And here's the thirty third chapter of "A Year Too Soon"! Enjoy!
* Review Response:
Dragonjek, Darth-Vulturnus, well, I don't really buy evil Dumbledore, and if he is good, he has to show at least some level of competency implied by his intelligence and experience.
Dzerx, mwinter1, BMS, the situation with Harry's Magical guardian(s) will be resolved during the coming summer, don't worry.
JohnMonty, if there will be lemons, they will likely be posted separately; this is not the story that has to have them and it might actually do better without them.
orion0905, Kragh50, djsmall565, Innortal, Marksbay, DarkRavie, astolfo83, geekymom, Uday Sra, mizzrazz72, , Luiz4200, lonewolf 83, Shadow (guest), Voldy (guest), Guest (#1), hellfire45, Yaw6113, Yoto (guest), Smokeing, Tornhold, thank you for your reviews, folks!
Jostanos, magitech, true enough, but this IS Dumbledore... How many people did he trust with this knowledge in the canon?
TheGreatBubbaJ, I still have a few things to take care of with the Chamber of Secrets, plus a certain trinket to clean from Voldemort's taint.
Azazel of the Darkness, the basilisk's time will come in the next chapter, so, soon...
Guest (#2), I'll take that idea under consideration, though I'm not sure Draco is even allowed to place such bets.
majere4, Harry already has a personal hideout. Maybe not as well-hidden as the Chamber, but he does. That said, he will still be opening the Chamber of Secrets so that the basilisk can be taken care of.
* AN: As always, great thanks to my friend Skelekitty for his help in polishing this chapter.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own "Harry Potter" franchise. No profit is being made. Same goes for any books, video games, anime or manga I may or may not use for ideas.
"speaking"
"parseltongue"
'thinking'
written text
spells
A Year Too Soon
Chapter XXXIII: Second Chances and Agreements
"Do you know why I've summoned you, Gilderoy?" Dumbledore asked, peering over his half-moon glasses. The usual twinkle noticeably absent from his eyes indicated that the old warlock was dead serious at the moment.
"I'm afraid I do not, Professor." The blond replied, doing his best not to shiver under the force of the other man's glare. The Hogwarts' Headmaster let out an annoyed sigh.
"It has come to my attention that you're not performing your duties of a Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor honestly and in accordance with the contract you signed. I have a number of reliable sources showing that the classes you teach do not meet the standards of this fine institution." Lockhart couldn't help but swallow fearfully, wondering how this could be possible with the detection ward around his classroom strong as ever. He should've noticed it if someone was observing him…
"Professor?" He asked, still trying to feign ignorance of what the Headmaster was talking about. Unfortunately for him, Dumbledore was in no mood for this.
"I have no time for your games, Gilderoy." The older wizard practically hissed. After taking a moment to compose himself, the Headmaster continued: "You have been hired to teach the young wizards and witches to defend themselves against the dangers of the outside world. You might not have been the greatest candidate for the post I've seen over the decades, but you showed quite a bit of promise, Gilderoy. And what do I find you doing instead? Talking about nothing but your own greatness? This is completely unacceptable!"
"I…" Lockhart tried to protest, even though he really had no idea what to say. He was cut short before he could say another word.
"Save it, I'm not interested in your excuses." Dumbledore said. "Can there even be an excuse for not performing your duties to the younger generation, especially when the only thing you were doing was fueling your own ego instead? I'm very disappointed in you, Gilderoy." The weight of his glare alone was enough to crush the blond wizard. There was a rather long pause, before the Hogwarts' Headmaster continued: "However, I know that you have the knowledge to share with your students and can actually teach your class properly if you have motivation, Gilderoy, so I'm offering you one and only one second chance. Get your act together and become the teacher you were supposed to be from the very beginning. If you can do that, we will quietly part our ways once the academic year is over. You will be penalized for not upholding your end of the contract properly up until now - a quarter of your yearly salary spread over the remaining months - but that will be the extent of your punishment."
"And if I… If I don't?" Lockhart asked, fearful of what the other option would be.
"If you refuse this offer - or fail to meet the standards set for Hogwarts' Professors - your contract will be terminated immediately and the reason for it will be made public." Dumbledore replied coldly, knowing well that the man in front of him had an almost-unhealthy obsession with his good reputation. His words seemed to have the desired effect already, but the Headmaster didn't stop there: "Furthermore, while I might not be the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot anymore, I still wield a lot of political power. I'm sure that even without digging into your history I will be able to have you put in jail. And I will have time - and motivation - to find as much dirt on you as possible. And remember, I now have ways of ensuring you keep your end of the deal that you can never subvert or counter. If you ever stop teaching your students properly, I will know about it." He let the heavy silence hang for a few moments, before continuing: "So these are your choices, Gilderoy. Choose wisely."
"I accept." The blond wizard said after a couple of seconds. Really, what other options did he have here? Knowing Dumbledore, the man really did have enough power to uncover his ...less than honest deals in the past and subsequently have him sent to Azkaban. And that was the fate he'd rather avoid.
"Good." The old warlock replied. "I'll let you plan your lessons in peace, then." He added, dismissing the man - and Gilderoy was all too quick to leave the Headmaster's office. Just as he was about to step out of the door, the man sent him one more warning: "Remember, I will be watching you. Do not waste the chance I'm giving you."
Needless to say, the students were quite surprised when Gilderoy Lockhart started teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts properly, and it lasted for more than a single class. Many were rather suspicious of the man's sudden 'change of heart', especially after they had to listen to him talking about how great he was and nothing else for half a year.
These suspicions were somewhat put to rest by Dumbledore asking random students to share their memories of their DADA lessons with this new and improved Professor Lockhart: whatever was going on, it looked like the Headmaster was there to ensure that people could learn at least something useful under the blond wizard's tutelage.
And, now that he was forced to teach his class properly, Gilderoy Lockhart turned out to be a decent-ish Professor. Definitely not the best one DADA had seen even in the recent past, but the man did know some unusual ways common everyday spells could be used to deal with Magical creatures and evil wizards alike. He also knew and was willing to share some interesting trivia about various beasts, such as trolls and banshees.
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As Hogwarts was struggling to come to terms with Professor Lockhart suddenly doing something to actually deserve that title, barely anyone noticed January turning into February and the Valentine's Day approaching fast. In fact, if it wasn't for the announcement of the Hogsmeade weekend, Harry might have forgotten about the Valentine's entirely.
After the breakfast, Harry, Flora and Hestia boarded one of those 'horseless' carriages and departed for Hogsmeade. The weather, thankfully, was nice and sunny. A bit chilly though, but that wasn't really unexpected given that it was the middle of winter… The green-eyed teen idly wondered if there was some wizard crazy enough to think this would be the perfect time to hold a swimming competition in the Black Lake or another body of water that hasn't frozen solid yet.
Half an hour of a pleasant ride later along the snowy road, they arrived to Britain's only all-wizard village. The place greeted them in its picturesque glory with just a few decorations here and there reminding that St. Valentine's was just 'round the corner.
Once the mandatory shopping was done - which, of course, included Harry buying the twins their favorite Honeydukes' chocolates - the Slytherin trio paused to think about what they could do next. And they quickly realized that even on the eve of a holiday aimed specifically for couples, there actually wasn't much for them to do in the village. Indeed, Hogsmeade had only a handful of places of interest, and even fewer that were good for dates. And since it was the middle of winter, one couldn't even have a romantic picnic. Maybe?
They eventually settled for a lunch at the Three Broomsticks and a visit to a hillside on the edge of the village where the locals had already created an ice slope for people to ride on. This rather childish amusement turned out to be a lot of fun, as did rolling around in the snow, and thanks to the warming Charms neither of the three teens were freezing by the time they decided it was time to head back to Hogwarts a couple of hours later.
And as they rode back to the castle, they had to admit that while the day wasn't much like what either of them expected Valentine's in Hogsmeade to be, it was still lots of fun and they decided they wouldn't mind doing it again soon.
While the castle being decorated on St. Valentine's wasn't something new, this year it was done to almost a ridiculous degree, at least within the Great Hall. The walls were all covered with large, lurid pink flowers and heart-shaped confetti of the same lurid pink color was falling from the pale blue ceiling. It took Harry a few moments to realize that this indeed was the Great Hall and he didn't accidentally walk into the wrong chamber.
"What's going on here?" He asked as he sat between Flora and Hestia. The twins shrugged as they too didn't know who was behind this outrage. Thankfully, they didn't have to wait for answers for long as the culprit decided to reveal himself just a minute later:
"Happy Valentine's Day!" Professor Lockhart, who was wearing appalling pink robes to match the decorations, shouted. "And may I thank the forty eight people who have so far sent me cards! Yes, I have taken the liberty of arranging this little surprise for you all." Apparently, not everyone was happy about this surprise as Harry could hear his housemates whispering rather unflattering things about the DADA Professor and his tastes in decorations. The sentiment appeared to be shared by the other three houses as well. Professor Lockhart, completely oblivious to the students' reactions, continued: "And it doesn't end here!" He clapped his hands and a dozen surly-looking dwarfs wearing golden wings and carrying harps marched into the Great Hall. "My friendly, card-carrying cupids! They will be roving around the school today delivering your valentines!"
"I hope you aren't planning to send us a valentine with one of those things, Harry, are you?" Flora asked with a note of warning in her voice.
"No, never." The young Potter replied quickly, while hoping that no one would be stupid enough to send one of these dwarfs his way.
"Good boy." She said, while her sister patted his head.
"Hey!" Harry protested being treated like a puppy, causing the twins to burst into laughter.
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Even though it was only ten in the morning on Monday, activity in the Ministry for Magic was already in full swing with numerous meetings and consultations taking place in various departments of this mighty bureaucratic machine. One such meeting was taking place within the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.
"There has been another review of proposals to resolve the Hogwarts situation." The head of the Beast division, Oliver Grimblehawk, said. "After careful evaluation of all options, we believe that the most beneficial approach would be not to wait for the Curse-Breakers to force their way through the wards of the Chamber of Secrets - something can't be done until summer at the earliest - but to ask a Parselmouth to open the Chamber for us. This will let us end the threat the basilisk poses before any more incidents happen: while there have been no attacks since the 'Heir' has been neutralized, we have no guarantees that the basilisk can't leave the Chamber on its own and thus it still presents a danger to the school."
"Wouldn't that require us to involve one of those students and put them in a potentially dangerous position? The Parselmouth you're talking about is Mr. Potter, right? Should we even discuss this, seeing as he's underage?" Another wizard asked.
"We know that Mr. Potter is a student at Hogwarts, but we are certain we can ensure his safety even if he has to be there with us when we confront the basilisk. Furthermore, his assistance in dealing with the beast will be rightly compensated, and we do not foresee any legal problems with this operation if everything is done with proper contracts in place." Mr. Grimblehawk replied.
"I see…" The Department head, who up until now had been silent, said. "If there indeed are no legal problems with involving a minor in this matter, we should contact Professor Dumbledore. He is the boy's Magical guardian and it is he who has the final say in whether Mr. Potter is allowed to participate in this endeavor or not."
"Very well." The wizard replied. "I will contact Headmaster Dumbledore once this meeting is over. Hopefully, he will agree to our proposition and let us remove the threat posed by the basilisk as soon as possible." The Department head nodded.
"Any other things that should be brought to my attention before we get back to work?" The man asked.
"Yes." The Goblin liaison said. "There is an ongoing issue with..." Since Mr. Grimblehawk had little interest in Goblin politics - the only thing that mattered to him was his hard-earned Galleons being deposited into his vault within Gringotts at the end of each month and him being able to collect those Galleons whenever he needed them - the wizard just tuned out his colleague's long speech about whatever was happening within the Goblin-operated bank. "...And that concludes my report." The liaison finished.
"I don't see how it affects the Ministry and the people of Wizarding Britain at this point." The Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures said after a pause. There was another short pause, before he continued: "I do not believe there is any need to take any actions at this point. Continue monitoring the situation quietly." The Goblin liaison nodded.
"I'll pass the instruction to my office." He said.
"Anything else?" The Department Head's question was met with silence. "Very well. In that case, I call this meeting finished. Let's get back to work, men." Mr. Grimblehawk wasted no time and immediately headed for the nearest floo. He had an important fire-call to make.
Harry was in the middle of his Potions lesson when a house elf popped into the classroom and said something to his Head of the house.
"Mr. Potter, the Headmaster is asking for your presence, right now. I trust, you know where his office is." Professor Snape said. Nodding, Harry quickly gathered his things and, after giving his brewing partner an apologetic look, left the classroom.
A couple of minutes of walking later, he arrived to the gargoyle guarding the entrance to Dumbledore's office. Thankfully, the man hadn't changed the password since his last visit there, so Harry didn't need to waste any time guessing which sweets the old warlock fancied the most this time. A ride on the spiraling staircase later, he found himself at the office's door.
"Please come in, Mr. Potter." The Headmaster called a second later. Taking a moment to still his nerves, Harry opened the door and stepped inside. Dumbledore was sitting behind his table, tall stacks of parchment on his either side. By the window, however, there was a wizard the young Potter had never met before. And judging by the robes he was wearing, this wizard was a rather high-ranking Ministry official. "Thank you for coming on such a short notice, Mr. Potter." The Headmaster said. "Let me introduce Mr. Oliver Grimblehawk, the Head of the Beast division of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."
"A pleasure to meet you." Harry said politely.
"The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Potter." The Ministry official replied.
"Now, the reason I've summoned you, Mr. Potter, is that the Ministry is pushing for a new approach to dealing with the basilisk currently residing in the Chamber of Secrets." Dumbledore said. "They are pushing for you to open the path to the Chamber so that the beast can be dealt with as soon as possible. I do not like the idea of putting you - or any other Hogwarts' student at direct risk for this operation - but their arguments for immediate action are sound."
"Even without the Heir to guide it, the basilisk presents a great danger to everyone within the castle." Mr. Grimblehawk supplied. "We have no guarantees that the beast can't leave the Chamber without assistance. If we want Hogwarts to be safe at last, the basilisk has to be dealt with as soon as possible."
"And since all evidence indicates that only a Parselmouth can access the Chamber, you require my assistance." Harry observed.
"Indeed." The Head of the Beast division confirmed. "And the Ministry promises the best of its agents, both from my own department and Aurors from the DMLE, to ensure your safety."
"We have discussed the Ministry's proposition at great length." Here Dumbledore gave Mr. Grimblehawk a pointed look. "And he managed to convince me that outright dismissing it might indeed bring great harm to the school and her students. Still, I'm not going to send you down there if you yourself do not wish that. Thus, Mr. Potter, I have to ask you, do you wish to assist the Ministry or would you prefer to avoid the potential danger of the Chamber of Secrets entirely?" Harry was silent for a few long seconds, before finally speaking:
"I'm not opposed to this course of action, but I would like this to be issued as the Ministry hiring me for the task, with everything that it entails." Mr. Grimblehawk nodded.
"This sounds reasonable." The wizard said. There was a short pause before Harry continued:
"Furthermore, I've been talking to the portrait of Salazar Slytherin and he expressed a wish to try talking to the basilisk before we do anything with it. It originally belonged to him and he might still be the best person to determine whether it presents an actual danger or was forced into attacking students by the false 'Heir'."
"That is an interesting thought." Dumbledore said. "The basilisk is a contemporary of Hogwarts itself and surely must know things about the Founders that have otherwise been lost to the sands of Time. If it is not hostile to us, then killing it might be a waste."
"We… did not consider that the basilisk might be sentient." The Ministry official said after a lengthy pause. "Mr. Potter, I cannot guarantee anything until my department has a chance to discuss it, but I personally see no reason for it to be denied. I assume, Lord Slytherin will be able to follow us there somehow?"
"Uhm… About that." Harry began. "Lord Slytherin's portrait is Magically bound to its frame and can't leave it. I was hoping that some sort of a workaround to let him see and hear what happens in the Chamber could be implemented. Perhaps something like a pair of mirrors that transmit image and sound from one to another?"
"That would be possible." Dumbledore agreed. "I believe, a pair of such mirrors could be enchanted within a week, two at most." The young Potter nodded.
"Is there anything else?" Mr. Grimblehawk asked.
"I can't think of anything." Harry replied before turning to look at the Headmaster.
"Neither can I." The old warlock said with a small nod.
"In that case, I shall depart now." The Head of the Beast division said. "I'll contact you once the plan for dealing with the basilisk has been adjusted and the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures is ready to act." He then bid farewell and flooed away.
"Harry, why did you ask for a compensation for something I know you'd do for free?" Dumbledore asked, giving the young Potter a disappointed look.
"I asked to be signed on so that in the future the Ministry can't deny my involvement in clearing the Chamber of Secrets. I don't yet know what I will be doing once I graduate, but don't you think that being officially recognized as someone who helped remove a dangerous beast from Hogwarts would look good on my resume?" Harry asked back. The Headmaster remained silent for a few moments, clearly having not expected such an answer.
"I see…" He said finally. "Very well then, if there is nothing else, you may go."
That's all, folks!
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