Chapter 45—DADA the minor problem
I got a note from the mystery MI-16 person asking if there was anything I needed but since I was in the dark, just as they were, I just said "thanks will let you know". They did leave another emergency phone number.
/Scene Break/
Severus had made up his mind and 'flo'ed to "The Bloody Dragon" in Knockturn Alley.
"Severus you black-hearted Duffer, out for a bender are you?" yelled an obvious bit of trouble.
"School break and haven't been called, so it's a little slow, how about you Bobbins?" Snape asked in a low voice.
"Best not ask for a call, you may not return to Hogwarts" Bobbins said in a low whisper.
"You're trying to hold out on us Bobbins?"
"No its not happy news, you can ask Stephen here, the Dark Lord is not overly safe to be around right now." Bobbins looked scared as he answered.
"Stephens?" Snape asked.
"No idea what's up in total but he is dragging in English wizards and squibs and they never get out of the chamber alive." Stephens shuttered. "There are large groups of foreigners being dragged in, but Deatheaters disappear if you piss him off."
"Some kind of ritual he is doing, but it's sketchy at best" Bobbins added. "Claverdon has some wild story about opening a portal." Stephens hissed.
"He may not be far off; Andrew was running his mouth about using their magic to open the portal and the squibs to feed what came out. What's scary is the Dark Lord according to Andrew was making a pledge to whatever came out. Nobody's seen him since he ran that mouth of his." Bobbins was looking over his shoulder about this time and Stephens looked like he was ready to bolt.
Snape bought a couple of rounds of fire whiskey but soon departed back to Hogwarts, he had news for Potter.
/Scene Break/
Breakfast in the Great Hall, Hogwarts:
"Professor Potter if you have time would you stop by my office? I have a new spell that I would like your opinion on; your lovely wife is also invited." Snape sounded like he might be smiling. Several students looked up and were seriously disappointed at not seeing a history making event, Snape being polite?
"Delighted Professor, after your last class if that is convenient?" I stated.
"Indeed." Was Snape's only reply.
/Scene Break/
Snape's office after his last class:
"So that's what Bobbins and Stephen had to say." Snape said, ending his tale of his meeting in Knockturn Alley.
"Not making any sense! With all the means of transportation that Wizard's have a portal makes no sense. It's a door so even if he opened one in Hogwarts he could not get enough Deatheaters through before we started killing them as soon as the entered." I was confused; Voldemort was crazy but not dumb.
"So what is he transporting is a good question." Snape added.
"Maybe it would be better phrased, transporting what from where?" Hermione had the look of here comes the library.
"Shit, he wouldn't would he, I mean opening a door to another universe, I mean there is nothing but nasties in those universes. The Department of Mysteries opened a few before and that's why they discontinued their research, some really nasty things came through." Snape did not look happy, but then again it was Snape.
"There may be a more interesting question, what did he promise those things to control them?" Hermione added.
While we left Snape's office shaking our heads Hermione dragged me to the library and dug into the books. Some she stuffed under my nose but I found nothing interesting or important. I did get to shaking my head again as I looked up at someone entering this section. It was unbelievable the amount of money they must be spending to keep Draco out of jail and in Hogwarts. After all he had done, there was the poof in all his arrogant glory, that Voldemort was winning.
/Scene Break/
So the teaching went on and I got to terrorize the students, but they were learning. I also got to study in my spare time which was more and more limited. The Potter Grimore was in my nose as often as not, it had some great wards and how they were put together. I was using practical application of many of the wards to the point that the Headmistress banished me to the Forbidden Forest. Not that I did anything intentionally but sometimes I put up a ward and it took a couple of hours to take down. Unfortunately it blocked something that someone needed like a classroom. Some wards took seconds to put up but were near impossible to take down.
/Scene Break/
Hermione was in a panic over what she found which of course was not enough for her but scared the hell out of me. I call the emergency number and asked that a copy of the Department of Mysteries information on the other universes they had opened. They stonewalled but then I told them Voldemort was opening portals and they had better be ready for a influx of unknown dangerous things of earth shattering proportions, the information arrived the next day.
"Foxy! Is there a space vehicle being launched to Mars or some other remote planet in the next couple of days?" I asked as I read over the material provided by Her Majesty's people.
"Sorry Paws we have no way to escape."
"I like this one that is a mist that speaks with lightning bolts." I laughed rather than crying.
"Oh did you see this one, it's a blob that is made of acid and eats everything except dirt?"
"No here is the best one, a perfectly looking human but when it touches you it sucks you into its being never to be seen again." I was getting afraid of what else may be possible from universe portals.
I was now living in the Potter Grimore. There were wards and there were wards and they were the only thing that I could think of that could stop the possible horrors. Sending a 'Stupify' or an 'incarcerous' just wasn't going to do much to a mist as it shot lighting bolts.
/Scene Break/
While we were trying to scare ourselves into the nut-farm Snape was getting troubles of his own. Being the big bad sneer person he never mentioned that he was a target. He was too proud and as a trained Deatheater he figured he should be able to handle most dangers.
Draco must have been given orders to kill Snape as he turned out to be the sneak that was firing 'Avada Kedava' from behind hidden passageways and around corridor corners. The problem was that the curse was hard to hide once it was cast. Not that it left scaring on walls or dead people but at Hogwarts it set off alarms. The Headmistriss brought in the Aurors. All they found was an empty corridore or room that had evidence of the use of a 'Avada Kedava'. It wasn't long before a wand check of all students was conducted in the Great Hall.
The idiot never cleared his wand so the check finally got to Darco and his wand gave him away. The Aurors then took him away. There was now open betting on how long it would take to bribe his way back to Hogwarts. Amelia said no, McGonagall said no but how many times had he been expelled?
/Scene Break/
Classes, studying, broom closets and house interaction was progressing as it usually did at Hogwarts. Then the big Quittage game with normal house rivalry and yelling matches. Unfortunately it wasn't long before new people were elected replace Ron and Draco as resident idiots. All in all a normal time at Hogwarts which brought a Hogsmeade Village weekend.
That there were troubles coming in the future was shared with Amelia and McGonagall but where or when was difficult to predict. With the Hogsmeade Village weekend starting McGonagall had all the teachers in town and Amelia had a large showing of Aurors. It turned out to be a very nice weekend once we stopped jumping at shadows. While most students and teachers lunched at 'The Three Broomsticks' Foxy and I had a quiet meal at a nice place next to the Hogshead bar. After walking the length of Hogsmeade and back numerous times we were happy when the day was over. Foxy and I soaked in our hot tub at Godric Hollows, trying to forget the possibilities, at least for a little while.
Breakfast at Hogwarts brought Snape to drag us to an anteroom in the rear of the Great Hall. "Something is going on my arm is burning in a general recall by the Dark Lord."
"Thanks, we have to just wait until he does something, but thanks for the update." I was thinking a mile a minute as to what could be going on, where and when. It was just a headache in the making. We all headed off to classes as that was the only thing being required of us at the moment. And so we waited.
/Scene Break/
We were all waiting for the big? What? A portal opening or multiple portals opening and where would this happen?
A week later we got a jolt as the Headmistress got a 'floe' call stating that Diagon Alley was under attack by Voldemort
Hermione and I flamed to an alley near the Leakey Cauldron and carefully entered.
We made it to Eeylops Owl Emporium before we saw what was going to happen. The Deatheaters had a number of one-eyed men riding Griffins with them. The group then attacked Gringotts Wizarding Bank to our open mouth surprise.
Hermione started to explain a number of things. They were a tribe of one-eyed men that were called Arimaspi and they fought the Griffins. Why they were riding their enemy was strange as they were monsters guarding the entrance to the otherworld. This was drowned out by the Goblin warriors pouring out of the bank slicing with swords and hacking with axed. The Goblins won in a few minutes of fierce fighting, the remaining Deatheaters port-keyed out of the Alley. We now had something to consider but not much more than what we had before, confusion.
/Scene Break/
Everyone's confusion was reinforced by a meeting at McGonagall's office. Mr. Jones, Amelia, Shacklebolt, Snape, Hermione and I were all there with more questions than answers.
"We confirmed that the pieces left over from the Goblin attack and they were not polli-juiced or anything other than what they appeared." Shacklebolt stated as most knew that the Goblins enjoyed eating their enemies.
"We are sure Voldemort has indeed opened portals to other worlds or universes. We have no index or dictionary of the places or their occupants. However, Lady Potter was correct in her assessment of whom they were and where they come from." Mr. Jones added.
"So our next move is?" I asked.
"Afraid we wait and see." Mr. Jones stated.
That of course was not what anyone wanted to hear but knew that waiting was the only thing other than planning. The only plans were to turn out everyone, especially the Aurors.
So it dragged on until just before Christmas break, the Yule ball was announced so everyone's mind was diverted to finding a date and getting the Great Hall decorated. Then there was to be the mass exodus to the train for the Christmas break. The weather was making the scene white with snow and ice cycles hung from trees and overhangs. It was a winter wonderland for the Yule ball. Hagrid out did himself not only finding but hauling in twenty-foot trees. Between Flitwick's and McGonagall transfiguration spells the hall was a sight to see. Fairy lights twinkled in the trees and food was abundant at all hours. It was a just what you could imagine for a truly wizard Christmas.
It was just the time for Voldemort to make his appearance and take Hogwarts.
HogsmeadeVillage really only had one main street untill split off just past Scrivenshaft's. It started at the train station and went towards 'The Three BroomSticks" on the right hand side of the street. The street continued on with Honeyduke's, Zonko's, Gladrags and Scrivenshaft's on the left. Behind these stores was a large snow covered field that stretched quite a ways to the train tracks, further on was the Hogwart's school gates. Madam Puddifoot's at the end of a side street over looked this great field. What was seen from Madam Puddifoot's had caused a 'floe' call to the Ministry and the Ministry call to Hogwarts faster that the snow could fall on the snow-covered field.
There on the open field was the beginning of a shimmering portal with Deatheaters and the main attraction, Voldemort. The game was now beginning its final stages.