grip, but they could only watch in horror as the troll's club made its descent.
The expected bludgeoning never came though. The troll stared at its now empty hand in total confusion as all eyes turned to Professor McGonagall who had a look of fury on her face and her wand trained on the troll, having just vanished its murderous club. Before the troll could comprehend what had happened, McGonagall was on the move and Hagrid could only step out of her way before he got caught up in her retribution on the beasts that would dare try to harm her students. A wave like wand movement resulted in a loud blast like a cannon coming from her wand and her being enveloped in a cloud of smoke. When it cleared they could clearly see a flock of at least 15-20 canary like birds flying around her. Another swift gesture and the tip of her wand was encased in an icy blue light and, as the birds flew before it, they swelled to the size of Bludgers.
The noise of her first spell had attracted the troll's attention and he began making his way towards her as she was enlarging the large flock. McGonagall was not one for backing down though. She stood her ground and as soon as the last bird had made its pass through her enlarging spell, she took a step forward and jabbed her wand towards the advancing beast shouting, "Oppugno!" The birds promptly launched themselves at the troll and began pecking at its face mercilessly.
Professor Flitwick, not to be out done, ran up as the beast was preoccupied and with a wave of his wand a jet of water was shot at the floor where the troll was standing, quickly followed by a yell of, "Glacius!" causing the water to instantly freeze and the troll to slip and fall to the ground with a huge crash while still being attacked by the flock of vicious canaries.
Nicolas and Perenelle stepped forward as Professor McGonagall vanished the birds and, along with her and Flitwick, they all four shot a stunning spell at the trolls face before it could get up. While it did stop moving they all shot it with a second stunning spell to ensure that it stayed down before turning to the remaining troll.
The other professors had not been idle though, for as McGonagall began her attack Dumbledore had broken through the group of students and made his way to the first downed beast. He waved his wand in a wide arc and chains instantly sprang from the floor and began wrapping themselves around the troll's arms and legs. As Dumbledore, along with Professors Sprout, Sinistra, and Vector were getting ready to stun it however, the troll managed to pull its left arm free of the chains and he reached for Professor Sprout, who was the closest. The collective cry that came from the students was unnecessary though, because Professor Sprout merely made a sweeping motion with her wand and a white light shot out, banishing the trolls hand away from her, where it was promptly immobilized by Hagrid jumping on top of it.
As soon as the second troll was stunned, Dumbledore was turning around to check on the students, when Perenelle yelled out. "Someone is attempting to break through the wards on our quarters!"
In the pandemonium, none of the students heard her statement and after looking towards Harry to make sure he was all right, both Flamels rushed out of the Hall and up the Grand Staircase.
Dumbledore tasked McGonagall with looking after the students before asking Flitwick to join him and they both hurried after the couple.
As McGonagall started barking orders at professors and students alike, Hermione let out a cry of relief and then proceeded to hug all of their friends that were in the immediate vicinity before running over to Hagrid, who had been directed to check on their side of the hall, and giving him a hug as well. She wasn't the only one to share the sentiment as many of the younger Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs followed her lead to thank him for protecting them, making him blush bright red.
"Blimey! How did trolls get into the castle?" Blaise asked nobody in particular as he flexed his fingers to try and get feeling back into them.
Daphne, who, along with Tracey, had nearly crushed the hands of their male childhood friend during the fight and were now acting as if they had never even been frightened, answered. "I don't know, but they look like mountain trolls and they shouldn't have been anywhere near the castle. I wonder where the rest of their clan is."
This made everyone who heard it nervous as they thought about even more trolls showing up to wreak havoc in the Great Hall.
"Yeh all ok?" Hagrid asked as he finally made it over and everybody nodded. "Do any of yeh need a Calmin' Draught?"
Their housemate Megan and Sue Li from Ravenclaw stepped forward with tears streaming down their faces and shaking from head to toe. Hagrid gave them a comforting smile and pointed them in the direction of Madam Pomfrey and Trainee Healer Brad, who were surrounded by various students with small cuts they had gotten from when the doors had exploded and some that looked pale and shaken, like Megan and Sue Li.
"You were brilliant Hagrid!" Harry burst out excitedly. "I can't believe you took down a troll with your bare hands."
Hagrid looked down at the floor and shuffled his feet a bit in embarrassment. "It weren't nothin'. Wasn't gonna let them hurt any of yeh now was I?"
"Still, you did great. Thanks for protecting us like that."
"Yer welcome Harry. Since yeh all seem all righ' I better go see about helpin' get them trolls out o' here." He said and turned around to go back and speak with McGonagall.
At this point, Hedwig flew into the Great Hall and went straight for her familiar, concern flashing through Harry's mind like a speeding train. She pulled up to hover in front of him instead of alighting on his shoulder and Harry held up his arm for her and pulled her close to him once she landed gently on it. "It's ok Hedwig, everyone is all right." He soothed as he stroked her feathers.
Images of her hunting showed up in his mind to explain why it had taken her so long to get to him and she let out a screech of anger before nipping at his fingers gently in worry and affection.
"Don't worry Hed, you wouldn't have been able to do much and with Hagrid and the professors, we weren't in danger for long." Harry said softly and sent waves of reassurance back down their link to calm her.
Once she was sufficiently soothed, Harry looked around the Hall and asked the group. "Have any of you seen where Nick and Nell went?"
Nicolas and Perenelle were currently rounding the corner in the 4th floor corridor that led to their quarters and saw a man, wearing a garish purple turban, standing before their door waving his wand and muttering incantations, trying to break down their wards. Without pausing, they surged forward and both began casting spells at the man without saying a word, causing him to turn in surprise and quickly throw up a shield to defend himself. Neither Flamel stopped their casting for a second, falling easily into a well developed dueling chain guaranteed to keep their opponent on his toes and forcing the stranger to stay on the defensive as he threw up shield after shield and weaved this way and that to try and dodge and protect himself against the onslaught of spells being cast by the much more experienced duo.
What caused a turn of the tide was not any sort of flaw in the Flamel's dueling or Dumbledore turning the corner behind them with Flitwick close on his heels and both gasping in surprise and throwing out a questioning "Quirinus?" No, it was when one of Nicolas' severing charms managed to hit the turban the intruder was wearing, causing it to fall to pieces and giving the small group a very good look at the face that was growing out the back of the man's head.
Their opponent took advantage of their surprise and cast his one and only offensive spell since the duel began. "Fiendfyre!" He bellowed and flames erupted from the tip of his wand with a roar, hurtling straight for them.
The flames began to grow almost instantly, set to consume and destroy everything in its path, when Perenelle ran forward without hesitation, pointed her wand straight at the flames and yelled out an incantation that was swallowed up by the noise of the cursed fire as it enveloped her completely, coalescing into a giant ball around where she stood, rather than surging through the hallway.
The heat within the sphere of flames was almost unbearable and made it all the harder to breath as Perenelle battled with the cursed fire for dominance. Wisps of flames shaped like serpents lashed out at her every now and then, trying to break her concentration and managing to singe her slightly before being grabbed by sharp canine teeth and pulled away from her to meld back into the sphere. After what felt like hours, a rush of heat passed through her and a howl of triumph only she could hear pierced the air as the flames took the form of that which she associated with safety and love.
The three remaining could only stand and watch in worry as Perenelle fought to take control of the fire, unable to see or get around the flames to find out what had happened to the intruder, and it was several long moments before the flames transformed into a large pack of wolves that proceeded to sprint down the hallway away from them, before diminishing somewhat then disappearing completely. Perenelle was standing in the same spot she had been, breathing heavily, covered in soot with her clothes and hair singed in random places, but otherwise fine, and it seemed as if their intruder had fled after casting his curse.
As Dumbledore and Flitwick ran down the hall to see if they may be able to catch up with their former colleague before he could make it out of the castle, Nicolas enveloped his wife in a hug and proceeded to run scans to make sure she was all right.
"I'm fine Nick, the flames hardly touched me." Perenelle said softly to her worried husband and rolled her eyes when he ignored her and continued with his scans.
Once his scans came back positive, Nicolas pulled her into another hug and administered a kiss for good measure. "You did wonderfully ma chérie."
"Thank you dear. I can't believe that imbecile had the gall to cast that curse inside a school." She said with a huff as she turned to check on their quarters. "It doesn't look like he got very far in breaking down the wards."
"Well, he probably wasn't planning on us dispatching the trolls so quickly." Nicolas responded and began cleaning the soot off of his wife. "It seems like our little ruse didn't work though."
"Looks that way. Do you think we should try to throw him off again?" Perenelle asked and swatted his hand away lightly when he attempted to mend her singed hair as they both knew perfectly well he was terrible at cosmetic charms and would probably end up vanishing the hair all together. Once she was assured that her hair was safe from her husband, she conjured a mirror and began fixing it herself.
"Honestly, I don't believe it will do any good. That man is literally possessed and most likely not thinking straight at all. Unless we quit our jobs here and left the castle completely he would probably not believe any attempts to divert him."
Perenelle ran a hand down her face once she vanished her conjured mirror. "As much as I enjoy teaching again, I wish we hadn't brought the stone here. We have put the children at risk as it's quite clear who sent those trolls into the Great Hall."
"I know my dear, but we had little choice this time around. Neither of us could leave Harry, especially with my promise to Lily, so fleeing to go into hiding until our pursuer was dead and gone was out of the question." Nicolas spoke softly and put an arm around her shoulders to begin leading her back down the hall so they could check on Harry and the other students.
Perenelle sighed and leaned into her husband. "You should have just let me cast the Fidelius and make me the secret keeper a long time ago."
Nicolas groaned at hearing this. "Perenelle, we have been over this. All it would have taken was for someone to capture me and we both know you would have told whoever it was the secret without a second thought and the same would go for me if the roles were reversed. That's why we chose Albus to be the secret keeper this time remember? He is too powerful for anyone to try and go after him directly and he doesn't have the same emotional attachment to divulge the secret were we to be threatened."
"I know, I'm sorry." Perenelle acknowledged before changing the subject somewhat. "Do you think that if the thief learns that the stone is under a Fidelius now, he will quit attempting to steal it?"
"That's a thought." Nicolas replied and ran a hand through his hair as he pondered the question. "I don't see why it wouldn't work since there would be no reason to try and steal a stone he couldn't see even if he were staring straight at it."
"We would most likely have to wait until he attacks again to even get a chance of possibly letting that bit of information slip."
"Well, it's only a matter of time before that man's body gives out from the possession. He is most likely already feeling the effects and there aren't many things that would be able to sustain the body for long once it begins to break down from the strain of housing two dominant souls within it. So, he will have to attack sooner rather than later."
Perenelle was unable to respond to that as they stepped into the Entrance Hall and saw Hagrid pulling one of the stunned trolls across the hall and out the door via a rope tied around the beast's chest, followed closely by Professors Vector, Sinistra, and Sprout levitating the second troll.
"Need any help?" Nicolas called after them.
Professor Sprout turned a bit to respond. "No thank you Nick, I think we can hold it until we get them far enough away from the castle."
Both Flamels nodded and walked into the Great Hall, which looked slightly less chaotic than when they had left it. All of the students had made their way back into the hall when they realized that the danger had passed and were scattered everywhere, hindering any attempts to repair the tables, and chattering amongst themselves in excitement and apprehension.
"Nick, Nell!" Harry yelled, forgetting at the moment that he was supposed to address them by their titles when in front of others, and ran up to them, careful not to dislodge Hedwig, who had refused to leave him, to engulf them both in a hug. "Where did you go?" He asked and stepped back with his nose wrinkled. "And why do you smell like smoke?"
Looking around and noticing quite a few students attempting to listen into their conversation, Perenelle replied. "Now is not the best time to discuss it but we will tell you later."
Harry nodded in understanding, knowing that they didn't want the other students to know what was going on but wouldn't mind telling him some of it as long as he promised to keep it a secret, and he puffed out his chest a bit at them trusting him.
"Are you all right?" Perenelle asked him, running a hand through his hair while looking him over for any possible injuries.
"Yeah, trolls never even got near us thanks to Hagrid."
"Yes, he did do quite well didn't he." Nicolas said as he looked over the rest of Harry's little group of friends, who had made their way over too, for any injuries. He needn't have worried though because he had noticed before all the chaos that they had all followed Harry when he had gotten up to get to the staff table, even Neville and Hermione who had been across the hall from him, flocked to him without hesitation.
He and Perenelle had had many conversations with Harry throughout the summer about his childhood and both had noticed that not once had he ever mentioned having any friends. It had broken their hearts when they asked him about it and he told them sadly that Dudley had always beaten up anyone who looked like they might want to try and be Harry's friend and that it had been years since any of the other kids had even really spoken to him at school. They were glad that this didn't seem to affect him as much as it could have and that he was now on his way to making great friends.
Before anymore could be said, Dumbledore and Flitwick stepped back into the Hall and the students fell silent as Dumbledore clapped his hands to get their attention.
"The castle is secure so I would like the Prefects to lead their houses back to their dormitories please. Those that have need of Madam Pomfrey's expertise may of course stay until she releases you. I have had some chocolate and other assorted candies sent to each house's common room in case anybody needs it but please be sure to go to sleep at normal hours since classes will start at their normal times tomorrow. Thank you." He said and the various Prefects began gathering their housemates.
"We will see you in the morning sweetheart." Perenelle said, pulling Harry into a hug and kissing the top of his head as Adrian came over to fetch him, Susan, and Hannah, Percy Weasley dragged Neville and Hermione away to join the Gryffindors, and Darien Pickett came to collect his snakes.
Nicolas gave him a hug as well. "Don't stay up too late."
"I won't, goodnight." Harry responded, walking off with Adrian and was met by Cedric when he got to the other 'Puffs, who started asking him if he was all right.
As the last student left the Great Hall, the remaining professors gathered in the middle to go about repairing the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables as well as the doors. Once done, Nicolas and Perenelle pulled Dumbledore aside to speak with him.
"The intruder got away Albus." Perenelle stated, rather than asked.
Dumbledore nodded his head gravely. "He did. It seems that he blew out one of the windows on the 3rd floor and jumped out. He was much too far away for Filius and I to pursue him out onto the grounds once we realized."
"Have you contacted the Department of Magical Law Enforcement yet?" Nicolas asked.
Dumbledore looked confused at this question. "I don't see a need to involve the Ministry in Hogwarts business. Nobody was harmed and nothing was stolen."
"That is not the point Albus. There is currently a man being possessed out there that has his sights set on Hogwarts, and by extension her students, and the DMLE needs to be alerted to the fact that he his running around. At the very least, they can help try and track him down." Nicolas countered.
"Besides," Perenelle added. "how do you think the parents are going to react when they find out trolls and an intruder were able to enter Hogwarts and you chose not to do anything about it. I don't foresee Director Bones being particularly happy that her niece's life was in danger and you saw fit not to inform her right away."
"You make good points." Dumbledore replied while stroking his beard. "I shall contact Director Bones immediately and while we wait for her I will upgrade the wards around the castle to repel class XXX creatures and up unless express permission is given by me to bring them in."
"Before you go Albus, you and Filius acted as if you knew the intruder. Who was it?" Perenelle enquired.
"It was Quirinus Quirrel. He was the professor for Muggle Studies up until last year when he decided to take a sabbatical to gain first-hand experience out in the world. I had believed that he would simply immerse himself in a small muggle village somewhere to gain a better understanding of them or perhaps study Defense Against the Dark Arts with other known masters as he always did have a gift for the theory of it, but it seems I was very wrong."
"Did he not wish for his position back? I would think that being within the castle would make it easier for him to try and get what he wanted."
"When I didn't hear from him before school let out, I sent him a letter shortly after summer started to ask him if he would be taking up his former position but he was adamant that he not teach Muggle Studies again and showed an interest in the DADA position instead. Of course, Nicolas had already visited me and secured that position himself so I could not offer it. I did not hear from him again until halfway through August, at which point I had already offered Charity a permanent position for Muggle Studies and had no other openings. I was willing to try and work something out with him but he did not respond to my owl after that."
When it didn't look like the Flamels had anymore questions for him, Dumbledore excused himself and headed to his office to contact Amelia Bones via floo. She was outraged that someone had managed to let trolls into the castle to attempt to harm the students and immediately gathered a group of Aurors to head there.
"Amelia, thank you for coming so quickly." Dumbledore greeted as they reached Hogwarts' main doors.
"Albus." She acknowledged with a nod before jumping right in. "I understand that you have already sent the students back to their dormitories?"
"I did. Most of them were understandably distressed with the attack and so I thought it best to let them go where they would feel more comfortable rather than keep them where the attack took place. Also, as far as I saw before they left, young Miss Bones was doing just fine and drawing comfort from her small group of friends."
"Very good and thank you for that. Now, though it is unlikely they will be able to give me anything that the professors don't, I would like to get statements from a few of the older students tomorrow."
"Of course, I will arrange it. Please, if you would follow me, all of the staff that had been present during the attack are still in the Great Hall waiting to give you their statements." Dumbledore said and led them across the Entrance Hall and into the Great Hall, where most of the staff were congregated at the repaired Hufflepuff table drinking tea and conversing with one another quietly. Snape and Filch were standing off to the side with sour expressions on their faces, neither speaking to the other and McGonagall was waiting patiently just inside the newly repaired doorway for the group of Aurors.
"All right everybody," Amelia spoke up, garnering the attention of all those present. "I know its been an exciting night for each of you but we need to get your statements of what happened tonight regarding the troll incident. Once we have taken your statement, you will be free to leave and go about your business so if everybody cooperates, this shouldn't take too long."
Before she could start breaking them up between her Aurors, McGonagall stepped forward. "May I suggest that the Heads of House go first so that we might check on our students?"
"That is a good idea." Amelia agreed. "If the Heads of House could step forward please." Flitwick, Vector, and Sprout came to stand next to McGonagall and were soon split up amongst the four Aurors to get their statements with Bones taking one of the others.
All told, getting through all of the staff only took a short time considering all of their statements were basically the same except for the Flamels, Dumbledore, and Flitwick. They made sure to get memories from a few so they would have references and different viewpoints of the attack and afterwards, when Amelia learned of the duel between the Flamels and Quirrel, she asked to be taken to the scene where it had taken place.
When they stepped into the hallway on the fourth floor, Amelia tapped her wand to the monocle she wore on her right eye, activating the enchantments that allowed her to see magical residue left behind by recently cast spells. The various reds, greens, and blues were to be expected but when a streak of black mixed with crimson nearly overshadowed all the others and spread over almost the entirety of the hall, her eyebrows rose.
"Who cast the dark curse?" She demanded.
"That would be Quirrel. We were taken a bit by surprise when we saw that he was being possessed and he took advantage of it by casting the Fiendfyre curse." When he saw her eyes widen in surprise, Dumbledore reassured her. "Perenelle acted quickly and was able to take control of the fire and dispel it before it could do any damage."
"Do we know who he is being possessed by and what he was after?"
"I do believe I know who it was and certainly know what he was after but I believe it would be best if we spoke more on this in my office with Nicolas and Perenelle present."
Giving a sigh, Amelia nodded and turned to her Aurors. "Document what you can from what you see then I want you to head outside and make a sweep of the grounds to make sure the intruder didn't decide to double back and hide. If I'm not done by the time you get done, wait in the Entrance Hall for me. Dismissed."
"Yes ma'am!" They chorused and separated along the hallway.
"Follow me." Dumbledore said once she turned to him again and began leading her to his office, being joined by Nicolas and Perenelle who had been standing back further down the corridor from them.
Informing Amelia that Voldemort was currently possessing Quirrell did not go over very well, nor did telling her that the reason he sent the trolls in as a diversion was so he could attempt to steal the Philospher's Stone, which was currently hidden in the castle. She was understandably upset that the students had been put in danger because of this though did recognize the fact that they had attempted to misdirect Voldemort's attention elsewhere, even if the attempt had failed. The Flamels reasoning that moving the stone now would likely make no difference to Quirrell also made sense and she asked Dumbledore's permission to station Aurors at the entrance to the school in case he tried to get inside the castle again, which he happily granted.
Once everything was settled, Dumbledore decided to get an impromptu update on how everything was going regarding the Horcrux hunt.
"It's going pretty slow at the moment since we are still gathering information on Voldemort's past. Knowing that he was previously known as Tom Riddle did help immensely but his whereabouts for the ten or so years he left Britain is still a mystery other than the fact that he may have been in Greece at one point. I assigned one of my best and most trusted Aurors, Kingsley Shaklebolt, to work with the Head of the Unspeakables on the matter.
"I did, however, reopen the case regarding the death of Hepzibah Smith when it came to light that Riddle made frequent visits to her home while he was employed at Borgin and Burkes and just so happened to resign his position immediately following her death. I intend to speak with her house-elf about the statement she gave stating that she mistook poison for sugar when making Smith's cocoa."
Dumbledore perked up at hearing this. "I remember Hepzibah Smith. She was a collector of magical antiques was she not?"
Amelia nodded. "She had quiet the collection when she passed away."
"Be sure to make a thorough search of what she had left and what might have been missing from her collection. If I know Tom, only the best would do when it came to creating his Horcruxes and I wouldn't put it past him to have murdered her if she had something he wanted and refused to part with it willingly."
"I had already planned on it." Amelia agreed and rose from her chair. "If there is nothing else, I think it is time we made our way back to the Ministry. I will leave two of the Aurors here until they can be relieved by two from the night shift and bring you the schedule tomorrow morning of who will be stationed at the castle and when." She very much wanted to check on her niece to see with her own eyes that she was fine but it was too late for that so she would have to wait until the morning to see her.
"That sounds excellent. Thank you again for coming Amelia." Dumbledore said and stood along with Nicolas and Perenelle, who had stayed silent during the Horcrux discussion, not having anything to say in regards to it.
As he got ready for bed late that night, Dumbledore felt slightly optimistic regarding the Horcrux hunt. The lead on Hepzibah Smith sounded promising and if all went well then they would know of at least one Horcrux Tom had made and hopefully, that one would help them determine what else he may have used. He was immensely glad that Nicolas and Perenelle had persuaded him to bring Amelia into the fold as she had quite a bit more resources than he did when it came to tracking down such information and he reckoned it would have taken him much longer to find such a lead. Things were looking up indeed.
A/N: It's that time of year! Due to vacation coming up I might not make the deadline for the next chapter post but will try my best to get it up as soon as possible for you. I hope everybody has an amazing Christmas!
A/N 2: I had so much fun writing this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it too!