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 two main pairings to differ from canon. However, the path to them certainly will be quite different. I also want to try and subvert certain plots and things that became common in the fandom over the years.
I do my normal rythm of publishing every second Saturday, until the year is complete. Then the story will go on hiatus again to give me time to write ahead so I can have a publishing schedule.
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Chapter 58: Everything is Worse with Giants
Lord Voldemort's rooms normally were taboo to anyone but himself and Nagini. Considering that only few actually knew the secret of the Riddle House and everyone else had to get ferried in on a case-by-case basis, it also was easy to see why no one would break that rule. However, the people allowed to know the secret now also included Bellatrix and she was now the third person allowed into his rooms.
Right at the moment however this was not for any of the reasons someone might suspect. Several hours had passed since the successful operation at Azkaban and now Bellatrix stood before him.
"I know... this is disappointing for you, my Lord," Bellatrix said, actually feeling ashamed for once.
"I see this as the price you paid for staying steadfast and loyal to me. A price Lord Voldemort honors and will compensate you for," Voldemort told Bellatrix while continuing his inspection.
Honestly, while Bellatrix stood stark naked in front of him, there was nothing erotic about it. It more felt like a meat inspection, though Voldemort felt he had good reason for this, considering the condition in which Bellatrix was in right now.
Fourteen years of Azkaban had done quite a number on her. She literally was skin and bones, looking like a concentration camp survivor. She looked quite skeletal. Voldemort noted how her breasts had been reduced to empty skin hanging down, her teeth looked rotten and several were missing and while he already had seen the huge mess her head hair had become, Bellatrix also had developed a serious body hair problem. Not to speak of the smell that even he with his reduced sense of smell could detect.
Finally having done his visual inspection, Voldemort commanded "Get dressed, Bella."
Bellatrix wasted no time throwing on some robes, not wanting to any longer insult her Lord with her emaciated body. "Again, I'm very sorry for my current condition." It was amazing how polite she was in his presence.
"There is nothing to be sorry for. With the right therapy you will be back in shape in no time." Voldemort had seen her giving nothing but honest admiration to him ,so he knew she was loyal and would never stray. "You have proven yourself, and in time your greatest wish will come true."
Despite how tired she was, Bellatrix looked excited. "My Lord, does this mean you have given serious thought to...?" She didn't dare finish the sentence.
Voldemort was a bit amused how the normally cruel and bloodthirsty Bellatrix could be so flustered when it came to him. "Oh yes, Bella. Every king does need a queen to start a dynasty... I know mathematics dictate you have a decade left to do so. How is your health in that regard?"
Bellatrix didn't hesitate to answer, despite this being a topic most women would stay silent about. "I stopped bleeding after several months in Azkaban. My body... needed the energy to survive. It should start again once my health has improved."
"If it doesn't, I know the right healers to fix the problem." Voldemort knew such a problem could be solved, since she had no actual injuries in that part of her body.
"It will be the highest honor for me to be the start of your dynasty, my Lord!" If anything, Bellatrix looked very eager for it.
Voldemort then sent her away to get some rest first before she would start her slow path of regaining her health. All of the freed prisoners had to do so, but he was especially insistent on Bellatrix doing so for obvious reasons. He had expected how eager she would be to breed his descendants. Besides her being one of his most capable followers, that was another reason to keep her close. It had nothing to do with emotions - only how useful and unwavering she was. That had actually impressed him.
Nagini, who had watched the whole thing curled up next to the warm fireplace, used this moment to comment. "I honestly don't know, Voldemort. Right now she looks like a scarecrow."
"'Right now', my dear Nagini, is the point. She will look quite good once she is done with rehabilitation." Voldemort then waved his wand to show her a picture of Bellatrix in her prime.
"That's what she will look like? No wonder you selected her to breed with. I have to admit I'm jealous I'm no longer capable of doing so myself," Nagini admitted, sounding a bit upset.
"Jealously is a bad trait, Nagini," Voldemort chuckled to himself.
...Hogwarts great hall, November 3rd...
A great unrest had swept into Hogwarts right at this Friday morning. It was a story so big that even the Daily Prophet, the reduced propaganda trumpet it now was, had no choice but to report it. For the most part reactions were strong, which was little wonder considering what had happened. At the Gryffindor table everyone - even those who normally had long since given up on the Daily Prophet - were looking at the title page, disturbed by the news.
"And they say it happened on Halloween?" Harry asked.
"Yes, they write it had taken them two days. First to wait until the storm had calmed down and then actually sorting through the carnage," Hermione said, looking a bit pale the further she read.
"Crap..." Harry then cursed.
"I warned you not to tempt fate," Luna reminded him.
What they were reading, after all, was quite horrifying. No one knew what exactly had happened on Halloween three days ago, just that the head guard had tried to warn the Ministry of an attack on Azkaban, before he got killed as well. When Ministry officials had finally managed to reach Azkaban, they were greeted with an apocalyptic sight.
From what was in the end reported, the Ministry concluded that the demontors guarding Azkaban had decided to go rogue, killing guards and inmates alike before leaving the tiny island. However, even the Daily Prophet, as shitty as it was, said that many things were mysterious. Why had all the inmates been in the interior yard instead of their cells? There were signs of a battle, like guards killed with spells, which made little sense with dementors.
Also, not all of the inmates were accounted for. The list of those that were missing was reading like the who-is-who of Magical Britain's most dangerous criminals.
"Sure... the dementors did what they usually do... but that speaks a different language," Ron commented with a slightly shaky voice, the news having destroyed his appetite, while pointing at the people that were missing.
They understood what he meant when seeing that all of the locked-up Death Eaters had escaped. Considering that dementors usually didn't care about who they suck dry, it was pretty obvious someone else had pulled the strings and they knew it only could have been Voldemort. Him regaining these dangerous followers was a huge blow for their side.
Neville saw the pictures of Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan and shuddered. "I can't even start to imagine how Mum and Dad must feel, knowing those animals are free again."
They knew what this was about. The story how all three Lestranges had horrifically tortured Frank and Alice was public record and those two also talked about it, though they refused to go into any detail. The fact both of them suffered some permanent disability was proof enough how horrifying of a torture it must have been. Add to it what Sirius had revealed about Bellatrix and this was a huge reason to worry about them being back in Voldemort's services.
"Then there is Dolohov..." Ginny said, sounding a bit intimidated. "He personally murdered Mum's brothers, Gideon and Fabian. From what little Mum let slip when she remembers them, that man is a really clever and bloodthirsty monster."
It was a reminder how wide-spead the hurt of the first war was. While Harry's loss was the most prominent one, nearly everyone in school who wasn't from a non-magical family had lost someone.
Ron and Ginny had lost their uncles in it, Neville's parents got crippled and from what Sirius had told him, his brother Regulus had become Death Eater, only to then vanish under mysterious circumstances. They also knew of others whose families had suffered from the war, like Susan Bones, who had lost next to her entire family.
Speaking of her... Over at the Hufflepuff table Susan looked quite scared at these news, which was no wonder considering her history. Several other students also looked highly unnerved; most likely because their families also had suffered a lot in the war. Hell, over at the faculty table even Professor McGonagall looked a bit pale.
"Don't forget about Greyback, since he escaped as well," Hermione said, pointing at his picture. "You better believe he and his remaining pack remember us."
Numerous people at the Gryffindor table paled a little when remembering the werewolf, since it had been just one and a half years ago when he had attacked the school and had come so close to cause a massace among the students. Having him run free was a nightmare for many people.
"Well, to make it short, this is a fine disaster and I'm really curious how the Ministry, and Fudge especially, want to explain that. 'Everything is all right'... my ass," Harry finally snorted and he got a number of nods of approval from the Gryffindors.
"Oh, that will be quite embarrassing for the Minister. After all, it doesn't at all fit into his narrative and his opponents will now become only louder and stronger." Luna then looked thoughtful. "It would be interesting to know how he will explain this to the Prime Minister."
Hermione put down the newspaper. "Either he'll say nothing or some wishy-washy explanation which explains not a thing." Hermione by now had lost all respect for Fudge and the Ministry.
Not that Mr. Major needs Fudge anymore for information, Hermione added silently, knowing MI-X by now most likely already was fully informed about this disaster and had reported that to him. She couldn't even begin to imagine his reaction to these news.
"It's not only that," Ginny said while taking a closer look at the list of those who found their end in Azkaban, a dark part of her feeling dirty satisfaction when seeing Skeeter's name on the list. "Azkaban housed all criminals sentenced to prison time, regardless how short their sentence. This is all horrible and many of them have relatives who now want answers to why their loved ones had their souls eaten."
That reminded all of them of the sheer scope of what had happened - especially for a community as small as Magical Britain. The idea of losing your soul to a dementor was horrifying enough - especially to Harry, who'd had two confrontations with these monsters. They knew it had to be a deep shock for society, especially considering how the Ministry for centuries had insisted on using dementors.
"And don't forget all those dementors now being free." That reminder from Harry was like ice water on them. "God only knows what kind of damage they will cause."
"Now that this has happened, how are the chances on being more proactive?" Ron whispered to Hermione.
Hermione for her part rolled her eyes. "Of course you would ask that. It doesn't effect what's going on inside the school, so not yet. Granted, we could really use the Patronus spell with the dementors now being free..."
"You know we are wasting time." Ron didn't comment on it any further, though his expression spoke volumes that he felt this was too passive of an approach. He then again looked to the faculty table. "At least there is someone who also didn't take the news well."
They understood what he meant when seeing how Umbridge was being unable to keep up her mask of indifference. Oh, she was trying hard by paying too much attention to her porridge, but the way she scowled and shot dark looks to Dumbledore and McGonagall, who now were talking animatedly about these news, spoke a very clear language.
"She seems angry that her whole pretense of why she isn't teaching us anything in class was shown as absurd by reality," Neville thought aloud when seeing Umbridge's bad mood.
Luna looked thoughtfully to Umbridge, before she commented "We should be careful. Desperate people tend to do rash things, so she very well could be bound to get nasty."
"You mean everything up to now was her not being nasty?" Neville asked, then noticed the look Luna gave him. He then understood. "Guys, that idea kind of scares me."
Harry then noticed the looks Ginny was giving him and understood. Of course. Now that the easy way has failed, I should better believe that Umbridge will try other things make my life difficult in order to hurt Sirius by proxy.
o
While in the school the news of what had happened in Azkaban was spreading rapidly, other places reacted accordingly as well. After all, not only had many highly dangerous criminals and terrorists escaped and the rest of the inmates turned deader than dead, one also had to remember the escape of the dementors, which was horrific news.
While before the climate in society already had been tense and polarized, the news of the disaster at Azkaban had literally caused it to ignite and burn hot. Opposing press releases attacked the Ministry harshly. Those that were defending the Ministry suddenly found themselves hard-pressed to give a good explanation for all of this.
Even worse was the escape of the dementors. Since the Ministry had been forced to admit that these monsters had all left Azkaban, fear and terror had gripped Magical Britain. Dementors were universally feared due to what they did and how difficult it was to destroy them. While it had been a controversial topic for many years that the Ministry was employing these monsters and not hunting them to extinction like all other magical governments, there always had been a silent acceptance, since the dementors had been out of sight and thus out of mind.
Of course, now that this no longer was the case, those who had made themselves comfortable in the status quo suddenly were those being the loudest to condemn the Ministry for not getting rid of the dementors.
Sirius and Remus were well-aware of all of those things while sitting in the office of the MI-X Chairman, Mr. Clifton. Both of them had gotten the message still at their breakfast table and known right away it had to do with this newest disaster, as it was something that made the situation significantly more dangerous.
"Please excuse that we asked for your presence right at the morning, but it is urgent. I'm sure you are already informed about what had happened?" Mr. Clifton asked.
"Yes, we are. It was difficult to stay ignorant of it, considering the panicked calls we got," Remus admitted, remembering Dora looking very pale when telling him what had happened.
"If I may ask, what did Fudge tell the Prime Minister about this disaster?" Sirius asked out of some perverse curiosity.
"Very little of substance," Mr. Clifton said, looking highly annoyed. "Essentially, he told Mr. Major that there was a small incident at Azkaban, but not to be afraid since they have it all under control. The Prime Minister was not impressed and told me that due to the nature of this development to take care of it personally."
"Take care of it how?" Remus wondered.
"The escaped prisoners are bad enough, but that is something we are capable of dealing with. No, the thing that really worried the Prime Minister are the dementors. Those monsters can only be effectively destroyed with magic and are invisible to people without it," Mr. Clifton explained to them.
"Yes, there are only few effective ways to destroy them for good." Sirius then noticed the look the Chairman was giving them. "Now I start to understand, you know the only way to effectively deal with them is the Patronus spell, but it's something hardly being taught outside of Auror circles."
Remus also knew what Sirius was playing at. "You need teachers for the Patronus spell for all those wizards and witches under your employ? You mean us?"
"I understand why you want to employ Remus, he after all managed to teach my godson, a school student, how to cast it properly. But why me?" Sirius asked, being honestly puzzled.
"Essentially two reasons. From the incident back in July we know you are capable of casting the spell. Also, our pool of possible teachers for that spell is rather small, meaning asking you for help in the matter is a necessity," Mr. Clifton explained.
Sirius and Remus held a quick, silent conversation that was only possible due to being friends for over two decades.
This was quite a serious thing which went beyond everything they had done up until this point in their cooperation with the MI-X. They felt a bit reluctant to agree, still being a bit uneasy with how the non-magical government had essentially fooled Magical Britain for decades. On the other hand, considering the situation having more people being able to battle dementors could only be a good thing. Those monsters were simply too big of a threat.
"You understand we first have to make a short consultation before we can give an answer?" Remus finally said, knowing very well that Dumbledore would see this as a positive thing, since a Patronus was a purely defensive spell against the darkest of creatures.
"That is no problem," Mr. Clifton said, unlocking the door.
"You know Dumbledore will agree to this. You remember how much he dislikes dementors," Sirius whispered to Remus once they were outside.
Remus knew. It had to be something from the man's past - something he was seeing under their influence - which caused him to dislike dementors so much. "I still feel better if he gives his OK first. No one can then accuse us of anything. Also, I know you have already made up your mind."
"Alright, I did... We can honestly help to save lives and souls that way," Sirius admitted. "Come, let's contact Dumbledore... without that toad at Hogwarts knowing."
...the next day, Hogwarts Quidditch pitch...
The day had come for the first Quidditch game of the school year, and it was Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw. By the luck of the draw, the Gryffindor team had that as their first match, then they would play against Slytherin and finally Hufflepuff. In way way they were glad not to play against Slytherin first, as that probably only would have resulted in some kind of trouble.
Inside the locker room, Ron was giving some last-minute instructions. "All right. Ravenclaw is good, we've seen that before, but remember my observations and what their weak spot is."
"Actually feels kind of mean to call Cho Chang that. I mean, everyone is telling me how she has fallen apart after the murder of her boyfriend Diggory and is still in a serious slump due to it. Taking advantage of it feels kind of dirty," Katie Bell said, feeling a bit uneasy.
"We are not like that tosser Malfoy. After all, we won't taunt her or anything, we just noticed how that made her play so much worse. It's nothing personal," Fred reminded her.
"Maybe, but her teammates won't see it that way,"Angelina reminded him. "From what I heard, if they lose this game, they toss her out of the team."
"Geez, now I feel kind of guilty, but it's not like we want to lose intentionally just to help her, right?" Ron reminded them.
"No, I think if anything that would make her feel even worse. It's sad, but there is nothing we can do, so we better concentrate on playing a good game," Harry said, feeling this was a situation that was simply not for them to solve.
Looking around, Harry saw silent agreement. They didn't exactly like that they probably would win because Chang was still suffering from Cedric's murder, nor were they happy that it most likely would cause her dismissal from the Ravenclaw team, but there honestly was nothing they could do about it. The silent agreement however was, that after the win they wouldn't try to make her feel even worse by being overly happy of such a victory.
Up in the stands meanwhile, the spectators were sitting down.
"After what Ron told me, this game will be a nightmare for the Ravenclaws," Hermione said, remembering the detailed analysis Ron had given her - in a way she understood.
"It always is fascinating to listen to him give such a detailed analysis, which proves his intelligence is different from what normally is associated with such," Luna thought aloud. "What is his analysis?"
"He concluded that while Cho obviously can't play well, the whole team is dragged down by her mood. The game will be impossible for them to win, especially against a team that works together like a machine," Hermione gave a short summary of Ron's conclusions.
"Ouch... That's brutally honest and I can sort of see it work." Neville felt that at times Ron could be quite ruthless when creating the game strategy.
"Can you make a little room? Otherwise it's difficult to sit down."
"Oh, hello Hagrid!" Neville greeted the tall man while they moved to give him enough space. "It's been some time since we last sat together in the stands."
"Feels too long. With everything that's going on I really want something that's normal and enjoyable," Hagrid said and everyone knew what he meant with that. With everything going on, he wanted some normality.
"Apart from that, everything all right?" Hermione asked.
"No problems. Eh, you think you can all come over after the game? I miss spending some time with all of you," Hagrid asked.
The three of them looked at each other, then decided that it couldn't hurt. It had been some time since the last time they'd sat together with Hagrid for some tea and they honestly also missed those times. As long as he wasn't again trying to make rock cakes, this would make their day better.
In a different section of the stands meanwhile, less nice words were being exchanged.
"Are the two of you some kind of sadists? I have no idea why you otherwise sit that close to us," Millicent grumbled while trying not to make a scene.
"Better keep you cool, Bulstrode. After all, you can never know when things take a bad turn for you," Pansy returned, not looking concerned at all.
"Also, it's our right to sit where we want," Draco added with a smirk, while Crabbe and Goyle grunted in confirmation.
That however provoked a reaction from someone a bit younger. "Thank you for reminding me why I can't stand both of you," Astoria spat, looking very much unimpressed. "I'm also from a rich family, but I don't spend my time being an asshole or think that money and a family name means I can lord over others."
"What are you little brat even doing here?" Draco asked, conveniently ignoring that Astoria was just two years his junior.
"It's my right to sit where I want," Astoria threw Draco's own words back into his face, finally causing him to lose his cool.
"Ehm, you think we should help her?" Dudley whispered to Daphne, fearing this could descend into outright violence.
Daphne however just shook her head. "No, Astoria is quite capable of standing her ground. We only need to help if they gang up on her." Daphne didn't show it, but she was proud that her sister was standing her ground against these bullies.
That moment both teams entered the pitch.
Up on the stands Luna watched both teams with her omnioculars while they shook hands. "Hmm, Cho Chang still looks rather out of it. Ron's analysis on her was spot-on."
"Which is weird because he normally is not that good at reading the room. He's always a bit blunt about that," Hermione thought aloud.
"Now, that is weird. I honestly thought it was a mutual problem, since both of you seem unable to properly communicate with each other at times when it comes to each other," Luna commented dryly while still looking through the omnioculars.
Hermione knew what Luna meant with that, but felt that was a bit rich coming from her. "Don't criticize me when you are no better."
Luna was spared from answering - and she knew she would have lost some of her cool when doing so - by the whistle signaling that the game was on.
As expected, the game went as Ron had predicted. Cho's mood had dragged the whole Ravenclaw team down and it only became worse over the minutes. Cho herself meanwhile looked completely out of it while trying to find the snitch, having little success with that. That lackluster performance provoked intense reactions on the stands.
"Ouch..." Dudley said with a grimace when seeing the Ravenclaw keeper being bombarded with quaffle shots. "God, that's awful to watch. I had no idea one person could pull down a team that much."
Millicent also it was a bit sad. "Yes, but just looking at how the Gryffindors play... That will be a hard game against them once it's our turn."
"I would not bet on it," Draco said mysteriously.
"What do you mean with that?" Dudley wondered.
"No, we won't spoil the surprise," Pansy answered in his stead. "You have to wait like everyone else."
Why do I have the feeling that nothing good is behind those words? Millicent thought, by now feeling uneasy with all those strange hints Draco and Pansy were giving.
Finally, the sadness that was the game for the Ravenclaws was coming to an end when Harry spotted the snitch. He felt a bit bad when grabbing it, considering Cho had reacted way too late and had only made a halfhearted effort to then race to the snitch. Despite all the cheering from the Gryffindors, Harry felt a bit bad when seeing the looks that rest of the Ravenclaw team were giving Cho.
She won't last the day, Harry thought, feeling that this would only add to Cho's misery.
Up on the stands Harry's friends also were, unlike the housemates, conservative with their cheering. "I never thought I would say it, but it's not exactly something to be proud of... You know, winning against an opponent whose morale had been so badly hurt," Neville admitted.
"Then you are a better person than many others," Hagrid reminded him. "Now that this is over, I'll already prepare the tea for all of you. There are some... things I have to tell you."
"Hagrid, please tell me it's nothing bad." While Hermione knew that Hagrid was a good friend, him acting a bit secretive was a warning sign to her. After all, Norberta had been a warning of the kind of errors Hagrid was capable of.
"Oh no, nothing bad! Dumbledore told me I can tell the six of you," Hagrid reassured her.
Despite that, Hermione had the feeling today would be one of those days.
o
It most certainly was one of those days.
"Hagrid, are you honestly sure this is all right with the Headmaster?" Harry asked Hagrid while they walked deeper into the forest. "After all, I don't think telling us included an actual visit."
"I'm pretty sure about it and Grawp feels a bit lonely, so it can only be good for him to meet new people," Hagrid tried to reassure them.
The Six did look a bit skeptical at his reassurance.
It had all started innocent enough when over tea Hagrid had told them of his little adventure to the giants in the Ural Mountains and how the whole thing had turned into a failure. That already had captivated them. However, when he'd told them about Grawp, they had been equally amazed and a bit concerned. After all, Hagrid was one thing, but a full-blooded giant who didn't live by the rules of human society was something entirely else.
They wouldn't say so aloud to Hagrid due to how happy he was wen telling them how he had found his half-brother and that Grawp now was much happier being away from all the violence. Not to get him wrong, he still was a giant would never become a pacifist, but years of bullying had given him a severe dislike of casual violence.
However, them trying to stay polite had only resulted in Hagrid now actually leading them to the place where he would meet with Grawp in the forest, having opened a gap in the age line so that they could pass unhindered. They felt that either they were putting lots of trust into Hagrid or they had lost some of their sanity over the years.
"It'll be a bit difficult to talk to him; after all, he has only started to learn English and it's slow going. But he's eager to learn," Hagrid told them, looking incredibly proud.
"Considering you are the first person to give him actual attention, he of course is eager to learn..." Hermione said under her breath, deciding to reserve judgement for the time being.
"I only hope he doesn't take it the wrong way once he sees us..." Ron worried, hoping they wouldn't come to regret this.
"Why worry? We are only about to meet someone who could squish us like a bug," Ginny said with dry sarcasm, also wondering why they had agreed to this.
"You are worrying too much. You think too much about the reputation of giants..." Hagrid waved off their worries. They then entered a clearing. "Ah, he's been waiting for us. He always arrives early."
They then for the first time saw a true, full-blooded giant. Contrary to popular imagination, there were some anatomical differences that made Grawp look different from just a huge human. Nothing drastic, but the differences were enough to be obvious. Grawp for his part looked first confused and then carefully excited that someone else had arrived together with his brother.
"Haggers?" the giant wondered, not yet being able to pronounce the name properly.
"Grawp! I brought my friends over. You know, the ones I talk of a lot!" Hagrid told his brother.
"Friends?" Grawp now looked excited, but after some steps suddenly looked awkward, realizing he could hurt them by accident if he wasn't especially careful. "Uhhhm..."
"Oh, maybe we should come to you." These words from Hagrid were totally innocent, but the Six felt a bit unwell while approaching the giant. "Grawp, meet my friends. These are Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Luna."
Grawp had listened carefully and then tried to pronounce their names, but stumbled when it came to Hermione's name. "Uhmmm... Hermy?"
Considering everything, Hermione sighed. "Well... close enough for now."
"I really wish I could write Daddy about this. He always wanted to interview a giant, but was always forbidden from doing so," Luna said, sounding a bit disappointed she would have to keep silent about it. However, the novelty factor made up for it.
"Eh... huh?" Grawp asked, having been unable to follow.
"Please try to keep it simple for the time being," Hagrid asked of them.
That would prove to be the start of a rather awkward conversation.
Later, they were on the way back.
"All right, that had been perhaps the weirdest conversation I've ever had. Your brother is not much of a talker, Hagrid," Harry commented, still feeling the strangeness of the entire thing.
"It's not his fault! Really, it's only his lack of grasp of the English language that is hindering him," Hagrid defended his brother.
It's not only that... Harry thought, but would sever say so aloud in Hagrid's presence. In his mind, Grawp was a bit simple-minded.
"Hermione, your opinion on all of this?" Ron asked.
Hermione sighed. "Grawp in honor, but I think we should wait until his language skills have improved. As cute as it may be that he calls me Hermy, we can't exactly hold a meaningful conversation with him at the moment."
"I found it interesting how you blushed each time he called you 'Hermy'," Ron added.
"I would prefer you stay silent about that from now on." Hermione gave him a look that promised she would not help him with homework for a whole week, causing Ron to flinch.
Hagrid looked a bit disheartened, but was pulled out of it, when...
"Hagrid!" Hagrid knew that voice all too well, and indeed he saw Bane approach, the centaur looking none too pleased.
"Bane, what gives me the honor?" Hagrid tried to be polite, but by this point Bane's continued antagnoism over the years had made Hagrid dislike him.
"Do not think of me as a fool, Hagrid. The herd knows exactly what you have brought into the forest," Bane accused Hagrid.
"Grawp lives in the mountains. He only visits the forest at times," Hagrid defended his brother from the accusation.
Bane however was beyond caring about details. "Don't try to hide behind such details." He then noticed the six. "Also, it's the height of foolishness for you to take these younglings into the forest."
Hagrid wanted to give a sharp retort, but then realized that in his eagerness to introduce them to Grawp, he had been blind to the fact that he had endangered them by taking them into the forest. Bane seemed to take satisfaction at the visible distress Hagrid now was in, but before he could rub salt into the wound, someone else arrived.
"Bane, the elders told you to not confront Hagrid." It was Firenze, who didn't look particularly happy with having to follow Bane. "They want to have a word with you."
"One way or another, this can not be tolerated." Bane then left.
Firenze looked after him. "As much as his group is only a loud minority, some of what he said has a core of truth. Your actions concerning your brother have shifted the balance in the forest. There will be consequences for it."
Since Hagrid felt a bit too emotional to answer, Harry took the chance. "Everyone, this is Frienze. When Karkaroff sent me into the forest, he saved me."
"I was always fascinated by centaurs," Luna said, sounding actually awed. "From what Professor Trelawney told me, no one can read the stars like your people can."
"Perhaps, but it also can be a terrible burden. The way my people have changed to fatalistically accept what the stars tell them as an unchanging absolute should be a warning to you, that knowledge of the future is not always a good thing," Firenze explained.
"Wouldn't I know it..." Harry said, thinking of the prophecy that had altered his life forever.
Finally, Hagrid had gathered himself. "Firenze... will the herd do anything about Grawp?"
"Your brother?" Clearly he had not yet heard the actual name. "Should his presence in the forest become a regular feature, those that feel like Bane will call for more... decisive action. As I said... there will be consequences - in one way or another. The elders also have not forgotten that it was you who brought Aragog into the forest."
Frienze then left and a very thoughtful Hagrid was escorting the Six back to the school grounds. Though Ron looked ready to barf, the reminder about Aragog had driven his arachnophobia to new heights while he actually was in the forest, even though intellectually he knew the Acromantula nest had to be far away.
Ron already counted himself lucky to never have encountered Aragog in person.
...the next day, early morning in Gryffindor tower...
It was supposed to be a quiet Sunday - a day of recovery after yesterday's Quidditch game. Normally, most students only got up rather late that day, however, it was not supposed to be today. Harry was enjoying the tail end of a good dream, when all of a sudden...
"Harry!... Damn, no time for this... HARRY!"
The sudden shouting caused Harry to almost fall out of his bed, trying to gab the wand which currently was on his nightstand. Blinking, he wondered for a moment why the world was not in focus, before he remembered his glasses and took them from his nightstand. Now that he could see properly, he saw it was one of the twins who had woken him up so rudely.
"What...?" Harry asked with a yawn.
"No time! Get dressed and then come down. Fred is being busy with waking up Ron," said who now was identified as George. "Angelina is taking care of the girls."
What has happened now that he looked like someone has stepped onto his grave? Harry wondered while getting dressed, watching a very sleepy-looking Ron do the same.
"What do you think is going on?" Harry wondered.
"No -yawn- no idea, but Fred looked more angry than I can ever remember," Ron got out while finally managing to get on his trousers.
Racing their way down the stairs as soon as they were done with dressing, they noticed how the whole House seemed to get more and more riled up with everyone waking up. They quickly reached the common room and stopped when seeing a crowd surrounding the bulletin board, the students looking mighty pissed off about something.
"What -yawn- is going on?" That was Ginny, who had just appeared from the girls' stairs, sporting a severe case of bedhead.
"Ah, there are you three." Angelina had approached them. "The others are already all there."
"Angelina, what has happened?" Ron finally asked, having a bad feeling about all of this.
"Better read for yourselves..." she said and the students parted like the Red Sea, allowing them to walk to the bulletin board, where they could see an official-looking announcement being pinned on. Looking at it, their jaws dropped.
BY ORDER OF THE HOGWARTS HIGH INQUISITOR
In accordance with today's enacted Educational Decree 26, which does grant the High Inquisitor the final say in all sports-related issues at Hogwarts, the following persons are banned from the Gryffindor Quidditch team for conduct which violates sportsmanship:
Harry James Potter, Angelina Johnson, George Weasley, Fred Weasley
This ban extends to all of their remaining time as students at Hogwarts and in case of violation, penalties are being set to ensure...
They didn't need to continue to read this. "That bitch!" Ron cursed out aloud, vocalizing what everyone was thinking. "She must have seen the game and realized it's a way to hurt you, Harry, by taking away one of the things you really like!"
"And what are we? Picked by random?" Fred asked, wondering why they had been banned as well.
"Use your head." That was Hermione, who had arrived in the meantime, looking quite dangerous with her very impressive bedhead. "Umbridge sees making Harry's life difficult as a way to hurt Sirius indirectly. In order to make it hurt more, she threw you off the team as well. That, and she perhaps just is that petty."
"You mean that's to rub salt into the wound? That's really sick," George said, not only feeling angry for Harry's sake, but also because Quidditch had been one of the things making school bearable.
"Wonderful... Why not Ron and me? We are friends with Harry after all," Ginny wondered.
"I can only guess she felt removing the Captain would be too daring and she doesn't seem to give any thought to the reserve team,"Hermione speculated, not really wanting to know what went on in that sociopath's head.
"Despite it meaning I can still play, that makes me feel so appreciated," Ginny grumbled, really wishing she could hex Umbridge.
"It's all bullshit," Fred cursed, looking like he was barely holding back from ripping the announcement off the board. "She writes it violated sportsmanship to humiliate a Ravenclaw player who was in obvious emotional distress. As if she cares about Chang's well-being."
It was proof how angry the twins were that they weren't acting like their normal selves at the moment.
Luna, whose bedhead made her a bit resemble the rising sun, frowned. "It has started..." Suddenly Luna noticed she had become the center of attention. Seeing how these simple words caused the attention of almost everyone, she decided to explain. "This is the beginning. Her first act of slicing away the power of the faculty; piece for piece, until we wake up one day with Hogwarts being run fully by the Ministry."
Hearing it spelled out like that, the whole thing suddenly looked a lot less petty and more like the beginning of something nasty. "You mean, start at something not exactly related to the running of the school and go from there?" Harry guessed.
"Yes. You can be sure there will be more on the way," Luna warned them, her expression stony.
...Prefects' bathroom, evening of November 12th...
The rumors about the Prefects' bathroom in Hogwarts were quite colorful, to say the least. According to rumor, it was some kind of forbidden land, though due to having asked Percy Ginny knew better and had told the others. Though, the bathroom still was quite impressive, considering everything was of much higher quality here and the centerpiece was a big bath tub that was more of a swimming pool, being sunk into the floor.
Ron, who as a Quidditch Captain also was allowed to use it, had reported of how Percy had been a bit conservative in his explanations after using it. This in turn had made Harry and Ginny curious and after taking a look themselves, they had come up with a little plan to get the most out of it. After the recent anger due to Umbridge's meddling with the team, they felt they needed this - for a moment to forget all the crap with Voldemort and Umbridge.
"A bit bizarre that Hogwarts at some point had the money for this," Ginny remarked when looking at the mosaics of mermaids, the marble walls, the golden chandelier and the stained glass windows. "I still think it looks more like a spa than anything else."
"Maybe sometime in the past some pure-blood Prefect complained to daddy they don't want to share a bathroom with the plebs and whined enough for him to pay the school for something special?" Harry guessed while opening the taps to fill the pool.
"That could very well be it," Ginny thought with amusement, then noticed how the faucets not only were releasing warm water, as noticed by the vapor, but also some kind of bubble bath. "This really is a luxury..."
"Ehm, should we go into the stalls now to change?" Harry asked, looking a bit shy.
Ginny nodded. "Yes, and no peeking, Harry, if you know what's good for you."
Harry snorted, knowing Ginny all too well. "Yeah, but the same goes for you."
They both had agreed, that skinny-dipping was out of question, since right now that would be way outside of their comfort zone, so they would wear the appropriate swimwear for it. Retreating into the toilet stalls, both of them quickly undressed and then put on their swimwear, which they had bought before the start of the school year.
Harry stepped out first and closed the faucets when seeing that the pool was full. "Ginny are you... done?" Harry gulped when seeing that Ginny was not wearing a one-piece swimsuit, but an actual bikini. "Uh... Ginny?"
"You like it?" Ginny posed a little, showing off her green bikini - exactly the same shade of green as Harry's eyes - which left little to the imagination while still covering all that needed to be covered. "Mum has no idea I have this one. Oh, she is way too old-fashioned to allow me to own one."
"It looks good on you," Harry managed to say, feeling incredibly warm despite only wearing swimming trunks. He couldn't help but to take in every detail. Yes, Ginny was a fourteen-year old teenage girl and not an adult woman, but she was on a good path and what he was seeing did cause interesting reactions.
Ginny meanwhile looked really proud, but then stopped and blushed a little. "Oh... oh, Harry, are you that happy to see me?"
"What?" Harry then looked down and saw the very visible bulge in his swimming trunks and he blushed, but his hands refused to move. "Uh, eh..."
Ginny now looked quite flustered. "Don't get me wrong, I feel quite flattered I have such an effect on you..."
"Speak for yourself. You are in the same position," Harry defended himself.
This caused Ginny to notice how she was constantly rubbing her legs against each other, feeling warm down there. Also, looking down she realized that her nipples had become hard and erect, their outline showing a bit through the material of her bikini top, which Harry had noticed. Not to speak of the wet spot on her bottoms.
In the interest of ending this awkwardness, they both quickly slipped into the warm water. By silent agreement they decided to not mention this again and after some minutes they felt their earlier embarrassment ebb away.
"Ahhh, now I understand why they have this pool. This is very different from swimming in the lake," Ginny said, leaning back while enjoying the warm, foamy water.
"It's so relaxing, it helps to forget all our troubles for a bit," Harry agreed, while following Ginny's example and closed his eyes to enjoy. "No toad, no Death Eaters and no giant... Just the two of us relaxing."
Indeed, right at the moment they didn't have to think of the lurking danger of Voldemort, of the Ministry and Umbridge trying to bring Hogwarts to heel, of Hagrid's massive half-brother or Ron looking very stressed due to practically having to rebuild the Quidditch team while morale had tanked after Umbridge banning four of its players - which included Harry.
"The two of you look wonderful together."
That startled both of them. Their eyes flew open, only to see the head of Myrtle stick out of the water, looking quite mischievous. Ginny for her part let out a short shriek before composing herself. "Myrtle! Isn't it enough that you visit us in the showers?!"
Harry blinked when hearing that. "Uhm, she does what?"
"Oh, I like to socialize with the girls, and join them in the showers at times." Myrtle then gave Harry an interesting look. "Of course like everyone else I have to be naked when entering the showers."
"Not one word to the other boys..." Ginny told Harry.
"Oh, don't be shy, Ginny. It's all perfectly harmless." Myrtle then started to hover out of the water.
"No, wait!" Ginny called, then stopped when seeing that Myrtle was wearing a bikini like hers. "Ha ha ha, very funny."
"What, you thought I would be naked?" Myrtle asked innocently. "I don't think Harry would have been able to hold it in if I did that."
Seeing that the worst danger was avoided, Harry asked the obvious question. "Myrtle, what are you doing here? Please don't tell me you are perving on the Prefects."
"Oh no, I'm a perfectly well-behaved lady. Of course I always ask before I join them, though with the two of you I couldn't resist to surprise you." The ghost-girl then giggled at their reaction. "Most of them are perfectly fine with it and I get wonderful eye candy... from both sides."
Ginny and Harry both blushed at the implications and the realization Myrtle seemed to have developed an eye for both teams. "I guess everyone needs their hobbies. After all, hanging out in that toilet of yours has to get boring after some time," Ginny finally said, hoping to steer the conversation away from awkward stuff..
"And how boring it can be..." Myrtle then hovered back down into the pool and mimicked sitting down. "Ehm, maybe I can have some of your time? Just treat me like I'm another girl taking a bath?"
They saw nothing wrong with that.
Several minutes passed with them talking about all kind of things, until Harry remembered something. "Hey, Myrtle, is there any particular reason why you can't stand Umbridge?"
Myrtle looked like she had bitten into a very sour lemon. "She reminds me way too much of some of my bullies. Only she's a bully that has become an adult with way too much power. She also came to my bathroom and ordered me to be 'less disruptive'."
"An adult bully with too much power. Sounds exactly like her," Ginny remarked, finding the description quite fitting.
"Were I more mean, I would do something like flooding her office..." While she said that, a small vortex surrounded Myrtle, before disappearing.
"Myrtle, how are you doing that?" Harry asked, having thought ghosts had no active influence on the physical world.
"I'm able to control water ever since I returned from my death." If anything, Myrtle sounded like that was nothing unusual. "We ghosts do have some measure of influence on the physical world. For me it's controlling water. I know the Grey Lady is so good at it, she can flip the pages of a book. Makes reading a lot easier than using astral books."
Harry and Ginny had not expected Myrtle to be a hydrokinetic. It did create the question of what she was actually capable of.
...November 19th, Hogwarts greenhouses...
It had become an unmovable part of their routine during their years at Hogwarts to help out in the greenhouses.
Neville had a talent for plants that was unmatched and Professor Sprout had not held back with praise, even saying he had the potential to become the Newt Scamander of plants. Luna, while also being interested in plants, with some memorable exceptions, also saw these times in the greenhouse as a chance to bond more with Neville.
Recently, the greenhouses also had become a refuge from Umbridge. The woman refused to set one foot into the greenhouses after an incident during one of her inspections of Professor Sprout's classes. Details varied between who was telling the story, but something happened with one of the more exotic plants and ever since then Umbridge outright refused to enter the greenhouses, though of course she didn't say that aloud.
Professor Sprout currently was being busy in a different greenhouse, meaning they were on their own.
"Professor Sprout sounded fully convinced you'll get your OWL in Herbology with honors," Luna commented while pruning a plant carefully.
Neville blushed a little, but knew that Herbology was his special talent. "I try to be humble about it, or I could get a big head."
"Yes, that wouldn't be good. I like your head the size it is right now." It was impossible to tell if Luna was joking. "In fact all of us are not overly prideful of what comes easy to us."
She's right about that. Sure, we do take pride in our skills, but we aren't arrogant about it, Neville thought, having to think how Ron was not gloating about his chess powers, or Hermione about her smarts (though her humility had taken time to develop).
"Maybe we are grounding each other properly." Neville looked a bit thoughtful. "Whatever it is, while I like spending time with my friends, just being together with you is special."
Luna gave him an interesting look. "You mean in the romantic way?"
By now Neville knew that there was something between them. "Well, you see, while Harry and Ginny went forward and Ron and Hermione are still dancing around the issue..."
"Admittedly, it at times is a bit embarrassing to watch..." Luna then stopped her pruning and looked to Neville. "Neville, do you think we are taking too much time?"
Neville was stumped for a moment before he understood. "W-why do you ask?" Damn, he hadn't intended to sound so nervous.
"Harry and Ginny are already on a good way and despite what they themselves think and how they act, Ron and Hermione clearly are ready to take the next step. I even feel envy for them. Are we falling behind?" Luna wondered, voicing her worries very clearly.
"Luna..." Neville of course knew of the feelings between them, especially since the Yule ball. However, by their nature both of them were reluctant to actively go forward about it. "This is no competition."
Luna knew that, but recently she had felt a disappointment growing in her that they only showed their attraction in small things. That thought finally pushed her into a decision. "Neville, I want to spend Christmas with you and your family."
Neville dropped his pruning shears when hearing that. "-gulp- At my home? What about your family?"
Luna did look a little guilty. "I will write to them to ask. I'm sure they will understand." At least that was what she hoped. "I want some time together with you outside the school. Please."
"I-I would really like that, but maybe I should tell Gran first, so that my parents won't get too enthusiastic about us," Neville offered, knowing his parents otherwise would most likely embarrass both of them.
Now Luna did something she did seldom - a light blush colored her face. She then walked forward until she stood in Neville's private space. "I've read that normally parents think their children are too young for a relationship, but not of the opposite. It still is an experience I don't want to make, regardless how fascinating it might be."
"Is it because you are involved in it instead of you just being an observer?" Neville saw Luna blush even more. "It's not much fun when you are in the middle of it, right?"
"Just promise me they will show restraint. I think too much embarrassment and I would faint." It were moments like those where Luna dreaded her weakness in processing and expressing emotions properly, even though she had become a lot better at it.
Neville took and held her hand, which was promise enough for her.
"Well, I'm back. Let's see..." Professor Sprout stopped when seeing Neville holding the hand of a blushing Luna. "Did I interrupt something private?"
Despite now blushing himself, Neville did not let go of Luna's hand. Luna meanwhile gave the Professor a nonplussed look, which was made look absurd by her blush. "No, nothing is wrong, Professor. Should it?"
"Young love..." Sprout said under her breath, before saying aloud "Still, I first have to do something at the back of the greenhouse, so take your time." She then left suspiciously fast to give those two a few more minutes to conclude whatever was going on.
...November 24th...
There was no outside sign to show how he felt about what just had been revealed to him, but everyone knew one could never tell with Lord Voldemort. After months of fruitless attempts, Voldemort had listened to Barty's suggestion to consult the still recovering Augustus Rookwood, who used to be an Unspeakable and deep-cover agent of his before that traitor Karkaroff - whom they still were looking for - had ratted him out.
Barty had suggested this due to the fact that Rookwood as a former Unspeakable and would surely know all about the Department of Mysteries and how to finally get the damn prophecy. Avery's plan to imperius people to deliver the prophecy to him had proven to be unfruitful so far, thus consulting the actual expert was the next logical step.
Boy, had he been in for a nasty surprise after telling Rookwood what the problem was.
"Repeat that," Voldemort finally said, his voice emotionless.
"The rules of prophecies prohibit anyone but the seer who made the prophecy, the one who the prophecy was made to and those the prophecy is about to remove it from where it rests," Rookwood said while kneeling in front of Voldemort, trembling with fear of his Master's possible anger.
"So that means since those others are out of my reach, I could have taken the prophecy myself without any ill-effect?" Voldemort then asked further, still not betraying any emotion.
"Not a single one, my Lord," Rookwood said, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
"I have been badly advised, it seems." Still not a hint of emotion.
If anything, this made Rookwood panic. "Master, I crave your pardon..."
"Stop this. I do not blame you, Rookwood, so get up," Voldemort told the man, only a slight trembling showing the sheer anger he was feeling at this development. "And you are sure of your facts, Rookwood?"
"Absolutely. After all, I worked for years in the Department," Rookwood said after standing again.
"Avery told me another Unspeakable can remove it." Considering the sheer amount of control Voldemort had to use right at the moment, this didn't bode well for Avery.
"He is sadly mistaken. Any Unspeakable worth their salt would know and thus resist the Imperius Curse, lest they risk being killed by touching the prophecy. Avery is no expert on such things," Rookwood told Voldemort, now being a lot calmer.
"So that is it. Rookwood, I want that prophecy and I will very soon take it myself. Prepare, so that you can guide me to it. But first... call Avery and have him come here."
All those months wasted thanks to that fool... Voldemort felt like a volcano inside him was ready to explode while Rookwood hurried to have Avery travel to them.
This was not the Riddle House, but one of their other locations, so that was no problem, and soon enough Avery knelt in front of Voldemort, looking highly nervous. "You have called for me, Master?"
"Yes, Avery. As it turns out, your advice was completely worthless and cost me months." The anger was starting to seep through.
"My Lord, I thought..." Avery could not continue.
"WHO TOLD YOU TO THINK?!" That sudden eruption from Voldemort made Avery fear he was going to die. Voldemort now looked openly angry. "Now I know why you were so eager to be helpful. You thought that would get you back into my good graces after how much you have disappointed me!"
Avery now was very pale. "Master... I..."
"Silence! I wasted valuable time and resources on a wild goose chase due to you. For that failure you will be severely punished!" Seeing Avery pale even further, Voldemort snorted. "Oh no, be glad I can't afford to kill you right at this moment, but you will wish you were dead."
"No... Please, no!"
Voldemort's eyes narrowed while raising his wand. "Coward. Lord Voldemort has spoken."
The other Death Eaters in the building listened to Avery's screams of pain. They knew that the Dark Lord now was very hard on Avery and it reminded them to never disappoint the Dark Lord, lest he would punish them as well for their failures. In a sick way however, it didn't cause them fear but instead motivated them to do better.
...two days later...
Deep silence had settled onto the Ministry of Magic. With almost everyone being at home at the middle of the night, only a small skeleton crew was present for security. That normally was enough, since it seemed unthinkable that anyone could ever hope to penetrate the outer defenses and enter the Ministry illegally. However, that of course was the theory and reality was a very different thing.
Thanks to already having their claws in the Ministry, it had been rather easy to arrange that that path to the Department of Mysteries was free. No annoying guards. Either they had been set to guard a different part of the Ministry or were carefully arranged to be on their side. The guard at the entrance hall had been put under a strong illusion spell, thinking nothing was wrong.
Thus he didn't even see the small group walking to the lifts.
"You did exactly as I told you to, Lucius. Good," Voldemort told Malfoy.
"It was very easy, my Lord. Snape did his part to lure the Order guard away. Thanks to Fudge first being utterly incompetent and now outright paranoid of Dumbledore and Black, it was very easy to install many in the Ministry who will follow you to the end of the world," Malfoy told Voldemort, sounding quite a bit proud of his accomplishment.
"That will make our takeover easier once the time has come." Voldemort had learned from the past war. Once hearing what Lucius and others had been doing ever since the end of the war, he had taken their work and furthered it. Instead of just an attack from the outside, the Ministry also would have an enemy within.
And what already had been done would now enable them to enter the Department of Mysteries without any further trouble. Looking to Barty, Voldemort, despite everything, had to admit that keeping a plan easy instead of overly complicated indeed was better. After the failures thanks to Avery, simply walking into the Department and taking the prophecy by himself was turning out to be laughably easy.
Finally the lift had arrived at the correct level and Rookwood, the final person in their group, spoke up. "There it is: the entrance to the Department of Mysteries. You have to follow me, since the Department is built like a labyrinth and full of dangerous artifacts."
Indeed, at times it seemed like the paths in the Department were actively trying to trick them, but Rookwood knew exactly where to go and they passed many doors on the way. They were just walking by another door when Voldemort became uneasy for a moment before strengthening his Occlumency shields.
"Rookwood, what is behind that door?" Voldemort asked, giving the armored and locked door a weary look.
"Behind that door is the fountain of Amortentia, Master. As you know, the most potent love potion in the world. The Unspeakables use is to study the effects of love, but otherwise the door stays tightly locked," Rookwood explained.
"What a waste of time for them. Once I've taken over, such frivolities will be a thing of the past. Let's go," Voldemort snorted, though that was to hide how he truly felt.
That room felt utterly alien to him. In his mind, love was a weakness which led people astray from what was truly important. Yet, that room also had made him feel very uneasy, as the feelings that had radiated from the room had not only felt utterly alien to him, but also dangerous. He quickly wanted to get some distance to that room, since deep inside he felt threatened by it. Of course he would never admit that even to himself.
Finally however they had reached the hall of prophecies.
"Lucius, Barty. Both of you stand guard. Make sure that no one enters," Voldemort ordered them.
Then Rookwood started to guide Voldemort through corridors, the racks full of prophecy spheres giving off a feeling that they are not welcome to touch them. Voldemort however didn't care and finally Rookwood announced that this was the correct rack. Indeed, Voldemort spotted not one but two prophecies in which he was the subject, both made by the same woman.
"That one can wait. First what I am here for..." Greedily, Voldemort took the sphere with no problem. "That was very easy. Let's see what's in this before I check the other one..."
Holding it, Voldemort willed it to show him its contents. However, he was in for a surprise when instead of Trelawney, a picture of Dumbledore appeared.
"Hello, Tom. If you are hearing this, it means that you have done what I do have anticipated and went after the copy of the prophecy in the Department of Mysteries. Alas, you are too late. Of course I did as well know the danger of this information falling into your hands, therefore I took the freedom to destroy the copy to deny you its contents."
Voldemort had said nothing, but inside he was losing a war with himself, his self-control quickly running out.
"This most likely is very disappointing for you, Tom, but considering your intentions I can very well live with that knowledge. Make no mistake, Tom, this time we will stop you. Until then have a nice day."
Rookwood watched Voldemort start to tremble in anger, crushing the fake prophecy sphere in his hand, not caring that the class cut into him. Fearing his Master could be capable of anything, Rookwood took several steps back, watching fearfully how Voldemort resembled a volcano that was about to explode violently.
"Dumbledore..." Voldemort hissed with a hatred so pure it could cut steel.
Voldemort, not only feeling disappointed but also utterly humiliated, finally lost control over himself and something happened that was not to be expected of a seventy-year old wizard. His emotions, fueled by his rage, were so strong, it resulted in a monstrous burst of accidental magic. It took form in a magical storm that knocked over the nearest racks, causing a terrible chain reaction.
Racks started to topple like dominoes, countless prophecy spheres shattering and resulting in a frightening cacophony of seers long past talking about their prophecies. The sheer loss, despite most of these prophecies no longer holding any relevance and indeed just being dead weight due to all parties involved being long dead, was impossible to determine. The entire archive was self-destructing.
The chain reaction was still ongoing when Voldemort stormed to Rookwood, barely controlling himself. "Rookwood! We are leaving!"
Rookwood was all too eager to follow that order, considering the still ongoing chain reaction. Of course there was the question how the Ministry would explain the destruction of the hall of prophecies, but they very well could try to keep silent about it, not wanting to admit what had happened.
Not that Lord Voldemort cared. He absolutely was done with this place.
to be continued...
Next Episode:
"Harry Potter - Rebel"
Notes:
Here the notes.
I wrote the first scene not only to give some Fan Disservice (and show what Bellatrix realistically would look like after fourteen years of Azkaban), but to also underscore that even with Bellatrix Voldemort has no emotional attachment, he just sees her as especially useful.
Since several readers asked about it, here I make clear such a massace can't be kept quit in such a small community like Magical Britain. I did take the time to lay out the ramifications of this, including how MI-X reacts and what that means for some of the adults.
While there is more Quidditch with drama on the stands, the Six are finally introduced to Grawp. While that goes better than in canon, we are also shown that part of the centaus doesn't like having a giant in the forest, which could have future consequences.
Of course Umbridge strikes again...
I just had to use the Prefects' bathroom, and that allowed me to show more Harry-Ginny. Of course they are awkward, the truly big things in their relationship will only happen next school year. Myrtle meanwhile I just wanted for comedy. Neville and Luna are even more awkward, but there is hope now.
And of course Voldemort finally manages to get his hand on the prophecy, only to realize that Dumbledore has fooled him. You can imagine how humiliated Tom must have felt in that moment...
Btw., I'm surprised no one caught the reference to "The Godfather" in the previous chapter.