A/N
Thanks to Butterfly83 this story is now beta-read, too.
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New School Year
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Forbidden Forest – 26th of August
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„Hagrid is not happy with you, Cullen. "
Cullen glanced in Bill Weasley's direction and nodded sadly. "I know. It wasn't an easy decision but one that had to be done. I only hope that he'll understand one day."
"It certainly didn't help that his brother isn't around anymore."
"Grawp?" Bill nodded. "He isn't completely away, only… resettled. Headmaster Dumbledore found him a cave more to the north."
"Oh," Bill frowned "I didn't know about that part. I only heard about the Centaurs demanding to take him away from the forest." The Centaurs were certainly very tolerant and patient about other races and creatures, but Grawp posed too much of a threat for their foals with his mix of incredible strength, clumsiness and stupidity. There had been more than one quarrel between them and a protective Hagrid already.
"I'm not really content with the solution but I understand his reasoning. Grawp is Hagrid's only family. He deserves to get at least the chance to attempt to make this work. Albus will put some wards around the area for trespassers and to keep Grawp within the area. It will be nice for Grawp to have more leeway than before. Did you know that Hagrid had him roped to a tree for months?"
Bill sighed. "Sometimes I really question his…" He made a circling motion like questioning Hagrid's mind.
"I share the feeling." Cullen snickered. "Hermione and Luna still convinced me. They like both Hagrid and Grawp. He calls her Hermy."
"And she allows that?" Bill doubtingly asked, earning only a shrug for an answer. He remembered how Hermione usually reacted to nicknames. Not even Viktor had been allowed to use one and he was a famous international Quidditch player. According to Ginny most girls had envied Hermione for fetching such a date to the Yule Ball two years ago.
"Hagrid wants to train him as his assistant."
"What?" Bill's eyes widened. "He wants him to teach the children?"
"No, Hagrid wants him to assist as a groundskeeper. What are you thinking? I would never allow him around children. It was bad enough with Hagrid..." Cullen sighed. "He'll be demoted to assistant teacher, you know?"
"Because of the creatures he brought to the lessons in the past?"
Cullen nodded unhappily: "This and because of the accidents that happened since he started to teach three years ago. I know it was Draco's fault that he got injured a few years ago, but it was also Hagrid's duty to take precautions. He's simply unable to grasp that some creatures aren't meant to be around children, that they are dangerous and not… fluffy."
Bill grinned as he remembered the stories about the Cerberus. Apparently he was still living in the forest, happy to have his freedom and playing tag with a well-known Ford Angelica.
"It doesn't help that he has this urge to collect dangerous creatures and to even break the law cross-breeding them."
"Perhaps he should be groundkeeper only once again."
"He loves children, Bill. Thanks to Voldemort and Malfoy his life hasn't been easy. He's far too gullible and too trusting in Dumbledore's wisdom above all, but he has a big heart in the right place. Harry and his friends love him. Hagrid deserves happiness too. He only has to learn. This year, he'll be on probation. Professor Kettleburn will return and teach him a few things. She has orders to especially speak with Hagrid about appropriate creatures, how to prepare the lessons and take precautions. If all goes well, he'll be professor again next year and teach alone. However, he'll have to keep to Kettleburn's teaching plans and get Minerva's permission for every change. No more blast-ended Skrewts, no dragons and cerberi, and no Thestrals who are invisible to most students. It's not how he would like it to be, but…"
"But it's better this way and at least he can continue teaching," Bill agreed and Cullen nodded, hoping that Hagrid would really see reason after a while.
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"Greetings, Magorian, may the stars always watch over you and guide your clan," Cullen bowed deeply, hoping the greeting words he learned from Mathilda would be alright in the Centaur's opinion.
"Greetings, wanderer," Magorian responded calmly, eyeing him and his companions warily. His eyes rested a long time on the two dozen Goblins that followed him. "Cages?" he asked as he noticed the wagon, drawn by a couple of ox-like, six-legged creatures and loaded with four big cages.
"We want to capture a few of the younger specimen. Some of them will be sold, others put into an Irish reserve." Hagrid had tried to convince him to relocate the whole colony back to their home country, Borneo. However, this would be impractical, dangerous and expensive. According to his knowledge there were more than 200 of them, dozens of them bigger than a dog. The impact of such a huge number of healthy Acromantulas would be dire and dangerous to the ecological balance of the country's wildlife. In the end they decided to kill most of the creatures.
Cullen had gathered help from the goblins – paying them off with a share of the profit to be gained from selling components like Acromantula poison and silk – in the form of twenty warriors, and half a dozen curse-breakers like Bill. The Centaurs had been eager to help as well. A dozen of them were following Magorian into the fight, bows at the ready. Cullen had been surprised the other day as Magorian informed him about his intent not to only allow this spider hunt but to even be an active part of it. Apparently the Acromantulas were too much of a danger to the forest even for the Centaurs to ignore any longer. Without Dumbledore's constant interventions they would have tried something years ago.
The biggest issue had been the fate of Hagrid's old friend Aragog. While Cullen – with a little help from Harry, telling his big friend about the time Ron and he had been attacked by the spiders – had been able to convince Hagrid about the necessity to kill the smaller spiders, he absolutely rejected the idea of harming Aragog. The spider patriarch was very old now and bigger than a horse. It would be difficult but Cullen wanted to at least try to spare its life.
We'll have to wait and see.
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With a nightmare-inducing shriek the pony-sized Acromantula went to the ground, Cullen's sword sticking between his mandibles, still clicking in his death. Cullen offered the Goblin warrior, who had nearly been overwhelmed by the beast, a helping hand to stand up, while Bill froze a couple of smaller spiders with an ice spell to allow them to recover. The Goblin curtly nodded towards the armoured human warrior, gripped the handle of his sword and scuttled away to help Magorian's Centaurs. They were circling one of Aragog's mates, more than a dozen arrows already sticking in its bloated body.
"We're a good team," Bill grinned.
Cullen agreed. His pure physical power complimented Bill's spells quite well. More than once he had shielded him from being overwhelmed by the sheer mass of the smaller spiders, while Bill was incredible effective in slowing them down with ice spells or burning them with magical fire. With his armour protecting him against the smaller specimen, Cullen's shield had proven to be especially helpful in the fights. More than once he took point against the biggest spiders, allowing the Goblins to tear it apart without too much danger. Continuing to fight, chopping legs and cleaving bodies, Cullen pondered about his old home. More often than not, mages and Templars were fighting against each other instead of forming a unified front. Dwarves and Elves were rarely seen as allies too. Most humans in Thedas only saw them as some kind of animals. His comrades could certainly learn something from watching Bill and him now fighting side by side with Goblins and Centaurs.
The last big spider was down, the path free into the centre of the spiders' colony. Organizing his forces – the Goblins forming a wedge with the curse-breakers in the middle, and the Centaurs covering their advance with their bows – he led them into the heart of the Acromantula colony. There weren't many spiders left. More than one hundred had been slain; nearly a score of the smaller ones had been caught. That left around three dozen, approximately the same number scurrying around in the woods. They were led by two of Aragog's mates and Aragog himself, the spider patriarch towering over his brood.
"He's blind," Magorian noticed. He seemed to be right: Aragog's eyes were white and he moved around slowly and hesitantly like he had to feel his path with his legs.
"What's the plan?"
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"It was a good fight."
Bill's eyes widened as the Goblin leading the small force clasped hands with Cullen in a warrior greeting. This gesture was highly irregular and a show of respect. It needed years of working as a curse-breaker before his Goblin colleagues behaved like this towards him.
"Yes, it was," Cullen responded with a curt nod. Ignoring the thick layer of spider remains on his armour as well as the incredible smell, Cullen said farewell to the Centaurs as well and watched them depart. The Goblins would stay for a few days to dispose of the spiders and gather everything worthwhile while the Centaurs would hunt for the remaining spiders before they started to pose a danger again.
"We had no real choice, Cullen," Bill said softly, guessing the reason of Cullen's dark mood: Aragog's death.
"I know," Cullen barked, continuing somewhat calmer: "it doesn't make it any easier to tell Hagrid."
And it wasn't. Aragog had already been dying. Leaving him behind without a few other spiders would have been like damning him to a slow starvation death. And it would have been dangerous as any surviving spider would be far more aggressive now. In Bill's eyes the spider patriarch deserved to die since he allowed his pack to attack Ron and Harry.
Still: Hagrid wouldn't be happy, not at all.
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Hogwarts – Great Hall – 1st of September
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"Thank you for the ride, Cullen."
Cullen blushed but overall accepted Luna's gratitude graciously. It had certainly drawn much attention to the dreamy-eyed Ravenclaw, seeing the new Steward of Hogwarts waiting for her at the station. Luna's mood, as she missed him on the train, dramatically improved seeing him there with Antares, the lead stallion of the herd of Thestrals. Many eyes widened as he helped her climb onto the broad back of the stallion, taking a seat behind him. With the Thestral invisible to most eyes, it was certainly an unusual sight to see them flying above. Cullen, who was an experienced rider but unused to flying, had directed it to stay below a height of thirty feet. Luna enjoyed it nonetheless.
"Harry told me how much you like Thestrals and about your flight to the Ministry on one of them."
A few minutes later they landed in front of the castle and waited for the students to arrive. Minerva had agreed on allowing Cullen to be the one greeting the new students and leading them into the hall. In his opinion the first minutes at Hogwarts and the sentences spoken could make a long-lasting impression on the elven-year-olds. It was far too easy to remember the frightened faces of new apprentices, delivered to the tower by fearsome steel-clad Templar, more than once bound because they wanted to flee.
Group by group the older students arrived. A few like Harry and his friends smiled, many stared openly but everybody noticed that Luna remained at Cullen's side the whole time. He wanted to make a point and had agreed with Harry on assuring that Luna's remaining years at Hogwarts would be very unlike to the previous harassed ones. Cullen made a mental list of the students that gave them a wide berth, be it because the situation disgusted them, or because of Antares' presence.
"See you later," Luna made her farewell. Perhaps it was wrong that he allowed the tiny girl to pull him down and place a kiss on his cheek. It was certainly proof of favouritism. But today he didn't mind and Luna wasn't somebody who would ever take advantage.
Now however, it was time for the newbies.
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"You'll get sorted in one of the four houses of Hogwarts. For your time at this school, your house will be something like a family. There will be family members you won't like too much; there will be housemates who do have not much in common with you. However, you all belong together. Help each other, especially in the first weeks. Some Firsties have more problems with home sickness than others. Some need more privacy or have different views on things like tidiness. Give it a real try; get to know the others and help them along. The staff wants Hogwarts to be a place of learning and living, a place for you to remember kindly later in your life. We therefore won't accept any bullying, insulting or inconsideration. You don't have to like each other, but you have to be polite and helpful."
He looked around, trying his best to appear determined and confident but caring at the same time. He gestured towards the pair of house-elves standing at his side. One was a young female with a broad smile, the other an older male who looked very grumpy.
"These are house-elves, as the magically raised among you certainly know. Their names are Ciddy and Paddock. They belong to the dozens of house-elves that serve Hogwarts. They are the ones that create your delicious meals, who clean your clothes and organize the feasts. They like to help and serve but I expect you to be polite to them."
A few faces showed clear signs of disapproval, like something as this was below them.
"Should you need something special like a birthday cake for a friend or a hot chocolate for an upset housemate, you may call Ciddy and her friends. Don't abuse of that priviledge. Should you do that, should I hear about disrespectful behaviour or students that have a tendency of untidiness, then there will be consequences. This may include a denial of the service of house-elves, meagre meals or detention with Paddoc."
Paddoc smiled for the first time and it wasn't a pleasant sight. A few of the students didn't look happy about this, but he was far too impressing to object right now.
"A word about Caretaker Filch: like the house-elves he's serving Hogwarts and has been a part of the castle for decades now. He's a bit grumpy and most students don't like him very much. However, I expect you to be polite to him and not to make his work anymore difficult than necessary. If he forbids you to do something, it's not to torment you but because it is dangerous. You may think it to be funny to jump from stairs to stairs, to sneak around after curfew or visit places you are not meant to go. However, it is Mister Filch's duty to assure that you survive your stay at Hogwarts with a minimum of trouble or visits to the Hospital wing and to make life in the castle pleasant for everybody. Have this in mind the next time he's yelling at you."
Cullen smiled faintly. Argus had started to change his behaviour and he hoped this would continue.
"A last word before we start with the sorting: while the chosen house is your family, this doesn't stop you from being friends with members of other houses. There is a competition between the houses, especially regarding Quidditch, but there is no need to overdo. Don't hate, despise or insult members of other houses. You'll experience tensions between the older students. Don't take an example on their behaviour but rather make up your own mind. This year the staff will start a number of changes, one of them will be the promotion of inter-house activities. Please give this a try.
"And now: let's go. May a new and hopefully happy chapter of your life begin."
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The sorting had gone well so far. The meal had been delicious with the tiny change of some of the house-elves being visible this evening. It brought a smile to Cullen's lips how some of the new students made a serious attempt at being polite to the tiny servants. Some of the older students frowned, while others started to imitate the behaviour – especially after one student, who had been very outspoken in his disgust about 'treating those creatures with respect' suddenly found only old bread, stale cheese and flat water within reach. A housemate who offered him something from his own plate, soon found himself sharing his fate.
Headmaster Dumbledore had already announced the change regarding 'Care of magical Creatures' and now continued, gesturing towards and elderly man at his side:
"This year Potions will be taught by Professor Slughorn. He has been teaching Potions before and agreed to return for one year, as Professor Snape will be teaching DADA this year."
The announcement drew groans and clapping in equal parts. Cullen wasn't certain about the reason behind Dumbledore's decision. He had obviously been especially eager to get Slughorn back to Hogwarts and Cullen didn't think that Potion was the main reason behind this. At least Severus seemed to be content. He had been eager to teach DADA for years. Because of the infamous curse on the position it wasn't expected that he would last longer than one year. However, Cullen hoped to change this during the school year.
"Another change concerns Mrs Narcissa Malfoy." He gestured towards the woman sitting between Cullen and Severus. "Mrs Malfoy will be living at Hogwarts for the foreseeable future. To make good use of her time, she agreed to start a number of voluntary lessons. In a way, these will be an experiment, the result certainly influencing the board of governors in their decision on whether we want to continue and make them a permanent part of the curriculum. Mrs Malfoy will give lessons in customs and practices in the magical society. Naturally it is mostly meant to help Muggle-raised students to integrate into a world foreign to them but everybody will be welcome. In addition there will be lessons in etiquette as well as the differences between magical and Muggle family law and contracts. For interested students from third year up there will be dancing lessons every Tuesday evening."
Cullen was still learning about this new world and intended to participate in these lessons as often as possible. When Dumbledore mentioned the last part, Cullen's eyes searched for Luna and made a gesture like dancing. Luna instantly agreed with a happy nod. Cullen could certainly use the training.
Narcissa noticed this and smiled mischievously: "it's certainly a good idea to be fast in assuring a dancing partner."
Taking the floor she continued. "Speaking of voluntary classes: your house heads will distribute a list this week. We want to know if there is interest about a new class in French and/or Italian. Steward Cullen and I are willing to offer such classes if there is enough interest on your side."
Cullen had actually been very surprised to learn that his knowledge in Orlaisian and Antivan – the second language mostly in written form – had transferred into a good grasp of French and Italian in this world. He had agreed to help Narcissa with her plans to offer a second language training, one of the many weak points of the curriculum at Hogwarts. He would wait and see how many students were interested before he addressed Minerva with his plans about additional classes in physical education. Running, swimming and fencing – he loved those activities and wanted to share this with others.
We can't change everything at once. I'll have to be patient.
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The welcome feast was nearly done. Cullen watched the students leaving for their houses. After learning about the Slyterhin tradition to appoint third and fourth year mentors to the first and second year students, he had been eager to convince the other house heads to give this a try. As expected the Hufflepuffs had fewer qualms than the Gryffindors, who rejected it because it was a snake-idea, or the Ravenclaws, who didn't like the idea of losing study time. Hopefully the idea would still gain acceptance.
Let the studies begin.
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Hogwarts – Blue Salon – two weeks later
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"They're a cute couple."
Cullen followed Luna's eyes to the spot where Narcissa was dancing with Argus Filch. He proved to be a surprisingly good dancer and was a steady addition to the training sessions taking place in the Blue Salon. It was one of the mostly unused rooms of the old castle, a room that had been the location for many smaller parties of the older students and staff in former times. There was even a magical piano, its soft music now filling the air.
"I don't know about 'cute'," Cullen smiled "but they're certainly very elegant. I assume no living student has ever seen him like this."
"Oh, I don't know," Luna responded thoughtfully, resting her chin on her finger. "If I remember correctly, he danced with Professor Trelawney at the Yule Ball two years ago."
The first two weeks had already proven to bring a change to Hogwarts, with Argus Filch's new appearance and behaviour certainly at the top of the list. A new hairstyle, a clean shave and different robes had been part of this. Far more important was the difference in his bearing. With a new potion and salve regimen against arthritis, regular sport and the effect of the training with Cullen, he looked younger and healthier. He was still grumpy but was more willing to accept kindness from the younger students. Matron Mathilda had a cup of tea with him from time to time and Cullen made a point of inviting him to the staff meetings. In his mind, Argus was a member of the staff like Hagrid and the others and should be treated as such. Surprisingly – or not – he was especially close to Severus, the two men sharing many traits.
"My feet have recovered, Cullen."
Cullen blushed for a moment. He still felt bad about maltreating her feet but Luna was adamant about continuing to dance only with him. More than once she had even shooed away other girls daring to ask him for a dance, her usually so friendly face turning into a harpy at those moments. So he offered his arm again. "Then let's dance, my fair lady."
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"You're a disgrace to every pureblood."
Cullen had stayed behind to speak with Narcissa and Argus. As they followed the students a few minutes later, they came across a group of students harassing Luna. Defiantly she stood against them. She tried not to show it but Cullen felt her fear. Too often she had been the victim of cruel pranks and insults. This year she had hoped for this to change. Had she been wrong? Cullen moved to go to her rescue but felt himself stopped by Narcissa.
"Let's wait and see," she whispered, her eyes resting on her son. "Allow him a chance at redeeming himself."
The Slytherins had been torn between accepting the new Draco and outright attacking him. He mostly kept to Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs now, with only a few Slytherins willing and brave enough to be at least polite towards him. The group harassing Luna consisted mostly of Slytherins and Ravenclaws of fifth and sixth year, the ring-leaders being Lisa Turpin and Pansy Parkinson. More students of both houses 'watched the show', unwilling to lean to either side too soon. The only ones willing to defend her these days were Ginny Weasley and surprisingly Marietta Edgecomb. Cho Chang's former friend and one of Luna's top tormentors in the past had done a 180 degree turn after Hermione lifted the curse of her face. A summer with a face telling 'Sneak' to everybody had chastened her and got her thinking.
"Leave her alone, Pansy," Draco drawled, instantly gaining everybody's attention. Ginny's eyes widened at the realization of who wanted to help, while Luna only smiled softly and shortly winked in Cullen's direction. "Turpin, didn't you learn anything about house solidarity?"
"She doesn't belong to us," Lisa Turpin sneered.
"Oh?" Draco smirked. He stepped nearer and poked at the trim of Luna's robe. "Mmm, Ravenclaw robe, bookworm extraordinaire and best student of her year as far as I've been told. Sounds like a 'Claw to me. Alright," he admitted "she has this annoying Hufflepuff loyalty and this disturbing Gryffindor braveness about her too, but nobody is perfect."
"Thank you," Luna smiled, while Ginny was apparently still tried to solve this puzzle named Draco Malfoy.
"Stay out of this, Malfoy," Nott demanded. Since Draco lost his position as the Prince of Slytherin, he had tried to usurp the position – without much success so far. At least he had gained Pansy as his girlfriend, not that Draco saw any benefit in that success.
"Nope," Draco simply shook his head and stepped between Luna and her tormentors "Can't do that". Defiantly he stared into Nott's eyes and waited what would happen. However, before the quarrel had a chance to escalate into a full-grown battle, Daphne's cool voice interrupted them.
"Don't be stupid, Nott." Pansy and her friends turned around, more than a little miffed by her interruption but also too surprised to instantly jump down her throat. The 'ice queen' rarely took an active part in any quarrels and mostly kept to herself. Only Tracey and Blaise were allowed to see her true self from time to time.
"You're really eager to get some detentions with Paddoc, aren't you?" Her smile turned into a feral grin as a shiver run down the students' backs. "Didn't you listen to Steward Cullen's speeches about house unity and inter-house friendship? Do you have any idea about the amount of trouble you get into with attacking another student? Do you have any idea how Steward Cullen would react to an attack on her?" She pointed towards Luna who was listening like all this wouldn't concern her.
"I don't fear that Squib," Nott sneered.
"Then you're even more stupid than I assumed," Draco sneered back.
"Why are you helping her?" Pansy sounded far more uncertain than she wanted too. This wasn't going as expected by far. She looked a little sad.
"Three reasons," Draco's voice actually softened. He never had romantic feelings towards the pug-nosed girl but she had been his friend for a long time. "First I wanted to protect you. I was on the receiving end of Steward Cullen's abilities. I don't want you to experience the same, Pansy. I still care for you. You have been my friend. It was you who stopped being friends not I."
Theo wanted to say something but this only earned him a slap. "Quiet," Greg Goyle growled, his big thump pointing towards Draco: "boss is speaking." Unlike Vince he didn't notice Millicent's appreciative look.
Draco curtly nodded in Greg's direction before he continued. "Second: I actually listened to the man. I'm not certain about all this 'we're one big happy loving family' crap, but I'm willing to give it a try. Hell, there is even a rare Gryffindor or two I'm able to endure without vomiting. Granger is a good potions partner and Longbottom is actually alright, if a bit of a pansy – no pun intended, Pansy."
Pansy actually smiled. Only Draco knew of her tiny crush on the timid boy back in fourth year.
"Only Weaselbee and that Brown-slut I could really live without – nothing against you, Weaslette." His apology sounded nearly honest.
Ginny only shrugged. "I know what you mean. They're a tad disgusting to watch with all that face-sucking. Ron never had good taste about girls."
Draco actually grinned, his grin broadening as Ginny blushed. Turning serious again Draco addressed Pansy again: "and third: I owe him. You have no idea how much." His eyes got a faraway expression. "The Dark Lord wanted to force me to take his mark this summer, Pansy."
Pansy sobbed and Greg and Vince shuffled uneasily. There had been talking with their fathers over the summer that they should take the mark around Christmas or next summer at most.
"I didn't want to, Pansy." Pansy frowned and Draco tried to explain. "My world view didn't change, not very much at least. I still think that we're superior to Muggles. I still think that purebloods are better than Muggleborns – aside from a few crazy exceptions like Granger. And with the rumours about her father being a squib perhaps not even her. But this doesn't mean I have to insult and attack her at every second. It certainly doesn't mean that I have to torture and kill them."
His face turned into a mask of disgust. "Dear father told me about the last war, how they attacked Muggles and Muggleborn, invaded their houses, tortured children in front of their parents, raped women while their men had to watch." More than a few Slytherins and Ravenclaws looked very pale now. His voice barely a whisper, Draco asked: "Do you really think I wanted to be part of this?" He shook his head, answering his own question. "I couldn't. The Dark Lord however wanted to force me. To punish my father for not being able to win against six students – two of them standing right behind me – he wanted to force me to take the Dark Mark. He even threatened my mother if I didn't comply. I would have been forced to do it if not for Steward Cullen. He protects me; he protects my mother. I can never repay him for this."
He looked around, his face frightening. "So listen, and listen well: you don't have to befriend Luna. You don't have to spend time with her. But never again will you insult, prank or attack her. And now get lost."
"He's really growing up," Cullen whispered. Narcissa could only nod proudly.
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Ministry of Magic – DMLE
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"Good morning, Dolores. What brings you to me on this wonderful morning?" Amelia Bones felt like biting in a lemon but she had offered Cullen her help so she had to go through with this – despite her ardent wish to attach a ball and chains to Dolores' ankle and dump her somewhere over the North Sea.
As an answer, Dolores smashed a newspaper on Amelia's desk. It was today's Daily Prophet and in no way a surprise to Amelia. She had already expected this visit three days ago, as the same article had been part of the Quibbler then – on the 15th of September of all days, Dolores name's day as the Quibbler's author, a young but talented lady, hadn't forgotten to mention. Apparently, while Dolores was happy to ignore the Quibbler, she couldn't do the same with the Prophet. Her office would be flooded with letters and howlers in no time if she didn't stop this very soon.
"Oh, this," Amelia said softly, careful to look down on the newspaper not to betray her malicious smile. There, in broad letter, was the headline that infuriated her 'guest' so much:
Dolorous Piñata in the Forbidden Forest
Below the headline were a number of pictures, the biggest one showing Dolores bound to a tree branch like a pig – or a Piñata – and some Centaurs poking her with long sticks.
The article told, very verbosely and vividly, how Dolores had been tricked into accompanying two students into the forbidden forest, believing a half-cooked story about some secret weapon to overthrow the whole world. Dolores certainly came across as a somewhat unhinged woman seeing enemies that were out to kill her everywhere. The article didn't fail to mention her 'Decrees', her silly title as 'High Inquisitor' nor her getting Headmistress after chasing off Dumbledore because of a study group – a study group that was necessary because of her obvious lack of talent in the subject. Somehow the Quibbler had been able to get a copy of her NEWT exam. It was even worse than Amelia had assumed. Neither the attack on Minerva, the use of Veritaserum on students, nor the blood quill detentions would get her any brownie points.
Dolorous, that's funny, Amelia grinned, knowing full well the meaning of Dolores' name. Allowing Dolores some time to fully explode, she carefully read the article, her eyes lingering especially on the part about the Centaurs dishing out justice. She knew that Dolores wanted to extract revenge against them, but so far she had now legal ground doing so: the Forbidden Forest was their home, according to the old contracts.
"I want you to stop this slandering," Dolores fumed, her face red as a tomato. She looked like a toad seconds before exploding because of some firecracker in her stomach. Her face colour clashes awfully with that pink cardigan of hers, Amelia noticed slightly amused.
"So this is untrue?" Amelia asked with her sweetest smile.
"Err, yes," Dolores eagerly nodded without conviction. At least she's not deranged enough to believe it herself.
"I understand," Amelia instant agreement started Dolores a bit. "Then this should be easy." Dolores smiled happily, her smiled vanishing as Amelia continued. "You only have to make a statement under Veritaserum at the court that these accusations are lies."
"I don't think this would be necessary, Amelia," Dolores said with false friendliness. "Certainly my word…"
"Wouldn't be enough, Dolores," Amelia responded with equally false regret in her voice. She put a number of letters on her desk. "There have been a number of enquiries from parents all over Britain. They want to know what I intend to do about the blood quill and Veritaserum matters."
"I did this with the Minister's approval…"
"Who will certainly support your claim," Amelia nodded, knowing well that Fudge would do no such thing, especially not now. "Perhaps he gave you a written permission about allowed measures," she tried to help. "It would certainly ease the case."
She pointed towards another bunch of letters. "These are from a number of Slytherin parents. They want to clear their children's names before things get out of hand. Apparently you instigated a… how did you call it," she shuffled through the letter "ah, yes, Inquisitorial Squad. According to the letters there have been numerous assaults on other students in your name; Professor McGonagall and Steward Cullen addressed the board of governors because of this. The concerned parents ascertained me that their children only behaved in such a way because they felt pressured by you into doing this. Poor children," Amelia sighed. "It's not nice to force children into behaving like bullies, Dolores."
Susan hadn't liked the idea to allow the squad members to go unpunished but accepted that this time they were after a bigger fish. It had helped that some of those Slytherins apparently started to change their behaviour since the start of the school year. Malfoy, Goyle and Bulstrode even went so far as to apologize to some but not all of their former victims.
"Lies, all lies," Dolores shouted. "McGonagall hates me."
"She has her reasons, has she not?" Amelia's eyes narrowed and she watched her intensely. "Here is an official inquiry about four of my Aurors attacking an unarmed professor. Steward Cullen wants to know to which extent they were acting as Aurors and how much influence you had on this disgusting act of unprovoked violence. Dolores: as a steward of Hogwarts it is his right to press charges against the DMLE. This would force me to officially censure three of the Aurors and sack Senior Auror Dawlish – if he fails to convince me that he followed your orders."
Dolores paled visibly. Forced to choose between getting sacked and putting the blame at her feet, she had no doubt about Dawlish's decision. McGonagall and Cullen – those two were responsible for this disaster. How dared they?
"You see, Dolores," Amelia summarized "irrespective of my feelings towards you" her eyes told Dolores enough about the nature of those feelings "I have no choice but to demand a statement under Veritaserum before I can put a stop to this… this slander."
Dolores actually wobbled a bit under this constant attack of bad news. In the end she said hoarsely: "I think I'll need a good barrister."
"I think that's a good idea," Amelia dead-panned. She waited for Dolores to leave her office before she allowed herself to express her joy. "Take this, bitch," she snickered making an air-punch.
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Hogwarts – Great Hall – 29th of September – Sunday afternoon
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All students had gathered in the Great Hall after being ordered to do so by their Heads of Houses. Their whole attention was on the staff table now, mostly on those faces so far unknown to them. It was obvious that not all teachers were too happy about their presence. Especially Headmaster Dumbledore looked like someone had killed his cat. Minerva McGonagall however made a believable impression of the cat who finally got the canary. Cullen watched her with a content smile. She had turned into a steadfast ally this school year, more and more supporting his plans and ideas, furthering them with her in depth knowledge of the magical society. Some of the changes wouldn't have been possible without her help, especially with the Headmaster doing his best to stall him.
Yesterday had been exhausting in the extreme and he was happy to allow Minerva to take the lead. Turning towards the Gryffindor table, he smiled contently as he noticed Luna beside a very relaxed Ginny. The healing had only taken place 24 hours ago but the effect was clearly visible to everybody who knew her. Ginny had slept more than twelve hours afterwards and her eyes now held nothing of the sadness that had been there for years. Most traces of the dark magic had left her aura and while she would never be able to completely forget about the events in the Chamber of Secrets, her mind wouldn't feel the dark emotions that had controlled her life far too long under the same intensity.
It had been one of the most emotional discussions between him, Albus and Minerva, to speak about the lack of support for students under distressing experiences. Neither Ginny nor Harry and his friends got any consultation with a mind healer in the past. Even back at the Circle Tower it was well-known that some experiences needed support in order to handle them in a healthy manner. Especially the weeks after the taxing Harrowing made it mandatory to organize such a help. The human mind, especially the mind of a teenager, was such a fragile thing.
Cullen sighed. Tomorrow he would visit the Department of Mysteries and Croaker. They would destroy the diadem and another Horcrux would be gone for good. He already received a letter from the Unspeakable a few days ago, telling him that the examination had been successful and that Croaker was ready to go through with his part of the deal. One less worry, Cullen mused, before he concentrated on Minerva's speech again.
"…the Forbidden Forest stays forbidden and dangerous," Minerva just explained. "But with the spiders gone we got rid of one of the bigger threats not only to us but all inhabitants of the forest."
It was certainly no surprise to see Hagrid absent. He still hadn't forgiven him for the death of his friend Aragog.
"A very positive side effect of the spider hunt was the money Hogwarts earned for selling the animal parts. We will use the money on a number of necessary improvements and changes at our beloved school," Minerva continued. She clapped into her hands and five batches of owls came flying into the Hall, each batch carrying something that could only be a broom. They landed in front of Madam Hooch and the captains of the four house teams. Unwrapping the packages, they found a Firebolt each.
"Each team gets seven new brooms, naturally not all of them Firebolts as there are other brooms more appropriate for Beaters and Keepers. Twenty more will be used by Madam Hooch for a new voluntary flying class for third years and up. In addition we'll exchange our outdated school training brooms for new Cleansweeps." This made sense because it would be irresponsible to sit untrained Firsties on racing brooms.
Minerva waited for the cheering to die down before she pointed towards a face known to older students: Penelope Clearwater. "The staff always found that the families of Muggleborn learn far too late about our world and are left alone with a difficult situation. We're in negotiations with the Ministry to change this. To get a head start, we decided to use a part of the spider money to hire Miss Clearwater as our new Muggleborn liaison. Her duties will be threefold: counsel the families of Muggleborn and inform them about the ongoing events at our school." There wouldn't be a repetition of petrified students without any information delivered to their parents.
"Secondary she will teach a new subject called 'Basics of the Magical world' to our first years with additional voluntary classes for older students. It is meant to help them understand the world they're now a part of." Not everybody would be happy about this but Cullen hoped that it would ease the relations between purebloods and Muggleborn in the long run. At least a part of the prejudices the purebloods held towards Muggleborns stemmed from their lack of knowledge about customs in this foreign world.
"Last but not least," she gestured a middle-aged man sitting between Professor Vector and Professor Flitwick to stand up. "We're happy to welcome our new History teacher, Professor Barnabas Bagshot, nephew of the famous historian Bathilda Bagshot." Her next words were drowned by wild cheering from all sides. Even the usually more subdued Slytherins were happy about getting rid of the boring ghost. "We expect to see rising grades in history and bigger NEWT classes in the near future." This earned her a round of laughter. "Professor Bagshot already announced that he'll invite guest speakers from the tribe of Centaurs living in our forest as well as the Goblins. We have heard about the Goblins only in endless repetitions of the Goblin wars for far too long. I hope you'll agree that we should know more about those beings that guard our home and manage our money."
Albus had tried to stop this, fearing the opposition of the older families. Luckily, Cullen found himself fully supported not only by Minerva but also by Madam Sprout and Professor Flitwick. For decades they had demanded a change about history lessons. Albus had always stopped them with speeches about the financial side. They wouldn't allow him to stop them again.
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The speeches had stopped after a long and boring list of smaller changes, one of them drawing a round of laughter again: the vanishing step would be exchanged for a sturdier one. Why the staff had allowed this security risk to exist for so long, completely slipped Cullen's mind. Regretfully it wasn't possible to completely redo the whole 'changing stairs' construction. They would continue to annoy students on their way to their classes.
The students woke from their slumber when Ciddy and her friends started to distribute all kind of cake and sweets, some of them even Centaur and Goblin crafted. Those were more topics of conversation than eating, with only a few very daring students actually trying them. Now however the last act of the day was on its way to happen. On Cullen's sign the door to the Great Hall opened and a number of Goblins entered. Two of them, carrying a cauldron and case of vials, stopped in front of the Professors Snape and Slughorn.
"Professors, we all know how many ingredients get squandered and how many cauldrons destroyed over the course of a school year. Because of this, a part of the money has been used to deliver a batch of both parts to your lab and set up deposits at your favourite apothecaries. Make good use of them." Snape simply nodded while Slughorn was obviously ecstatic.
Now, with Cullen fully visible as he started to walk towards the Gryffindor table with half a dozen Goblins in tow, it became obvious that he wasn't wearing his usual clothes. Instead he wore a fantastic looking, slightly glittering black vest/trousers combination with a long flowing cape. The knowledgeable among the older students realized that these pieces were crafted from Acromantula silk. They showed on his chest the crest he had started to use for a while now: Castle and Flaming Sword, a mix of the crests of Hogwarts and Andraste. It certainly made quite an impression and more than one pair of eyes got dreamy.
The six Goblins stopped in front of Harry, Ron, Ginny, Neville, Hermione and Luna, each of them getting a medium-sized package.
"You six were the reason for my arrival at this world, if a bit involuntarily," Cullen added with a thoughtful smile. "I wanted to thank you. Please accept these small tokens of my gratitude."
One by one robes of Acromantula silk became visible. "Each of you will get three sets of robes. The tailor promised me that they'll adapt to your growing size." Each of them would get a dagger crafted from an Acromantula fang, too, but Cullen assumed that they were more appropriately presented in private.
With no small amount of envy the other students watched the six students put on their new robes, especially Ron and Ginny were ecstatic to have something that wasn't second hand or ill-fitting. Ron and Ginny had the Weasley crest on their, while Neville and Harry showed their status as Scions of their respective Houses. Luna smiled towards Hermione, who found the crest of House Tonks on her robe's shoulder, the colours telling everybody that she was under their protection: "I like the crest, 'Mione, but I hope we'll see another crest there in no time." Harry blushed, proving that he understood the not overly veiled hint. He would have to speak about this with Sirius.
The last one was Luna's and while it was no surprise to see the Lovegood crest on her chest, the second smaller one on her shoulder certainly was: the crest of Steward Cullen.
"I hope this is alright," Cullen asked surprisingly timid, his finger snipping away some invisible lint from her shoulder.
"It is," Luna beamed back. Only her eyes told him that she hoped to one day switch the crest from her shoulder to her chest. "It certainly is."
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Dream or Reality?
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The entrance of their Dark Lord startled the Death Eaters present at that moment and prompted them to shrink back into the shadows of the throne room. Nobody wanted to draw his attention when he was in a mood like that. How unhealthy this could be proved the sight of his companion. Bellatrix Lestrange was neither nice nor beloved but every Death Eater feared and respected her. While a few of them felt glee watching her stumbled through the chamber, fruitlessly pretending to be strong, nobody dared to show it openly. She stumbled and would have fallen without Rastaban jumping to her aid. Her brother-in-law certainly was the nicer of the two brothers and unlike her own husband he actually liked her. It was another proof of her pitiful condition that she didn't push him away and hex him as she would have done on any other day.
Cissy, I need my Cissy, Bella thought, feeling a wave of anger rolling through her body as she remembered her baby sister's betrayal. Aside from her own failure at the Ministry it had been her sister's betrayal of their Lord's cause that had prompted him to choose her as his companion for today's excursion. Now he didn't even look up as Rastaban led his sister-in-law away and gently pushed her onto a seat, feeling that she wouldn't be able to keep standing for far longer.
Every pair of eyes was closely watching Voldemort's every move. How angry was he, how dangerous? His next words gave an answer to that question, the low voice, barely a whisper, far more than the words. More than one member of the Inner Circle trembled. Hot rage they knew, Crucios they could handle. But this cold anger was life-threatening.
"I want to know where Sirius Black is hiding these days with his old home destroyed. I want to know where he left the belongings of his late brother Regulus the traitor." Voldemort played with a small precious looking locket, eying it thoughtfully. "I want to have his house-elf Kreacher at my feet – alive." He looked around. Every Death Eater who felt his eyes on him shrank back, praying 'not me, not me'. "Antonin, you're in charge. Take whomever you need. I want answers and I want them fast."
Antonin paled but bowed, accepting the task. What else could he do?
"Bella, dear."
Bella staggered away from her seat, still wobbly and her feet and obvious in pain. What happened to her? Rastaban wondered. She behaves as if poisoned. "Milord," Bella bowed, nearly toppling in the process. Nott senior, who like Antonin belonged to the small number of Death Eaters that had escaped imprisonment at the Ministry and was now hoping to use Lucius' absence to improve his own standing, dared to snicker at the sight of the usually so haughty Bella being in pain.
"Incarcerous! Incendio!"
Seconds later, screams of pain filled the air. Unable to move, flames licking at his sides, Nott started to turn into something akin to a roasted pigling. With a mix of horror and glee his comrades watched him, happy that it hit him and not them. Voldemort allowed him to burn for a while, waited until his head and body hair was gone together with his clothes. Only then did he stop the fire and allow his men to drag the nearly dead man away. He would survive, but be in pain for weeks and certainly never forget the day.
"Is anybody else in a silly mood?" Voldemort sneered. Nobody dared to answer – certainly no surprise there.
"Bella, Rastaban, Rodolphus, you stay. Everybody else – out!" Like charmed away the other Death Eaters left the chamber, each of them eager to be the first to leave.
"Bella, I want you to visit your vault the first thing tomorrow morning. Bring me the cup and don't return without it." He only allowed her the break because she wouldn't be able to stay conscious for far longer, not with the poison from the locket's defences burning in her stomach.
"Don't fail me, Bella."
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Far away someone woke from his restless slumber. He needed quite a while to fully wake up.
"Cullen. Sirius. They need to know – now."
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A/N
I'm not certain about Penelope's blood status, but with her being one of the victims of the Basilisk, I decided to make her a Muggleborn.
If you already read my "Congregation" story, you'll recognize a few of the changes at Hogwarts, especially the part about Muggleborn and Goblins/History. Barnabas Bagshot was a guest there, too.
About Narcissa and Draco: they're willing and able to change, but they won't do the 180 degree flip.