Chapter 8: Trouble, Dark Lords and Sorting.
Disclaimer: See chapter 1.
Author's notes: I wish to credit J. K. Rowling with a few of the lines which are brief, fair use, direct and modified passages and quotes from 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone' in this chapter. I'd also like to apologize for how long this has taken to come out but I hope you enjoy it. As always, feedback is appreciated. Updated to fix a spelling mistake thanks to a review on FFN.
August 15th, 1991
A roar of fury and sadness burst out of Ragnock as he looked at the dead and burnt body of Bogrod. His hands shook as he gently closed the eyes of one of his colleagues. Explaining about Bogrod's death to his family would be a difficult job, and he was not looking forward to it. Gellert was nursing some burns and wounds of his own, and threw gasps of pain, he said, "my condolences."
Doge would pay. There was no doubt about that at all!
Flashback:
Half an hour earlier.
The warded room filled with letters was overflowing. There was hardly room for anyone to stand, let alone store anything. With one sweep of his wand, Gellert organized everything into piles: letters in one pile, and objects in the other. The only reason no one said anything about it was because he had been given permission by the Director to freely use his wand in front of the goblins. Had it been any other wizard whom had not gotten permission to draw their wand, they would be facing a death sentence, as any drawing of a wand or weapon by a wizard within the walls of Gringotts without the permission of a goblin (or goblins) is heavily frowned upon and considered as a threat toward them.
The articles had caused quite an uproar in the wizarding and mundane community. Many people were after no name's blood for leaving a fifteen-month-old baby in the care of atrocious child abusers. However, not everyone was on the young boy's side. Like the blood purists, those who didn't want change, and criminals and other child abusers who were worse than, and less than one Vernon Dursley and Petunia Dursley were on No name's side.
Young Harry Potter had been exposed to a lot. The facts were undeniable. It hurt the goblins, Moody, Lupin, Sirius and Grindelwald to see Harry, his cousin and his friends grow up too fast, so a few goblins, including Gellert, had taken it upon themselves to do their utmost best to shield the children from horrors that they, quite frankly, did not need in their life thus far. A very powerful and complex charm had been set up in Gringotts bank. All mail, gifts, and curses sent from people got delivered in a warded room deep underground. Many people had sent their blessings, good wishes, and many presents and things to Harry. Gellert had been sending them to another room.
It had been after ten minutes of being in the room when it happened. Ragnock had opened a howler which began shouting, "HARRY JAMES POTTER! HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT ALBUS DUMBLEDORE LIKE THIS? ESPECIALLY AFTER EVERYTHING HE HAS DONE FOR YOU? HOW DARE YOU MAKE FALSE ACCUSATIONS ABOUT SUCH A BRILLIANT MAN? ALBUS SHOULD HAVE KILLED YOU AND BURIED YOU ALONGSIDE YOUR WORTHLESS PARENTS. IT IS ALL YOUR FAULT! STUPID BRAT WHO FUCKING LIVED! ALBUS WAS TOO KIND TO LET YOU LIVE. I WILL DO WHAT ALBUS SHOULD HAVE DONE. I WILL KILL YOU, YOUR BRATTY FRIENDS, THOSE FILTHY GOBLINS, THAT CONNER WINTERS AND THAT BITCH SKEETER. AS OF NOW, I WILL BE WITHDRAWING ALL MY MONEY FROM GRINGOTTS. FUCK YOU, GOBLINS FOR RUINING ALBUS. FUCK YOU, POTTER FOR EXISTING. THE WORLD WOULD HAVE BEEN A MUCH BETTER PLACE WITHOUT YOU IN IT. FUCK YOU, WINTERS FOR RESCUING THE BRAT FROM HIS AUNT AND UNCLE, FUCK YOU, LONGBOTTOM, GRANGER AND DURSLEY FOR STANDING WITH THE BRAT. YOU COULD HAVE HAD GOOD LIVES UNDER ALBUS' LEADERSHIP. AND BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU WORTHLESS HUMANS AND CREATURES HAVE DONE; I WILL PERSONALLY TAKE AWAY SOMETHING THAT YOU LOVE. GRANGER AND LONGBOTTOM, YOUR PARENTS AND GRAN WILL DIE FIRST, AND THEN I WILL COME AND WIPE OUT GRINGOTTS AND EVERYONE IN IT!"
As the howler concluded its speech, the letter did not burst into flames. Instead, it blew out a very familiar fire. A fire which was very hard to control.
"Fuck!" said one of the goblins, raising his hands, magic pooling in his palms.
Unfortunately for director Ragnock, the fiend fire was inches from incinerating him completely, and there was nothing he could do in time to prevent what was about to happen next.
"No!" Yelled Bogrod, as he stepped in front of the director, taking the brunt of the fire.
Ragnock looked on in horror as the fire burnt his colleague and friend. There was no doubt in his mind as well as everyone else in the room, that Doge would die in the worst, most horrible way possible for killing one of their own.
Honor was a huge part of Goblin culture; therefore, he would be honored highly for his act of bravery today throughout the Goblin Nation as well as being in the history for future generations to come. The bravery of Bogrod for sacrificing his life without a second thought for his director would always be remembered by the goblin nation and most importantly of all, his friends and family. Goblin children would look up to him. Those who would hesitate to choose between what is right and what is easy would remember the courage shown by Bogrod and make the right choice.
The funeral service for Bogrod was held a few days later, in which everyone wept in sadness, reminisced on all the good memories which they had with Bogrod, and buried him next to all the deceased members of his family.
September 1st, 1991
Kings Cross station
10:30 AM.
"Packed full with muggles of course!"
Harry, Neville, Dudley and Hermione quickly looked around, their eyes landing on Molly no name. The quartet started to tense. Their faces were blank, but it was evident that they were angry.
Flashback: August 31st, 1991
Ragnock's house
8:30 PM.
"Father, can I please have a w-word with y-you in p-private?" A trembling and scared Harry asked. Ragnock scowled. He did not approve of fear and stuttering, even though he understood perfectly that it was one of the traits that every animal on this earth including goblins and humans possessed.
"Yes. Let's go to my study, Harry. And what have I told you about stuttering! I do not approve of it! If you want to say something, then just say it!"
"Sorry, Dad," a sad looking Harry with his face down-cast replied as he stared at the floor.
"Look at me, son," Ragnock said in a gentle, comforting tone as he raised Harry's chin with one finger so they were both eye to eye. "I'm not mad at you, Harry. I was just reminding you. In fact, that stuttering can also be seen as a weakness by our enemies as well. Now what's up? What did you want—" but Ragnock never got to finish, because in his study, the tracker had just started beeping.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster's office
Albus No Name looked slightly apprehensive as Molly sat in a chair opposite him.
"Is everything in place, Albus?" Molly asked, looking slightly frightened.
"Very much so. I assure you that you will have no difficulty with what is to happen. Proceed with the plan, and everything shall be fine," Albus said, smiling confidently. The charm that I have put on you will ensure that only the boy and those who are travelling with him will be able to see you. However, the charm will break once your wand leaves you. Keep your wand with you at all times. I have spent a lot of time performing this spell. It has been linked to your wand and the very last of his blood that I could find. Do not fail me, Molly, otherwise the consequences will be very dire. Everything depends on you. This is the only chance we have to catch the boy unawares. Unfortunately, I will not be able to be there, but I may keep in touch from time to time to see how you're going."
"Ah yes, of course. And don't you worry your head, Albus. Here drink this. You must sleep now. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.
Albus began drinking the potion which Molly gave to him, and fell into a dreamless, deep sleep.
The tracker stopped and went dark again, and Harry's heart rate picked up and his face went white with fear as he tried to piece together what the conversation between the 2 people was about and the startling conclusions, he was coming to were not helping things at all.
"Harry James Scar Rock Potter! You will calm down right now and listen to what I've got to say!" Ragnock's voice boomed.
The director's voice brought Harry out of shock and to full attention. Ragnock took a few deep breaths and took a seat opposite Harry.
"First things first: what you need to tell me, that can wait. I have far more pressing matters to discuss with you, and what you and I have just seen is a big part of what the discussion will be about."
"But father—"
"Do not interrupt me, Harry. I am very pressed for time because I have other business that I have to tend to and I also need to get you prepared for what is to come. I know that I have not acted like this ever and have always given you time and my full attention, as well as listening to what you have to say. But time, son, is something we do not have a lot of.
I have heard of this spell that Dumbledore is using. It is a very dark spell, one of the darkest and evilest curses their can be. Us goblins don't speak of such things, but because he is planning to use it on you, I have no choice but to tell you everything that I know about it. I am unfortunately aware that it will be too much for you, and a better time for this information to be told to you will be when you are nearly reaching adulthood. But 'desperate times call for desperate measures' and I think that you will be better off knowing now rather than later."
Harry leaned forward in interest to learn what the spell was about.
"This spell, Harry, is something that even dark lords have hesitated to use, and in the wizarding world's history, this spell has only been used twice. Those who did use it... well... let's just say that their lives came to a very sticky end and the consequences for them were very dire. What you need to understand is that Blood, in the wrong people's hands, can be very dangerous. Rituals, both light and dark, can be performed with it. A couple of examples would be these: if a person was very close to death, there are rituals that if another's blood is willingly given, the blood-deprived person who is on the brink of death could be saved.
You and I both know that lord Voldemort is not dead. He is alive, currently a wraith, a parasite, a leach, possessing animals and biting his time, waiting for one of his followers to come across him and raise him to full power again.
Blood, Harry, is something that can do that. I am only telling you about this ritual right now because it is imperative that you understand. Blood magic, my boy, is something which I should have taught you and your friends about when you were younger. But because of all the other training given to you at the time, I thought it wise to not have taught you such things. But now I realize my mistake and do apologize for thrusting all of this information on you at once.
Back to the rituals: if Voldemort's faithful servant were to acquire your blood, then he or she could bring back Voldemort to full strength. There are three ingredients: bone of the father unknowingly given, flesh of the servant willingly given, and blood of the enemy forcibly taken.
You know about No Name's tracker. But what you don't know is that his blood is a very big part of it. If we did not have his blood, then tracking him, getting a glimpse into his thought processes and emotions would be extremely difficult.
There are many blood oaths as well, which, if broken, can have disastrous effects. Are you following me so far?"
"Yes," Harry said looking wide-eyed and scared.
"Good. Now the main thing that may happen tomorrow: this evil curse requires a person's blood, hair and skin. If administered to someone else, it could change their appearance to that of the person, you, in this case. Because we have messed things up for the old coot big time, he plans to, if I am guessing correctly, get Molly to track you down, sneakily take some of your hair, put it in the potion, cast the spell, and give it to young Ronald Weasley to drink. Once done, Ronald would become you forever. Nothing can reverse that. By providing false evidence, Ronald will make things right for them and make you, Harry, to be a fake who is just out there to get attention. Because some people have not believed the articles, they would have no trouble believing him at all. Which would gradually increase to everyone. If I am right, then you have to be very vigilant tomorrow, as well as your friends. I, along with a few more goblins, will also be there. We will give an anonymous tip to the police as well. If you are careful and do exactly as I say, everything should be fine. There is, however, a possibility of my plan either failing or not everything going according to how we planned it."
Ten minutes later.
"I knew you would understand why this has to be done in a certain way. Neville, Hermione, Dudley and Gellert have also heard the plan. Your job is to practice everything I have told you with your friends."
Feeling marginally relaxed because his father's plan was a good one, Harry went to the dueling room with his friends and cousin to prepare for the big day ahead.
End Flashback.
Coming out of their thoughts, focusing on the problem at hand, Harry and his group continued towards platform nine and ¾ as if nothing was wrong.
Suddenly, Molly came towards them and Harry took a deep breath. What he was about to do was not part of the plan, but he hoped that it would still throw a wrench into No Name's plan.
She walked in their direction muttering to herself.
"Always busy at this time of year, packed with muggles of course. Don't know how we can go through platform nine and ¾ without being seen."
Harry noticed that the words, "Muggle," and, "nine and ¾" were said louder than the rest and he caught up to her original plan. Well, if the woman thought that he was just going to waltz up to her like a fool and ask her about the platform, then she definitely had another thing coming. Thoughts like this filled Harry's brain and he completely forgot the lesson that he had been taught when he was younger.
Flashback:
November 1990.
Ragnock's house.
The dueling chamber.
"And begin!" Ragnock shouted as he charmed a few targets looking like death-eaters towards the quartet who used magic, and in Dudley's case, a gun to obliterate them completely.
Five. Ten. Fifteen! Target after target fell by Harry's hand and his brain lead him in a different direction entirely.
Easy! Too damn easy! Did Ragnock really think that this would be a challenge? They're nothing! I can easily storm into a Death Eaters' manor, take on a few of them at once and get rid of them in a few strikes!
Because of overconfidence and ego clouding his mind, he forgot to think and started taunting them.
"Come on then you little shits. That all you got? Surely you can do better than that!" He struck, breaking one of the arms of the hooded and masked dummies.
Suddenly, a dummy of Voldemort appeared in front of him, Ruby Red eyes glowing right in front of Harry.
A scream of fury was the only thing that Harry made before striking.
"You fucking killed my parents!"
Strike.
"I will hang your head on the door outside of Gringotts!"
He hit Voldemort, breaking bones and his nose before overconfidence and ego overtook him again and he started taunting Voldemort.
"Come on over here. Poor you, Tom. You are being bested by a boy!" He broke into laughter. That, however, was his mistake. Voldemort struck once, twice, thrice, and Harry fell to the ground, sobbing in pain.
Ragnock, who was watching everything from a distance, banished the Voldemort target into a cupboard before healing Harry.
"Too much ego and overconfidence would be your downfall in the most important things," he had said. "Harry, you need to understand—you as well, Hermione, Dudley and Neville. When you are dealing with an enemy, then strong emotions such as anger, sadness, overconfidence, inflated ego and a few more things can, if overdone, be your biggest weaknesses which your enemy can then use to their advantage. When dealing with an adversary, keep up your occlumency barriers and stay calm. That is the only thing that can most likely save you."
End flashback.
Harry just stood there laughing and carrying on towards the barrier between platform nine and ¾, and so did not notice the woman come up behind him and lay a hand on his shoulder.
"Hello, dear," Molly said, "First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new too!"
Looking past her, Harry noticed Ronald Weasley standing just behind her.
"Hogwarts?" I'm sorry, but I do not know what you are talking about."
"Oh, nonsense dear. I'm a witch as well, so you have nothing to fear. Now come with me. I'll take you to the platform."
As he knew she would, Molly started dragging him towards the portal, taking a deep breath he shouted at the top of his voice, "Help me, someone help me, this woman is trying to take me away!"
Mundanes may not be able to apparate but they move pretty fast when a child is in danger; Kings Cross was still a very busy station and people pounced on Molly from every direction.
Ron punched Harry in the face, and he swung back his fist but was stopped by the boy.
"Try that again, fool, and I will ask Director Ragnock to have you beheaded for assault of a Goblin minor. Trust me, some of them are much, much older than I am, and the Goblin council will be only too happy to grant his possible request after they find out," Harry whispered with a look that promised death.
"There!" It's him! Harry Potter! The abused boy!" A muggle woman was shouting at the top of her voice which attracted the police towards him like honey would to bees. They pulled Ron off him and crowded around him, forming a protective barrier which blocked anyone from coming any closer.
"Are you alright, son?" Asked a man.
"Yes," Harry replied looking relieved.
"Thank you, sir. My name is Harry Potter and—"
The man interrupted him, waving his introduction away.
"Young Potter, unfortunately I know exactly who you are." He lowered his voice and leaned in close.
"You've been giving old dark lord Albus a hard time, haven't you, young man? What with all the stuff about lord Voldemort, memories of abuse, memories of the old man's misdeeds and so much more. The daily profit had a field day with this. Not to mention our papers as well, I bet it was someone from Gringotts sending them the information. Those who the blood-purists deem inferior are actually turning the tables and setting up things for their eventual downfall. Especially you, Harry Potter. Well, who could have thought… If anyone had ever told me that this would be happening, I would probably say that they're barking mad. Don't you worry. We will handle this."
Just then, a woman who looked similar to the man came up behind him.
"What's the trouble this time, Mat," she said, glancing over in Harry's direction.
He whispered something to her which (judging from the expressions that flitted across her face) Harry had a good idea as to what, or specifically who he was whispering about.
The policeman then straightened up, stepped a few steps away from Harry, after which, he introduced himself and his sister to the group.
"I am sergeant Matthew Simpson, and this," he pointed to the woman, "is my sister Chloe. Are all of you children alright?"
"Yes," chorused Hermione, Neville, Dudley and Harry.
"Well, that is good then. Do you have anyone who you travelled with?"
Just then, Ragnock appeared at Harry's side.
"I am responsible for the children," he said.
"Okay," said Matthew. Do you want to press charges against this woman for attempted kidnapping?"
Harry was momentarily shocked. Could this Matthew Simpson person be a wizard? A squib? Or related to someone magical? He had mentioned things like the daily Profit, and he had a look in his eye that suggested he knew a lot more about what was happening. Harry had a quick conversation with his group and spoke.
"Yes sir, I think I might just do that."
"Very well. We shall organize a time for you to come down to the police station and give us a few statements. If needed, you may be asked to testify at Molly's trial."
Molly screamed at the man, "You can't do this to me! My name is Molly and I am an upstanding citizen of this country!"
"I can and will! Let it be noted that this is a Merlin Yellow case."
At those words, lord Potter and his group grinned evilly. Everyone else was left wondering what was going on and continued to watch everything unfold.
Chloe took a breath and continued right from where her brother had left off.
"Let it also be known that we are adding the charge of releasing classified information as well."
Chloe then went over to her, halted the officers for a brief moment and whispered in her ear.
"I swear, Molly no name, you have no sympathy from me at all. I know exactly who and what you are, and don't think dark lord Albus will get you out of this either, because I will make sure of that. Quite frankly, I was more than disgusted, in fact, I don't think there are adequate words to describe how I felt when I read those stories in the profit. May God have mercy on your soul."
After her little speech, the team of officers, except Matthew and Chloe, dragged the kicking and screaming woman away in handcuffs for questioning.
"Potter!"
Yelling, his hands balling into fists, rushing towards Harry came Ronald Bilious Weasley, fully intending to kill the boy in front of him for getting his mother arrested.
Dudley came in front of Harry and tackled Ron to the floor where they both started hitting each other.
A couple of policemen pulled them apart, grabbed both boys, and put them both on their feet.
Before anything else could be done, Dudley shouted at the top of his voice. "If you hurt my cousin again, then you will pay!"
Many passers-by were witnessing everything and also jumped forward. Ron was roughly dragged away from the policeman who was holding him and was subjected to a beating up which many people gladly did. There were also mutterings of killing him as well before the police had called for reinforcement. Explaining the situation to the incoming police as best as they could, all the policemen, after about five minutes or so, were able to restore order by splitting everyone apart and away from Ron.
"There shall be no killing just yet," said a woman in a clear and loud voice. "We are aware of what he has done, but until he reaches adulthood, no one is to kill him! I know that many of you want to do this, but punishments would have to do. If, by the time he reaches adulthood, he changes, then that is all well and good. If not, then, according to his crimes, he will be punished, either by being put in prison or by death, depending on what path this young man goes down in his later life. Now, if everyone could please move out? There is nothing more to see here. We have everything under control."
After about five minutes or so, the platform was cleared once more. Many policemen were still surrounding the station, watching everyone, and making sure that incidents like the one past would not occur.
"Oh, fuck!" Harry swore.
"Language!" Hermione Whispered/yelled.
Completely annoyed, Harry glared at her, but that did not lessen her anger towards him.
For as long as he could remember, his uncle Vernon had been the one who had gotten him into this terrible habit. Every time he came home drunk, he would start swearing all around, his eyes bloodshot and a crazed look in them. Harry would be the main target. Vernon would start muttering as he dragged Harry by the hair out of his tiny cupboard and started beating on him.
Because of being raised in a rough and unstable environment for some time, Harry had taken Vernon's habit and had adopted it as his own. He had eventually realized that there was a time and place for using language like that, but on the times he got angry, all thought left him, and quite frankly, he did not care.
Seeing Hermione angrier than he had ever seen her, he started to ask, only to have Hermione pointing in the distance.
"Oh fuck, oh fuck!" Harry spun around, only to see a family of 4: the parents in their children. A boy who looked around 3 or 4 years of age, and a girl who looked around 6 or 7. The boy kept repeating what Harry had said, enjoying his parents' reactions.
Because Kings Cross was a public place, it didn't take long for people to stop and listen. A couple of seconds later, a woman who looked to be in her thirties briskly walked out of the station, muttering to herself. Unknown to her, snippets what she was muttering was heard by some of the people, including Harry and his entourage as well as the parents' children.
"It's disgraceful. Parents not teaching any manners to their kids… Using language like that… Lucky my two-year-old daughter wasn't around."
Harry hurried over to the parents, intending to apologize, for he had started this in the first place, but when he walked a few steps towards the family, the embarrassed parents each grabbed one of their kids and hurriedly walked out of the station, turning back and sending embarrassed/hate-filled glares in Harry's direction.
"Well, not everything went according to plan, did it?" Director Ragnock asked as he looked at the quartet sternly.
"Unfortunately, after all of this," he pointed at the police and security guards standing everywhere watching everything, "we can't use the portal to go to the train station. I could easily aparate the lot of you to Hogsmeade but I want you to experience the train ride. Who knows? You might make your first friends on the journey to the school. We could either aparate straight onto the platform or we can flue there. Because it is pointless travelling to an empty alleyway and aparating to the platform, we are going to go back to Gringotts from which we will flue to the station. We must hurry though because we only have…" He checked his watch. "Five minutes to get on the train."
Everyone sprang into action, grabbing their luggage and then grabbing a part of Ragnock, they all left the station, apparating to Gringotts as fast as they could and ran for the nearest fire place and headed away to platform 9 and ¾, not before saying goodbye to Ragnock, Remus, Gellert and Dudley.
They arrived on the platform with 2 minutes to spare. They climbed aboard and tried to find a compartment to sit in. With their abilities, it didn't take them long to figure out that the train would expand any compartment, but they wanted to find an empty one if possible.
"Guys, I think there's one right at the back that I can see." Hermione spoke.
The group peered around, spotting the one she was talking about and quickly sat in it.
They had no sooner taken their seats when the train began to move.
Draco Malfoy was scared—no—terrified.
"Remember what was talked about yesterday, Draco."
"Yes, I remember."
Draco hurriedly started making his way towards the train surrounded by Pansy, Crab and Goyle.
"Draco?" The sharp voice of his father made him look back. Do not fail me." He spoke quite firmly, keeping his tone low, so as to avoid attention being drawn. "Otherwise, you know what will happen."
Swallowing and breathing quickly, a scared Draco Malfoy entered the train, cursing Harry Potter.
Everything had started going wrong a month ago. He was spoilt by his parents, his godfather, Severus Snape, his friends and their families. At first, he had doubted if he was being told the truth. Were all mud-bloods, muggles and blood-traitors filth of wizarding society?
He had questioned his parents and they had given him satisfactory answers. One of the memories came to the forefront of his mind.
Flashback:
February 1990.
"Father,"
"Yes, Draco?"
"Why exactly are muggles, mud-bloods and blood-traitors filth of wizarding society?"
"Because, Draco, mud-bloods just waltz into our lives and try to change things! We are descended from generations of Malfoys. Why should we let someone who has been descended from muggles talk down to us or tell us what we are doing is not right? Mud-bloods need to prove themselves before we have any reason to respect them. People like the Malfoys, the Blacks, Crabs, Goyoles, etc. have been descended from generations of witches and wizards and we deserve respect for that at least. They come into our world and try to change traditions thousands of years old. If a mud-blood was to adapt and truly join our world, no-one at all would have a problem with that. But no, they have to come in and say things like, 'Dark magic is evil,' and, 'Wizengamot seats should be voted on, not inherited,' and we all need to listen and smile and nod to keep them happy. And of course, wizards and witches who share their views make things worse by encouraging the spawns of muggles to pollute our world with their filth. Mud-bloods should stay in their precious muggle world, where they belong."
"I think I understand now," Draco said, turning his father's words over in his mind. "We should not like them because they come from the muggle world, disrespect and question our traditions upheld by generations of purebloods and try to change things, right?"
"Yes, but they get everyone to listen. All the wizards like Dumbledore and the ministry yield to their whims because 'it's so hard for them to adjust in our world' which is not true. I have encountered a mud-blood who has adapted to wizarding society but has been on the wrong side of the war all along."
"Who is this person? And are they still alive?" Draco asked, his expression that of a boy curious to grasp the knowledge and understand.
Lucius had to take a few deep breaths before divulging the information. "The person that I speak of was Lilly Evans Potter."
Draco Malfoy was shocked. To think that a mud-blood was the mother of the wizarding world's savior?
He had always thought that Harry Potter was a pure-blood, because only pure-bloods would have the power to accomplish a nearly impossible feet like defeating a dark lord, right? But everything he thought he had known had come crashing down around him.
He had then vowed to himself not to follow his mother and father's ideals about mud-bloods, blood-traitors, animals, half-breeds and squibs being beneath him. He wouldn't deny that muggles were just filthy creatures. Clearly Tobias Snape had unknowingly shown him, even whilst dead, how filthy muggles really were. His /godfather's memories of how he was treated as a child, the mistreatment, the abuse and neglect were all proof enough.
The house-elves were also creatures who Draco had felt sorry for. To him, all magic users deserved respect, and all that the elves had done was serve his family and be kind to him! He discovered that by being polite and nice to the creatures, he could win himself many favors and get away with things.
End flashback.
Things had been going very well, but a month ago, everything had started to change. The articles were just one of the things which got him pissed. What made him want to kill Harry Potter was the fact that he had his, Draco Malfoy's family scared.
His father and him, for the first time in his life, were both disagreeing on certain things. Whereas Draco genuinely wanted to become Harry's friend and lead him away from all the filthy mud-bloods, half breeds like that giant oaf, Hagrid, that his father had told him about, blood-traitor's and the muggles' influence, his father, who would have congratulated him for thinking up something like this for sure, would have been proud of Draco. He was quite certain of it. But because of the articles in the Daily Prophet, the trial of Sirius Black, people's suspicions about his father being a true death-eater growing, Lucius had immediately shutdown that train of thought and had fearfully and firmly told Draco not to get into arguments with the half-blood, which also meant not provoking or antagonizing him.
He had just been reminded of the same thing by his father before boarding the train. Do not provoke or antagonize the half-blood or his allies.
Searching the back of the train, Draco found 2 compartments, one which had people in it and another which was empty.
After stowing his luggage in the compartment, he told Crab, Goyle, and Pansy to wait for him.
Meanwhile, Harry, Hermione and Neville had gotten settled into their compartment and had met two new girls. One by the name of Susan Bones, and the other by the name of Hannah Abbot.
"Do any of you know how we're sorted?" Susan Bones asked Neville, a few hours after they had met. "Aunt Amelia wouldn't tell me."
"Well, to be honest, Susan, I, myself, don't know either. Gran said that it is tradition not to let future students know how you are sorted, for then the surprise will be spoilt."
"But I—"
"Oh, just relax, Susie," Hannah said. No need to be so nervous. Whatever comes our way, we, the five of us will sort this out together."
Hannah put an arm around her friend and Susan relaxed.
Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but her words died in her throat as the compartment door was opened admitting 1 boy with pale, aristocratic and pointed features. His blonde hair was quite nicely cut, and he tentatively took a step inside.
Draco Malfoy was reluctant to follow his foolishly thought-out plan. Part of him thought about doing what he was told and backing out, but the bigger part of him wanted to see this through to the end.
After briefly glancing at all the occupants, he spoke.
"Is it true?" He said, staring at Harry. "They are saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So, it's you then, is it?"
"Of course, it is me!" Harry said, giving the boy a friendly wave and a grin. Despite recognizing who exactly this boy was, Harry did not judge nor treat him with contempt, something certain wizards as well as several witches would do. The sins of the father did not fall on the son, therefore, Harry decided to give Draco a clean slate, and treated him exactly he would have treated another stranger.
Biting back his prepared speech, Draco decided on how he would proceed.
His eyes first roamed over all the people who were in the compartment.
There was Potter of course, Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger, the Bones and the Abbot girls.
Seeing Longbottom and Bones there made him extra weary. He needed to tread very carefully when it came to Bones and Longbottom. Bones' aunt and Mrs. Longbottom were causing his father some trouble in the Wizengamot, and plus, his father was on the list of suspected death-eaters at the end of the first war, and even to this day, despite his father's name being cleared, many suspected fowl play, such as the involvement of bribes and bewitchment, when it came to the supposed imperiused death-eaters who had walked free. Arthur Weasley being the most vocal in his opinions. Draco, of course, knew that his father was a willing death-eater and had escaped justice by claiming that he was under the imperious curse. Neville Longbottom being in the daily Profit and on Potter's side no less. That made things more complicated.
There was one thing that Draco Malfoy was not and would never be. And that was stupid.
Taking a couple of seconds to rehearse what he was going to say in his head first, he spoke.
"A pleasure to meet you Mr. Potter. I am Draco Malfoy, heir to the most noble and ancient house of Malfoy. A pleasure to meet you as well, Ms. Granger, Mr. Longbottom, Ms. Abbot and Ms. Bones.
Mr. Potter. May I call you Harry?"
"Yes you may," Harry said.
"Well, Harry, I would like to thank you and your friends for meeting with my father at Gringotts bank. My father, of course, is very happy with how things are going."
Surprise showed on Susan's face and she began to ask. "Harry. What is he talking about?"
Harry glanced at Draco and said, "I'll tell you later."
Malfoy scowled and a red tinge appeared on his cheeks.
Seeing his angry expression, Harry quickly sent a legilimency probe in his direction.
He could instantly see that the boy had very week mind shields. Having learnt the art of legilimency and oclumency by his father and Gellert, Harry knew exactly how to bypass his barriers without him knowing.
Normally Harry would never do that to a person, but having those who wanted to kill him, use him as a weapon to further their own agenda, and those jealous of his fame, it was necessary for him to do this, as to figure out Draco's intentions towards him and his loved ones.
Because of Draco being angry, it wasn't hard at all to bypass the shields and get into his mind.
Memories of Malfoy's childhood started popping up, but he had no interest in them, plus it would be an invasion of privacy.
Focusing on memories related to magic, death-eaters, house-elves, other magical creatures, muggleborns, Dumbledore, his friends, family and himself, Harry hurriedly retreated out of his mind, processing everything and finding the best solution to deal with this.
A copy of all of the memories was sent to everyone who had a connection to the mind link.
Just then, the door opened admitting Percy Weasley who looked around the compartment. His eyes lingered for a few seconds on Draco Malfoy before he addressed Harry.
"Hello there, Harry and friends, just come to check if everything is alright. I also apologize for the repugnant behavior of my former mother and brother Ron."
For Draco Malfoy, this was too much. Ever since his father had warned him to not antagonize the half-blood, he had controlled himself from either painfully cursing Harry Potter to death or wrapping his hands around his throat, seeing his look of horror, eyes bulging in their sockets, pain flickering across his face, and finally after the light left his eyes and seeing his dead body on the floor. But now that Percival Weasley had come in trying to apologize about the disgusting behavior of his filthy, loud, overbearing and overweight mother, Draco's anger snapped.
As soon as Potter excepted his apology, Draco opened his mouth and started what he had wanted to say all along.
"Well, it's obvious why she did it, isn't it!" Draco's expression was murderous as he stared at Percy.
"Well, what would you expect from a Weasley anyway? My father told me that they are poor and have more children than they could afford! You know, I don't believe the stuff the profit is saying. It's quite obvious that Arthur Weasley would have staged something like that just to get people to feel sorry for him and give your family money. I bet that wonderful show was carefully planned out, eh, Weasley? Hoping that your family could worm themselves into Potter's good graces, did you? Just so you could get more money. But Potter here knows not to hang around with riffraff like you, don't you, Potter? You hang around with half-breeds, blood-traitors and mud-bloods and they will rub off on you. It's better for you to hang out with the right sort, or else you'll go the same way as your parents. They started hanging out with people like them, and now look what's happened. By associating with the wrong sort, they, the worthless fools that they are, died by the hands of the dark l—"
"Enough!" Thundered Harry. The look on Harry's face was nothing short of enraged.
"Mr. Draco Malfoy, what gives you the right to say such degrading things about a family who you have only had second-hand information about? I won't release all the details, but suffice it to say that the thing with Ron and Molly no name was not, as you suggested, planned in any way, shape or form! The truth is that all of that happened. You can even ask Percy here. He is a prefect this year."
Then, his face softened and he looked straight into Draco's eyes.
"Think about it, Draco, do you even believe half the things that you are saying? Or, are they things only your father has told you and you have not taken the time to verify the information you have been given? Think carefully, Draco, otherwise you could go past the point of no return very quickly. Have you never thought that you could've been brainwashed to think these things?"
At this, Draco's anger grew even more. It was not meant to end this way. He was meant to kill the Potter boy for what him and his lot were doing to his family, but try as he might, he could not muster up the courage to perform the deed. A small part of him heartily approved of his thoughts, but an even bigger part of him told him that it was wrong. Actually, killing someone was wrong. So instead, he said, "one day, Potter. You'll end up like your parents. Mark my words."
Suddenly, Potter got a hard and determined look in his eye and Draco faltered, not knowing what was going to happen. It was a mistake staying here. I should have left earlier before it could have escalated to this.
"Come here, Malfoy!" Potter said sharply.
Draco walked over to him.
Leveling Malfoy with a piercing stare, Harry spoke. "I think, Draco, it would be better for the both of us if we were to be honest with each other and stop wasting time by lying, wouldn't you agree?"
"I do."
"You have been wanting to kill me in the most gruesome way possible. I am correct, am I not?"
Taken aback, Draco Malfoy stared fearfully at Harry. How could the Potter boy know that I wanted to kill him?
"Yes, I do, after what you and your gang of half-breeds, blood-traitors and mud-bloods did to my father. You will pay, so will your loved ones—"
Cutting across Draco, Harry said, "come and do what you have come to do."
"w-what?" Draco said surprised.
"You heard me, Malfoy." Potter dropped his wand on the seat of the train and spread his arms wide. Then he forcefully grabbed Draco's wand arm and pressed his wand on his forehead.
"Let go of me!" Draco yelled.
Potter ignored him and continued. "You know the curse, Draco."
"W-what curse are you talking about, Potter?"
"I think you know very well what curse I mean. Your father taught you about it, did he not? The question now is, are you strong enough to preform the curse? I am at your mercy. My wand is on the bench and your wand is jabbed into my forehead."
"Are you mad, Potter!" shrieked Susan.
Hannah stood up yelling, "do you have a death wish or something!"
Draco smirked. The odds were in his favor. It was too simple. He opened his mouth to say the curse, but his voice faltered.
"Ava… Av… Avada ked-d-d-davr-r-r-ra!" Shakily he lowered his wand, trembling all over. Harry's nose started bleeding which Harry subconsciously with his wandless magic healed.
Sobbing could be heard from in front of him. "I can't I can't I can't!"
Anticipating this, Harry gently lifted up the boy's chin until they were both eye to eye.
"You see now, Draco? You are no murderer. You will not fit in with the rest of your family before you. You are still an innocent, not corrupted by evil. Your soul has not yet been torn apart by murder. Think carefully, Draco Malfoy. There is still time for you."
Just what the fuck did I nearly do? Draco Malfoy thought as Potter's words washed over him. Realizing his mask was crumbling, Draco Malfoy hurriedly left the compartment. Pushing past the prefect Weasley, he hurriedly went in search for a bathroom in which he locked himself.
Crouching over the sink, tears began to flow from the boy's eyes as the memory replayed itself in his mind.
Time was something that he did not notice. It currently meant nothing to him. Minutes or was it hours later, Draco pulled himself together, dried his eyes and looked into the mirror. Sadness still remained on his face and teardrops could be clearly seen on his cheeks. No, that would not do at all. Malfoys did not show any emotion in public. Malfoys always remained calm and gave into their emotion in a private place. His father had drilled that into him quite well. He slowly began to feel ashamed. What would it look like if anyone saw me now? I am a Malfoy and a Black. I could have embarrassed my families by breaking down like that where many families are the enemy of mine. He then started, with a calm and collected mind, thinking about the conversation he had with Potter and his gang. He was determined not to give into Potter's words. He would follow his family and make them proud.
"You were trembling like hell in that compartment, weren't you?" A voice whispered inside his head.
"Shut up! He screamed mentally. He did not want to hear that other part of him. He did not want to believe Potter's last words. Potter was wrong.
"But was he really?" Whispered that damn fucking annoying voice again. Deep down, he knew the truth. Afraid as he was to acknowledge it, the other part of him as well as Potter were right. He, Draco Lucius Malfoy was not, in any sense of the word, a killer.
With that thought buzzing around his head, Draco schooled his face into an expressionless mask, left the bathroom, and entered his compartment.
Meanwhile, in Malfoy manor.
Lucius Malfoy walked into his study and found an intruder. The surprising thing was, the person had not triggered his wards. Before he could ponder on the identity of the man, the person in question spoke in a voice he had not heard for a better part of a decade—a voice which froze his insides with fear.
"I see that life is treating you well, Lucius."
Scared to the bone, he frantically thought of something to say until he recovered from the shock.
"My... My lord! It is truly an honor to have you in my house... But they say you died." Killed by the Potter brat. How have you achieved this miracle? How—"
But Voldemort interrupted him with an enraged, "crucio!"
Lucius Malfoy started convulsing on the floor of his own manor, in the process pissing his pants. Screaming... Lots of it-until his throat went raw with pain.
"Your punishment, Lucius, for not being faithful to your lord. You, who has gotten off by claiming to be under the imperious curse, could have come looking for me. You had all the time in the world! Not suspected by many to be a death-eater… But you, like many others, believed me to be dead. Did I not tell you and my other followers that I, lord Voldemort, have taken further steps towards immortality than the average dark wizard? Who you see me possessing is my faithful follower, Quirinus Quirrell, who shall be rewarded beyond his dreams at my return. I have come to you, Lucius, because you hold a lot of power and prestige in the wizarding world. Go. Tell the rest of my followers of my return. By the end of this year, I shall acquire a new body of my own. But before this, tell me all you know of Harry Potter."
Half an hour later.
"Hmm. So, the boy had been growing up, raised for a short time by muggles who had abused him. Interesting. Something that he, lord Voldemort, could potentially use to lure the boy to his side.
He sat in a corner, shaking with sobs. Tears flowed freely down his face. He had tried to be nice so he could be excepted—to belong and be loved. But the end result had been humiliation, pain and more beatings.
"Who's gonna save you now, Tommy boy? Your parents? Oh sorry, they died, didn't they!" The ring leader of the bullies sneered. "Your filthy bitch of a mother probably never wanted a freaky disgrace like you, so she probably killed herself in shame…"
Pain as a belt struck him again and again…
With an angry snarl, Voldemort pushed those memories back.
To relieve his anger, Voldemort shot another crucio at Lucius. The results however, surprised him.
Instead of the usual spasming and the screams of pain along with the thrashing, a new sound was heard. A crunching sound as though something in Lucius's arm was taking the brunt of his curse.
Stopping the curse, Voldemort muttered a cutting curse at Lucius's arm, making the man scream in pain as a huge chunk of flesh was ripped out of his body.
The mangled remains of a device slowly moved about which Voldemort immediately took out. The thought of studying it came to the forefront of his mind, but then seeing the state the device was in left no doubt in Voldemort: the device was well and truly unusable.
"What is this?" Voldemort directed the question to the shaking man.
"i... I... I... -d-d-don't know, my l-lord."
"Legilimens!" Voldemort cried as he forced his way into Lucius's mind, thundering through his memories, looking for the device.
Lucius's screams of pain could be heard as he suffered a large headache as well as a broken arm along with 2 crucios.
Information. Lots and lots of Information. Voldemort was thankful that he had chosen this course of action. Yes, going through Lucius's mind had revealed many things. Some of them were a setback, some mistakes needed correcting, some stuff pleased him, and for some things, he would have to punish Lucius. Encountering an obliviation, he tried to remove it. The caster of the spell, it seemed, had done a very nice and precise job, rendering his attempts near to impossible. Only one way remained to achieve his objective. Lucius's punishment, it seemed, would have to come a little early as well as some damage to his mind which healers at St. Mungos would no doubt fix in a few weeks time.
"Crucio," Voldemort said softly, pointing his wand at Lucius's head.
The man's pitiful screams continued as Voldemort, once again, thundered through his memories. The obliviation was there, but after a bit of prodding, it broke. Realizing that Lucius's mind would snap completely if he continued to remain in his mind, Voldemort hurriedly exited Lucius's head and cast all the healing spells he had the knowledge of and stunned him.
Half an hour later, A flick of Voldemort's wand woke Lucius and he hissed in pain.
"My l-" was all that he managed to say before Voldemort, much more softly this time, entered Lucius's mind.
Locating both sets of memories, Voldemort went to work, observing everything that happened.
After seeing certain parts, rage filled him completely.
How dare he doubt Lord Voldemort and bow down to another dark lord? Lucius was his! He would be punished for this treachery, oh yes. There was no doubt about that. He should have known better and have not betrayed him.
For a moment, death and the cruciatus curse were the only punishments that came to mind. But then, another sinister idea came to him and he laughed maniacally. The laughter reverberated around the whole study. Rather convenient that Lucius had a silencing charm on his study. He could at least thank those goblins and old man Grindelwald. They had done one thing right.
"Now, Lucius, you will break your vow.
Obliviate!"
And the memory once more was removed from Lucius's head. Little did Voldemort know that with this course of action, events would be set in motion which would result in another of his Horcruxes to be destroyed. Not that he knew that some of his Horcruxes were destroyed, for if he had known, then the reasons for him visiting Lucius' manor would be very different indeed.
Lucius groaned in pain, but Voldemort did not pay much attention to that. There was something he needed-something he required for his resurrection, that being his powerbase. If his followers needed a lesson to remind them of who they had sworn allegiance to, then well, Lord Voldemort was more than happy to remind those fools, who dare doubt him and betray him. Perhaps he should get them to make an unbreakable vow to serve him for life. It seemed that only those who had faithfully gone to Azkaban, instead of renouncing him were the only faithful followers that he had, including Quirrell, who had willingly allowed him to share his body. Considering the current situation, death-eaters needed to be reminded once more why their master was a feared dark lord, as well as a none to gentle reminder that when he had told them that he had taken steps to ensure his immortality, he really did mean it. The fools who thought that he, Lord Voldemort, the greatest wizard alive who struck fear into people's hearts, the killer of worthless men, women, children and lesser beings could not cheat death, well, they would have to learn the hard and painful way, and suffer the consequences for doubting and betraying their lord. The world would be his very soon. His followers who were suffering in Azkaban would be rewarded beyond their wildest dreams. Happiness radiated from the man as he thought about the world. The world would tremble as he, lord Voldemort victorious, stood over the corpses of those unworthy to live, which was mostly everyone.
Meanwhile, in the headmaster's office.
A very angry and upset Albus no name towered over a shaking and scared Severus Snape who was trembling with the enraged stare that was being leveled at him by the old man.
"...and that's why you need to treat him well!"
Severus Snape was not a happy man. Bile rose in the man's throat as he considered obeying No Names' outrageous request.
"Really, Severus. Is that the best students Slytherin house can produce? Slytherin, once the house of the cunning, now reduced to this? You would have been better off in Gryffindor, seeing that you know nothing of being sly and cunning—"
"How dare you! Headmaster... After me putting my life on the line, all this time... spying for you, going against the dark lord behind his back... it means nothing?"
"That was not what I said, you fool! And you know it!
Being blinded by the hate against James Potter, a dead man, might I add, making reckless plans to provoke the boy and make his life miserable, just because you and his father were school rivals, is what I mean... Without your cooperation, my plans would not come to fruition! He won't be like his father, of that I am sure, which should then give you the opportunity to do your damn, fucking, job that I want you to do!" Little did No Name know that Harry James Scar Rock Potter would be very much like his father. Not James Potter, his dad, but Ragnock, his goblin father.
Snape was taken aback by this, and for one moment, he was not able to keep the surprised expression masked by his oclumency. Well, this was the first time, he thought. The first time when he had ever seen the headmaster lose his composure and show his emotions so openly. He really must be getting on No Name's nerves.
Allying himself with this particular plan of the old coot, that was not something that he was going to do willingly, of course!
Weighing the pros and khans, Snape's hand subconsciously went towards his wand. How easy it would be. Two simple words and the desire. That was there of course, and the timing. No, the timing would become a potential problem. To where his true loyalties lay, to that the answer only Severus Snape himself knew. Then again, his loyalties had been shifting in multiple directions, so not even Severus Tobias Snape, himself, had known of where his true loyalties lay, until some time ago.
The urge and the desire to kill Albus No Name was growing stronger by the minute. Nevertheless, Severus decided to humor the old fool by complying with his wishes. I only have to do it for a few weeks, he reminded himself. Harry Fucking Potter was just going to be a pain in the arse like his bastard of a father, of that Snape was 100% sure. He would prove No Name wrong, and if lucky enough, kill him as well, thus proving that he was loyal to the dark lord. If not… well, other plans could be arranged if the headmaster did not die at his hands. He had grudgingly taken the teaching job at Hogwarts, that being because the dark lord had ordered him to. Ironically, this job had been a safe haven for him as well when the dark lord had fallen. He refused to think of the dark lord as being dead. He couldn't be dead. The faint dark mark on his left forearm proved it, along with the dark lord's passionate and confident speeches about him talking about his goal of conquering death and going further on the path leading to immortality—further than the average dark lord had ever dared to go. On Hallows eve of 1981, the dark mark had gotten fainter. With the roomers about the dark lord meeting his downfall at the Potters' house spreading, and everyone talking about baby Harry Potter somehow vanquishing the dark lord and miraculously escaping with his life and a lightening bolt scar on his forehead, Severus' had started to doubt the dark lord for a bit, but if even No Name and a few others thought that the dark lord was still alive, then surely his failsafe's against death would have worked, for if the dark lord truly had died, then the dark mark would have gone as well, instead of just getting fainter.
Despite the dark lord being defeated by James Potter's spawn, he had stayed at Hogwarts teaching dunderheads so as to avoid going to Azkaban, as well as the fact that he had allied himself with No Name before the dark lord's defeat, playing both sides, in a vain promise that Lily would be spared. But now that it had nearly been a full ten years of him suffering through the hell whole of teaching incompetent brats, he seriously was considering resigning. If he had been getting more information about No Name, perhaps then he may have not considered it. But for the lack there of information he was getting… well, it was probably time to leave No Name for good and return where he had truly belonged, which was by the dark lord's side, either that, or with the rest of the dark lord's followers, some of which were his friends. One more year: he would only work for the 1991/1992 year before resigning, that is, if the dark lord had not returned and had instructed him to remain at his old post and spy on No Name. The reason that Severus Snape had not resigned by now was that he wanted to get more information on Potter to give to the dark lord when he returned. Else, deliver the boy to the dark lord, either himself, or by another death-eater, or else have enough information for himself and the rest of the death-eaters so that they (including himself) could avenge the dark lord by finishing the job he started, that being killing Harry Potter or using him to return their lord to full strength and the height of his powers once more. Seeing the dark mark getting more stronger and less faint a few days ago could only mean one thing: The dark lord was on the cusp of returning. Either by himself or with the aid of another, the answer to which, he did not yet know. However, that, in itself, had hardened his resolve to continue his spying duties right to the very end. Maybe it was not such a bad idea to be nice to Potter and his cohorts after all. Severus most certainly knew that things were changing, and that Potter and his families of blood traitors, mud-bloods, muggles and goblins were the catalyst for said changes. Therefore, to have a better chance of defeating his enemies, as painful as it would be, he would stick around to get as much needed information as possible. Potter, Black and Lupin were the bane of his teenage life. They certainly played a part in half blood Severus Snape's decision to become a death eater and willingly join the dark lord and all that he stood for, as well as Lily's filthy muggle bitch of a sister, Petunia, and his abusive father. While he couldn't dispute change was all around him, some things were really too ingrained to be altered. Quite simply, whatever Potter, Black and Lupin stood for, Severus would be on the other side.
History was repeating itself as those very same names once more saw him choosing the dark lord. No Name had promised to keep Lily safe, he didn't. Furthermore, he purposefully had engineered Lily's and Potter senior's deaths, along with the attempted death of James Potter's welp. The dark lord, at least, had told Lily to step aside a few times before killing her. Even though the dark lord had killed Lily, instead of stunning her, he had at least given her a chance to step aside. Following that train of thought, he had realized that his Lily had died, ever since she started hanging out with the swine, James fucking Potter and his entourage in seventh year. The Lily who the dark lord had killed was firmly James Potter's lapdog bitch, instead of his friend. Seeing her son appearing in numerous newspapers, seeing the face which mostly looked like James Potter with Lily's eyes pretty much made his final decision. It is said that there is a thin line between love and hate, and after the last straw, seeing a photo of Potter junior, with Fudge, the newly exonerated bastard, Sirius Black, as well as the werewolf Lupin, his friends and the goblins in the Daily Profit, Severus Snape started hating not his Lily, but the Lily who had become Potter's bitch, and had given birth to Harry fucking Potter. At that point, Severus had profusely thanked the dark lord out loud and in his mind for getting rid of the bitch. Not only that, but he had grudgingly thanked thee meddling old codger, No Name, for making sure to set the Potters up to die. It was a pity that Potter junior had not joined his parents in death, but he was confidently sure that one day, Potter junior would either be eradicated by him personally, the dark lord, or by any of the death eaters, or the creatures who were the dark lord's allies. Little did Snape know, with his final decision, in the realm of the dead, Lily Evans, now Potter, had also given up on him, and had realized that her good friend, Severus, had been dead to her, ever since he started hanging out with Wannabe death-eaters, and supporting their actions. She had held out hope, perhaps, that Severus may have been coming around, but her vain hopes were for naught, when the opposite started to happen. She did not associate this filthy creature, this bitter, vial and twisted man with her good friend Severus. To her, they were 2 very different people. Now, if anyone had any ideas of having a go at that bastard, then she would gladly encourage it.
After agreeing to No Name's orders, Severus Snape walked out of the office, his robes billowing behind him.
After seeing Severus Snape walk out of his office, Albus no name walked over to a shelf and took down the sorting hat, putting it on his head.
"Ah, Albus, my dear man. How may I be of assistance? If I'm not mistaken, then shouldn't the students be putting me on their heads? It is the first of September, after all."
Meanwhile on the express…
It had been almost an hour since Draco had left and everyone was having a good time getting to know each other in the compartment, playing games such as Exploding snap. Many students visited the compartment to see Harry Potter for themselves. About 20 minutes before the train slowed down, there was an announcement made by the driver who told the occupants of the train that the train would reach Hogsmeade station within approximately twenty minutes, and that all students should leave their luggage on the train, which would then be taken separately to the dorms of whatever house the first years would get sorted into, and for the returning students, their luggage would be moved one floor higher.
The next twenty minutes relatively passed in piece. Harry, Hermione and Neville got to know Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot a bit better, and by the end of the journey, they had all promised each other that they would remain friends, no matter what house they got sorted into. Reuniting the four houses was an extremely challenging goal ahead, but Harry, Hermione and Neville were determined to reunite the four houses, no matter what, and make Hogwarts back into how the four founders had originally wanted and envisioned it to be. A safe environment where children with magic, no matter what race and blood status, could get a good education in both magical and mundane fields, as well as having good social connections and be on friendly terms with each other and staff.
Soon, the train came to a halt, and everyone made a rush toward the door which led out to a small platform. Remembering to be careful and on guard around No Name, Harry, Hermione and Neville had, when both Hannah and Susan were not looking, shrunk their trunks and had put them in their pockets, and had planned to unshrink them in their dormitories and heavily ward them afterwards, just in case No Name ordered house elves to go through the contents of their trunks. Harry shivered in the cool night air as he saw a lamp bobbing towards the direction of the students.
"No more than 4 to a boat!" Rubius Hagrid, the grounds keeper, yelled and all the first years started slowly heading towards the boats, slipping, stumbling, and taking care not to trip on the steep, narrow path. Fortunately, the weather was good, which then meant that none of the first years would get confused as to which way to go.
The black lake was just like what Sirius, Remus and his parents had told him it would look like. A thrill of excitement shot through Harry and his friends at seeing the vast castle with many turrets and towers of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Whilst Susan, Neville, Harry and Hermione got into one boat, Hannah got into a boat with Dean Thomas, Seemus Finigan, and Milicent Bulstrode.
'Everyone in?' shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself, 'Right then – FORWARD!'
And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.
'Heads down!' yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads, and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy which hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles, after which they then clambered up a passageway in the rock, all the while following the light of Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last on to smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.
Everyone walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.
"Everyone here?" Hagrid asked in a booming, loud voice before knocking thrice on the castle door with a gigantic fist.
About 30 or so seconds later, the door was opened by a tall, black-haired witch who was wearing emerald green robes.
She had her hair tied up in a bun, as well as a stern expression on her face. After looking at the woman for about 10 or so seconds, Harry recognized her to be the deputy Headmistress as well as the head of Gryffindor house, Minerva McGonagall.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."
She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was twice as big as the entrance hall of Gringotts.
The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.
The students followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Harry could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right. The rest of the school must already be here. But Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber which lead off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.
'The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history, and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."
A few minutes later, McGonagall returned and asked all the students to form a line and follow her to the great hall, which they did.
The great hall was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. Harry, Neville and Hermione recognized them as being the tables of the 4 houses. The house tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table which was really similar to the 4 house tables where the staff were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the staff behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Harry looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars.
The students couldn't take their eyes off the enchanted ceiling due to being fascinated by it.
A moment later, Professor McGonagall put a four-legged stool in front of the students with the sorting hat on top of it.
Lady Hogwarts, at this current point in time, was nearly magically depleted, therefore, she didn't have the strength to take off all the compulsion charms, Imperius curses and Confundus charms that Albus no name had put on the hat. However, there was 1 thing that she could do, which she prayed would be enough.
Harry and Neville suddenly started getting memories from lady Hogwarts, which they frantically started sharing with everyone who was connected to the mind link.
Gellert suggested that Harry, Neville and Hermione, because they did not know how to remove so many charms and spells, they were advised to give half of their magic to lady Hogwarts, so she could remove all the spells, charms and curses there were on the sorting hat. After hearing this, they were horrified of losing half of their magic each, but Ragnock heartily approved of Gellert's idea, and reassured the students that their magical core would refill with rest and sleep overnight.
"But how can I contribute?" Hermione asked, "I mean, I am not even the heir of Hogwarts."
"Worry not, dear girl," Gellert said. "Grab your soulmate, Harry's hand, and because the both of you will be holding hands, you will have access directly to Lady Hogwarts as well, therefore, because you will have that physical connection with Harry, of holding hands, you could send your magic through that connection to Harry, and he could pass your message directly onto Lady Hogwarts herself, because he is your soulmate and one of her heirs." Hermione did so, and Lady Hogwarts started to take half of Harry, Neville and Hermione's magic. Being an entity, which was over a thousand years old, much more magic would be required to fully refill her magical core once more. However, Phineas Nigellus Black, Tom Marvolo Riddle, Armando Dippet, Albus formally Dumbledore, now No Name, as well as other corrupt people had made sure that all of Lady Hogwarts' from where she could get power were completely magically depleted, or cut off from her in any way, shape or form. With access to a tiny bit of magic, Lady Hogwarts gave 1 memory of No Name tinkering around with the sorting hat to her heirs, as well as No Name giving Snape his orders before tinkering around with the hat, hoping that they would make sure to pass on the memories to the necessary people who needed to know, which, to her relief, both Harry and Neville did.
Whilst the memories were being shared around, with the little bit of magic that Lady Hogwarts had left, she discreetly, without everyone except her heirs being the wiser, took off all charms, curses and hexes which were put on the sorting hat. With that done, the final reserves of Lady Hogwarts' magic had been completely used up, leaving her just like she was before Harry, Neville and Hermione had given her 50% each of their magic.
Soon, the sorting hat opened its brim and began to sing its song.
"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see," the song began. The gasps of awe and astonishment from Susan, Hannah, and the rest of the first years brought smiles of amusement onto Harry, Hermione and Neville's faces. Everyone heartily applauded when the sorting hat concluded its song with "…So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"
Albus No Name sat in his headmaster's throne, and as soon as Minerva unraveled a long piece of parchment with the names of all the first years, he leaned forward in interest to see where students would be sorted, from which he could decide how and when he could use those pawns to further the greater good.
He tuned out the sorting after the first few names were called when he saw that the hat was acting normally, despite having all the charms and curses that he had put upon it. Giving a pleased look at the hat, he stared towards the group of first years who he was most anxious to see sorted.
For a few minutes, the sorting continued normally as per usual, before the name, "Malfoy, Draco!" rang clearly out in the hall of murmuring students.
Draco Malfoy arrogantly swaggered up to the stool as if he owned the place. Much like his father, Albus noted. He resumed looking at Harry and his group, expecting Lucius' son to be sorted into Slytherin like his father, and generations of Malfoys beforehand. However, when he heard Draco Malfoy shout, "No, you bloody stupid old hat, don't you dare!" Intrigued, the headmaster faced Draco, and due to the Malfoy boy being in a towering rage, he contemplated using legilimency to take advantage of the boy's vulnerable state, but before he could do so, the shout of, "Hufflepuff!" Coming from the sorting hat answered his question and the shock as well as surprise made his back hit the back of his throne with a rather loud, hard and painful thump, which then jolted him back to the currently proceeding events, that being the rest of the sorting as it unfolded.
"You can't do this!" Draco Malfoy shouted. "I demand you to sort me again, you stupid old piece of cloth. All Malfoys belong in Slytherin! When my father hears about this, then he will have you burned to a crisp. You are clearly getting senile and incompetent and need to be replaced."
At this, Draco paused to take a breath, but before he could speak, the sorting hat had decided not to take anymore of the boys' foolishness and nonsense. As amusing as it would have been to see Draco Malfoy dig his grave even deeper, it was getting rather late, the students had been traveling nearly all day, and would no doubt be tired, and looking forward to getting to bed, hence why the sorting hat had decided to cut off all the drama right there.
"Mr. Malfoy," it said aloud. "I have told you more than once that your loyalty towards your father is strong. True, you can be sneaky, sly and cunning… At times when you need to be, but that is not your strongest trait, therefore, Slytherin, as much as you would do well in that house, it would not be my first choice of house of where to put you. You are also chivalrous and brave to a fault, but that still, is not your strongest trait that I see in you. Therefore, Gryffindor is not an option for you, either. You are quite clever and intelligent to a fault, I dare say, but still, this is not your strongest trait. Therefore, Ravenclaw is an option for you, but again, like Slytherin, not a house I recommend you go to. Your loyalty towards your father is the strongest trait you have at this time, and your ambition in life is to follow in his footsteps and make him proud. You would do anything for your father, as well as the Malfoy family as a whole. Hufflepuff house is for the hardworking and loyal. After examining everything, the best house I can think for you to be in is Hufflepuff. For a thousand years, I have sorted people into houses, not once making a mistake. But of course, I would not say that I am arrogant, but suffice to say, young man, I know exactly what I am doing. You may not like where you have been sorted now, but I assure you that one day, in time, you will appreciate being sorted to Hufflepuff. Hufflepuff can help you achieve your ambition more than Slytherin can. You could have done well in Slytherin, but I repeat once more: Hufflepuff house, I think, is the best house for you, at the current place and time, although that is not to say that won't change, because it is true that people change overtime. Come and see me in a few years, and my decision of your placement may change, but with how things stand, I am confident that I have made the right choice in regard to your placement in Hufflepuff house for the time being. So please kindly stop making such a racket and let the sorting continue."
If Albus thought that the rest of the shocks would be over for tonight, then he would be clearly mistaken. The sorting continued as one of the prefects from Hufflepuff house came forward, took Draco Malfoy by the arm, and quite firmly lead him towards his table.
"Granger, Hermione!"
Albus was suddenly jolted out of his musings as he focused all of his attention on the Granger girl. The hat seemed to sit on her head for nearly 10 minutes, and the students started tittering impatiently, and seemed to be wondering what seemed to be taking so long. Even Albus was about to investigate, but before he could move, the hat yelled out, "Ravenclaw!" And the girl gracefully took off the hat, gave it to Minerva, and calmly walked towards the Ravenclaw table.
Albus was rather pleased with the sorting hat for sorting the girl into Ravenclaw, although it had been a pity that she wasn't sorted into Slytherin. Having spells, curses and compulsions on the hat, he was sure that Harry would be sorted into Gryffindor, and because of the animosity between the lions and the snakes, not to mention the peer pressure, hopefully his and the Granger girl's friendship would be broken, or severely damaged. Lily and Severus' friendship had eventually crumbled, anyway. Divide and conquer was Albus' way of dealing with the children, and Albus heartily approved of the girl being in a different house from Harry, even if it wasn't Slytherin. Now, he just needed to plan different ways of slowly severing the bond of friendship that the Potter, Granger and Longbottom children shared.
"Longbottom, Neville!"
Distracted once more, Albus watched the boy as he confidently walked up to the stool and was given the sorting hat by Minerva. When Albus heard the hat call out, "Hufflepuff!" He cursed at forgetting to spell, curse and compel the hat to sort the boy into Gryffindor, due to him being the backup chosen one, but no matter. Longbottom wasn't needed just yet, and him being sorted into Hufflepuff was no big loss yet. Maybe Hufflepuff could help him work hard and make the boy loyal to him. At least he would be separated from Potter and Granger.
"Potter, Harry!"
The hall went silent, then whispers started going around the hall, with everyone leaning forward in their seats to look at the boy.
The smile completely slipped off Albus' face, and he became enraged. Spluttering and choking, his face pale, he refused to believe the hat as it bellowed, "Slytherin!" Looking on in horror as the crest of Slytherin appeared on the boys' chest, and the color of his robes changed to Green and Silver as he calmly walked towards the Slytherin table, Albus could not think where he went wrong. Discretely waving his wand to see what had become of the spells, curses and compulsions that he had cast on the sorting hat, Albus was alarmed to see that none of his spells on the hat had been active at all. Harry Potter being sorted into Slytherin was a disaster! But he was distracted by the wards alerting him that two people had portkeyed into his living quarters behind his office. There were only a few people who he had given access to portkey there. He decided to wait, give the announcements, after concluding the feast, etc. before going to check. However, a few minutes later, his questions were answered, for when the doors of the great hall had been blasted open, everyone's attention had shifted there, and had seen Ron and Molly No Name enter, both looking a little worse for ware.
"POTTER! YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE WELP! HOW DARE YOU ATTACK ME, AN UPSTANDING CITIZEN OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIKE THAT!" Everyone covered their ears, because of the loud voice of Molly no name under the sanoris charm, as she screeched at Harry.
"I WAS ONLY TRYING TO HELP YOU, AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME? HOW DARE YOU AND YOUR HOOLIGAN FRIENDS ATTACK MY RONNY! YOU HAVE NO IDEA ON HOW HARD IT WAS FOR US TO ESCAPE FROM THOSE DREADFUL MUGGLE AURORS. AND NOW YOU ARE IN SLYTHERIN TOO! YOUR PARENTS WOULD BE ROLLING IN THEIR GRAVES WITH SHAME! —"
But before Molly could go on, Albus silenced her, tied her up and got Fawkes to flame her to his office. After which, he cast an obliviate on the whole hall, not knowing the people outside Hogwarts, such as the goblins, Dudley and Gellert had seen everything through the mind link that Harry, Hermione and Neville had. He reorganized everyone's memories, making it as if young Ronald had come in the boats with the rest of the first years, and just in time too, because as soon as he had finished, the next name that Minerva called was, "Weasley, Ronald!"
A few minutes later, Albus thought he was lucky that Molly was not in the hall, as he sat in his chair in shock. All the color had drained from his face, when the unthinkable happened, and that was Ronald Weasley. A Weasley, of all people, was sorted into Slytherin. He pulled out his wand, but before he could cast fiend fire on the blasted sorting hat, young Ronald started yelling at the top of his voice.
"HOW DARE YOU SORT ME IN Slytherin, YOU STUPID HAT? I AM A WEASLEY, AND NONE OF US BELONG WITH THE SLIMY SNAKES. I REFUSE TO BE A DARK WIZARD, AND BE STUCK WITH DEATH-EATER WANNABES FOR 7 YEARS. I DEMAND THAT YOU SORT ME INTO GRYFFINDOR AT ONCE! THE HOUSE THAT I TRULY BELONG IN."
The sorting hat was about to open its brim, but Gemma Farley, the female prefect from Slytherin stood up, with a look of pure rage on her face, cast a silencing spell on Ron, grabbed him roughly by the ear, dragged him silently spluttering to the Slytherin table, and roughly plonked him down between a couple of fourth years, after which, she cast the Sonorous charm on herself, and clearly told the occupants of the Great Hall that not all Slytherins were Death-eaters in training, or Death-eater wannabes, like the newest addition to their noble house had claimed.
Albus frowned at the prefect for treating Ronald this way and embarrassing him like that, but seeing her livid expression, as well as the current situation, he decided not to confront her just yet. Thinking that all the unpleasant shocks and surprises were over for the night, Albus decided to continue planning, having no idea that his hopes of all drama being over for the day were in vain.
As the students and staff began to eat the food at the welcoming feast, Albus decided to change his plans somewhat. On the whole, now that he thought about it, it was ingenious for the hat to have sorted young Ronald Weasley into Slytherin. Molly and Ronald would eventually understand that it needed to be done for the greater good. Molly was his yes woman, along with Ronald. But he would use the boys' insecurities against him to insure his unwavering faithfulness and loyalty. Ah yes. That would work just fine. Young Ronald felt overshadowed by his older brothers; therefore, it would not be hard to convince him at all that by him being sorted into Slytherin, he would rise above all of his siblings. He was sure that Ronald would comply. He would have to tell Severus to treat the Potter boy worse than ever and rally the rest of the Slytherins to do so as well, something he was sure that would make Severus happy. And once the boy was broken, Ronald would step in, be the boys' friend, make him see the greater good, after which, Harry would be his meek, submissive and willing tool again, begging to be sorted into Gryffindor, which he would do for both the boys, Harry and Ronald. Harry would still have to pay for ruining him, but afterward, Albus could obliviate him again, give him loyalty potions, as well as put compulsions and spells on him, and have him as his yes man, after which, Albus would somehow get his image restored, as well as getting reinstated into the Dumbledore family once more, making Harry destroy the goblins, kill off his friends, squib cousin, the werewolf Lupin and Sirius Black, and then, the greater good would continue on again.
As soon as everyone finished eating, Albus rose to make his announcement, not knowing how the next few minutes would be one of the worst times of his life.
"Ahem. Just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. All first-year students should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well. I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors, unless it is a real emergency, although I would recommend letting prefects, as well as the head boy and girl take charge, calling a professor if the situation is beyond even their control, before using magic yourselves. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."
Alarm bells started ringing in quite a lot of people's heads at this, although No Name didn't seem to realize it.
No name was going to continue, but for the first time since he became headmaster, he was interrupted.
"You must be kidding, right?"
Frowning, he looked in the direction of the voice, and saw Susan Bones standing with her fists clenched.
"Seriously, we could be in danger of dying from something that's on the third-floor corridor, and no one even bats an eyelash?" "Ms. Bones, is there a problem?" asked No Name in a nonchalant voice and the Bones girl turned towards him.
"Oh, no! There most certainly is not a problem at all! Unless you count the fact that you just told us that a corridor in the school is off limits because we could die, totally not dangerous at all, nor a safety hazard to all students attending this school, might I add, and totally something that other schools encourage, not. You know, it really does make me wonder what you could have up there, hell, I'm not the only person wondering this. Look me in the eye and tell me that I'm wrong."
The bones girl fell silent, and Cedric Diggory continued, "And I know in this school, everyone is going to be sneaking a peak at certain death and—"
"But I just told all of you guys not to do so, Mr. Diggory," No Name said, whilst both panicking and cursing inwardly. Damn the Bones girl to hell. He should have been better prepared. She was raised by Amelia Bones, after all, who had still not forgiven him for the murder of Edgar and his family. No doubt that she must have told her niece to be cautious and weary of him. He would have to do some damage control really fast, but before he could do so, Cedric Diggory continued right from where he had left off.
"—And if any of us disobeys, then they would either be docked house points or given detentions to serve, am I right?"
"Yes, Mr. Diggory, but I—"
"Bit late if one of us is either seriously injured or dead, isn't it?" Cedric asked in a calm voice. "But, by all means, I'm sure everyone will not go up there, if the threat is detention and loss of house points. I mean that's more of a deterrent than Death, isn't that?" You seem to be the headmaster of this school, but yet, you don't know anything about children, do you, professor?"
"Now, that's quite enough, Mr. Diggory. You are making some very serious claims and accusations here. I assure you that as headmaster of this fine institution for a number of years, I am well aware of the mischief children get up to and—"
"The Weasley twins."
"I beg your pardon, Mr. Diggory?"
"Well, has it honestly not crossed your mind that the Weasley twins won't purposely go looking for this supposed item which can kill you? They do have a reputation for pranks, and trying to get away with breaking school rules, so you really don't think that they would not attempt to investigate?"
"Now, Now, Mr. Diggory, I am sure that we can sort this out in my office later on and—"
"You don't get it, do you? Most children, the more you tell them not to do something, the more they will try and do it. If you really do claim that Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry is supposedly one of the safest places in Britain, and if you really do care about all of us students, as much as you claim you do, then you would not set a death trap here, and risk any possible deaths on your conscience."
"Mr. Diggory, you are making a seen and—"
"What if, let's say, that thing that could do us in escapes somehow?"
"The door is locked and—"
"Oh, really? The door is locked. Well, everyone there's a lock on the door, something which can easily be opened with an alahamora charm, so I guess we better trot off to bed and sleep soundly tonight, considering that there is a lock on the door, which even a first year could open and let the danger escape and possibly murder us in our sleep and—"
"Don' be silly, Diggory. Fluffy is harmless. He won't do anythin'ter yeh," Hagrid said.
No Name was inwardly panicking. The situation was getting way out of control here. Knowing Hagrid's abilities to not keep secrets, he prayed that no one would ask the question… Which Harry Potter had just asked.
"Who, or what, is Fluffy, Mr. Hagrid?"
"Never yeh mind, Harry. That's top secret, strictly speakin'. Fluffy is one of me pets. Completely harmless, and what he is gardin', it is only between the Headmaster and Nicolas Flammell. Oops! I shouldn't've said tha."
"Nicolas Flammell?" Hermione said from the Ravenclaw table. "The same guy who is the creator of the Philosopher stone? Now, headmaster, I am not sure if you are hiding the philosopher stone here in this castle, and have set deadly traps and protections around it, but if that is the case, would it not be prudent to hide the stone at Gringotts, and put the vault in which it is hidden under the fadelius charm? Or would it not be a better idea to hide it in your living quarters, or give it to someone who you trust, and cast the fadelius charm around the stone, just for good measure, with yourself as secret keeper? Instead of hiding it in plain sight at a school and setting deadly protections around it which may either backfire on you by breaking, or a brave and curious student, or a rule breaker goes exploring and gets hurt? You are basically playing with all of our lives. The lives of children who it is your responsibility to care about and keep safe, might I add, and—"
"Now, now, Ms. Granger. It is not good to assume, and you have no idea of what you are talking about. Everyone is surely getting tired; therefore, we should probably sing the school song and—"
"I wonder how any parents could send their children here, with stuff like this going on, and them being in deadly danger," Neville piped up from the Hufflepuff table. "Did you even inform the guardians of all students?"
"We do not wish to alarm the parents—"
"You don't wish to alarm the parents, do you? So, are you going to inform them that their children are dead before or after the bodies are in the ground?" Neville asked. "Or are you going to cross your fingers and hope that none of us don't notice anyone or anything missing after the school year is over?" Or, perhaps, are you thinking of obliviating all the memories and the knowledge of the students if one of us, indeed, does end up getting killed?"
"Mr. Longbottom, I can assure you we take the utmost concern for the safety of our students," No Name said.
"Really?" Harry asked.
"Yes," No Name said.
"Really?" Harry asked once more.
"Yes, Mr. Potter," No Name replied with a sigh of frustration.
"Really?" Harry asked for the third time, and No Name nodded. "I mean, Hogwarts is supposedly the number one magic school of witchcraft and wizardry, is it not? I don't know about the world, but in the United Kingdom, anyway. And with you being headmaster, the name has not changed to Hogwarts School of Child Endangerment and Gross Negligence with some of the stuff you are trying to pull here?"
"Yes, Mr. Potter. The name of Hogwarts has not changed, and it is, I assure you, the same as it has always been—"
"I got the impression that it was the only magic school," Panellipy Clearwater said from the Ravenclaw table.
"There are other magic schools, Ms. Clearwater, but they are not accredited by the Ministry of Magic," Minerva commented. "And there are other magic schools that are outside of the country, but the Ministry has mandated that citizens of Magical Britain can only get a chance to attend those schools if they personally write to them."
"Which Muggleborns and Muggle raised would not know, unless they inhaled half of Flourish and Blotts," Harry said, folding his arms. "And I suppose that since we agreed to go into Hogwarts, we're stuck into some kind of magical contract that we can't break or something like that, right? So pretty much any parents of the mundane raised are stuck between a rock and a hard place, because they can't move with their children locked into a contract with this school which currently seems like a madhouse with you running the way that you are running it, keeping deadly dangers around, without much extra precautions. You put something that you admit could kill us if we come across it," Harry said and he raised his eyebrow. "And you have a forest that is Forbidden…near a school, with no magical enchantments on the barrier to prevent people from entering the Forest…"
No Name turned away from him.
"Mr. Potter, perhaps you should go up to bed, you've had a long day," No Name said and there were a few people whispering to each other. It was taking No Name all of his control to not let his anger burst forth like a volcano.
A few students had made waves during his first time as headmaster, waves which were getting out of hand, which would not do. He didn't have enough power to cast an obliviate on the whole school once more, and he knew without a shadow of a doubt that his carefully constructed plans had been brutally blown apart, exploded in his face and had come crashing down around him, all thanks to some stupid brats. He had no doubt that he would be hearing from angry family members in a few days, so he thought to remove all traps, as well as the fake Philosopher stone from the third-floor corridor with the help from Molly and Wormtail tonight. Now, he would have to organize another way to make sure that Lord Voldemort and Harry got into a confrontation somehow. Maybe a lie to Quirrell about Harry Potter hiding the real stone would help the situation along nicely.
Thinking of the Flammells turning against him some time ago always sent renewed rage coursing through his body. Only neutralizing them somehow, and seeing their shattered, battered, bleeding and broken dead bodies would cool his fire of rage down when it came to those 2 people.
Eventually, a few minutes later, the school song had been sung, and everyone had gone off to bed. After which, Albus, taking the sorting hat with him, went to his office, where he and the hat needed to have a little chat.
"NOW WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!" Were the first words the sorting hat had heard, as he felt himself roughly pushed onto the old head of Albus No Name.
After letting out a boom of laughter, which made No Name clutch his head in pain and rage, the sorting hat replied with, "I did everything that I was meant to do."
"I believe that I told you that certain students needed to be—"
"You told me, did you, Albus? Now, that's a bit rich, coming from you, isn't it? 'I told you,' my arse. Says the manipulative old bastard who starts handing compulsion spells, Imperius curses and other similar stuff out like candy."
"How did you get free of all the spells I put on you?"
"I can't tell you."
"Can't or won't?"
"Won't."
"And why not? I am the headmaster of this school, and you will obey me!"
At this time, Albus was angrier than he had ever been in his life. He yelled and started cursing in fury, therefore he didn't hear Molly No Name entering the room, but her yelling at the sorting hat temporarily bought him out of his rage.
"Insendio!" Molly cried, pointing her wand at the sorting hat. On one hand, Albus was content for the sorting hat to burn away, but on the other hand, he knew that he was in hot water, and letting the sorting hat burn wouldn't be a good thing, so he put a shield around the hat. The fire tried to burn the shield, but Wormtail, who had appeared from Albus' living quarters as well, sent an Aguamenti at the fire, which killed it.
"Calm yourself, Molly," Albus said reproachfully.
"CALM MYSELF?! CALM MYSELF?! THAT STUPID CLOTH PUT MY SON IN STINKING SLYTHERIN! DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME TO CALM DOWN, ALBUS."
Molly's voice boomed across the whole school, and Albus hurriedly cast a silencing charm over his office.
"Now, now, Molly. It is for the greater good."
Had it been any other person rather than Albus, Molly would have hexed that person to death for talking to her in such a way, but because this was Albus, the only man who she respected and cared about, she decided to hear him out.
After hearing about how Albus planned to get Harry Potter ostracized by the rest of the Slytherins, until he was completely broken, punishing him severely after that, obliviating him, and then coming in as the savior, making him believe that it was Albus who had rescued him from the Dursleys, and then making Potter renounce the goblins, still have Severus and the rest of the snakes treat the boy badly, accept for Ron, and have Ron come in, be nice to Potter and pretend to be his friend, she approved heartily, congratulated Albus for coming up with such brilliant strategies, after which, she hugged him, kissed him on the cheek, and went back to the safe house in which her and Wormtail were staying.
Meanwhile, Albus along with Wormtail took a detour to the third-floor corridor and got rid of all traps as well as the fake Philosopher stone, after which, Albus felt a tad bit relieved that at least one potential problem had possibly been avoided.
At Gringotts, the mood couldn't have been any different if anyone tried. Far from Albus's happy, cheerful attitude of his supposed victory in terms of some of his horrible plans and manipulations, most people that were connected to the mind link were enraged and even those that weren't were incensed after being told what was going on in Albus's mad, twisted schemes. Ragnock, who had been keeping the needed people apprised of the developments over the course of the day, had now sent out a letter to those that he wanted to talk to that weren't there, charming it to activate as a portkey within 30 minutes of it being opened and read. He was not a happy Goblin, and who could blame him, especially after the information that was found out at the opening feast. He and others were also very proud of some people and their reasoning skills, such as Cedric and Susan and would keep an eye on not only them, but members of their families for… future job opportunities, if they ever arose. Contrary to what most British wizards thought of their race, and other beings, which they had deemed to be filthy creatures and half-breeds, they weren't stupid and were taking piles upon piles of notes as this was all playing out. Most of the British wand carriers had become arrogant and had been blinded by their arrogance and thought that just because they were generations of old, pureblood families, they were untouchable and superior, something which Ragnock, as much as he didn't like it, preferred. For their arrogance would one day be their downfall and undoing, if the wand carriers continued how they were, and became stupider and stupider, generation after generation. He knew deep down that the inbreeds would try hemming and hawing at first, then start making mistakes which would lead to their ruin. It was of no surprise that they were all so predictable, and had the director wanted to, he could very easily provoke the wand carriers into making mistakes, having a legitimate excuse of starting another goblin rebellion, tearing the world down, and building it a new, but he knew that he would be no better than Riddle and No Name if he did that, and plus, world domination was not something that he desired, and bloodshed was not something he took pleasure in, which is not to say that he wouldn't partake in bloodshed, but he would try and keep it to a minimum, and only spill the blood of those who were a threat to his race, people who he held dear, as well as the innocent.
Ragnock was brought out of his musings as the first portkey arrived, depositing the doctors Granger into his office who bowed and curtsied as a sign of respect and sat down after he gestured to a couple of chairs.
"Ah, Dan, Emma, can I get anything for you while we wait on the others? My apologies for calling you hear at such short notice, but, as I said in that letter, there is information that you and quite a lot of others need to be aware of, pretty much as soon as possible."
"Not at all Director, that's perfectly understandable," said Emma, a frown coming to her face as she figured what this was probably all about and continued, "I wouldn't mind a hot chocolate if you can do that though, please?"
"Of course, no problem, Dan, how about yourself?"
"I think I'll have the same as my wife, if possible, thank you, Director."
Ragnock nodded and called for a house elf, who had deposited 2 steaming goblets of hot chocolate to both the Grangers, and a goblet of Butterbeer for Ragnock.
Tippy could feel the tension in the room, as well as the waves of pure fury, which was radiating off of Ragnock, and had poured a vial of calming draft and the draft of peace in all three goblets.
Amos Diggory, along with Bill and Arthur Weasley arrived next, and cups of Coffee were given to them with both a calming draft and the draft of peace mixed in as well. By this time, the office was getting very crowded and Ragnock expanded it, even as Diggory and his team bowed to him as was custom and were about to greet him, though he waved them to silence and gestured to chairs.
Sirius, Gellert, who was disguised of course, came through the door as well and at the same time, Amelia Bones, sergeants Chloe and Matthew Simpson and Augusta Longbottom portkeyed in, not looking happy. They bowed and curtsied to the director and were about to speak when, once again, he waved the six of them to silence and pointed to the chairs that he'd conjured in this crowded, busy office. With impeccable timing, Tippy appeared with a table full of drinks and Ragnock, though he was very, very mad, gestured to the six new arrivals to take what they wanted, smiled slightly at the elf as she left and ordered the guards to ceil his office by speaking out loud. Seeing this, Amelia knew that this was most likely bad, after all, it's not often you get summoned by the Director of Gringotts for an "urgent meeting" and have 30 minutes to get things done and appear, let alone for that same Director to ceil his office before saying anything.
"Thank you all for coming, especially at such short notice. I have information to impart about dark lord Albus no name, but before I do that, I require you to give an oath that you won't release the information until I say so. Those that can, anyway, you cannot bind mundane, that is, nonmagical people to a magical oath."
Hearing that, everyone, magical or not, paled quickly. Even Dan and Emma, who had known the Goblin for a while now, and therefore, knew much more about magical oaths than the average nonmagical person.
Just as Dan and Emma were wondering what was going to happen, Gellert spoke up.
"Though I do admit that sir Ragnock is correct about nonmagical people not being able to be bound to magical oaths, there is a chance that the Fidelius charm can be cast upon the minds of Mr. And Mrs. Granger after the information is given. Which means that just like no one is able to see buildings which are under the Fidelius charm, unless the secret keeper divulges said secret, the same thing would, I assume, apply here. Also meaning that if a fully trained legilimins was to enter either Dan or Emma's mind, they would be able to see everything except the information placed under the Fidelius charm, no matter how hard they try. So, if both Dan and Emma Granger are willing and comfortable with this, then we can, of course, easily do that. I have no doubt that there are fully competently trained beings in this very room, in fact, who are quite proficient in the mind arts."
Gellert's idea did have some merit, Ragnock admitted to himself, and was going to ask the grangers what they thought, when they politely asked to privately discuss this, which Gellert gladly made possible, by casting a silencing and privacy charm around the grangers.
After a couple of minutes had past, both the Grangers had come to a decision, and had made hand gestures towards Gellert, who took the privacy and silencing charms off them both.
"My wife and I have decided," Dan Granger said grimly, "that we will allow the director to enter our minds after the information is given and cast the Fidelius charm on everything that has been discussed after the fact."
They all nodded, including Amelia, who knew better than to question the integrity of the Goblins, especially the director of Gringotts in London. With that out of the way, Ragnock said that he required the others to give their oaths to him, Even Gellert, who did, after taking off his glamour, which nearly gave Amos, Arthur, Bill and Amelia a heart attack, seeing who was standing in front of them. They didn't question the director though, as they knew that Gellert Grindelwald, of all people, wouldn't be allowed anywhere near the bank or, for that matter, children, unless there was a very, very good explanation for what he did all those decades ago. Amos thought of questioning the director of Gringotts, what he was thinking, having a dark lord, who had supposedly died nearly half a decade ago inside the bank, but thought better of it, instead choosing to keep his mouth shut for the time being.
After Chloe, Matthew, Bill, Arthur, Amos and Amelia got over their shock, noticed that none of the others in the room were shocked or surprised, and after they had heard Gellert's explanation, everyone got down to business.
"Right," Ragnock said, pulling out papers from his desk, "I need all of you to pay attention as I attempt to take you through Dark lord Albus No Name's disgusting behavior towards my son, his apparent need to put the students and staff of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in danger and, most horrific of all, his disregard for the lives and safety, security and wellbeing of all students, including our children currently attending."
Without further ado, Ragnock replayed everything from the speech and thought tracker from a few hours ago on the big screen in his office.
To say that everyone in the room was furious would be a massive understatement. Everyone was trembling with rage, and it was the calming draft put in their drinks which was barely getting everyone to think rationally and not march up to Hogwarts, murder the old bastard and evacuate all the children from what once was the top school in the world of magic, which was now reduced to the most low-ranking magical school, and looked down upon by the rest of the world.
Chloe and Matthew were not only pissed at No Name and Pettigrew, but they were also furious that Molly had escaped them. They knew that someone must have helped her, as no one else, especially a mundane officer, would help in any way. Yes, they were that confident in their team. Going back to what they had just seen and heard, it cemented the truly vile man that Albus No name really was in their eyes. Matthew was about to speak up, but Chloe beat him to it, asking the question that was on all their minds, "Most honored director, forgive me for being so forward, but why? Why does one man want to ruin a child's life for his own gain?"
Ragnock smiled slightly at Chloe and spoke as the rest all nodded, still in clearly visible fury.
"I have no idea, Sergeant Simpson. Based on what I can see on that tracker, as well as what I saw through the mind link I have with my son and some others, I suspect that all he wants now is glory for himself. He doesn't care about the multiple laws he's broken that were designed to protect children, nor the fact that there is a 5000-pound reward for his capture by the Metropolitan police, who you and your brother work for."
Hearing this, contrary to what most people thought of her, those in this room not included, Amelia wasn't stupid and kept up with Muggle newspapers, so this is why she was not surprised to hear that coming from the director of the London branch of Gringotts. Amos, however, was stunned and didn't know what to say or even think.
"What are the police?" Amos asked in genuine curiosity. From what I can tell with the direction this conversation is going, them police sound very similar to the please men that Arthur sometimes talks about. I am talking about the muggle aurors here," Amos added the last part, seeing the confused looks on everyone's faces.
Amos was still processing everything along with everyone else, and it took everyone about a couple of minutes to explain what the police were to Amos, as well as give Arthur the proper explanation of policemen, and clear all misunderstandings and misleading information that he had picked up and had been given, after which, before the meeting could continue, Amos started yelling out in pride. "Atta boy, Ced! You do us proud! One of the smartest people there is, my Cedric."
Though Ragnock had heard lots about Amos Diggory singing his sons' praises whenever he could, to the annoyance of many people, and whenever he conducted business at the bank, right now, he was really regretting allowing Amos into such a meeting. He understood that Amos was proud of his only son, and he both admired and respected the man for it, but in this particular situation, he thought it rather inappropriate, so to speak. Yes, young Cedric, Susan, Hermione, Neville, Harry and others had done an admirable job of foiling the old wankers' plans, if he said so himself, but clearly, there was more at stake here, and thankfully, before Ragnock could say something to Amos, or bluntly tell him to stop boasting about his only son and heir, due to both his temper being nearly out of control, and the severity of the situation, Amos stopped going on about Cedric, and Ragnock continued, raising his hand to cut through the tension in the room. He then
turned his attention to Amelia Bones, acknowledging her expertise in matters of law and order.
"Amelia, your insights and knowledge of wizarding law will be invaluable in our assessment of No Names' actions on that day. We must ensure that legal boundaries were not crossed, and that the welfare of the students was not compromised."
Amelia nodded, her expression serious and determined.
"Understood, Director, I will examine the evidence we gather through the mind link and the tracker, analyzing it within the framework of wizarding law. We need to ascertain if any regulations were violated or if there were breaches of duty by No Name that could have put the students in harm's way."
Ragnock then turned to Bill Weasley, a skilled curse breaker, who had a deep understanding of magical artifacts and their potential dangers.
"Bill, your expertise in curses and magical artifacts will be vital in our evaluation. We need to determine if No Names' actions involved any misuse of powerful magical objects or if there were any potential risks to the students."
Bill nodded; his expression focused.
"Yes, Director, I'll closely examine any magical artifacts or objects involved in No Names' actions. If there were any breaches in their usage or potential dangers posed, we'll identify them and evaluate their impact on the situation."
The director then addressed the Simpson twins, Chloe and Matthew, who were both well-versed in magical and nonmagical law enforcement.
"Chloe and Matthew, your unique perspective as magical individuals working for the Metropolitan police will be invaluable in our examination of No Names' actions. We need to consider the implications from both the magical and nonmagical law enforcement perspectives."
Chloe and Matthew nodded in unison, understanding the significance of their role. "Yes, director, we will analyze the evidence and collaborate with Amelia to assess any legal implications. We will consider both magical laws and any potential violations of non-magical laws, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the situation."
Ragnock then turned his attention back to Amos, his expression firm but understanding.
"Amos, while your pride in Cedric's accomplishments is commendable, we must maintain a focused and professional atmosphere during this discussion. The gravity of the matter at hand necessitates our undivided attention."
Amos looked slightly chastened, realizing the need for a more serious approach. "You're right, sir. I apologize for my exuberance. This is an important investigation, and I should keep my focus on the discussion."
Ragnock nodded, appreciating Amos's understanding.
"Thank you, Amos. Your cooperation is appreciated. Let us now continue with our analysis, utilizing the expertise of Amelia, Bill, Chloe, Matthew, and the rest of the team. Together, we can unravel the truth behind Dark lord No name's actions and ensure the safety of the students."
With the momentary interruption addressed, the meeting regained its momentum. Ragnock led the group forward, incorporating the insights and contributions of each member, including Amos, the Simpson twins, Bill, and Amelia. They collectively delved into the events that unfolded on September 1st, 1991, utilizing the available tools and expertise to uncover the truth, evaluate the legal implications, and assess any potential risks associated with magical artifacts. The atmosphere remained focused and determined as they worked towards a just resolution, with the safety of the students at the forefront of their efforts. As the meeting came to a close, they all realized that they had information which would topple the world and turn it upside down, changing their reality forevermore once more of the actions of the supposed grandfatherly figure came out.
