Hi everyone! I know I know its been so long and im sorry but life happen! Also I'm needing some ideas on how to deal with umbridge...anyone got any suggestions? Let me know what you think of the chapter!
The first week back was going well. Harry decided as he waited outside the defence against the dark arts class. The usual stares were still there but as he'd been living with them for four years it was nothing new. The classes themselves were normal, Professor Auditore was a genius, not only at potion making but by explaining the different properties and the effects of each mixture. Flitwick has asked for this week off but had already agreed to carry on teaching Harry on the finer points of duelling as well as recommending seeking assistance from Professor Vector in how to start using his own creations. Sprout was eager to act as though the previous year had never occurred – something which had infuriated Neville – and the other teachers simply treated him like they always had. Dumbledore had been rather quiet since he'd returned, he had a feeling that the wizard simply didn't know how to approach him. The same could be said for McGonagall who had started to treat him like a normal student again as well as actually acting like a head of house once more.
Flashback
Harry had just started to put away his belongings when a voice echoed through the dormitory.
"Attention all students, will you please make your way back to the common room please for the first meeting of Gryffindor."
With a glance of surprise to Neville the two allowed the others boys to go first before making their way downstairs. The common room was as full as it had ever been, he could see Hermione's confusion as she stared at the head of house from her position in-front of the fire where she had been giving a speech to the first years. Professor McGonagall was waiting patiently by the portrait hole, examining all her students with a careful gaze.
"Thank you, I know that you are all eager to get you things away and settle in so I shall try to make this quick. This is Gryffindor, each and every one of you are you unique and different and yet you all belong here. I am Professor McGonagall and am your head of house, I take that responsibility very seriously though over the last few years I have let it slip and have not been as diligent in my care as you should be." Here she took a breath as though readying herself for battle before speaking clearly and firmly with no mistake in her voice. "Your house is meant to be a second family. The people around you, your peers are meant to look after you and support you in any way they can. I am posting a new list of the rules of this house tonight, please ensure you have read through them. I have also decided to bring back House meetings, a tradition that I forgot about. Once a month I shall come here and we can discuss any issues or behaviour that is causing you concern, in addition to this I am moving my office to next door." This caused one or two groans before a stern eye quailed them. "I shall make sure the tower is sound proofed, do not be concerned but I shall place a ward that will alert me if there is strong hostility. My office will be open every day between 5-7 and if you need me at any other time. In the meantime your prefects are here to hear any concerns you may face and only if they think it necessary will they bring an issue to me. No issue is too small; if you have a problem with homework; homesickness, another student, a teacher, or you keep getting lost. I will help. Do you understand?"
A general murmur ran through the group with the older looking at each other with some level of trepidation.
"Good, now I shall take your leave. Please read the guidance's I have set out as well as these, which have a map of Hogwarts as well as some additional information muggle-borns may find helpful..." She said waving a few around before putting them on the table to her side "…and have a good first month." And with a glance to Harry and Neville the head left.
Flashback end
The guidance's were like ones that his primary school had had. Respecting people and no calling names or hurting others etc, the pamphlets were better with an introduction to each course as well as the different teachers available and the main points like the great hall, infirmary and staff room highlighted on the map.
Harry and Sirius had been talking every night and he was exchanging letters with Remus at a fast pace too, the man being kept busy with preparing for the new arrivals. While he had been keeping up to date with Griphook with his investments and properties and Sirius was ensuring he had all information that went on with the wizengamot; everyone seemed to be constantly reminding him that he was still only 15 years old and he needed to have time to himself and to be a teenager. The Unspeakable's hadn't sent any message, yet which meant their hunt was simply going as well as it could be and although he felt lighter without the horcrux and could control his temper better, he still felt at ease with himself.
The lessons themselves were no longer challenging and all the extra studying he'd done last year and over the summer had kept him ahead of his peers. It had been something he, Sirius and Remus had discussed, and he hadn't been too sure but now he could readily admit that he was surpassing most of them. However, this turned out to be a good and bad thing, bad because he found his attention wandering and that he already knew the spells or came to know it and the theory very quickly. But good as it gave him time to practise the lower-level spells. Once the horcrux had been removed, he had struggled to have control of his magic once more. The Unspeakables had described it as he had been pulling on his magic while Riddle had been leaching it from him like tug of war, not riddle's end had been cut and Harry was falling back from the weight of power that was now in his grasp. They'd only realised it when he'd done a simply levitating charm to help Coodly clean the kitchen and the plate he'd lifted had shot straight into the ceiling…Sirius had found that hilarious until Harry had accidently overpowered the tickling charm and he hadn't managed to cancel it for three hours…Remus had found that one hilarious.
As a result he'd been reverted back to first and second year spells to try and gain some level of control, he was about halfway through the basic ones and so far - with the combined effort of his friends – had managed to hide it from the teachers that he hadn't actually done any spells in the lessons.
Raised voices grabbed his attention and he turned to see Theo and Tracey in a full-on squabble…clearly their study session had gone as well as it always had.
"…that's because you never listen to me! Harry will, there he is. Harry! Harry back me up here!" The redhead demanded as they drew closer.
"Backing you up." Harry said hurriedly as the redhead shook a hand in his face.
"Ha see there you go." She exclaimed triumphantly.
"He doesn't even know what he's backing you up on! You just scared him." Theo said with a sigh.
"I didn't scare him, he has good intuition that's all."
"Okay before this develops anymore, what is actually going on?"
"Well Theo here thinks that the bay leaves in curries is pointless which of course is ridunculous and –"
"Sorry Trace, did you just say ridunculous?"
"Yep, problem?"
"Nope no not at all."
"Good. As I was saying the bay leaves are an essential aspect in all curries and without them, the smell and flavour would be incomplete. Theo, on the other hand thinks that they're totally dull and unnecessary and not only that but they offer nothing to the delicate structure of the curry, rather like adding water to the pepper up I mean honestly two drops what the hell."
"That's totally different and you know it, that's to do with the properties and power of a potion and the ingredients can do serious damage when not taken into due consideration. Bay leaves just make your mouth taste funny."
"You do know you're not actually supposed to eat them, right?" Harry checked and received a withering glare in return.
"My point is that just because a muggle recipe calls for a certain ingredient doesn't mean its necessary. A magical recipe however calls for precise measurements that cause a reaction with the other ingredients, a bay leaf does not accomplish this!"
"Haryy, who are you going with here?" Tracey demanded.
Thankfully Harry was spared from answering as Neville came up to them, uniform spic and span despite the fact he'd been in the greenhouses.
"Is anyone actually feeling confident about the Pink Lady." He asked.
"Nada, Dumbledore must have lost out." Theo noted.
"Meaning?" Tracey said with a 'carry on' hand gesture.
"The ministry are allowed to appoint staff in Hogwarts only if the Headmaster can't and there is no way Dumbledore would hire a person like this with such strict and outrageous views. It's only happened twice in the last 500 years that no one has been found and a temporary professor has been placed."
"I never knew that." Harry said in surprise.
"Well you learn something new every day." Neville replied, slinging an arm around his friend's shoulders.
Five minutes later Harry glance around, the crowd had grown to include most of the Gryffindors and the Slytherins but one was still missing. Daphne hadn't arrived which was most unusual, he caught eyes with Ron who actually turned red but turned away quickly before the door to the room swung open and the same soft, slippery, silky voice from the Welcome Feast came sliding through.
"Come in everybody, come in, come in, come in. How are we all? Ready for a fun day of learning? Welcome class and good afternoon!"
There was a general murmur as everyone found a seat and watched the short, squat women who stood at the front of the class looking unbearably smug as she stood of the slightly raised platform to allow herself a few extra inches of height over everyone. She was wearing a light pink cardigan and skirt combination with her hair curled up in what Aunt Petunia would have considered stylish, with a pink bow sitting perfectly in the middle. Her hands were folded in front of her with her fingers linked loosely together and covered in thick, gold rings and Harry was quickly reminded of Sirius's lectures on clothing and posture in the wizarding world.
"I said good afternoon class!"
"Good Afternoon." They all repeated back.
"Better. Now this is Defence Against the Dark Arts and as your learning has been disrupted through your inconsistent curriculum, I believe that your learning is below what you should be on for your O.W.L's." Here she paused and began to walk through the rows of students. "Due to this it is the Ministry's decision to ensure that you are all prepared and on the same level, therefor in this course we are going to be examining defensive magic and the practical situations that allows you to use it. Please get out your copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard and put away your wands, please." There was a general rustle as bags were opened and books pulled out. Neville and Harry exchanged pained looks as they retrieved their own.
They'd gone to Diagon Alley only three days before in the hope that the initial school buying would have died down. Luckily it had and they (plus Theo) had only had to put up with a few looks and pointed fingers as they'd gotten their new school books. It had been after when they settled in the Leaky Cauldron for some of Tom's delicious roast beef with all the trimming's they'd paused their conversation and skimmed their textbooks. Harry had dived into the defence eagerly only to be utterly baffled and bored before he'd made it past the first page. Remus had ranted about it for about half an hour before Sirius had burst a water balloon above his head and a prank war had risen.
"As you can see this is a comprehensive guide to understanding defensive mafic and I believe we will all benefit from its contents, okay. Now begin on the first chapter and let's see how much we can get through today and please do take as many notes as you wish." She said sweetly with a sugary smile on her face as she mode back to the chair and sat down, eyeing the class carefully.
Daphne still hadn't arrived and even though he knew it was silly, there was the faint stirrings of worry starting to rise in his gut.
Ten minutes later and Harry was sure that most of the class was asleep or at least distracted by other things. He could just see Lavender and Pavarti's heads bent together and even Hermione looked like she was struggling as she read with her brow furrowed. Professor Umbridge was still seated at her desk with her own book of some kind and a long dusky pink quill. The atmosphere was dead, the warmth of the sun coming through making sleepiness even more likely. The only one who wasn't reading or attempting to read and in fact had single minded focus was Tracey; the normally scatty girl was staring straight ahead at Madam Umbridge with her hand raised unwavering in the air.
Harry looked across to Theo who was looking at the bubbly girl with confusion written all over his face before he turned to Harry and shrugged.
"Ahem…excuse me Madam Umbridge."
Half the class immediately startled awake.
"Yes dear, who might you be? You are supposed to only be reading, do you have a question about the material?"
"Yes ma'am and my name is Tracey Davis. I notice that this book, although explains the theory excellently it doesn't speak of the practical application? Will we be learning the defensive magic?"
"What an odd question. Do you not know that when you study the theory enough, it comes through in practical use very easily."
"So we won't be using magic in this class." Clarified Tracey.
"You will be using theoretical knowledge, that will be enough."
"But what about for our exams?" Asked Hermione.
"And you are?"
"Hermione Granger ma'am."
"Well Miss Granger if you study sufficiently then you will pass your exam with flying colours."
"But what about the practical part though? If we don't get taught the movements correctly then we won't be able to complete the spell adequately."
"As I said Miss Granger, if you study the theory properly then your exams will be no trouble."
From the look on Hermione's face, it wouldn't be 'no trouble' at all.
"Madam Umbridge, Theodore Nott. Will we be completing any practical magic in this course?" Asked the Slytherin with a raised eyebrow.
"I believe we have already covered that Mr Nott and the answer is no, we will be completing the theory to ensure you are all on the same level and have the necessary knowledge."
Theo opened his mouth to continue before obviously thinking better and returning back to his book.
Harry grinned inwardly knowing how much it would cost his friend to keep his mouth shut but that he did it to not draw too much attention to himself, meanwhile the Gryffindors felt no such compulsion.
"Wait…we're not using any magic?" Seamus demanded.
"And you are?"
"Seamus Finnegan."
"Well Mr Finnegan and to all the rest of you I believe we have already gone over this question several times. No we will not be."
"But why not?"
"There is no need for it, do you expect to be attacked anytime soon?"
"The Death Eaters have already proved they can escape Azkaban, whose to say they can't do it again." Lavender entered the conversation with a toss of her head.
"The security around Azkaban is formidable and Madam Bones is ensuring that justice is carried out perfectly. The Minister had made sure to address this issue many times."
"And what about the rumour that You Know Who is back? How will we be able to protect ourselves?" Ron piped up, immediately there was quiet. Anyone who hadn't already been paying attention was now firmly fixed on the conversation.
"That is simply a rumour and anyone who says otherwise only wishes to be dramatic and have the attention on them!" Came the shrill reply and everyone quickly quietened, most people turned to see Harry's reaction but unfortunately for them he had his eyes firmly fixed on the page in front of him having quickly slammed his shields in place as people began speaking plus Daphne still wasn't here!
"Isn't that right Mr Potter?"
His name being spoken brought him out of his thoughts and he raised his head to see the majority of the class's eyes on him as well as the pink toad looking at him.
"Parden me, ma'am? I was reading this delightful paragraph about how defensive and offensive magic mixes, what did you require of me?"
"Your classmate made an observation about the rumour of You-Know-Who's return and I discounted it as a viscous lie, wouldn't you agree?"
Harry blinked and looked around carefully at the eager and expectant faces. His eyes returned to Madam Umbridge and he smiled.
"Oh if you say so ma'am."
And with that he returned to his book. On his right he could see Tracey's shoulders shuddering with the effort to keep her giggles in.
"Wait what about all that happened last year?" Piped up Ron again and Harry realised that the red head obviously couldn't see the crash that was about to happen. Again, he remined silent.
"Ahem." Came Madam Umbridge's voice from right above Harry's head. He ignored it and turned the page, frowning a bit as though he'd come across something particularly hard.
"Ahem!" It came again and louder and this time he glanced up.
"Oh I apologise Professor Umbridge, may I offer you a cough drop?"
The table on his right was now trembling as Tracey leant her head ad arms on it.
"I believe your classmate simply asked a question that only you can answer." Madam Umbridge replied sweetly but with a withering glare that was focussed on him.
"Can't he ask that question in his personal time? I'm really fascinated by Slinkhard's writing and Mr Weasley is preventing my learning."
Tracey lost it and let out a loud snort and chocked laughter before pointing at her throat and saying with tears in her eyes.
"Sorry…tickle." She said with gasping breaths. Madam Umbridge ignored her completely and focussed all her attention on Harry, the glare that she was giving could have frozen flesh off a man's bones, but even she couldn't go around that.
"You are quite correct, Mr Potter. This is a place of education and any personal questions can remain until the end, children return to your books."
And in a whirl of pink and flowery scented perfume that tried to choke the life out of Neville, the professor returned to her seat.
Meanwhile more than 300 miles away in the elegant London home of Sir Reginald Foxton and his wife Margery -who were now lying dead in their bedroom – stood Tom Marvolo Riddle. He was standing in the rather plush sitting area of the townhouse and decided he felt quite at home. The décor was dark and dismal, pictures of hunting scenes and an array of weaponry decorated the walls. The sofas were a fine dark suede and the hard wood floor had a thick, black rug on it.
Lord Selwyn stood by the entrance to the room, head down, hands by his side. The perfect picture of submission before his lord and master.
"You have done well, Selwyn. This will be the perfect place to conduct my business. Was is expected form the muggles?"
"My Lord, I ensured that before their deaths they informed their children of their intentions to take a trip. In a few days they will indicate their pleasure at being aboard a yacht alas next week they will have run into some trouble in the pacific and most unfortunately drown."
The Dark Lord took note with some satisfaction that he refused to show to his servant. His following was severely lacking, most of his top circle were in Azkaban and the gold flow was low after the DMLE had ensured that the families who had been affected by Death Eaters had received compensation. He walked over to the window and looked over the clean cut garden with its colourful flowers. First he needed more followers and gold, Selwyn was competent and not as ambitious as Malfoy, he would be able to come up with a plan that was both subtle and effective. What to do about Potter though… He mused, the boy was more of a menace during the tournament than was necessary. Crouch would need to be punished when they got him out for allowing the boy to train so hard. Having Black around him was also an annoyance, the Black family was notorious for its strong protections around its heirs and masters. Bella would have an idea of how to break them.
Yes. He decided. Something would need to happen to Black…and soon.
He stretched a handout briefly before remembering that she was still in custody, his eyes narrowed even more. Being without his familiar was difficult, she provided the extra safety net that he needed especially when he still wasn't quite at full capacity. He would need to talk to Severus about that. A twinge of anger zipped through him and he huffed in frustration as he remembered the Potions Master reappearance in his life.
Flashback
"Pettigrew, I need substance."
"Yes Master."
It had been a few minutes later when they had both felt tingles in their left arms.
"My my, it seems not all of my brood have abandoned me. Go and admit my most loyal."
Within moments the dark haired man was in the room and instantly bowing before the form of the sickly looking child.
"My Lord."
"Ahh Severus, my most excellent follower. It pleases me that you attend to my side, tell me how things are at Hogwarts?"
"The Headmaster still bumbles around looking for answers, he is also trying to keep a close eye on Potter but the brat seems to have lost the usual puppy dog look that he usually looks at Dumbledore with. He has also lost the company of the mudblood and the Weasley boy and rarely is seen in class."
"And why are you not there now?" The softly spoken rebuke had the Potion Master tense just slightly.
"Master, I have failed in my mission and I have been removed from the school."
Immediately a flash of red erupted over the man and he curled onto the floor, spasming and screaming in agony as lightening raced up his nerves and burst through his organs. Allowing the cruciatus to remain on his servant a few more seconds he let it tail off as the man gasped out and lay curled up.
"That upsets me greatly, Severus."
"Forgive me, my Lord. Forgive me." He whimpered as he crawled and kissed the hem of the robes.
The Dark Lord was quiet before nodding slowly and motioning to Pettigrew who immediately came near after patiently waiting by the edge of the room and watching the spectacle.
"Pettigrew, I want you to find a way to get a message to our spy and ensure he understands we want regular updates on Potter and Dumbledore. Severus you will ensure the Pettigrew has done the potion correctly. I will give you another assignment soon."
"Yes my lord, thank you." Severus responded, bowing low before bending unnaturally as the curse hit him again.
Flashback ended
Perhaps he could reward Severus by giving him the task of torturing Black. Perhaps not, the man was almost obsessive with the ex-convict, but he could certainly attend to the business at Gringotts and deal with Bones. The incompetent Minister was actually allowing the Head of DMLE to do some good.
"Madam Bones has a niece at Hogwarts, doesn't she?"
"Yes, My lord. Susan, 15 years old. The heir."
"And the buffoon who runs the Quibbler?"
"Xeno Lovegood. He lost his wife four years ago and has a daughter Luna who si thirteen and at Hogwarts."
"Leave me Selwyn, I must think."
"Yes, my lord." With a hiss of fabric as the man bowed, the being formally known as Tom Riddle sunk onto the highbacked chair and considered his new reign of terror and the plans that would encourage it along.