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.
Please note that due to the constant technical troubles of the site, the story is now also being published at AO3. The story will update every second Saturday until the year is done.
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Chapter 72: The Elves of Hogwarts
The stands were filled to capacity for the very first four-way Quidditch game at Hogwarts. Normally, there always were always those who held no interest in a game since their House was not one of those competing. However, this time it was different due to all the Houses competing at the same time.
For this kind of game, the configuration of the pitch had changed somewhat. The playing field now was perfectly square instead of rectangular and each side held a group of three goal hoops. The pitch area itself was smaller this way and combined with double the number of players and flying objects on the pitch, it promised to be quite the wild and intense ride.
That this kind of game mode was something entirely new was proven by several reporters being present, who normally wouldn't bother with a school match. Perhaps it also was that in such dark times any news that promised distraction from the ongoing war were welcome. Less noticed were several people from professional teams. After hearing of the highly unusual game mode, they wanted to see for themselves what this was about, though the also looked kind of desperate.
As said, any distraction from what was going on was welcome.
Up in the stands, everyone was waiting for the teams to enter the pitch. Luna was using her omnioculars to scan the pitch. "This will be a very interesting experience. Double the players on a reduced playing field with double the quaffles and bludgers but still only one golden snitch."
"Well, if you mean there will be lots of them slamming into each other, then yes." That was Astoria, sitting down beside them.
"Oh, hello Astoria. All on your own?" Neville wondered.
"Oh, my friends are having some kind of betting pool going on and I want to stay out of that. As for Daphne..." Astoria looked to some place hidden by the spectators. "She met Justin, and..."
Hermione sighed when realizing what was going on. "You can sit with us. Normally, we have Hagrid keeping us company, but this time he's sitting with the teachers."
"Thanks. There's no way I want to sit next to them when they feel like doing a little taste test on each other." It was quite a crude description, but they understood Astoria didn't want to watch her sister snogging with a boy.
"You have space for one more?"
They knew that voice, though they hadn't heard it for some time. The three Gryffindors turned around and saw a young man they were familiar with. "Oliver Wood?" Neville had recognized the former Captain of the Gryffindor team. "Haven't seen you in a while. What brings you here?"
"Oh, I couldn't resist wanting to watch this new way of playing Quidditch... Now that I have the time to do so. Though I had to jump through several hoops in order to be led in." Wood then looked a bit more serious. "That's because the national league was shut down recently and I have a lot of free time on my hands."
"It was shut down? Have we overlooked that in the news?" Astoria wondered.
Wood snorted. "They are trying not to make a big deal of it, so it'll be a few more days before everyone becomes aware of it. Admission numbers took a huge hit once things started to get serious and recently the Ministry declared the matches to be at high risk of an attack and them being unable to spare manpower to secure something they deem 'non-essential'."
"So the league decided to suspend any further matches for the time being?" To be honest, Hermione was a bit surprised, considering her witnessing how insane many people were about the game.
"That's basically it. Of course that created a chain reaction of events. Those who can are making a run for leagues outside of Britain and the rest of us have a grace period of a month before our contracts expire. One way or another, that basically crippled the clubs outright." Wood didn't look very pleased with that turn of events.
"That sounds really bad for you," Luna stated while not taking her eyes off the pitch.
"That's putting it mildly. Just when my career was taking off for real..." Then however he looked bad for thinking like that. "I have to remind myself that people are dying out there, so my career problems are really minor in comparison."
"Wow, if they shut down Quidditch games, things must be really dire," Astoria said with a whistle.
"Why do you think several people from professional teams are here? They are desperate to look for things that could entice people to return once this is all over," Wood explained how dire that was for the teams.
People have their priorities set wrong, Hermione thought, unable to understand the fanaticism some people had for one type of sport.
Suddenly, the noise level rose, the players were entering the pitch.
"Ah, finally..." Neville said, pulling out his own omnioculars to get a closer look.
Down on the pitch at the same time, the players, regular and reserve, formed a square, with each side being take up by one of the four teams. "All right, you lot. I want a fair game with as few fouls as possible. Should you think that's only wishful thinking from my side, you'll soon see the error of your ways," Madam Hooch told everyone, making it clear she was not joking.
They all agreed loudly, not wanting to incur her wrath.
"Man, I don't t want to imagine the poor schmuck who first breaks her order," Dudley said to Millicent while making a final check on his broom.
"May he or she rest in peace when that happens," Millicent added, knowing that Hooch had a low tolerance for dirty play, especially after what happened last year.
The loud noise from the spectators while the teams rose up into the air carried out of the stadium.
"Just listen to them..." Draco whispered to Pansy while they both moved under individual invisibility cloaks (they were not stupid enough to try that stitched-together monstrosity again).
"Ignore it, Draco. Everyone being busy with that gives us some free movement," Pansy reminded her boyfriend. "And you are sure that annoyance Moody was unable to watch us at the crucial moment?"
"I tested out what the range of that eye of his is. From his office in the guest building he can only see to about the castle gate but not through it anymore, so I'm waiting until he's busy with paperwork. The most he learns is, that we were on the grounds, but little more than that."
"Good, I have no wish for him to learn how we get our things into the castle," Pansy said in relief. "That man doesn't understand he should mind his own business."
From his small office in the guest building, Moody watched those two return.
They think they are really smart, but they couldn't be more wrong. Junior Death Eater scum... Moody thought.
He of course had noticed their invisible trips into the castle on several occasions, but the first few times the weakness of his magical eye showed itself. At a greater distance, the magic-laden walls of Hogwarts were messing with his sight and he had lost them each time. Not that they stayed in the castle for long - ten minutes at best - but what they were doing remained a mystery to him.
He didn't like that at all and wanted to keep a closer eye to find out more, but Dumbledore had warned that should those two get the idea that the faculty was on their trail, they could do something desperate. Moody for his part felt it was a foolish plan, and that locking them up - they already had more than enough evidence - was the better option. Alas, Dumbledore wanted to do it his own way.
Once something nasty happens, I will remind him that I warned of exactly that and that my warnings were ignored, Moody thought before returning to his work.
o
The game was over for some time now, and despite what everyone in Gryffindor had hoped, they had not won the first four-way game ever. Things had gotten really wild and exciting, and this game mode very much was worth further testing and refinement, but at the end of the day, it was the Hufflepuff team who had won.
That honestly had taken everyone else a bit by surprise, but in the end they all had shown good sportsmanship and congratulated them on their win.
"Well, all right, we lost, but Ron ... didn't seem too broken over it," Harry remarked to Ginny while sitting in the locker room after the game. Everyone else had already left, except for the two of them.
"I know my brother. Since we are ... not in an actual competition, he used this one to see where ... we are lacking and then make plans for the second game," Ginny told Harry.
It was kind of difficult for both of them however to concentrate on their conversation. After all, both of them were only wearing their underwear and the way Ginny was sitting in Harry's lap meant that their crotches were constantly rubbing against each other, with predictable results. That they both were stealing kisses from each other only added to it.
"We seem to make it ... a habit of doing such things in the locker room," Harry gasped while Ginny became bolder with grinding her sex against the tent in his boxers.
"Do you ... complain about it?" Ginny mockingly asked, though the big wet spot on her knickers told the story of what was more important for her right now.
"Nope..." Harry then drew in Ginny for another kiss, their tongues doing a gentle dance around each other.
It was in moments like these where they couldn't get enough of each other. Even just a year ago they would have been unable to imagine both of them doing this, despite already having started the physical aspect of their relationship. Not that they were complaining - Ginny knew she wasn't when feeling Harry fondle her almost-naked arse.
They were about to go further with their hands and didn't notice the door being opened.
"...find it, so I must have left it in the locker... WHAT THE HELL?!"
That shout clearly was Ron. Later on Harry would be amazed at Ginny's ability to jump out of his lap almost the entire distance to the door in the divider and then needing less than two seconds to vanish behind said divider. Her head then poked out, her face doing a very good job at matching her hair color. Harry for his part didn't waste any time to throw his discarded Quidditch uniform over his lap, since he had no wish for Ron to see the boner caused by Ron's sister.
Ron did looked shocked for a moment, before different emotions took over. "What the fuck?! How long have you been doing that in our locker room?!"
"Uh, eh..." Harry honestly had difficulties to answer his friend.
Seeing there was no answer forthcoming, Ron looked to his sister. "Ginny, what in all names were you two thinking, doing that in here?"
Ginny needed a moment before the wording registered in her mind. "What...? You are more angry about... about us doing that in here than doing it in the first place?"
"Harry pretty much is the only bloke I trust to not do anything you don't want him to do." Ron saw Harry give him a surprised look. "Look, I'm not naive enough to not know what both of you are up to, but I have no wish to imagine my sister doing those things, much less witness it!"
If anything, Ginny blushed even more, now being as red as a tomato. "Oh, that is why..."
Ron sighed. "I won't stop you, if that's what you want to ask, but do that somewhere else and most certainly not our locker room. Do you have any idea how incredibly rude that is to the rest of us?"
Besides the surprise that Ron would not do anything about them doing those things, they did realize it was quite rude to do something like that in a place that others had to use. Also, in retrospect they had thought with their southern regions and neglected to even think about the fact that someone could have walked in on them at any moment - like Ron had done.
"Uh, now that you put it that way..." Harry said, feeling incredibly awkward.
"All right, I think that's all I can hope for." Ron then quickly went to his locker and took his wand out of it before leaving.
"That was awkward..." Ginny said once the door had closed. "I never felt so embarrassed, but that's our own fault."
They both knew that was very true.
Ron meanwhile tried to not dwell on the sight of seeing his sister getting frisky with Harry while both of them were down to their underwear. He knew the sight would haunt him for some time and he'd had no wish to see his sister in such a position. There was no way he now could get that sight out of his mind again.
Both of them are really shitty at selecting places for that, Ron thought, seriously needing a distraction.
"Ron?" A distraction named Hermione arrived right at that moment. "Have you found... Is something wrong?"
"Nothing, apart from Harry and Ginny thinking that our locker room is a great place for getting frisky." Ron then took a deep breath. "I don't think you can imagine how mortifying it was for me to see my sister in such a position."
Considering how young her own brother was, Hermione knew Ron was right and she couldn't imagine it. "Oh, yes, that must be bad." She then looked around and spotted an empty classroom. "Maybe I can get your thoughts on something else?"
"You know that would make me quite the hypocrite, don't you?" Ron had a good idea what Hermione had in mind. "Also, I thought you are really big on staying within the rules?"
"Borrowing an empty classroom for a few minutes won't cause any trouble." Hermione knew that this were her hormones talking, and that she wasn't ashamed to admit that she felt this little rule-breaking would be worth it.
Ron thought about it for a moment. "Well, alright."
They both vanished behind the door and Hermione, Ron's experience fresh on her mind, used her wand to lock the door,, before they turned their attention to each other. When they left again almost fifteen minutes later, both of them were blushing and their clothes were somewhat rumpled, but there was no doubt they had enjoyed their little make-out session a lot.
...November 19th, Little Whinging...
On the surface it seemed business as usual in the police station of Little Whinging. Not much really serious crime happened in this sleepy suburb of London, though that didn't mean things were boring with many everyday crimes filling the time of the police.
However, if one looked closer, it became obvious that the tension which had gripped the nation had seeped down even into this sleepy suburb. The news of disasters and near-disasters, a wave of murders and on top of that the escape of the serial murderer Fenrir Greyback and his remaining followers, who right away have started to again commit murders, had changed the atmosphere in the nation.
It also didn't help to make the job of the police any easier.
"I swear, all of that shit going on made the rats come out of their holes. Even we are registering an uptick in crime week for week," one constable complained while being busy with writing his report.
Another constable looked up from her computer. "Makes you wonder if they are smelling that now is the best time for time to do their thing."
"One thing is certain, it's not like it used to be."
Everyone looked up when seeing that Sirius had returned from his patrol. "Ah, hello Sergeant!" he was greeted by them
"It's really weird out there. On one hand, everything seems to be like it always is, but look a little closer... I also had to prevent no less then three cases of petty vandalism," Sirius said while walking over to Diane's table.
"Sounds like you've had a busy day and it's not even noon yet," Diane commented before greeting her husband properly. "When we are home, we should spoil ourselves a bit."
Sirius knew she meant that in a non-dirty way. "Delivery is all right. Let's not be cheap, you know that place the children love whenever we order from it."
"Man, I wish I had their home life..." One constable sighed, thinking about how his marriage was turning sour.
"I already dread the report I have to write. These weeks, writing reports has become testing my nerves, especially if I'm asked later if that really all happened," Sirius said while sitting down at his desk.
"You are preaching to the choir," the female constable laughed. "The Chief Inspector is honestly wondering if he should take early retirement, saying Little Whinging used to be such a calm place with crime being spread out over the year."
"Yeah, with all those unpleasant things happening, it feels like the whole country is slowly going insane," another constable said, looking a bit overworked.
It's worse than last time... Sirius thought.
During the last war Voldemort's side had also committed many atrocities against the non-magical population, but back then they still had been way more discreet, so over the course of the 70s it had never caused such an atmosphere of something being wrong. Now however the Death Eaters seemed to no longer care how much attention their actions were causing. It was as short-sighted as it was stupid.
The eyes of the international magical community already were on Magical Britain. While such a conflict would normally be treated as an internal matter unless the country officially called for help - which Madam Bones had not managed to convince those proud bastards to do - the blatant actions of the Death Eaters had caused serious concern about the impact on the Statute of Secrecy. Needless to say the worry was growing, since the horrible deeds of the Death Eaters - done with only little regard to secrecy - could cause a severe case of revelation.
They don't care that all those horrible things are happening, but as soon as the secrecy is threatened, they start getting concerned. The cynic in Sirius found the hypocrisy very blatant.
"Say, what are you exactly doing, that you have been so busy since the morning?" Sirius asked Diane while starting his word processing program.
"Oh, I'm testing the new e-mail program." Seeing that she got a blank look, she sighed. "Honestly, is everyone at this station illiterate when it comes to new things on computers?"
Sirius knew he was not meant, since he at least had a good excused for being less versed than other people when it came to computers. "So, what does it do?"
"To put it simple, with such a system, you can send electronic letters from one computer to another, ending the storm of memos flying through the station. I think it's the future, but it's still in its infancy and thus the program is a bit complicated to use," Diane explained.
"Considering other message systems I've seen, that sounds downright useful." Sirius did remember workers in the Ministry folding memos into paper airplanes to send them from one desk to a different one.
"Right now I'm testing if delivering and accepting messages works as intended... Hmm?" Diane noticed something after her computer gave off a short beep. "Who could that be...? Eh, can you come over and tell me if I see correctly?"
Now wondering what this could be about, Sirius did so, and looking onto Diane's screen, he raised an eyebrow. "Interesting."
It was just a short message, but its content was quite interesting.
I hope you don't mind this usage of the connection. I want to use the opportunity to use the newest technology to announce a visit in three days, so that we can discuss important issues.
-Morden
"How do you think...?" Sirius asked, being mindful that they were no alone in the room.
Diane rolled her eyes while deleting the mail. "Quite easy, since the whole thing has gone through the whole paperwork. Of course they would know... They pretty much got that information automatically."
Things like that were a reminder that MI-X of course had access to all records of the government.
...Hogwarts kitchens, November 24th...
As always, the Hogwarts kitchens were a hive of activity, with the elves being busy with preparing everything for the making of dinner later that day. Still, compared to the rush that happened when being in the middle of making one of the three meals, activity was comparatively low at the moment. It was for that reason that Hermione had selected this time for her visit to the kitchens, being sure the elves had enough time to talk with her.
Her goal still was to improve the lot of house-elves in the long run. She knew she would need lots of patience for such an ambitious goal, thus she knew that while she still was a student there was little chance of her managing to change anything. No, he goal for her school years was to become very familiar with the situation of the elves, their history as well as their culture.
After all, she otherwise would act no better than some colonial master in Africa who decides what's best for the negros since after all, in his mind they have to be too dumb to know that themselves.
"You know, they are really too nice in how they offer free snacks," Ron remarked before biting into a shiny red apple.
"Do I have to remind you that we are not here for that, Ron?" Hermione said, rolling her eyes at the wrong priorities her boyfriend at times showcased.
It had somehow happened that over time Ron had become part of her excursions into the kitchens. While he did show interest in what she was doing, commenting that he in the past had never thought about the matter and would have reacted badly to her trying to lecture him about it, he was also using that as a chance to get extra snacks which the elves were all too willing to provide.
"Oh, we don't mind. The elves of Hogwarts are always happy to please a student," the elf Hermione had talked with said happily, her ears moving in a cute way.
"Still no reason to take advantage of it..." Hermione then spotted something she found unusual. "That elf looks different, no uniform yet. Is... is she new?"
"Ohhh, you talk about Fantia," the elf realized. "Fantia is new at Hogwarts, brought into the castle after the death of her master a mere month ago."
Looking at how young she looks, I have a feeling her master was killed by Death Eaters, Hermione thought.
Ron, not being known for his tact, looked at the elf. "Shouldn't a month be more than enough time? Where is the problem?"
The elf now looked a bit annoyed. "Fantia is a strange elf. She desires things that in elf society are not seen as fulfilling pursuits. That perhaps is why she feels attracted to Dobby of all elves."
"Oh, Dobby has a suitor?" Hermione wondered, remembering the difficulties Dobby had with attracting the fair sex.
Now the elf actually rolled her eyes. "Maybe, if Dobby were less oblivious about Fantia's attempts at initiating courtship. Fantia made a vow to only wear the uniform after getting Dobby's attention. -sigh- Looking at her is answer enough how well that went."
"Kind of funny in a way that Dobby bemoans that no female is interested in him, while being oblivious of one showing attention," Ron remarked, then saw the look Hermione was giving him. "What?"
"I very distinctively remember you being oblivious to the signs I was sending you," Hermione told her boyfriend. Seeing Ron grimace, she knew she had made her point.
"If Dobby only would get a clue, it would save every elf in the castle lots of drama..." the elf sighed, before going back to work.
"Eh, you think we should do something?" Ron wondered, not really wanting to get involved in that.
Hermione for her part was wrestling with herself as well, before coming to a decision. "Let's talk to Dobby first. Maybe we can avoid getting too much hands-on."
It didn't take long for them to find Dobby.
"Dobby is always eager to help the friends of the great Harry Potter," Dobby greeted them, then stopped to think about what he had just said. "Of course, Dobby would also be happy to help if you were not friends of Harry Potter."
They were not even surprised and just ignored that. "Hello, Dobby. We hope we aren't interrupting you in your work?" Hermione greeted him.
"Oh no! Dobby has more than enough time to finish his tasks," Dobby assured her.
"It's been a while since we last met you. Anything new that has happened?" Ron asked, hoping it sounded casual enough.
While Ron wasn't much for being subtle, Dobby wouldn't have noticed anyway. "Oh, lots to do; Dobby is being kept quite busy." His smile said it all, he really liked that. "Kreacher is still disliking having to work closely with Dobby, though Dobby has noticed a change in temper in Kreacher. Things do have gotten easier."
They knew that had to be due to the events surrounding the locket. Kreacher had changed a lot due to those events. "Anything else that has happened?" Hermione asked patiently.
Dobby seemed to think about it for a moment. "Nothing that Dobby can think of... apart from poor Fantia. A new elf having arrived recently. Dobby worries that Fantia has great difficulties accepting her new station, still wearing what she had worn while serving under her previous master."
Ron and Hermione looked at each other, now understanding why the other elves were so fed up with the situation. "Ron, you tell him. You are more direct than me," Hermione finally said, realizing that being subtle would not work here.
Thanks a lot, Hermione... Nonetheless, Ron did as told. "Dobby, she is wearing that because she vowed to only make her own uniform after getting your attention... You know, in that way."
Dobby looked a bit clueless. "Dobby doesn't understand."
Ron stopped himself from rolling his eyes. "Dobby, she fancies you."
Now the elf finally understood and started to get excited. "Oh... Fantia does? Dobby has to check..."
Dobby seemed to run to Fantia and while they couldn't understand what those two were saying, their body language spoke volumes. Both elves looked really excited the longer they talked, until finally Fantia walked to were one of the elder elves was, while Dobby returned to them, being so excited that his ears pointed straight up.
"Oh, Dobby is so happy! Fantia is understanding Dobby so well!" Dobby said, looking smitten.
"Let's hope this is the start of a wonderful relationship between both of you," Hermione said honestly.
"Like Harry Potter, both of you did so much for Dobby and Dobby has to repay you..." It seemed Dobby was close to crying in happiness.
"Uh, that is not really necessary." Ron had a feeling that Dobby's gratitude could take weird forms.
"Oh no, Dobby always pays his debts!" He then leaned closer. "We elves at Hogwarts know a secret."
"Really?" Hermione felt that even the best wizards and witches tended to underestimate elves, if the elves at the schools knew secrets that the teachers didn't.
"Oh yes. We elves know of another function of the room that can be many things. In one room we put all of the things that have become lost or whose owners are no longer here... or that are no longer wanted. We elves call it the 'Room of Hidden Things'," Dobby explained.
"So that room is essentially the dumping ground for all kind of stuff?" Ron asked, not actually being impressed that much.
"Oh, the elves of Hogwarts have been using it for centuries, as its capacity seems endless," Dobby added, sounding impressed by the feat.
"I actually think that's a really interesting information. And we just have to want the Room of Hidden Things to appear when using the Room of Requirement?" Hermione asked Dobby.
Ron held down a groan when seeing how excited Hermione looked.
Great... I know that look; she always gets it at the chance of finding really old books, Ron thought, knowing a visit to that room now was inevitable.
o
"Don't get me wrong, a completely new function of the room is something I wouldn't have expected, but I don't think some storeroom warrants being so excited," Ginny said when they all arrived at the spot where they knew the door to the Room of Requirement was.
"You don't understand. Imagine all the interesting things we could find in there;" Hermione tried to explain her excitement.
"She means old books," Ron added for context.
"While your description does sound interesting, I do hope it is worth our Sunday time," Luna said, looking a bit annoyed. "I was being busy writing an article for Daddy about the ignorance of many people towards the abilities and personhood of certain magical creatures."
"You mean officially existing creatures?" Hermione asked, knowing the usual contents of the Quibbler.
Luna looked a little offended. "Of course. After all, the public can't be ignorant about the abilities of creatures that they have no idea do exist."
"Girls, we are here because of that room..." Neville reminded the girls, hoping to stop an argument from starting.
Seeing both girls stop that argument before it could get bigger, Harry turned to where he knew the door would appear. "So let's see if we can actually call that Room of Hidden Things..."
He did exactly the same thing as they normally did when calling upon the room, and sure enough the door appeared as usual. However, when they entered, they were greeted with a truly strange sight.
Harry took in the sight. "That's a lot of..."
"Well... junk," Ron added, though now he was kind of impressed.
The room that greeted them was vast, with a very high ceiling and far-away walls that held huge windows that let bright light in. It honestly looked more like a cross between a massive warehouse and a cathedral than a room inside a castle. However, the most distinctive feature of the room was, how it was stuffed with all kind of items, from single sheets of paper up to things like huge pieces of furniture. The huge piles of junk turned the entire place into a very bizarre place.
"After all, the elves admit that they have been dumping items in here for centuries. Of course that would result in a massive amount of things," Luna observed dryly while pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.
"Are you sure that we should look through this? This after all looks more like a garbage dump," Ginny reminded Hermione. "Seems the elves just dump stuff in here and then forget about it."
Hermione for her part was determined to prove them wrong and walked in, forcing them to follow her. "Take a look at this! This is not just thrown in, it's all neatly stacked, so give the elves more credit!"
"Remember she reacts annoyed when we unknowingly insult the elves," Ron whispered to the others.
Hermione for her part looked at the closest piles, her eyes becoming bright at the sight of many books, only to then also see numerous books that looked to be in terrible condition, which was terrible for her. She pulled out one of the good books. "Look, this actually is one book written by Professor Snape about potion brewing. This one is not even allowed in the school."
"Which honestly creates the question how it came to be here," Harry added, knowing that Snape probably would have confiscated the book straight away.
"Alright, maybe there are good things in here, but there's also a lot of actual junk in here, like those brooms..." Ron then pointed to a stack of brooms that looked really worn out. "Why haven't the elves just thrown those into the trash? And look at this..." That said Ron held up a Transfiguration book someone must have vomited upon while reading.
"Ron, put that away!" Hermione felt her insides twist at seeing a book in such terrible condition. Thankfully, Ron did as told. "Thanks... I admit, there is lots of rubbish in here, but alone the amount of things that are useful..."
"Like this here!" Luna held up something that looked like a bizarre piece of art made from what looked like butterbeer corks, old quills and a fork. Luna looked really excited about her find. "A repulser for unwanted magical pests! I always wanted one of those."
"Guess we'll dig though all of this for a while," Harry commented, knowing where this now would be leading to.
And that's what they did for the next hour.
Granted, while there was a lot of actual junk in the room, making even Hermione wonder why the elves had just thrown that straight into the trash, there also were a lot of things that still were in good condition. It was like a treasure hunt, only that said treasures had to be found under huge amounts of worthless stuff.
"This honestly makes me wonder what some people are thinking when abandoning this stuff," Harry commented after finding a complete potions set, including an actual gold cauldron. "Who throws away a gold cauldron?"
"Someone with too much money. Perhaps we can have it?" Ron asked, actually looking a bit greedy.
"Ron, we can't just take things from this place. Technically, this all belongs to the school," Hermione reminded her boyfriend, who looked a bit disappointed.
That brought all of them back down, realizing they couldn't just take anything.
"Kind of a bummer..." Despite no longer suffering from having no money, Ginny nonetheless would never say no to free stuff. "So you say we should now tell the teachers about this place?"
Now Hermione actually looked conflicted. "Well, you see..."
"Ah, so you want to look through as much as possible first, before telling the teachers. Interesting that you want to find things first so you can hope the school leaves those to you," Luna observed calmly, then saw she had hit dead-center when seeing Hermione blush.
"There was no reason to say that out in the open..." Hermione grumbled, not wanting to see the look her boyfriend was giving her. Ron always was amused when it was shown she was not above certain things.
"What do you think? Should we keep that to ourselves for a bit longer while we look through this place for all kind of useful stuff? I mean, we could set all of that aside and when we inform the school, ask if they still need it... though I don't think they would allow us to take a gold cauldron," Harry suggested.
Neville looked at the vast room. "Well... but that would take up significant time, considering how large this all is. Maybe in a few months?"
It was telling that even Hermione agreed to keep this their little secret for a longer time until they felt ready to tell the teachers.
...December 4th...
It was early morning in Hogwarts, so early that breakfast wouldn't be until later. However, the teachers of course had to be awake before the students so that everything would run smoothly. That also included Dora and Remus, though only Dora was an actual teacher. Of course with Dora being pregnant, she now disliked early mornings even more than normal.
"Pewww... Mum was not kidding when she said how taxing pregnancy can be," Dora said while walking out of the bathroom that was connected to the rooms she was sharing with her husband at Hogwarts.
Her mother had warned her that pregnancy symptoms were different for each woman and most certainly not like the stereotypes that were found in countless stories. At first it had not been noticeable, but now that she was very close to the 4 1/2 months mark, the effects on her became more clear - the most obvious being that she was starting to show.
"Did something happen, Dora?" Remus wondered, seeing how she had been in the bathroom for quite longer than normal.
"I had honestly thought I would puke out my guts constantly, though thank all what's holy that's not the case..." Dora started to explain.
"Yes, though it still happens from time to time," Remus added while making sure his shirt was properly buttoned up.
"You had to remind me of that, didn't you?" Dora had a healthy dislike of vomiting, feeling it was disgusting and the burning sensation in her throat was highly unpleasant. "No, I needed over ten minutes to get my hair to cooperate and stay on the correct color. I swear, our kid is doing that on purpose to mess with me."
Remus tried hard not to laugh. After all, her hair color being out of control was a unique pregnancy symptom for Dora. "I think you'll forget all of those hardships once you hold a bundle of joy in your arms."
"Yes... That's most certainly worth it." It was true that she would most likely forget all the discomfort once the baby was born, though she knew the birthing process itself wouldn't be fun for her.
Being done with dressing, Remus looked at his pocket watch. "Oh, we have plenty of time to spare this morning." Remus then looked to the door, an action that Dora noticed and understood the meaning of. "You think we should hurry?"
"No need... By the way..." Dora then gave a nod to Remus and though no words were exchanged, he understood what this was about. "Didn't McGonagall want something from us? I only remembered now."
"Yes, she should be here at any moment..." Remus seemed to wait for something, and then noise erupted from the door.
"What is this?! Remus! Dora! Open the door!" That was McGonagall and she sounded alarmed.
Interestingly enough they both didn't seem surprised at all, but then changed their expressions to look surprised, before Remus opened the door. "Minerva, what is going on?"
"What is going on? This was fastened to the door frame," McGonagall said, pointing at something on the floor. It looked like four pearls on a thin chain, but as always with magic, looks could be deceiving. "This is some kind of dark item, don't get near it."
"How did it get there?" Remus asked.
"That's the question we have to find the answer to..." McGonagall said, being careful not to touch the item.
It looked natural and only when looking closely one would notice the quick eye contact which showed that the entire thing was staged.
Almost half an hour later Draco and Pansy were officially ready to be escorted to breakfast, both waiting in Draco's room for their escort.
However, they were surprised when the door opened and Snape walked in. "Your attempts are still nothing to be proud of," Snape said without much preamble.
"What are you talking about?" Draco asked, acting dumb.
"Don't even try it..." Snape pulled something out of his pocket and saw them flinch when presenting the pearls on a chain. "Ah yes, I see you recognize this. This was found fastened on the door frame of a teacher's room; a nastly little thing. How did this enter the school?"
Draco tried to keep up his outer courage. "We still won't tell you!"
Pansy gulped when realizing something. "You- you know what it does?"
"Oh yes. That thing is loaded with a nasty curse that only befalls pregnant women. Causes them to miscarry if not outright kill them." Snape could see that those two dolts had not actually known that, judging by how pale they became. "Better be thankful that I decided to take over analysis of this and I will falsify the results to make it look like a mere prank. Where did you get this?"
"A-Aunt Bellatrix gave it to us months ago. Said that s-she wants us to combine duty with the useful and told us who to target..." Draco stammered, still in shock what this artifact was for.
"Typical Bellatrix...She did not like that her niece is expecting and wanted to take care of things. Of course I already knew all of this, since I was in contact with the Dark Lord," Snape told them and he saw that they became even paler.
"What did the Dark Lord say?" Pansy asked, hoping for the best.
"He was not happy that you became distracted by a personal vendetta and promised to discipline Bellatrix. As for both of you, he is sending a strong reminder to concentrate on your task, otherwise he will become... displeased."
"D-displeased?" Draco didn't like the sound of that.
"Yes, displeased." Snape gave both of them a sharp look. "Both of you don't want to know what the Dark Lord does when he is displeased, so better give him no reason to be disappointed." That said, Snape left them alone.
"Shit, Draco... We must really step up our game," Pansy said after some moments.
Draco was not arrogant enough to think that he could whine to Voldemort that they were doing their best. "Let's hope our next plan has more success..."
o
"...and therefore, yes. It was Bellatrix who had given the cursed chain to them and who wanted to cause you to have a miscarriage," Snape explained what he had found out in the safety of the Headmaster's office.
Dora had to drink some water before she could answer. "I always knew she's a psychopath and that she sees my mere existence as an affront, but that... I know, I never was in any danger thanks to us knowing in advance due to observations, but to have it confirmed it was her and what she wanted to do..." She held her hand protectively over her belly.
"An idiotic quest of trying to 'cleanse' the House of Black," Snape snorted, not having a high opinion of Bellatrix. "She's a blunt weapon the Dark Lord points at what needs to be killed, so better don't expect any sophisticated plans from her."
Remus held his wife's hand while scratching his chin with the other. "What I don't understand is, how did they manage to smuggle the chain into the castle in the first place? Trying to do so would have never worked thanks to enchantments and they have not left Hogwarts since their arrival."
Everyone looked to Moody. He however looked displeased that he didn't know the answer. "Beats me as well, and you better believe how annoyed I am by now. I always try to keep an eye on them, but there are moments I lose sight of them either due to other people or them being too deep in the castle. It's never long - not even ten minutes - but they must be getting what they need during those times."
"Which still leaves the question of how they smuggled those items into the castle in the first place." Remus honestly was out of ideas.
If anything, Snape made no secret of how annoyed he was. "To be honest, the whole thing makes no sense. Why is the Dark Lord sending them on a mission he very well knows is pointless? He has to know those two are under close observation and their plans are bound to fail. I honestly can't even begin to understand what his actual plan is here and he told me himself it's not for further punishing Lucius for his failures."
Dumbledore, who up until now had tended to Fawkes and not said anything, now turned to them. "At least this disturbing attempt was rooted in the hatred Bellatrix held, and not their own."
"Not that that makes me feel any safer..." Dora grumbled, honestly wishing that psychopath had croaked in prison.
"What a complete shame... One Black trying to kill another," the portrait of Phineas Nigellus said with what sounded a bit of sorrow.
Dora looked to the portrait of her ancestor. "I thought you would have been happy that Bellatrix is attempting to remove me from the family tree in a permanent way?" She made no secret of her feelings here.
"As much as I dislike your parentage and horrible choice of husband, I am confronted with the fact that there are only few Blacks left. As much as it disgusts me, desperate times need desperate measures." Phineas made no secret of the fact that if things were different, he would have hoped for Dora to die together with the unborn child.
"No wonder everyone sees you as the most loathed headmaster in Hogwarts history..." Dora then decided to ignore the painting.
"Now that you are done..." Moody looked to Dumbledore. "Even this is not convincing you that your plan will get us into serious trouble?"
"What would the alternative look like?" Dumbledore asked in return.
"Two dangerous junior Death Eaters no longer being able to do damage," Moody said, feeling no compassion for Draco and Pansy, feeling those two had made their choices.
"As understandable as that is, I am not only doing this for their sake, but also for Severus," Dumbledore explained his motivations.
Noticing everyone looking to him, Snape scoffed when realizing they hadn't made the connection. "Is it that difficult to understand? In the Dark Lord's eyes, it's me who keeps those two dunderheads out of being discovered. They get arrested and he'll blame me for that failure."
"And what a shame that would be..." The strong sarcasm showed that Moody was mistrustful of Snape. Moody then stood up. "Let me tell you again, Albus. It will go wrong and when it happens I'll tell you I told you so."
Moody then left and Dumbledore knew that the man had made some good points. "Trying to do the right thing is never easy... Severus, please ensure that while they continue to fail, they have to look like they are making progress."
"Now, that will be hard work." Snape didn't have a high opinion of the skills Draco and Pansy were showing.
...The Burrow, December 23rd...
In previous years Christmas at the Burrow had always been rather chaotic, and it promised to be like that this year as well, though the absence of Ron and Ginny would lessen the chaos somewhat. Percy and Penelope also would not be present, having decided to stay at Hogwarts to ensure that the former two and their friends wouldn't do something stupid.
Them not being present however would be more than made up by the fact that it would be the first time that Fleur and Margaret would join the celebrations. Thankfully, Ginny and Ron had consented by letter that they had nothing against their rooms being used for sleeping, as long as nothing was being touched.
The main celebrations would only be in two days, though the house already was filling up and preparations had already started. Fleur for her part however had in the meantime found a new form of suffering.
"Mon dieu, Bill! Why does you mother have to love that horrible noise?" Fleur asked Bill after they had stepped out of the house for a moment to escape Molly Weasley's special tastes in music.
"Sorry, but Mum and Dad had that one dance to the music of Celestina Warbeck when they were eighteen and ever since then Mum has fallen in love with her music. Dad on the other hand just doesn't want to offend her with admitting he doesn't like it at all," Bill admitted to Fleur.
Fleur grimaced. "You suffered though that noise pollution every year?"
"None of us like the music of Celestina Warbeck, but for Mum's sake we learned to turn it into a background noise we tend to ignore outright. I forgot that you had not been exposed to it yet," Bill explained why he hadn't even noticed.
"Ooohhh..." Fleur groaned. "At least that stupid feud between our mothers is over. That was such a headache."
"I honestly am glad that our fathers managed to get our mothers to see reason. Your father doesn't look like it, but he can be damn strong when he wants to be," Bill admitted, having been surprised at that side of M. Delacour.
"Papa has not been gifted with the greatest body, but that is only on the outside He is a very strong man, which is another reason Maman fell so hard for him. Though in this case it worked against her. Your father also acts meek most of the time, but like Papa he is just not showing how strong he is," Fleur told Bill.
Bill knew all too well how true that was. "Dad likes to be easy-going, but in our family the wisdom is that while it's Mum who does most of the scolding, we know we really messed up when Dad raises his voice."
Bill and Fleur were talking about how the feud between Molly Weasley and Apolline Delacour, which had ignited when it was suggested to have the wedding take place in France due to the bad security situation in the United Kingdom. Molly had taked that as a personal slight, Mme. Delacour had in turn take that the wrong way and thus the feud was on and both women were unwilling to move one inch.
The whole situation had become especially stressful for Fleur, who finally had written a letter to her father, ranting that as much as she loved her mother, and Bill loved his, both women had to get their heads out of their asses or the wedding would be a bust.
They had no idea how their fathers had come into contact, and also no idea how it was arranged on such short notice that the Delacours could travel to England, but it had happened.
No one else had been present in the Burrow for when it had happened, but from what they had managed to puzzle together, both men had sat down their wives and then given them a severe talking to about how that feud of theirs was threatening to destroy what should be one of the happiest days for their eldest children.
It had worked and now things were back on track. Molly had given in on the location of the wedding and Mme. Delacour had made concessions from her side as well. For Bill and Fleur it meant a big issue was off their minds.
-crac- They looked up when hearing the sound of apparition from beyond the security perimeter. "That must be Fred and George," Bill guessed, since the twins had announced their arrival for today.
Indeed, moments later they saw Fred and George walk up the path to the house. However, it was not only them, as they spotted Angelina walking very close next to George. George noticed them standing outside of the house. "Ah, Bill, Fleur! Eh, is Mum available?"
Fleur looked amused. "Ohh, did you invite yourself?"
Angelina didn't mind the question. "I honestly didn't want to attend the stuffy Christmas celebrations my parents attend every year and George was a real gentleman when asking me..."
"Yes, but my dear brother forgot to ask Mum ahead of time," Fred added, knowing their mother wouldn't say no, but she would let George squirm a bit first before revealing that.
"I can harbor a guess that you want to stay in a separate room then, Fred?" Bill asked, having an idea what George and Angelina could be up to.
"Better make sure that there are charms in place to stop noise. I learned the hard way that Angelina is a screamer," Fred added and said Angelina looked a bit embarrassed at the memory of Fred shouting that they forgot to soundproof their room.
Fleur meanwhile took a closer look at what the twins were wearing, her knowledge of fashion kicking in. "Mon dieu, that is really expensive, especially the dragon leather."
"Yep, but it's worth it. The Galleons are rolling in like there is no tomorrow. Though we of course would not have been able to do it without our patron, but he is very generous in leaving the lion's share of the profit to us." George then sighed. "But that means little when facing Mum, so I better get that behind me."
About fifteen minutes later and Molly really letting George squirm before agreeing to having Angelina attend as a guest - and knowing what these two would be up to, thus asking her husband to prepare the room properly - Charlie was still thinking aloud about the clothes of the twins.
"I know the skin is only harvested from dragons that died from natural causes or internal fights, but the sight nonetheless isn't something I want to see," Charlie told his wife.
"It's difficult for us because we work with living dragons." Margaret then put her hand onto her growing belly. By this point her pregnancy was quite obvious. "I for my part know that the desk job I have now is something I won't leave again for the near future."
"See it from their perspective. They don't want to risk that something happens to a pregnant woman or a mother with a baby," Charlie reasoned, knowing the dragon preserve held no wish for bad press.
"It takes away the excitement of the job but..." Margaret stopped when feeling the baby kick. "I accept that sacrifices have to be made for this. It will be so much worth it." She then looked around. "All this chaos is so much different from the stuffy and formal Christmas events my parents attended and forced me to attend with them."
Charlie knew her parents were a topic Margaret didn't like, which was no wonder considering how much they were trying to cover up their background and instead imitated the worst parts of pure-blood society. Such social climbers of course would use every opportunity to attempt to raise their social position and Margaret had suffered from that through her entire childhood.
"They have no idea what they have lost with you..." he said while leaning closer.
"Well, I got the last laugh. They wanted me to become an obedient wife to some righ pure-blood jerk who bends over on command, breeds one kid after the other and raises their clout." Margaret then snorted. "It did not happen in the way they thought it would. I did marry a pure-blood, but he's anything but traditional and comes from a clan of blood-traitors. Yes, I did get knocked up, but it's a child of love instead of duty. You saw their expression when they saw all their plan go up in flames."
"And considering their age, it's doubtful they have enough time left to try again. Knowing they've hit a dead end with their climbing since no one is there to take over, it's no wonder they looked like someone had pissed onto their graves," Charlie concluded, already knowing of his wife's woes with her parents.
"And don't expect me try cry for their problems," Margaret concluded.
Charlie then held his wife close, knowing exactly what he had with her.
...December 25th...
Due to the generally precarious security situation, it had been decided even before the start of the school year that students could not return home during Christmas. While that was a big disappointment especially for the younger students, it was reasoned that not only was each travel of the Hogwarts Express a risk, but the students also would be in more danger of becoming victim of a Death Eater attack while being at home.
A sizable number of students didn't like that decision at all, but there was little they could do and thus had to make the best of it. Thus for the first time in many, many years, the castle actually was full during the Christmas celebrations. Even during the Tri-Wizard Tournament, almost all of the younger years didn't want to stay with the Yule Ball being around and had left the castle.
Ron for his part looked at the even for Christmas unusually good selection. "Wow... You think the elves saw it as a challenge to make the best Christmas dinner possible due to all students being present this year?"
"Perhaps. Knowing them, they wanted to prove they are up to the task." Hermione could help but to feel her mouth water at the sight, which was not at all like her usually more restrained eating habits - an ingrained habit due to the profession of her parents.
"So much for moderation and self-control," Ginny said sarcastically when observing Hermione's behavior.
"The atmosphere is quite schizophrenic," Luna meanwhile observed after looking around, ignoring the food for the moment. "On one hand people want to be happy, on the other hand the reason that they all are here reminds them of the realities."
Suddenly, a sweet treat was held under her nose, distracting her immensely. "While your observation is good, we should try to enjoy this," Neville reminded her.
Luna couldn't help it, the sweet smell making her go along without any complaint.
"Well, not everyone likes the great atmosphere," Harry said, looking to the small table next to the faculty table. Draco and Pansy looked like they wanted to be somewhere else.
"If not for knowing what they did, it would be kind of wild to imagine students not wanting to attend while they are in the castle," Ron thought aloud while filling up his plate. "You think it's mandatory for them?"
"Most likely. The faculty wouldn't want them out of their sight for too long, after all," Hermione reasoned, not noticing that her plate was fuller than normal by now (Ron did notice and he was amused by it).
"Speaking of the faculty, looks like Professor Slughorn's disposition has improved considerably. It is good to see him start to regain his normal self after the low in his mood," Luna observed, looking to Slughorn at the faculty table.
"No idea what happened to him, but I heard from the lower years how for some time his lesson hadn't been nearly as much fun and interesting, as they normally are," Dean threw in, having heard of how off Slughorn had been.
Harry just nodded. "His mood has improved. We witnessed that ourselves during his party a few days ago.
Of course Harry couldn't say why Slughorn's mood had been so low. Being forced to come to terms with the error he'd made with Riddle had been heavy on his shoulders. However, he was starting to accept his responsibility, and while Slughorn openly admitted he would never be an alturistic person, he would at least try some things to atone for his moment of weakness which undoubtedly had had serious consequences.
"Did anything of interest happen at the party?" Lavender asked while looking up from her food, smelling the possibility of some gossip.
Hermione snorted. "Not exactly, unless you count a vampire - yes, he invited one - constantly complaining how much he hated the growing trend of vampire novels aimed at teenage girls in the non-magical world."
Lavender grimaced at the idea. "Honestly, which girl would even want to read a book about vampires? They are creepy." She then returned her attention to her food.
You have no idea how many people enjoy stuff that clearly is beyond the borders of good taste, Hermione thought.
"By the way, how are things at the Burrow? Is your Mum still in a cold war with Mme. Delacour?" Neville asked Ron and Ginny.
"Actually, no. Fleur's father met with Dad, and both of them managed to get their wives to meet and then made it clear that they had acted like children throwing a tantrum. We got the letter from Dad yesterday. The wedding is back on track in France, but with some concessions to Mum," Ginny explained.
"To be honest, really impressive that they managed to scold Mum," Ron remarked. "At least that saves us the drama once we are home."
Ah, home... Harry knew that his home would be unavailable once he turned seventeen due to the protective magic fading - a fact he still found unfair.
Over at the Hufflepuff table Astoria was in discussion with two girls she had befriended.
"Ooohh, and your sister is actually dating Justin? It's more than something temporary?" one girl asked, wanting to hear more.
If Astoria felt bad gossiping about her sister Daphne, she didn't show it. "You better believe it. Our parents meeting with his over the summer should have been a big hint, but those two are quite secretive with the details."
Her other friend perked up at the mention of parents. "What are his parents like? Coming from a magical family, I heard lots of weird ideas."
Astoria snorted. "Better forget those ideas, since apart from not having magic, they are like our own parents. Oh, and as a bonus to kick the legs of bigots, Justin's parents are old money and their wealth puts some of the rich pure-blood families to shame."
Ohhs and Ahhhs followed while Justin, who only sat a short distance away, blushed and wondered if that was how it felt to have an embarrassing younger sibling.
At the Ravenclaw table, Mark was seriously enjoying himself together with Marvin and Magdalena, who had decided to sit with their friend instead of adhering to House lines. Many other people after all had done so as well.
"...and my parents were a bit disappointed, but they know I'm safe here and they did sent my presents, as you saw this morning," Mark told his friends before sampling something good.
What he was not telling them was the fact, that his parents had some well-founded doubts about the security of Hogwarts due to events of previous years, but realized that keeping them at home would solve nothing.
"While the safety aspect is good, my parents were also happy for me to enjoy a good Christmas at Hogwarts. I think they want me to enjoy this day instead of being reminded of us having little money, like in previous years," Magdalena said, appearing embarrassed at the reminder that her family was struggling financially.
The financial hardships of her family were highly embarrassing for the girl, not to speak of other families in Magical Britain making fun of their fall from grace, so it had come as a great relief for the family that her going to Hogwarts would not be a financial burden due to a program to support students whose families couldn't shoulder the needed money for Hogwarts.
"Can we please not talk about money?" Marvin asked while pouring himself some juice. "Let us just enjoy this entire thing and our free time."
"He's right. Let's dig in until we are close to getting sick!" Mark said and his friends found that to be a great idea.
Children their age after all still could manage to distract themselves effectively without much effort.
Students really relaxed and felt a bit sad once it was over.
People only slowly filtered out of the great hall, many instead holding conversations, where it again was shown how the lines between the Houses had become non-existent. Harry for his part told his friends to go ahead when seeing his cousin approach. Both teenagers walked outside into one of the corridors so they could talk in peace, away from all the hustle.
"Feels kind of weird to spend Christmas here again after I got used to the idea of spending it with Mum," Dudley told Harry
"Speaking of her, how is your Mum?" Harry asked, still not having many dealings with her.
"She told me in a letter that she feels a bit lonely without me there, but I know Millicent's parents have invited her over for the holidays. She said those visits to a wizard house really gives perspective what is real and what is stuff people make up. She also know better than to think that she could just approach you after all those years," Dudley explained the situation.
Harry knew that was true. "She might be Mum's sister, but the way she acted over the years made pretty sure I won't have much contact with her."
"Take a look at both of us: two cousins talking about missed chances now that we are almost adults." Dudley's laughter was humorless. "Man, hurts a bit to think we could have grown up together in better terms, if not for adults being bitter."
"We honestly shouldn't try to go into what-if's. At least you have one advantage that no one knows you are my cousin: unlike me there is no deformed magical psychopath after you," Harry told his cousin.
"Harry, does it take long?" Ginny called.
"Yes, I've run into her and we both wonder where you are." That was Millicent.
"Looks like our girlfriends are calling," Harry said, his mood becoming noticeably brighter.
Dudley saw Harry's reaction and now gave off a true laugh. "They are both truly something, aren't they? You think we can spend some time in your common room with you before returning to our dorms?"
Harry for his part liked the idea. "Why not? Let's ask the Fat Lady first however..."
After they both had left, the door they had stood next to creaked open, revealing Draco and Pansy, who had listened in on the entire conversation. This had happened by pure accident, due to both of them having used the room to release some of the tension with some snogging but then had heard the voices from the other side of the door.
Draco looked disgusted at the revelation they had heard. "Dursley is Potter's cousin?! That mudblood?!"
"I know, Draco, really hard to imagine, but then again, Potter's mother was a mudblood as well. However, that explains quite a lot of things." As disgusted as Pansy was, she was starting to understand several things.
"All that secrecy at first and then suddenly he cozies up with them together with Bulstrode and Greengrass." Draco then was thinking and Pansy could see the cogs moving in his head. "As unpleasant as that revelation is, we can finally hit Dursley where it hurts."
"How?" Pansy wondered, not following.
"Easy, we make the whole thing public... with help of course," Draco explained to her.
Pansy looked skeptical. "How is that supposed to help? Wouldn't he just lap up all of the attention?"
Now Draco laughed. "Oh no, not at all. They took pains to keep it secret, so Dursley doesn't like the attention it would get him. Now imagine him being hounded by all the attention, many suddenly wanting to befriend him only because of that as false friends and things becoming unbearable for him."
Now Pansy understood and she had to laugh as well. Then she thought of something. "You think that will make the Dark Lord more patient with us?"
"What, if not that? I don't know if the Dark Lord knows, but if he doesn't, he'll be quite interested in this," Draco reasoned, having a feeling this would indeed make Voldemort a bit more patient with them.
to be continued...
Next Episode:
"The Half-Blood Prince"
Notes:
Here the notes.
Bet you didn't expect Wood to make a small appearance, did you? I'm also using him to show how things are going down the drain further. Sorry that you didn't see the game itself, but I realized I simply suck at writing Quidditch games (and find the experience boring).
Well... that sooner or later was bound to happen to Harry and Ginny. But if you think about it, it IS quite rude to do that in the locker room. Writing the whole scene felt to me a little like one of these teen comedies.
It's been quite a while since we last saw Sirius and Diane during their job. As you can see, even here things are now creeping in. Also, technology is marching on
Now Hermione befriending the elves of Hogwarts is paying off, showing her contribution to the cause of the Chosen Six as outlined in the prophecy. The prophecy is not just about fighting, as Ron proved when tricking Umbridge. Each of them contributes big and small to fulfill the prophecy. For now however, they are digging through the junk.
Another attempt by Draco and Pansy that was doomed from the start. Note that bellatrix wouldn't have done that without Voldemort allowing her to do so. There is more going on.
I used the scene at the Burrow to show some of the characters that are not at Hogwarts and that of course life is continuing for them as well.
Christmas at Hogwarts also is a peaceful affair. However, Harry and Dudley were not careful enough when talking and that will have consequences...