Glimpses of the wizarding world as everyone tries to cope with the crisis at Hogwarts...
Chapter 37
Sirius kept his wand lit and at the ready as he made his way through the passage. It was cold and there were a few ordinary spiders but otherwise the rock and dirt walls were pretty secure. If he had more time, he might've explored the one offshoot he'd seen that went back toward the castle. As it stood, Remus was probably on his way to the Shrieking Shack and in need of the Wolfsbane potion. Sirius blinked as he came to the end of the tunnel.
This was quite interesting. The exit appeared to be five well-built wooden steps that led to a hatch in the top of the tunnel. Sirius frowned but his gut instinct said to go on so he disillusioned himself and lifted the hatch. It was a store room of some kind and nobody seemed to be around so he started snooping and what he found was astonishing. Outside the store room was an office with several books of notes. One was filled with sketches, another with potions and another with spells - all for prank products! This was the Weasley twins' store!
Sirius laughed as he stole a bit of parchment and wrote a note. Then he called Kreacher and showed him the hatch. "Can you feel my magic and the path I took?"
Kreature nodded grumpily.
"Good." Sirius smirked. "First, I want you to take this note to the end of the tunnel and leave it in the small recess I made by the door. Ignore the offshoot."
"As the Master wishes." Kreature pouted.
"Then, you should go home and bar anyone from the Black Townhouse if you haven't already. I'll contact you in a few days." Sirius directed his family elf.
"Master Phineas says to obey the Black-sheep Lord, so Kreature will obey, but Kreature's mistress would not like this turn of events." Kreature hopped into the tunnel. "No she would not."
"I don't care what my mother would or wouldn't like. It's what I need you to do. It's what will keep the Black bloodline safe." Sirius growled and lowered the hatch back down behind the elf.
His next step was a few patronus messages. One sent word to his cousin Narcissa letting her and her husband know that their son was unharmed by the magical incident that had occurred that morning and that he would visit her the next day to explain. Next, he sent a patronus to Mabel Smith, informing her of Harry's reasoning behind sending the first message to her.
He smiled to himself as his last patronus took off into the night. Now it was time to meet his fiance and spend the full moon under the stars.
At dawn, on a hillside estate in northern Ireland, the owner of a manor house tried to ignore the sound of knocking but it refused to stop. "ROOPY! I told you not to wake me up before ten o'clock!" The man snapped, grumpy from being awakened much too early.
"Yes. Master did say that. But the Master also said that Roopy should let him know at once if he received word from the young master or the Dark Lord." The elf nodded, pulling at his ears as he crept forward.
"True." Theodore Nott senior glared at his elf. "Very well. Which is it? My son or my Lord?
"Master's Master has sent a letter by owl." The elf whined.
"Hand it over, then!" He commanded, throwing the covers back while holding out his hand.
The elf popped away as soon as the letter left his little hand.
Scanning the letter, he found news and instructions. "Hogwarts is on lockdown, eh? No wonder Theo hasn't written yet but how did he get this information and how might Lucius be taking it; heh? Contact Avery, Burke, Carrow and Rookwood. Meeting at Malfoy Manor tonight. Elf!"
"Yes, Master?" Roopy asked, cowering.
"Five small scrolls of parchment and be quick about it!" Nott shouted, already composing his response to the Dark Lord. As he wrote it, he considered the men listed.
Avery, Burke, and Carrow were all Death Eaters from the Sacred Twenty-eight. They were pureblood families, like his... whose bloodlines dated back near Merlin's time. He pondered what would bring his lord to make them consort with Rookwood. Then he remembered - Rookwood might not have an ancient bloodline, but he had brains and a position deep inside the ministry... so deep that the ministry didn't want anyone to speak of it. Whatever his lord was about to ask them to do, it was important.
The Dark Lord had seemed to be softening of late and Theodore could understand some of the reasoning behind it. After all, the man had been weakened and was gathering strength all this time and then the psychic attack at the end of Theo's second year at Hogwarts had disrupted the Dark Lord's healing process and he'd had to start all over again. Finding out that the Potter brat had been deceived and raised by muggles had affected the Dark Lord in a strange way that resulted in a wait and watch attitude until he went through the ritual to get a new body. Since the beginning of June, he'd been silent which was almost worse than soft.
Maybe he'd had enough of this inaction! Maybe this was the start of a new war! Maybe the lazy incompetents among the Death Eaters would be given their comeuppance! Maybe he'd finally get to kill someone!
He grinned to himself as he attached the response to an owl and began writing to his compatriots.
"Why does it have to be Zack?"
"I don't know what to tell you, Elbert." Mabel sighed heavily. "Beyond the exact happenings of the meeting which I already relayed."
"Tell me why you're listening to... HIM!" Elbert Smith ranted. "Why not keep Zack away from Harry altogether?"
"And deprive them both of knowledge and support? Deprive our son of experiences that will enrich his life?" Mabel questioned loudly. "No, Elbert! I won't do it! I owe it to my dead cousin, who I never got to know, to help her son and I owe it to our son to see that he grows into a strong and decent wizard!"
"You don't know what you're talking about!" Elbert scoffed.
"Bert, do you remember the boys Zack was hanging around with during the tournament? The ones who were doing dares and gambling and getting into trouble?" Mabel hated how small her voice sounded as she spoke but she pushed on. "They were bullies. They did mean things to Luna and other kids and it was only after Harry scared Zack a little that our son told me about it. I don't want my son to be an arrogant bully. Do you?"
Elbert lost his steam at that. He sighed and shook his head.
"Powerful people in our world see potential in him." She pressed earnestly. "I want him to reach that potential and soar above it if he can! Please tell me we're on the same page?"
"Yes." Elbert nodded quietly. "I'm still worried though."
"Of course you are!" Mabel cried and rushed forward to grip his arm. "You're a parent, Bert! You're supposed to worry about your child! But sometimes you need to see past your fear and help them take a risk!" She looked into her husband's eyes as she caught her breath. After another moment, she checked the time. "Now, I'm going to work. You should do the same but remember what I told you. If anyone asks, we're not expecting word from Zack until tomorrow so we don't know anything but the rumours we're hearing."
"Yes, dear." Elbert sighed worriedly as she picked up her purse and left.
She took a deep breath before apparating to the ministry and entering through the public toilet queue. The lift took her to level three quite quickly so she sat down and took a moment to centre herself. Three deep breaths with her eyes closed.
"Everything alright, today, Mabel?" A male voice asked from the doorway. It was her coworker, Leonard Spencer-Moon.
Mabel's eyes popped open. "Fine, Leonard. Thanks."
"Well, we just got a call for someone to check out an incident at a muggle apartment building in Wales. Do you want to take it or shall I?" Leonard asked.
"Truth be told, I'm just not up for it right now. Bert and I had a bit of a row this morning and I'm trying to calm myself." Mabel confided with a wince. "I'll hold down the fort, if you don't mind?"
"Sorry to hear." Leonard grimaced. "This shouldn't take long, if you want to talk later."
Knowing they would probably be too busy later, she nodded as he threw his cloak over his shoulders and closed the door behind him.
Nobody else seemed to be around and no floocalls came in the first twenty minutes so Mabel shrugged and went to get a tea from the vendor in the lobby. When she got back to her desk, however, two of her coworkers were in the office and one was speaking to someone on the floo while the other was wrangling owls.
"I understand that your child's hair isn't normally blue, Ma'am. It's probably just accidental magic." Arnold Peasegood was explaining. "If you give me your address I'll have someone come sort you out."
"That's funny." Mnemone Radford murmured.
Mabel glanced at her. "What's funny?"
"Well, this person says they were expecting a letter from their son who's a third year at Hogwarts." Mnemone sighed. "They tried to owl him themselves but the owl just flew in circles. I guess I'll contact the owl expert in the Creatures office before going to check it out."
"Good idea." Mabel nodded, reaching for the pile of letters. "You shoot off a note to Hector. I'll check the other letters."
Of the five further letters, Mabel found three more complaints about communication items not working between homes and Hogwarts. She put them together and showed them to her colleague.
"A two-way journal between sisters isn't working. Two owls between students and their parents just fly in circles. A wizengamut member had a scheduled floocall with her kid's teacher but it wouldn't connect." Mnemone hummed. "If the common element in all these cases wasn't Hogwarts, I'd dismiss it as not our jurisdiction."
"Do you really think a kid could've done this with accidental magic?" Mabel asked. "I wonder if we should consult the Aurors."
"What were the other complaints?" Mnemone asked.
"In one case a nine year old aparated to the roof of her house to get away from the neighbour's dog. I've already sent a memo to the obliviator's division." Mabel informed her colleague. "In the other case, a six year old boy removed his sister's mouth because she was being too loud. I was going to refer them to St. Mungo's."
"Ok... do that." Arnold cut in. "I'll handle the 'blue hair' incident. You two wait for Leonard to get back. He and Mnemone can alternate manning the office while you go see if the aurors can shed some light on this."
Mabel nodded as a new owl flew in and landed on the perch.
Mnemone looked worried as she met Mabel's eyes. "It's from another family that can't get in touch with Hogwarts. Professor Babbling's husband."
An awkward silence hung between them as they considered this.
"I'm going, but..." Arnold frowned on his way out. "I've got a bad feeling about this."
Mabel nodded, solemnly conjuring a bin to place all the similar complaints into.
By the time Leonard arrived and got up to speed with the situation, there were another eighteen reports of disrupted communication with Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Mabel took her bin and made her way up to level two. In the lift, she heard two people talking about the floo network malfunctioning with regards to Hogwarts and they were getting off at the same stop so she let them go first.
"Hello?" She heard one of them say as they approached the first desk.
The other tried to flag down a secretary. "Excuse me! Please?"
Nobody stopped. The room was bustling and Mabel wasn't sure if anyone would get help but she suddenly saw her old friend Ted Tonks' daughter standing with a large dark skinned man who might be her partner.
"Hello!" Mabel smiled hesitantly as she got closer.
"I'm sorry! We're really busy right now!" Dora Tonks said, quickly turning away from her. "If you could come back later that would help!"
"I can see that you're busy and I'm so sorry to bother you... Listen, I'm an old classmate of your parents." She replied, holding her hand out. "Mabel Smith... from the DMAC. Our department is getting an unusual influx of complaints about contact with Hogwarts and I just overheard the ladies over there discussing a similar issue. Is that by any chance what you're busy with?"
Tonks turned around slowly. "Trouble contacting Hogwarts?"
Mabel held out her bin. "Almost thirty owls have been delivered to DMAC asking what's wrong with the owls or the floo and the ladies behind me are from the Floo Network Authority."
Tonks tapped her partner's hand. "I've got this one if you take them, Kingsley."
The large man nodded and moved away as Mabel smiled again and sat down with Tonks to file a report.
When both aurors had finished, they consulted with each other. A moment of murmuring later, Tonks brought Mabel and the FNA ladies into a conference room and introduced herself. "I'm Dora Tonks and my partner is Kingsley Shacklebolt. He's gone to speak to our superior. We'll have news for your departments in a moment."
Kingsley joined them with another man following him. "Ladies, this is Gawain Robards. Head Auror. Reports are coming in from all departments that contact is cut off from Hogwarts. This includes all forms of communication from Owl post and Floo to two way objects - journals, mirrors and the like."
"What we'd like you to do... until we know more... is route any complaints you receive through the auror office's threat assessment room. We'll have an agent go through them as they come in and-" The man was interrupted as his superior opened the door.
"Robards!" Amelia Bones said imperiously. "I am hearing rumours! What's going on?"
"Madam Bones!" Robards spun to face her. "Ma'am, people are having difficulty getting in touch with Hogwarts. We're getting reports from all departments."
"And what is being done about it?" Amelia asked. "Have you sent an agent to the school? Has anyone written to the Headmistress or spoken to the Owl post division in the Creatures department?"
"Excuse me, Madam Bones?" Mabel stood up. "Mabel Smith from DMAC. My colleague sent a message to Hector Dufort in Creatures. He has gone to check over the owls involved in the first five reports and says that will give him a good idea of the problem, but at that point we didn't know about the Floo network being disrupted or the other communication devices being affected as well."
"So you're telling me that we have no contact whatsoever with the place that's holding the wizarding world's children?" Amelia suppressed her rising ire.
"We're looking into the possibility that it's a ransom situation." Robards reported.
Tonks stepped up next. "Several Wizengamut members have reported directly to the auror department that their children haven't written."
"Alright, here's what I want to happen... Consider all angles you can think of! Put an auror team on each idea but make sure they coordinate and cooperate with each other in case the angles connect." The Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement shook her head, massaging her temples. "Put Head Auror Robards idea into play - all incoming mail regarding this matter is to go through threat assessment. Send a ward specialist to the gates of the school - perhaps it is something as simple as a ward malfunction. In case it's not, send the FNA's top agent to several of the affected fireplaces. Also, have Hector Dufort report directly to me when he returns. I will visit the minister to brief him on the situation."
Mabel watched everyone begin to get up and used her petite stature and agility to scoot closer to Madam Bones. "May I walk with you, Madam Bones?"
The taller woman glanced at her. "If you had more information you should've shared it in the meeting."
"Just going in the same direction. I'm Harry Potter's cousin." Mabel pressed but was met with a blank stare. "Zack Smith is my son?"
"Oh. Susan has mentioned him." Amelia replied absently.
"Lord Black asked me to have you contact him." Mabel quietly informed her.
"Black?" Amelia blinked, startled. Her lips pursed but she nodded and boarded the lift while Mabel remained behind. That tears it. Potter's family knows something. I should haul Black in for questioning but then he might not cooperate. Damn, I have to be nice to him. Then she noticed a woman in grey hooded robes watching her from the other side of the lift but dismissed it as they arrived on level one. Amelia could hear loud voices as she approached the minister's office.
"My only grandson, Cornelius!" Augusta Longbottom was distraught. "He always writes to me the day after returning to school from the holidays! He didn't this time and I want to know why!!"
"Draco is the same, Minister Fudge. He's a creature of habit and it's very unlike him!" Lucius was glaring at the minister. "His mother and I are very worried!"
"I'm sure it's nothing, my dear friends! I spoke with Delores last evening! It's probably just a malfunction of the wards!" The minister was waving his hands in a downward motion, presumably to calm them down.
"Excuse me, Minister." Amelia said, knocking on the open door. "I have news."
"Ah, Amelia, do come in!" Fudge cried in relief. "Come in! Lady Longbottom, Lucius please give us the room if you would? Ministry business, after all."
"A thought, Fudge." Lucius frowned. "Do you realise that Lord Potter is disconnected from his proxy?"
Amelia thought the minister's response was amusing but she refused to give in to her urge to laugh.
"I-I suppose." Fudge blinked in confusion. "If it's so worrying for them to be out of contact, why isn't Lord Black here to complain?"
"I asked as much but it seems that he isn't worried yet." Lucius explained. "You see, Lord Black had a set schedule of contact and young Potter has yet to miss one. Tomorrow morning they are set to speak via floo. If that doesn't happen, Black will be among those pounding down your door."
"What does that have to do with anything?" The minister snapped. "What does it have to do with your son?"
"Lord Potter is betrothed to my son, Fudge!" Lucius snapped back. "Beyond that, it's the bloody principle! Whoever has done this, has effectively kidnapped a member of the wizengamut! Along with all the school age children in our world who aren't being homeschooled!"
"I'm sorry. I have urgent information for the minister. If you cannot wait outside for just a few moments, I'm afraid I must ask you to set a future appointment." Amelia asked politely.
Lucius gave a theatrical huff and stormed off while Lady Longbottom simply turned on her heel and walked straight to the secretary's desk.
Amelia closed the door for privacy and quickly began her report. "I thought it was just me... or rather that Susan had simply forgotten to write this morning... but when I arrived at my office, I began to see a lot of memos flying around - more than usual. I got suspicious and walked a few halls until I overheard a conversation between two of our long term employees - Arthur Weasley and Albert Runcorn."
"Oh?" Fudge had the decency to appear interested.
"Yes. Runcorn wanted to know if Weasley had word from his children because Runcorn's niece hadn't written last night when she'd promised to do so." Amelia frowned. "I went directly to the auror's HQ and questioned Robards. It seems that the DMAC had thirty reports of disrupted communications with Hogwarts before nine o'clock, Minister. The FNA had twenty-three and the auror's office was overrun with complaints as well. I've stepped in and given them some direction but I think this is already out of hand and you need to step in."
"I? What can I do?" Fudge frowned.
"I beg your pardon?" Amelia couldn't believe her ears. "You're the Minister for Magic! You need to do something!"
Fudge scoffed. "Like what?"
"I don't know! Contact the Headmistress to see if it's happening on their end too!" She ranted. "If only a few certain people are being targeted, the aurors might be able to help! Perhaps the ministry has had some type of sabotage! Get the unspeakables to investigate! Damn it, our children might be in danger! They shouldn't be left to their own devices!"
Fudge was sitting back in his chair, looking at her with wide eyes.
A knock was heard on the door and Fudge's secretary peeked her head in. "I'm sorry, Madam Bones. Hector Dufort is waiting in your office."
Amelia nodded formally and motioned for her to leave again. "Have a press conference to reassure the poor parents who are worried about their children that something is being done to find out what's going on!" She hissed and then turned around to storm out but quickly turned back. "What happened to you, Minister?"
Cornelius Fudge blinked up at her. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Do you know what people say about you, sir?" Amelia shook her head sadly. "They call you incompetent... and cowardly... They call you selfish... but that's only in recent years. At the beginning of your term, they praised you! So, I have to ask - what happened?"
"Oh, Amelia..." Cornelius sighed heavily. "It's so complicated that I don't even know anymore."
"Well, I don't care what you do but you'd better do something!" Amelia shook her head in disgust and slammed the door after her, waving to the secretary as she exited the office. She didn't wait long for the lift to arrive and she got right in. After a moment, Amelia noticed a woman in grey hooded robes watching her. "You're the same woman that was in here before..."
The young woman only nodded as she lowered her hood.
Amelia gritted her teeth. "Well? I assume you're here for a reason... Miss...?"
"Names aren't necessary just yet, Madam Bones." Audrey Barrows answered cryptically. "I'm simply a concerned citizen of the wizarding world and I have some inside information for you...from Hogwarts."
"Oh?" Amelia tried to hide her interest.
"This communication blackout is not accidental." She replied with a calm nod. "It's not caused by any of the children, or anyone outside of Hogwarts."
"It's not?" Amelia frowned.
"No, ma'am." Audrey shook her head. "You see, a revolution is brewing."
Back in Cornelius Fudge's office...
The minister was shaken.
He'd known Amelia Bones since they had clerked in their respective departments at twenty and twenty-one years old. They hadn't been friends but were almost always on good terms. She'd never used that tone of voice with him before.
He took a few deep breaths in the quiet minutes that passed before his secretary, Rhonda Applebottom, came to check on him.
Still rattled, he quietly told her he needed a few minutes to think and, once she left, he stood up to pace the floor. Thinking about the things he'd planned to do as Minister, he sighed. There were changes he'd wanted to make and people he'd disappointed - none more so than himself. He shook his head recalling the first time he'd entered this office. Had it really been less than ten years ago?
Vividly, he pictured the things he'd had to sacrifice just to stay in office. His freedom and free will. His advisers had insisted that he wouldn't be elected if he wasn't married but he couldn't marry just anyone so they'd chosen the girl. Then, just after taking office, he'd met a lovely young witch who tempted him into an affair, and when they were caught, he became embroiled in a string of blackmail threats which caused him to make decisions he didn't want to and sign laws that weren't really in the wizarding world's best interests. Each one dug his grave deeper until... At best, his current position was that of a mere figurehead...
But his 'advisers' weren't here, were they?
They couldn't very well control the day to day minutia since they weren't on site. He would handle things as if he were in charge the way he should be and deal with the fallout when it came.
"Rhonda!" Cornelius called out and waited for her to enter the room. "Call a press conference for this after- No, wait! First, I want you to get Delores Umbrage on the floo if you can. If you can't, send owls to the school governors and get Bones and Robards in here, fast. After that we'll call the press."
"Actually, sir, I think you had the right idea before, but what do you think about giving a short statement to the press and setting a later time for the conference - that way the public knows something is being done and the details will follow." Rhonda said as she took notes.
"Yes!" Cornelius blinked. "Right! What was I saying the first time? A statement? Yes, of course! We must minimise the situation while making sure the people know we're taking it seriously!"
"How about..." Rhonda hummed. "We, at the ministry, understand your concerns regarding the situation at Hogwarts. Please know that Minister Fudge is just as worried about the students and staff as you are and the investigation has been given the highest priority. We will find out who is responsible and update the public as soon as we have more information."
"Perfect!" Cornelius smugly smirked. "Now, try getting in contact with Delores."
"Yes, sir." She answered instantly. "Right away!"
As she hurried out the door, Cornelius sighed with relief. He suddenly had a good feeling about the whole situation.
"Sir!" Rhonda called excitedly from the doorway. "Headmistress Umbrage is in the floo!"
"Excellent! That's wonderful!" Cornelius grinned and a though came to him. He'd need privacy for this conversation. "Why don't you go make the arrangements for the press conference but, uh, keep this to yourself for the moment - will you?"
Nodding, she grabbed her notes and rushed out the door, closing it behind her.
He cast several privacy spells at the door and bent down into the floo. "Delores?" He called, looking around for her.
"What is it, Cornelius?" She asked from her desk. "I'm very busy."
The walls behind her were teeming with portraits. He saw the usual ones of Hogwarts' former headmasters but somehow, in between those portraits, she'd placed decorative plates of kittens along with actual wizarding portraits of adult cats. He blinked as he watched one of the cats visit - and annoy - one of the oldest Headmaster portraits.
"I- Well, I called to find out what's going on at Hogwarts, of course!" Cornelius snapped.
"I don't know what you mean, Corny." Her eyes wouldn't meet his as she tried to avoid the question. "Why would you think something was happening here?"
"Don't, Delores!" Cornelius glared. "I'm getting reports from almost all departments that communications with Hogwarts have been cut off but I have no trouble reaching you so it seems to me that you might have something to do with it."
"Why would anyone be reporting that? No problems here!" Delores bit the inside of her cheek.
"What have you done?" Cornelius persisted. "I'll call your brother and maybe he'll tell me."
Delores laughed inwardly but turned to face him. "He doesn't have anything to do with how I'm running the school, Cornelius. Leave it alone."
"How am I supposed to do that?" Cornelius snarled. "I have the wizengamut and the entire wizarding public wanting to know why they can't reach their children!?!"
She whirled around to hide her frustration. How could she have miscalculated so badly? Nobody should know that anything was wrong yet! "Why would they worry? The children are in classes. They're my responsibility not theirs."
"What are you talking about? Children write letters to their parents and siblings while they're away at school, Delores!" Cornelius frowned in confusion. "The staff have families they communicate with and they must speak occasionally with a child's parents! Didn't they correspond with your parents? Didn't you write to your family members while you were in school?"
"Of course not! I was quite independent as a child and I was an exemplary student." She bragged. "The faculty had no reason to contact my parents. Not like the brats - I mean - children I have to deal with."
"Tell me!" He commanded her.
"Fine." She huffed. "I made a few executive decisions and perhaps, when they didn't go well, I didn't want the children telling their parents so I locked down the school."
"You did WHAT?" Cornelius' eyes widened. "What kind of executive decisions?"
"Are you sure you want to know?" She asked innocently. "Hear me out, Corny. Right now, you have plausible deniability."
"Delores!" The exasperation in Cornelius' voice prodded her to confess with a glare. "I- Are you insane? Lucius Malfoy's son? In front of the whole school and the staff? What were you thinking? The board of governors will have my hide! And your position!"
"But it wasn't my fault, Corny! My Ministerial squad gave me bad information!" She pouted.
"That is entirely beyond the point! I don't care if Merlin himself appeared and told you it was happening!" Cornelius snapped at her. "Lucius Malfoy is a very influential lord and he was at my door this morning! He and his wife are major contributors to my political efforts! Additionally, the school governors have already expressed concern over your placement as Headmistress! Your family has a lot invested in my remaining Minister of Magic. None of us can afford mess ups like this!"
"I know." She glared. "That's why I locked the school down!"
"Yes, but you miscalculated! Hogwarts is a school, not a prison! Alright." Cornelius sighed heavily, attempting to think quickly. "Alright... I think we can fix this. Keep the lockdown in effect and we can tell the public that Death Eaters were sighted in the area and that's why you activated the lockdown protocol - to protect the children."
She sat back in her chair with a barely perceptible nod. "Yes. That should work."
"See if you can get Potter onside." Cornelius frowned absently. "He's a member of the wizengamut and an Earl."
"Have you forgotten who I insisted on having magic performed upon?" Delores looked at him incredulously. "Draco Malfoy is his betrothed! I've done everything I can to agitate him since I arrived at Hogwarts so that we could prove we weren't lying about him being crazy and have his lordship revoked! He'll never join our side if I'm involved!"
Cornelius sighed, realising that she was, of course, quite correct. "Very well. The best we can do is keep things going as they are."
"So the lockdown stays in effect and we shall continue to come up with excuses to keep it going." She shrugged.
"What will we do when the spring holiday comes?" Cornelius lamented.
"Cross that bridge when we come to it, Corny." She answered tersely when a knock sounded at the door. "I have to go. That'll be one of the students in my squad. Come!"
"Keep me informed." Cornelius told her as he cut the connection and tried to figure out how to spin the story.
"Come!"
Hermione heard the Headmistress call from inside the office and opened the door. As she came closer, she heard a male voice say to keep him informed as the floo cut off. As she made her way across the room, the young witch didn't let on that she'd overheard; she just walked calmly over and made her report to the head mistress.
When the Gryffindor was done with her report, Delores looked her over. This was the one Albus Dumbledore had messed up with potions and spells. She was also the one who had been close friends with Harry Potter for the last four years. Perhaps the girl was ready to give up such childish nonsense as friendships to concentrate on her education and her future.
"Come, Miss Granger. Sit with me for a moment." Delores smiled and snapped her fingers.
To Hermione's surprise, an elf appeared with a pot of tea and a tray of small sandwiches.
"Oh, no. I couldn't possibly!" She protested politely. "It's almost lunch, you see, and I still have a couple of classes afterward, Headmistress."
"Nonsense, child. You're a prefect and a member of the Ministerial Squad!" Delores reasoned as she filled two cups with tea. "Have lunch with me and I'll give you a pass if we run late. Lemon or sugar?"
"One lump of sugar, please." Hermione murmured, worried about what this woman wanted with her. She placed her cloak over the armchair on her left.
"How have you been, dear?" Delores asked. "I know you've had quite the ordeal, what with the potions and losing your friends..."
Hermione nodded sadly, picking at the seam of her skirt. "It has been difficult but I think I'm handling it alright. Ron and Ginny are quite understanding so the fences are being mended there but Harry... I'm sorry. I know you don't like him."
"Now, why would you think that?" She demurred.
"Well, there's the way you refuse to use his title and your attitude toward him when the two of you speak." Hermione replied softly. "I just assumed..."
Delores smirked. The girl has, of course, assumed correctly but there was no reason for her to know that. "I dislike that he has had special privileges handed to him. I dislike the fact that he's so young and in a position many - including myself - would love to have. I dislike that even though he's many years younger than me, I am expected to bow to his whims. That is what I don't like. Harry Potter as a person? No."
"No?" Hermione echoed.
"Harry Potter as a person...as a fifteen year old boy...?" She pretended to consider the matter and then smiled. "He's just a boy - an orphan with money and magical power. He's somewhat intelligent, I'll grant, but he is emotional and reckless. He needs to be guided, not placed in a position that requires him to guide others."
"That's what a normal teenage boy needs. Harry's been through things, though. He's got experiences that have taught him lots of things." Hermione hesitated. She wanted to be somewhat honest but leave the older woman underestimating him. "He might not know everything yet, but he knows a lot more than people give him credit for."
"He's still a child and needs to listen to his elders." Delores was amused that the girl had so much faith in this boy who continued to mistrust her after she'd been corrupted by outside sources and apologised when it hadn't been her fault. "We know best, after all."
"Perhaps." Hermione hummed. She knew better, though. Authority figures just wanted the rest of society to go along with them. They often didn't know what the people really needed and the way this woman was talking, she just wanted control. Well, Harry's latest letter guaranteed that she wouldn't be getting it. She glanced at the clock on the wall and gasped. "I'm terribly sorry, Ma'am. I must go if I'm going to get the Herbology on time!" She grabbed her cloak and rushed out the door.
As she hurried through the halls, she realised she'd heard that man's voice before. The person who had asked Umbrage to keep him informed was Minister Fudge! That meant he was complicit in whatever happened from here on! She had to tell Harry.
Harry smirked as he read the note from Hermione. "So Minister Fudge is in contact with Umbrage, eh?"
Draco stared at his betrothed. "That's not going to go over well with my father."
"Nor with Sirius or Madam Bones, I'll bet." Harry's smirk got bigger. "Zack, how do you think Susan will react to this news?"
"Well, it's unfair and hypocritical...and along with everything else - not to mention the theatrics we have been performing all day... I suppose she'll definitely agree to help our rebellion." Zack chuckled.
"My thoughts exactly." Harry grinned as he thought about how he'd escorted Draco to every meal and each class - without fail. He'd also sat in on Zack and Draco's herbology class because he 'wanted more hands-on time with the plants'. "Shall we go to dinner?"
Draco nodded. "Pansy and Blaise are also prepped and ready if we need them." As they had been all day. At meals Pansy was on one side with Blaise on the other and Zack was seated directly behind him at the Hufflepuff table with Crabbe and Goyle directly facing Draco.
"Good." Harry replied as he held out an arm for chivalry's sake.
Draco sighed and quietly placed his hand in the crook of Harry's elbow. The theatrical element of this plan was a bit tiresome but he knew it was necessary in order to cultivate the Hufflepuff's sense of friendship and loyalty. Harry needed to be seen caring for Draco and being protective while interacting with all houses because each house would take something different out of it.
"Theo has been acting strange." Draco commented as they walked through the halls.
"How so?" Harry asked.
"We've always been associates because of our fathers but he's been a bit more forthcoming with me lately." Draco explained.
"Oh?" Harry murmured.
"He told me this morning that while his father supports Uncle Tom in the most extreme sense, my friend wants to support him in a more roundabout way." Draco continued.
"I'd like a more detailed explanation later, if you don't mind." Harry smirked as they arrived at the doors to the Great Hall. He winked at his betrothed and walked forward opening the door for him and stepping to the side. Several other students benefited from the open door before Harry accompanied the Malfoy heir toward the Slytherin table and waited while Draco's friends seemed to materialise out of nowhere to take their places.
Zack had surreptitiously taken his seat just a moment before they entered and smirked at the spectacle he'd helped to create. He heard sighs from all around him. His Hufflepuff cohorts were buying their performance - hook, line and sinker. Luna winked at him from the Ravenclaw table to let him know that her fellow Ravenclaws were whispering about the public display of affection and support.
"Smith..." Cedric whispered across the table.
"Diggory." Zack nodded politely to him.
"Is Malfoy doing alright?" Cedric asked. "I mean, after yesterday's incident and all... I was sure he'd find a way to ask his father to remove him."
"Did you not yet hear the rumours?" Zack asked incredulously. "No communications in or out of Hogwarts. We're on lockdown."
"I guess I figured Harry or Malfoy might have a private way around that." Cedric smirked. "No?"
Zack blinked. "I'm not at liberty to say one way or another."
"What are you at liberty to say?" Cedric chuckled.
"Harry wants to know if you're interested in visiting Helga's quarters again." Zack confided quietly. "Last I heard, he wanted to invite Susan Bones as well but I'm pretty sure he's spoken to her already."
"I'd love to. It's amazing there." Cedric grinned. "When?"
"Tomorrow after breakfast." Susan said as she sat beside Zack and began filling a plate. "Harry mentioned it when I saw him in the hall earlier. I haven't been inside yet so I'm really excited!"
"Is anyone else invited?" Cedric asked with a frown. "It's just- I had plans with Cho tomorrow and- I mean- it wasn't anything special but..."
"Cho can join us if you like." Zack added casually. "Harry wouldn't have a problem with that and Draco might be tagging along, too."
"Really?" Cedric asked.
Zack only nodded and went back to eating his meal.
Cedric smiled and did the same while Susan started talking to Justin.
At the Gryffindor table, Harry took note of the interaction and knew Zack had things under control so he looked over at his betrothed, who was facing away from him. Even from this angle, Harry could tell that he was following the plan because the blond occasionally turned his head to glance at Harry or Luna. When the meal ended, Harry watched Draco stand and approach his position before meeting him.
"Hey, are you ready to go back to the suite?" Harry asked, hoping his voice was loud enough to draw the next table's attention.
"Actually, Harry, it's been a while since I visited my friends." Draco replied. "I'm in the mood for a chess match with Theo and Pansy wants to watch."
"I lost a match to him last night, Draco." Pansy griped. "I want you to beat him!"
"There, there, Pansy." Blaise smirked. "Draco will avenge your honour!"
"Alright, but curfew is coming fast." Harry nodded with a sigh. "Be careful. Do you have your cloak? Your wand?"
"I'll be fine, Harry." Draco smiled.
Harry nodded again. "I know."
The three Slytherins left with Harry staring after them.
Cedric came up with Cho by his side. "Everything alright, Harry?"
"Yeah." Harry chewed his bottom lip for a moment before starting toward the doors. "I just worry, you know? Between what happened at King's Cross and then yesterday morning..." He smirked inwardly and rushed off.
Cho looked at Cedric in confusion only to see the same emotion in his eyes.
"Is he ok?" She heard from her right hand side - it was Zack Smith.
"He said something about worrying over Malfoy because of King's Cross station..." Cedric frowned.
"And yesterday morning... Well, we all witnessed that." Cho murmured, pursing her lips. "Do you know what he meant about the station?"
"Unfortunately, yes...but it's not my story to tell." Zack sighed. "You'd be better off asking them tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Cho asked her boyfriend.
"Harry wants to visit Helga's quarters again. Tomorrow." Cedric told her earnestly. "He's asked me and Susan Bones to go with him. D'you wanna come with us?"
Cho considered it and nodded. "I'd love to, Ced. I've been meaning to ask him about Rowena's quarters."
"You should speak with Luna too." Zack suggested. "Harry intends to go back into each of the founder's quarters to see if he missed something the first time."
Cho nodded and gave Cedric a quick kiss before hurrying toward her housemates who were waving from the staircase.
As she got ready for bed, the next day's adventure in Hufflepuff house haunted her. Cho knew things that she shouldn't - not if she was going to socialise with Harry Potter and his family - and she'd promised herself that she wouldn't tell anyone the secrets she'd been witness to. Since nobody knew she'd seen or heard anything, her silence couldn't be compelled but her life and the lives of her family might be in danger if anyone found out.
She slipped into her bed and sighed with pleasure. Somehow, the bedding here at Hogwarts always felt softer than her sheets at home. She slept fitfully through the night wondering what she could do.
Luna smiled softly as she sat at the breakfast table and greeted her housemates.
She looked at each of them and got a sense as she did so. Most of them were thinking about day to day details but Cho Chang and her friend Marietta Edgecomb had deeper issues. She could tell that Cho hadn't slept well the night before and Marietta had lost weight in the few weeks they'd been away so the stress was clearly getting to her as well. Cho would make the right decision in the end. She just needed a light push and Luna knew just where it should come from.
Happy new year 2023, everyone!