Wizengamot
The members of the Wizengamot had been trickling into their seats for some time now. Harry strode in when he was sure that all the others were in their places. Amelia had told him that if he entered this way, others would know that he was there and they would make an effort to participate with more interest in the proceedings. As he walked up to his seat, he nodded towards many of the lords and exchanged greetings with a few of them. He noticed Sirius sitting in the Rosier seat and Andromeda in the Black seat. He took the Peverell seat himself and waited for the session to begin.
As was the custom, the entire Wizengamot stood when Dumbledore strode into the chamber with exactly 2 minutes to go before 10:00 a.m. They remained standing until he took his seat on the dais. He rapped his gavel and said loudly, "Close the doors".
The massive double doors which formed the entrance of the Wizengamot closed.
He started addressing the gathered members, "Let the Wizengamot session for the month of November, 1995 begin. Before we proceed to the agenda for the day, does anyone have any formal notices, motions or announcements to be made?"
A couple of people stood and made announcements which were part of the daily business of the Wizengamot. It took the better part of an hour but it was important business which could not be avoided. Finally after the announcements, motions etc. were taken care of, he rapped his gavel again. "I trust that the agenda for this session has been conveyed to you all. Lord Peverell has invented an alternative to the wolfsbane potion which has been proven to have the desired effect on those suffering with lycanthropy without any of the toxic side-effects. The first order of business today is to congratulate Lord Peverell for this significant achievement".
Everyone present in the Wizengamot stood up; even the dark faction, although with less enthusiasm, and clapped for his achievement. After the ovation had gone on for more than two minutes, Dumbledore rapped his gavel again, "The Minister of Magic after conferring with the Chief Warlock, the Head of DMLE and several of the department heads within the Ministry has decided to present him with the Order of Merlin (Second Class) for this contribution. I request that Lord Peverell come forth and accept the honour".
Harry dazedly walked to Dumbledore's dais where Frank was standing on one side of him with Percy standing behind him. Harry had not known about the Order of Merlin or he would have avoided this session or asked Frank to not do this. He was still not used to attention being lavished on him unnecessarily however he knew that he could not refuse it now without looking arrogant.
He walked up to Frank who picked up a silver medal from a tray that Percy was holding and pinned it to his robes and a roll of Parchment which he handed to him. Frank gave him a genuine smile, "Lord Peverell, your discovery will make life easier for thousands of people inflicted with the curse of lycanthropy. I do hope that they will find ways to make their lives more meaningful with this potion".
Harry bowed to him and returned to his seat. He could swear that Percy was beaming at him. That was a mystery that could be solved later. Right now, Dumbledore was rapping his gavel again.
"As you all know, the wolfsbane potion is regulated by the ministry and the International Confederation of Wizards. It can only be sold to known lycanthropes. Therefore, only those who are registered with the werewolf registry are given access to this potion. This new variation, invented by Lord Peverell, will be regulated in the same manner. Lord Abbott has made a motion that changes be made to the registry in light of repealing of the anti-werewolf legislation. The changes proposed by him are fixed on two points primarily: The registry should not be allowed to brand werewolves and they should not be traced by the ministry. Those of you who want to speak for or against the motion please raise your wand".
A lot of hands went up with Harry being one of them.
Dumbledore started, "Since there are many who wish to speak to the motion, we will go by the order of precedence of the Houses. The Ancient and Reverent House of Peverell is the first and foremost in line in the absence of House Pendragon and of House La Fey. Lord Peverell, you have the floor".
Harry stood at his place and started speaking confidently while leaking his magic a little to wrap around him like a cloak, "Dear Lords and Ladies of the Wizengamot, pardon my insolence for speaking in front of all of you when I have little to no experience with this august body in comparison to you all. Before I start making my points, I would like to ask how many of you have children, grand-children, nieces or nephews studying in Hogwarts in 3rd year or above".
Many of the hands went up and he started speaking again, "I presume you all know how no defense professor has lasted more than one term at the school for a while now. Two years ago, the Headmaster hired a wizard named Remus Lyall Lupin to teach defense. I know he was revealed to be a werewolf by the end of the year but I ask you all as to what your children said about his teaching abilities?"
One of the lords stood up and answered him, "My son who was in his NEWTs year at that time claimed that he had not seen a more decent DADA teacher than Remus Lupin in 7 years at Hogwarts and he would have failed his NEWTs if it was not for him".
Several other lords murmured in agreement. Dumbledore was watching everything with amusement. He knew what Harry was doing. By the time Harry finished having his say, these lords would all be ready to march behind him and do whatever he asked of them. Sirius too was smirking, perhaps thinking along the same lines. Ghost of a smile was playing on Amelia's lips.
Harry continued, "As many of you agree, he was the best DADA teacher to have come to Hogwarts in all these years. The OWLs and NEWTs scores in DADA were the highest they have been in decades that year. Despite his affliction, he was an excellent teacher who took time to teach all of his students and did not judge them. As the Headmaster can affirm, he was one of the best students of his age and despite having impeccable grades and being a hero in the last war, he was without a job because our ministry had declared werewolves to be mindless beasts and their position did not change even after the Wolfsbane was invented. There were laws written against them by a non-descript witch who rose to be senior under-secretary in the previous administration. We rewarded a war hero with scorn and hatred. That speaks a lot about our society and what is wrong with it. This bill introduced by Lord Abbott seeks to ensure that we do not discriminate against them anymore. They are ordinary people like us. The only difference being that they are forced to become mindless beasts for 13 nights a year due to this affliction. If we continue discriminating against them on the one hand while we pretend to be treating them like other citizens, we would be called hypocrites and would be no better off than we were under the previous administration. While some of you may argue that we are already giving them more freedom than they were given before, that is still not equality. If we are vying for equality, we must brand and trace every witch and wizard like we would brand the werewolves or we should not trace and brand anyone at all. Branding someone like that befits to megalomaniac dark lords but not a civilised society such as ours". He bowed to the Wizengamot in general and sat down to tumultuous applause from every quarter. Even some from the dark faction were applauding for him.
Dumbledore rapped his gavel again, "Well said, Lord Peverell. Is there anyone else who wishes to speak to this motion?"
Since Harry had conveyed everyone's sentiments artfully, the hands which were raised previously were not raised again, with the exception of Lucius Malfoy. "I wish to speak against the motion".
"Very well, Lord Malfoy. You have the floor".
He started speaking in his drawling tone, "I respect what Lord Peverell has said before this chamber", with disrespect dripping from his every syllable, "We must keep in mind that most of what he said is motivated by his own interests. We all know he is partial to the werewolf Remus Lupin and that he has discovered an alternative to the Wolfsbane potion. Naturally, he would support this motion which aligns with his interests. What is not clear is whether this motion is in the best interests of the wizarding community as a whole. I don't know about the rest of you, but I sleep better at night knowing that the ministry is aware of the identity and location of the werewolves at all times and especially on the night of the full moon. For the sakes of your children if not for yourselves, I ask you to vote against this motion".
As he sat down, Sirius raised his hand, "Chief Warlock, I would like the opportunity to address the Wizengamot".
"Permission granted, Regent Rosier. The floor is yours".
Sirius stood and started speaking slowly and clearly, "Lord Malfoy raised some good points however he forgot the main objective behind the werewolf friendly stance of the Ministry. We agree that a werewolf who turns innocent children should be put down like a rabid dog and this is an explicit provision of this motion. We should be mindful that many of the werewolves in Wizarding Britain, my associate Remus Lupin included, were turned as acts of revenge or coercion by the followers of Voldemort. They are innocent victims of a vicious crime and they deserve our compassion, not our disdain or to be treated as second class citizens or monsters. Many of them were small children who had no way of understanding what had happened to them. They were forced to live in writhing agony every night of the Full Moon. Through no fault of theirs, they were forced to bear the unbearable pain of their bones reforming while they transform, their minds lost to madness and being reduced to raving mindless beast. Until now the ministry has been discriminating against them, segregating them from the society as if they are some illness which should not be allowed in this society which is somewhat responsible for what happened to them. In the last war, I was serving as an Auror. I saw far too many instances of small children who were turned because their parents refused to do Voldemort's bidding or they actively opposed him and his merry band of fools. For the price that they paid for their parent's defiance, how did we reward them? We quarantined them from us civilised people and what's more, we branded them like Voldemort did to his followers. Where did it leave us? How did it make us any better than them? If this is the way that we are going then I would daresay that we are no different from Voldemort and his followers".
There was lots of applause for Sirius this time and when he sat, Harry sent him a smile which said that he was pleased with the Marauder's moving speech.
"Is there anyone else who wishes to speak to the motion?" Dumbledore asked.
When no one replied, he rapped his gavel again, "Are there any questions to be asked before we move to vote on the motion?"
Elder Alexander McDougall, who was the head of the McDougall clan in Scotland and Elder of the Wizengamot stood, "I have a few questions for the Minister and the chief of DMLE, Chief Warlock".
"You are permitted to put forth your questions, Elder McDougall".
He turned to Frank and Amelia, "If we vote on this motion and it passes the Wizengamot, how will the ministry rein in the rogue werewolves?"
Amelia stood, "Elder McDougall, we will not brand them or trace them constantly but we will record their magical signatures when they are registered. It will be mandatory for every werewolf entering our borders to be registered and their magical signature will be recorded at that time. A dedicated team of 50 Aurors will be formed to deal with instances of werewolf attack and the like. Any werewolf that we find to be involved in any crime will be given a trial and if found guilty, they will be punished according to the gravity of their crimes the same as any other member of our society. However the offense of turning someone to lycanthropy is unique to werewolves. Any werewolf found guilty of this offence will be summarily executed".
As she sat down, Dumbledore asked again, "Does anyone else have a question?"
Lord Greengrass stood, "Why can we not make a formal request to the ICW to deregulate the potion?"
This was answered by Frank, "It is so Lord Greengrass because if we deregulated the potion then no one would be obliged to register themselves. This would be like an open invitation to criminals to come and live in Wizarding Britain because there is nothing to regulate them or their actions. It would mean the ministry will have no means to determine the exact number of werewolves within the magical borders of Wizarding Britain. This could be a catastrophe in the near future due to Wizarding Britain being over-run by werewolves who would not need to register themselves and could wreak havoc on the society".
"Does anyone else have any more questions before we move to vote?" Dumbledore asked for one final time.
When no one raised their hand, he rapped his gavel again, "Those in favour of the motion, raise your wand lighted green".
A forest of hands went up and Dumbledore quickly counted them. There were 100 votes in favour of the motion.
"All those who are opposed to this motion, please raise your wands with tip lighted red".
Some of them raised their wands and a quick count revealed that 30 had voted against the motion while 30 had either abstained from voting or were not present.
Dumbledore rapped his gavel again, "The motion is passed by a vote of 100 in favour, 30 opposed with 30 abstentions. The Ministry shall take care of all other related matters with this motion and present a plan to be put into place within the next week. Lord Peverell is ordered not to release his new potion to market before the registry is functioning effectively again".
The session was adjourned soon after and Harry was joined by Susan, Daphne, Neville, Hannah and many other of his friends who had come to watch today's session. Lord Greengrass joined him on the floor of the chamber where Harry had been talking to his friends. Harry reminded Lord Greengrass of his invitation to Black Townhouse that afternoon to discuss the contract which he was eager to procure.
The friends decided that the day was too good to be wasted inside so they all went for lunch to a restaurant in Diagon Alley. Lunch was a boisterous affair. After having their fill, most of them returned to the castle while Harry and Susan left for Black Town House. Sirius had gone on duty to the Auror Floor while Frank had returned to his office. Amelia had also returned to her office as Harry knew that they were working on the plan to lure Tom out.
Mad-eye had selected a team of 50 Aurors to accompany them and was training them diligently. The finer aspects of the plan were being put into place and this reminded Harry that he had been lacking some serious practice since he had returned from Adrishpuram. He was unstoppable against a horde of dummies but Tom was certainly not going to act like a dummy for him. He would need to be in top form for the next act.
Black Town House
Susan accompanied Harry to Black Townhouse. From there, she had decided that they would floo to the cottage on the hill and from there they could walk back to the school.
Lord Greengrass visited them in the evening when Sirius and Remus were there. Dobby escorted the visiting Lord to the meeting room where Harry stood to greet him. As Cyrus came into the room, he stepped forward and shook his hand, "Cyrus, it is a pleasure to see you".
"Likewise Harry", he returned the gesture and greeted others in the room before he took a seat which Harry offered him.
Remus, as it had been agreed, opened the conversation. "Lord Greengrass..."
Cyrus cut in amid conversation, "call me Cyrus, Remus. After all, I was only a few years ahead of you at Hogwarts and on the receiving end of your pranks far too many times".
Remus chuckled, "Alright, Cyrus then. I seek your pardon for speaking out of turn. As I understand it, you wish to enter into a contract for distributorship of the new potion?"
Cyrus nodded, "I was willing to buy the patent, if Harry was amenable to it. I have learned of his reasons. I am hoping for sole distributorship of this new potion which I know would be helpful to those cursed with lycanthropy".
"Again, I ask your pardon for this. My nephew does not have much of a head for business and does not think of things in a greater perspective. This is why I am speaking on his behalf as his Steward. What amount of profit are you vying for by this distributorship that you are hoping to acquire?"
"I must accept that when I heard of this potion in Potions Today, I was amazed that nobody ever thought of improving the existing potion and after a few quick calculations, I realised that due to the prices of the alternative ingredient being low, the costs would fall drastically. Assuming that Harry would like to make quite a profit on the product, I had assumed that the prices would more or less be equal to wolfsbane. When Daphne told me that he is not doing it for financial gain, I stopped assuming and I am waiting to hear what his take on the matter is".
"We are not looking to make too much of a profit from it. As you might already know, House Potter has acquired a Wolfsbane manufacturing unit a few months ago and it is there we intend to start production. Since we are supplying the ingredients, brewing the potion and packaging it, we managed to drastically cut down the costs and as per my calculations, our cost is around 5 Galleons for a month's dose for the domestic market. It may be as high as 7 Galleons when we are exporting it. Add your profits of 3 galleons to every dose it comes out to around to 8 Galleons. So, we are selling it for 11G for a month's dose for domestic market while it may be up to 13 Galleons for exported products. So we are going to offer the product at 11G for a month's dose".
Cyrus sat listening for a long time before he started speaking, "Your proposition is good and has been well thought out. Part of the high cost of Wolfsbane is that it requires extremely capable potion masters to brew it and then add the cost of ingredients and packaging and other charges, the prices skyrocket. This potion that you are putting forth is admittedly better than wolfsbane in all aspects. One of the potion masters in my company told me that it shows a lot of promise and it will dominate the market within a month of its launch. I had not expected the prices to be just above the margin. You will make only meagre profits out of it. Knowing Harry's intentions, it makes sense. Greengrass Potions will agree to sell the potions in Wizarding Britain, if you agree to grant us sole distribution rights".
Remus called his own house-elf and asked her to take a missive to Andromeda and Ted Tonks. They arrived after about 10 minutes.
Andromeda asked Remus, "What do you require of us?"
Harry addressed her, "Aunt Andromeda, Greengrass Potions has agreed to our proposal for the distributorship of the new potion. I ask you to draw a contract to that effect between us. Their obligation shall include collection of the packaged products from the facility, selling them and returning our share of the revenues. They are also responsible to meet all regulatory requirements to only distribute the potion to properly registered werewolves".
She nodded, "I will draft a contract to that effect post-haste and you can sign it".
The contract was ready within 20 minutes and Harry read it thoroughly before handing it to Remus. The contract said that Greengrass potions would be responsible to collect the packaged product and sell it through their apothecaries. They were also responsible for complying with Ministry guidelines with regard to selling the potions. For every dose, they would make a profit of 3 Galleons and the product would be sold at 11G for a month's dose.
When it came time to sign the contract, Andromeda asked him, "Have you thought about a name for the potion, Harold?"
He had thought about the name a lot in the last few days and found one which would describe the potion effectively. "It will be called Lupuslax, Aunt Andromeda".
The contract was signed that day and it was agreed that as soon as the ministry allowed, Cyrus could start taking delivery of the potion. As it was almost evening, people started trickling in. Almost everyone Harry knew from the order or the Wizengamot, or the ministry was there. When he raised his eyes, Sirius told him that it was just a small celebration for his achievement of the Order of Merlin.
The party lasted late into the night. Harry crashed in his room as soon as he saw the last guest out through the floo. Susan left some time during the evening after Amelia suggested or more like ordered her to return to Hogwarts.
Hogwarts
Harry returned to the castle the next day. They had a potion lesson that day. During the whole lesson, Snape did not say a word to him but only kept looking at him while he glared at other students, sneered at them and otherwise made their life hell.
As other students were leaving, he asked Harry to stay back. After the students had left, he motioned for Harry to follow him to his office. When Harry entered his office, he was stumped. There on a wall was a big photo of his face, perhaps the same one as was on the cover of Potions Today, displayed along with pictures and portraits of many other potion masters.
He asked confused, "Umm... Professor why is there a photo of me in your office?"
Snape took a moment to reply, "Because of your achievement, Harry. You have shown that you have prodigious abilities in potion brewing. I admit that I have been experimenting with Wolfsbane for a long time in an effort to discover an alternate but I was not successful. You achieved this feat without any formal training in potion brewing which I should have given to you when you started at Hogwarts. A lot of meritorious students had to do with a sub-par education because I could not help but see the shadows of my past in every bright wizard or witch".
Harry could not understand what the point of this conversation was. "Professor, if you have nothing more to say, would you please excuse me? I have another class to get to. I would expect to be put in detention if I am late".
Snape handed him a piece of parchment, "There you go. It will save you from any detention. I have just a little more to say". Harry waited patiently for him to speak.
He started speaking after 5 minutes, "Harry, congratulations on your achievement. I must apologise to you for all the slights and my behaviour toward you. You have been touted as 'The Chosen One', the best hope for Wizarding Britain to overcome the Dark Lord. Even with that aside, being the son of Lilly and James, I expected much more from you than I have seen. I rode you hard because you had the nerve to be you instead of her… or him. I did not realise but in my perverted sense of justice, I was enjoying tormenting you thinking I was getting my revenge upon your father. I never stopped to think what I had become. I offer my congratulations and apologies for all the slants I committed towards you".
Harry went to his other classes wondering if perhaps the sun had risen in the west that day. The dungeon bat had his photo mounted on the wall of his office in a place of honour. Perhaps he woke up on the wrong side of his bed in the morning.
Chamber of Secrets
That night Harry had called Vikram to join him in the chamber to practice. Vikram arrived to see him battling a horde of dummies by himself. Harry was trying to perform the dance of death as he had seen Harsh do on the ship that day while making the dummies cast at him all at once. it looked like he was not very successful.
Vikram kept watching him for some time before he interrupted him. "Enough Harry, stand down".
Harry turned to Vikram and he could see the storm on Harry's face, "What has happened Harry? What has got you worried?"
"Professor, I feel like I am not practicing to the level that is required of me. I mean in Adirshpuram, I used to practice different magics all day, could show off my skills and no one would bat an eye. Here, I feel stifled. I cannot practice like I used to. There is no one like them", Harry whined.
The mystic chuckled, "Harry I understand where you are coming from but you cannot leave your school and other things that you are doing. You also cannot go traipsing away to practice with mystics because we cannot interfere anymore than we already have. I do not understand why you have not asked your friends for help?".
"What do you mean?"
"Harry, do you trust your friends?" the mystic asked.
"Of course, I do", Harry said confidently.
"Do you believe that they would never betray you or give up your secrets to others even under the threat of death?", the mystic asked him solemnly.
Harry wanted to say yes instantly but took a moment to think about it. He had more friends now than he ever had before but it was unwise to trust too easily or too quickly. Hermione, he knew would never give up his secrets even under threat of instant death. Neville would never tell on him to others and would keep his secrets no matter what. Susan was fiercely loyal to him and there was no way that she would betray him. Hannah was also a friend and Harry felt that he could trust her with a few secrets but not the really important ones. Ron had walked away from him last year but had returned later. He had also stood on a broken leg before an alleged mass murderer ready to die for him and that should count for something. There was Daphne who was a good friend but Harry was still not sure if he would be comfortable with telling her his deepest secrets, after all, he did not know anything special about her except that she fancied him a lot. Seamus was a boy who was known to be a motor-mouth and could blurt secrets so he was out. Ernie was a little pompous but was becoming unfailingly loyal to him and had stood up to Smith for Harry even though Smith was his friend for the last 4 years. The twins and Ginny were beyond question. Finally he faced Vikram, "I can trust most of them with my life and would die for them, if the need be as they would do for me. Why do you ask?"
"Harry, the kind of practice that you are used to, is not possible without help from several people. While I am a mystic, I am only one wizard. I cannot do parallel casting. If you want, you can enlist your friends to help you practice the way you want. The room of requirement would be useful for this purpose. If I were you, I would choose a group of them and let them duel with me for practice. If you are still worried about your secrets, ask them to take a magical oath for that".
Harry nodded, "I think I will ask them for help".
Vikram asked him another thing which was on his mind, "Harry, why are you not teaching the students 'the patronus charm'?".
They all know that my patronus used to be a stag, same as my father's. Now my patronus has changed to a great snow-leopard. It will lead to some awkward questions and I don't know how to answer them".
The mystic smiled, "Tell them it can change when one's personality changes. With everything that you have been through recently, it would be surprising if your patronus did not change".
Harry nodded, "I will start teaching the patronus charm in the next session. I also want to practice some of the mystic spells with you".
Vikram pulled out his wand and adopted the stance of the duel, "Let's dance, Harry".
Harry started casting at a speed which was too fast for most people to follow. But Vikram was a mystic. He faced Harry without difficulty. The mystic was able to dodge or sidestep his spells and had not yet resorted to the slippery fish. Harry kept casting to his heart's content. Finally when he saw that Vikram was getting too comfortable with his spells, he pulled out the elder wand and started shooting spells at him from two wands at once. Vikram still was able to dodge for some time before he had to adopt the slippery fish mode. Harry could see that his movements were not as fluid as his own had been. He was no where near as adept as Vari was. Harry knew that there were only three people who could do the slippery fish better than Vikram, those being Harsh, Vari and Harry.
After having cast all the spells that he wanted, he nodded to the mystic to start casting. Vikram could not cast with both hands but made up for it by arranging dummies in different positions. They all were set to cast at specific angles as he wanted and he motioned to Harry to start his practice. Harry started dodging spells from the dummies and was doing it easily because he knew where they would shoot their next spell and he could move out of place before he was hit. Vikram started shooting spells at random from among the dummies and almost every time, his spells were in the place where Harry would have landed or where he would be. Thus, in addition to dodging the dummies, he also had to dodge Vikram and while it was not the same as having mystics cast at himit was closest to it.
When they were done with their practice, he resolved to ask a few of his friends to help him practice the way he wanted. If he had to stand against Voldemort, he would have to take some risks.
Room of Requirement
Harry had waited for the students to gather in the Room of Requirement before he started addressing them. "This week I realised one thing which I had not thought about. As we prepare to fight you-know-who and his minions, he has a number of creatures in his service namely Dementors, Werewolves etc. I have given you a basic idea about how to elude or even bring down a werewolf. But I had honestly forgotten about Dementors. As you all know, the best way to repel a dementor is the patronus charm. It can drive them away due to the fact that the dementors are fiends which suck all happiness out of us while the patronus is made up of all the positive feelings. Starting today, we are going to learn the patronus charm. The ancient and mysterious charm conjures a magical guardian, a projection of all of your positive feelings. Remember that only those pure of heart can conjure a patronus".
He took a pause for a minute and then started again, "While a patronus looks warm and comforting but conjuring one is hard, especially for those who never had any happy memories. It is a complex spell which requires a great deal of energy and focus. It is fuelled by your emotions. I learned it with a Boggart and it took me the greater part of 4 months to be able to pull it off. Before you all conjure the spell, I invite you all to sit on the mats provided to you".
Mats appeared beside the students and they sat as he had directed. He now ordered them to close their eyes and said, "Now think of a happy memory. The happiest moment that you can remember and let the feeling over-whelm you. Let yourself bask in that feeling. Sit in this position for 10 minutes and then we will go further".
After 10 minutes, he raised them, "Before we start casting, please repeat clearly after me, "Expecto Patronum.". The students did so a couple of times and after Harry was satisfied, he started addressing them again, "Now take this stance, thrust your wand forward and clearly say the incantation while revelling in the feeling of your magic. Let your mind drown in positive feelings, happiness, elation and joy".
Within a minute, the hall was filled with cries of Expecto Patronum as students were trying to cast the charm. As Harry expected, none of them were able to produce so much as a silver wisp from their wands. After 10 minutes of trying, Hermione asked him, "Why don't you show us the charm, Harry? May be we would get the idea".
Harry acquiesced. He closed his eyes and raised his wand while thinking of the moment that he had seen his parents in limbo and was embraced by them. Giddiness came over him and he whispered 'Expecto Patronum'. A big four legged animal burst out of his wand making the others gasp.
He opened his eyes to find his friends looking at him and his patronus each in their turn. The rest of the students were busy watching the patronus that he had conjured.
Hermione asked the question he knew was coming. "Harry what happened to Prongs?"
Ron added, "Wasn't your patronus a big animal with antlers?"
Harry shrugged, "A patronus can change shape with changes in personality of a wizard or from some emotional upheaval. With a near-death experience at the end of last school year and everything I did over the summer, I guess that my patronus has changed along with me".
Hermione now looked at the creature closely, "What is this creature?"
It was Luna who answered, "It is Blizz".
Hermione opened her mouth to speak, "Luna, snow-leopards are..." Her words were caught in her throat when the patronus actually walked up to Luna as if he wished to be petted.
Luna smiled, "I see that you have got rid of your wrackspurt infestation, Hermione. This is a snow-leopard".
Hermione had shut her mouth and her lips resembled a straight line.
Harry continued teaching, "So you all have seen me conjuring a patronus. Now try and do not worry if you are not able to conjure even a wisp of silver at first. It is incredibly hard and would require time. Remember that you need happy memories and positive feelings for it to work".
Everyone started trying and by the time the lesson ended, many of them had managed to conjure wisps of silver. A few had managed to conjure an incorporeal patronus. The one who was farthest ahead of the others was Luna. She had a hare running around her by the end of the lesson. Hermione had conjured silver wisp around her but was not able to get anything more than that. It was the same with Susan and Hannah. Neville however was not trying and Harry decided to ask him about it later. Daphne was trying and had a silver wisp. The twins had conjured incorporeal patroni. Ginny's face was scrunched up in concentration and her eyes were closed in thoughtfulness however she was not able to conjure anything yet. Harry had a suspicion that she would find it very hard to conjure a patronus due to her past with the diary. Everyone else was trying hard to conjure up a patronus but nobody had gone beyond the silver wisps yet. After about an hour, Harry dismissed them telling them to practice more in their free time so that they would have a better chance of success in coming sessions. As students were leaving, he asked Neville to stay back. Susan as had become the practice also stayed back with Hannah.
Harry turned to Neville, "Mate, when did you learn the Patronus charm?"
Hannah stated her disbelief, "No. Neville does not know how to conjure a patronus".
One look at Neville told her that Neville did indeed know how to conjure a patronus. "During the summer, my great-uncle Algie taught me the patronus charm. So I already know it".
Hannah crossed her hands in front of her chest, "Show me".
Neville whipped out his wand and cast the charm. A vast four-legged creature burst forth.
Harry saw the creature and guffawed, "A bear. That is incredible and I would say rather fitting considering your personality".
Hannah was poking him in the chest, "You knew how to conjure a patronus and yet you did not tell me? To your girl friend? Why?"
Harry took Susan's hand and started to drag her away, "Let's leave them here. They will likely take a lot of time to reconcile their differences".
As he was escorting Susan down to the dungeons, he found the fifth year Slytherin Prefects on patrol and could not resist the temptation to commit some mischief. He had not pranked anyone for a few days anyhow.
Staying in a dark corner, he sent a few spells their way whispering under his breath and turned to Susan, "let's leave this place as soon as we can. There is going to be mayhem".
The next day, they would hear that the Slytherin Prefects had been fixed to the ceiling on the sixth floor with their tongues glued to the roof of their mouth and no one had seen anyone who might have done it. The teachers almost immediately suspected that Harry was behind it, and they were right, but proving it proved to be more difficult. For one thing, Susan had vouched that Harry was with her at the time when it had happened. For another thing, priori incantatem on his wand at Snape's hands revealed nothing. There was nothing to be found of course because he had not used the Acacia wand but the sandalwood wand for this deed.
Fourth Floor
Harry had sent a message to a few people to come meet him in the space behind the mirror on the fourth floor. They were Neville Longbottom, Susan Bones, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Mandy Brocklehurst, Terry Boot, Daphne Greengrass and Du Vant.
As they all took their places at the table, he started addressing them, "I suppose that you are all wondering why I invited you all here and not anyone else. The reason is that I am planning a prank, the likes of which will be talked about for years from now. I am informing you in advance that this may earn you detentions and the wrath of the headmaster and the teachers. So, if any of you want to back out of it, please do so now and there will be no hard feelings. If, however, you choose to stay and sabotage my plans, I swear by mother magic that I will make your life hell".
No one moved. Daphne asked him, "I can understand others but why are we here and why not Hermione and Ronald or the twins for that matter?"
"Because you are an important part of what I am about to do, Daphne. The prank needs your help to execute it. Hermione, Ronald, Hannah and Ernie are all prefects and I would rather that their reputations remain unblemished. As for the twins, they are often at prank war with me and I want to rub it in their faces for once. The prank will happen in all houses on the same day".
Justin started speaking, "I am honoured that you invited me to be a part of this venture. I want to hear what the plan is before I commit. If it is life threatening then I must refuse".
Harry nodded, "That is perfectly understandable, Justin. The prank I am planning is based on runes and some transfigurations. As to what it will do, that will be revealed at the time when these take effect. I must warn you that we will all end up becoming victims of these pranks to avert any suspicion on us. In addition to the warning, I assure you that it will be perfectly harmless".
Susan eyed him suspiciously, "And exactly what will it do?"
Harry grinned, "Sorry Sue, I am not telling you yet. Let it be a surprise for everyone".
The Prank
The prank took place two days later. There was the little issue of the portraits to be looked after because they could spy on them and get them caught. To that end, he had to give up on some of the things that he wanted to do. He gave up on the initial idea to enter a common room of another house because he knew everyone would suspect that he was behind the wrong doing and everyone knew about his invisibility cloak. Add to that, stunned portraits and it would leave a trail for everyone to follow.
He had convened a meeting again of his lieutenants and told them what to do. He told them of the runes that he wanted to be drawn. There were 14 sets of runes, one for girls and one for boys of each year. The only similarity was that all students of one year would suffer from the same prank i.e. if one fifth year was seen with a horn on his head then the same would be for every student in the fifth year.
What he had not told them was that the students would be impersonating teachers and famous personalities from the Wizarding world. The runes for glamour in the cluster had been tweaked to give them the desired appearance.
That night, the students went to work after mid-night when everyone had gone to sleep. Du Vant had etched the runes on the doors of the boy's dormitories while Daphne did it for the girls in the serpent's pit. Justin and Susan did the same in the Badger's hole. Boot and Mandy did it in the Eagle's nest. Harry did it in the girl's dormitories under his invisibility cloak while Neville did it in the boy's dormitories.
Harry eagerly waited for the next day when things would hit the fan. There were a lot of holes in his plan. Harry took it to be almost for certain that they would be caught. The first hint was that the prank was the same for every house which meant it was done by people working together and right now, there were no other groups working together in all four houses other than his circle of friends which had grown to be vast. The second thing was that the only other prankster group that being the Weasley twins would be baffled with the prank because they had no idea who did it. That would leave only Harry as the plausible suspect. The third thing was that Dumbledore would surely try passive legilimency on students and he was sure that Boot and Mandy did not have elaborate protections around their mind. Snape no doubt would ask Harry to be tested by the Headmaster and his refusal would seal his doom. There was no way he was going to let someone in his mind.
The trouble started the next day at breakfast. It was about half an hour after breakfast had started when people started changing. It started with the first year boys turning into Filius Flitwick as the first year girls turned into Poppy Pomfrey.
The charms professor, who liked a good joke as much as anyone left the teacher's table and joined in with the first year students, helping them act more like him. The medi-witch, who did not have any critical cases this morning, joined in with the laughter once the students were over the initial surprise.
Two minutes later, the second year boys turned into copies of Gilderoy Lockhart complete with the shiny wavy hair and the idiotic grin as the second year girls changed into Professor Pomona Sprout. The older boys pointed and laughed at the second year boys. It was hard to tell if the Herbology professor was more amused or annoyed.
The laughter kept up for another two minutes until the third year boys suddenly all looked like Vikram Ram and the third year girls looked like Aurora Sinistra. The DADA Professor chuckled while the Astronomy professor looked starry-eyed at her imitators.
A minute later, the fourth year boys all turned into Cornelius Fudge complete with lime-green bowlers and pin-striped cloaks. The fourth year girls turned into Amelia Bones. Some of the boys tried to look stern and scowl, which just made it funnier as they tried not to laugh. A few others took the bowler off their head and tried spinning them as they had seen Fudge do when he was nervous. When Susan saw who the girls had changed into, she was horrified. Her Auntie would hex her into the middle of next week if she ever heard about this.
By the time it was the fifth years turn Hermione was sweating and muttering under her breath. Ron heard such profanities coming from her mouth that he could not have thought that his girl friend could be so brilliant at expletives. The boys changed first into the likeness of Hagrid with his beetle-black eyes and untameable, wiry hair but without his elephantine girth or towering height. The next moment, the girls changed into the History of Magic Professor, Professor Martha Hughes. Even Hermione had to admit that it could have been worse.
The sixth years had started to sweat by then. Harry knew they were just hoping that they did not change into something horrible. Their hopes were dashed when in the next minute, there were dozens of replicas of Professor Snape, complete with hooked noses, greasy, lank hair and black robes, sitting around in the Great Hall. The girls changed into Professor Trelawney complete with the frizzly hair, shawls and her over-sized glasses.
The seventh years got the best of it with all of the boys getting Dumbledore's appearance. The girls got Professor McGonagall.
Fred and George, looking at each other pointed and said, "Wow! We're identical!"
Angelina, who looked like McGonagall, gave Fred and George detention for terrible jokes in her best imitation of Minerva McGonagall who was scowling now.
Harry and all of his accomplices were sitting together at the Ravenclaw table eating breakfast and were deliberately not looking up. They were enjoying the mixed reactions of the students around them and knew that looking up would give their secret away. He knew that many of them were scandalised. But many more were enjoying it like the Weasley twins who were showing off their long fine beards. They were standing in their place and trying to mimic Dumbledore making others laugh. Dumbledore too was chuckling seeing their antics.
At the teacher's table, Flitwick was genuinely happy and enjoying the fact that the students loved that they were looking like him. He was also moved by the fact that the students loved him so much. Of course he knew that he was one of the favourite teachers at Hogwarts but to see the love being shown so openly was a nice touch. He inwardly resolved to award 20 points apiece to everyone who was involved in it for a prank well executed.
Poppy Pomfrey was usually a very laid back witch who was generally not shocked by anything except when it came to the well being of others. The way someone had glamored students to look like her was touching and a lovely gesture. Pity she could not award points to students but she would have loved to know who the ones behind the prank were so she could pat them on the back.
Professor Sprout was amused that students liked her enough to glamour others to look like her. It was a lovely gesture from whoever had done it. If her suspicions were correct like the other teachers, the culprits were at the Ravenclaw table.
Vikram of course knew the handiwork of Harry and how much the youngest marauder loved to prank, considering Harsh had taught him one prank too many. Aurora Sinistra was happy thinking that students actually paid attention to her even if for a prank and that they had said indirectly what she had wanted to.
Hagrid was amused and blushing a little. He had no idea that the students liked him so much and to see it so openly was indeed the best thing to happen to him this year. It was too much for him to take in anymore and he took out his handkerchief and profusely dabbed at the corner of his eyes. Professor Hughes was amused because whoever did it had guts to do something considering her reputation. She had seen all sorts of pranks at the school when she had studied at Hogwarts and was a few years behind the Marauders. Now she was delighted to be involved in one even though indirectly. Needless to say she was thrilled and would have awarded points to students if she knew who they were.
Professor Trelawney was not in the Great Hall as was her custom so nobody could know what she thought of it but Snape was looking murderous. Ever since he had changed his opinion of Harold Peverell, the brat had started to make efforts to prove him wrong again that he was indeed his father's son. Snape had been a classmate and far too often the victim of the Marauder's pranks. Harold Peverell was turning out to be one like him. Until the last year, he had been involved in death-defying adventures and no pranks like his father but now he had done more spectacular pranks than his father in one term alone. Merlin knew where it would lead. However one thing was certain- Harold Peverell was like his father and a marauder at heart.
Dumbledore was of course enjoying the prank. It was not done to hurt anyone and only bring laughter all around for the students. Minerva McGonagall was however Minerva McGonagall after all. She would not remain idle and let the mischief makers go unpunished. She had tangled with the marauders and came out on top even though she had got her hairs white with them. No son of a marauder could defeat her. Harold Peverell would pay.
Colin Creevey was meanwhile busy clicking pictures across the great-hall and laughing his head off. He had become Cornelius Fudge after all. Harry was planning to ask Colin to duplicate the picture and to keep a copy for himself to rub it in Sirius's face.
Unknown Castle
Voldemort was readying himself for action. The way the ministry had made it mandatory for werewolves to register, he knew the Aurors would be given unbridled powers to apprehend werewolves and his faithful who did not register would be hunted down. Things were already getting hard for him without the ministry actively engaging against him. Even in the last war, there had not been people who had the guts to make hard decisions. The former minister Milicent Bagnold who was hailed as a hero at the end of the last war did not have it in her to authorise lethal force. It was only when she herself had been attacked that she had authorised lethal force to be used. Voldemort thought he had killed all those men of iron will in the last war but perhaps there were still some out there who could make the tough decisions. If he wanted to stay ahead of the ministry, he had to do certain things at once.
The first thing he needed most was gold to fund his campaign. He had a lot of followers who could be asked to contribute towards his campaign or more like, he could confiscate their vaults for his purposes. Perhaps it was a suitable time to test the loyalty of the crafty Malfoy. He clapped his hands and a lowly new recruit entered the room and bowed low to him, "Yes, my lord?"
"Go and send Malfoy to me", Voldemort ordered.
Lucius entered after 5 minutes looking hesitant, his skin pale, and his eyes darting around with a frightened expression on his face. He bowed low to Voldemort, "My lord, you called?"
Voldemort sneered in his cold voice, "Took you long enough, Lucius". As Lucius shuddered, he levelled his wand at him and intoned, "Crucio".
The elder Malfoy kept withering under the curse for 2 minutes before Voldemort ceased his torture. Lucius sat on his knees after gathering a lot of his strength yet he was shaking with fright.
"I require a service of you, Lucius", he said coldly, "I want you to transfer all your liquid assets to me. I want all the gold that is in your account to fund my campaign. It is a great honour which I have decided to bestow upon you. I presume it is not disagreeable?"
Though he made it sound like a question, Lucius knew better than to answer otherwise. "N... No... No my lord. You are most beneficent to have selected me for this honour. There is no higher pleasure than to know that the Malfoy wealth would be used to fulfil your noble goals".
As they were talking, Lucius had not yet stood up and did not dare to look up in Voldemort's eyes for fear of being caught lying to him. Over the years, he had transferred a lot of his wealth to the Gnomes so that if something untoward was to happen and the Ministry seized his fortune, he could escape and still live a lavish life-style. The wealth that he had squirreled away with the Gnomes was almost as much as was with the Goblins. He had made some heavy investments after the last war on the advice of the Gnomes and they were paying healthy returns. Malfoy had suspicions that the wealth might have been coming from investment in the Muggle world but for him gold was gold. He did not care where it came from.
"Lucius, I require you to go to the Goblins and ask them to transfer the gold in seven equal parts to new accounts which shall be opened in the names of Goyle, Mulciber, Yaxley, Macnair, Parkinson, Flint and Selwyn. In case something happens to you, the money shall be used to fulfil the noble purpose of our victory, of the realisation of our dream. I want you to do this by today, Lucius or you will suffer my displeasure".
Lucius nodded. Of course he could not suffer the cruciatus curse too many times a day or he would slip off the deep end. The Dark Lord had a lot of plans and Lucius had dreams around those plans. He could not risk giving up on those plans. The wealth in the Malfoy Vault was nothing to the dreams which would be realised.
As Lucius left, Voldemort started thinking about the second problem. There was the chief issue of recruitment. Greyback was an alpha. He could recruit werewolves for him but still, he did not have as many recruits as he would have liked. He needed to step out of Wizarding Britain and gather some troops. Perhaps a tour of the neighbouring countries and defeating dark lords here and there was in order. He could claim the rights of victor against the followers of said Dark Lord and meld them into his own followers thus boosting his numbers but that would have to wait until he could break his most trusted followers out of Azkaban. He needed someone in charge of his troops in his absence and no one among his current followers was worthy of that honour except may be Snape but he was artfully employed where he could serve him in a more beneficial manner.
Third was the prophecy. The blasted prophecy was what had restrained him all these years and yet he was not able to get his hands on it. He would have to increase his efforts. As soon as he could get the prophecy, he would be able to make a move to seize power. The ministry shall be the first followed by Hogwarts where he would finish all his enemies in one fell swoop.
Hogwarts
The students were still flabbergasted about the prank. The teachers had gone to work instantly to try and undo it but to no avail. Snape had tried many spells which otherwise would have undone any spell but nothing could counter the pranks. Minerva had tried to reverse transforming the students but it had not been possible. Vikram had not made a move to undo it.
Snape looked at him and drawled, "This is supposed to be your area of expertise, Vikram. Why don't you try to undo it or is it beyond your talents?"
Albus knew that Snape was trying to goad Vikram but the mystic was non-plussed. Now that he thought about it, it was the first time that Albus had seen Snape behave erratically towards the defense professor. Unlike the previous defense instructors, Vikram was popular among the students and it was natural that Snape would be against him but Albus had not seen any visible signs of it until now.
Vikram was smiling, "As I remember, I am teacher of Defense against the Dark Arts, Severus. There is no dark magic here. This is a prank. It is a combination of charms and transfiguration which is expertise of Filius and Minerva. They are more than competent to deal with this".
Dumbledore stood and addressed the Great Hall, "Since it is not practical for you to attend classes with this disruption, there shall be no classes today. I request that the Prefects join us in the staff room shortly. The rest of you students stay here. You shall remain in your seats, here in the Great Hall while we find out who is behind this prank".
The prefects rose as one and followed Dumbledore and other teachers to the staff room. It was disconcerting to see four Hagrid, four Martha Hughes, Four Snape, Four Trelawney, Four Dumbledore and Four Minerva following the teachers to the staff-room. The only difference between them was the trim of their robes. Ron glared at Malfoy and even their beetle-eyed glares were identical.
The Staff Room
The Prefects stood before the teachers and Dumbledore started, "Now we are all here to find the ones behind this prank. Those prefects who were not on duty yesterday are free to go. First I would like to hear from the Head Boy about anything unusual he saw or heard or was reported to him last night".
Most of the Dumbledores, McGonagalls, Snapes and Trelawneys left while the Hagrids and Hughes remained. It was a fact that fifth years were assigned patrol duties more than anyone.
One of the Dumbledores stepped forward, the Head-boy, a Ravenclaw named Dorcas McLaird, "Headmaster, I noticed nothing out of the ordinary in the castle last night. I myself had the first patrol from ten to midnight last night. I did not notice any student out of bounds in the castle".
Dumbledore nodded, "Now I would like to know the report of the Gryffindor prefects who had their turn at patrol last night".
One of the Professor hughes spoke in Hermione's voice, "Headmaster, we patrolled the corridors from ten to midnight. There was nothing out of the ordinary in the castle. In our common room, the students had gone to sleep by the time that our patrol began. The portraits kept vigil in the common room and they noticed nothing out of the ordinary either. No student had come out of the dormitories after we had gone on our patrol".
After they were done, he turned to Ernie and Hannah, "Did you two notice anything?"
One of the Hagrids spoke in Ernie's voice, "No, Headmaster. We did not see anyone nor did we notice anything out of the ordinary in our Common Room either. Students were gone to bed shortly after curfew and the portraits and the house ghost claim to have seen no one".
Dumbledore nodded, "Mr. Malfoy and Miss Parkinson, do you have anything to add to what they observed in their dormitories?"
It was strange to hear Malfoy's drawl come out of a replica of Hagrid, "Nothing worth reporting, Headmaster. The students were in their beds before curfew and nothing happened during the night to make me get up and investigate".
Dumbledore had been dismissing every prefect as they were done with their reports. It was standard procedure to keep the deliberations and musings secret from the student body. They after all had no say in the matter of the administration of the school.
Finally Dumbledore turned to the Ravenclaw Prefects, "do either of you have anything to add to what has already been said?"
The final Hughes spoke in Padma's voice, "Headmaster, I have seen Harold Peverell consorting with students from all the houses in the last few days, particularly Daphne Greengrass, Conrad Du Vant, Justin Finch Fletchley, Mandy Brocklehurst and Terry Boot at times. Other than that, there is nothing substantial that I can add to what others have already said".
"Very well Miss Patil. You both may go to the Great Hall now. Do not discuss this with anyone".
As the last two prefects left, Dumbledore turned to the teachers, "So you have heard what there is to be told. What do you all think?"
Minerva began, "I suspect that this is the handiwork of Harold Peverell and his associates. The Weasley twins might be able to do the magic involved in this prank but they have no access to the other house common rooms".
Vikram interrupted her, "Minerva, there is nothing to suggest that someone not allowed has accessed the common room of another house".
Flitwick chimed in, "However we have seen evidence of what he can do. His performances in his classes so far this year are evidence of that. We all have heard what Bethsheda had to say about his Runes prowess. He had never studied Runes before but he can create Rune clusters which are not possible for many of the seventh years".
Snape also put his two knuts in, "I think that he is involved in it. He has the knowledge and resources to do a prank like this. He must have asked people to help him in rule breaking".
The real Martha Hughes asked him, "Even the Slytherins, Severus? I never thought that students of your house would help him".
Snape's expression soured, "While it pains me to admit but yes, I believe that students from my own house were involved with him in this prank".
Dumbledore asked him, "What do you suggest we should do to confirm our suspicions?"
Snape turned to him, "Call them into your office and ask to see his memories. If he refuses, he is guilty as charged".
Minerva interrupted, "You are not going to perform Legilimency on him, are you?"
"Of course not Minerva. I would ask him if he agrees to it but I will not force it".
The teachers returned to the Great Hall and Dumbledore addressed the students, "I would request Harold Peverell, Susan Bones, Neville Longbottom, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Terry Boot, Mandy Brocklehurst, Daphne Greengrass and Conrad Du Vant to report to my office immediately".
The named students who had been sitting together at the Ravenclaw table stood as one to follow the Headmaster. The other students watched as the four pairs of Hagrids and Hughes made their way out of the Great Hall.
On the way up, Susan muttered, "To Dumbledore's office again. So much fun!"
Harry snorted but said nothing.
Dumbledore who had heard her mutterings said over his shoulder, "I heard that Miss Bones. It seems to be your nature to be a trouble maker that you end up in my office again and again".
Dumbledore offered them seats in his office. Shortly they were joined by Severus, Minerva, Filius & Pomona. As the heads of houses joined, Dumbledore turned to them, "I do not have any direct proof about your involvement in this prank so far. There are reasonable grounds to suspect your involvement. There are statements of witnesses which connect you to the happenings of this morning. The most prominent name which has been put forward is Harold Peverell. Mr. Peverell, would you let me read your mind to see that you are not complicit in what happened today?"
Harry shook his head, "Headmaster, I have secrets which can put people's lives in danger if they are known so I will not let you cast legilimency on me".
Snape's lips curled upwards, "Why you little…"
But Albus cut in before he could finish his sentence, "Severus, I am talking with them. You are to sit and observe".
He turned to Harry again, "Mr. Peverell, if you do not agree to let me see your memories, it would be assumed that you are guilty and you will be punished for it".
Harry was relieved. He could take the blame on himself and others would not be punished for the act. He responded to the Headmaster, "I will bear whatever punishment you will see fit, Professor. No one else was involved in this prank with me and I did it myself".
Dumbledore was not surprised. It was Harry's nature to act unselfishly. He addressed him, "If you so accept then you are found guilty for this prank and..."
He could not finish his sentence before Neville and Susan said at the same time, "Headmaster, we are also involved with him. We are equally liable".
Harry sighed. He had thought that he could deflect punishment from other students but that was not to be. Susan and Neville had accepted their roles and Dumbledore would punish them along with him.
By this time, the rest of them also stood and claimed responsibility for the prank with him. Severus was frowning at the behaviour of his students. It was so unlike them to stand so loyally behind someone but there was nothing he could do after they had openly admitted their guilt. Minerva was part angry and part proud. Angry for obvious reasons and proud because Neville stood by Harry and did not let him take the fall for everyone. Flitwick was indifferent in outward appearance but inwardly he was thinking of ways to negate the punishment which would be awarded to the students. Pomona was proud of the loyalty her puffs had shown to their leader. People often thought that she did not care but Pomona always kept her eyes and ears open and had noticed how Harry was becoming a leader among the students.
Dumbledore said to them, "Since you have all accepted your culpability, it is decided that we will be lenient to you all in your punishments. Letters will be written to your parents or guardians to acquaint them with the gravity of your crimes and 50 points apiece off each of you with a week's worth of detention with..." he paused and asked the four heads of house, "Which of you shall be taking them?"
Everyone washed their hands of them at once. Minerva did not need 8 students from all four houses to be serving detention in her office at once. Flitwick rarely put a student in detention so he had little experience in this matter while Pomona flatly said that there were enough students to do detentions in her green houses for now. Snape had looked at Dumbledore in such a way as if to dare him to send the students to him for detention. It was well known by now that he would not supervise a detention where Harold Peverell was concerned. Dumbledore had half-heartedly suggested Filch and was silenced by Minerva telling him that last time Harold Peverell was serving a detention with the care-taker Filch had spent 3 days in misery and had resolved to never supervise over those blighters in detention again.
At last, Dumbledore had agreed that the students will be sent to Rubeus Hagrid for detention. He was more than enough for them. Surprisingly, everyone had seconded his decision.
When they returned to the Great Hall, every student was still sitting in their position. A lot of glares were sent their way from all the tables. At the same time encouragement was also shouted at them by the students who appreciated a good joke. This was a moment that a prankster lived for.
When Dumbledore asked him about countering the prank, Harry told him that he had no knowledge about how to do that. It fell to the Headmaster to figure it out.
Dumbledore beckoned a Flitwick look-alike towards him and started casting detection spells at him. After about five minutes, he was smiling as he analysed the results of the detections spells. He stood and beckoned Minerva closer, "This is a combination of partial human to human transfiguration and glamour charms so you have not been able to counter it. Take a seat, Minerva and I will undo it in a trice".
He stood and waved his wand over his head in a wide arc and inaudibly sent a spell at the students. An enormous wave of magic spewed out of his wand like a blanket and settled upon the students. Within a minute, everyone had returned to their original forms.
A/N- First let me get my rant out of the way. I received in total two reviews for the last chapter. Was it really that bad? I know it was not up to the mark but then I thought I had already said that it would be so. I carve for the reviews and I know what agony it has been to see no reviews to the chapter.
Now I want you to tell me what patronus you think should be given to characters. As you have already read, Longbottom is a bear, Hermione is an Otter in canon, Twins are two magpies, Ernie is a boar, Seamus is a fox, Cho is a swan, Ginny is a horse and Luna is a hare. Now I want you to tell me about what you would think befits other major characters in this story like Susan, Daphne, Tracy, Justin and few others who may have caught your eye.
Now here is a treat for you all, an excerpt from one of the upcoming chapters:
Unknown Castle
The man appeared outside the castle and ran inside, wheezing but not daring to stop and catch a breath. Lucius tried to stop him but he pushed him aside and burst in Voldemort's chamber. Voldemort who was in his chair reading a letter which Severus had just sent. The letter said that Dumbledore was going to pick that prophecy from the Department of Mysteries along with the brat. He was already furious and he read each line and interruption irked him. He raised his wand and roared in cold fury, "What is the meaning of this?"
The man immediately went of both his knees before him, kissing the hem of his robes and wheezed, "My Lord, Peverell and Dumble... Dumbledore are going to the Department of Mysteries at this moment. I have seen them in the corridor which leads to the Department".
Voldemort understood what he wanted to say in a moment and roared, "Lucius".
Lucius had just walked into the room and fell on his knees, "My Lord?"
He said in his cold-pitch voice, "Gather the faithful, Lucius. We are going to the ministry". He turned to the other man, 'You have served me well today. Come see me tomorrow for your reward".
The man who was frightened of the ire of his Lord turned tail and walked quickly out of the chamber, not daring to break into a run while trying to do so.
5 minutes later, 60 wizards were ready to storm the ministry behind their Dark Lord.
Voldemort and his band of fools appeared in the ministry with portkeys that he had made for them but their portkeys were made in keeping with wizard wards and not goblin made wards which were being erected as soon as the last man popped in. He told them to take positions while he started to walk towards the lifts when Harry Potter emerged out of air before him, "Going somewhere, Tom?"