Harry Potter and the Ties that Bind

by The Engulfing Silence

The death of their friend has left scars on everyone. While Harry's friends pull together as a group, the young man responsible for bringing them together has descended into darkness and begins following a path that he had thought he'd left behind. Sequel to Harry Potter and the Heir of Slytherin.

20. Societal Dangers

Chapter 20

Societal Dangers

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Harry was really sore the day after being ambushed. His body ached, his skin was bruised, and he had lost quite a bit of blood. Despite having spent the entire night healing his bruises and cuts, it didn't change how his body felt like it had been put through several rounds with a champion kick boxer.

"I can't believe someone attacked you on your way to the Gryffindor tower," Susan said in astonishment.

It was breakfast, and everyone was sitting around the Gryffindor table in their usual positions. Harry had a large plate of pancakes, French toast, eggs, muffins, and orange juice. He normally didn't eat so many carbohydrates, but he'd exhausted his magic last night and needed to replenish. While not a well-known fact, food, like rest, was a great way to help replenish lost magic.

"I'm sorry," Daphne apologized. "You were attacked because you walked me to my dorm. If you hadn't—"

"If I hadn't, then I wouldn't have gotten such valuable information," Harry interrupted. "Please don't apologize. Not only was this incident not your fault, but I learned a lot."

Tracey made a face. "What could you have possibly learned from nearly getting killed?"

"I'm with her." Terry pointed at Tracey.

Harry chuckled. "Because it shows how desperate the person who's trying to kill me is getting. It also tells me that the person who created that area wide illusion at Hogsmeade is the same one who tried to bury me under the Shrieking Shack."

"How do you figure that?" asked Lisa.

"Deductive reasoning," Harry replied. "First off, there have been three attacks in several weeks. Each time there has been an attack, I was there, either as the one being attacked, or as part of a group that was attacked. Now, when you look at it like this, how many people do you think there can be that would so blatantly launch attacks of this nature?"

Lisa hesitated for a moment. "… One?"

Nodding, Harry lifted his hand and raised a single finger. "That's right. One. There aren't many people who would attack others like this. If there was more than one psychopathic killer on the loose, then it would mean the DMLE isn't doing their job, which I know for a fact that they are."

"So, there's no possibility that the attacks on you and the attack at Hogsmeade were separate incidents?" Blaize asked.

"I doubt it. I mean, it is possible, but the chances of these attacks being perpetrated by two separate people is unlikely."

"You mentioned this person being desperate," Neville prodded. "How do you figure they're getting desperate?"

"Because of the nature of their attacks," Harry answered. "Their first attack was a lot more subtle. They tricked Professor McGonagall into giving me a letter that had me travel out to where no one else was located, and then attempted to kill me. Granted, dropping a building on me isn't subtle, but the Shrieking Shack is old, so it would have been easy to make it look like an accident had I died. The second attack wasn't as subtle, but it was still a brilliant method of assassination. By casting an area wide illusion that affected everyone within a certain radius, they made it look more like a terrorist attack than an assassination."

Harry paused to make sure everyone was following him. Tracey and Terry were leaning forward, and Hannah, Lisa, Astoria, and Ginny were staring at him. Luna looked at him for but a moment before going back to whatever she was reading—the Quibbler, it looked like. Even Blaize was looking right into his eyes. Underneath the table, Harry felt a hand gripping his robes. That would be Daphne.

He continued. "If I had died then, I would've just been another casualty. It would've been big, sure, but no one would have believed that I was the target all along. However, the last attack was an all-out assault on just me. Not only that, but they attacked me inside of Hogwarts. There are hundreds of students and numerous faculty, and that's not accounting for the many portraits, several of which witnessed the attack. This person has all but said I'm their target. Now that the staff and portraits know, everyone is going to be extra alert."

"Which means the chances are taking you out have decreased," Daphne said suddenly, clarity entering her voice.

"Right." Harry nodded.

"Sounds like this assassin has screwed the pooch," Tracey said.

It was just as his friend had said. They had, indeed, "screwed the pooch". However, the assault had also revealed something else, which he didn't mention. Whoever had attacked them was not a professional assassin. They were intelligent, insanely so perhaps, but someone experienced in assassination knew never to let desperation fuel their attempts.

"Ahem. Excuse me," Madam Umbridge's familiar voice said from behind them. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. Mr. Potter, I would like to see you in my office after breakfast."

Harry froze, but he quickly mastered himself and smiled. "Of course, Headmistress Umbridge. I'll head over to the headmistress office once breakfast is finished."

"Very good."

As the headmistress walked off, Harry pondered what her request meant. Was he going to be in trouble for last night? No, that couldn't be it. Umbridge knew of the political power he wielded. The likelihood of her trying to get him in trouble were almost nil. There had to be another reason.

"Harry, are you really going to meet with Umbridge?" asked Susan.

"I don't have much choice." He shrugged. "She is the headmistress. That said, Daphne, would you mind accompanying me?"

"You say that as if I wasn't planning to accompany you in the first place," Daphne said, shrugging. She and Harry shared a smile.

"U-um." A blushing Susan looked at the two of them. "Would you mind if I… went with you?"

"Not at all," Daphne said before Harry could answer. "In fact, as the niece of Amelia Bones, your presence might help."

A look of relief washed over Susan. Harry discreetly glanced back and forth between the two girls as they began speaking. He was clearly missing something.

I'll never understand girls.

XoX

Harry, along with Daphne and Susan, headed to the headmistress's office. It had changed a lot since he'd last been there.

Pink. That was the first thing he noticed upon entering the headmistress's office. Blinding, bright, disgusting, and mind-scarring pink. It was everywhere. The walls, the ceiling, even the floor was pink. If that was all, then perhaps Harry could have handled it. However, on top of every millimeter of the room being pink, the walls were also covered in kitty portraits. They were all over the place. Meowing kitties, kitties licking their paws, kitties playing with each other. It was a regular kitten-palooza.

Harry almost lost his mind. No sane person would have a room like this. It was… he didn't even think horrendous could accurately describe this place.

Daphne and Susan appeared to be of like mind. They were clutching his hands as though they were lifelines.

Sitting behind the headmistress's desk, which was also pink, Umbridge looked up and smiled. "Ah, Mr. Potter… and Ms. Greengrass and Bones." The smile left for a brief moment, but it was soon put back in place, though there was a noticeable twitch. "I had not realized you two were coming as well."

Harry quickly mastered himself. "My apologies, Headmistress. I asked them to come because your rule forbade anyone from wandering around on their own."

Umbridge's lips became pursed, as though she had swallowed a lemon. "Yes, well… I suppose it can't be helped. However, you and I have much to discuss. Since they came together, they can also leave while I speak with you."

"But Headmistress," Daphne intervened smoothly. "If we left Harry now, he wouldn't have anyone to walk with him and would end up breaking your rule." Before the headmistress could open her mouth, Daphne continued. "I'm also sure that a woman as busy as yourself can't afford to walk him all the way to his next class. It would be quite rude of us to force you into doing something like that."

Umbridge remained still for a moment. She could dispute Daphne's words, but doing so would mean going against the daughter of the Greengrass family. From a purely political standpoint, it was reckless—no, it went beyond reckless. It was the dumbest thing someone could do.

"Y-you bring up a good point," Umbridge said, her smile becoming fixed. "However, I still need to speak with Mr. Potter alone."

Daphne opened her mouth again, but Harry beat her. "It's okay, Daph. Why don't you and Susan wait outside."

"Are you sure?" Susan asked. "We don't mind staying with you."

Gracing them both with a smile, Harry said, "I'm sure."

Sighing, Daphne relented. "Very well. However, my father is quite interested in what happens to you, so please be sure to let me know if something happens during your conversation," she said loudly enough for Umbridge to hear, but soft enough that it sounded like she hadn't meant Umbridge to hear

Harry almost chuckled at the woman's pale face. "Don't worry. I will."

When Susan and Daphne left, Harry walked up to Umbridge and offered a respectful inclination of his head. "I apologize for the issue just now. You said that you wished to speak with me?"

"Yes, that is correct." Umbridge coughed into her hand. "I've heard that you were attacked last night."

For a moment, Harry wondered how she'd heard of this. Could she have orchestrated the attack? The thought fled as quickly as it came. No, she couldn't have been the one behind this. Aside from the attacks happening before she'd arrived, Umbridge lacked the capacity and the motive to assassinate him. That meant there was another reason.

"I was."

"You were alone?"

"To my shame," Harry admitted. "I had walked Daphne back to the Slytherin dorm, but there was no one left to walk me to the Gryffindor tower."

Umbridge, much to Harry's surprise, nodded. "That's good. It was quite noble of you to escort Ms. Greengrass back to her dorm. I'm also pleased to see that you aren't injured yourself."

While he was trying to figure out Umbridges angle, Harry replied, "thank you. It was quite the harrowing experience, but fortunately, I was saved by a passing teacher before the situation could take a turn for the worst."

"Yes, you were quite fortunate, which leads me to my point." Coughing into her hand, the toad-like woman said, "as an important member of the wizarding world, it is imperative that you remain safe at all times. I'd like to ask that you not do something like this again."

It took Harry a moment, but like a flash of lightning, he realized what was going on. Umbridge was a toady. She wasn't a leader, but a follower who clung to the most powerful person she could. At Hogwarts, the one with all of the political power was him, ergo, Umbridge was butt kissing him. She was trying to ingratiate herself to him. It was so obvious that he was kicking himself for missing it. That said…

I can use this.

"You're correct, Headmistress. It pains me, but I wasn't being cautious enough. It's a mistake that I won't make again."

The headmistress seemed awfully pleased, as her beaming smile suggested. "Excellent. I am so pleased that you see things my way."

"Oh, yes." Harry nodded emphatically. "I certainly understand why following the rules is so important now, and in fact, I was just thinking of how this school could be much safer if we added a few more rules."

"Truly?" Umbridge said, appearing curious.

"Yes. Not only would these rules help keep the students safe, but they'd also hold the benefit of making you the most beloved headmistress to ever hold this position."

Now Umbridge was leaning forward. "Is that so? What are these suggestions of yours?"

Hook. Line. Sinker.

With a polite smile, Harry gave Umbridge the same speech that he had given to Walburga's portrait, and then he suggested several rules to help implement them.

He may or may not have used a bit of magic to make Umbridge a tad more agreeable.

XoX

Several policy changes were implemented at Hogwarts.

The most shocking was the promotion of inter-house relationships, which was one of the many topics that Harry had spoken to Umbridge about. Using his alliance with the Greengrass, Zabini, and Bones households, Harry had convinced Umbridge of the benefits to inter-house relationships. There may have also been a small threat placed in there along with a slight magical impulse.

This change in policy had resulted in the re-opening of the All-House Common Room. Several rules had been put in place, such as students had to be walking with members of their house when leaving the common room. However, there had been no rules stating that students of other houses couldn't walk together. This meant students had to walk in groups of at least four if they were with someone from another house.

It was killing two birds with one stone, as far as Harry was concerned.

The other policies that had been changed were mere minor suggestions. They did nothing in the long run. Harry had merely used them as a means of disguising his agenda from Umbridge.

To further enhance the reputation of this policy, and to increase Umbridge's "fame", Harry had used Andromeda to discreetly send the Daily Prophet the information about these changes. With the letter was a generous sum of money, along with the "suggestion" that they paint her policies in the best light possible.

Which explained why the front page of the Daily Prophet that morning had been titled: Headmistress Umbridge Takes the Reigns and Heals Hogwarts! By Castain Barbage.

Good things are happening at Hogwarts, ladies and gentlemen. Since Headmaster Dumbledore's resignation from the position, Headmistress Umbridge has become a beacon of hope for the students of Hogwarts. She's enacted new policies to help better the school and ensure the safety of the children.

These policies include the rule that students may not walk alone on their way to class. This was done as a method of ensuring that students always have someone with them in the event of an unprecedented attack.

On top of being of helping keep students safe, she has begun to implement policies to help expand inter-house relationships. Rumor has it that the suggestion came from Lucius Malfoy, who was the person that helped put Headmistress Umbridge in the position as headmistress in the first place.

The article went on to praise the headmistress and Lucius Malfoy for their insight and desire to help keep the children at Hogwarts safe. The praise it offered was quite lavish indeed.

Blaize put down his paper and gestured to it. "I'm guessing this is your doing?"

Harry smiled as jotted down some notes on his homework assignment for Snape. It was a revision essay on one of the more complicated potions they were learning. "I don't know what you're talking about?"

"Right," Blaize said, holding back a chuckle. "I have to admit, this was a pretty brilliant move. I haven't received a letter from Mum yet, but I'm sure I'll get one soon enough telling me to praise you."

"Is something going on?" asked Tracey.

It was lunch time, but rather than going to the Great Hall, they were all eating their lunch down in the Chamber of Secrets. Susan and Hannah had asked the house elves to make them something. Then they brought it down for everyone. This was done not just so they could speak in private, but also so they could work on their homework while they ate.

"Harry has just done something that I can't figure out whether it was crazy brilliant or just plane crazy," Daphne said.

"It's definitely crazy brilliant," Blaize said. "Not only did he have the Daily Prophet make the headmistress out to be a saint, but he implied that the reason was because Lucius had put her up to it."

"I did no such thing," Harry said. "I found out through the grapevine that Lucius was the one who managed to get Umbridge installed as our headmistress in the first place. This was done all under his suggestion. It's only natural that the Daily Prophet would conclude that he was the one responsible for having her implement these new changes that promote inter-house relationships."

"But doesn't that paint Lucius in a good light?" asked Lisa.

"Not if you're a dark family," Daphne said. "Many of the policies that Umbridge put in place are ones that no dark family would agree with. That it's been rumored to have been done on Lucius's suggestion means he's betrayed the dark family factions that have allied with him. He'll be in hot water for awhile. Of course, that means he's going to have his hands tied placating his allies."

"It might also make him act rashly," Harry said.

This had been done with the purpose of keeping Lucius in check. Sirius had told him about what had happened during the meeting several months ago, when Lucius Malfoy had been attacked by several light side families. The members might have been imperiused, but it didn't change how Lucius's prestige had skyrocketed as a result. Now he was being hailed as the "savior of Hogwarts", but he'd taken a hit from his allies for that very reason, or he would be taking the hit soon enough.

He would have to do something, and soon, or his reputation would continue to plummet in the eyes of his peers.

There was a chance that he would use this to his advantage by stating that he was trying to get on everyone's good side, but that ran the risk of him being required to do something to prove his words. Lucius Malfoy owned the largest dark family voting block. However, that didn't mean his allies wouldn't turn on him if he didn't support their cause. One of them might even decide to stab him in the back, either figuratively or literally.

Harry had asked Sirius to keep on eye on him during House of Noble meetings. He didn't expect anything to happen there, though. If Lucius made a move, it would be in a backdoor deal with someone, away from prying eyes.

The ball was now in Lucius's court. All Harry could do was prepare himself for the incoming volley.

"Oi, Harry!" Tracey shouted. "Why are you staring into space? Come over here and help me! I can't figure out what Flitwick is asking us to do."

Harry sighed, and then he stood up.

"All right. What are you having trouble with?"

"The whole thing."

He sighed again. His work was never finished, or so it seemed.

XoX

Nothing happened for the next several weeks. It was the middle of spring, March to be exact, and everything had become bright and green again. The chill of winter had vanished completely, leaving only the crisp freshness that came from a new season.

Harry had remained diligent, and not just on his studies. He'd been expecting something to happen soon, though what that something was, he didn't know. Yet a month had passed since his article on Lucius and Umbridge, and nothing had happened. There had been no announcements, no attacks, nothing. Harry wasn't sure what he had been expecting. However, silence was not one of them.

Umbridge either didn't read the news, or hadn't been informed of what was happening. She was soaking up the adoration of the students. It seemed as if her popularity had gone to her head. That might make her harder to control, but Harry believed the benefits outweighed the cons. If she was busy dealing with students, then it meant she would have less time to bother him and his friends.

That morning was the same as any other. Harry had been sitting with his friends, discreetly watching Umbridge as she made her rounds before sitting down at the faculty table. On his suggestion, the "headmistress" had started to make daily rounds at each table during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He had told her that talking to the students would help her get a feel for how they were responding to her policy changes. Thus far, not only had it worked, but Umbridge had taken to it well.

She really is a toadie…

Perhaps it was because she had grown so comfortable in her position as Senior Undersecretary, but Madam Umbridge didn't seem to have any real ambition. Although, thinking on it, maybe she simply liked the position that was second from the top because it gave her power without giving her the same responsibilities that came from being Minister for Magic. That didn't answer the question of why she had become the headmistress, though.

I suppose it doesn't matter. In the grand scheme of things, Umbridge is just a pawn. She's here to distract people from Lucius Malfoy's real objective.

The problem was finding out what that objective was. Sirius hadn't reported anything suspicious happening at the House of Noble meetings. Of course, it wasn't like Harry had expected Lucius to make any under the table plays there. No, if Lucius had a hidden agenda, it would be done where no one else was looking, and he wouldn't know about it until after it had already happened. In other words, being proactive was going to be impossible. He'd have to be reactive.

I hate being forced to react to a situation. It's much better to stop something from happening before it can happen.

"Hey, Harry," Blaize started. He was sitting next to Tracey and had a large plate of pancakes in front of him. "Do you mind if I asked you to practice dueling with me after classes today?"

Harry came to himself again. He didn't even think before nodding. "Sure thing. I could probably do with a sparring partner myself."

"Heh?" Tracey gave Blaize a rather unappealing grin. "What's this? Baize is working to improve his dueling skills? Now I've seen everything."

While Blaize sometimes took part in the "games" that Harry concocted to help increase his friend's magical talents and reflexes, more often than not, he opted to sit out. Harry got the feeling that he was like his mother. Blaize probably preferred subterfuge and misdirection than outright confrontation.

Rather than get agitated, Blaize shrugged in a nonchalant manner befitting his personality. "I've become aware that you can't always rely on getting others to fight for you. There might come a time when I have to use my own skills instead of someone else's."

"That's a mature way of looking at things," Daphne said. "It's also true. We should be prepared for anything, especially since Harry is a trouble magnet."

Harry froze.

"That's true," Hannah agreed. "Harry's always getting into trouble of some kind."

"I think half the stuff that happens to us is because of Harry," Tracey added her own input.

"I'm sorry about that," Harry apologized quietly. "I know I've gotten us into a lot of dangerous situations. It wasn't my intention, but I can't deny that."

Everyone present suddenly paled. Before Harry could speak again, Tracey was waving her hands in front of her face as though warding off a fly.

"No, no! It's okay! I didn't mean that in a bad way! Well, I mean, getting into trouble isn't good, but it's like, ya know, we don't mind if trouble follows you everywhere you go, so, yeah… I'm just gonna shut up now."

"That is a sound decision," Daphne said. "I'm glad to know you can figure out when you're putting your foot in your mouth."

Tracey's slumped shoulders were reminiscent of someone weighed down by lead weights. "That's a harsh thing to say."

"It's also true," Terry said.

"No one asked you, Boot!" Tracey snapped.

Classes went by slowly that day, which Harry realized was because he'd already finished all of his work. In some ways, he and his friends were ahead of the game. This meant that he didn't really have anything to do in class. He spent most of his time either meditating while the teachers lectured them, or creating transmutation circles within his mind. By the time classes were over, he was more than happy to head down to the Chamber of Secrets and practicing dueling with Blaize.

"Expelliarmus!"

Harry dodged a jet of red light that flew from the tip of Blaize's wand. His friend followed the spell up with an Impedimentia, trying to chain the two spells together. Sadly, it wasn't a seamless chain. Expelliarmus was signified by the wand movements of a diagonal downward arc, and then following through with a clockwise spiral that went inward and a thrust. Meanwhile, Impedimentia was cast by a simple slashing motion. While it was possible to chain Impedimentia with Expelliarmus, the opposite wasn't possible. It made Blaize's spell chain clumsy.

After dodging the first spell, Harry slipped around the second. He then aimed his wand at the floor around Blaize's feet and called out, "Augmenti!" Water spouted from the tip, splashing all over the floor around his opponent's feet. Harry then quickly chained Augmenti with Incarcerous. Blaize did his best to move out of the way, but with the floor so wet and slippery, not only could he not dodge, but he slipped as well. The result ended with Blaize bound by rope and lying on the wet floor.

"You need to be more wary of the spells you're using," Harry said as he undid the binding spell and dried off Blaize and the floor with a drying charm. "You can't just cast randomly. Certain spells can't be chained together because the wand movements don't flow together as smoothly. It takes more time to cast them since you have to get your wand into position after casting the previous spell. You want to chain together spells where each wand movement flows into the next one."

"Like you did with your augmenti and incarcerous spells." Blaize nodded as he stood up, wincing. He must have fallen on his hip. Harry wouldn't be surprised if his friend was sporting a bruise the next morning.

"That's right." He nodded. "The augmenti spell's wand movement works well with the incarcerous. However, the reverse isn't true. An incarcerous wouldn't be a good first spell to use since it would mean having to add an extra wand motion to cast the augmenti."

"I think I understand," Blaize murmured, cupping his chin. "A spell that can be cast immediately after the first without adding an extra motion to my wand makes it more efficient."

"Right, and that's why we call it a chain spell."

"How can I properly cast chains, though?" Blaize frowned. "It's not like I'll be able to think up chains in the middle of a fight."

"True, but if you create chains in advance and practice them until they become second nature, you'll be able to use them during a duel without thinking about it."

"Makes sense. Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Since it seemed they were done sparring, Harry wandered over to the lounge and sat on the couch. Daphne and Astoria were sitting together. It looked like they were talking about something, though Astoria, who'd been doing most of the talking, clammed up when he arrived.

"Don't stop on my account," Harry said. "You can keep conversing."

"If you're sure." Astoria shrugged and turned back to her sister. "So, like I was saying, Sirius Black is a total hunk—"

"You're doing that to upset me, aren't you?" he interrupted.

Astoria turned her head and smiled at him. "I've no idea what you're talking about."

"Right." Harry sighed.

"I'm surprised to see Blaize working so hard at something that requires him to exercise," Daphne said before her sister could make a snarky remark.

"Is that really so unusual?" Harry asked. He'd never seen Blaize spar outside of their games of magic tag, and while he did sometimes sit out, he'd never struck Harry as being lazy.

Daphne nodded. "Blaize doesn't like getting his hands dirty. When we were younger, every time one of the other noble children picked a fight with him, Blaize would never outright fight with them. He'd convince someone else to fight them for him, usually by spreading a few well placed rumors."

Being a neutral family, Blaize's and Daphne's parents ran in some of the same circles, so it was only natural that they would know each other from a young age. He also wasn't surprised to learn that Blaize had always been the sort to fight indirectly. Even so, it did surprise him that he'd been like that even when they were younger.

It must be his mother's influence.

While he sat with Astoria and Daphne, the others were located around the table. Neville and Terry appeared to be doing homework, but it looked like Tracey, Lisa, Luna, and Hannah were playing a game of Exploding Snaps. Of course, Harry only knew this because he could see something exploding in poor Tracey's face. The other three laughed at her.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up," she grumbled. "You won't be laughing after my big comeback."

"You say that all the time," Hannah said.

"Whatever."

"I think Tracey has more nargles than usual."

"I don't even know what that means!"

Because it was already evening, they weren't able to remain in the Chamber of Secrets for long. Dinner was coming soon. They left about two hours after arriving. As they were traveling down the main hall, several figures followed them through the portraits.

"Okay," Terry mumbled, "that's kind of creepy."

"I'm with you, Boot. What the bloody hell are they following us for?" asked Tracey.

Daphne didn't say anything, but her sigh told Harry what he needed to know. If Tracey had been in reach of her hand, there was little doubt that she would have suffered a slight concussion.

"I wonder if something's happened?" Lisa said.

"You mean like another attack?" asked Tracey.

"Yeah."

"I thought the person attacking was after Harry," Neville said with a frown. "If they're after Harry, why would they attack someone else?"

"Who knows." Tracey shook her head and gave him a helpless gesture.

As they were turning a corner, Professors McGonagall and Flitwick rushed around a corner several meters out. They turned their heads, and, spotting them, made a beeline for the group.

"Where have you lot been?" asked Professor McGonagall. Her voice sounded more harried than Harry was used to. There was an urgency in it that he rarely heard.

"Uh… we were just studying," Harry said. "Why? Did you need us for something?" Harry frowned. "Has something happened?"

"Yes, something has happened," Professor McGonagall stated. "I need all of you to return to your common rooms immediately."

It didn't look like now was the time to argue, so Harry and the others said their goodbyes and parted ways. Yet even as he, Astoria, and Neville walked up to the Gryffindor common room, he couldn't help but wonder.

What happened that has Professor McGonagall so spooked?

XoX

Amelia sat behind her desk. It was late, but she still had a lot of work to do. The recent string of disappearances in London had increased, although it looked like the killer had changed locations again. This time they were on the opposite side of London, leading Amelia to believe that whoever the killer was, they must have been a witch or wizard. The only way anyone could have changed locations so quickly was if they used apparition or a portkey.

She had several of her best aurors on the case, including Kingsley and his partner, Tonks. While Tonks was still wet behind the ears, Kingsley had been an auror for over two decades, and he'd fought bravely during the war against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. The number of times he had saved her life was uncountable. If it weren't for him, she'd have probably died after her husband had been killed.

Some people had once joked about how Kinglsey had been her rebound. Those people were fools. There had never been any romance between her and Kingsley, just a respect between two people who had fought together during one of the worst war in recent history.

Rubbing her eyes, Amelia tried to decide whether or not she should take a pepperup potion. She had several on hand. However, they had a notorious habit of causing people to crash when taken in excess, and she'd already had two.

It was while she debated on the merits of downing another pepperup potion that something happened; someone called her by floo.

"Amelia," a voice crackled from the fireplace. "Amelia Bones."

Standing up, Amelia moved around her desk, and walked past the table to her feet. Her feet padded along the soft carpet as she wandered past a comfortable looking couch, which she used quite often to sleep on when she stayed overnight at her office. Finally, she reached the fireplace and knelt down.

"Professor McGonagall," Amelia said in surprise. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

The haggardness of Professor McGonagall's face was visible even through the flame. Sunken eyes. Hollow cheeks. It was enough to worry Amelia.

"Has something happened?"

"Indeed, something has happened." Professor McGonagall sighed. "I know you have been busy, but would it be possible for you to come over to Hogwarts? I'd rather not speak of this using the floo. Someone might be able to overhear us."

While it was a unique skill, there was a magical ability known as "floo tapping". By following the magic pathways that connected one fireplace to another with a thread generated from the tip of a wand, a person could overhear a specific conversation. Talented witches and wizards could even link their wand to multiple fireplaces at once.

It was a constant worry for Amelia. As head of the DMLE, there were always people trying to tap her fireplace. Since floo tapping created only a thin, invisible thread, it was nearly impossible to detect, and no one had been able to create an enchantment that blocked people from tapping someone else's fireplace.

That said, a tap would be disconnected once a floo call ended, and it wasn't like anyone would know when Amelia was receiving a floo call. Still, there was always the risk of someone overhearing something potentially disastrous. That was the reason she never spoke of anything that could cause problems if they came to light over the floo.

Amelia glanced longingly at her pepperup potion sitting on her desk, sighed, and then said, "that's fine. I'll be right over."

She arrived at Hogwarts five minutes later. The floo network had been connected to the headmaster's office… which was a disgusting shade of pink and full of kittens. Amelia would've shuddered in revulsion, but something about the room stopped her cold.

The two corpses.

One of them was, quite clearly, Madam Umbridge. The woman was sitting at her desk, slumped over as if she'd fallen asleep. Her face was turned toward Amelia, however, and it looked nothing like someone peacefully dreaming the day away. Wide eyes stared soullessly at nothing. Her mouth was agape and slack, as though all the muscles in her jaw had inexplicably relaxed. What's more, her face held the deathly palor of a corpse.

The other corpse was Androgeus Antus, the person that she had convinced Minister Fudge to let become the DADA teacher after Remus's forced resignation. Unlike Umbridge, he was lying on the floor. He was on his back. There was a wand lying beside him.

Madam Pomfrey was leaning over Antus and casting a slew of spells. Some of them Amelia recognized, but most of them she couldn't make heads or tails out of. They were likely diagnoses spells to figure out the cause of death.

Amelia closed her eyes and counted to ten.

"Professor McGonagall, can you tell me what happened here?"

Professor McGonagall sighed and looked at Madam Pomfrey. "What have you discovered?"

Standing up, Madam Pomfrey offered a quick summary of her findings. "Both of them were killed by the killing curse. The one who cast it appears to have been Professor Antus. I've checked his wand's history, and it looks like he cast the killing curse twice, which leads me to believe he cast it once on Madam Umbridge and once on himself."

Amelia couldn't believe her ears. "There's no way Antus would do that. I know him. He abhorred killing. It's why he quit being a Hit Wizard."

"It's possible that he was imperiused," Madam Pomfrey said, though she didn't sound convinced. "However, the magic from the killing curse wiped out all traces of foreign magic."

Amelia wanted to tear her hair out. Instead, she pinched the bridge of her nose.

She didn't believe that Antus had killed himself; the very idea was preposterous. More than likely, Madam Pomfrey's idea that he'd been imperiused was spot on. The question was: Who had impressed him and why?

I wonder…

"Where are the students?" Amelia asked.

"In their house common rooms," Professor McGonagall said. "We had them all sent there as soon as we found these two like this."

"Bring them all out," Amelia said. "Take them to the Great Hall."

Professor McGonagall looked at her with wide eyes. "What? Why?"

"Because one of them isn't a student," Amelia said.

Her proclamation brought a stunned silence, broken only by the meowing of the kittens. Neither of the professors seemed capable of making heads or tails of her statement. They stared at her with uncomprehending eyes.

Amelia became impatient. "What are you two waiting for? Go now! Get the students into the Great Hall before something happens to them!"

"Yes," Professor McGonagall said at last. "You're right. Madam Pomfrey, inform Filius and Severus that they are to take their students to the Great Hall. I'll tell Professor Sprout while I'm on my way to the Gryffindor tower."

"I'll inform Professor Sprout," Amelia said. "I still know the way to the Hufflepuff's den."

Professor McGonagall didn't argue. "Very well."

As they left the headmaster's office, all three of them split ways. Amelia rushed to the Hufflepuff den. Time was of the essence. They needed to hurry. Otherwise they ran the risk of letting whoever their perpetrator was go free.

XoX

No one knew what was going on. Even so, everyone knew that something had happened.

All of the students had been sent straight to their dorms by their Head of Houses, even the seventh years and people who had been attending class. The Gryffindor Common Room was filled to the brim with people. Everyone was either sitting or standing in clumps, chatting as they tried to figure out what was going on.

Harry was sitting on the couch with Neville and Astoria. While Neville was reading a book on dueling and wand care, Harry was helping Astoria with her homework. Most people probably wouldn't have, not with the way Astoria treated him, but he wanted to get on her good side. Also, she was still Daphne's sister.

"No one actually knows who, precisely, created the disarming charm," Harry said. "The sad truth is that there's so much mixed information that it's unlikely any of our books are correct. Some historians have claimed the spell was invented by Merlin himself, while others believe its first widespread use was in Madagascar during the eleventh century."

Astoria's homework was a one foot long revision on the history of the disarming charm, expelliarmus. She'd come to Harry asking him to help her check her facts by telling her what he knew of the spell. While he lectured her on the disarming charm's history, Astoria was reading from her parchment, eyes scrolling as though she were following his lecture on paper.

"Regardless of whether or not any of this is true, the fact remains that this spell didn't become popular until it was used by Elizabeth Smudgling in duel during the twenty-sixth annual dueling championship in 1379."

Astoria frowned. "I don't have any information on Elizabeth Smudgling."

"You'd need to read her biography for more information on her," Harry said.

Biting her lip for a moment, Astoria eventually nodded. "I still need three more inches, so I think adding information about her would be a good idea."

"Smart choice," Harry agreed. "I did the same thing for my essay on the disarming charms history last year."

"Really… in that case, maybe I won't add information about her."

"Then how will you add three extra inches?"

Astoria huffed and crossed her arms. "I'll find something else to write about."

Hiding what must have been a smile behind his book, Neville said, "You two act a lot like a pair of bickering siblings."

"Wha—" Astoria's eyes bulged before narrowing. "We do not! There's no way I'd ever act like this jerkwad's sister."

"You know if I married Daphne, I'd become your brother, don't you?" Harry said. "And weren't you trying to convince me that I should marry her?"

Astoria's cheeks flared up. "T-that's different…"

"How so?"

"It just is, okay!"

As they continued to chatter, someone walked down the stairs from the girl's dormitory. It was Ginny. She looked around, clutching a hand to her chest, and then spotted them over by the fireplace. She made a beeline for them, weaving her way between the numerous people who were also sitting around.

"Harry," Ginny said hesitantly. "Can I… talk to for a moment?"

Frowning at the uncertainty in the girl's voice, he stood up and gestured at her. "Sure. What's up?"

"Can you hold onto this for me?"

"Huh?"

Harry frowned when something was thrust into his hands. It didn't look like anything special. It was just a small book, similar in many ways to a diary. It was pink and had white polka dots. There really wasn't anything particular about its appearance.

The hair on his arms prickled. A thrill ran down his spine. His fingers tingled as though he'd experienced an electric shock.

This is—!

Harry didn't even get to finish that thought before he felt a tug on his navel, like a hook that had suddenly wrapped around him and yanked. The world became distorted, blurry. All he could see were Ginny's green eyes and the not-quite-right smile on her face.

His feet suddenly slammed into hard ground. Unprepared, Harry fell forward. He wasn't even given time to orient himself before something slammed into his back, sending what felt like a static shock through his entire body, causing his muscles to spasm and seize up. It felt like every cell in his body was being electrocuted by several thousand volts.

The feeling subsided, but Harry felt numb. He fell to his knees, and then onto his stomach. His face struck the ground with a harsh smack, though he didn't feel it. He couldn't feel much of anything.

A pair of shoes appeared in front of his face, his vision blurred as he was overcome with exhaustion, and then he was engulfed in darkness.

XoX

Daphne sat with Blaize and Tracey. They didn't know what was happening. After Professor McGonagall had found them, the three of them were separated from their friends and traveled to the Slytherin dorms in the basement. There they found just about every other Slytherin student, along with Professor Snape, standing around and looking unsure.

Their head of house hadn't told them why everyone had to stay in the dorms, only saying that something had happened and they were to remain there for their own safety. He did let them know that he'd inform them about what happened once it was safe to do so. Draco had tried to strongarm Professor Snape into telling him what was happening, but not even the snot-nosed brat of the Malfoy family could wiggle that bit of information out of their head of house.

Professor Snape hadn't left the Slytherin common rooms. Daphne didn't know why, but he stayed in the common room with them, almost like he was attempting to prevent them from trying to sneak out, or maybe like he was trying to protect them. Even now she could see him standing in front of the entrance, arms crossed and face scowling.

"I wonder what crawled up his butt and died," Tracey murmured with a frown.

"Do you think there's been another death?" asked Blaize.

Daphne frowned as she tore her gaze away from Professor Snape. "That's possible. If we consider the way he's acting, there's a high chance that someone's been killed."

"I wonder if it was another student," Tracey contemplated.

The very fact that they were sitting there, speculating about how someone may have been killed, struck Daphne as wrong. It wasn't just how they were discussing whether or not someone had been killed. It was how discussions like this had become commonplace. It was how they were at Hogwarts, supposedly one of the safest locations in the entire world.

A noise alerted Daphne to something happening. It sounded like creaking. Seconds later, the crowd of students parted to reveal that Madam Pomfrey had entered the Slytherin common room.

"Severus," the woman began, "please bring everyone to the Great Hall."

Despite still wearing his patented sneer, Professor Snape nodded and turned to the students. "You heard her. We're going to the Great Hall. Everyone form an orderly line and follow me. Seventh years, make sure to keep all of the other students from getting out of order."

Daphne fell in line with the others as they filed out of the common room. Tracey was in front of her and Blaize was behind her. They walked up several flights of stairs and down numerous hallways, eventually reaching the large double doors of the Great Hall.

The Great Hall was already full of people. Because the Slytherin common room was further from the Great Hall than the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, it made sense that all she saw was a sea of blue and yellow. As they walked further in, Daphne held onto Tracey and Blaize's hands, to keep from being separated as they searched for their friends.

They found Susan, Hannah, Lisa, Luna, and Terry standing by Madam Amelia Bones. The sight of the DMLE's head startled Daphne, but she was a Greengrass. Her father's tutoring made it so that she would never display her surprise for longer than a second. Even now, those teachings, taught through many hours and a lot of pain, remained ingrained into her psyche.

"Madam Bones." She curtsied upon reaching the group. "I'm not sure if I should say it's a pleasure to see you right now."

A wry smile curled Madam Bones's lips. "Considering the situation, you would be right." She turned to Susan. "I'm going to speak with Severus Snape, so I'll leave you to your friends."

"Okay, Aunty."

As Madam Bones walked off, Tracey wandered up to the redhead, her gaze inquiring. "So, did your aunt tell you what's going on?"

Susan shook her head. "She only said that something serious has happened."

"I'm beginning to wonder if another student really has been killed," Lisa said, worrying her lower lip.

"It might even be a teacher," Terry added.

"But if someone was killed here, then it means whoever did it is somewhere in Hogwarts," Hannah said. "I know now that this school isn't the safest place, but could there really be a rampaging murderer on the loose?"

"Our school doesn't have a very good track record," Tracey informed the blonde girl. "I mean, just look at all the crap that's happened to us up to now."

Daphne shook her head. "Many of the situations that happened to us were circumstantial. Professor Quirrell was possessed by Vo—the dark lord, and Ginny Weasley was possessed by a diary of the dark lord."

"So? Maybe one of the other students have been possessed by another item of the dark lord's," Tracey speculated.

"Unlikely," Daphne immediately rebutted her friend. "Even though the headmaster was forced to resign, he would have at least made sure that dark items couldn't pass through the barrier surrounding Hogwarts. While it might not be full proof, he'd have, at the very least, made it impossible for something dark enough to possess someone to be taken into Hogwarts."

"How are you so sure?" asked Lisa. "I don't want to down Head—I mean, Dumbledore, but there's no evidence to support you."

"Do you really think Dumbledore would let the same thing happen twice?" asked Daphne in return. "Look at what's happened so far this year. Until Dumbledore was forced to resign, all of the attacks happened outside of Hogwarts."

Blaize blinked in realization. "In other words, the attacks were committed outside of Hogwarts because the person who was doing the attacking couldn't attack while they were inside of the barrier."

"Exactly." Daphne nodded. "If this person could attack while inside of Hogwarts, they would've done so from the beginning, especially if Harry was their target. Instead, they had to attack him in a roundabout manner, using his insatiable curiosity to lure him into a trap, and then using the guise of a terrorist attack to try and kill him at Hogsmeade when their first attempt failed."

"But what about when those armored suits attacked Harry?" asked Neville. "If this person can't attack inside Hogwarts, then—"

"I never said they 'couldn't'," Daphne said. "If someone wanted to attack another person, they can. There's no magic barrier that can stop attacks from happening. However, I'm pretty sure Dumbledore placed a charm on the barrier that would alert him to any dark magic being used. That's why this person was so careful until now."

"You mean until Madam Umbridge became the headmistress?" Terry asked for clarification.

"Right," Daphne said. "I doubt Madam Umbridge was ever set up to become the true headmistress of Hogwarts. She probably has no idea how to properly use the wards. She might not even be able to use them."

"Which means that someone could feasibly use dark magic now and no one would know about it," Luna said. When everyone turned to look at her, she gave them a curious tilt of her head. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing…" Daphne mumbled before getting back on track. "Luna is right. If Umbridge can't activate or even use the wards surrounding Hogwarts, then she probably can't sense when dark magic is used."

"So when Dumbledore was taken out of the picture…" Tracey began.

"It left our school open to attacks from within," Blaize finished.

"This is bad," Terry said.

Before anything else could be said, the doors to the Great Hall opened and Professor McGonagall rushed in. She stood at the entrance, but not for long. Her gaze turned to Madam Bones. With her lips set in a thin line, she made a bee-line for the woman and began speaking frantically. Daphne wondered what they were talking about. She was getting a sinking feeling in her stomach. The feeling of her stomach dropping increased when Madam Bones returned to them.

"Could you all come with me please?" she asked.

No one said anything. Perhaps they, like Daphne, felt the sudden gravity to the situation. They followed Madam Bones without complaint. Professor McGonagall joined them, and as one, they went out of the Great Hall and into a small side door. After Madam Bones had cast several locking and silencing spells on the door, she turned around.

"Aunty?" Susan questioned with a worried expression.

"I don't know how to tell you this gently, so I'm just going to come out and say it." Madam Bones took a deep breath, held it, and then released it. For whatever reason, that action made Daphne more worried than before.

And then Madam Bones dropped the bombarda.

"Harry Potter has been kidnapped."

Daphne felt like someone had stabbed her in the stomach.

"W-what?" Susan asked, blinking rapidly as though trying to comprehend her aunt's words. Daphne couldn't even do that much.

Madam Bones sighed. "Professor McGonagall, if you'd please?"

Stepping forward, Professor McGonagall gave them all a sad look that verged on depressing. "We have eyewitness accounts from Mr. Longbottom and Ms. Astoria Greengrass who say that Ginerva Weasley placed an object in Mr. Potter's hand and they both disappeared."

An object? Disappeared? That didn't sound right. How could someone just disappear if an object was placed in their hands, unless…

"A portkey," Lisa murmured before Daphne could say anything.

"That is what we believe," Madam Bones said.

"But that shouldn't be possible!" Lisa burst. "Hogwarts has several enchantments surrounding it, and one of them is the deactivation of all portkeys. No one can use a portkey unless the headmaster allows it!"

"But Headmaster Dumbledore isn't here," Daphne murmured. Everyone turned to her. "The headmaster isn't Dumbledore. It's Umbridge. I bet you anything that Umbridge doesn't know how to properly activated the enchantments surrounding Hogwarts."

"Actually, Senior Undersecretary Umbridge is dead," Madam Bones admitted. Several gasps escaped the students. Even Daphne sucked in a breath. "We haven't told anyone, but since all of you are close to Harry, it's best that you know this now. We believe that Ginerva Weasley killed Umbridge in order to take down the enchantments."

It was true that without a headmaster or headmistress, the enchantments surrounding Hogwarts automatically went down. Daphne's understanding was that the protection around the school was linked to each headmaster. If the headmaster wasn't there, the protections couldn't be activated.

"What I don't understand is why Ginny would do something like this," Terry said.

"It must be because of the nargles," Luna told everyone.

"Come again?" asked a frowning Madam Bones.

"I noticed it when we came back from Christmas holidays," Luna said. "There were a lot of nargles surrounding Ginny. They were everywhere! I don't think I've ever seen so many nargles in one place. Even Harry's scar doesn't have that many."

"Nargles," Madam Bones mouthed as though unsure of how to take this.

Taking another look at Luna again, Daphne wondered if perhaps what Luna assumed were nargles was actually magic. No one had ever taken the girl's words seriously—no one except for Harry. He'd indulged the girl a number of times. When she mentioned nargles or some other make believe creature, he would ask her about them; what are they? How do they move? What do they do? Daphne had thought he was just humoring the girl, but now…

Could she be sensitive to magic?

There were cases of children who were sensitive to the flow and ebb of magic. Oftentimes they could sense magic through one of the five senses. Daphne had once read that Merlin had been able to "smell" magic, and that his sensitivity was such that he could determine exactly what spell had been cast, who had cast it, and how long ago it had been cast based on the magic's distinct scent. Maybe, just maybe, Luna saw magic as strange creatures that her mind made up.

"Do you think there might still be something wrong with her?" Susan asked.

"What do you mean?" asked Professor McGonagall with pursed lips.

"Last year, Ginny was possessed by a diary," Susan said. "Harry told us about how the diary of Vo-Voldemort had taken control of her and killed Hermione. Maybe… maybe being possessed caused something inside of her to snap."

"But why would it not become apparent until now?" asked Blaize. "If someone is going to break after something like that, it would have happened much sooner. People don't remain calm after stuff like this happens and then suddenly snap months down the road."

"My guess is it's because of the nargles," Luna said.

"What do you mean?" asked Daphne.

Tilting her head, Luna placed a finger to her lips as though she was thinking hard. "Well, during the beginning of this year, there were only a few nargles around Ginny. It wasn't until after Christmas break that she became infested with nargles."

While everyone else looked at her oddly, Daphne continued to question her. "What did these nargles look like? Was there anything unusual about them?"

"Hmm…" Luna frowned, her brow furrowing. "They did change color."

"Color?" Daphne blinked.

"Yes." Nodding, Luna said, "at the start of the year, all the nargles around her were red, but after Christmas holidays, the nargles became black."

"Black…"

If these "nargles" were, in fact, magic, then perhaps black meant Luna was seeing dark magic. Daphne wasn't Harry. She had no idea if she was even close to the mark. However, barring anything else to go on, she chose to believe that Luna could see magic, and that something was wrong with Ginny Weasley's magic.

That begged other questions, though. It couldn't have just been Ginny's magic that became corrupted. Could her mind have also degraded? It didn't sound right. If her mind had been destroyed, or if it became dark, it wouldn't have been such a slow process…

Daphne shook her head. What happened to make Ginny do this way doesn't matter right now. Only one thing matters to me.

"What are we gonna do?" Susan asked the question that Daphne wanted to ask. "How are we going to find Harry?"

A rather prominent frown appeared on Madam Bones's face. "You are not going to do anything. My aurors and I will find Harry."

"Unacceptable," Daphne said, surprising everyone there, including herself. That didn't mean she was going to stop. "There's no way I'm going to sit around, waiting on my thumbs while Harry is in danger."

"Daph is right," Tracey added.

"Harry's our friend," Terry agreed.

"Listen," Madam Bones started, "I know that Harry is important to all of you, but—"

"It's not just that," Blaize said, shocking Daphne. It wasn't in his nature to interrupt others. "You can't simply expect us to sit here and do nothing. Besides, can you really afford to not take all the help you can get?"

Professor McGonagall frowned at them. "Now, you lot. I understand that you're worried, but you're still just kids. This is too much for you."

"With all due respect, Professor, we've already been through more than most kids our age," Lisa said. "We've experienced more since coming to Hogwarts than even some adults. I don't think our age is a determining factor in whether or not we're qualified to help."

While Professor McGonagall huffed and made a thin line with her lips, Madam Bones turned to Susan. "I'm guessing you feel the same way?"

"Of course I do," Susan said, her doe-like brown eyes blazing with a determination that was becoming more commonplace in her.

The DMLE head sighed and gave her niece a weary smile. "I have raised a very stubborn niece."

"I'm only as stubborn as the one who raised me," Susan returned.

"Very well," Madam Bones said. "While I won't let any of you do something dangerous, I will allow you to help me located Harry."

Daphne looked at the others in relief. They must have been feeling it, too, because they all wore the same smile. Even if it was just finding Harry, or helping find out where he'd been taken, at least they were doing something.

"Are you sure about this, Amelia?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"No." Madam Bones sighed. She looked at Daphne and the others, her smile both resigned and dry. "But I'm not sure I could stop these kids even if I tried. Besides, they're right. I can't afford to close any avenues that might help us locate Harry."

At those words, Professor McGonagall's shoulders slouched. "I see. I can't stop you, since I do not have the authority. However, understand that I will hold you responsible should any harm befall my students."

"Don't worry," Madam Bones said. "I'll make sure they never see danger."

"See to it that you do."

While everyone began chattering about how they were going to save Harry, Daphne looked up at the wall, narrowing her eyes as though she could see through it. She was startled when a hand grabbed hers. Blinking several times, she turned her head to see who had grabbed her. It was Susan.

"Don't worry," the redhead said. "We'll rescue Harry."

"Right." Daphne smiled and clutched Susan's hand. "Of course we will."

---

Welp. That's a wrap for this chapter. Harry's been kidnapped and his friends are going to rescue him. It's been difficult writing this. I wanted to accomplish several things with this chapter. First: I want to help reinforce that having perfect memory doesn't mean being perfect. Harry might remember everything he sees, but that doesn't mean he can't miss signs and clues. Second: I wanted to give the adults a chance to "prove themselves." In the canon Harry Potter series, adults are all but useless. They're like cannon fodder who's only purpose is to fail so Harry can move the plot. Third: I'm trying to decide what I want to do with Susan Bones. I believe I originally stated that she's going to be in Harry's harem, but I'm thinking about changing that. I've been playing around with Susan's character a lot, and I don't know if it's possible to put her with Harry because of her position and personal disposition. That said, nothing is set in stone yet. I just want you all to be aware that there is a chance that something will change at some point.

Anyway, I'd like to thank you all for reading. I hope you had fun!