Chapter 60 : I smell a rat.
The students from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor had left for the train station, accompanied by the D.A. members making the trip to Kings Cross and some of the defenders. That left the Slytherin table to be dealt with, which Harry and Lucius were about to do.
"All right . . . Slytherin House," Harry began. "You all are heading home and you will be in a separate coach on the train, in order to make sure none of you try and send any word ahead as to what happened here this morning; which means your owls are being kept under lock and key in the baggage car."
"What about our baggage," asked Tracy Davis. "I've not finished packing yet!"
"Your packing was finished by the House Elves and your things are already on board," replied Harry.
"Shouldn't put off packing until the last minute! Makes everyone have to wait for you and that's inconsiderate," added Luna.
Pansy opened her mouth to tell Luna where to 'pack it', but thought better when she saw Lucius step forward.
"I would like to tell those of you whose parents are followers of the Dark Lord that it will end badly for them, if they come here, with him, to do battle. If I were you, I'd tell them to resist his call and put their time to better use, such as protecting their family, perhaps, so you may return to finish your education without the taint of having your mother or father dead or serving time in Azkaban for being in league with Voldemort," Lucius advised them, even as some gasped at him using the Dark Lord's name. "My family and I are firmly behind Harry and will be here to fight with him against Voldemort and your parents, if they are foolish enough to come with him. We will not spare them for 'old time sake'. Please give them that message from me; it will be their only warning."
Most of the Slytherins looked stunned that Lucius would actually speak such blasphemy, but they could see the determination in his, Draco and Narcissa's eyes and demeanor, standing proud and defiant next to Harry, Ron and Hermione.
"Well, on that note, let's get you all to the station and onboard the Express, shall we," called Arthur Weasley from the doorway, motioning the students to rise and follow him. The younger ones practically scrambled over one another to get out of the Great Hall, but the older students just stood and then sauntered over to the door, past Draco, pointedly ignoring him, except Pansy, who leaned over and hissed something in his ear. Draco eyes flew open and then he threw back his head and roared with laughter, which made Pansy turn red in the face and stomp out.
"What did she say, dearest?" Narcissa asked.
When Draco stopped laughing he looked at his Mother and shook his head.
"Oh, just words to the effect that my 'wand' work wasn't up to her standards, Mother, and let it go at that, okay?" Draco sputtered, causing Ron to snort and Harry to grin.
Narcissa took a second to grasp what her son meant, then she scowled and turned to go after Pansy, but Draco grabbed her arm.
"Let her go, Mother. If that was the best she had to insult me with, well, consider the source, eh?" Draco smiled.
"Little tramp," muttered Cissa. She looked thoughtful for a moment, and then reached over to gave Draco a kiss on the cheek. "You're right, dearest, we'll give her the benefit of the doubt . . .after all, with so many examples to try to remember and compare, she probably had you confused with someone else."
Draco's mouth dropped open as the group standing around them exploded in laughter, Cissa remaining straight faced, smoothing down her gown and looking around as if she'd been discussing the weather.
"Mother, I'm glad you're on our side and Merlin help Pansy if you ever see her again."
"You have that right, Draco," said his father, as he gave his wife a hug. "That's my Cissa; gracious to a fault, but blessed with a long memory, which some have discovered."
X X X
As the older Slytherins exited the Great Hall, they heard the laughter coming from behind them and wondered what Pansy had said to Draco. Others in the outer hallway turned to see what was going on, which is when Pansy signaled her friends and they bolted down the stairs to the dungeons.
"What are we going to do now?" asked Blaise, when they had gotten sufficiently far enough away from the upper floors to not be heard talking.
"We're going to hide for a bit and then go out that door Potter and his buddies used to get to the kitchens. We'll sneak out the gates and then go into Hogsmeade and 'Floo' home. We'll beat the Express by hours and can tell our parents what happened, if they don't already know. Headmaster Snape will have gone straight to the Dark Lord, but that doesn't mean everyone knows what Potter has done," Pansy explained, as she led them deeper into the underground passages.
"We can hide in one of the storage rooms past the kitchens and then I know a short cut to that door," Theo told them. "It's near where I saw Dumbledore's ghost.
"Okay, let's get out of sight; they'll come looking for us as soon as they realize we gave them the slip," Daphne said, as she checked back up the stairs, listening for any signs they were being followed. "We're okay so far; let's go!"
Little did they know that one of the House Elves was trailing them, keeping track of where they went and what was being said. Nubby grinned, as he'd never had this much fun; he'd always worked with the Ravenclaws but these Slytherins were much more adventurous . . . and sneaky! Nubby liked sneaky!
X X X
Hermione was double-checking one of her lists when Fred and George came hurrying back into the Great Hall, looking around.
"Bloody Hell!" Fred exclaimed.
"Damn!" George swore.
"What in the world is wrong with you two?" Hermione asked, as she walked over to them.
"We've lost some of the Slytherins," Fred informed her.
"Never made it to the train station," George added.
"Which ones?" Hermione asked
"Pansy, Blaise," Fred started.
"Daphne and Theo," George finished.
Hermione spun around. "Harry! Draco! We've got a problem!"
Harry, who had been conferring with Draco, Neville and Seamus, turned and looked at her, throwing up his hands. "What?! Already?!"
"This isn't funny; Pansy and her buddies have gone missing," she told him, hand on her hip, Fred and George nodding.
"They slipped away somehow," Fred said.
"Train left without them," George added.
"Shit!" Draco shook his head. "I bet they ducked down the stairs to hide in the dungeons. I'll go look for them."
"Wait!" Harry grabbed his arm, as he pulled the Marauders Map from his back pocket. "This will tell us right where they are. . . . let's see . . . yep, they're right past the first kitchen storage rooms, heading into the deeper part of the cellars." Harry pointed to the four names wending their way through the subterranean passages. "Ah, and Nubby is following them, too," Harry noted with some satisfaction. "Don't they know there's no way out from that section of the dungeons?"
"We're not talking about the sharpest tacks on the board, here, Harry," Draco laughed. "I'm rather impressed they knew there were more hallways past the entrance to the Slytherin Common room."
"Alright, then . . . Draco, you and Neville round them up. Fred and George, you were heading down there to direct the distribution of the supplies anyway, after the Express left, so help gather this bunch, and then continue with getting those swamps laid out and the boxes moved."
"Right-o, Harry!" Fred saluted.
"I can't wait!" added George.
"Then let's go get these wayward children," Draco laughed.
"Hey, Seamus, Dean, lend a hand, will you?" called Neville. "Couldn't hurt to outnumber them; less likely to put up any resistance," he shrugged.
"Good point," Harry agreed. "Don't be too hard on that lot and while you're tracking them down, I'll talk to Albus and see what he thinks we should do with them."
X X X
"There aren't any doors down here," Daphne noticed. "Have we passed the storage room?"
"No, this is where I saw Dumbledore's ghost, and he went into the wall right over there," Theo pointed further down the passage. "But, he came out of a door on this side . . . somewhere . . . about here . . . hummm." Theo stood studying the wall.
"There's no door, Theo," Pansy said, hands on her hips.
"Yes, there is," Theo insisted. "I remember seeing light coming from another hallway and then the door closed. . . but I was so shocked at seeing Dumbledore that I forgot about it, until just now."
"Let's see if this will work,!" Blaise said, as he pointed his wand at the wall. "'Alohomora'!"
There was a faint rubbing sound and then a door swung inward, revealing another torch lit passage.
"This is perfect! I bet no-one else knows about this! Come on, let's hide in here and then we'll sneak out in an hour or so." Pansy suggested, leading the way into the side passage.
There didn't seem to be anything different about this hallway, except it was obvious no-one had been using it as the dust was piled up along the walls and the cobwebs hung thick from the torch sconces, except . . . there seemed to be a path in the dust to a door on the right side, about halfway down the corridor, as if someone had been coming and going from one door to the other. Curious, Theo went over to the door and put his ear against the wood surface. At first he didn't hear anything, but then, it sounded like a chair scraping on the stone floor.
Turning to the others, he put a finger to his mouth to shush them, then waved them over.
"I think there's someone in this room!" he whispered.
"Who would be living this far under the castle?" Daphne questioned.
Blaise shrugged but Pansy looked thoughtful.
"Perhaps Dumbledore isn't dead, after all, but hiding here at Hogwarts!" she hissed.
"That's not possible! He was hit with two 'Avada Kadavra' spells . . . nobody could survive that!" Theo exclaimed. "I saw his ghost walk through a wall!"
"Well, there's only one way to find out! Stand Back!" Pansy ordered. "Have your wands ready; if we catch the old coot, we can use him to get out of here with no interference from Potter and friends," she gloated. " 'Alohomora'!"
Nothing happened, but there was a scuffing sound from inside the room.
"Who's there?" came a muffled voice.
"That's not Dumbledore," Daphne whispered.
"Who would be locked up . . . " Blaise started to ask, when Theo gasped.
"I know who's in there! I'll bet you one hundred Galleons it's Peter Pettigrew!"
"Merlin! I bet you're right, Theo," Pansy agreed. "Hello! Can you hear us?"
"Yes, yes! Who's there?"
"It's Pansy Parkinson and some others! Who are you?"
"Peter Pettigrew! Oh, I am ever so glad to hear a friendly voice! Can you open the door?"
"We tried! Alohomora didn't work! Any suggestion? Is there a password?" Theo called.
"Not that I know . . . How did you find me?" Peter asked.
"We're hiding from Potter . . . It seems he's taking over the school," Blaise informed him.
"At least until the Dark Lord gets here," added Pansy.
"My Master is coming here? When?" came the muffled question.
"Tonight, probably," answered Pansy.
"Oh, I must get out of here and help! Tell you what! I'll get behind something and you just blast the door open . . . Then we'll all leave the castle together . . . I know several secret passages!" came the excited reply.
"Alright, we'll give you a minute, then we'll blow this door off its hinges!" Theo said, as the others nodded.
"Right! I'll be ready on the count of ten!" Peter told them, even as he backed away from the door. There was a crash from inside the room, as he turned his table on its side and crouched down behind it. "READY!" came a shout from inside the room.
The Slytherins backed away from the door and leveled their wands.
"Daphne, do a 'Shield Charm' to keep us from getting hit when the door explodes," suggested Blaise.
"Right, got it!" replied Daphne.
"Ready," Theo looked left and right, as the others nodded. "GO!"
" 'Protego!' " " 'Confringo!' " " ' Reducto!' " " 'Bombarda!' "
X X X
'Pop'
"Mister Harry Potter! The students is blasting open the door!" Nubby was jumping up and down in his anxiety.
"Whoa! Whoa! What door, Nubby?" asked Harry, as he caught the House Elf by the shoulders to calm him down.
"The room where the 'Rat man' be staying!"
"Damn! " Exclaimed Sirius, who had overheard. "I'll take care of this, Harry! Nubby, take me to where Master Draco and the others are searching."
"Yes, Master Sirius, sir," said Nubby, as he grabbed Sirius' hand.
'Pop'
"MINERVA!, "Harry shouted to the other end of the Hall, even as he hurried toward her. "Pettigrew is being freed by those Slytherins who got away from us and he'll be trying to escape!"
"Have no fear, Mister Potter, I've had a plan in place for just such an emergency! Petey! Mutt!"
'Pop' 'Pop'
Two House Elves appeared in front of the Divination Professor.
"Go get Crookshanks and Mrs. Norris and bring them to the dungeon hallway by the kitchen storage rooms. Now, please!"
"Yes, Professor!"
'Pop' 'Pop'
"He won't get away, Mister Potter, have no fear!" Minerva called over her shoulder, as she headed for the door, transfiguring into her Animagus form in midstride and then running, full speed, out of the Great Hall.
X X X
"They should be right down . . . " Draco started to say to the others when . .
KABOOM ! CRASH!
"What the bloody hell was that?" said Neville, looking around.
'Pop'
Sirius appeared next to them with Nubby.
"They is in there," Nubby pointed to the wall, just as wisps of smoke appeared to leak out around the edge of the stones.
"Hidden hallway?" Fred asked.
"Yes," Sirius answered. "Wands out!"
The others nodded.
" 'Alohomora' ", Sirius pointed his wand at the wall.
As the door swung open, they heard coughing and they entered the corridor to find the Slytherins dusting themselves off, the debris from a ruined doorway littering most of the floor space. As Pansy turned, she saw Draco and Sirius coming toward them, Fred, George, Neville, Dean and Seamus entering behind. She raised her wand, but Draco flicked his and she yelped as the 'Stinging Hex' knocked her wand from her hand. The others spun around, but realized they were cornered and outnumbered and wisely offered no resistance when their wands were taken from them.
Sirius clambered over the debris and entered the room, looking for Pettigrew, but didn't see him cowering behind the overturned table. Then he checked the bathroom. He came hurrying back out to the hallway, shouting a warning.
"Peter's transformed, guys . . . . keep an eye out!"
Just then, Seamus saw a movement under a piece of the doorway that was leaning against the wall.
"There he goes!"
But before he could get off a shot, Pansy threw herself on Seamus' back, knocking him into Dean. Daphne jumped on Fred's back as Theo and Blaise attacked Neville and George. Draco had ducked around Seamus as he spun around and around, trying to dislodge Pansy, and saw Wormtail scamper out the door.
"Sirius! He's gotten out into the dungeons!" he yelled, as he shot out the door in pursuit.
"Can you lot handle these idiots?" Sirius paused in the doorway, looking back at the struggling students.
"No problem!" shouted Dean, as he yanked Pansy off of Seamus and threw her over his shoulder and proceeded to paddle her butt. "You've been a naughty, naughty Witch, Pansy!"
Seamus then waded into the fight between Theo and Neville, Fred and George holding their own, having years of experience fighting older brothers and one feisty sister.
Sirius barked a laugh and then turned to follow Draco, who had just torn around the corner, heading towards the kitchens. When he caught up, it was to find Draco circling a mound of crates and boxes, over and between which Crookshanks, Mrs. Norris and a tabby, that he recognized as Minerva's Animagus, were slinking and jumping, obviously on the hunt; spitting, snarling and reaching their paws into the spaces too small for them to enter.
"I see the re-enforcements have arrived," Sirius laughed. "Get him, Minerva!"
A yowl was heard from the back side of the pile, followed by much spitting and hissing by Mrs. Norris, who was crouched in front of them, peering between two crates from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. Crookshanks was stalking along the top edge of one crate, head cocked so he could look down between the crates, tail flicking, a low growling coming from the part Kneazle pet of Hermione's.
"Come out, come out, where ever you are," called Sirius. "Why does that sound familiar?" he wondered aloud. "Oh, right, Shrieking Shack."
"What?" Draco looked at his second cousin.
"I'll tell you about it later. Okay, looks like we'll have to do this the hard way. 'Wingardium Leviosa' ", he intoned, as he floated the top box off the pile and put it against the wall, a little way down the hall.
"Right," Draco pointed at the next box. "Keep an sharp eye there, Mrs. Norris, Minerva. Crookshanks, stay where you are and give us an idea which way he's moving."
The massive orange cat looked up and meowed at the blond, was who lifting a second box. Sirius was starting to shift one of the crates when Minerva yowled and spit, alerting them to Wormtail's movement. Both of them had boxes in the air and considering the explosive nature of the contents had to take a moment or two to set them down, rather than dropping them. That was all the time Wormtail needed to jump out from a space on the side of the pile away from Draco and Sirius and 'Transfigure' back into Peter. Sirius ducked just in time as a spell streaked past his head.
"Where'd he get a wand?" Sirius called to Draco, as they both backed off a bit, trying to see where Peter was crouching. Minerva ran behind them and changed back into her human form.
"I'd like to know that as well!" she huffed.
"It's most likely Pansy's, which flew out of her hand when I hit her with that 'Stinging Hex' ", admitted Draco. "I didn't see where it landed, but he must have grabbed it just before he changed."
Suddenly, Crookshanks leapt off of the top of the pile, hissing just as Mrs. Norris went tearing around the bottom of the pile, yowling at the top of her lungs.
"AHHHHHHH! GERROOFF! OOOWWWWW! HELP!" Peter came staggering out from behind the crates, Crookshanks on his back, claws embedded in his shoulders and his back paws ripping their way through his coat. Mrs. Norris was wrapped around his leg, her rear claws sunk into his calf and her teeth in the back of his knee.
" 'Accio wand!' " Minerva shouted over the din, as Peter swatted, to no avail, at the two creatures who were using him as their newest scratching post.
" 'Petrificus Totalus!' " Draco said, pointing his wand at the hapless former Marauder.
Peter toppled forward and landed on the crates, the cats jumping clear, then slipped sideways and hit the floor with a satisfying thud.
"Crookshanks, Mrs. Norris, that was splendid work," declared Sirius, as he got down on his knees and lavished praise on the two felines.
"Indeed! I think this calls for a celebration, so come with me, my feline comrades, to the kitchens, for a real treat . . . fresh salmon!"
Crookshanks and Mrs. Norris each received one more petting from Sirius and then fell in step on either side of Minerva as she led the way to the kitchens.
"Thank you, Minerva! Give them a big bowl of cream from me," called Draco, which was acknowledged with two yowls and a "Right-o!".
Just then, along came Neville, lip split but with a grin on his face, holding one end of an enchanted rope, to which were secured the wayward Slytherins, duct tape securing their wrists with another piece over their mouths and looking a bit the worse for wear.
"Ah, leading a school group on a scenic tour of the dungeons, are we Neville?" Sirius laughed.
"Finished the tour and since this lot were not on their best behavior, we're just going to go and figure what we should do with them," Neville answered. "Ah, I see you've taken care of the rodent problem."
"Wasn't us, mate, it was Crookshanks, Mrs. Norris and Minerva who cornered and subdued him," Draco explained.
Dean tossed Draco the roll of duct tape. "Here, Nubby supplied it, and it's dead useful, if you ask me." Dean reached over and smacked Pansy on the butt. "Isn't that right, Pansy, old girl!"
The muffled screams and, no doubt, string of profanity that flowed from the red faced girl put smiles on the Gryffindors faces.
"Such a chatter box, our Pansy. Come along, we've got places to go and people to see," added Neville, as Dean and Seamus walked the prisoners up the stairs toward the Great Hall.
Fred and George started shifting the boxes and crates, sorting them into groups, depending on their destination, minds already shifted to the business at hand.
"We'll just get out of your way, then," Sirius said, as he floated Peter toward the stairs. "Peter, Peter, tsk, tsk, tsk, what are we going to do with you, now? Eh? Personally, I thought you'd have made a nice snack for Crookshanks and Mrs. Norris, but I wouldn't want them getting stomach aches."
"Oh, no, we couldn't do that to those fearless hunters," laughed Draco. "But I wonder what will happen to him now . . . Albus is not going to be pleased."
"No, no, he is not," agreed Sirius. "Bad day to be you, Peter, old mate! Even Harry won't be able to save you this time."
Even though he couldn't speak, the total terror of what was ahead for him was evident in Peter's eyes as he was floated up the stairs toward his fate.