Look who's back, and it's been less than a month since my last update. That's progress.
This chapter is on the shorter side, yet there's still a fair bit going on. I hope you enjoy!
As always, I only claim my OC. Let's get into it.
It was no secret to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Susanna that Hagrid had an eclectic - dangerous - taste in pets. In their first year he'd attempted to raise a baby dragon, and none of the four Gryffindors would be forgetting his three-headed dog named "Fluffy" anytime soon. Whatever happened to Fluffy, anyway?
It wasn't outside the realm of possibility that Hagrid would hear of a monster hidden somewhere in the castle and proceed to go to any length to meet the beast. Nor would it surprise Susanna that Hagrid would become sympathetic to the spider's being cooped up and try to release it. But she was firm in her belief that the man who saved her and her cousin was incapable of killing someone, even accidentally. Was the spider even responsible for what had happened fifty years ago, and the current attacks? Was it even still alive? How was it able to move through the castle without being seen?
Not to mention there was the question of whether or not Hagrid was even Slytherin's heir.
The morning after their trip into Riddle's diary
"What if Riddle… Tom… whatever… got the wrong person? Hagrid was suspicious enough. He caught Hagrid, and the Heir fifty years ago was worried about being found out as the culprit, so whoever it was stopped?" Susanna suggested.
Hermione hummed. "It's certainly possible there was some other monster attacking people."
"How many monsters d'you think this place can hold?" Ron asked.
Susanna snorted. "Excluding the blood purists, you mean?"
"We always knew Hagrid had been expelled." Harry refocused the conversation, tone miserable. "But Suze has a point. The attacks must've stopped after Hagrid was kicked out. Otherwise, Riddle wouldn't have got his award."
"Riddle does sound like Percy - ouch, Susanna!" Ron glared at the other redhead as he rubbed the back of his head. "Who asked him to squeal on Hagrid, anyway?"
"The monster had killed someone, Ron." Hermione reminded him.
"Don't forget, Riddle was going to go back to some Muggle orphanage if Hogwarts was closed." Susanna added.
"Can't blame him for wanting to stay here." Harry grumbled, smiling as his cousin bumped his shoulder in acknowledgement.
Hermione cleared her throat, a faraway look in her eyes as she continued trying to piece together the mystery before them. "You met Hagrid down Knockturn Alley, didn't you?"
Susanna nodded. "Yeah. He was buying a Flesh-Eating Slug Repellent."
The four Gryffindors went quiet, and then Hermione straightened, wearing a nervous expression as she spoke. "Do you think we should go and ask Hagrid about it all?"
"That'd be a cheerful visit." Ron scoffed. "'Hello, Hagrid. Tell us, have you been setting anything mad and hairy loose in the castle lately?'"
Susanna gave him a look. "Well, obviously someone with more tact will bring it up." Ron scowled back, but she took his silence as a win.
In the end, they decided it was best not to discuss anything with Hagrid unless another attack occurred. Not quite trusting Harry not to ask Riddle more questions, Susanna insisted she keep it in her dormitory instead. He reluctantly agreed, Susanna running up to hide it away in her bedside table. On her way up the stairs, she nearly knocked Ginny over, frowning when the girl made a small noise and scurried off. She didn't think much of it, though - Ron's sister had grown even shier after the Valentine's Day incident.
More and more days went by without incident, Harry insistent that the disembodied voice he'd been hearing had gone silent. The four Gryffindors hoped that meant they'd never have to bring it up with him. It'd been nearly four months since Sir Nicholas and Justin were Petrified, convincing most that the attacker had finally retired. With that belief came a slight end to the speculation of Harry's involvement. Peeves had grown bored of his "Oh, Potter, you rotter" anthem while Ernie Macmillan had asked Harry to pass a bucket of leaping toadstools in Herbology one day. Harry had been more than happy to help, but Susanna made sure to glare at the Hufflepuff from over her cousin's shoulder, unimpressed by his lack of an apology. There were still quite a few people who remained certain Harry was the culprit, but had grown much quieter about it.
Come March, the most exciting bit of news spread around the school; Professor Sprout reported that several of the Mandrakes had thrown a loud and raucous party in greenhouse three. 'The moment they start trying to move into each other's pots, we'll know they're fully mature." She explained to Harry and Susanna. "Then we'll be able to revive those poor people in the hospital wing."
The Easter holidays brought the second years something new to think about - their third year electives. They were allowed to pick two-to-three subjects, with more requiring an increased dedication and workload. Poor Neville seemed the most overwhelmed, his relatives having sent dozens of letters, all containing different advice on what to choose. He spent most of their break asking his fellow Gryffindors whether Arithmancy was more difficult than Ancient Runes. Dean Thomas took the opposite approach, closing his eyes and jabbing his wand at the list, picking three subjects at random. Percy had offered this advice when Harry and Susanna asked; "Depends on where you want to go. It's never too early to think about the future, so I'd recommend Divination. People say Muggle Studies is a soft option, but I personally think wizards should have a thorough understanding of the non-magical community, particularly if they're thinking of working in close contact with them. Look at my father, he has to deal with Muggle business all the time. My brother Charlie was always more of an outdoor type, so he went for Care of Magical Creatures. In the end, you should play to your strengths."
Of the four Gryffindors, Hermione took this matter very seriously. "It could affect our whole future!' She lectured her three friends as they pored over the list of new subjects.
"I just want to give up potions." Harry grumbled, Susanna patting his shoulder comfortingly.
Ron scowled at his list. "We can't. We keep all of our old subjects, or I'd've ditched Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"But that's very important!" Hermione gasped.
Ron scoffed. "Not the way Lockhart teaches it. I haven't learned anything from him except not to set pixies loose."
"I learned that all it takes is a pretty smile to make the smartest witch I know turn into a mess." Susanna teased Hermione, who poked out her tongue but otherwise didn't deny what was said. "In all seriousness, what are you thinking of choosing?"
"Ancient Runes looks fascinating. Muggle Studies might be fun, as I'd be given more insight into the wizarding world's perspective of Muggles. Arithmancy could prove the most challenging, which makes it the most interesting to me. I can take it along with Divination to further enhance my experience." Susanna nodded along while Harry and Ron blinked at Hermione.
"That's too many to consider, even for you." The red-haired boy tried to reason with Hermione. "Think about Harry and I -"
"Me." Hermione instantly corrected him, causing Ron's cheeks to turn as red as his hair.
"Whatever, Harry and me. What'll happen if you're too tired to help us out?"
Susanna scowled at her best friend. "I still exist, you know. I can help you."
"Hermione writes better Charms essays."
Susanna raised an eyebrow. "Right. That's why you want Hermione's help." Ron kicked her shin, and she kicked back.
"Behave, or I'll separate you." Hermione warned while Harry laughed. "Can we please just focus? This is a big decision to make!"
"Okay, okay." Susanna relaxed into her seat, absentmindedly rubbing her sore spot, Ron doing the same. "I think I'm going to do two, for now."
"What about Divination? Wood was telling me it's one of the easiest electives." Harry offered, Ron making a small noise of agreement as he circled it. "It's all staring into crystal balls and reading tea leaves."
His cousin raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "I don't know how to read the night sky, what makes you think I'll be able to read tea leaves?"
"What about Arithmancy?" Hermione offered, marking it off for herself. "That might prove more reliable, as it involves using numbers to predict the future. It's grounded in math."
Susanna wrinkled her nose. "Still involves reading something to predict the future. I'll just stick to perusing your books while you take the class, thanks."
Hermione hummed. "So nothing involving the future -"
"I'd rather stay in the present. Way less terrifying." Susanna shuddered.
"She's got a point." Harry said, his cousin gesturing to him in acknowledgement before returning to her list.
As she read over her options for what might've been the thousandth time, Ron cleared his throat. "Alright, I think I'm going to do Divination and Care of Magical Creatures. I know a bit about the latter, thanks to Charlie."
Harry sighed. "Might as well stick with you, I was rubbish at math so that's a 'no' for Arithmancy. Divination would at least be an easy grade."
"There's always Muggle Studies." Hermione reminded him, but he only shrugged. "Are you any closer to deciding, Anna?"
Said girl groaned. "No. Wait, maybe Ancient Runes? That looks fun. Challenging, but fun. We can take it together." Hermione beamed at her words, and Susanna glanced at the boys. "And I'll take Care of Magical Creatures as well, that way we're sharing at least one elective."
With their decisions made, the four Gryffindors brought their lists to Professor McGonagall's office, Susanna shaking her head when she noticed Hermione had selected five electives. "Overachiever." She said to her best friend, not unkindly. The other girl rolled her eyes in response, but Susanna kept what she saw to herself, lest the boys take the mickey out of Hermione.
Gryffindor's next Quidditch match would be against Hufflepuff. Wood had ordered the team practice every night after dinner, so neither one of the cousins had time for anything more than Quidditch and homework. Even more stressful - but exciting - for Susanna was the fact she'd be filling in for Alicia Spinnet their next game, the older girl needing to get her Potions grade up. The girls worked closely together, Susanna helping Alicia with Potions while the latter helped strengthen her skills. Hermione often sat with the two girls in the common room as her best friend helped the older Chaser, offering up additional help when necessary. One evening, just after Alicia retired, she turned to Susanna with an awed grin.
"What?" Susanna asked, bashful at the attention.
Hermione only continued grinning. "It's a shame Alchemy isn't offered until later. I think you'd be fantastic at it."
"Please, you're just as good at Potions as me."
"No, I'm really not." Hermione shook her head. "You're a natural."
Susanna huffed and looked back down at her homework, smiling to herself as she wrote the rest of her Potions essay.
With the increased night training and extra coaching from Alicia, Susanna was feeling confident for Saturday's match. The fact it wasn't raining nearly as much certainly boosted both hers and Harry's moods about Quidditch. The Friday before the game found the cousins practically bouncing back to Gryffindor Tower, eager to drop off their broomsticks and certain of their chances for the Quidditch Cup.
Their cheerful moods didn't last long, however. As soon as they entered the common room, Lavender ran up to the cousins, frantic. "Susanna, I don't know who did it, I just found -" she started, then groaned and grabbed her hand. "You need to come with me, now!"
"What?"
"Come on!" The other girl insisted, rushing them both up the stairs and nearly kicking open their door. Susanna dropped her broom in shock at the sight, all at once understanding Lavender's urgency.
It looked like a hurricane had blown through their room. The contents of the girls' trunks had been thrown everywhere. Cloaks and clothes were ripped on the floor, the bedclothes stripped off their four-poster beds and the drawers pulled out of their bedside tables, their contents strewn over the mattress.
As she surveyed the mess, Hermione, Parvati, and Padma all ran in. "I told Percy!" Padma announced, she and her twin panting. "We looked for him everywhere.'
"Professor McGonagall's been alerted as well." Hermione added, clutching her side.
Hades pranced into the room, hissing at the destruction before he rubbed against Susanna's ankle. She picked him up before approaching her bed, using one hand to sort through her belongings.
"Why would anyone do this?" Parvati asked, terrified.
"It could've been Peeves, he's been a little too quiet." Lavender suggested, having great disdain for the poltergeist since he soaked her in water the previous year.
Susanna froze, eyes wide. She looked over at Hermione, the other three girls now focused on their own messes. She ushered her best friend over, her fellow Muggle-born hurrying over. "It's gone."
"What's gone?"
"Riddle's diary, it's gone." Hermione gasped at Susanna's words, the two girls - and Hades, running out of their dormitory and straight into Ron and Harry as they hovered just outside the dorm. Noticing a small crowd had formed, the girls grabbed the two boys and urged them back down the stairs.
Back in the empty common room, Susanna turned to her cousin, taking comfort in Hades as he rubbed his face into her shoulder.
"They found the diary." She quickly told Harry, who balked at the news. "It's gone."
Ron paled. "Bloody hell. Who do you think did it?"
"Only a Gryffindor could've. A girl, specifically, boys can't enter the girls' dormitory." Hermione insisted, looking as aghast as she did upon Susanna telling her about the missing diary. "Nobody else knows our password, and I doubt it could've been Peeves, no matter what Lavender believes."
"I'm so sorry." Susanna apologized to her cousin and their two friends. "I was supposed to be keeping it safe."
"Yes, from my curiosity. None of us could've known someone would be looking for it." Harry was quick to comfort her.
It took three hours to clean up the mess in their dormitory, and even longer to discuss what happened with Professor McGonagall. Susanna kept the missing diary to herself, Hermione taking her lead - there'd be no way of explaining it to their Head of House. Further protective spells were placed on all of the dormitories, with Professor McGonagall threatening suspension - and possible expulsion - were the culprit to be caught.
Despite Saturday morning bringing sunshine and a light breeze, Susanna woke up in the worst mood she'd felt in quite some time. She'd slept restlessly, and was all the more terrified the team would suffer because of it.
Oliver had the opposite opinion, being the happiest the Quidditch team had ever seen him. "Perfect conditions!" He said enthusiastically at the Gryffindor table, loading the team's plates. "Harry, Susanna, buck up there. You need a decent breakfast."
It seemed Harry had as restless a sleep as his cousin, the boy staring around the table in paranoia as he tried to suss out the culprit. Susanna was much too tired and angry to do so, choosing to stab her eggs instead.
"Hey." Alicia whispered, and Susanna paused. "My first game as a non-alternate player, I'd slept only half an hour the night before. Nothing wakes a person up quicker than zooming through the skies on a broomstick. You'll be alright."
Susanna nodded, exhaling shakily. "Thank you." Alicia squeezed her shoulder, then wished the rest of the team luck.
As she and Harry left the Great Hall with Ron and Hermione to grab their Quidditch belongings, her cousin suddenly froze, griping the railing of the marble staircase. He shouted, the other three Gryffindors jumping in alarm. "The voice!" He looked over his shoulder, eyes wild. "I just heard it again - didn't you?"
Ron shook his head, wide-eyed, but Hermione clapped a hand to her forehead. "Harry, I think I've just understood something! I've got to go to the library!" She began sprinting up the stairs, but Susanna yelled after her.
"Hermione, it can wait! We've got the game! I can go with you later -"
"I'll be quick, promise!"
Susanna groaned while Harry cleared his throat. "What does she understand?" He asked the other two as Hermione disappeared.
"Loads more than I do." Ron answered.
"But why's she got to go to the library?"
Susanna sighed and turned to face her cousin and their friend. "You know Hermione's saying, 'When in doubt, go to the library.'"
"You'd better get moving." Ron told the cousins as people began emerging from the Great Hall, talking excitedly about the match. "It's nearly eleven -"
With that, Harry and Susanna raced up to Gryffindor Tower, collecting their brooms before joining the large crowd swarming towards the pitch. They shoved their way through the bodies, eventually reaching the Gryffindor changing room. Susanna thanked her years of ballet for how quickly she was able to put on her uniform.
Oliver clapped his hands together, delivering the last of his multiple speeches that morning. "Alright, team. We play our game, Hufflepuff doesn't stand a chance. We're stronger, quicker, and smarter."
"And not to mention some of them are dead scared that Harry'll petrify them if they fly anywhere near him." Fred pointed out, George snickering while Susanna rolled her eyes.
"Well, that too." Oliver accepted. "C'mon. We've got a match to win."
With that, they left the changing room. The stands erupted into thunderous applause as the two teams marched onto the field. Oliver took off for a warm-up flight around the goal posts while Madam Hooch released the balls. The Hufflepuffs stood in a huddle, having a last-minute discussion. Susanna mounted her Nimbus 2001, shooting up into the sky with a smoothness she didn't think capable of due to her exhaustion. Alicia had been proved right, though, the cool breeze instantly waking her. She flew up to the Gryffindor section of the stands, finding Ron at the very front and frowning when she saw Hermione was still missing.
"She hasn't showed up yet?" Susanna asked.
Ron shook his head. "No. She's probably on her way, though."
Susanna sighed, but flew down to join Katie and Angelina. All three girls paused in confusion when Professor McGonagall came running across the pitch, carrying an enormous purple megaphone. Susanna landed next to her cousin, who'd been about to mount his broom.
"This match has been canceled!" The Deputy Headmistress called through the megaphone. The crowd booed and shouted in response.
Oliver looked even more displeased and devastated, hurrying over to the professor as soon as he landed. "But, professor, we've got to play… the cup… Gryffindor -"
Professor McGonagall only ignored him and continued barking orders through her megaphone. "All students are to make their way back to the House common rooms, where their Heads of Houses will give them further information. As quickly as you can, please!" She then lowered her megaphone and stepped around the despondent Oliver, approaching the cousins. "Potter, Dursley, you best come with me."
"What happened?" Susanna was quick to ask, but the professor only shook her head.
"We should find Weasley, as well, ah - Weasley!" She called, this time only needing her voice as the redheaded boy had detached himself from the complaining crowd and rushed towards the field. "You better come, too."
They passed by the grumbling students, some upset about the match being canceled while others were worried. Harry, Susanna, and Ron followed Professor McGonagall back into the school, shrugging as they were ushered up the marble staircase, but not towards anybody's office.
"This will be a wee bit of a shock." Professor McGonagal spoke gently as they turned down the corridor leading towards the hospital wing. "There has been another attack… another double attack." Susanna's stomach dropped the closer they got. Practically everyone had been at the game. Everyone, except -
"Hermione!" Ron groaned as they entered the infirmary.
Hermione lay stone-still on the bed, her eyes open and glassy. Susanna's broom fell from her hand for the second time in two days, tears spilling down her cheeks as she turned away in horror. She was met with Madam Pomfrey bending over Penelope Clearwater and hurriedly shut her eyes. Two hands grabbed her, pulling her into a hug as she sobbed into her cousin's shoulder.
"They were found near the library." Professor McGonagall revealed. "I don't suppose any of you can explain this? It was on the floor next to them."
Susanna tilted her head slightly to look at the small, circular mirror. She shook her head in denial, then stepped away from her cousin to stand at Hermione's side. Sobs still escaped her as she took her best friend's hand, cold to the touch. She squeezed three times, trying to convince herself it was all a lie, or a bad dream - maybe a prank, a bad joke - but nothing happened.
"I will escort you back to Gryffindor Tower." Professor McGonagall spoke heavily. "I need to address the students in any case."
It took both Ron and Harry to get Susanna to leave Hermione's side, her broom lying forgotten on the hospital wing floor.
"All students will return to their House common rooms by six o'clock in the evening. No student is to leave the dormitories after that time. You will be escorted to each lesson by a teacher. No student is to use the bathroom unaccompanied by a teacher. All further Quidditch training and matches are to be postponed. There will be no more evening activities." Professor McGonagall addressed the Gryffindors packed into the common room, but Susanna barely listened. She sat frozen on the couch, Hades mewling sadly on her lap. Her eyes remained on the fireplace, swollen, red, and wet as she cried silently.
Professor McGonagall sighed, rolling up the parchment she'd been reading from. "I need hardly add that I have rarely been so distressed. It is likely that the school will be closed unless the culprit behind these attacks is caught. I would urge anyone who thinks they might know anything about them to come forward." She then climbed awkwardly out of the portrait hole, the Gryffindors talking immediately.
"That's two Gryffindors down, not counting a Gryffindor ghost, one Ravenclaw, and one Hufflepuff." Lee counted down on his fingers. "Haven't any of the teachers noticed that the Slytherins are all safe? Isn't it obvious all this stuff's coming from Slytherin? The Heir of Slytherin, the monster of Slytherin - why don't they just chuck all the Slytherins out?" He roared, met with nods and scattered applause. The noise jolted Susanna out of her stupor, and she began to pet Hades as she looked around the common room. Her eyes met Percy's, who looked as pale and stunned as she was.
"Percy's in shock." Susanna heard George whisper to Harry. "That Ravenclaw girl - Penelope Clearwater - she's a prefect. I don't think he thought the monster would dare attack a prefect." The red-haired girl stood up abruptly, Hades in her arms. She turned towards the stairs leading towards the dormitory, ignoring the sad stares and her fellow Gryffindors' attempts to comfort her.
"Susie? Susie, wait!" Ron called, and she paused outside her room, staring unseeingly down at him and her cousin.
"I told her not to go without me." Susanna whispered. "I should've… I should've tried harder, I should've followed her -"
"Stop." Harry stepped in front of her, shaking his head. "Don't you dare. If you'd have gone with her, you'd be Petrified, too. It's bad enough what happened to Hermione. I can't lose you, too."
"Me, neither." Ron added, the two boys hugging the shaking girl. Hades jumped out of her arms at the added affection, slipping into the dormitory.
"They're going to suspect Hagrid, aren't they?" Susanna asked, reluctantly pulling back from the hug.
"That's what we think." Harry agreed. "Which is why we're going to get my dad's old cloak out again."
The journey through the dark and deserted castle was no easy feat. Teachers, prefects, and ghosts flooded the corridors in pairs, on the lookout for unusual activity. Harry's father's cloak made them invisible, but it didn't stop them from making noise. The trio encountered one especially tense moment when Ron stubbed his toe only steps away from where Professor Snape was standing guard. Thankfully, the Potions professors sneezed at the same time Ron swore, Susanna too late to cover his mouth. All three breathed easier when they reached the front doors and quietly eased them open.
The night was clear and starry. Susanna could hear Hermione's voice in her head, commenting on the constellations and what phase the moon was in. It brought new tears to her eyes, which she swallowed as best she could. They kept the cloak on until they reached Hagrid's front door, pulling it off before knocking.
Seconds later, Hagrid flung the door open. The three Gryffindors found themselves face-to-face with his crossbow, Fang barking loudly behind the gamekeeper. "Oh," he said, lowering his weapon, "what're you three doin' here?"
"What's that for?" Harry asked, nodding at the crossbow.
"Nothin', nothin' - I've bin expectin' - doesn' matter." Hagrid muttered, then hurried them inside. "Sit down, I'll make tea."
Hagrid was a nervous wreck, nearly extinguishing the fire when he spilled water from the kettle on it, then smashed the teapot with a jerk of his massive hand. Susanna - feeling useless and needing to move - took over for him, repairing the teapot just like Hermione would've. As she prepared their drinks, she tried to think of a way to ask him about what happened fifty years ago. All she was met with was the memory of her best friend's frozen body.
"Are you okay, Hagrid?" Harry asked as Susanna poured them each a mug of tea. "Did you hear about Hermione?"
"Oh, I heard, alrigh'." Hagrid's voice broke slightly. He took a break from looking out the windows to accept the mug Susanna handed him. "Thanks, Susanna." She nodded, and he gently patted her shoulder. "Yer goin' ter be alrigh'. So's Hermione, the Mandrakes are growin'." He took a shaky sip, just as someone knocked loudly on the door. He cursed as he spilled his drink on the floor, looking wide-eyed at the three second years. "Quick, hide, you'll get in trouble. Be with you in a moment!" Hagrid called, seizing his crossbow as Susanna dumped the three extra mugs into the sink, Harry and Ron dragging her under the cloak and into the corner just before the door opened.
Professor Dumbledore stood on the other side, unaffected by the crossbow aimed at his face. "Good evening, Hagrid."
"Oh! Sorry, Professor." Hagrid lowered his weapon once more, stepping aside to let the Headmaster in. He entered, looking far more serious than Susanna had ever seen, and was followed by an odd-looking man. The stranger had rumpled gray hair and an anxious expression. He wore a pinstriped suit, a scarlet tie, a long black cloak, purple boots, and carried a lime-green bowler hat under his arm.
Ron gasped as quietly as he was able. "That's dad's boss! Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic!" Susanna held up her finger while Harry elbowed him.
Hagrid had become pale and sweaty, dropping forlornly into his massive armchair. "Bad business, Hagrid." Fudge spoke in a clipped voice while the gamekeeper stared up at him and the Headmaster. "Very bad business. Had to come. Four attacks on Muggle-borns. Things've gone far enough. Ministry's got to act."
"I never," Hagrid began, turning to Professor Dumbledore, "you know I never, Professor Dumbledore, sir -"
"I want it understood, Cornelius, that Hagrid has my full confidence." The Headmaster frowned at Fudge.
"Look, Albus," Fudge sounded as uncomfortable as he looked, "Hagrid's record's against him. Ministry's got to do something - the school governors have been in touch -"
"Yet again, Cornelius, I tell you that taking Hagrid away will not help in the slightest." Professor Dumbledore implored once more, his voice becoming even harder.
Fudge fidgeted with his bowler. "Look at it from my point of view. I'm under a lot of pressure. Got to be seen doing something. If it turns out it wasn't Hagrid, he'll be back and no more said. But I've got to take him. Got to. Wouldn't be doing my duty -"
"Take me?" Hagrid's voice trembled. "Take me where?"
"For a short stretch, only." Fudge attempted to speak in a comforting tone. "Not a punishment, Hagrid, more a precaution. If someone else is caught, you'll be let out with a full apology -"
"Not Azkaban?" The gamekeeper croaked. Fudge made to respond, but was halted by another loud knock on the door. Professor Dumbledore answered it this time, Harry the one to earn an elbow to the side when he gasped at the newcomer.
Lucius Malfoy stepped into the hut, dressed in a long black traveling cloak, his smile cold and satisfied. Fang growled, a sentiment Susanna nearly echoed.
"Already here, Fudge. Good, good." He drawled approvingly.
"What're you doin' here? Get outta my house!" Hagrid ordered furiously.
Mr. Malfoy scoffed. "My dear man, please believe me, I have no pleasure at all in being inside your, er, do you call this a house?" He sneered as he glanced around the hut. "I simply called at the school and was told that the Headmaster was here."
"And what exactly did you want with me, Lucius?" Dumbledore asked, speaking politely.
"Dreadful thing, Dumbledore," Mr. Malfoy said lazily as he took out a long roll of parchment, "but the governors feel it's time for you to step aside. This is an Order of Suspension - you'll find all twelve signatures on it. I'm afraid we feel you're losing your touch. How many attacks have there been now? Two more this afternoon, wasn't it? At this rate, there'll be no Muggle-borns left at Hogwarts, and we all know what an awful loss that would be to the school."
"Oh, now, see here, Lucius." Fudge jumped in, alarmed by the news. "Dumbledore suspended - no, no - last thing we want just now -"
"The appointment - or suspension - of the Headmaster is a matter for the governors, Fudge." Mr. Malfoy reminded the Minister. "And as Dumbledore has failed to stop these attacks -"
"See here, Malfoy, if Dumbledore can't stop them… I mean to say, who can?"
Mr. Malfoy smiled nastily in response. "That remains to be seen. But as all twelve of us have voted -"
Hagrid leapt to his feet, anxiety replaced with rage. "An' how many did yeh have ter threaten an' blackmail before they agreed, Malfoy, eh?"
"Dear, dear, you know, that temper of yours will lead you into trouble one of these days, Hagrid." Mr. Malfoy taunted the gamekeeper. "I would advise you not to shout at the Azkaban guards like that. They won't like it at all." Susanna, Ron, and Harry struggled not to pounce on Draco's much crueler father.
"Yeh can' take Dumbledore!" Hagrid yelled back, Fang whimpering in his basket. "Take him away, an' the Muggle-borns won' stand a chance! There'll be killin' next!"
"Calm yourself, Hagrid." Professor Dumbledore spoke sharply before addressing Mr. Malfoy. "If the governors want my removal, Lucius, I shall of course step aside."
"But -" Fudge stuttered out.
"However," the Headmaster continued, speaking slowly and clearly enough that no one would mishear him, "you will find that I will only truly have left this school when none here are loyal to me. You will also find that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it." Susanna could've sworn Professor Dumbledore had spared a glance in their direction.
Mr. Malfoy cleared his throat. "Admiral sentiments. We shall all miss your, er, highly individual way of running things, Albus, and only hope that your successor will manage to prevent any, ah, killins." He strode to the door, opened it, and bowed the Headmaster out. Fudge continued fiddling with his bowler, waiting for Hagrid to join him, but the gamekeeper only stood his ground.
"If anyone wanted ter find out some stuff," Hagrid began after taking a deep breath, "all they'd have ter do would be ter follow the spiders. That'd lead 'em right! That's all I'm sayin'." Fudge stared up at him in confusion. "Alrigh', I'm comin'." He pulled on his moleskin overcoat. As he was about to follow the Minister through the door, he stopped once more and said, "An' someone'll need ter feed Fang while I'm away."
With that, the door slammed shut, and the three Gryffindors dropped the cloak. "We're in trouble now." Ron spoke hoarsely as the other redhead continued to pet Hagrid's dog. "No Dumbledore. They might as well close the school tonight. There'll be an attack a day with him gone."
Fang began to howl, scratching at the wood. Susanna hurried over to comfort the boarhound, uncaring of the drool.
Professor Dumbledore was gone. Hagrid was gone. The school might close, forcing Harry and Susanna to return to her parents. Hermione was Petrified.
Susanna had never felt so helpless.
Notes: Because I established chapters earlier that girls can't enter the boys' dormitories if they mean harm, it no longer made sense for Ginny to destroy Harry's dorm. That's why Susanna's dorm was destroyed instead.
I wrestled with having Susanna be Petrified, but I ultimately chose to stick with canon. Besides, I feel bad for her missing out/side-questing the previous year's adventure. The boys need at least one braincell, and for the most part Susanna and Hermione share custody (only joking, the boys are smart, too). We're going to see a shift in Susanna's behavior moving forward, with more drama to come. We're (practically) in the endgame of Chamber of Secrets now.