I certainly have no rights to Harry Potter, but this won't stop me writing this story. However, you probably already know this. As it is my specialty, and as in my other big stories, this shows how things go if something went different right at the beginning. Please note that I'm not a fan of bashing and also don't expect the pairings to differ from canon. However, the path to them sertainly will be quite different. I also want to try and subvert certain plots and things that became common in the fandom over the years.
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Chapter 24: Agent Dudley - 00D
Their extra-long Christmas break was over and all of them were now on the final stretch back to Hogwarts. Not that the weeks inbetween had been quiet.
Hermione did remember all too clearly her parents' reaction to what had happened during her duel with Pansy Parkinson. Only the reassurance that the school was already dealing with her - reinforced by a letter from the Headmaster promising to do so - stopped them from taking action themselves. Dumbledore has assured them actually injuring another student would get Parkinson a mark in her file as well.
Hermione also needed to be fitted new dental braces after the destruction of her old ones. That did include creating a new cast of her teeth - a procedure she heartily disliked, as it always made her gag. Not to speak how expensive it was to get new ones made at such short notice. At least the excuse they got destroiyed in an accident had not been questioned.
At least she had not needed to tell them about what was going on at school with the monster. Their parents by now had formed a pretty efficient network to make sure they were always informed if something important happened at school. Her parents had openly questioned how the school could actually be proud of a school founder who essentially had been a racist madman. Hermione had countered while it was seen as inexcusable nowadays, fact was if it weren't impacting them like it did now, no one would have blinked an eye at the madness of a man from 1000 years ago. She also cited several past kings who were held in great memory but had done horrible things in their time.
There also had been the big Christmas celebration at the Burrow. The Wesleys had invited everyone and it had been quite memorable - especially when a joke prepared by the twins had backfired on them when Mark had pulled a string that hung out of Fred's trouser pocket. Thankfully, these two now no longer looked blue like smurfs, Mrs. Weasley having found a way to remove the dye from them after three days of failed attempts - one of which had caused the twins to lose their hair for an entire day.
Now however it was back to school and the changes that came with it.
"So, what do you think that new building will look like? All the scaffolding made it impossible to see it when we left," Harry asked while they sat down in their carriage.
"I honestly don't care, as long as it means we're not at risk of being attacked all the time," Neville said, not exactly caring for things like architecture as long as it helped keeping them safe.
The carriages moved on, but instead of going towards the castle itself, they took a newly paved path on the school grounds towards the just finished guest house, which would take up the student population for the time being. Magical lights illuminated it to show all students what it looked like. While the building did look small compared to the castle, it still was quite big. It was a red brick building built in neo-gothical architecture. While taking some inspirations from the castle tiself, it clearly tried to stand on its own.
"This actually does look very nice," Luna remarked when seeing the building. "Looks like unlike with other public projects the money for once is well-spent. Daddy certainly would want me to write about this."
"Granted, it's already pitch-black outside, but a nice touch that they actually illuminate the building to show us what it looks like," Ginny commented when looking out of one of the windows of their carriage.
"I think it looks great. Reminds me a lot of neo-gothic architecture of the 19th century," Hermione added, really wishing she had a camera for a picture. Perhaps she should ask Colin to make one for her?
"Reminds me pictures I've seen of Oxford and Cambridge. Guess the Headmaster did take inspiration from those when the plans were made," Harry remarked when looking at the building. "And they said it originally was planned for guests?"
"Makes you wonder what they would need such a big guest building for, if they had planned this for years," Ron said, being impressed that such a big building had been constructed in such a short time.
It was a bit chaotic at first while students were being led into the entrance hall of the building, which in itself was impressive with its polished stone columns and rib vault ceiling. The building clearly originally had been planned to impress guests. The maximum number of students per room was three and due to the size constraints the rooms of boys and girls could not but put on separate corridors. Thankfully, room arrangements themselves went much more smoothly.
Fifteen minutes later...
"For one person alone this certainly would be a nice room, but it's a little cramped with the three of us in here," Neville said while they were being busy with moving into their temporary room, the three of them having stayed together at room assignments.
"I know, our dorms in the castle are much more spacious. Let's hope this won't last for too long," Harry added while looking around. "Pretty clear this room was not made with three people in mind. Still, it looks nice."
"So much we can agree on," Ron admitted. "But as nice as it looks, we're still in danger of stepping on each other's feet."
The room indeed would have been quite homely for a single person, the big window allowing a great view of the castle, the walls were covered in wood paneling and the ceiling being made of stucco. However, with three beds being squeezed into the room, it appeared a lot smaller than it actually was. It underlined that this was only temporary until the situation was resolved and that the building was not meant to hold this many people.
That moment the door opened and the girls walked in. "It is very telling that they can't separate the genders like they do in the regular dorms. We are your direct neighbors," Luna told them while walking in.
"It's no wonder they can't separate, considering it's actually intended as a guest house. They don't have the space for doing so anyway," Hermione observed.
"Probably will take some time to get used to it," Ron commented, looking at his smaller bed and the lack of privacy. "Still makes me wonder what they would need so many rooms for."
"I honestly couldn't say, despite how much I read," Hermione said, which meant something. "Hogwarts had not had any kind of events, which would involve many guests staying at the castle, for at least several centuries. I know other schools do, such as Beauxbatons in France."
"I imagine it to be awesome... Hogwarts being host for guests from other countries while the eyes of the public are on the school," Ginny said, imagining it in all its colors.
"Well, for now we have to deal with a building not meant for so many people." Neville then laughed humorlessly. "I bet the lines in front of the bathrooms will be murderous in the morning."
The girls didn't look happy at the reminder of that particular problem. "It will be even worse for us girls, trust me. Some girls simply refuse to be done in there in a timely manner..." Ginny grumbled, clearly having had some bad experiences in that regard.
No, I will stay silent, Hermione thought when hearing this from Ginny.
Hermione indeed said nothing. She kept silent due to feeling she could come over as a hypocrite. Her bushy hair generally needed more care after taking a shower, but her friends gave her no grief for it, since this was how her hair grew naturally. No, they were thinking of girls like Lavender Brown, who needed as much time as three girls to be done at the morning.
"Perhaps we should ask Myrtle to remind these girls to hurry when they take too long. It would give her something to do and she is an expert in bathrooms," Luna honestly suggested and the girls actually considered this a valid tactic to battle blocked bathrooms.
The boys looked at each other and came to a silent agreement: sometimes girls could be quite scary.
o
In a different wing of the building, three boys were inspecting their room.
"It certainly is different from what we are used to," Theodore Nott observed. "Much smaller with less free room. On the other hand, we do get a real window with a nice view of the lake. No more looking at walls only."
"I think we instead should be glad that we don't have to share with Malfoy and his meatheads. He already was impossible enough during the train ride, no way I would want to endure him in such close quarters," Blaise Zabini said, actually being glad that Draco and his two flunkies got a room for themselves.
"I heard through the grapevine that the Malfoys and Parkinsons have filed formal protests against the fact that their children got a whole month of detention for their actions at the Dueling Club. Not to speak of Pansy's entry into her file. They say these two did nothing wrong," Nott told the other two boys.
"Why are they doing that? There are so many witnesses that there is no way the protest will go anywhere," Dudley wondered.
"-sigh- It's politics. In their eyes Pansy and Draco did nothing wrong and showing their protest against what they see as unjust punishment is expected in their circles," Zabini explained to Dudley. "I know, sounds strange to you, but unlike the things they pulled in first year, their parents see those actions as acceptable."
"My ass. So almost ripping someone's jaw apart is OK, as long it's someone from a group they dislike? That's messed up," Dudley said, finding the idea horrific.
"As I said, difficult to understand. There's lots of messed up things in the world," Zabini said before returning his attention to his trunk.
Dudley knew he had been lucky being assigned a room with these two, as both of them didn't mind him. They were not exactly close or anything, but respected him. Perhaps it was because both of them came from difficult family situations.
Nott's mother had died early in his life and his father was a Death Eater who had weased out of his punishment on a flimsy at best excuse; a domineering man who treated his son more like an investment. Father and son were quite distant to each other, acting more like teacher and student. As for Zabini, his mother pretty much was a black widow, as all of her seven husbands had died, leaving her with a massive fortune. It was pretty obvious Zabini was convinced his mother was a serial killer, despite there always having been a lack of evidence, and thus wanted as little as possible to do with her.
Compared to that, his own family problems were small potatoes, even though his first Christmas at home since school started had been... tense. He was thankful enough that his parents had just accepted his explanation that school had let them go home early due to urgent construction work.
His mother still had great difficulties to accept that part of his life, though she was slowly improving. It seemed she was slowly overcoming her bitterness and started to be genuinely proud of his accomplishments. It however was a work in progress and there were other factors stopping Petunia from going much further at the moment.
Much more alarming was that Dudley had noticed a rift forming between him and his father. He had not noticed during the summer, but during Christmas he did do so. Vernon was a man who would never stray from his beliefs and its effects were starting to show. He had interacted less with Dudley than normal and also seemed more reserved. Not to speak of how his dislike of magic didn't seem to have waned at all.
Dudley had the strange feeling this could all end ugly.
Leaving the room for a moment, Dudley aimlessly walked down the corridor, until hearing unwanted voices from one room, where the door was not properly closed.
"...man, Draco, really?" That was Goyle's voice.
"Yes, Gregory, he told me himself he knows whats going on with the heir." That was the ponce himself. "He also told me I was a bit too bold in conjuring that snake; says the heir can manage on his own."
Dudley suddenly had a bad feeling, but couldn't help to continue to listen. "And your father didn't tell...?" That was Crabble.
"No, he didn't tell me any details. Father always keeps his secrets close. It's kind of annoying, I could really help the heir after all." Dudley stood still in shock, but then.. "Great, you two didn't close the door properly."
Dudley quickly walked further down the corridor to escape any suspicion, trying to understand what he'd just heard.
Shit... Malfoy's father is somehow involved in this and Draco knows. Crap, he's even proud of it. How sick can you be? he thought, wondering what to do. He felt like he was out of his depth with this.
He walked by another door, when... "Oh, hey Dudley!" Stopping, he saw Daphne poke her head out of the door. "Can you come in for a moment?"
Dudley blushed a little at the idea of being invited into a girl's room, but then realized the room pretty much would be the same as the one he was staying in. "Uh, yes." Walking through the door, he saw his guess was correct, the room looked exactly the same, apart from the fact that three girls were occupying it.
"I'm just glad 'her majesty' doesn't room with us. Though, how did Parkinson manage to get a room all for herself?" a girl, he remembered her name was Tracey Davis, said to Millicent, who seemed to only listen with one ear. She then noticed him. "Oh, hello. I do remember you - hard not to considering how often these two talk about you."
"You two do?" Dudley asked in surprise.
That seemed to get Millicent out of her tunnel vision. "Oh, Dudley, I didn't notice you!"
Dudley wondered what happened. On the train Millicent already seemed preoccupied with something and it seemed that had not changed. Daphne had noticed as well. "Millicent, you were rather distracted all day. Is something wrong?"
Millicent shook her head. "No, it's just all of this is quite a lot in one go, you know?"
They took that at face value, but inside Dudley still wondered if Millicent was all right.
...January 7th 1993...
It had taken Dudley several days, but Draco's words and the way he was acting, like there was no danger at all to him, had been putting him on the edge. He however also knew that he was not great at making plans and that he needed help to get anywhere with this. Adults were out, since he didn't have any proof to show. No way he could tell his friends. Daphne and Millicent would want to see what was behind that and most certainly get into deep trouble.
No, he needed to get help from someone outside of Slytherin, who was beyond in-house revenge. Problem of course was, there weren't many other students outside of Slytherin he did know, much less trust with this. However, thinking about it, he always came back to one person he could actually talk with about this, despite the fact he had not exchanged a single word with for next to two years: Harry. That however also came with the problem that Dudley was not exactly the bravest person in the world.
It's Harry, he won't rip off my head. Though... I honestly wonder about his friends, he thought while waiting for his opportunity.
No way he wanted to approach Harry while others were around, as he was kind of intimidated by Harry's friends. Problem was, Harry's friends seemed to have a habit of being around him, opportunities of finding him alone were not exactly plentiful. That was why he now, after school hours were over, was standing awkwardly at the corner of the guest building closest to Hagrid's cottage. Harry was visiting the big man on his own and would walk this way back.
Seeing Harry leave the cottage, Dudley suddenly got second thoughts. Man, don't go chicken now! he berated himself.
Harry for his part was just returning from visiting Hagrid.
His friends were busy with one thing or another. Ron was having some kind of strategy meeting with Oliver Wood, Neville and Luna were helping out in the greenhouses, Ginny had laid down for a little nap and Hermione was reading up about next year's electives. Thus he had visited Hagrid, who had proudly shown him a hippogriff named Buckbeak, who despite looking fearsome was harmless as long as you treated him with respect. Hippogriffs of course were creatures reserved for the higher years.
Now he was on his way back. Living in a separate building from the castle did have its advantages - like finally being able to move on the castle grounds, as long as they did stay out of the castle. After all, the basilisk was inside the castle, so after closing all ways a massive snake could have taken to get out, the students finally got some freedom back. Looking to the Quidditch pitch, Harry remembered that Quidditch was still off as long as the monster was being around.
Guess they don't want to risk a panic, Harry thought. Then he saw someone standing where his path would lead him. Dudley? What could he want from me? Though, he does look rather awkward.
Truth to be told, after two years of not exchanging a word with Dudley, Harry honestly had no idea about the other boy. He also didn't know all too much about what he was doing at school, though his friends had told him of of these two girls he was friends with and he knew Dudley was the Slytherin reserve keeper. Other than that however...
On the other hand, Dudley had kept the peace for years, so there was no reason for him to break it. Also, enough time had passed that the past abuse was now only a dull memory. Considering this, he decided to at least listen to whatever Dudley had to say. Seeing Dudley being about to speak up, Harry pointed at the back of the building, where they were less likely to be seen.
"All right, Dudley, what is so important that you wait for me outside?" Harry asked as soon as they had reached the back of the building facing the lake.
"I... eh..." Now all of a sudden he found it difficult to talk, then hoped the direct approach was the only way out. "I heard Malfoy say some really suspicious things about his father having a hand in the heir business, and there's no one else I can turn to!"
"Eh...what?" Harry had not exactly expected Dudley wanting to talk about that. "What are you talking about?"
Seeing that he got Harry's attention, Dudley felt some confidence return. "Look... it happened by accident. I walked by Malfoy's room and heard him talking with his brutes because the door was not fully closed," Dudley explained.
Listening to Dudley's explanation, Harry sighed and took off his glasses to rub his eyes. "You are not exactly making my life easier, you know?"
Now, the Dudley from before would have scoffed at this, but he wasn't that Dudley anymore. "Sorry... you were the only one I felt I could ask for help with this. I can't risk the safety of anyone in Slytherin and I don't know any students outside of it well enough. The adults would think I'm crazy, since I have no proof..."
"I knew this day would come..." Seeing Dudley give him a questioning look, Harry explained. "None of my friends know you are my cousin. It was more convenient not to tell them. Guess the same goes for you?"
"Eh... not exactly?" Seeing the look Harry gave him, Dudley explained quickly "It happened Christmas first year! I did tell Millicent and she made me tell Daphne. Both of them promised to keep silent, and they did keep their promise."
Harry had no idea how to feel about that. Dudley had told his friends the secret, while he himself hadn't revealed it to his own. It... actually made him feel like a bad friend when realizing that Dudley had shared the secret, while he himself hadn't. It now even felt a bit petty, considering how Dudley had been on his best behavior whenever he'd seen him and was downright polite right now. That moment Harry realized he simply had not wanted to believe Dudley could change, while he clearly did over the past years.
"Can you give me a few moments?" Harry right then had made a decision. "Wait behind the greenhouses, we can talk there without anyone listening in on us."
Dudley wondered what this was about.
A bit later he got his answer. After waiting for what could have been no longer than fifteen minutes, Harry approached the back of the greenhouses... together with his friends. Granted, Dudley had met some of them before in the stands, but it never had been any meaningful conversations. Good thing they were not wearing their uniforms right now, or his colors would have shown his house right away.
He did see some recognition in their eyes, but also confusion why he was waiting where Harry was leading them to.
"Ah, when Harry said he had tell tell us something important, I did not consider you would be involved in this," Luna said, seemingly not minding that Neville and her had been pulled from greenhouse duty - Professor Sprout certainly hadn't.
Harry felt like letting the cat out of the bag quickly. "Guys... this is Dudley. He's my cousin."
There was some silence while Harry's friends looked to Harry in surprise, then to Dudley, before back to Harry. Ron finally put it into words. "Harry, mate! We've seen him being around since the preschool, and only now do you tell us? What gives?!"
"Hey, he had good reason why he didn't tell you!" Then Dudley noticed the attention was back on him. "Well... he did!"
"So, did he?" Ginny crossed her arms, clear sign she was not in any mood to argue. "Then enlighten us."
And they did. While it felt incredibly awkward for them, Harry and Dudley did manage to tell them coherently how Dudley had bullied Harry until the age of nine until their run-in with a dementor had turned Dudley's life around. How Dudley then offered to keep the peace and stay away from Harry, and how that was the status quo ever since. The silence while they told all that felt a bit damning.
Again it was Ginny who spoke up when they were done. "So, you did all that?"
"Ginny, leave him alone." Harry wouldn't have thought the day would come where he would defend Dudley of all people. "It happened years ago and ever since then he kept the peace. Can you honestly say from what you've seen that he still is a troublemaker?"
His friends looked at each other, realizing there was something to that. Ginny however had a bit more to say about that. "All right, but I'll keep a close eye on him in case he does return to his old ways..."
"Man, Harry, she's so small and yet so scary," Dudley remarked, feeling a bit intimidated by the girl.
"You are cousins... Your mothers were sisters?" Neville then asked, hoping to steer things onto safer ground."
"Yes, but you would be hard pressed to actually believe it, as the difference between them is startling, judging by the few times I met her," Harry said, then looked to Dudley. "Sorry to say that."
"In a way I understand my Mum is not a role-model, but can't this wait until later? Remember what I told you?" Dudley reminded Harry.
Harry honestly had almost forgotten due to all the drama. "You said you heard Malfoy say something suspicious?"
"Yes. When I walked by his room, the door was not fully closed and I heard him talk with Crabble and Goyle," Dudley started, relieved he could finally explain. "He had just confirmed that his father did know about the heir and was sure he would manage on his own. He'd also told Malfoy he'd been too bold in conjuring that snake."
Harry grimaced at the memory. He had tested out his ability of speaking to snakes over Christmas break with snakes in plastic tanks, and they had indeed answered them. His guardians thankfully were not disturbed by it, but gave him the good advice to not make his new ability public considering the stigma that came with it. Harry understood that all too well.
For their actions during their duels, Malfoy and Parkinson had both gotten a pretty a severe entire month of detention with lots of unpleasant tasks under the watchful eye of Argus Filch. Just yesterday he had seen them being forced to shovel hippogriff crap - quite a lot of it at that. Both of them had complained bitterly over what they saw as menial and disgusting work beneath their station. If anything, the complaints only caused Filch to make them work harder.
"Well, Malfoy then complained that his father was being too secretive about the matter and that he was willing to help the heir. I then had to leave since they noticed the door wasn't fully closed," Dudley ended his recounting of the incident.
"Of course Malfoy's old man... Dad told us how much trouble he's had with him," Ron grumbled, showing his dislike of the Malfoy family. "And that little toad actually is willing to help that monster?!"
"He acts like he doesn't know who their heir is, while he knows exactly," Hermione added, looking sick at the idea that Malfoy wanted to help that monster attack students.
Dudley did know who the heir was, like many others having puzzled together the information from the newspaper articles about Hagrid's innocence. "Eh, isn't he dead?"
"Duds, we wish he were, but right now Voldemort is neither dead nor alive, however that works. We were actually confronted with him last year." Seeing his cousin pale, Harry realized that Dudley must have heard quite a number of horror stories about Voldemort.
"You mean he really could be behind this?" Dudley tried to ignore the implications of Voldemort having been in the school, but he couldn't help it and paled. "Shit... this guy sounds like a cross between Hitler and Freddy Krueger."
Only Harry and Hermione got the pop culture reference while the others looked puzzled.
"So, what now?" Neville asked, wondering where this would go. "After all, no adult would believe us about this. Not with just a few words a student heard."
Dudley then noticed them looking at him.
Almost fifteen minutes later, Dudley still wondered how they had convinced him to do actual spying to find out more. They didn't know him well enough to truly trust him yet, especially due to the past, but they could see he was genuinely disturbed by what he had heard. Of course that brought its own share of problems with it.
"How are you guys imagining this? Spying on Malfoy, and by extension Parkinson, is next to impossible. In case you missed it, I'm not exactly small," Dudley asked them honestly while Harry had excused himself for a moment, saying he needed to get something. "Also, I'm not exactly James Bond, you know?" There was some confusion, until Hermione quickly explained who that was.
"Don't you remember? Harry said he's got an idea," Ron reminded Dudley.
"Excuse me if I hold back my enthusiasm. Nothing against Harry, but after all, it's my butt that's at risk here," Dudley reminded them.
That moment Harry returned with a bundle under his arm. "I knew you could hardly listen in on them without getting noticed, so you can use this."
"Harry, that's your invisibility cloak - a family heirloom - and you are just giving it away?!" Hermione hissed, sometimes wondering about her friend.
"Hermione, calm down. Dudley might have been several things in the past, but a thief had not been one of them. Also, Uncle Remus did some trickery with the cloak so regaining it will be easy," Harry told Hermione, seeing her as being a bit overprotective.
Dudley meanwhile, having heard of such cloaks, tested it, only to see it did work as advertised. "Wicked!" he commented while taking it back off. "I promise, i'll get it back in mint condition! Man's promise!"
...January 8th, new dorm building...
I thought spying would be more exciting, but it's actually pretty boring, Dudley thought while waiting to see what Parkison was up to now.
He had forgotten that Malfoy and Parkinson would have detention until the the start of next month, thus severely limiting the window on which he could actually spy on them. True, he was also keeping his ears open during lessons and meal times in case Malfoy's big mouth got the better of him, but the boy was surprisingly disciplined about the matter and had let nothing slip.
Today, Parkinson had finished her detention much earlier than Malfoy, due to the latter having complained to Filch, resulting in two extra hours of duty for him - in this case cleaning out Hagrid's chicken coops. That meant Dudley's plans were out of the window and he instead had to keep an eye on Parkinson, despite her probably not being told too much, either.
Parkinson having a room all to herself - though that simply was to the fact that her included there were only four Slytherin girls in their year - had stroked her ego. It had certainly not cured her of her messiness - Millicent and Daphne had told him about it. One look through the open door revealed that in just a week she had caused quite the mess. He'd even blushed a little when seeing that she had her dirty underwear lying on the floor.
And they say girls are supposed to be tidier than boys. Parkinson certainly proves them wrong, Dudley thought, but the reason he was still waiting under the cloak was, that Parkinson was right now hectically trying to clean up her mess. Something clearly was about to happen.
He didn't have to wait for much longer when he saw three Slytherin girls from third and fourth year approach the door. Of course it's them...
He remembered them, even if not by name; all three of them pure-bloods coming from conservative families who were a lot like Pansy in how nasty they could get to anyone they deemed as beneath them. Perhaps that was why they got along so well.
One was a weedy, bespectacled fourth-year who made up for her lacking physique by being especially cruel to anyone she felt had wronged her. The second girl was a fourth-year who was rather masculine and still was pissed that Flint didn't want girls on the team - Dudley shuddered at the idea of her being on the team next year. The final girl was a third-year with horrible acne who felt it was fun to scheme how to make other people's lives miserable. Yes, that was Pansy's crowd.
He managed to slip in undetected, wondering what this could be about. All the girls were dressed rather casual, looking like they just were about to have a casual chat, but that didn't have to mean anything.
"It's really hypocritical of the school to give you detention... after all, you only did what was expected in a dueling club," the acne girl complained while they got comfortable.
"I think the mudblood looked much better with her teeth like that," the weedy girl added.
"My parents of course know I did nothing wrong. After all, they told me it was a very creative use of that spell," Pansy said while setting out some snack like this was a normal chat. "I still can't believe that Professor Snape felt otherwise."
"Pfff, screw Snape. My parents told me exactly what he is: a weakling who failed the cause utterly," masculine-girl said dismissively.
Acne-girl nodded in agreement. "Mine even think he did it on purpose. One way or another, he's not trustworthy. Too bad we still get him in a few years. I don't get how other pure-bloods actually say good things about him. Like that Greengrass girl, who even joined the Dueling Club."
"Well, they'll sing a different tune once things have changed at this school." Pansy then saw she got the attention of the other three girls. "Draco said I can tell you. His father got great plans for the school as soon as that old relic of a Headmaster is gone."
Weedy-girl laughed. "Well, that shouldn't be too long now. One more attack by the heir and the Headmaster's head will be on a platter. Only too bad it'll also mean the school will be closed for some time."
"I still wonder how the heir is doing it?" masculine-girl wondered.
Pansy shrugged. "No idea." However, Dudley, watching her body language, realized that Malfoy must have told her something. That was all the more reason to keep a close eye on him. "Still ticked at Flint for not accepting girls?" Pansy then asked.
"That jerk even had the gall to say he maybe could accept me because I'm not much of a girl," masculine-girl said while biting into a cookie. "Next year he's gone and then I'll be in for sure. I'll even tolerate the mudblood for that, as distasteful as it is."
Weedy-girl then looked thoughtful. "Pansy, I think you should be a bit more subtle with your plans. While a lot in our circles are impressed with how you did in that duel, they feel a second-year aspiring to be the queen bee is a bit too prematurely. Personally, I think you should wait until your tits have grown before you should try to make a power play."
Pansy rolled her eyes. "I've heard that from my Mum as well. She told me I need to be more patient about such things, since a twelve-year old would look ridiculous in that position. Draco actually agrees."
Acne-girl gave Pansy a knowing look. "I heard Draco's mother was less than enthusiastic about you two hanging out."
"Well, too bad for her. Draco clearly doesn't care what his parents think of my family." Pansy then looked a bit dreamily. "Oh, he's doing so much better this year. His parents were actually proud how creative he was with the whole snake thing, though reminding him to be a bit less bold. He's finally doing better."
There were some giggles of approvement from the girls, before acne-girl asked "Still trouble with the bleeding, Pansy?"
Pansy grimaced. "My mother warned me, but I had no idea that the first one would be this bad. The cramps alone..."
Dudley saw this as his cue to leave. There wouldn't be anything else of worth and no way he wanted to listen in to Pansy complaining about her first period. He silently opened the door a bit when seeing the girls were distracted and made his exit.
I need to write stuff down, Dudley thought while walking to the bathroom to take off the cloak and then start writing into the small notebook he was carrying around.
However, when entering, he saw that he had to keep silent and out of the way when seeing that not only were Nott and Zabini in it, but they were also being confronted by an sixth-year Slytherin boy. These two literally had been caught with their trousers down, though thankfully not their underwear. Dudley had a feeling what this could be about.
"You two little snots are playing a dangerous game; continue like that and you'll end up like the Greengrass. You are of good stock, so better pick the right side soon, if you know what's good for you," the boy sneered at them before he left.
"Blockhead..." Nott grumbled while finally pulling up his trousers. "Doesn't he get that we want no part of that game? Not like we are suddenly discovered our love for those disadvantaged by society, we just want to be left out of all of it."
"Good luck. For them, all that are not with them are their enemies. They only deal in absolutes and don't even consider I'm no pure-blood," Zabini remarked while fastening his belt. "I mean, take Dursley for example. I'm pretty much neutral about him, but according to them I NEED to have a huge hateboner against him."
"My old man is the best example how this will end ugly. No way I want to be pulled down together with them when the big bang happens," Nott added before both boys left the bathroom.
Dudley waited until he was sure to be alone before taking off the cloak and rolling it up to put into the bag he was carrying along. Entering one of the toilet stalls, he quickly locked it and sat down before pulling out his notebook to write down everything he'd learned. While only some was connected to the heir, he got a good insight into the Slytherin dynamics.
This makes me wonder what else I'll find out. They certainly talk a lot more when they think they are alone, Dudley thought.
...January 13th...
I wonder what these two are doing now? Normally they wait for Malfoy in their room like well-trained dogs, Dudley thought while invisibly following Crabble and Goyle.
The past few days certainly had been interesting, even if he'd found out not too much about the heir business. He however had found out quite a bit about the inner dynamics of Slytherin, and those were quite messed up in his mind.
He understood why numerous people from the outside felt Slytherin looked like a monolithic bloc of bigoted jerks, but that was far from the truth. Essentially, Slytherin was a House divided, and the reason for that was the attitude of a minority which however held a lot of power thanks to their parents. That group pretty much felt it had the sole right to dictate how all of Slytherin had to act and also would use all means to ensure so.
That essentially meant that they were getting those children from other important families 'in line' by means that Dudley didn't really want to remember at the moment. What he'd seen with Nott and Zabini had been a warning. Daphne had admitted outright that some girls from upper years were starting to have it out for her due to her family while Millicent had admitted they'd given up on her as a lost cause and now only wanted to keep her down. Millicent however recently looked like she was getting too little sleep. Everyone who did not fall under that category in general tried to keep their head down and hope not to cause the attention of that group.
He had not expected that his sorting - thus the hat starting to admit more muggleborn students into Slytherin - was actually upsetting that horrible system. Many of the top dogs were getting nervous at the implications, especially since there was little in terms of students coming from that circle of conservative old families after Malfoy's year. While there was Daphne's sister next year, she was not part of that circle and being smeared with the same brush as Daphne and didn't count.
No, the number of new students from that conservative circle of families would be falling off a cliff. From what he'd heard the number of new students from that part of society would amount to single digits - divided over the next seven years. That, and children from non-magical and more liberal magical families entering Slytherin would inevitably destroy the system.
Following Crabble and Goyle to the Quidditch locker rooms, he saw Malfoy and Parkinson waiting for them there, having made themselves comfortable.
"Ah, there you two are. You took your sweet time," Malfoy complained when seeing them.
Goyle looked a bit embarrassed. "Eh... had some trouble reading your message."
"It's a wonder you even can read..." Malfoy sighed, rolling his eyes. "Did anyone follow you?"
Both both looked at each other. "No... we haven't seen anyone," Crabble finally said.
"Draco, I honestly wonder why you always have these two around," Pansy asked Draco, looking not very impressed. "Wasn't there anyone better available?"
"Actually, there wasn't. And it's orders from our fathers. I told you, remember? They are the muscle I can call upon should someone need more 'convincing'. They have proven quite good at that task. They are not actual friends like you are," Draco replied, not even bothering to hide his opinion of Crabble and Goyle, despite the two of them being present.
"Well, if looking at it from that angle..." Pansy still didn't look very convinced, but clearly felt flattered by Draco calling her a real friend. "So, now that they are here, what is the news?"
"Ah, yes... Father did tell me I should expect changes coming to this school soon. I know that means he's got everything prepared, wrapped enough governors around his finger. Now the heir just has to get one more student and he'll go ahead and remove the old coot as Headmaster and get someone more fitting for the job," Draco said.
"Good, the school then can finally be cleaned of the mudblood stench," Pansy said in agreement. "Maybe someone even dies. I hope it's Granger, she deserves it more than anyone else."
"I still wonder how the heir is doing it," Crabble wondered, looking confused.
"And I told you father doesn't want to tell me - says I'm not mature enough and that I should keep out of it. I know better than to question father when he's scheming," Draco told his dimwitted bodyguard. "He's already angry enough the Ministry did a search of our manor. Routine they say, but we know it's the Weasel father pulling the strings."
"Kind of presumptuous of him to do this. That family is poor and full of blood-traitors," Pansy said with a snort, showing her disdain of the Weasleys.
"Good luck then. No way they can find the hidden chamber under the drawing room floor," Draco laughed.
"Oh, your father won't tell. Still, I wonder how the Dark Lord does it?" Goyle wondered.
"We should not snoop into that. Mother warned me that sticking my nose into the Dark Lord's matters without his approval could end badly for me. So don't ask any stupid questions." Looking at Draco, Dudley could see him shudder a bit. Clearly, the idea of Voldemort was unnerving a small part of him.
The conversation then moved to more trivial topics and Dudley quietly retreated. Moving to one of the seats of the stands, Dudley quickly removed the cloak and sat down before hectically writing down all of this into his notebook before he would forget details.
Malfoy's father is insane, Dudley thought while doing so.
Even if Malfoy Sr. was not directly involved with the heir using the basilisk, he knew what was going on and was using the crisis for his own goals. It was sick. That information was exactly what he was looking for and he doubted he could get anymore information, considering that Malfoy's father was refusing to tell anymore.
That meant he could finally tell what he'd learned.
It took surprisingly little time to find Harry and for him to gather his friends.
Dudley was glad that he had written down all of his findings into that notebook, since he was pretty much terrible at explaining things. He was no idiot, but explaining stuff to others was not one of his strengths. All of them had again met behind the greenhouses and right now they were being busy with reading all of his notes. All of them, since he hoped that understanding the Slytherin dynamics could help them understand that house a bit better.
The six friends meanwhile read all of it carefully and their eyebrows rose. Not only because of what had been revealed about Malfoy Sr. being somehow involved, but also due to how Draco and Pansy reacted to it as well as what was going on inside Slytherin. Some of it was difficult to read. They had suspected it, but to read it like that put things into perspective for them.
"She honestly hopes for the basilisk to kill me?" Hermione gasped, paling. She had no imagined Pansy's hatred for her being this deep. "I never expected..."
"She's even nastier than we thought," Ron growled, looking protective of Hermione. "Her parents actually were proud at what she did to you. That whole family is rotten."
"While what Parkinson said about Hermione is shocking, what Malfoy said is much more concerning at the moment. His father clearly has some kind of hand in all this. Question is, what is his role in all of this?" Luna reminded them, though she herself also looked disturbed at what Malfoy and Parkinson were saying behind closed doors.
They had already suspected something like that after what Dudley first had told them, but to read it in such detail made it pretty obvious to them that Lucius Malfoy was very much involved into the heir business, though it still was a mystery in which way. After what that man did in the war and got away with, they had no doubt he was capable of conspiracy which resulted in attacks on students.
"Well, one thing is clear. Malfoy's old man is only waiting for the heir to strike again. Has it all set up like a game of chess and now thinks with the next attack he can checkmate Dumbledore," Ron said, making quite a good comparison.
"That's what I'm afraid of," Harry admitted. "I think he wants Dumbledore removed, since in that case instead of McGonagall ascending to the post, the Board will select someone new. Mr. Malfoy can claim she's too much Dumbledore's woman."
"That actually scares me. Imagine a Headmaster that does things to the liking of Malfoy's father," Neville said, shuddering at the idea. "Hogwarts would turn into a nasty place very quickly."
They did imagine it; a Headmaster who would waste no time in turning back the clocks and undo all the progress Dumbledore had accomplished within Hogwarts. One who would remove teachers that speak against him and ensure that muggleborn students would be made feel as unwanted as possible, if not outright treated like dirt. That last one would be a first, since even Sirius' ancestor Phineas Nigellus - the most disliked Headmaster in Hogwarts history - in all his bigotry had not dared to do so.
They knew if that happened they pretty much had to leave Hogwarts.
"Yes, but I sincerely doubt all this can count as evidence, especially considering how we got it," Hermione reminded everyone. "No way we can use this to counter Malfoy's father. However... Harry, tell Sirius. If he warns the Headmaster it could at least possibly derail Dumbledore getting sacked."
"That will be a fun conversation. Uncle Sirius will of course want to know how we got that information and you can be sure he'll give all of us some choice words for it," Harry lamented, not looking forward to it. "Especially when we reveal who actually did the information gathering for us."
Dudley felt a bit uncomfortable at being the center of attention. "You think he'll be angry I used the cloak?"
"Nah. Once he learns what you found out, he'll ignore it." Harry then looked a bit thoughtful. "Maybe Professor Slughorn should know what's going on behind his back in Slytherin?"
"I wonder how they managed to hide that system from him?" Dudley honestly wondered.
"Don't underestimate the power of a whisper-network and going out of your way to stay undetected," Ginny reminded him. "To be honest, this comes out of nowhere for me. Many of us Weasleys have a low opinion of Slytherin. But to hear what it really looks inside... Suddenly disliking the entire house looks rather stupid of us."
"I'm more concerned what they will do should they get desperate," Neville thought aloud. "I mean... their recruitment pool is drying up after all."
"Not like we can do anything about it. That's all up to Professor Slughorn," Harry said, seeing the whole thing realistically. "Duds, let's be honest, do you see any way for change in Slytherin before most of them are gone from Hogwarts?"
Dudley thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. "No, which actually scares me. After all, Malfoy and Parkinson will soon realize that in some years they'll be king and queen without enough helpers to lord over others in Slytherin."
"Yeah, that will be nasty." Ron then again looked at a page of the notebook. "I'll write Dad and confess how we learned of that hidden chamber in Malfoy's house. Granted they only recently inspected it, but for a little surprise in the future..."
Having read all of it, Harry held out the notebook to Dudley, but he didn't take it. "Keep it. If I get caught with it, I'll be in deep trouble. No one will blink an eye if you have it."
Harry honestly hadn't thought about that. Of course Dudley didn't want to get caught with the evidence in his trunk. "I think I send it to Uncle Sirius. He'll know best what to do with all of it."
"I guess that's all from me for now?" Dudley asked.
Surprisingly, it was Luna who spoke up. "It would be a wonderful thing for you to introduce your friends to us. They surely are really nice," she said casually, appearing a bit distracted by something only she could see.
Dudley was taken aback not only by the request but also the way Luna stated it. "Are... are you sure?"
The look Luna was then giving him made him feel strange. Then it was gone and she acted more down-to-earth again. "But of course. It would sure be wonderful to finally meet these two officially. Hogwarts also needs more interaction between houses."
He looked to her friends, who didn't seem too concerned. "Sure, why not? They seemed nice enough," Neville said.
"And don't worry about Luna. She sometimes gets like that and it happens a lot less than it used to," Ginny added, knowing her oldest friend very well. "It's simply how she is and we don't like her any less because of it."
Harry has some strange friends, Dudley thought while saying his goodbyes after agreeing to talk with Daphne and Millicent about it.
Dudley walked the long way back to their guest building, close by the clearly marked age line showing the borders of the forest, giving him the needed time to think.
He wondered how asking for help had turned into spending time with them, no less with his friends. It felt strange, but perhaps he had managed to get enough of their trust with his actions. Not that he was afraid that Daphne and Millicent wouldn't be open to meeting them, but it still felt strange to him. He was rather awkward and felt that two friends was more than enough, thus why Harry's friends starting to warm up to him felt so weird. He was not used to that much positive attention.
The ground was quite muddy due to it having rained quite a lot during the first half of the day. He was about to move around a big mud puddle, when suddenly he noticed something swimming in the mud. Taking a closer look, he was surprised when seeing what it was.
A book? he wondered.
Indeed, there was a small book swimming in the mud puddle. Now being curious what this was about, Dudley carefully fished it out of the puddle and looked in surprise how the mud and water just slid off the paper, leaving the book in pristine condition. After a few moments Dudley realized someone must have enchanted the book so it wouldn't get so easily damaged.
Closer inspection revealed the book to be a diary, though a rather old-fashioned one and the faded year on the cover was 1942. The owner had to be from a non-magical family, since on the back cover it stated to be from a variety store at Vauxhall Road, London. On the first page the name T. M. Riddle was written in slightly smudged ink on the line to whom it belongs to, but to Dudley's surprise all the other pages were blank.
That book is really old. Why would someone throw it into the mud? Dudley wondered.
The name written in the book told him nothing at all. He also couldn't think of a Riddle amongst the students - though he had to admit he didn't know that many by name. The school also didn't have a lost property office, so that also was no option. Deciding to solve this at a later date, he pocketed the book. He would store it in his tunk until he could find out more about it and then return it to its rightful owner.
After all, that was the right thing to do, instead of just leaving it in the mud.
...January 16th...
It was not like they could meet in the castle, which still was off-limits to students outside of lessons and meal times. Outside of those things, students pretty much were forbidden entry into the castle - and if they really had to do so, only while being escorted by a teacher. Since they certainly were not old enough to go to Hogsmeade - at least the older years had retained that luxury since it was away from the castle - they'd had to find a place where they could meet without too much trouble which also was comfortable.
Well, they did find a solution in the end, and that meant a place Dudley and his two friends had certainly not expected to end up in.
"Hagrid, are you sure about these muffins?" Ron asked while eying the baked goods in question, having heard enough of Hagrid's cooking to always be careful.
"Oh, don't worry. I got these in the kitchen when I was told I get guests. The elves were really happy to give me the biggest box they had," Hagrid said while being busy with filling tea into their cups. "It's been quite some time since my hut was this full, though."
They had come up with the fact that Hagrid's hut was the only dry place where they could come together to meet Dudley and his two friends properly. Hagrid himself was eager to be their host, also being curious about Harry's cousin since his opinion of Petunia and Vernon was not the best. He'd even said that Dudley's past as bully should not be held over him. That was due to Hagrid having tolerated the bullying ways of Harry's father - something he now admitted had been wrong - and James in the end had sworn off his past ways and became a better man. Thus Hagrid felt the same could be the case with Dudley.
"To be honest I was a little surprised when Dudley told us he finally had decided to break the ice," Daphne commented while taking in her surroundings - so different from what she was used to. "After all, there were years of silence."
"Actually, it surprised me as well. I had become rather comfortable with simply ignoring the whole issue," Harry admitted.
While that was the truth, they had all agreed to leave Dudley's snooping job out of it. That was for the safety of both girls, since being in Slytherin, something accidentally slipping could have bad consequences for them. Also, it was done now and would no longer impact the future, so them not knowing wouldn't hurt anyone.
"Eh, yes. I thought it was starting to get stupid," Dudley said, wishing he would be better at smooth-talking.
"To be honest, we wouldn't have thought to reach out to anyone from your house before we actually came to Hogwarts. Slytherin doesn't exactly have the best reputation amongst many," Ginny admitted, blushing a little when remembering her past prejudices.
"Actually, we don't blame you for thinking like that. Slytherin is not what it used to be," Millicent said.
Dudley watched the girl, seeing how she seemed to have recovered from whatever had caused her to be down. He was just glad that his friend was better now and she also seemed not so pale anymore. He had felt it best not to ask her about it, feeling it was not his place to do so.
"Yes, I remember my grandparents telling me that while there always had been those for who the virtues of the house were just an excuse to trample over others, it only started to get down into the toilet in the 60s. They were very open with the fact that this was thanks to him spreading his poison and encouraging conservatives to hijack Slytherin, turning it into what it is today," Daphne explained, having heared her grandparents bemoan how far Slytherin had fallen since their days at Hogwarts.
"That's actually quite a fall. Quite a number of very benevolent wizards and witches in the past, who did great things for society, had been in Slytherin at Hogwarts. Nowadays however it's associated with rather negative traits," Hermione said, having read about it. "It's kind of sad if you think about it."
"Eh, I don't think we're here to talk about history," Ron said, having the feeling he should say something, now before it would be too late.
"Ron..." Hermione started to say, but Millicent cut her off.
"Actually, he's right. This all actually is a meet and get known. Would you have guessed that while Dudley gave us the bullet points, he didn't want to give us any details about Potter?" Millicent said.
Dudley knew this would have come up eventually. "Harry, I honestly didn't want to talk about our dirty laundry behind your back. I told them in general terms, because I felt uncomfortable going into detail without your consent."
Harry scratched his nose, feeling strange when hearing it like that. "I guess it not only was for my benefit but also because you feel guilty about some of the things you did and didn't want to tell your friends, right?"
"You know, this reminds me a bit of your father, Harry," Hagrid suddenly said after having listened to all of it. "He also had trouble confessing his sins because he thought it would impact others."
That was something Harry hadn't been told yet. "You mean confessing to my mother?"
"Not only her." Hagrid did remember sitting at this very same table when talking about it. "When he realized he had not exactly been a role-model, he wanted to confess to the Headmaster. However, he feared his friends would get into trouble as well, until they told him to go ahead. In the end the confession certainly improved Dumbledore's opinion of James and all his efforts in sixth year convinced the Headmaster to make James the Head Boy."
Harry sighed. "Duds, just please tell them later. I really don't want this to get dragged up in front of everyone again. One time had been enough."
"Why don't we start with the three of you all tell us a bit about yourselves and then we return the favor? Let's start small," Hermione suggested as the voice of reason.
"Oh, me first then," Daphne said, feeling the need to lead by example. "My family had never been truly invested in blood ideology, despite being one of the oldest families. When the war started, they tried to stay out of it, which earned them the scorn of certain circles."
"No, let me guess: 'If you are not with us, you are against us'. Right?" Neville asked, having listened to what his parents had told him about the past.
"Yes, as if no middle ground is allowed. I'm sure my family would have become a target, had the war continued, and even now they are not held in high regard." Daphne didn't seem too broken over her family not being accepted by certain circles. "Unlike in many other pure-blood families, I actually do have a sibling. My younger sister Astoria will start Hogwarts next year."
"That's something I never understood. Why only one child? I mean... look at the Weasleys," Hermione asked.
"Hermione, the Weasleys are known as the biggest blood-traitors imaginable. It's because we have nothing against new blood in the family. Didn't happen in the past few generations, thus our current status, but it still explains how Mum and Dad pulled off having so many children," Ron told Hermione.
If Daphne was annoyed at the interruptions, she didn't show it. "As for myself... not exactly much to talk about. Rather boring childhood with few friends, Millie here being to big exception. I do like to play the violin, but I haven't done so at Hogwarts, since I don't think there would be an appreciative audience. Millie, you are next."
"Ah, yes..." It seemed whatever she'd had, Millicent needed a bit more time to fully recover. "My family also is not held in high regard by the more conservative circles, and that's because of my parents. That my mother is not a pure-blood, due to her own mother being muggleborn, caused the family to fall into disfavor, which only became worse once my parents had me."
"This could not have been good for your social life," Luna observed before taking a bite out of her muffin.
"You better believe it. The more moderate families also wouldn't touch us with a ten-feet pole due to the status of our family for one reason or another. Daphne here practically was my only friend until I met Dudley on the train. That I'm unusually tall and strong for a girl doesn't help, either," Millicent continued.
The other girls had some idea what Millicent had gone through, each of them having suffered some kind of social exclusion in their age group. Hermione had been alienated from other children due to her intelligence, Luna had found no friends outside of Ginny due to her different way of thinking and Ginny had discovered that the Weasley name came with its own baggage in the magical world.
"As for myself... Well, I like Quidditch, but I have no chance to play here until that sexist pig Flint is gone. Then perhaps I could give it a try. I also have a cat named Archimedes who's got quite the ego at times," Millicent then said.
"We know cats with egos. Hermione's Crookshanks is a master in that," Ron remarked, causing Hermione to roll her eyes, though she knew he was right on that one.
That left Dudley, who hoped he could get this over with fast.
"I won't talk about my past, since that's redundant as all of you know, even the point where I started using magic." Everyone grimaced, knowing exactly that Dudley was talking about the dementor attack. "My home life is... well, weird. My parents are not exactly keen on magic and have really conservative views."
"I honestly wouldn't know much about that," Harry said. "Sirius and Remus don't like to talk about your Mum and I know next to nothing about your Dad. I honestly only know they are unpleasant people... Eh, no offense."
Dudley shook his head. "No, it's not like I'm blind about that... at least not anymore. My Mum at least is trying to understand now, though it's slow. Dad on the other hand... once he's got an opinion, nothing can convince him otherwise. You would do well to never meet him."
"I said it once and I say it again, your parents sound a lot like some of the really conservative magical families," Daphne reminded Dudley.
"You mean like Malfoy's parents? We had the questionable honor of meeting them, even if only briefly. That already was enough," Hermione said, her impressions of both incidents still being very vivid.
"Good comparison. After all, our spoiled little prince had to get his terrible behavior from somewhere," Millicent remarked.
Hagrid said nothing and simply watched the conversation slowly develop.
To him it was giving hope to see Gryffindors and Slytherins actually opening up to each other. He had watched over the decades how the connection of Slytherin students to everyone else had effectively been cut off, apart from a few exceptions. Syltherin had alienated itself from the other students due to an increasing radicalization, even resulting in an increased aggression from students in Gryffindor.
What he saw now however did give him hope that this long-lasting division in Hogwarts could be overcome.
...February 14th, breakfast time, great hall...
By the middle of February, students were starting to think that perhaps the worst was behind them. It now was almost two months since the last attack of the heir and nothing had happened since then. Some hoped that the heir had lost interest and went away, while others wondered what was going on. One way or another, nothing had happened; no more petrifications or anything worse than that. Of course the school remained careful and didn't relax any of the measures.
When the students were being escorted to the great hall for breakfast at this Sunday morning, they stopped dead in their tracks when the big doors opened, looking in disbelieving horror at the sheer mockery the great hall had been transformed into.
"What the...? Are you kidding me?!" Ron gasped in utter disbelief.
"I know some girls like the color pink, but this makes me want to put my finger into my throat," Ginny said in utter disgust.
Luna had taken off her glasses to rub her eyes. Putting her glasses back on, she saw no change.
One of the girls from the upper years reacted rather sarcastic. "Someone managed to create something worse than Madam Puddifoot's. I'm impressed. Give the genius who did this a prize for causing grievous harm to children."
Their reaction was understandable, considering the transformation the hall had went through. The walls were covered in glaringly-pink tapestries showing tacky images of cherubs, hearts and people in love, the ceiling was projecting countless rainbows instead of the usual sight of the outside sky, glitter-covered, heart-shaped balloons were floating in the middle of the hall and the normal benches and house tables were replaced by tables and chairs that looked like they'd come straight out of Alice in Wonderland on sugar shock - of course all in pink.
"This is most irregular!" Percy gasped, then saw the person standing in the middle of the hall and understood. "Oh, that explains all of it."
Indeed, in the middle of the hall stood Lockhart, looking rather proud of himself. He did wear lurid pink robes to go with the decorations, making many boys question if the man had any masculine self-respect. "Happy Valentine's Day!" he called, so he was the center of attention. "After all the unpleasantness I felt a little morale-booster is what this school needs. Thus I used my considerable influence to convince the Headmaster about really getting into the mood of this day. Have fun with all this beauty!"
"All of a sudden I've lost my appetite," Neville said, not wanting to go near the replacements for the usual tables and benches.
Luna also looked disturbed by their surroundings. "I fear should I eat anything, I would vomit it right back up. This most certainly is way too much."
"All of you just lost you appetite? I most certainly did," Ron admitted.
That clinched it. If Ron of all people lost his appetite, then this was serious. It also looked like they weren't alone with this, as the vast majority of students was looking disturbed and outright refused to walk to what used to be the house tables.
"Too bad we can't sneak into the kitchen and get some food for the way," Ginny lamented.
"Ginny!" Hermione scolded her friend. "Don't you think the elves already have enough to do?"
"Actually, Hermione, the elves would feel honored to help us out. Truly dedicated to their work they are..." Luna reminded Hermione, though her growling belly caused her to look rather annoyed.
"Maybe we can take some of it and... oh that's right, we can't just leave." Harry felt this was turning into a horrible death trap.
The detoriating mood in the hall didn't went unnoticed at the faculty table.
"Albus, what were you thinking?!" McGonagall hissed to Dumbledore at the faculty table - which also looked like a pink caricature - when seeing the utter train wreck this was becoming. "Allowing that man to do this... Just look how our students feel unable to eat anything in such an atmosphere!"
"Do not worry. I will soon announce that everyone will get a nicely packed food package as take-out and then they are escorted out. The elves already have prepared everything. Why do you think the tables are still empty, Minerva?" Dumbledore answered, looking very calm.
"But then... why?!" McGonagall didn't see why the Headmaster would allow this to happen.
"Minerva, have you ever heard the expression 'give a fool enough rope, and he will hang himself'?" Dumbledore asked her.
"So, you are already planning to end his contract prematurely? This is all a set-up?" All of a sudden the Headmaster's decision made disturbingly much sense.
"Yes, the man's incompetence is without doubt and now that over half the school year is already done, the curse should be satisfied by what is coming. Gilderoy's standing at the school is already weak, as his actions have only helped destroy his own image, and this today probably undermined it completely. I'm only sad the students had to suffer this sight," Dumbledore explained his plan.
McGonagall snorted. "The missing classes won't be a problem, considering no one is learning anything in his classes anyway. It would give them more time to read up on the material." She then looked to the students. "Have you tormented them enough now?"
"Yes, looks like I now make my announcement," the Headmaster said, getting out of his seat to announce that no one would have to eat in the hall, thus pulling the rug from under Lockhart's feet, leaving him utterly humiliated.
Dumbledore might be a really kind man, but also could be utterly ruthless to those he felt deserved it, and Lockhart had raised his ire for wasting the time of his students and being pretty much false, considering some of the things Remus had found out.
to be continued...
Next Episode:
"The Heir of Slytherin, Part I - Taken Away"
Notes:
Here the notes.
I oriented myself at neo-gothical architecture when creating the guest house. I hope I gave a good enough idea what it looks like (I wanted to leave some to the imagination) That building also will be used in the years three and four.
Finally Dudley gathers the courage to actually talk with Harry, resulting in Harry's friends learning he does have a cousin. I felt it pretty in-character for harry not wanting to talk about it. That of course made things awkward.
Bet you didn't see it coming that it's Dudley who first uses the cloak in this story. However, since I see it as a spying tool, it makes perfect sense. This now gave me perfect opportunity to get a bit more of an insight into Draco, Pansy and the dynamics of Slytherin. I hope I did well in showing that Slytherin is now one-dimensional and that the forces in it are shifting.
Of course that damn diary has to turn up...
I took the chance to also give a bit more depth to Daphne and Millicent. It gave me the chance to also show Hagrid's observation of how he is hopeful that things could be changing.
And of course Lockhart... However, seeing as the whole thing was rather stupid in canon, I decided to have it be the Headmaster giving Lockhart the rope and then observing if he hangs himself with it. Also, his days are now numbered.