A Tragic Second Year

When one individual panics in the spring of 1992, he triggers a cascade of changes to the events of Harry Potter's second year. The results are tragic for Magical Britain.

DISCLAIMER! This Harry Potter story was written for fun. All rights belong to the wonderful lady (JK Rowling) who gave the world Harry Potter to read and enjoy.

~~~*** Author's Note: Children are dying in the Middle East. The world has moments of great pain. I think that's where the darkness in this story originated.

~~~*** CHANGE SCENE

Portraits of Villains

The Quibbler appeared in the taverns and Atrium of the Ministry on Wednesday morning. Postal Owls flew through the air with the magazine for subscribers and many persons paused in their day to look at the cover.

"The Villains of Hogwarts!" was the headline and this caused many people to forget about their work for the minutes required to read the articles and stare at the photos included underneath the profiles of three individuals who were blamed for the disaster that claimed the lives of so many children.

Peter Pettigrew: This first villain was a Death Eater who hid for a dozen years after that Halloween night in 1981. In 1992-1993, he tried to bring back his master, Tom Riddle (see next article). Pettigrew slipped into Hogwarts in the form of a common rat to bring in the dark object – a horcrux – to release the basilisk from its hiding place underneath the castle and kill the students and staff. Pettigrew's body was found next to the diary, and inside his robes, the man carried the wand of the Dark Lord. Pettigrew's Order of Merlin Second Class certainly should be rescinded.

Thomas Marvolo Riddle: The second villain went by different names including Dark Lord, Lord Voldemort, and He-who-must-not-be-named. This wizard can be characterized as barely a half-blood. The man was the child of a squib who dosed a muggle with a love potion. Yet, purebloods flocked to his banner, took his tattoo and slaughtered their fellow magical citizens.

The article included a photo of the handsome, young wizard who had been head boy at Hogwarts in the 1944-1945 school year. Then in the 1950's, Tom Riddle vanished to become Lord Voldemort, with the changes to his appearance that could only be characterised as hideous.

The wizard split his soul and confined the slivers inside containers. These items radiated with an evil aura as they anchored the evil wizard among the living. But once the Department of Mysteries possessed the diary found at Hogwarts, they had collected another (source unknown) and preformed a ritual that drew all the parts of Tom Riddle's soul together and sent them to hell.

Albus Percival Dumbledore: Our third villain is the former headmaster of Hogwarts. Magical Britain accepts the notion that Albus Percival Dumbledore bears equal responsibility with Pettigrew and Riddle for the catastrophe. The former headmaster of Hogwarts failed to act when the wards warned him that an unknown Animagus was in the castle, that an object of great evil was there also. And with the evidence of the petrified students (half-bloods or muggleborn), the headmaster knew some creature was present, wandering the halls of the castle.

But Dumbledore did nothing! He didn't capture and confine the Animagus. He didn't remove the evil horcrux to some container to prevent the evil aura from contaminating the very air around the children. And worse, Albus did nothing about a monster he knew was wandering the halls of the castle.

When the moment of danger arrived on that morning in the Great Hall – when the Basilisk burst through the doors and began the slaughter – Albus Percival (not Wulfric nor Brian) Dumbledore chose to run – to flee – rather than fight to save children.

The wizard everyone looked up to as an example for standing up for what was right, ran away. Yes, he might have been killed by the basilisk – as were all the heroes who fought to save the lives of children – but he fled, leaving everyone to their fate.

(In an interview at the Hogshead Tavern in Hogsmeade, the proprietor provided the hints that allowed this reporter to locate the birth certificate for Albus Dumbledore (born 1855) where his parents, Percival and Kendra Dumbledore named him 'Albus Percival Dumbledore'. The wizard appended 'Wulfric Brian' to his name in the early 1900s when he published his seminal work on a dozen uses for dragon blood).

Then the article stated that if the disgraced wizard ever appeared again in Magical Britain – in Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley, or the Ministry for Magic, the Aurors could not arrest the man – he had broken no laws. Without a doubt the man was a coward and responsible for the death of 300 children and a dozen staff members at Hogwarts.

The Quibbler hoped that parents of every child would join the lawsuits against Dumbledore for endangering and causing their deaths (Contact the legal firm of Tonks and Proudfoot, #853 Diagon Alley, London).

And in conclusion, the Quibbler was certain the Ministry would certainly provide the secure, regulation, duelling platform for every family member who wanted to challenge Albus Percival (not Wulfric nor Brian) Dumbledore to a magical duel (to first blood or to death).

~~~*** CHANGE SCENE

Reactions to Articles on Villains

Lord Ogden laughed when he read the news that Dumbledore had added the extra names without any reason other than to make him sound grander than he was. And he smiled at the prompt for every family to join the legal action against the wizard. Tonks and Proudfoot had 299 families signed up – they just needed Arthur and Molly Weasley to join the lawsuit.

Then the Minister for Magic frowned – a duelling challenge when issued could not be ignored – magic would force the challenger and defender to square off and duel.

'I doubt it'll be much of a fight for Dumbledore to take down any wizard or witch in the whole of Magical Britain,' the wizard worried. 'More funerals then.'

He decided to consult with Director Bones and Head Auror Moody about where to put the platform in the Atrium and the rules that would be strictly enforced by the guards around the platform.

Knowing it would aggravate Alastor Moody, Lord Ogden also decided to consult with Professor Filius Flitwick about the regulations for the platform, the rules that would govern such duels, and if goblin guards would be appropriate to have based around the platform before Dumbledore reappeared.

~~~*** CHANGE

In Hogwarts, an elf was sent to Hogsmeade to collect a copy of the Quibbler. Later that same day, the same elf appeared at the Rookery with a letter from the castle for Luna Lovegood. The elf was startled because the young witch was prepared for the request before the letter arrived.

Luna offered the elf two packages that contained complete sets of the special editions of the Quibbler. She explained, "Lady Hogwarts is to file one collection in her library and use the other set to torture – educate her prisoner."

The elf nodded her head and Luna added, "And if he succeeds in destroying any edition, I have plenty to replace it with."

~~~*** CHANGE

Pomona Sprout sighed mournfully after reading the articles that described the three wizards who brought about the catastrophe at Hogwarts in April. With her efforts to push for some form of magical education to continue, Pomona knew there are almost 50 survivors – several children had been in their dormitories or the library rather than coming for the meal.

Dismissing the villains from her mind, she turned her attention to Lady Longbottom and Mrs Abbot and their plans to use Fleamont Retreat as the Magical Day School beginning 1 September 1993. There'd be a mind healer present at the school to help everyone manage their feelings and memories.

~~~**** Change

Poppy Pomphrey sat and stared at her empty infirmary. Everything remained spotless and the wards informed her of the nifflers burrowing into the grounds of the Quidditch pitch, but she allowed the little creatures to build new homes there.

The villains who tried to destroy Hogwarts would not succeed. The castle – Lady Hogwarts – wasn't certain where her future lay, but she understood that children – the survivors – could not return. And until Hogwarts released her prisoner from his tower, she could not move forward.

Another article Daily Prophet caught Poppy's attention – a day school for the children was being organized. That same afternoon, Poppy wrote a letter to Pomona, called the head elf and sent the parchment to the witch spearheading the effort to provide a new school. Hogwarts offered to share/loan house elves, all the needed furniture, kitchen utensils, desks, chairs, and books from the libraries needed.

~~~**** Change

The morning the 'Villains' edition was released; Harry and Neville were busy in the greenhouses. They'd read an early edition of the articles on the villains and glanced over the photos published in the magazine. But they didn't waste valuable minutes thinking about the bad guys.

Sirius Black was coming this evening to take both boys to a Quidditch match in Liverpool and they'd have a good time while Mr Lupin, Mr and Mrs Tonks, and a half dozen Aurors (off duty) accompanying them as guards.

Lady Longbottom's talk with Harry and Neville about attending a day school had been well received by both boys. Harry was glad to allow the school to 'use' Fleamont Retreat – the family home of his great-grandmother, Rosalee Fleamont. Several family heirlooms had been moved into the vaults at Gringotts but there were ample rooms for classes, a library and offices for professors. There'll be between 60 and 70 students for the classes each day, if all the first-year students agreed to attend.

One big addition was the inclusion of mandatory classes for world history (magical and mundane), English literature, composition, and muggle maths. Harry laughed when he learned how Lady Longbottom had grown overexcited when a muggleborn wizard showed her how a calculator worked out huge sums and difficult problems in Arithmancy much quicker. The witch admitted she declared, "It's just like magic!"

"I like the idea of coming home every afternoon," Neville said. "It'll let me take care of my greenhouses."

"And we can eat dinner together as a family," added Harry who'd quickly adopted the notion of family with Neville and Gran.

~~~**** Change

At the Burrow, Molly was busy with knitting a jumper for Percy's girlfriend. Penny Clearwater was the most pleasant witch that Molly remembered meeting in many years.

'Maybe someday,' Molly allowed herself to speculate about a wedding and grandchildren if the couple decided they wanted to spend their lives together. Fred and George read the articles in the Quibbler and with a wordless conversation, took the magazine to Percy to read before they let their mother read the articles about the villains.

When Arthur came home through the green flames of the floo, he carried a copy of the Quibbler that he took to his wife. He spoke quietly with Molly, and they looked at the magazine together. Molly cried when she read the section about Dumbledore's failure to act to protect the children, but she grew quiet reading the section about the lawsuits and anticipated duels.

~~~*** CHANGE

There were quiet days at the Burrow that followed the delivery of the latest edition of the Quibbler. Molly read the articles several times and seemed to be lost in thought many times. She spent many hours talking with the twins about their interesting jinxes and hexes.

She also spent extra time with her wand exercises and her sons noticed that their mother always carried a large wooden spoon inside her apron strings. Even when the apron was removed, the house witch carried her wooden spoon as faithfully as her wand.

In the evenings, Molly could be seen levitating the supper dishes of supper to the table using the wooden spoon as the focus for her magic. If anyone had examined the spoon, they might have noticed the split in the long handle and the two hairs that had been inserted inside –red hairs from her two youngest children.

~~~*** CHANGE SCENE

Filius Flitwick Gives Aid

There was a chime in his apartment underneath Gringotts that informed Filius that someone was looking for him in the lobby of the bank – he had his first visitor in several days.

'By the first boulder that hatched, please don't let it be another reporter,' Filius thought. 'I don't want to have to relive that day again…'

He sighed and suddenly realized why Harry Potter hated the name of the 'Boy-Who-Lived.'

'If I ever get to pull my wand on Rita Skeeter, she'll be gravel under my feet for naming me the 'Goblin-Who-Lived' for being the only survivor from the staff that killed…it.'

Clinching his new magical focus – a goblin knife awarded to him by Ragnock himself in recognition of his bravery – Filius left his apartment for the walk to the lobby. There an attendant directed Flitwick toward a witch sitting quietly against the wall.

Filius immediately recognized Molly Weasley – he'd taught her charms at Hogwarts (he recognized and embraced the second of pain using that name brought) when she'd been Molly Prewitt. Stepping forward, Filius greeted the witch, "Mrs Weasley. I hope this day finds you well."

The always boisterous witch didn't call out a loud greeting, but she did nod and reply softly, "Professor Flitwick, this day is a little better than yesterday."

Surprised by the witch's reply, "How can I help you today?"

Pulling out a scroll of parchment that she offered to the honoured professor, Molly said, "I have a puzzle that's very interesting. I hope to interest you in helping me solve it."

Flitwick's goblin ears twitched – as did four other goblins close enough to hear the witch's words. Filius smiled and motioned Molly to rise. He said, "Come, we'll use an interview room to examine this puzzle."

"The twins…Fred and George shared it with me, and I hope you can help me."

"Gred and Forge?" asked Flitwick. "Mrs Weasley, they are the two most promising creative minds in Magical Britain. I know that Gringotts is already watching their development."

In a private chamber (with recording runes activated of course), Molly handed over the scroll. Filius unrolled the foot of parchment and read the potion and short incantation used to create the chocolate treat labelled 'Chicken Cluckers.'

Glancing up once, Filius asked, "Does this work?"

Molly nodded, "Yes. When someone bites into the chocolate, they are turned into a human-sized chicken – hen or rooster – and for three minutes, they cluck and scratch the ground. Men always crow at least once."

"The boys are very proud of their work for some reason," the witch added.

"And is there any pain?" Filius asked.

"No. I tried a chocolate to examine the feeling. I was a chicken, but my mind was my own for the whole enchantment."

"Good. In their third year, I put Fred and George into detention for a month when one of their jinxes caused pain to their test subject. I confiscated their wands for the entire month except for class time too."

"I never knew about that," Molly admitted.

The professor sighed and explained, "I recognized their genius in their second year. Minerva ignored them except for their hijinks, and I wished there was a way to resort them into Ravenclaw where they belonged."

"Ravenclaw?" Molly asked. She blinked hard, imagining several different endings for her twins and then said, "I can't let my mind wonder around this afternoon."

Returning his full attention to the scroll, Filius said, "This is NEWT level work – exceptional for boys in their fourth year."

Molly smiled but then continued, "Professor, I remember in my seventh-year classes, you spoke about using Arithmancy to convert potions into spells – into charms."

"Excellent memory, Miss Prewitt!" Filius declared.

"I want to have this as a spell – a charm I can cast with a single flick of my magical focus."

The half-human duelling champion heard the key word in Molly's statement – magical focus – not wand. He added, "An interesting puzzle for arithmancy and runes – my specialty."

The he asked, "What made you think about my seventh-year classes?"

Molly replied, "Since…since April, I take refuge in my mind to hide from memories of that day. And sometimes, I go back to my classes. They were happy days learning about magic."

Filius considered everything he knew and said, "It should be possible to convert this into a charm that you…that any wizard or witch could cast with their wand."

"I should appreciate any help you can give me," Molly said.

Filius grinned and said, "Will you bargain with a goblin?

"What kind of bargain?" the witch asked. "I don't have any galleons."

"But you have two sons I should very much like to tutor and encourage. Your eldest son, William, is making a name for himself in Egypt with tomb raiding. Fred and George can learn charms with me in the caverns under Gringotts. They may even get to sit in on potion lessons with goblin nafflings."

Molly wanted to agree immediately, but her new outlook meant she would talk with her husband, and they would discuss the opportunity with the twins, before committing them to spending hours with Professor Flitwick.

Filius paused before they separated and asked, "Mrs Weasley, this charm would disable any opponent in a duel for at least three minutes. You could summon your opponent's wand and be declared the winner without any question. The use of such a charm would disqualify me on the duelling circuit – they don't approve of jokes in formal competition."

"But in a private duel, would it be allowed?" Molly asked.

"All's fair in a private duel. But I would advise you to not advertise the spell's existence," Filius said. "I can think of three shields that could block it."

Her eyes narrowing, Molly asked, "But if my opponent uses those shields, they're left open for piercing and bombards, aren't they?"

"They are," Filius replied, impressed that Molly had spent the time to research spells and shields that were compatible in duels.

~~~*** CHANGE SCENE