What happened next was so stunning that Arthur, Sirius, Remus, Amelia, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Susan, and Lily. all stood frozen still for a minute and a nanosecond upon seeing it.
Travers was transforming. The stunned form of Travers was clearly a fake Travers under Polyjuice Potion that was now wearing off.
Once the transformation was complete, they all saw the form of Professor Sprout.
"NO WAY!' cried Susan, "Professor Sprout would never help the Death Eaters! She must have been under the Imperius Curse and had Polyjuice Potion force fed to her to make her take on the role of Travers! "
"My records indicate that Travers is still entombed in Azkaban for the murder of Marlene McKinnon," said Amelia Matter of Factly.
Sirius and Remus shivered a bit.
"Marlene McKinnon was in our year at Hogwarts," said Remus quietly, "Her death along with the death of her entire family at the hands of the Death Eaters was one of the saddest days of the war against Voldemort."
"Neither Remus nor James nor I ever had much to do with Marlene, but she was very well liked by everybody in the Wizarding World who wasn't a bad guy, " said Sirius seriously, "Her death affected us all whether we knew her well or not."
"She was a Gryffindor, so she was a classmate of ours, " clarified Remus, "We interacted with her here and there, we just were never very close with her at all."
"Marlene's best friend at Hogwarts was her Gryffindor classmate Mary McDonald, " revealed Sirius, "Marlene and Mary were truly the M&M girls, and yes, they both loved M&Ms and could regularly be seen eating them together. Marlene and Mary got on like a house of cards on fire. As far as girl-girl friendships go, Marlene McKinnon and Mary McDonald were the Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown of their time."
"That's such a bittersweet story," recognized Lily with a hint of angst in her voice, "Such a close friendship is admirable, but what a heartbreaking and tragic ending!"
"That's all true, " said Hermione clearly, "But we need to get back on task."
"We know Dolohov is the mastermind, " piped up Harry, "Is it possible he is not particularly knowledge about Polyjuice Potion and that he thought the effects would last longer than they did?"
"Not only is that possible, but it is also likely," said Arthur bluntly, "Lack of knowledge about Potions was often a weakness in Death Eaters."
"I suggest," offered Remus, "That Amelia unstuns Sprout and lets her speak for herself."
"I agree," nodded Sirius, "That's the best way to get to the bottom of all this."
So, Amelia fed Sprout a few drops of Veritaserum and unstunned her.
A shocked looking Sprout looked around seemingly confused.
Then she saw Amelia.
"Amelia, I'm sorry," said Sprout regretfully, "Dolohov cornered me in my office this morning. It's somewhat obvious what happened. Dolohov put me under the Imperius Curse and fed me Polyjuice Potion to force me to play the role of Travers. Dolohov believes that Lord Voldemort can return to power by making a Resurrection Potion using Harry Potter's blood. He brought a team of Death Eaters here to try to capture Harry Potter and bring him to Lord Voldemort."
"He failed because he hadn't counted on others being with Harry, " explained Luna, "Hermione, Ginny, Susan, Lily, and I all helped Harry fight against these Death Eaters using Offensive Magic."
"Death Eaters can be really dumb," said Sprout observantly, "The overwhelming majority of Hogwarts students go to Hogsmeade either with a Bestie or with a group of friends. There are loners amongst the Hogwarts students who do go to Hogsmeade alone, but they are a minority."
"Apparently," smirked Lily, looking and sounding a bit on the proud side, "Sirius taught Harry, Hermione, and Ginny Offensive Magic last summer. They used Offensive Magic against the first few Death Eaters and then Susan, Luna, and I copied them as all six of us took out the last set."
"Good for all of you, " said Sprout admiringly, "But, maybe we need to incorporate Offensive Magic into Hogwarts curriculum."
"Remus has already said he's thinking of ways to do that," explained Hermione.
"I would have been at those sessions with Harry, Hermione. and Ginny had I arrived at Sirius's house a few days earlier," revealed Lily, "I went there to partake in some Ancient Runes catch up sessions. All the same, I'm glad I was able to help today."
"These sessions were invaluable," piped up Ginny, "Harry, Hermione, and I were quickly able to take control of the situation because of that training and because Susan, Luna, and Lily were properly attentive, they picked up on what we were doing and were able to help us,"
"A situation like this is exactly why I gave you that training in Offensive Magic," said Sirius seriously, "It really paid off today."
"I wonder why Dolohov went after Sprout instead of Flitwick?" wondered Harry, "Wouldn't it be more useful to take someone who is good at Charms than someone who is good at Herbology?"
"That's probably precisely why he went for Sprout instead of Flitwick, " reasoned Luna. He probably figured Sprout would be an easier target. He'd have realized that those who are highly skilled in Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts would be the most able to defend themselves and prevent Dolohov's plan from succeeding."
"You are smart and observant, Luna Lovegood," cooed Lily, "But, Professor Sprout, what kind of student of magic were you in your own Hogwarts years?"
"I was an O+++ student in Herbology, an O student in Care of Magical Creatures, and an O student in Potions. Those were my best subjects with the first two being my favorite subjects.," replied Sprout.
"It's very typical for Hufflepuffs to have Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures as their favorite subjects, " interjected Susan.
"That's always been the case," added Amelia, "Hufflepuffs are drawn to life."
"I'm not a bad witch with a wand in my hand," explained Sprout, "I was an E student in both Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts. I was a T student in Transfiguration though."
"Professor Sprout, " admitted Amelia, "I have you under Veritaserum, but I'll give the antidote now."
Amelia fed Sprout the antidote to Veritaserum and Sprout said, "What now?"
"I have been interviewing the Death Eaters involved about today's events. Dolohov was the mastermind of the whole thing, " answered Amelia, "I have two more left to interview. I'm going to take a few days next week to review and consider this incident. The public will be informed of what has happened here today in next Thursday's Daily Prophet after I have reached my full conclusions about this incident, and everyone involved in it."
"May I return to Hogwarts now, then?" requested Professor Sprout.
"Yes," agreed Amelia instantly, "You need to get yourself some rest after the ordeal you've been through today but don't go to the hospital wing. You are better off without Pomfrey's fussiness at this time and since you don't need any Potions or pills, the best thing is for you to just go lay down in your own bed."
Professor Sprout gave Amelia a grateful smile as she departed.
Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Susan, and Lily all looked shocked and overwhelmed and it was obvious to the adults why. Being chased by Death Eaters and fighting them was one thing. Knowing that one of their teachers had been kidnapped and forced to masquerade as Travers was something else entirely. It was chilling.
"Take as much time as you need to compose yourselves, " Amelia told Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Susan, and Lily in a gentle and comforting voice, "When each of you are ready to proceed, please raise your hand."
And, indeed, it took ten minutes and ten nanoseconds for all six of them to have their hands in the air.
"I think we're ready to continue," said Amelia finally.
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