Summary: Dumbledore is dead. Harry ran away from the Dursley's before getting his Hogwarts letter. Who will save the magical world now?
Rating: PG
Categories: Alternate Universe
Characters: None
Genres: None
Warnings: None
Challenges: None
Series: None
Published: 2012.04.25
Updated: 2012.07.18
Index
Chapter 1: Chapter One: Beginnings and Endings
Chapter 2: Chapter Two: Growing Up
Chapter 3: Chapter Three: Muggletown
Chapter 4: Chapter Four: The Goblin Camp
Chapter 5: Chapter Five: The Centaur Village
Chapter 6: Chapter Six: The Chamber of Secrets
Chapter 7: Chapter Seven: The Hunters
Chapter 8: Chapter Eight: The Trip to Egypt
Chapter 9: Chapter Nine: Manticores and Hippogriffs
Chapter 10: Chapter Ten: Sirius Black
Chapter 11: Chapter Eleven: The Red Hair That Lights the Night
Chapter 12: Chapter Twelve: Harry's Wand
Chapter 13: Chapter Thirteen: The Prophecy
Chapter 14: Chapter Fourteen: The Ring
Chapter 15: Chapter Fifteen: The Rescue
Chapter 16: Chapter Sixteen: The New School of Magic
Chapter 17: Chapter Seventeen: Finding Allies
Chapter 18: Chapter Eighteen: Parley
Chapter 19: Chapter Nineteen: Betrayal
Chapter 20: Chapter Twenty: The Battle of Wookey Hole
Chapter 21: Chapter Twenty-One: Epilogue
Chapter 1: Chapter One: Beginnings and Endings
Author's Notes: Rated PG due to violence to fluffy little bunnies.
In midsummer, 1996, two armies faced each other across a field in New Forest National Park, 80 miles southwest of London, ready for a battle that could decide the future of wizarding Britain. Years of planning, scheming, alliance building, Imperiusing, and propagandizing had led to this encounter, which--whatever the outcome--would be remembered by witches and wizards for centuries to come.
On the west side of the field, largely hidden in the forest, were the Dark Lord's forces made up of Death Eaters and Death Eatresses, giants and werewolves, vampires and Acromantulas, Dementors and one large snake. On the eastern side, partly sheltered by a rock wall built by farmers who had plowed this field for eons, were the Dark Lady's forces, including wizards and witches who the Daily Prophet had dubbed Light Eaters, centaurs and goblins, house elves, and a few other strange and unusual creatures.
In the middle of the field, a little off to the side of the direct line of impending conflict, stood a large tent, at least 60 feet long and 30 feet wide. On the forest end of the tent the evening light revealed the Dark Lord's colours, a green flag with a silver snake. On the end nearer the rock wall waved the Dark Lady's colours, a silver flag with two intertwined green snakes.
Deep in the forest, hidden from the field by countless moss-covered trees, a man with reddish eyes, slit nostrils, and a vaguely snake-like face sat on a silver chair with green plush upholstery surrounded by his most important warriors and lieutenants. As night fell, a man in standard Death Eater garb--a dark green, almost black, robe with a silver mask--came and bowed before the man seated in the throne.
"What is your report, Dolohov?"
"My Lord, our scouts tell us that your army outnumbers the Dark Lady's forces by at least four to one."
"I knew it," said a woman whose curly, dark hair flowed over her robes. "She is no threat to you. We should attack now, before she can get reinforcements."
"Easy, Bella," said the man on the throne. "We attack on my command, only. Is there any way the Dark Lady can know the disparity between the two armies?"
"Impossible! Except for a picket line located at the edge of the forest, all of your loyal followers are located too deep within the forest for her scouts to see. The Ministry's anti-Apparition wards keep out spies and we have enough people on the picket line that no one could pass undetected."
"You see, Bella?" said the man with the red eyes. "She does not know her peril, so she is not likely to seek reinforcements. Besides, where would they come from?
"Dolohov," he said turning to the man in front of him, "late tonight, when most of her camp is asleep, have the Aurors circle around behind her army. When the battle begins, they can attack from behind and we will capture her army in a trap."
"It shall be done, my Lord."
As Dolohov left, the snake-like man stood and turned to the members of his inner circle. "Tomorrow morning, we will meet with the Dark Lady as planned. You know the rules of parley: no one may magically attack the other side under penalty of losing their magic. I am allowed to bring six of my followers with me, and I choose Bella, Rodolphus, Yaxley, Greyback, Rastufas the vampire, and of course Nagini." The five humans and part humans bowed their heads in acknowledgement of the honour.
"I do not know what the Dark Lady expects to accomplish with this parley. But we will listen respectfully. If I decide she is wasting our time, I will use the words, 'Harry Potter.' On that signal, Yaxley, I want you to use the Avadra Kedavra on the Dark Lady."
Yaxley paled slightly, but bowed and said, "My Lord, I will be honored to give up my magic for your victory."
"Do not worry, Yaxley," the Dark Lord lied. "I know a ritual that can restore your magic after we win the battle. They will no doubt attempt to retaliate, and the rules of parley will fall allowing us all to join the battle. Bella, at that moment, I want you to send a Patronus message to Dolohov telling him to attack."
Suddenly, a blood-curdling shriek could be heard through the trees coming from the other side of the field. Although the Dark Lady's camp was at least a half-mile away, the woman's screams sounded as if they were coming from a few feet away. They continued for more than a minute before dying away. Some of the lower-ranked Death Eaters looked around fearfully. Bella, however, just grinned.
"The parley must have been a diversion," said the witch eagerly. "We should attack now!"
"No, Bella," said the Dark Lord, who was slowly waving his wand toward the apparent source of the noise. "The Dark Lady knows that the rules of parley would hold until both sides cast a spell in anger. If we attack, any Death Eaters who cast a spell would lose their magic. As long as they refrain from responding with offensive spells of their own, our forces would be steadily diminished. She probably hopes we will attack so that we might weaken our forces."
A few minutes later, another scream could be heard, this time coming from a man, from the direction of the rock wall. After a minute, the screams ceased, and Dolohov came running into the Dark Lord's clearing.
"My Lord," he said, bowing hastily, "all of the people we set out on the picket line are either gone or petrified. We haven't been able to revive the ones who were petrified."
"How many are missing?" said the red-eyed man.
"A dozen, my Lord, and ten more are petrified. No one other than those on the picket line were within sight of the line, so no one knows what happened except those who were petrified, and they aren't talking."
"Very well. Continue trying to revive the petrified Death Eaters, and when you succeed, crucio them for failing their duty. Then put up two picket lines, one at the edge of the forest and one in the forest close enough to spy on the front picket line. Make sure the back line is visible from our main forces so no one can be taken without us knowing."
"Yes, my Lord, it shall be done."
Over the next hour, whilst many in the camp were trying to sleep, the Dark Lord's army was treated to ten more howls of someone being tortured for at least a minute, each separated by several minutes of silence. Many Death Eaters and even some of the werewolves trembled in fear and wonder at the sounds, and fretted at their fate should the unthinkable happen and the Dark Lord's forces lose to the Dark Lady's. But the vampires and Acromantula were unconcerned, and the giants seemed to think that the sounds were simply a part of the evening's entertainment for their benefit.
Some of the Death Eaters had a personal stake in the sounds. Gresham Goyle was unnerved when he recognized the shrieks of the fourth victim as his son, Gregory Goyle. He had all night to reflect how he had failed his son and, on the chance that his son survived, what he might do to make it up to him. His friend Victor Crabbe had his own worries, as his son Vincent was one of the sentries who was petrified. The healers told him that he could only be revived once they had a potion made with Mandrake roots, and that it would take several days, at least, to acquire the ingredients and make such a potion. If the Dark Lord won tomorrow's battle, his son would awaken only to be crucioed, possibly to death depending on the Dark Lord's mood at that moment.
Meanwhile, in the tent, personnel from the Ministry of Magic were making the final arrangements for the morning's parley. Officially, the Dark Lord and Dark Lady were both supposed to be criminals, but everyone knew that key members of the Ministry were either sympathetic to or in the Dark Lord's pocket. If the Dark Lady had any friends in the Ministry, they had kept themselves under cover. In matters of parley, the Ministry was designated as the official neutral party, and whilst some hoped that the Dark Lord would prevail over the Dark Lady, and others were Imperiused to support the Dark Lord as well, others might just be hoping that the two sides would simply wipe each other out so that the Ministry could once again take its rightful place as the sole leader of British wizarding society.
Two tables nearly the full width of the tent faced one another across a 20-foot space. Behind each table were seven chairs, whilst the space between the tables was considered neutral ground, and no one was allowed to enter it without the permission of the other side. If someone did so, Ministry Unspeakables could stun them without violating the rules of parley. At one side of the neutral zone was an arch through which some said they could hear the whisperings of people, whilst other heard screams and most heard nothing at all. The arch was traditionally used to summarily execute any who violated the parley, though the Unspeakables were under no delusions that they actually had the numbers to enforce that rule.
The sun was just below the horizon at 6:45 am the next morning when the Dark Lord and his six closest associates entered his end of the tent and were greeted by Ministry Senior Undersecretary Dolores Umbridge. "Welcome, my Lord," she said. "You know the rules of parley. Please take your seats at the table and place your wands and any other weapons on the table in front of you. Six Ministry personnel will remain here as neutral observers," she added with a smirk.
"It is good we arrived first," the Dark Lord told his followers, "so we can better know the layout." Of course, the two parties had agreed to the layout in advance, but seeing it in reality was always a little different from seeing it on a piece of parchment. "Bella, please sit on my left, followed by Rodolphus and Yaxley. Nagini will be to my immediate right, followed by Greyback and Rastufas." Yaxley looked a little nervous at being so close to the arch, and he hoped the unspeakable wouldn't have a chance to push him through it when he, at his Lord's orders, violated the parley.
A few minutes later, they could hear the loud clop-clop-clop of hoofs on cobblestone pavement, which was strange as the fields were just dirt and grass as far as the rock wall. The clopping continued to get louder for several minutes, and Rufus Scrimgeour, the head of Magical Law Enforcement, stepped through the tent door to greet the Dark Lady.
Outside, he was blinded by the rising sun over the eastern hills. But he could distinguish the approach of five creatures of varying heights. On the far left was a centaur, at least eight feet tall, somehow making the noise of a dozen horses on pavement. Then was something that looked like a lion--Merlin, could it be a Manticore? Fortunately, no one noticed Scrimgeour turning pale. In the middle was a human, not particularly tall, cloaked in robes. To the right were two even shorter creatures, which Scrimgour presumed were goblins. As they came closer, however, he realized the smallest was a house elf.
"My Lady," he said respectfully to the person in the middle, who he expected to be much taller. "The rules of parley allow you six companions, yet I see only four. Do you think this is wise?"
At his words, the Dark Lady waved her hand and a small snake slithered off of her arm and grew to be six feet long--a Basalisk! "I am well protected," the Dark Lady said.
"Then you may enter," said a pale-looking Scrimgeour. "You know the rules of parley. Please take your seats at the table and place wands and other weapons on the table in front of you."
The Dark Lady took the center seat and the goblin and elf took the seats on the far right leaving a large gap between them and the Lady. The snake slithered to her immediate left, but the centaur noisily marched in and stood on far left, with the Manticore between the centaur and snake. The Dark Lady put not one but two wands and a shortsword on the table, then pulled out a longsword--the Dark Lord couldn't see where it came from--and laid it beside the shortsword.
"Good morning, Tom," she said.
"Good morning, Ginevra," said the Dark Lord. "Let's parley."
* *
* * *
Vernon Dursley proudly turned his Vauxhall Astra past the faded billboard advertising the development he lived in--"Little Whinging: Where You Will Hear Little Whinging!"--turned onto Privet Drive and into the driveway of his home. His home. Thanks to his hard work and diligence, he was an assistant director at Grunnings, an important tool-making company, earning enough money that he and his wife Petunia were recently able to buy their first single-family home--complete with three bedrooms--quite an accomplishment in England, which had some of the most expensive housing in the world.
Of course, land prices were so high that they didn't have much of a yard, and their garage butted up against their neighbor's home. But at least the living area of their home shared no common walls with anyone else's, so they didn't have to listen to the sounds from the flat next door, like in the terrace home where Vernon grew up. In the back of his mind, Vernon knew he was a long way from the large manor-style home on an acre lot that was the dream of every Englishman. But only the upper classes could afford such things, and he supposed everyone couldn't live that way or all of England would be paved over.
But he wasn't thinking about such things as he climbed out of his car. Instead, he was thinking about taking his precious Duddikins, who reached his second birthday a few weeks ago, on his first Halloween trick-or-treating ever. He was sure that Dudley would appreciate all the candy that could be collected from the neighbors. One advantage of living on small lots was that there were a lot of neighbors living close by!
"Daaaa!" cried Dudley when Vernon walked in the front door. Duddikins was wearing his purple bathrobe, on which Petunia had pinned some blue and green stars and a large, yellow, crescent moon. Vernon noticed a conical hat made out of purple construction paper sitting on the breakfast table.
"What is your Halloween guise, little man?" he asked.
"I'se a wizard!" said Dudley.
Vernon looked at Petunia a little nervously. "Are you sure this is a safe guise?"
"Why not?" she said. "We haven't seen any of them in years." She turned from the kitchen counter, where she was making dinner, and looked at him a little shyly. "I guess, for most people, Halloween is a time to pretend they believe in things they think aren't real. For me, it is a time to pretend that things I know are real are really just pretend."
He gave her a reassuring hug, a bit surprised that she had thought so deeply about this. After a quick kiss, she turned away and said, "You received a letter from the States, someone named Stephan Thomason. Wasn't he your roommate in school?"
"Yes, he moved to Florida, where I think he is still only a salesman," Vernon smirked as he glanced through the letter. Although Thomason couldn't be earning as much money as Vernon was, he said he lived on an acre lot outside of Tallahassee, and thought nothing of driving his kids 200 miles to DisneyWorld in Orlando.
How could Americans afford to drive so much? The price of petrol was now £1.60 per gallon, so he only drove about a mile to the train station, where he parked and took the train to work. Vernon didn't like to admit it, but between his mortgage, petrol, and the high cost of groceries and clothing for his growing Duddikins, they were barely making ends meet. But if he worked hard and kept his nose clean, in a few years he would be promoted to a director, giving him a significant pay raise, so he didn't worry too much.
Vernon put down the letter and looked at his son. "Are you ready to go trick-or-treating?" he asked.
"Daaa! Tweaty!" yelled Dudley. As they walked out the door passed a fat jack-o-lantern that Vernon had carved the night before, he grabbed a Mars bar from the basket of candy Petunia had ready for any neighbor kids who came by. He looked down at his bulging waistline and realized he probably shouldn't eat candy before dinner, but he figured a stout body was just one more sign of success.
* *
* * *
Many miles away, in the West Country, another young family wasn't thinking about trick-or-treating. For one thing, their son, Harry, was only fifteen months old. For another, they were in hiding from an evil man who wanted to kill them. They thought they were safe in this cottage--which was actually bigger and on more land than the Dursley's home--but they weren't.
James was reading in the living room whilst Lily was studying old books of magic charms. They had already fought the evil man, who called himself Lord Voldemort even though he wasn't really a lord, three times, and Lily hoped that her expertise in spell creation would help protect them in any future battles.
Suddenly they heard the distinctive sounds of Apparition, followed by the crash of a Bludgeoning spell hitting their front door. "Lily, it's him!" shouted James. "Take Harry and go--I'll try to hold him off."
Lily ran upstairs to grab Harry from his crib, but when she got there she found she was unable to Apparate away. Someone must have put an anti-Apparition spell over the house.
James ran through the archway to the kitchen, standing where he could see the front doorway but where he would be shielded by a wall from anyone who entered. With a loud bang, the front door collapsed, and James fired several spells at the person who came in. The wizard, however, quickly deflected them.
"This is your last chance, boy," he drawled, "Join me or die!"
"Never!" shouted James.
"I thought you would say that," said Voldemort. With a powerful "Evanesco," much of the wall shielding James disappeared. The dark wizard was surprised to see James running toward him with his wand in his left hand and a sword in his right. Voldemort cast a Diffindo at James' arm, but James deflected it with the sword. Before James could strike the invader with the sword, however, Voldemort casually said, "Avada Kedavra," and James fell over dead.
The Dark Lord picked up the sword. "Godric Gryffindor," he read just below the hilt. "The perfect object for my next Horcrux," he thought as he turned to the stairway.
Upstairs, Lily held her sleeping Harry in her arms as she listened to the battle below. When she heard the last spell followed by a soft thud, her eyes closed in grief. As she heard the footsteps of someone coming up the stairs, she did the only thing she knew that might protect her son.
"I love you, Harry," she said softly. "I would die that you may live." She put him back in the crib, took out her wand, and said, "Mors Vivo." Then she turned and blocked the entrance to the doorway with her body.
"Out of the way, girl," said Voldemort.
"No. You can't have Harry. Kill me instead."
"You need not die," said the man. "I only want your son."
"No," she repeated. "You can't have Harry. Kill me instead."
"As you wish. Avada Kedavra!" Lily died in an instant.
"So, this is the boy who is supposed to kill me," the wizard said. Harry looked up at him sleepily. "Scindo animus," said the wizard, casting the spell for creating a horcrux. Now, all he had to do was stare at the sword after killing Harry, and a portion of his soul would enter the sword, helping to insure his own immortality.
The wizard then dispassionately pointed his wand at Harry and quietly said, "Avada Kedavra." But instead of killing the boy, the spell bounced off Harry and returned to Voldemort. The last thing the dark wizard saw was a jagged cut on Harry's forehead. The last thing he felt was excruciating pain as his soul was split in two, part of it entering the object at which he gazed, and part of it lost to this earth forever. As Harry began crying in pain, Tom Riddle collapsed to the floor.
Across Great Britain, several objects that contained fragments of Voldemort's soul woke up--and awaited their opportunity.
* *
* * *
"You outdid yourself in decorating for Hallowe'en this year, Hagrid," said Albus Dumbledore in his office some 500 miles to the north. Hagrid was about to answer when he noticed an instrument in Dumbledore's office begin to spin and flash. The headmaster looked up in alarm.
"What is it, perfessor?"
Dumbledore turned pale. "The Fidelius charm on the Potter's home has fallen," he said. "Come, Hagrid; I could use a good hand." As fast as they could, they walked down the headmaster's spiral stairway, to the front entry hall, out the door, and through the gates. When they were beyond the Apparition ward, Hagrid held out his hand. Dumbledore wrapped his hand around one of the half-giant's fingers, and Apparated them to Godric's Hollow.
Peter Pettigrew watched the house after Voldemort entered. He saw the spell flashes on the ground floor, ending in a green flash. Then he saw two green flashes through an upstairs window--then, nothing. After a few minutes, he entered the house to see his old friend James lying on the floor. "You never thought I had it in me, did you James?" he said scornfully.
Then he went upstairs, where he was sorry to see Lily's body on the floor in the hallway. The Dark Lord had promised he would try to spare her life. She had always been nice to Wormtail when others were making fun of him.
Stepping across the body, he was stunned to see Voldemort lying on the floor. "Master!" he cried, kneeling beside the body, but he soon determined that the man was dead. He picked up Voldemort's wand, but before he could turn his attention to a crying Harry, he heard a very loud crack of Apparition outside the house. Since Voldemort's anti-Apparition spell had fallen when the dark wizard died, Peter figured that caution was the better part of valor and he Apparated away.
Dumbledore stumbled when he and Hagrid arrived in Godric's Hollow. Only a powerful wizard could Apparate 500 miles; only the most powerful could side-along Apparate that distance. Dumbledore was very powerful, but then, he wasn't used to side-along Apparating with someone as large as Hagrid. He wondered if it was such a good idea to bring his groundskeeper along. Hagrid would be good in a fight with ordinary Death Eaters, but Dumbledore would have to be up to his full strength if they were facing Voldemort himself.
Hagrid had been to the Potters' cottage before, but not since the Fidelius spell had been cast. He thought he would only be able to see an empty field, but apparently the spell had died with James and Lily, for there was the house, with a hole in one of the second-story walls.
They cautiously entered the house, where Dumbledore was saddened but not surprised to see James' body on the floor. What did surprise him was the noise of a baby crying upstairs. "Stay here and watch for Death Eaters, Hagrid," he instructed, then rushed up the stairs much faster than a man of his apparent age should have been able to go.
He could immediately see that both Lily and Tom were dead. Stepping over their bodies, he picked up Harry, who was still crying from the lightning-bolt-shaped cut on his forehead. Dumbledore cast a healing charm on the cut, but noticed that even his magic could not prevent a scar from forming. Just then, he heard a motorcycle pull up outside.
Sirius was alarmed when he saw the front door smashed open and the hole in the upstairs wall. "James, Lily!" he cried as he ran up the stairs to the front door, only to run into Hagrid's large form.
"Sirius, I'm sorry. There's nothin' you can do. James is gone, and I'd afraid Lily is too," said Hagrid.
"What? He promised to protect them!"
"Dumbledore did his best; he's a great man, Dumbledore. But somehow, You-Know-Who found them anyway," said Hagrid.
"Not Dumbledore. The rat! He promised to protect them. I'll kill him." Sirius turned and Apparated away just as Dumbledore was carrying a sleepy Harry down the stairs.
"Harry's alive!" shouted Hagrid.
"Yes, and even more strange, Tom Riddle--Voldemort--is dead. It appears that Tom cast the killing curse on Harry, and it somehow killed Tom instead. All Harry has to show for it is this lightning-bolt-shaped scar. Unfortunately, Lily is also dead."
"That's wonderful!" said Hagrid. "I mean, wonderful about You-Know-Who being dead, not wonderful about Lily."
"Who was at the door, Hagrid?"
"Sirius Black, James' best friend."
"Sirius? He was supposed to be the secret-keeper for the Fidelius spell. What did he say?"
"He said something about someone else promising to protect James and Lily, and then he Apparated away."
"If Tom broke through the Fidelius spell, he must have had the help of the secret-keeper. Tom must have promised Sirius he wouldn't harm James or Lily. But why would Sirius believe such a promise?"
"Sirius loved Harry, too," said Hagrid. "What would possess him to tell Tom where the Potters were hiding? And why would he leave that motorbike? He loved that motorbike, he did."
"I don't know, Hagrid. Perhaps he had to get somewhere faster than he could go on the motorbike. I have to go, too, to talk to the Ministry and let them know what happened. Maybe the Aurors can find some answers. Can you ride Sirius' motorbike and take Harry to Hogwarts?"
"Of course, perfessor. There's plenty of room for Harry in the sidecar."
"Don't let anyone see Harry. There may be some Death Eaters still about who will want revenge. I'll find a family who will care for him, and I'll send you an owl to have you bring Harry there."
"Yes, perfessor." Hagrid mounted the motorbike, and Dumbledore placed the now-sleeping toddler in the sidecar. Dumbledore then turned and Apparated away. As Hagrid started the motorcycle, he noticed some muggles swarming up the street, apparently attracted by the lights and noise from a cottage that, until a few minutes ago, had been invisible to them. To avoid them, Hagrid put the bike in flying mode and headed north.
* *
* * *
"Molly!" Molly Weasley turned, her three-month-old daughter on her hip, surprised to see her husband step from the fireplace and dust ashes from his robe so soon after he Flooed to work. "Great news," he said, when he had her attention. "You-Know-Who is dead."
"What?"
"Apparently, he went after James and Lily Potter. Sadly, he murdered them." Molly's hand went to her mouth and she gasped. "But when he tried to kill their son, Harry, the curse somehow bounced back and killed You-Know-Who instead."
"Where did you hear this?" asked Molly.
"Dumbledore came to the Ministry late last night. The word is spreading fast."
"What about poor Harry Potter? Who will take care of him with James and Lily gone? Wait a minute. Wasn't Sirius Black Harry's godfather? He was such a womanizer. He'd never make a good guardian for Harry."
"That may not be important. The word I hear was that Sirius betrayed the Potters' location to You-Know-Who. The Ministry is after him, and when they find him, they'll probably send him straight to Azkaban."
Arthur gazed fondly into the living room where several of their sons--Bill was off at Hogwarts--were playing or studying the lessons Molly was giving them.
"You know what this means, don't you Arthur? Our children will grow up in a world without fear. Maybe even a world without the kind of pureblood prejudice that You-Know-Who stood for."
"I hope so, dear. Well, I'd better Floo back to the office. As word spreads, there will be a lot of wizards and witches celebrating today--and that will probably mean lots of work for us in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office."
They kissed each other good-bye and Arthur disappeared into the green flames.
* *
* * *
Hagrid looked up as an owl arrived through the window of his groundskeeper's cottage--hut, really, but Hagrid liked to think of it as a cottage. He gave the owl a piece of bacon and read the note the bird had delivered: "Meet me tonight at 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, A. Dumbledore."
Hagrid and Harry had arrived before dawn. Hagrid didn't know much about taking care of toddlers, but he knew Harry would be hungry when he woke up, so he immediately prepared breakfast. Sure enough, Harry quickly ate the porridge and pumpkin juice that Hagrid offered, but for some reason wasn't interested in Hagrid's rock cakes.
Harry was enjoying playing on the floor with Hagrid's dog, Grue. But Hagrid knew Harry would be hungry again soon, and he didn't have much in the way of lunch for a 15-month-old child. He figured most of the students and teachers would be in the Great Hall for lunch, so he decided to go to the kitchens and see if the elves had anything suitable for Harry.
It was a risk, though; he knew it wasn't safe to leave a toddler alone in the cottage, but Dumbledore had asked him to not let anyone know Harry was with him. As luck would have it, he only met one person on the way to the kitchens: Deputy Headmistress McGonagall. Fortunately, Hagrid was so tall that whatever he was cradling in his arm was out of sight of the professor.
"Rubeus," she said, "have you seen the headmaster? He has been absent all morning."
"He's at the Ministry, perfessor. Have you heard th' news? You-Know-Who is dead!"
"What? Are you sure?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, he killed James and Lily Potter, but managed to die hisself when he tried t' kill 'arry. The headmaster and I were at their house last night to examine the bodies. Perfessor Dumbledore probably has the Aurors there now."
Professor McGonagall was alternately elated and horrified at the news. But before Hagrid turned away, she noticed he looked like he was trying to shield something from her eyes.
"What are you carrying, Rubeus?"
"Just a haunch of deer meat," he said as he hastened off. "I'm taken' it down to the kitchen fer the house elves to cook up fer me."
"Wait, Rubeus," she said. "You dropped something." But Hagrid was gone. She looked at the parchment, which read, "Meet me tonight at 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, A. Dumbledore." As she pondered this message, it occurred to her that Hagrid had not said anything about whether the Potters' son, Harry, had survived the attack.
On a hunch, Professor McGonagall Apparated to Privet Drive after dinner and transformed to her Animagus form so she could observe the neighborhood without attracting attention from the muggles. A gentle autumn breeze blew through the young trees that fronted the homes. The cat sniffed disapprovingly at the smashed jack-o-lanterns smeared on the street and the streams of paper decorating some of the houses and trees.
After several hours, her keen feline eyes spotted a man walking up the drive despite the fact that the streetlights went out as he passed each one. When he approached within speaking distance, she transformed back into her human form. "Ah, I thought that was you, Professor McGonagall."
"Is it true what they are saying, Albus? That James and Lily are dead? I don't want to believe it."
"I know, I know, it is hard."
"And what about Harry? They say Voldemort died trying to kill the Potters' son." Dumbledore nodded. "It's true? How could this happen?"
"We may never know," said the headmaster.
"Is Harry all right?"
"Yes. I am here to leave Harry with his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now."
"You're leaving him with muggles? These people will never understand him. He will be famous in our world."
"Exactly," said Dumbledore. "Famous for something he won't even remember. He'll be much better off growing up away from all that until he is ready to take it."
Professor McGonagall sometimes thought that the headmaster was getting senile, and never more than at this moment. But, as so many times before, she acceded to his authority.
"Where is Harry?" she asked.
"Hagrid is bringing him."
"Is that wise? I saw Hagrid today, and he was walking around with a haunch of deer meat. Or, at least," she said thoughtfully, "that's what he said it was."
"I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore. Just then, the sound of a motorbike could be heard over the wind, and they turned to watch Hagrid descend from the sky. The big man leaned over to pick up Harry Potter from the sidecar and handed him to Professor McGonagall. "The little tyke fell asleep about the time we passed Northhampton," he said.
"Thank you, Hagrid," said Dumbledore. "Please return to Hogwarts. We'll see you there in the morning." Hagrid said good-bye to little Harry and took off.
"What are you going to do, Albus, leave the boy on the doorstep with a note?"
"Of course not," chided the headmaster as he walked up to the front step of number 4. "That wouldn't be fair to the boy, who lost his mother, or to Mrs. Dursley, who lost her sister," he said as he knocked on the door.
"Hello," said Petunia as she opened the door. "Oh--it's you. You're from that school, aren't you?"
"Yes, Mrs. Dursley. I am afraid I have some bad news."
"Not Lily?" Petunia gasped. "Is she hurt?"
"Worse than that. Both she and her husband were murdered last evening."
Petunia's eyes teared up and she stumbled back. The two Hogwarts professors took this opportunity to step inside, and Professor McGonagall closed the door against the draft. Vernon stood up from his living room chair and walked behind his wife to support her.
"I knew this. . . this magic stuff would lead to a bad end," said Petunia.
"There are bad people in our world just as there are bad people in your world," said Dumbledore gently. "No place can guarantee everyone's safety."
"You're right. I can't blame you. It's just. . . she was my best friend when we were growing up. This magic thing drove a wedge between us."
"I know it won't be much comfort to you, but the man who did this has been brought to justice. He died last night in the same attack."
"Thank you, for letting us know."
"There is one more thing. Lily's son, Harry, survived the attack. He needs his family to care for him." Professor McGonagall stepped forward with Harry in her arms. The jostling had awakened Harry, and he reached out his arms to his aunt and uncle.
"That's Lily's son?" Petunia asked. "He has her eyes."
"I hope you will take him," said Dumbledore. "You're the only family he has now."
"Yes," said Petunia, looking at her husband, whose face remained vacant. "I guess we can do that."
"Thank you. I'll be back or send someone from time to time to see how he is doing," said the white-bearded wizard. "If you need anything, you can let me or my representative know. Many of the people in our world loved Lily as much as you did, and we will want to know that her son is safe." Saying good-bye, the professors left the house.
"I hope this is okay, Vernon," Petunia half-pleaded. "He's my own flesh-and-blood. You know I couldn't turn him away."
"I know," he replied gently. "I'll be honest with you, though: money will be tight with another mouth to feed."
"We'll make it, somehow. I can save a little money with the grocery shopping."
"Do you think he is going to be, you know, freaky, like his parents?"
"I don't know. I think they told us that, just as some non-magic families have magicians like my sister, some magic families have non-magicians. We'll just have to wait and see."
* *
* * *
Bellatrix Lestrange was not happy. The Dark Lord had not returned from his expedition with Wormtail the night before, and rumors of his demise had reached the ears of the Death Eaters. Bella was out for revenge, or at least information. Voldemort's top lieutenant brought three of the most powerful other Death Eaters--her husband Rodolphus, his brother Rabastan, and Bartimous Crouch, Jr.--with her to the gates of Hogwarts.
"Our sources tell us Dumbledore was at the Ministry today and hasn't returned to the castle," she said. "He always Apparates here, so we'll ambush him when he does. Rodolphus, Rabastan, as soon as he shows up, the three of us will hit him with the killing curse. Crouch, if anyone is with him, I want you to stun them. Don't kill them--I want to interrogate them to find out what really happened to our Lord."
They didn't have long to wait. Shortly before midnight, Dumbledore and McGonagall Apparated to the gate. Suffering from a lack of sleep, Dumbledore hadn't fully recovered from side-along Apparating Hagrid to Godric's Hollow. Even then, he might have been able to fend off two attackers, but three was too many. Whilst Dumbledore quickly stunned the Lestrange brothers, Bellatrix attacked from behind him and her Avada Kedavra struck him the center of his back. Meanwhile, Crouch successfully stunned McGonagall.
Bellatrix shrieked with laughter. "I killed the great Dumbledore," she shouted, before Rennervating her husband and his brother. After Incarcerating McGonagall, she Rennervated her as well.
"Where is the Dark Lord?" she demanded.
"Dead," spat the professor. "Killed by a child. So much for your powerful lord."
"You lie!"
"I'd give up if I were you, unless you want to end up dead too."
"You sound very brave for someone who is tied up and surrounded by enemies. I killed your noble Dumbledore. Why should I be afraid of a child?"
For the first time, McGonagall noticed the fallen body of her friend and teacher, and she faltered.
"Where can I find this child?" shouted Bellatrix.
"I . . . I'll never tell you."
"Crucio!"
As Professor McGonagall writhed in pain, Rodolphus nervously approached his wife. "Dear, we should go. Crouch has conjured the Death Mark. The Aurors will be here soon."
Bellatrix spun toward Crouch. "You fool," she said, giving him a touch of Crucio. "We'll have to take her with us," she told her husband.
* *
* * *
Dumbledore told Hagrid to return to Hogwarts, but the big man thought it would be okay to go to the Hogs Head to spread the good news about the demise of You-Know-Who. Since he didn't have to worry about Harry's welfare on the trip back from Little Whinging, he was able to fly the motorbike much faster, and now he was regaling Filius Flitwick and some of the townspeople from Hogsmeade with stories about Harry's bravery.
"You-Know-Who tried to kill Harry with the killing curse, and left narry a mark on Harry other than a cute little lightning-bolt-shaped wound on his forehead," said Hagrid proudly of the child who had been in his care for a day.
Just then, someone came in the door shouting, "Call the Aurors. Someone's left the Dark Mark above the Hogwarts gate!"
Many of the people in the room jumped up to hasten home to make sure their loved ones were safe. Professor Flitwick turned to Hagrid and said, "We'd better go investigate. Some Death Eaters may be trying to break through Hogwarts' wards."
As they hurried up the road to the school, they could see the Dark Mark boiling above the entrance to the Hogwarts grounds. "The hedge rows keep anyone from getting off the road," said the little professor. "I'll put an anti-Apparition spell over the area, leaving a small unprotected zone by the gate for me to Apparate into. You stay at this end and make sure no Death Eaters leave this way."
"No one will get by me, perfessor."
"Don't take any unnecessary risks, Hagrid," said Flitwick as he performed the anti-Apparition spell. "I know you are tough, but without a wand you can't properly duel a fully trained Death Eater."
"Don't worry, perfessor. I can take care o' meself."
Bellatrix had grabbed Professor McGonagall by her hair and tried to Apparate away, but she was too late: Flitwick had already cast his anti-Apparition spell.
"Give up, Bella, you are surrounded," Professor Flitwick calmly warned.
"I killed that senile old fool, Dumbledore," she laughed. "Why would I be afraid of you?"
"Dumbledore may have been senile, but I'm not. You were never able to take me in a duel."
The four dark magicians quickly began sending killing curses and other hexes in Flitwick's direction. Flitwick had been a champion dueler partly because he two advantages over normal-sized wizards: he was a smaller target and he was much more nimble. As he dodged curses, he quickly stunned and Incarcerated Crouch, then focused his attention on defeating Bellatrix, who he judged to be the most dangerous of the three Lestranges.
Hearing the noise of the battle, Hagrid ran up the road to help. Seeing Rodolphus jump out of the way of one of Flitwick's stunners, Hagrid slapped him from behind with his open hand, knocking him out. Angered by the newcomer's treatment of her husband, Bellatrix fired a killing curse into the only part of the half-giant's body that was as vulnerable as any pureblood wizard's: his eyes. Hagrid fell heavily to the ground. But whilst Bellatrix was preoccupied with Hagrid, Professor Flitwick managed to stun and Incarcerous her. Rabastan, meanwhile, ran past Hagrid's body and, as soon as he was passed the anti-Apparition zone, disappeared.
Examining the prisoners and his friends, Flitwick was grieved to discover that, not only were Dumbledore and Hagrid dead, but Professor McGonagall had either been caught in the crossfire or deliberately murdered by one of the Death Eaters when they discovered they couldn't Apparate out. He didn't realize until much later that the only wizards and witch who could find Harry Potter were now gone.
Chapter 2: Chapter Two: Growing Up
Author's Notes: See author's profile for notes.
Vernon and Petunia tried to raise Harry as best they could, giving him the third bedroom of their home. Since Dudley was almost a year older than his cousin, they graduated him to a regular bed whilst giving Harry Dudley's old crib.
For his first Christmas with the Dursley's, they gave both Dudley and Harry some new toys. But within a few days, Harry's toys were all mysteriously broken. At first, Petunia wondered if Harry was extremely careless with his things, but whenever she watched him he seemed to be careful. Then she worried that Dudley was breaking them due to sibling rivalry.
But then she noticed other strange things happening at night. Harry would have a terrible nightmare, and when Petunia went to his room to reassure him that whatever he was seeing was only a dream, she noticed that things had been tossed around even though Harry had never left his crib. At first, it was only small things like a toy seemingly thrown across the room. But it soon moved on to bigger things, such as a dresser pushed across the room or a table lamp knocked on the floor.
After the lamp had been smashed, the Durley's moved breakable things out of the room. But when one of the room windows had been broken for the third time in a week, Vernon had enough.
"I guess that proves he's freaky. I thought that schoolmaster was going to contact you?" he said in frustration. "We can't control this boy's freakishness. We need help."
"I don't know how to reach them," fretted Petunia. "Lily always communicated by owl."
Vernon wasn't sure he knew what that meant. "It can't go on like this. We can't afford to buy new windows every day of the year."
"What do you think we should do?"
"How about the cupboard under the stairs?" he suggested, not daring to look her in the eyes. "It's the only room in the house that doesn't have any windows."
"But it's so small. What will . . . those people think if they find out we've been making him sleep in a cupboard?"
"It's big enough for him now. If they show up, they can teach him to control his freakishness and maybe he can move back into a real bedroom," Vernon promised.
So they moved all the breakables out of the cupboard, put his crib mattress on the floor, and made him sleep there at night. Dudley gradually took over the third bedroom for his growing collection of toys. As Harry's toys all broke, he wasn't allowed to have any breakable toys except for Dudley's cast offs.
* *
* * *
"Read us a story, daddy."
"Okay, what would you like to hear?"
"I want to hear the tale of Harry Potter."
"Aw, Gin, you always want to hear that story. Tell us a story about Quidditch."
"Ron, all you boys talk about is Quidditch. I want to hear about Harry Potter."
"Alright, but daddy, do you think Harry Potter ever plays Quidditch?"
"I don't know. His father played Quidditch, but his mother was muggleborn. No one knows where he is today, but if he is living with muggles, he probably doesn't play Quidditch."
"I hope his family takes good care of him, wherever he is," said Gin. Though she had never met him, little Ginny felt she had a special connection to Harry Potter because they shared the same birthday, she being born exactly one year later than Harry.
"Tell me a story, father."
"Alright, Draco. Let me tell you about how the purebloods got their land. In 1066, the king of England died, and there were two contenders for the throne. One of them, Henry, was a muggle who wanted to exterminate wizards and witches. So the leading wizards of the day agreed to support William as long as he would let the magical community alone."
"Was William a wizard, father?"
"No, but he had many friends who were wizards. With their help, he invaded England and beat Henry's army. He was so grateful to the wizards that he gave many of them large tracts of land. Over the centuries, we have won the favor of many later kings and queens, and now purebloods own most of the land in Britain."
"Didn't the Muggles own any land?"
"They did, but many of them had such large families that the land was split among several members of the family. Eventually, none of them owned enough land to earn a living from, so the sold the land--usually to a pureblood family. That's why most pureblood families have only one or two children, so they can keep the land in the family. When you grow up, you will be known among the Muggles as the Earl of Wiltshire."
"Read me some more of the Narnia story, mum."
"I am glad you like that story, Hermione. It was always one of my favorites."
"Do you think there really is a place like Narnia, with witches and magic?"
"It's just a story, dear."
"I especially like the part where Aslan dies for his friends, and then comes back to life to save the ones he loves."
"That is a beautiful tale."
"At Sunday School, they said Jesus died and then came back to save the ones he loved. Is that just a story too?"
"No, there really was a man named Jesus. But I don't know if he really died and then came back to life. A lot of religions tell a story like that, but I'm not sure it could ever really happen."
"Da, how did Harry Potter beat the evil wizard?"
"No one really knows, Neville. Some people think that his parents must have cast a spell on him that protected him."
"Is Harry Potter real?"
"Yes, and he is about your age. James and Lily were friends of ours, and when you go to Hogwarts, he should be in your year."
"Do you think I could ever be as good a wizard as Harry Potter?"
"Of course, Neville. You will be a very powerful wizard."
"Tell us a story, grandgoblin."
"Alright, young goblins. Let me tell you the story of Gringott and Godric, two great friends. Gringott was a goblin and Godric was a wizard."
"A wizard!" cried one of the young goblins, who stood barely 18 inches high. "Why would goblins ever be friends to a wizard?" he asked scornfully.
"Not all wizards were as bad as the ones we know today. Gringott first met Godric when Godric was being attacked by a giant snake. Gringott saved Godric's life, and from then on the two were inseparable. They traveled across the land helping people.
"Once, they saved a young goblinette named Ganderdanz from an Acromantula. Later, they saved a witch named Rowena from a Manticore. Gringott later married Ganderdanz and Godric married Rowena. Rowena was a teacher, so she and Godric started a school for wizards and witches. Godric took the gold they had found over the years and gave it to Gringott to start a bank. That's the origin of Gringotts."
"Did Godric and Rowena invite goblins to be students at their school?"
"They did at first," said the grandgoblin. But later they hired a new teacher named Salazar who talked them out of it. It turned out Salazar was the one who had set the snake on Godric that Gringott rescued him from. Salazar eventually succeeded in killing Godric, and since then relations between wizards and goblins have been strained. But a goblin prophecy says that, one day, the heir of Godric will return and be a great friend to goblins.
"Tell us a story, da."
"Of course, Duddikins. Would you like to hear the story of Hansel and Gretel, and how they burned the evil witch?" Vernon asked, giving Harry an cruel grin. Moving Harry to the cupboard had saved the windows at night, but some windows still spontaneously broke during the day, especially when Dudley tried to reclaim a used toy from Harry.
"Should all witches be burned?" Dudley asked.
"There's no such thing as magic," Vernon hastily replied. "But if witches were real," he mused whilst thinking of his glass bill, "they probably should be burned."
After Dudley and Harry went to bed, Petunia asked Vernon about another letter he had received from his friend, Thomason, in the states. "He said his daughter is about to go to kindergarten this year. What is kindergarten?" Vernon asked.
"It's what we call reception. Both Dudley and Harry are eligible for reception this year."
"Why are they both in the same year? Dudley is almost a year older than Harry."
"Yes, but the cut-off date is September 1. Because Dudley was born on September 15, and Harry on July 31, they will both be in the same year."
"Harry still can't control his freaky behavior. I don't think we dare send him to reception."
"We can keep him at home. But he'll be required to enter year one next year."
"Do you think by then he'll have learned to control his freakishness?"
"I'll teach him to help with chores around the house. If I can keep him busy enough, maybe he won't have time to do anything freaky."
* *
* * *
Harry Potter liked school because the teachers treated every student the same. At home, he was stuck doing all the chores whilst his cousin Dudley got most of the presents at Christmas and the best candy at Halloween.
His uncle said they had to keep Harry cleaning and cooking to keep his "freakishness" under control. Harry didn't know what that meant. He knew that strange things sometimes happened, such as windows breaking or vases falling off the mantle. But they weren't his fault; he was nowhere near the things when they got broken.
Mysterious things happened at the school, too. The teachers had noticed that whatever classrooms he and Dudley were in always suffered a rash of broken windows, chairs that overturned by themselves, or books being knocked off of shelves. These things seemed to happen most often when Dudley, who was much bigger than Harry and had surrounded himself with a gang of bullies, was trying to steal Harry's lunch or otherwise bully the smaller child. The teachers suspected that student fights had something to do with the breakages, but could never prove it because Dudley and his gang were often at the opposite end of the room from whatever broke.
This week, Harry's class had been learning about the history of slavery. According to the teacher, at one time some people actually put other people in chains and would make the slaves do all the work, whilst the slave owners got all the benefits. If the slaves refused to work, the slave owners whipped and beat them. Harry could clearly see that this was unfair.
After school, Dudley and his gang cornered Harry outside. "So, it looks like you are our slave, Harry. You do all the work around the house."
"Slavery is illegal, Dudley. Didn't you hear the teacher?"
"I think this slave needs a little whipping to keep him in line. Hold him, boys!"
One of Dudley's friends grabbed Harry's right arm, whilst another took his left. Harry doubled over as Dudley delivered a solid punch to his stomach. All Harry could think of was that he wanted these kids to be far away from him--now!
Suddenly, his arms were free. Harry looked up, and his cousin had flown into a brick wall and crumpled to the ground. Dudley's friends were also lying on the ground as if they had been tossed away by a strong wind. They looked around in astonishment, but Dudley was knocked out cold. A teacher ran out of the school and took Dudley to hospital.
When Uncle Vernon heard about the incident, he was livid. "I always knew your freakishness would make trouble for us. Now we'll have to send you to St. Brutus's Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys. They'll beat you every day until you learn to control yourself." To show Harry what he meant, he slapped his open hand across Harry's face.
"Aunt Petunia, you know I couldn't have done this," Harry pleaded. "Dudley and his friends are all twice as big as I am. How could I have hurt them?"
"I'm sorry," she replied. "I've done my best to take care of you. But you hurt Dudley. I just don't know what to do."
Harry went into the bathroom and looked in a mirror at his bruised face. Uncle Vernon was quick to anger, but he had never hit Harry before. Harry put his hand on his face and closed his eyes, wishing the pain would go away. Suddenly, he felt better; looking in the mirror, the bruise was gone. Perhaps Uncle Vernon hadn't hit him as hard as Harry thought.
The next morning, Petunia accompanied Harry to the schoolmaster's office. "Some people have accused your son, Dudley, of being a bully and of breaking things around the school, but we could never prove it. Now it appears that your nephew, Harry, is the one responsible for these things," said the schoolmaster. "We can't have this kind of violence around our school, so I have no choice but to expel him. Because the school year is almost over, Harry will be graded on the work he has done so far. But you'll have to find another school for him next year."
For the rest of Dudley's school year and through the summer, Petunia kept Harry hard at work around the house and garden. Vernon put a lock on his cupboard and in the evenings they locked him in so his freakishness couldn't hurt them.
* *
* * *
"Minister, the Improper Use of Magic Office has been getting reports of large amounts of accidental magic from Surrey. No one has been able to trace its source, but obviously there is a Muggleborn wizard or witch in the area."
"Can't the office take care of this problem without my help, Lucius?"
"I am sure that it can. But this just underscores the need for the Wizengamot to pass the Muggle Protection Act that I've been promoting. We don't want any Muggleborns to harm Muggles, do we?"
"Tell me how your proposed law would work," said Minister Fudge.
"As you know, after the War against Grindelwald, the Ministry persuaded the Muggle Parliament to pass the Town & Country Act of 1947. This law confined Muggles to the cities that make up a tiny portion of the British Isles. This helped reduce interactions between Muggles and magical people, since most wizards and witches live in the countryside. The Muggle government also paid rural landowners to compensate them for the loss of the right to develop their property. Since most rural landowners were magical, it helped to restore the fortunes of people who had been fighting the war." Malfoy didn't mention that many of them had lost their fortunes fighting on the side of Grindelwald.
"Yes, yes," said Fudge. "What does that have to do with your Muggle Protection Act?"
"My law proposes to do the same thing with the families of Muggleborn wizards and witches. It dedicates portions of a few cities to Muggleborn families, where they will have a chance to interact with each other and learn more about the wizarding world but not interact with Muggles. This will protect other Muggles from being harmed by the magic, accidental or otherwise, from Muggleborn witches and wizards."
"That makes a lot of sense, Lucius. I'll make sure the Wizengamot takes up your bill right away. That way, we can start moving Muggleborn families to your Muggleborn areas as soon as the students go to Hogwarts this fall."
"That is an excellent idea, Minister," fawned Malfoy.
* *
* * *
Hermione Granger thought the letter from Hogwarts, a school she had never heard of, was a hoax. But here was a woman, wearing a robe and pointed hat, who claimed to be a witch. Moreover, she could do things that neither Hermione nor her parents could explain by slight of hand. She could levitate heavy objects and she transformed the Granger's coffee table into a large dog that ran around the Granger's house before turning back into a coffee table.
"Has Hermione ever done anything that you couldn't explain?" asked the woman, who introduced herself as Professor Sprout.
"Once, some children were teasing her and she got upset and they suddenly all fell down," recalled her mother. Hermione blushed; she had always been teased in school for her bookishness, not to mention her bushy hair and buckteeth, and usually she was able to ignore it. But a couple of times strange things had happened.
"We call that accidental magic," said the professor. "It happens when magical children feel particularly strong emotions. At Hogwarts, we will train children how to control their magic and use it for constructive purposes so that they won't ever accidentally harm someone."
Hermione got excited. "Does Hogwarts have a library?" she asked. Her parents laughed.
"Hermione has always loved books," her father explained.
"Yes," said the professor. "Hogwarts has a huge library of books, many of which cannot be found anywhere else, and certainly not at a Muggle, er, non-magical library."
"Oh please, can I go to Hogwarts?" she asked her parents.
"Of course, we want Hermione to have the best education," her father said.
"There's just one other thing," said the professor. "The Ministry of Magic is very strict about keeping the magical world secret from non-magical people. As parents of a magical child, you are exempt, but no one else, none of your other friends or relatives, should be allowed to know about Miss Granger's abilities. This is for your own safety, because magical children have often been persecuted by non-magical people."
"We know how to keep secrets," said her father. Hermione knew what he meant: he had been in the military before marrying her mother, and he never spoke of the work he had done. "That's classified," he would say, or sometimes, "If I tell you, I'd have to kill you"--always with a twinkle in his eye that made it seem like a joke, but serious enough that people stopped asking about it.
"Just to make certain, the Ministry requires that the families of Hogwarts students move to certain communities that are inhabited exclusively by the families of other magical people. That will prevent any accidental interaction between Hermione and others. This is for everyone's protection, magical and non-magical alike."
"But we love our house," exclaimed her mother.
"I am sure you will be able to find just as nice a house in the places we have set aside for families of magical people," said the professor reassuringly.
"Does this mean we won't be able to visit our friends and relatives? What about our business? We're dentists."
"You'll still be able to practice your professions, and visit everyone you know. But living in a magical community will help both you and Hermione fit in to the magical world."
"What if we refuse to move?" asked her father.
"In that case, Hermione won't be allowed to go to Hogwarts, and we would be required to cast a spell that would make you forget about the magical world. To protect people from accidental magic, we would have to bind Hermione's magic. This binding sometimes has severe side effects such as chronic pain and a loss of cognitive abilities." Professor Sprout winced at having to say this; she knew that there was really no way to bind a child's magic, but the Ministry was very firm that Muggleborn families be persuaded to move.
Hermione could see her parents turn pale. "Oh please! I really want to go to Hogwarts. I'll help you move. Maybe I'll even be able to learn enough magic to simplify moving. That levitation spell would come in handy."
Her parents could see that Hermione's future was far more important than a simple house. After all, it was just a house, and Hermione was their daughter.
* *
* * *
Filius Flitwick sat back in his chair in the headmaster's office with a sigh. He never thought he could run Hogwarts as well as Dumbledore, but he felt he had done a pretty good job. The one perennial thorn in his side with the job of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Just like Dumbledore before him, it seemed he had to find a new professor each year.
He just finished an interview with a candidate whose resume was excellent, but there was something that didn't seem quite right about him. It could be that he was just jealous of the man's good looks; Flitwick was fully aware that most wizards and witches regarded him as ugly. Fortunately, he had one more candidate to interview before making a decision.
When Flitwick heard a knock, he waved his wand to open the door. "Welcome, Quirinus," he said. "I'm glad you're back. We need you here." Like the previous candidate, Quirrell still had most of his hair, but it was thinning on top. Because of that, plus his wide ears and pointy nose, few would call him handsome. But unlike the previous interviewee, Quirrell was a known commodity as he had been Muggle Studies Professor before taking a year off to study the dark arts.
"I am glad to be back, Headmaster," said Quirrell.
"So, where did you go during your sabbatical?" asked Flitwick, interested to see if Quirrell, who was known to be great on theory but poor on practical magic, had really improved himself.
"I traveled around the world learning about dark arts and dark creatures," said Quirrell, fully aware that the interview had started. "I fought vampires in Albania, zombies in Africa, and had to deal with a hag in Bulgaria."
They continued talking about Quirrell's experiences. Finally, Flitwick said, "All right, you've got the job. Everyone will be glad to have you back. Of course, you know, you may have to find another job next year!"
"Yes, Headmaster, I am fully aware of the supposed curse on this position. But no one has ever been able to prove that such a curse really exists, and I hope I'll be able to stay for many years."
"You can feel free to move into the DADA professor's quarters anytime in the next month. As you know, the students arrive on September 1st and school starts on September 2nd, and we like to have all of the staff here at least a week ahead of time to prepare."
"That's fine. I don't have that much to move, so I should be here long before the last week of August."
Flitwick was in a good mood when Quirrell left the headmaster's office, as this burden was out of the way for another year. Now, he just had to write a letter to the other candidate informing him of the bad news that he hadn't gotten the job.
Quirrell was telling the truth when he said he didn't have much to move. Having been on the road for all of the previous year had taught him to travel light. In fact, most of his belongings were already in the castle where he had left them before starting his world tour.
He didn't know how many other people knew about the Room of Hidden Things. Surely, quite a few considering how many things were hidden in it. But no one else on the staff seemed to know about it when he had been Muggle Studies Professor, and he only found out because he had been learning advanced dark arts in preparation for his sabbatical. Everything in the room had been pretty dusty, suggesting few people had been there lately, so he had felt safe leaving a few trunks of belongings, mostly clothes and a few personal mementos, in the room before he left.
He now returned to that room, did the obligatory pacing three times in front of the hidden door, and entered the room when the door appeared. He easily found his trunks, but as he was examining them, he sensed another presence in the room.
Looking around, he spotted a headdress that anyone who had been sorted into Ravenclaw House, as he was when he was a Hogwarts student, would immediately recognized as Rowena Ravenclaw's lost diadem. He was amazed he hadn't seen it on his previous visit; either someone had placed it here since then or it might have had some sort of notice-me-not charm. Or he might simply have missed it. In any case, not only could he see it now, it seemed to be calling to him. As any former Ravenclaw student would, he eagerly grabbed it.
Quirrell had told Flitwick the truth about his experience against dark creatures. He had killed a vampire that was attacking people in Albania and destroyed a zombie for an African village. He had encountered a hag, but he hadn't fought her and what she did to him was not something he liked to brag, or even think about.
But nothing in his experience had prepared him for meeting the soul of Voldemort. As soon as he placed the diadem on his head, he forgot about his trunks and left Hogwarts.
* *
* * *
Harry knew that July 31 was his birthday because the Dursleys used to celebrate it by making him a cake (most of which was eaten by Dudley) and giving him a few presents--not as many as Dudley received on his birthday, but enough to show they cared about him. But ever since funny things started happening around Harry--things like a teacher's hair turning green, or Harry suddenly appearing on a rooftop--the Dursleys forgot his birthday.
On this, his eleventh birthday, a letter arrived in the mail for Harry, and at first he thought it might be a birthday card from someone. But he didn't know anyone who would send him a card, and when Dudley, who picked up the mail, pointed out the letter to Uncle Vernon, Vernon's face turned purple and he shoved Harry into his cupboard after burning the letter. Harry's uncle then yelled through the cupboard door that he would send Harry to St. Brutus' School for Criminally Insane Boys, where they would beat him every day.
Another card arrived after a few days, and one more each day after that. For each card that arrived, Uncle Vernon got angrier and shut Harry up in his cupboard for more hours of the day. It meant Harry didn't have to do as many chores, but it also meant he was confined to a tiny room for as many as 20 hours a day.
It was all so unfair. Dudley wanted Harry to be his slave. Uncle Vernon wanted people to beat Harry. Aunt Petunia ignored him. Now Harry was hungry, but the Dursleys had gone to bed without feeding him any supper. If only he could get out of here, he would run away from the Dursleys.
He heard a click, as if someone had unlocked the cupboard door. Warily, he tried pushing the door, and was surprised when it opened. Grabbing his book bag, he crept out into the darkened living room. Upstairs, he could hear Dudley, or possibly Vernon, snoring.
Harry went into the kitchen and made a couple of sandwiches, stuffing them into his book bag along with some fruit. He left a note on the kitchen table.
Dear Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon,
I am sorry I have been so much trouble. I am going away and I hope I won't bother you again.
Your nephew,
Harry
Grabbing a thin blanket from the cupboard under the stairs and a small pocketknife he had received as a Christmas present when the Durleys were still giving him presents, he then quietly went out the door. He didn't want to get caught on the streets by a bobby, so he headed to some woods south of Little Whinging and fell asleep under a tree.
Harry awoke in the woods not far from Privet Drive. Fortunately, it was a warm summer night so he wasn't cold. After eating an orange for breakfast, he continued south through the woods.
In the back of his mind, Harry knew that eleven-year-old boys rarely succeeded at running away from home. Based on tales he heard in school, they were usually quickly picked up by police or other authorities and sent back home. But he thought he might get far enough away from Little Whinging that, if he were caught, no one would recognize him. He figured the Dursleys might not even report him missing, so whoever found him would have to put him in a better home. Harry imagined that even an orphanage would be better than going back to the Dursleys.
As Harry proceeded through the forest, his plans were interrupted when the strangest thing happened--at least, the strangest thing since he held up his hand and sent several larger boys flying. He heard a small voice cry, "Help! Help!" He ran into a meadow toward the voice, but all he could see was a bird trying to pick something off the ground. He shooed the bird away and found a snake whose skin was torn where the bird's claws had tried to grab it.
Harry picked up the snake, and whilst it writhed in his hands, he once again heard a cry, "Help! Help" He realized it was coming from the snake. "Shh," he said. "I won't hurt you." The snake stopped writhing and looked into Harry's eyes.
"You must be a powerful wizard if you can speak snake language," said the snake.
"I didn't even know I was speaking it," said Harry. "I talked to a snake in a zoo once, but later I thought I had dreamed it."
"Thank you for chasing the bird away," said the snake.
"You're welcome. But, wait a minute. You said I'm a wizard?"
"Yes, according to snake lore, only the most powerful wizards can speak snake tongue."
"So I'm a wizard?" said Harry, thinking back to all the strange things that had happened to him, such as his teacher's hair turning green or his cousin's thuggish friend's flying away when they tried to attack him. "That explains a lot."
"Are you going to kill me and use me in some of your potions?" asked the snake.
"No, I don't know anything about potions. Besides, I could never kill or enslave any creature smart enough to talk. What else can wizards do? Where can I find them?"
"I've never met a wizard before," answered the snake. "But according to snake lore, they can fly or make other things fly; they can start fires; and make water to douse the fires."
"I think I can unlock locks," said Harry thoughtfully. "I was locked up in a cupboard and I really wanted to get out; then I heard the lock unlock and I could leave."
"If you're not going to kill me, could you let me go? I am injured and want to see my family again before I die."
Remembering the time he had healed his own bruised face, Harry said, "Maybe I can help you first." He wrapped his hand around the snake's body where the skin was torn and closed his eyes, thinking of what the snake's skin looked like where it was undamaged. The snake's body, which was cold to Harry's skin, grew warm for a moment. When Harry opened his hand, the snake was completely healed.
"Thank you," said the snake. "I feel much better. Is there anything I can do for you in return?"
"Do you know where I can find other wizards?"
"I really don't know much beyond this field. However, snake lore tells of a wizard who can speak snake tongue who lives west of here. If you ask other snakes, they might know more."
Harry thanked the snake and let him return to his family. Harry knew that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, and since it was still early morning, he put the sun at his back and continued walking.
* *
* * *
"Just what is it you want me to do?" Ginny stood, arms akimbo, before Fred and George, who were sitting in the Burrow's living room.
"Gin-Gin, favorite sister," said Fred.
"We just need your help with a little prank," said George.
"We would do it ourselves,"
"But mum has set an alarm if we enter Ron's room."
"All you need to do is sprinkle this instant spider powder in Ron's bed."
"When he gets in the bed, the spiders will come to life."
"And so will ickle Ronnie!"
"No!" said Ginny firmly. "You prank Ron too much as it is. The only reason he is afraid of spiders is because of your Teddy Bear prank."
"But Gin-Gin, he is so much fun to prank."
"He shrieks like a Banshee whenever he sees a spider."
"Besides, if you don't help us, we'll have to let Mum know that it was you, not us, who transfigured Charlie's Puddlemere United jerseys into Chudley Cannon shirts."
"We didn't mind taking the blame for that because it was such a great prank."
"But if we tell Mum, you'll be degnoming the garden for days."
"MUM!" yelled Ginny.
"Yes, dear?" they could hear from the kitchen.
"Remember that time you blamed the twins for changing Charlie's souvenir Puddlemere United shirts?"
"Yes, Charlie was furious for days."
"I was the one who did it."
Molly appeared in the entranceway. "And why are you telling me now?"
"The twins were trying to blackmail me into putting some spiders in Ron's trunk. Do you want me to degnome the garden now?"
"No dear, it was very noble of you to confess and protect Ron. Fred, George, go degnome the garden."
Ginny smirked as they slouched out of the house. "How do you like that?" said Fred. "She does the prank, and we get punished for it twice!"
"No one will ever make Gin-Gin do something she doesn't want to do."
"She'll probably get sorted into Slytherin, that one."
* *
* * *
Harry was working his way west, but it was slow going. He figured the only time he could openly walk on city streets and not get caught was during the afternoon hours when there were a lot of other people around. So he was able to walk only a mile or two a day and spent the rest of his time hiding in whatever forest he could find.
When he was in forests or meadows, he would call out to snakes to see if they knew of any other wizards. He soon realized that he had to imagine he was talking to a snake when he called or they wouldn't understand him. A few snakes told him to keep going west, but most of them didn't know anything helpful.
His real problem was finding food. The sandwiches and fruit he had packed had run out and he subsisted on wild berries and drank water out of public water fountains. Once a boy in a park shared a candy bar with him. Living with the Dursleys meant he was used to feeling hunger pangs, but he knew he would need a more serious meal soon.
* *
* * *
Almost everything was going smoothly for the fall opening of Hogwarts School. There were just two things bothering Headmaster Flitwick: he was missing a teacher and a student.
Professor Quirrell hadn't been seen since his job interview a month before. He had promised to show up at least a week before the start of school, and sounded like he would be here much sooner. Flitwick sighed. If Quirrell didn't show up tomorrow he would have to contact that blond ponce with the handsome face and tell him he had a job for him after all.
The missing student didn't need a solution, but it bothered him anyway. Before Hagrid died, he had told Flitwick that Harry Potter had survived the encounter with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but Hagrid hadn't told him where he was. No one had seen Harry since that night. Flitwick had noted that Hogwarts had sent an invitation to Harry at an address in Surrey, but there had been no response. He had sent Professor Sprout there to inquire, but the residents at the address denied knowing Harry Potter and slammed the door in her face.
Flitwick suspected that Dumbledore might have delegated the task to the incomparable Professor McGonagall, but with both Dumbledore and McGonagall gone, and all of Flitwick's staff busy getting ready for the upcoming term, Flitwick simply didn't have time to find out what might have happened to the boy.
* *
* * *
"Draco, as you know, Harry Potter will be in your year at Hogwarts. I want you to try to become very good friends with him."
Draco quickly swallowed the egg he was eating. "Do you think he really destroyed the Dark Lord?"
"I don't know, Draco, but if he did, he will grow up to be a powerful wizard. And even if he did not, he will be very popular, which will also make him powerful. The Malfoys have been powerful for many years, and one way we stay that way is by allying ourselves with other powerful people and families whenever we can."
"Yes, Father."
"It's time to take you to the Hogwart's Express," said his father. "Remember what I told you about Harry Potter."
Chapter 3: Chapter Three: Muggletown
Neville was packed to go to Hogwarts long before it was time to head to Kings Cross. He had his robes, his books, his potions, his cauldron, his telescopes, his scales, his wand, and his toad--right useful for capturing insects in the greenhouses--and a few things not on the Hogwarts list of necessary books and equipment.
After breakfast, but well before it was time to leave for Kings Cross, Neville's father called him into the parlor. Neville knew this must be important because they used this room mainly for formal occasions.
"Neville, you are old enough now to know some things about, well, about the story of Harry Potter."
"Yes, Da?"
"Before Harry Potter destroyed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, someone made a prophecy that only a baby born at the end of July to parents who had defied the Dark Lord three times would be able to vanquish him. There were only two children that fit this description: Harry Potter--and you."
"Me?"
"Yes, during the last war, your mother and I worked closely with Harry Potter's parents, and together we fought He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named three times. You and Harry were both born at the end of July, just a day apart."
"But the Dark Lord is gone, so I won't have to fight him, will I?"
"We hope he is gone. But we know he was working on some very dark magic to make himself immortal. We don't know what he did, but there is a chance he could come back." Neville gulped. "Not much of one, though," his father said gently. "Neville, you are a brave young boy. Mainly I am telling you this so that, if you see Harry Potter at school, you can thank him. After all, if he hadn't destroyed the Dark Lord, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named would have come after us."
"Do you think I could have destroyed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named when I was a baby, the way Harry Potter did?"
"I don't know. No one knows how the Dark Lord met his demise. All we know is that Harry Potter survived--but no one has seen him since."
This was a lot for an eleven-year-old boy to think about. Fortunately, eleven-year-old boys were easily distracted.
This was the most exciting day in Hermione Granger's young life. She and her parents had managed to find their way to platform 9-3/4, and now they were surrounded by people, many in regular clothing, but many more in wizard dress. A family of redheads wandered by with the mother giving last-minute instructions to her children. Another, smaller, family of platinum-blonds stood imperiously; apparently the boy would soon be a classmate of hers. It was all so overwhelming.
She saw a round-faced boy calling out the name of someone named Trevor. "Are you lost?" she asked. He smiled at her.
"No, it's my toad--he seems to have escaped. Don't worry." He looked around to see if anyone was watching, then surreptitiously pulled out a wand. "Accio Trevor," he said quietly, and suddenly she saw a large toad flying through the air, which the boy deftly caught and put into a cage.
"I thought we weren't supposed to do magic until we got to the school," she said. "Won't you get in trouble?"
"Did you get your wand at Ollivanders?" the boy asked. Hermione nodded and showed him her vine wand with a dragon heartstring. He pulled a second wand out of his robe. "Here's mine: cherry wood with a core of unicorn hair. These wands have a trace on them so the Ministry of Magic can detect if they are used by underage witches or wizards. Fortunately," he said with a conspiratorial smile, "I have another wand that belonged to my grandfather. It doesn't work as well for me as my own wand, but I can use it without the Ministry finding out."
Hermione was a bit disappointed that she didn't have a second wand that she could use without getting in trouble. But she would be getting to use her wand soon enough.
"I'm Neville, by the way," he said. "Neville Longbottom. You must be Muggleborn, or you probably would have known that about the wands."
"My name's Hermione Granger. Yes, I just found out about magic when Professor Sprout came to my home. This is all so amazing."
"Let's get on board and see if we can find a vacant compartment," said Neville. Hermione gave her parents a good-bye hug and followed Neville onto the last car of the train.
The Grangers turned to go after the train left the station, but were met by two wizards in official-looking robes. "Mr. and Mrs. Granger? Please come with us."
The wizards escorted them to a room with 40 or 50 chairs and invited them to sit down. Other people, mostly in non-wizard-looking clothing, were also entering the room and filling up the chairs, whilst people in wizard robes stood at the entrances. After a few minutes, a woman in a pink robe moved to a podium at the front of the room.
"Hem hem," she said to get people's attention. "Hem. My name is Dolores Umbridge, and I'd like to welcome you on behalf of the Ministry of Magic. Everyone at the Ministry is very excited to see your children enter Hogwarts. As you know, for your own protection, and the safety of your children, the Ministry has agreed to provide you with wonderful new homes where no one will have to worry about violating the Wizarding Secrecy Act. Today we are happy to help you move into these new homes."
"What about our old homes?" someone asked. "We haven't packed any of our belongings to move yet."
"Please do not worry," said the woman in pink. "We have magically transported all of your furniture and other belongings to your new homes."
"Will we be able to move back into our homes after our children graduate from Hogwarts?" someone else asked.
"I am sorry," Umbridge said, "but the secrecy laws are very strict. I am sure you will very much enjoy living in the magical community."
"Who is going to take care of our homes?"
"I thought you understood when you signed your contracts," said the woman, looking a bit puzzled. "If you owned your homes, the Ministry has taken possession of them and sold them to raise money to build you new homes. If you rented your homes or have a mortgage, you will continue to pay that, but to the Ministry."
The room filled with a loud buzzing. "I don't remember that in our contract," Dan said to Emma. "I read it pretty carefully before signing it."
The woman in pink just smiled. "Why don't you allow these nice officials from the Department of Muggle Relations take you to your new homes? You can ask more questions when you get there."
With some grumbling, most of the people stood up to leave. One of the wizards who met the Grangers in Kings Cross returned to them and said, "If you will follow me, I'll take you to your new home." He led them to a tall fireplace where green flames burned.
"This is a special form of travel used by witches and wizards. If you hold my hands, however, you can join me." The Grangers looked at him with astonishment; going into a fireplace just did not seem like a wise thing to do. But if he was going with them, it couldn't hurt--could it?
The wizard took some powder from a pot on shelf next to the fireplace opening and threw it into the fire. "Granger's residence," he said plainly. Then he took their hands and pulled them into the fire.
There was no burning sensation, though they did feel some rapid motion. Suddenly, they were ejected into a bright room with white walls. Looking around, they noticed some of the furniture from their old house. One entire wall of the room was windows with sliding glass doors that led to a deck. Dan walked over to the windows.
"We must be near Canary Wharf," he said, looking down. "I can see the Thames River."
"Yes," said the Ministry official. "We've given everyone a home proportional to the one they previously lived in. Since you had one of the larger, nicer homes, we've placed you on one of the highest floors with the best views."
Looking to the right, Dan could see a wall of windows perpendicular to their own. "Is this building shaped like an 'L'?" he asked.
"Actually, it is shaped like an 'X,'" said the official. "In addition to housing for all non-magical relatives of children at Hogwarts, it is large enough to contain offices, restaurants, clothing stores--everything you need."
"What about our dental practice?" asked Emma. "That is miles away from here. We have patients who are expecting our care this afternoon."
"It will take us a couple of days to sort this out. If you can give us the names of some other dentalists. . ."
"Dentists," said Dan,
"Yes, quite," said the wizard. "If you can give us the names of some other dentists, we can arrange appointments for your immediate patients with them until we get this all, er, sorted out."
The Grangers, of course, had reciprocal arrangements with other dentists to take each others' patients in case of emergencies, so they gave the names of those dentists to the official. "But this can't take too long," said Emma. "We've had many of our patients for more than 10 years, and we wouldn't want to lose any of them."
The official promised everything would be fine. He gave them a key to their rooms and invited them to explore their home and the entire building, then left.
They wandered around the apartment. "This has just as many rooms as our house, but they are all smaller," said Emma. "The furniture is crowded, and it is going to be hard to cook in this tiny kitchen."
"I guess high-rise construction costs more," said Dan. "Do you think we would have agreed to let Hermione go to this school if we had known we would never be able to live in our home again?"
"I don't know," said Emma. "I loved our home, but we also love Hermione."
"Let's go see what the rest of the building is like," said Dan.
Going into the hall, they found the elevators and discovered they were on the 65th floor of a 70-story building. They also quickly figured out that the northeast and southwest wings of the building were residential, whilst the northwest and southeast wings were offices. Stepping into the elevators, they discovered that shops and restaurants occupied the first five floors of the building. "It will take me days to shop at all of them!" cried Emma.
That afternoon, Nicolby Philpot trudged down the street to his dentists' offices. His tooth had been aching for several days, but this was the first day his dentist, Emma Granger, could fit him in. When he got to the door of the office, however, it was locked. A sign was on the door:
Please Contact One of the Following for Your Dentalist Needs
The sign then listed the addresses and numbers of the dentists Dan and Emma had given to the Ministry official. Nicolby groaned; it would probably take several more days for one of these new dentists to find room in their calendars for him.
On board the train, Hermione and Neville were joined in their compartment by three other first-year girls, Lavender Brown, and Padma and Parvati Patil. As the only Muggleborn of the group, Hermione felt a bit left out as the others chatted about people and families she had never met. She was grateful when Neville occasionally pulled her into the conversation by asking about her family.
Midway through the trip, a blond boy pulled open the compartment door and stared at everyone. "Longbottom," he said quietly.
"Malfoy," Neville replied. The boy turned and returned to the front of the train.
"I guess that proves it," said Neville.
"Proves what?" asked Parvati.
"Harry Potter isn't on the train."
"How can you tell?" ask Padma.
"That was Draco Malfoy," said Neville. "He was looking for Harry Potter, and since we are the last compartment in the last car on the train, he must not have found him."
"How do you know he was looking for Harry?" asked Parvati. "Is Draco a friend of yours?"
Neville laughed. "Hardly. The Malfoys have always been drawn to prestige and power, and no one in our class would be more prestigious, and maybe more powerful, than Harry Potter. But no one has heard from him in almost ten years, so no one knew for sure if he would be coming to Hogwarts."
"The Longbottoms are pretty wealthy and prestigious," said Lavender with a sly smile. "Why wasn't he drawn to you?"
"There is some bad blood between our families," answered Neville. "My father was the one who arrested his father for being a Death Eater after Harry Potter vanquished the Dark Lord."
"Does that mean he is in Azkaban?" asked Hermione.
"No, he claimed he was Imperiused into serving You-Know-Who and got off." Neville looked around to see if anyone was in the corridor who might hear them. "My father says he bribed people on the Wizengamot to declare him innocent."
"I've read about the war against Voldemort in Modern Magical History," said Hermione, not noticing how Lavender and the Patil sisters flinched when she said the name. "But I don't understand what it was all about. What is so important about being a 'pureblood'?"
"Nothing, really," said Parvati. "It's just a way to stir up popular support. Wizards are afraid of Muggles because there are so many more of them. Every new Muggleborn witch and wizard means more Muggles know about the wizarding world. They fear if too many Muggles know about us, the Muggles will try to wipe us out."
"That's silly!" said Hermione. "My parents were thrilled to find out there is real magic in the world."
"Yes, but not all Muggles are alike," replied Parvati. "Some hate the magic world."
"There isn't any such thing as a real pureblood family anyway," said Neville. "Even the most extreme of the purebloods know that there are so few pureblood families that if, they marry only other purebloods, too many of their children will be Squibs. So every three or four generations they quietly marry a Muggleborn witch. For example, Draco's great-grandmother on his father's side was a Muggleborn."
"Really?" said Lavender. "How do you know?"
"Because Draco and I are third cousins. Great Grandma Malfoy never tried to hide her Muggleborn status, though her grandson sure does."
"So, you say the Longbottoms are rich," said Hermione, batting her eyelashes. "Do you think this generation of Longbottoms might need an infusion of Muggleborn blood?"
Neville stuck his nose up in the air. "That depends, Miss Granger, on what dowry the Muggleborn witch would bring into the marriage."
Everybody laughed, and Hermione quietly congratulated herself on being brave enough to make such a joke. Maybe she would be sorted into Gryffindor and not Ravenclaw after all.
* *
* * *
The Grangers awoke in their new master bedroom and enjoyed the sun-lit view of the Thames. After making a little breakfast from groceries they had purchased at a store on the second level, Dan felt restless.
"I think we should go to our offices today. I know that Ministry official said we should wait a few days, but I feel settled in now."
So they dressed in their work clothes and took the express elevator down to the ground level. Exiting the elevator, they walked to the doors and looked out, expecting to see a busy city street and, they hoped, an underground station. Instead, they were stunned to find that the doors exited on a large green space. In the distance, to the northwest, all they could see was another high-rise building just like their own. Turning to their left, they saw yet another high rise.
"I could have sworn we could see the Thames River, city streets, and ordinary buildings from our balcony," said Dan.
"Maybe if we go into the next building, we will be closer to a London city street," suggested Emma.
"Why don't you stay here in case someone else shows up. You can ask directions, whilst I'll go see what's in the next building."
The morning was cool, so Emma returned to their building. Watching through the glass doors from the lobby, she could see her husband dwindle in size as he approached the next building to the northwest. Just as he went into that building, she could hear a door opening behind her, so she turned hoping to ask someone directions to the nearest underground station.
"Excuse me, can you tell me . . . Dan! How did you get here?"
"What do you mean? How did you beat me here?"
"I haven't moved. I saw you walk in that building, and here you are."
"How can that be?"
Emma turned pale. "Magic," she whispered.
The elevator opened and one of the Ministry officials stepped out. "Mr. and Mrs. Granger. Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Yes, you can damn well tell us how to get to the nearest underground station," said Dan. "We want to check up on our practice."
"No problem," said the man. "We've moved all of your dentalist equipment to an office on the fifth floor."
"But. . . our patients," cried Emma. "How will they be able to find us here?"
"There are hundreds of Muggle families living in this building, and more are moving in every day. You are the only dentalists, so I am sure you will be able to find many people who will need your services."
"But what about our friends? We'd like to visit them sometimes."
"You'll make many new friends here."
"Wait," said Dan. "Are you saying we aren't allowed to leave?"
"Not at all, not at all. But for your own protection, and your daughter's safety, we would like you to stay here as much as possible. Let me show you your new dentalist office."
* *
* * *
September 6, 1991
Dear Ginny,
Hogwarts is great! I got sorted into Gryffindor, of course. I met three great guys on the Hogwarts train, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and Ernie Macmillan. Seamus and Dean are also in Gryffindor and we are roommates, whilst Ernie got sorted into Hufflepuff.
They all love Quidditch except Dean, who was Muggleborn and had never heard of it. But he says it sounds like a Muggle sport called futbol. I didn't ask if they make a ball out of a foot or it is shaped like a foot.
I have another roommate named Neville Longbottom. He's pretty smart and I'm surprised he didn't get sorted into Ravenclaw.
Sorry, there was no sign of Harry Potter. Some other people were looking for him too. On the train, this pale guy came by our compartment and just stared at everyone and then left. Ernie said he recognized him as someone named Draco whose father was a Death Eater. Of course, he was sorted into Slytherin. Later, Neville told me he was looking for Harry Potter. Neville knows he didn't find him because Neville was in the last compartment on the train.
The best part about Hogwarts is the dining hall. You can eat as much as you want! Or at least as much as you have time for. The worst part is homework. Almost all of my teachers have already assigned essays.
One who hasn't is the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He's a strange guy. He has blond hair and some of the girls swoon over him, but he isn't teaching us anything, he just reads from his autobiography.
Scabbers keeps getting lost. I try to keep him in his cage in my room, but someone keeps letting him out or something. One time Neville found me looking for him and he pulled out his wand and said, "achoo Scabbers" and after few moments Scabbers came flying into the room. That was so cool--I'll have to learn that spell.
I can't wait for you to be here next year. We'll have lots of fun, especially if you are sorted into Gryffindor with the rest of us Weasleys.
Sincerely,
Ron
* *
* * *
Victor Crabbe proudly looked over his new home. It had a large living room, a beautiful formal dining room, several bedrooms, and a well-groomed yard. As a loyal friend to Lucius Malfoy, Crabbe received this home in exchange for his continued friendship and support to the Malfoys.
The only thing Crabbe couldn't understand was why the previous owners had a concrete-lined pit in the backyard. Like many pureblood wizards, Crabbe had never learned to swim, believing such physical activity was beneath them. He would probably fill the pit with dirt and plant flowers and shrubs that attracted fairies. He so loved fairies.
But first, he had to remove the name of the previous owners from the mailbox. "GRANGER"--what kind of name was that?
* *
* * *
Harry's progress picked up when he left Surrey; the next county, Hampshire, was less urbanized and had more farms and forests. Still, he didn't want to be seen crossing a farmer's fields and now that school was in session, the only times he dared to be out on the roads was during the couple of hours of the day when children were going to or from school. With his book bag, he looked like another school child, but he never knew where the next forest was that he could hide in so he sometimes had to cut his journey short when a promising forest came in sight.
He was also getting desperately hungry. The Dursleys had never made him go this long without eating. Whilst he had discovered that some leaves were edible along with berries, the number of berries available had started to decline with the coming of cooler weather.
This particular morning, after walking through a small wooded area, Harry settled down to wait for school to let out so he could walk on a road. Sitting cross-legged in a small clearing in the woods wishing for a sausage, a slice of bacon, or one of the other foods he used to cook for the Dursleys for breakfast, he was startled to see a small rabbit hop into the clearing. Harry sat still, and the rabbit hopped over to his feet and chewed on a blade of grass. Harry slowly reached over and stroked the soft fur on the rabbit's head.
"Er, can you talk?" Harry could talk to snakes; maybe he could talk to rabbits. But the rabbit just kept munching on the grass.
Harry knew that meat came from animals; he had even roasted rabbit at the Dursleys from time to time. He had never killed an animal to eat it, but he had seen dead animals at the butcher's, some of them hanging from their hind legs with their throats slit.
"I am sorry, rabbit, but I need to eat. If you let me eat you, I promise I will feed you in the next life." Harry didn't know if there was a next life, but he felt he had to offer something to pay for taking this rabbit's life. Still eating the grass, the rabbit turned its head and briefly looked Harry in the eye.
Harry had once heard that the most painless way to kill something was to break its neck. He swallowed hard, picked up the rabbit, and put it in his lap. Holding the rabbit's body with his left hand, he took its head in his right hand and twisted as fast as he could. With a brief squeak, the rabbit stopped moving. He slit the rabbit's throat and propped it up on a rock, head down, so the blood could drain out.
He didn't want to eat the meat raw, and he remembered that the first snake he met had told him that wizards could start fires. So he cleared a small area down to the dirt, stacked a little dry grass in the center, covered it with small twigs and other kindling, and gathered a little more dry wood. Then he concentrated on the grass, thinking he wanted a fire. To his elation, the grass ignited and soon the fire was spreading to the twigs.
As the fire was growing, he took his pocketknife and skinned the rabbit, removing its intestines and other guts. Now it looked more like the rabbits he had roasted for the Dursleys. After washing the carcass and his hands in a nearby stream, he found a green stick and skewered the rabbit. He remembered roasting marshmallows over a fire when the Durleys still included him in such activities, so he knew to keep the marshmallow turning slowly over coals whilst avoiding direct flames. So he tried to do the same with the rabbit.
It took at least an hour to thoroughly cook the meat, but by noon Harry had the best meal he had eaten in weeks. He ate about half the small rabbit and saved the rest of the meat in a small plastic bag that had once held a sandwich.
* *
* * *
It was raining out, so Ginny didn't mind doing her homework in her bedroom this Sunday morning. If eggs sell two for a Knut, how many eggs would you have to sell to earn three Galleons? Let's see, 29 times 17 times 3 times 2. Ginny's quill scratched on the parchment as she worked through the arithmetic.
"Ginny!" her mother yelled from the kitchen.
"Yes, Mum," she said, bounding down the stairs, somewhat relieved to escape from the story problems.
"We're having chicken for Sunday dinner this afternoon, and it's about time you learned where chickens come from."
Ginny wrinkled her brow. She remembered her brothers Bill and Charlie looking very red faced after hearing something the twins called "the talk" from her father, which she vaguely understood to be about where babies come from. Was her mother about to give her the talk?
"I know where chickens come from, Mum," she said. "They come from eggs."
"Yes, well today you are going to learn how a chicken from one of those eggs ends up on our table." Her mother put on a very thick apron and led Ginny out into the yard towards the chicken coop. Ginny often gathered eggs from the chicken coop, and she knew they ate chickens for dinner. But she had never watched anyone kill a chicken before.
Her mother studied the brood and, making a decision, grabbed a chicken, which immediately squawked. "If you hold them upside-down, they'll relax for a moment," she said. Her mum then held her wand next to the chicken's neck and muttered "Diffindo."
Ginny's eyes bulged out when the chicken's head fell off. As the blood squirted out whilst the heart continued to pump a few more beats, Ginny was afraid for a moment that she was going to throw up. But she managed to keep her composure as her mother hung the chicken up by its feet.
"We'll let the blood drain for a few minutes, then I'll want you to pluck all of the feathers off the chicken," said her mum. "Then I'll teach you to clean it." Her mum took off her apron, which was spattered with blood, and folded it up and turned to go back in the house.
"Mum, why is it okay for us to eat chickens?"
"Ginny, everything that we eat is, or was, alive, whether it was a chicken or a carrot or the grains of wheat in our bread. If we can't eat chickens, then we can't eat anything and we die."
"Is it okay for us to kill Muggles?"
Her mum stopped and stared at her with a strange look on her face. "No, Ginny," she said after a moment. "Muggles are people just like you and me. They are just missing some of our talents. We would no more kill Muggles than we would kill a wizard or witch simply because they were missing a finger or a toe."
"How do we decide what we can kill and what we can't?"
Her mother thought for a minute. "I guess I would base it on intelligence," she said. "If something is smart enough to think and talk and plan ahead, then we should befriend it, not kill it."
"Does that include centaurs and goblins?"
"Of course."
"How about werewolves and vampires?"
"Yes, I've known a few werewolves."
"What about Manticores?"
Molly thought for a moment. "Well, Manticores are certainly intelligent. But sometimes even intelligent beings are not very friendly. Sometimes you have to kill in self-defense. But that would be the only reason. Now, it's time for you to go out and pluck that chicken."
* *
* * *
Although the days were shorter, the towns in Wiltshire were smaller, so Harry could walk a few more miles each day under cover of forest or woodland. The strangest thing happened this afternoon--at least, the strangest thing since a snake had told him he was a wizard. Harry was walking along the edge of a forest when he felt a strong urge to turn around and go home. He stopped and shook his head; there was no way he was going back to the Dursley's home.
He took a few steps further when suddenly a large manor house appeared in a field on his right. He immediately ducked down lest someone see him. He was trying to decide whether it was unoccupied or if he should stay out of sight by going deeper into the forest when the largest snake he had ever seen slithered into his path.
"Dobby!"
Dobby popped into the master's office. "Yes, Master?"
"Someone, or something, has crossed our wards in the southeast corner of the estate. Take Schlanger and find out who or what it is."
"Y-yes, Master."
Dobby was afraid of Schlanger, a large green snake who was big enough to swallow a house elf in one bite. Dobby didn't doubt he would do so if the master allowed it, but normally the master encouraged Schlanger to eat wild animals that entered the estate. Suppressing his fear, Dobby popped out of the house, opened up the snake's cage, and told it to find an intruder on the south part of the estate.
The snake was bearing down on Harry when Harry spoke up: "Hello. My, you are the biggest snake I have ever seen!"
The snake stopped short. Normally, the sight of him was enough to make intruders flee the estate. But this intruder not only seemed unafraid, he spoke snake tongue. Schlanger would have liked to converse at length, but he knew he had a job to do.
"Greetings, young wizard. Who are you and why are you here?"
"My name is Harry. I just found out I was a wizard a couple of months ago, and another snake told me there is a wizard who speaks snake tongue somewhere to the west. I've been looking for that wizard so I can start training as a wizard."
"There are no wizards who speak snake tongue here," said Schlanger, neglecting to point out that there were several wizards who did not speak snake tongue in the manor house. "I have heard there is a snake-speaking wizard in Devon. You would do well to continue your journey there."
"I will do so, kind snake," said Harry. "Thank you for your assistance."
From a hiding spot behind a shrub, Dobby could hear Schlanger and the boy hiss at one another. Although he couldn't understand what they were saying, he saw the lightning-shaped scar underneath the boy's long hair and realized that this must be the great Harry Potter. When they were done hissing, Dobby was impressed at how brave Harry was to turn and simply walk away, unafraid that Schlanger would attack him from behind.
Dobby and Schlanger returned to Schlanger's snake run next to the manor and then Dobby popped into the master's office to report.
"Well, Dobby, was the intruder a person or an animal?"
"I-it was an animal, master. Schlanger took care of it."
"Good. It wouldn't do to have Aurors or other wizards sneaking around the estate." Malfoy turned to his desk in a silent dismissal of Dobby.
Dobby would spend at least an hour that night ironing his fingers.
* *
* * *
Neville took a bite of treacle tart at the Hallowe'en feast, but he didn't really enjoy it. He was angry at Ron for saying those mean things about Hermione, and now Hermione was missing the feast.
The door to the Great Hall opened and Professor Kettleburn ran in. "There's a troll running loose in the dungeon," he yelled to the head table. "I'll need some help rounding it up."
Some of the students started to panic, but Headmaster Flitwick cast a Sonorous spell and his squeaky voice filled the hall. "Prefects! Get your houses in order and escort them to your common rooms. Professors Snape, Vector, and Sprout, please help me and Professor Kettleburn with the troll."
Gryffindor students started to file out behind Percy Weasley, but Neville took Lavender by the arm and said, "Where's Hermione?"
"The last I saw, she was crying in the third-floor girl's bathroom."
"Okay, you go with Percy. I'll go get her." Neville turned to Ron, who was behind him. "Ron, you're the one who upset Hermione. You're coming with me to find her before the troll does."
When the other Gryffindors turned left, they turned right and ran to the nearest stairway. On reaching the third floor, they were momentarily stunned to see the troll enter the girl's bathroom.
"I don't think the troll is in the dungeon anymore," said Ron.
They heard a scream and chased into the bathroom to find Hermione cringing under a sink as the troll prepared to smash the porcelain. Ron stood paralyzed, but Neville pointed his wand at Hermione and yelled, "Accio Hermione." Hermione slowly began sliding over to them on the slick floor, but the troll turned and started to swing at Neville.
"Ron!" yelled Hermione, "swish and flick!"
Shaken out of his stupor, Ron aimed his wand at the troll's club and commanded, "Wingardium Leviosa." The troll swung his arm at Neville, but his hand was empty. He looked up at the club to see it fall on his nose. The troll fell over, narrowly missing Neville.
The trio ran out of the bathroom but screeched to a halt when they saw professors Kettleburn and Snape. "Why are three Gryffindors running in the halls?" asked Snape.
"T-t-t-troll," stuttered Ron.
"What Ron's trying to say is that there is a troll in the bathroom," said Neville.
"And what are two boys doing in the girl's bathroom?" asked Snape as Kettleburn peaked into the bathroom.
"It's my fault, professor," said Hermione. "I saw the troll and thought I could capture it, but it was beyond me. Neville and Ron saved my life."
"Twenty points from Gryffindor for being so foolish, Miss Granger," said Snape. "And ten points from Gryffindor each for foolishly running after her instead of finding a professor, Mr. Longbottom and Mr. Weasley. Dismissed!"
After the three hurried off, Professor Kettleburn turned to Snape and said, "How do you suppose three first years managed to knock out a troll?"
November 2, 1991
Dear Ginny,
You'll never believe what happened this week! Professor Kettleburn, the Care of Magical Animals teacher, had a troll in the castle dungeon to show to his classes. The troll escaped during the Hallowe'en feast and we were supposed to go to our common room. But one of the Gryffindor girls, a know-it-all named Hermione Granger, was in the bathroom, so Neville Longbottom and I went to find her only to find that the troll had found her first.
Neville wasn't able to stop the troll, but I used magic to get control of the troll's club and hit him on the head with it, knocking him out! Now Hermione thinks I'm her hero and she's pestering me to study with her all the time. As if I would ever study as much as she does!
Unfortunately, Professor Snape--he's the potion's professor who hates Gryffindors--took away house points from all three of us. That's the thanks we get for saving another student's life.
Gryffindor played Quidditch against Slytherin today. Gryffindor was ahead, but Slytherin's seeker caught the snitch and won the game. Too bad Gryffindor doesn't have a better seeker.
Don't tell Mum about the troll--she would probably send Headmaster Flitwick a Howler.
Love,
Ron
Chapter 4: Chapter Four: The Goblin Camp
Harry finally made it to Devon, but he wasn't sure he could make it much further as the weather was turning cold. His clothes and jacket were more suited for summer, and his thin blanket barely kept him warm at night in the fall. He had kept warm at night with small fires and satisfied his hunger by killing a rabbit or some other small animal every couple of days. But today saw an unseasonably early snowfall.
As he stumbled through a wooded area in the early afternoon, the strangest thing happened--at least, the strangest thing since a large house suddenly appeared before his eyes and a giant snake told him to head to Devon. Seeing a fire ahead, after months of avoiding people, he decided he would have to throw himself on someone's mercy or freeze to death.
When he got to the fire, he found it surrounded by little people who were even shorter than he was. They had pointy ears and long noses and were speaking in some foreign language. Behind them, Harry could see some small shelters. There were also a number of what looked like brick and stone ovens scattered around the area.
"Er, hello. My name is Harry. Would you mind if I shared your fire?"
One of them stood up. "Welcome, young wizard."
"How did you know I am a wizard?"
"Only a magical person would be able to see us. An ordinary human would just pass us by. But what are you doing here instead of in school, where you belong?"
Harry looked at the ground. "I was kicked out of my school."
The small person laughed and said something in his language, causing the others to laugh as well. "Then you've come to the right place. We goblins have a saying." He said something in the other language. "In your language, it would roughly translate to, 'Slackers become clankers; thinkers become bankers.'" The others laughed again.
"So, you're goblins? I didn't know that goblins were real."
"You've never seen a goblin before? How could you be raised a wizard and not know about goblins?"
"I didn't even know I was a wizard until a few months ago," said Harry, brushing his long hair out of his eyes. "I've never met another wizard. I've been told there is a wizard in Devon who I hope will teach me about magic."
The goblin looked at him as if seeing him for the first time, glancing in particular at his forehead. "Come, young Harry, and sit with us by the fire. My name is Deerslayer." He introduced his companions, but there were too many for Harry to remember all the names. "The others understand some of your language, but I'm the only one of us who speaks it fluently," said Deerslayer.
"We are clankers. We mine the earth for metals, then we shape the metals into knives and other utensils and ornaments. You are welcome to our fire, and we can offer you some mead, but unfortunately we don't have much food to share with you. This snow took us all by surprise and we don't have any stores of food laid in."
"That's alright," said Harry. "I'll catch a rabbit for dinner."
Harry concentrated on his hunger and a small rabbit hopped into the clearing. The goblins stopped talking with one another and stared. Harry conversed with the rabbit for a moment, then picked it up and broke its neck. As Harry slit its throat to drain the blood, the goblins began talking excitedly to one another.
"I don't suppose you could do that with anything bigger?" asked Deerslayer.
"I've never been hungry enough to want to eat anything bigger," said Harry, "but I'll try. If I succeed, don't kill it until I give you a signal, all right?"
He concentrated on being very hungry, and pretty soon a large deer with three points on each of its antlers walked into the clearing. "Can you talk?" said Harry to the deer. The deer stared at him. "My friends and I are hungry. If you let us eat you, I promise I will feed you in the next life." The deer continued to look into his eyes.
Harry nodded to Deerslayer, who took a long knife and slashed the deer's throat. As the deer collapsed, several of the other goblins pulled out knives and ran over to help skin and dress out the deer. Soon, both the deer and the rabbit were on spits turning slowly over the fire.
"Thank you, young Harry. This will provide enough meat to feed us for a week."
"I'm glad I could help."
"You did that magic without a wand. Where did you learn to do that?"
"You mean like a magic wand? I didn't know there was such a thing; I thought magic wands were only in fairy tales. I was just hungry one day and a rabbit came to me."
"Where did you learn that Druid prayer?"
"Druid prayer?"
"Yes, where you promised the rabbit and deer that you would feed them in the next life. Druid hunters used to make the same promise to their prey."
"I dunno. It just seemed to be the fair thing to say."
"What other magic can you do?"
"I can start fires when I want, and put them out when I want. I can heal cuts and burns. I can talk to snakes." The goblin's eyes grew large. "Oh, and once, when some other boys were threatening to beat me up, I threw them all backwards without even touching them."
"You are a powerful wizard, indeed, young Harry." Deerslayer spoke with his compatriots for a minute, and they all nodded their heads. He turned back to Harry. "If you like, you can spend the winter with us. You can help us catch deer, and we will teach you to use your magic. It's a fair trade, no?"
Harry felt a wave of relief wash over him. After spending three months looking for a wizard to teach him about magic, he finally found someone who could do so. "Yes, Deerslayer, that does sound like a fair trade. Will you teach me how to use a magic wand?"
"No, goblins do not use wands. Since you have already started to do wandless magic, we will continue with that."
The goblins gave him a bunk in one of the shelters. Although the bunk was barely long enough for him, Harry slept peacefully for the first time in months.
The next morning, over breakfast that consisted mainly of meat with a few greens, Deerslayer started to tell Harry about magic. "My main job is to procure meat and other food for the camp," he said, "but since you are going to help me with that, the other goblins have agreed to let me teach you about our magic. Goblin magic is warrior magic. We mine and forge metals so we can defend ourselves."
He showed Harry a knife. "We imbue our magic into the metals we forge, so that blades are sharper and shields are tougher than any non-magical metal. This knife never needs sharpening, even if I use it to cut a piece of sheet metal. You won't have to mine, but I'll teach you to use a forge so you can make your own weapons. I'll also teach you combat skills so you can defend yourself, even against opponents who are much larger than you."
The goblin stood up and looked around. "We do not have the same magicks that wizards perform with their wands," he said. "But we can detect magic. For example, I can tell that at least three magical families live near a town down in that valley. Perhaps someday you will meet those families. But in the meantime, I will teach you how to detect magic yourself." Harry was eager to learn.
* *
* * *
Scabbers was frustrated. When he had been Percy's rat, he had searched the entire castle looking for the diadem that he knew was essential to bring the Dark Lord back to life, but hadn't found a sign of it.
This year, for the first time, he had discovered the Room of Hidden Things, but the room was so large and so crowded with dusty junk that he suspected it could take most of the school year to find the diadem. To make matters worse, every time he thought he might be getting close, that idiot Weasley boy would Accio him back to the Gryffindor tower.
Scabbers was pretty sure the diadem wasn't the only way to bring the Dark Lord back, but it was the only way he knew about. If he was able to revive the Dark Lord before any of his other followers, the Dark Lord would no doubt grant him a great reward. So he kept searching patiently.
* *
* * *
Deerslayer taught Harry many things in just a few weeks. Harry spent the cold, winter mornings sweating over a hot forge. Everything Harry had made so far was crude, but Deerslayer said he was impressed with Harry's progress, and said he expected him to become a first-rate smithy very soon.
Deerslayer spent most afternoons with Harry practicing swordfighting and other combat. To start, Deerslayer picked out two short swords whose points and blades were dull, and they practiced fencing. Even as an eleven-year-old, Harry had a slight size advantage over the goblins, but he quickly realized that size was less important than skill even in the most personal forms of combat. Working three to four hours a day, Harry's skills improved, but he could tell it would be months before he was as good as the average goblin.
At least two afternoons a week, Harry joined Deerslayer in walks through the woods so he could learn magical detection. The first time, they approached a strange house that looked like it could fall down any minute. Before they got too close, however, Deerslayer pulled Harry to a halt.
"Close your eyes," he said. "Feel the breeze; smell the smoke; hear the babbling brook. Do you feel anything else?"
"Yes," said Harry, whose eyes were still closed. "I feel a slight buzzing."
"That's a magical screen," said Deerslayer. "Wizards use these to guard against intruders. Some prevent people from seeing things wizards don't want them to see. Some persuade people to go in a different direction. Some alert the wizards to the intruder's presence. And some can inflict injury or even be lethal to intruders. Fortunately, we have several wizarding families around here, and they all use different screens. I'll teach you how to tell one screen from another, and then I'll teach you how we goblins get around the screens without being harmed or detected or even bring down the screens if need be."
Harry opened his eyes and saw a little red-haired girl walking from the house to what appeared to be a chicken coop. Behind her was a woman with slightly faded red hair, probably her mother. For a moment, Harry wished he could get to know the wizards and witches who lived here. But that was quickly forgotten as Deerslayer started to explain how to tell one magical screen from another.
Over several weeks, Harry came to know a little bit about each of the wizarding families in the valley. One had a red-haired girl who lived with her mother. One had a brunette woman who either didn't have children or whose children were in school. One had a blonde-haired girl who lived with her father. If adult men lived at the first two houses or an adult woman at the third, Harry didn't see them, possibly because they were away at work during the day.
In the evenings, Deerslayer taught Harry field medicine, which he said was essential for any warrior. He learned to fully control his ability to heal wounds, and could even heal a broken bone. Harry had also learned to speak some of the goblin language that, appropriately enough, was called Gobbledygook.
Deerslayer was able to teach Harry one magical spell that he said all warriors knew: how to shrink things and restore them their original size. "An army travels on its stomach," said Deerslayer, "so even though we can't do as many spells as wizards, we learned to preserve meat through smoking and then to shrink it so we can carry many weeks worth of food in our packs."
In exchange, Harry had attracted deer into the goblins' encampment whenever they needed one. Deerslayer had ruefully admitted that, even though it was normally his job to hunt for the group, he had slacked off in the fall and was unprepared for the snow. So he was elated when Harry showed up and was glad to spend time that he would otherwise have had to spend hunting teaching Harry instead.
Whilst most of the goblins were male, a few females also lived in the camp. Some of them worked at forges just like the males. Others did leather work, making clothing, belts, and sheaths for knives, swords, and other goblin-made utensils. Some of them appeared to be married to male goblins and lived with them in individual shelters. Others appeared to be unmarried and lived with other females.
One of the latter had dirty blonde hair, smooth cheeks, and a long, pink nose. One day she shyly introduced herself as Treehook, and asked Harry how he liked living with the goblins.
"It's brilliant," he said. "I'm learning so much. It's pretty cold here when I'm not working at the forge, though."
"No wonder," she said. "Your clothes are not made for this time of year." Harry realized that his clothes were also pretty raggedy. "But you know that you can claim the hides of the deer you bring in and make leather clothing from them."
"I didn't know that, and I also wouldn't know how to make such clothes," he said. So she offered to help, teaching him how best to tan the hides, how to select the best parts of the hides for various articles of clothing, and how to use sinew from the deer to stitch the clothing together. Soon, he had a warm buckskin coat, vest, and pants, as well as leather boots and a leather pack to replace the cloth book bag he had that was wearing out. Out of gratitude, he gave Treehook all of the hides from the deer he brought in that he didn't need for his own use.
* *
* * *
"Weasley was right," exclaimed Draco. "That Granger really is an insufferable know-it-all." Students in the Slytherin common room were comparing their first-term grades. "How is it possible that she, a Mudblood, could consistently outscore us purebloods on tests and essays?"
"Maybe being a pureblood isn't all it's cracked up to be," sneered Zabini. Tracy Davis snorted; she had been thinking the same thing, but as one of the few half-bloods in Slytherin, she hadn't dared to say it.
"If only Harry Potter hadn't defeated the Dark Lord," said Draco angrily, "then we'd be able to put those Mudbloods in their place."
"You should be glad Harry Potter vanquished the Dark Lord," Daphne Greengrass hissed. "Maybe your father never told you about all the times the Dark Lord Crucioed him and his other followers for trivial reasons."
Draco was stunned that anyone would say anything bad about the Dark Lord. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"It's true," said Zabini, looking around to make sure no one else was listening. "My mother told me that, once, my father had been ordered to lead an attack on some blood traitors. His attack was successful, but because he had started the attack one minute earlier than the Dark Lord had ordered, he was Crucioed for one minute."
"The Cruciatus is the most painful curse there is," said Greengrass. "You have to truly hate someone to cast it, and many people can't even do it. Yet the Dark Lord would cast it on his followers as casually as you might cast a Lumos on a dark night. He must have been filled with nothing but hate."
Draco looked pale, but he wasn't ready to back down. "Are you siding with the blood traitors?" he challenged.
"No!" said Zabini. "But the Dark Lord was as willing to kill and torture purebloods as he was Mudbloods. Maybe purebloods are better off without a leader who seems to hate them as much as he hated everyone else."
* *
* * *
One day in mid-December, Harry realized he was tired of a diet that consisted mainly of meat. "I'm used to eating more fruits and vegetables," he complained to Treehook, "but it's hard to find them this time of year."
"There's a town not far from here where you could buy some fruits and vegetables," she said, though she wrinkled her nose in a clear indication that she had no desire to eat any.
"That would be great, but I don't have any money."
"Deerslayer has some Muggle money he could give you if you would promise to buy each of us some chocolate," she said. "We goblins love chocolate, but we can't shop in a Muggle town because we aren't supposed to let Muggles know we exist." Harry had learned that the goblins called non-magical people "Muggles." "Deerslayer!" she called out. "Give Harry some of your Muggle money so he can buy us all some chocolate."
So, the next day, Harry put his pack on his back and went shopping. "Just walk down this road about three miles and it will take you right into the town," Deerslayer told Harry. "The Muggles call the town Ottery St Mary; wizards call it Ottery St Catchpole; we just call it the town by the Otter River." Deerslayer handed Harry some 10- and 20-pound notes. "Get whatever you want, Harry; you deserve it. Just don't forget to bring us back some chocolate," Deerslayer said with a toothy grin.
Harry had never had so much money in his hands before, but he knew the goblins were grateful to him for helping to provide them with meat. For the first time since leaving the Dursley's, he felt comfortable openly walking down a public road. An occasional car passed him by, but he reached the town on foot in not much more than an hour.
"Ginny, can you carry this box of hats and mittens? I'll carry the muffins and other treats."
"Yes, Mum," said Ginny. Each year, before Christmas, Ginny's mum knitted clothes and baked cookies and other foods for the local Muggle orphanage. Ginny was excited because this was the first year she was asked to accompany her mum.
Molly cast a warming charm on her daughter and they walked into town. She hoped Ginny would learn an important lesson today.
When they arrived at the orphanage, they found about a dozen children playing in the snow and Ginny was able to pass out a hat and mittens to each of them. None of them had mittens and they were glad to have something to keep their hands warm during the inevitable snowball fights.
"Hi, I'm Annabelle," said a girl about Ginny's age. "What's your name?" Ginny happily played with the children for a while, then they went inside for hot chocolate and muffins, which her mother had discreetly kept warm with a charm. Suddenly, Ginny realized why her mum had looked at her so strangely when she asked if it was okay to kill Muggles. These children were just like her, and there was no way she could ever do anything that would hurt one of them.
After they left the orphanage, Ginny's mum asked her if she had given any thought to Christmas presents she could get for her brothers. "I bet they would all enjoy chocolate bars," she said. So they went to the grocery to see what kind of chocolate they could find.
Harry was a little surprised to find the shops in town decorated for Christmas. He had been so engaged in his studies that he forgot that Christmas was coming soon. He wasn't even sure what date it was until he saw the date on a newspaper. Christmas had never been a very important holiday for him anyway. The Durleys had given him a few small presents when he was very young, but they had stopped, he now realized, when he had unconsciously started doing magic.
The town wasn't very far from the goblin's forest, but the business district was on the west end of town. First, Harry found a small grocery store where he bought some potatoes and vegetables. After leaving the store, when no one was looking, he shrunk these down and put them in his pack. Then he went to a bakery where he bought some chocolate-filled pastries for all of his goblin friends. To keep the pastries from getting stale, he cast a preservation charm that Deerslayer had taught him to use for meat. But there were too many people on the street for him to shrink them, so he carried his bag down the street where he found an even larger grocery store.
Harry thought that venison tasted fine but some variety wouldn't hurt. So he went to the spice section and found a selection of hot sauces. He bought several bottles, including one called "Mad Dog 44 Magnum," which said it was "4 million Scovilles." Harry didn't know what a Scoville was, but he thought it might be a rating system, and this particular bottle had the highest rating of any on the shelf. He was pleased to be able to buy the best, especially since it didn't cost any more than any of the others.
Harry then found the candy section where he hoped to buy some chocolate for the goblins. He noticed a girl his age with bright red hair who was also looking at the candy bars, and thought she might be the girl he and Deerslayer had seen at one of the wizards' houses. "Which are the best chocolates?" he asked her.
Ginny always thought that Honeydukes was best, but it wasn't available in a Muggle store. So she said, "You can't go wrong with Cadbury's." So Harry picked out several bars of Cadbury chocolate for each of his goblin friends.
After paying for his goods, Harry left the store weighed down by bottles, chocolates, and pastries. Taking a quick glance around to be sure no one was watching, he shrank everything and put it in his pack. Then he looked up to see the red-haired girl watching with wide eyes. He panicked for a second. Then he just smiled and winked at her. If indeed she was magical, she probably wouldn't think that shrinking things was out of the ordinary. She smiled back and he turned and walked back to the goblin forest.
"Mum, I think that boy dressed in leather clothing is a wizard," Ginny said, pointing to Harry's retreating back.
"I don't recognize him, and I know all the magical families around here," said her mum. "What makes you think he is a wizard?"
"I saw him shrink down his groceries and put them in his pack."
"It doesn't seem likely, dear. A boy your age shouldn't know enough magic to do that. Did you see his wand?"
"No, but he could have had it hidden somewhere."
"Well, if he is a wizard, you'll probably meet him at Hogwarts next year."
The goblins chattered excitedly about the variety of chocolate bars that Harry had brought from the store. They seemed to be familiar with the various bars, as some of them appeared to have favorites and traded bars with each other. Harry himself had never tried most of the varieties and was looking forward to finding out which ones he liked best. In thanks for thinking up the idea of going shopping, he gave Treehook an extra large Cadbury Dairy Milk bar. She looked a little embarrassed when he gave it to her, and thanked him profusely.
For dinner that night, a few of the goblins tentatively tried some of the sauces Harry had purchased. Harry wanted to start with the best, so he put a big dollup of Mad Dog 44 Magnum on his meat. He put one piece of venison in his mouth and immediately his face turned red and sweat started pouring off his brow.
"Y E E O O W W ! !" yelled Harry as he ran screaming for a nearby creek, where he immersed his entire face in the freezing cold water, drinking as much down as he could to relieve the pain. The goblins looked up, first in alarm and then with laughter.
He returned to the fire to find the goblins staring at him with smiles on their faces. He panted for a moment to recover his breath, and then said calmly in Gobbledygook, "I don't recommend that one."
* *
* * *
Hermione expected to find her parents waiting for her at Kings Cross when she got off the Hogwarts Express. Instead, a Ministry official gathered her and other Muggleborn and half-blood students together.
"As you know, under the Muggle Protection Act, we have moved all of your parents to a beautiful new village where they can live without worrying about hurting, or being hurt by, Muggles who are unaware of the wizarding world. If you will follow me, I will take you there now."
Hermione said good-bye to Neville, Ron, and her other pureblood friends, all of whom were met by their parents, then followed the Ministry official. Hermione was surprised when the official led them into an ordinary underground station and into an empty car; she had expected they would use a magical means of transport. The official explained why during the train ride.
"When your holiday is over, you can return to Kings Cross on your own using this same underground train," he said. "The Ministry has arranged for a direct connection between the village and Kings Cross."
When the official said the word "village," Hermione imagined a quaint town of one- and two-story buildings. Instead, when they emerged from the underground station, she was amazed to see a 70-story skyscraper.
"All of your parents should be waiting for you in the lobby," said the official. "Have a nice holiday!" The students ran from the station into the large doors of the building, where Hermione quickly found her mother and father.
"Welcome home, Hermione," Emma said as the two hugged. "I hope you had a good term."
Dan led them to the elevators as Hermione bubbled about grades and books and lessons. When they got to the Granger's apartment, Hermione's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when she saw the view.
"This is amazing!" she said. "You can see most of London from here."
"Yes, we are quite pleased with it," said her father. "Our new dental office is right in the building. We also have a variety of stores, a swimming pool, a gymnasium, a theatre, and just about everything anyone could ask for."
They spent the rest of the day and the day after exploring the building.
* *
* * *
Draco entered his father's office to ask the question that had been bothering him since the conversation in the Slytherin common room. "Father, should I be happy or angry that Harry Potter destroyed the Dark Lord? I know you were an ally to the Dark Lord, but I also know he did some . . . questionable things, such as torturing his followers if they made mistakes."
Draco's father stared out the window for a few moments. "I don't know, Draco. The Dark Lord promised us wealth and power. But he was also cruel to those who did not do exactly what he wanted."
"You have wealth and power without the Dark Lord. If he ever came back, would you help him again?"
"I vowed to help him on my magic and my life. Even if I hadn't made an Unbreakable Vow, I would be honour bound to help him."
"I guess he's not coming back, so it doesn't matter," said Draco.
* *
* * *
As it turned out, as wonderful as it was, the Muggle "village" didn't have everything. "Mum, there are a few Christmas presents I would like to buy for my friends that I can't get here. Would you like to go shopping with me in London?"
"No, dear, you can go by yourself."
Hermione was a bit surprised; her parents had never allowed her to go shopping in London all by herself. Maybe now that she was 12 years old, the rules had changed. Feeling very adult, she happily went to the underground station and took a train to Kensington High Street (which required one transfer at Tower Hill), where she found many shops not available in the Muggle village.
"I wanted to tell her that we haven't been able to leave the building," said Emma, "but something was preventing me from saying anything."
"I know," said Dan. "I was hoping she could help us find a way out of here. But if we can't talk about it, she can't help much."
"Why can't we talk about it?" asked Emma.
Dan gave her a disgusted look. "Magic," he said.
* *
* * *
"Mum, Dad, are you sure you don't want to come with me to the Longbottom's today?" asked Hermione. "We've all been invited for Boxing Day."
"No, that's alright honey," said her mum. "You go and have fun."
So Hermione took the underground to Charing Cross (which required two transfers), went into the Leaky Cauldron, and Flooed to the Longbottom Estate. Neville was waiting in the Longbottom entryway to greet her.
"Hi, Hermione; where are your parents?"
"They decided not to come. It's funny; usually we take a trip to France or somewhere else exotic during the Christmas holiday. This year, they didn't even leave the building to go shopping."
"That's too bad. Well, Ron and Lavender are here, and let me introduce you to my parents, Frank and Alice."
"It's good to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom."
"Please, call us Alice and Frank," said Mrs. Longbottom. "We've been looking forward to meeting you. We hear you are the smartest witch in your class."
Hermione looked down. "Not smart enough to defeat a troll by myself."
"A troll?" exclaimed Frank. "Why would you have to defeat a troll?"
Hermione looked at Neville. "You didn't tell them about that? Neville and Ron saved me from a troll on Hallowe'en. Apparently, Professor Kettleburn was using it in his Care of Magical Creatures class, and it escaped the dungeon."
"That's Hogwarts for you," said Frank. "There's always something interesting happening." But he gave Neville a look that suggested they would be talking about this in more detail later.
"I hope I didn't get you in trouble by bringing up the troll," Hermione said to Neville after the parents were out of the room.
"No problem," said Neville. "I just never mentioned it because there wasn't any point in them getting excited about it."
"Ron, did you tell your parents?" asked Hermione.
"No way! If Mum knew I was going after a troll with just a couple of other first years, I'd be grounded until the end of summer."
"I suppose you told your parents all about it, Hermione?" asked Neville with upraised eyebrows.
Hermione looked down again. "I guess I kind of neglected to mention it."
Neville harrumphed knowingly, and they all laughed.
* *
* * *
Harry had become good enough at the forge and anvil to create some fine-looking knives, axe heads, and other utensils. Being made of iron or mild carbon steel, they were brittle and tended to start corroding a day or two after he made them. Since he was only practicing, he didn't mind simply melting them down again to make something new.
"Now, it's time to start teaching you to put your magic in the metal," said Deerslayer. "Goblins don't care whether the metal they forge is iron, copper, or aluminum. What really counts is the quality of the magic we can put into the metal." Deerslayer handed him two knives. "Feel these. Can you tell the difference?"
Harry picked up one knife in each hand. Though apparently identical, one felt like a dead weight while the other was light and soaring. "This knife talks to me," he said. "It feels like it has its own personality, like it's light and bubbly."
"That's right," said Deerslayer. "Properly forged, goblin metal never rusts or corrodes. The blades remain forever sharp, and can cut through practically anything that isn't itself made by the goblins. Goblin metal can also deflect any spell cast by wizards, even killing spells, which is why goblins feel brave enough to fight wizards who are twice their size." The goblin seemed lost in thought for a moment.
"More subtly," he continued, "the blade absorbs the emotions the goblin is feeling when he makes it. I was a little drunk when I made that knife, which is why it made you feel bubbly. If you are happy, you can make a good kitchen knife. If you are angry, you can make a powerful weapon, but one that might not always be reliable. If you feel strong and incorruptable, your weapon will be strong and incorruptible."
Harry got along with most of the goblins, but one or two seemed to disapprove of Deerslayer teaching goblin magic to a wizard. One afternoon when Harry was practicing combat, one of the sneering goblins challenged him to a fight. Harry knew he still wasn't as skilled as the ordinary goblin, but he also knew he would lose face if he turned down the challenge.
To make matters worse, the goblin picked out two swords that had sharp points and well-honed blades. He handed one to Harry, then immediately went on the attack. Harry didn't have time to be nervous and fell back on his training, parrying every thrust, countering every sweep of his opponent's sword. Whilst Harry was on the defensive the entire time, he was at least holding his own.
Normally, his fencing sessions with Deerslayer lasted no more than ten or fifteen minutes at a time, between which they took five-minute breaks. "Stamina is important," said Deerslayer, "as you may need to fight several opponents in succession. But if you can't defeat an opponent in ten or fifteen minutes, you are probably going to lose."
Harry soon realized that the sneering goblin had no intention of quitting after fifteen minutes. He seemed to be out to prove something, and that proof would only come when Harry was injured or worse. After thirty minutes, Harry was puffing hard and sweat was dripping into his eyes, yet his opponent showed no inclination to let up. Finally, Harry couldn't take it any more and he held out his left hand and yelled, "Stop, stop!"
In midstroke, his opponent froze. His eyes could move but the rest of him seemed petrified. Harry had to back up as the off-balance goblin slowly topped to the ground, his sword sticking into the earth. Deerslayer began clapping, followed by some of the other goblins who had stopped to watch the fight.
"Wonderful, Harry, wonderful," Deerslayer said. "You've just performed some wizarding magic that goblins can't do: a petrification spell." Deerslayer tried to pull the sneering goblin upright. "If you will relax a little," he said to Harry, "I think you can release him from the spell." In a moment, the sneering goblin was able to stand on his own.
"Thank you, Dirtdigger," said Deerslayer. The goblin bowed to Harry respectfully and went back to his forge. "He's a good friend," Deerslayer said to Harry. "I asked him to challenge you because I did not think I could make you desperate enough to bring out your magic. But, while you weren't as skilled as him, you fought with determination and courage. I was proud of your fighting even before you petrified him." Harry was thrilled to get such high praise from his teacher.
The next morning, Harry began making a sword that he hoped to imbue with the same determination and courage he felt when he was fighting Dirtdigger.
* *
* * *
"Minister, I am here to report that the Muggle Protection Act, which you wisely persuaded the Wizengamot to pass, is working very well. More than 6,000 Muggleborns, half-bloods, and their families have been moved to the portion of London we call Muggletown, where they are happily living in a self-sufficient community. For security reasons, only Ministry-approved employees can use the Floo connections into or out of Muggletown, and we have anti-Apparition and anti-Portkey wards up as well. This makes it extremely unlikely that any unwary members of Muggleborn families will accidentally violate the Official Secrecy Act."
"Excellent, Lucius," said Minister Fudge. "I am very impressed that you care so much for Muggles, who through no fault of their own do not share our magical powers."
"Thank you, Minister. There are many unfortunate creatures in the world, and I feel it is our responsibility to protect them as best we can."
"That is very noble of you, Lucius."
"Sadly, many magical creatures are diminishing in numbers, and sometimes it is a result of encroachments on their habitats by wizards or other humans. That is why I have prepared this Endangered Magical Creatures Act that I hope can be passed by the Wizengamot. I respectfully request that you look it over and endorse it if you agree with me about the importance of protecting rare and endangered creatures."
"That is an excellent idea, Lucius. I will present this at the very next meeting of the Wizengamot."
* *
* * *
In the evenings, Harry loved to sit around the fire and listen to the other goblins talk. Now that Harry could understand most Gobbledygook, he found the stories they told fascinating.
"I don't know if I've told you boys before," said one tough-looking goblin, "but I'm descended from Breaktooth, the great goblin king." Some of the other goblins rolled their eyes, having heard this story many times before, but the stories were all new to Harry.
"Breaktooth had signed a treaty with the wizards, who promised to leave North Albion to the goblins, whilst the wizards would confine themselves to South Albion. After several years of peace, the goblins thought the wizards would leave them alone. But then the consarn wizards--begging your pardon, Mr. Harry."
"No offense taken," said Harry. The goblins knew that Harry had never met any wizards and felt no affinity to them, but they were still careful not to offend him.
"Anyway, the backstabbin' wizards formed an alliance with the English Muggle king and invaded North Albion. Breaktooth formed an alliance with a Scottish Muggle named Wallace. When the invaders tried to cross the River Forth, Breaktooth's goblins kept the wizards from Apparating whilst the Scots attacked the infantry. The bridge across the river was so narrow that few could cross at one time, and the goblins and Muggles hacked the vile treaty breakers to pieces as they crossed over. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth among the wizards that day!"
The other goblins cheered in a desultory way. Many of their stories dealt with the treachery of wizards and the goblins' efforts to be free of wizard oppression.
"Why are wizards and goblins always fighting?" Harry asked Deerslayer later that evening.
"The wizards think they are better than everyone else, magical and non-magical," said Deerslayer. "They aren't interested in digging in the earth, and they know goblins are the best metalworkers and bankers around, so they let us have those jobs. But they won't let us do anything else."
Chapter 5: Chapter Five: The Centaur Village
In late spring, 1992, Harry stood at the edge of the goblin forest looking out at the Otter River Valley. The snow was long gone, and though it had been raining lately, today was sunny.
The last six months had proven to be the best of Harry's short life so far. He had learned so much from the goblins and found a place where he was accepted for himself and not called a freak. He had a made a sword that would last him a lifetime and learned to use it in combat against the best goblin fencers. He had learned to cast defensive spells such as petrification, though the spells weren't effective more than a few feet away. But something was missing; the goblins were very special, but he felt a need to meet and learn from wizards of his own kind.
"Harry," said Deerslayer, "when you came here six months ago, you said you were looking for a wizard who could talk to snakes."
"Yes, I heard there was one living in Devon."
"I think I know who you mean. He lives somewhere around Dartmoor, about 40 miles west of here. He is very secretive and hard to find. But if anyone can do it, you can."
"Do you know his name?"
"Nicolas Flamel." Since they were speaking in Gobbledygook, the name in English sounded funny.
"I think I should go find him," said Harry sadly.
"I know. I knew you would want to."
"Deerslayer, why are you here?"
"You know why, Harry. Here is where we mine our metals and forge them into blades and armour."
"I know why the goblins are here. But why are you here? You seem to be much smarter than the other goblins here. I suspect you could easily get a job in that Gringotts Bank you told me about. You could be a banker, not a clanker."
Deerslayer laughed heartily. "Yes, I am probably at least as smart as my sister, Wolfslayer, who has a nice cushy job at Gringotts. But I am here because I like it here. I like the woods, I like working with my hands, I like hunting, I love the snow in the winter and the sunshine in the summer."
Looking out at the Otter Valley before him, Harry could understand why Deerslayer felt that way.
"Come, Harry. Before you go, I want to do something that few goblins have ever done for a wizard. If you will accept it, I would like to adopt you into my family."
"I would be honoured, Deerslayer."
They returned to the fire circle, where most of the other goblins were sitting during a break from their work. Deerslayer pulled out a hilted, double-bladed knife that Harry could see had been carefully forged by the goblins. After slicing himself across his right palm, he handed the knife to Harry and gestured that he should do the same. Ignoring the pain, Harry did so, and they joined hands. The other goblins stood and solemnly watched.
"Now, my blood flows in you and your blood flows in me. This makes us brothers, and I name you Rabbitslayer." Deerslayer handed Harry the knife. "Take this knife; I forged it myself. One side of the hilt has my family crest; the other side has your family crest. This symbolizes the merging of our two families." Harry looked to see that one side had a crest of gold, the other side a crest of red.
"How did you know my family crest?" Harry asked.
"Well, I didn't, so I made one up for you," the goblin said a bit too quickly. "But the important thing is our family crest. You can present this blade to any goblin to show him or her that you are a member of my family. May it protect you on your journeys."
Suddenly the other goblins cheered, and came over and slapped Harry on the back and shook his bloody hand. Treehook gave him a gentle hug. One of the others broke out some bottles of mead and shared them all around. As they celebrated that night, Harry's grin was so broad he thought his face might crack.
* *
* * *
Quirinus Quirrell huffed in frustration. After leaving Hogwarts 10 months ago, he had quickly determined that Nicolas Flamel lived in Devon. But after that, it had taken him several months to narrow down the search to somewhere around Dartmoor National Park. Since then, he had spent several more months wandering the area searching for signs of Flamel's home.
Part of the problem was that the magic of the area overwhelmed the heightened senses he gained when the Dark Lord possessed him. With the ability to sense magic, he had assumed it would be easy to find Flamel's home even if--perhaps especially if--it was behind a Fidelius charm. But Dartmoor, it turned out, had been the home of ancient wizards who left behind magical circles, stones, and tombs by the thousands. The result was that the concentration of ambient magic was even greater than in Wiltshire, the home of Stonehenge and Avebury.
One possibility was that Flamel located his home in one of the Muggle military firing ranges within the park. Though less active today than in the past, these firing ranges were considered dangerous and Flamel could have used that fear to avoid public contact.
Another possibility was that Flamel was in the Forest of Dartmoor, which despite the name wasn't forest but moorland, meaning a large area of low shrubs and grasses. Whilst the Forest of Dartmoor provided no natural cover to screen a house, the concentration of ancient magical stones would have made it easy for a wizard of Flamel's experience to hide and ward a home of just about any size.
Quirrell had no choice but to tramp around the moorlands in the hope of detecting some recent magic that might give away Flamel's home. Today, however, things were looking up. His senses detected not one but two magical presences: a powerful one to the east, and a less powerful one to the northeast. Naturally, he headed east.
Harry was having the same problem. Though Deerslayer suggested that he, if anyone, should be able to find Flamel, the spells Deerslayer had taught him to detect magic were not much help as every rock here seemed to have some magic in it. But he was able to detect a strong magical source to the west, so he headed in that direction.
When, in late afternoon, Quirrell first saw a small person walking toward him across the moor, he didn't think much of it. After all, he was looking for a house that was invisible or under the Fidelius charm, not a pre-teenager. As the two approached one another, however, he was amazed to realize that the strong magical source he had sensed was emanating from this little boy.
"Are you Nicolas Flamel?" Harry asked in Parseltongue as he approached the man with the turban. Harry had asked this of the few people he had met since he entered Dartmoor, but none could hear any more than a hiss when he spoke the snake language.
The man with the turban didn't seem to be any different. Instead of answering, he said, "Hello. You seem to be pretty young to be wandering around by yourself. Shouldn't you be in school?"
"My school has ended for the year," Harry said politely.
"I wasn't aware that Hogwarts closed this early," said the man.
"Hog. . . what?" Harry had never heard of this school.
"Hogwarts, the school of witchcraft and wizardry. You are a wizard, aren't you?"
Harry thought carefully. This man must be the source of magic he had detected using the goblins' magic. Even without magic, he felt something else: a pain in his scar that he had never felt before, but it could have something to do with the person in front of him.
"Yes, but I don't go to Hogwarts. But actually I am here looking for a wizard who I was told might be able to teach me how to use magic."
"That's quite a coincidence," said Quirrel. "I used to teach at Hogwarts."
"Maybe you could teach me," said Harry, beginning to feel excited. "What did you teach?"
"I taught Muggle Studies," said Quirrel proudly.
"Muggle Studies? I thought Muggles didn't have magic"
Quirrel laughed. " Many children raised as wizards or witches aren't familiar with the non-magical world, so Muggle Studies teaches them about things like tellies and aeroplanes."
"That won't help me much," said Harry disappointedly. "I was raised in a non-magical family, so I already know about tellies and airplanes."
"I, too, am searching for a wizard," said Quirrel thoughtfully. "Perhaps, if we search together, I could teach you some other things about being a wizard."
"That would be brilliant," said the boy. He stuck out his hand. "My name is Harry."
Quirrel looked at his hand with trepidation. "I. . . I'm sorry. My hands are dirty from travel."
Harry looked at his own hands and saw that they were also covered with sweat and grime. Perhaps, he thought, the wizard didn't want to touch Harry's filthy hands but was too polite to say so.
"My name is Professor Quirrel. At least, that's what students called me when I taught at Hogwarts. We're not there, so I suppose now you can just call me Mr. Quirrel."
"So, who is the wizard you are looking for, Mr. Quirrel?"
The wizard with the turban turned around to look in the direction from which he had been walking. "I'm looking for the home of a man named Nicolas Flamel," said Quirrel tiredly. "But he is a very hard wizard to find."
As soon as Quirrel's back was turned to him, the pain in Harry's scar became so strong that he grabbed his forehead and fell to his knees. The pain lessened as Quirrel slowly turned back, allowing Harry to stand again.
When Quirrel looked at the boy again, he was rubbing his head. When the boy pulled his hand away, Quirrel's eyes opened slightly in surprise at the lightning-bolt-shaped scar that had been covered by Harry's long hair.
"Maybe we can find your wizard together," said Harry. However, something about the pain he felt when looking at Quirrel made him withhold the information that he, too, was looking for a wizard named Nicolas Flamel.
That evening, for dinner, Harry watched in fascination as Quirrel used his wand to make a fire, conjure up some pots and dishes, and cook dinner. Harry contributed some dried meat from a previous kill and some roots he had gathered. Quirrel added these to some ingredients he had, including spices and herbs, to make a delicious stew. It was a welcome change from the fare Harry had eaten most nights for the past year. Then, with a wave or two of his wand, Quirrel cleaned everything up or simply made things like the pots and dishes disappear.
After dinner, Harry plied Quirrel with questions about the magical world. Apparently, in addition to their own school, wizards and witches had their own government. Some could change themselves into animals. They could fly on broomsticks, which Harry thought sounded ridiculous. But many of the things that could be done with magic weren't much different from what non-magical people could do. They could shoot spells with their wands that could cripple or kill a person--but non-magical people could do the same with guns. They could travel long distances almost instantaneously, but they couldn't go as far as non-magical people could go in aeroplanes. Quirrel didn't openly say so, but Harry got the definite impression that the magical world had the same problems with crime, war, and violence as the non-magical world.
All of this gave Harry a lot to think about as he drifted off to sleep that night. Quirrel had mentioned there was a whole magical community in London, so maybe Harry should have gone there instead of to this bleak moorland.
Harry didn't know how long he had been asleep when he heard someone speak his name. Without opening his eyes, he listened carefully to what seemed to be a conversation between Quirrel and someone else, someone with a slightly deeper, sibilant voice.
"I don't care who he is," said the hissing voice. "Kill him!"
"But master," said Quirrel. "He's just a boy."
"Can he help you get the stone?"
"I don't think so," answered Quirrel.
"Then kill him. We don't need him."
Harry thought someone must have joined Quirrel, but then he heard the steps of just one person coming to where he was laying on the ground. He tensed, ready to fight off any attack.
"I am truly sorry for this, Harry," he heard Quirrel whisper. "Avada. . ."
Harry whipped out his arm, disarming Quirrel of his wand.
"Kill him! Kill him now!" Quirrel's lips were moving, but the sound that came out was the hissing voice Harry had heard earlier. "Strangle him!"
Quirrel reached for Harry's neck, and Harry grabbed the teacher's wrists with his much smaller hands. He didn't think he could be as strong as Quirrel, but for some reason the man shrieked in pain and Harry could see that the wizard's wrists were blistering as if burned in a fire.
"It burns! It burns," he yelled. "It doesn't matter," came the hissing voice. "Kill him anyway!"
Quirrel crouched down lower and wrapped his fingers around Harry's neck whilst Harry reached for the man's face, pressing his hands against the bigger man's cheeks, temples, and eyes, causing Quirrel to scream in pain. Harry couldn't breathe and was about to pass out when, in their struggles, he knocked off Quirrel's turban, revealing a lacy-looking headdress, which also fell off. Quirrel immediately let go of Harry's neck and fell back on the ground.
"I'm free! I'm free," gasped Quirrel. "Thank you. Take the diadem."
"The what?" said Harry, kneeling down beside the wizard.
"The crown. Take it. Don't put it on, but keep it safe." Quirrel looked into Harry's eyes. "Harry, you need to know. . . you are . . ." Then Quirrel's eyes closed and his head rolled backwards.
Harry was stunned for a moment. He who had hunted rabbits, birds, wild boar, and deer was familiar with death. But he had never wanted to kill an intelligent creature, even in self-defense. He wasn't totally certain that Quirrel was dead, but considering that the man had tried to kill him, he didn't want to stick around to find out, or to be blamed for murder if someone else showed up.
The moon was just a sliver, but the headdress that had fallen from Quirrel's head--what did he call it, a didem?--was glittering in the light. Harry picked it up and stuffed it in his pack along with his other belongings, then headed east through the moor. He stumbled in the pale moonlight for about an hour, then slept for several hours, then rose with the dawn and continued east towards London.
* *
* * *
On returning home for the summer, Hermione continued to be puzzled by her parent's behavior. Usually, her parents planned an exciting vacation to France, Spain, or somewhere else on the continent. This year, they seemed content to stay in Muggletown all summer long. They lived in Muggletown, shopped in Muggletown, worked in Muggletown, even played in Muggletown recreation centers. As her world was growing, theirs seemed to have shrunk.
"I just don't get it," she said to Dean Thomas, whose parents also lived in Muggletown, while they were walking together around London. "When I ask them if they would like to go into London, they say no, they are happy where they are. When I ask them if they ever leave, they give me the silent treatment. Am I a bad daughter for wanting to see more of the world?"
"I know what you mean, Hermione," said Dean. "My parents don't seem to leave either. My sister, who isn't magical, also spends her life in Muggletown, which has its own school for non-magical children."
"The only people I ever see leaving or entering Muggletown are Hogwarts students like ourselves and Ministry officials," fretted Hermione.
* *
* * *
Ixion was weeping quietly as she and Torino stood surrounded by centaur bones in the graveyard of their ancestors. At their feet, their young daughter Nephele lay panting, her right foreleg broken.
"Orion is bright tonight," said Torino stoically.
"Orion is the hunter," said Ixion in frustration. "Do you hope for a hunter to give Nephele a quick death?"
"You know I can make a potion that would cure just about any disease," said Torino gently. "But I can't heal a leg that is broken as severely as Nephele's." Ixion began to cry a little harder. "All we can do is see that she is comfortable until the end comes, whether by a hunter's hand or by natural means."
Harry was puzzling over the strange bones--oversized human skulls and rib cages combined with horse-like bodies and legs--when he heard crying through the trees. He walked silently, as Deerslayer had taught him, towards the sound until he could see two large beings, with horses bodies and human heads and torsos. One had his arm around the other as she buried her face in his hair. Looking more carefully, he noticed a smaller being of the same form lying on the ground, her right foreleg bent at an unnatural angle.
Quietly, he walked over to the prostrate creature, who looked at him with panic in her eyes. She winced as he put his hands on her leg. Looking up, he could see the adult centaurs were nervous but did not try to stop him. Using one of the leg bones scattered around the graveyard as a model, he closed his eyes to imagine what the leg in his hands would be like were it unbroken.
"This will hurt a moment, but please try not to move," he said, not knowing if she understood him. Then he grasped the leg firmly in both hands on either side of the break. She gasped with pain as he moved the bones into the right position, and a blue glow was visible beneath his fingers. She looked down at her leg in surprise, then stood up and ran over to receive a hug from her mother, who began to weep tears of joy.
Harry turned to the male. "Hello, my name is Harry," he said.
The centaur's eyes opened slightly as if in recognition. "Are you a hunter?" he asked.
"Some call me Rabbitslayer," Harry answered. "But I do not kill sentient creatures. . . except in self-defense," he muttered ruefully.
"Orion comes today as a healer, not a hunter," said the centaur to his mate. "We are eternally grateful to you, Harry Rabbitslayer.
"At first I thought you were a goblin," he said to Harry, "but now I see you are a wizard. Come, please join our troop as we feed tonight."
The large creature continued to talk as they walked through the forest. "I am Torino, and this is my mate Ixion and our daughter Nephele. We are centaurs, but no doubt you know that, young wizard."
"No, I didn't even know I was a wizard until last year. I've seen goblins, and I've talked with snakes, but everyone else I've ever met who can talk is human."
"We tell stories each night around the campfire about our history and heritage. Did not your troop do the same?"
"No, they taught me almost nothing."
"Maybe you can learn with us."
"I would like that, Torino."
Soon they reached a clearing with a central firepit. A number of tall, three-sided shelters ringed the pit. In the center, a large animal, probably a boar, slowly turned on a spit that was rotated by a young-looking male centaur.
Several female centaurs approached the group as they entered and expressed surprise at seeing young Nephele on her feet. But before Ixion and Nephele could explain what happened, a large male centaur charged up.
"What is this?" he yelled. "You bring a human into our sacred ring?"
"Orion is strong tonight," said Torino. "Today, Pollux, he comes in the form of a healer, not a hunter."
"What are you saying?" challenged the large centaur. "No human has entered our sacred ring for nearly a thousand years."
"This is Harry Rabbitslayer," explained Torino, "and he is no ordinary human. He healed Nephele's broken leg with his hands alone."
"That's not possible. Is he a demon?" He turned to Harry with threat in his eyes. "Are you a demon here to steal our secrets?"
"Be still, Pollux," said another large centaur, who looked something like Pollux but with more grey in his coat. He glanced at Harry's forehead before looking deep into his eyes. "You are a powerful wizard for one so young, Mr. Rabbitslayer," he said. "Who taught you healing magic?"
Harry swallowed hard as he nervously looked at the huge centaur. "My teacher was a goblin named Deerslayer," he answered. "He worked at the mines near a town on the Otter River."
"My name is Castor," said the graying centaur. "You are welcome to stay with us."
"Thank you, sir," said Harry gratefully.
* *
* * *
Though looking forward to opening her birthday presents this evening, Ginny suspected her best present had already arrived: her Hogwarts letter. Though she fully expected to receive one, there were always a few members of magical families who did not. Whilst she was pretty sure she was not a Squib, receiving the letter gave her a great feeling of pride and relief.
Her pride was nothing compared with the pride exuded by her brother Percy when he found a prefect's badge with his letter. The twins almost immediately began to tease him mercilessly about it, but Ginny was happy for Percy. When the Weasley children paired off for games and social activities, it was usually Bill with Charlie, the twins with each other, and Ginny with Ron, leaving Percy all alone. Ginny suspected this was why Percy worked so hard in school and was something of a loner in the family.
At dinner, Ginny noticed Fred slipping something into Percy's pumpkin juice. When Fred wasn't looking, she surreptitiously switched Percy's glass with Fred's. A few minutes later, Fred took a drink and his head swelled to twice its normal size. Mum shrieked in horror whilst George laughed so hard he almost fell off his chair. Percy pretended nothing happened but Ginny couldn't help but smirk.
Since Ginny was sitting between Fred and Percy, she was the obvious candidate for switching the drinks. "Maybe we should be pranking our favorite little sister instead of Percy," said George.
"I don't know," said Fred. "Size is no indication of power.
"You better believe it," said Ginny, fingering the wand she had received for her birthday--holly with a core of unicorn tail hairs--"I have just two words for you: bat and bogey." Ginny knew that the wand belonged to her late grandmother; she had found it in the attic and used it once before to bat-bogey hex Ron when he was being a git. At the time, Mum had confiscated the wand but hinted to Ginny that, if she liked it so well, she could take it with her to Hogwarts.
"I tell you, George," said Fred, "she is going to be sorted into Slytherin."
* *
* * *
In the throes of his usual problem of finding a defense teacher, Headmaster Flitwick was shocked and impressed to receive a visitor as distinguished as Nicolas Flamel. "Dr. Flamel," the little wizard twittered, "to what do we owe the great honour of having you visit us here at Hogwarts?"
"I'm happy to be here, Headmaster Flitwick," said the ancient wizard cordially. "I really should come here more often. But I came today because recently I detected what appeared to be a battle between two or possibly three wizards near my home in Devon. One, or if there were three, two of the wizards were clearly dark. The other one was light."
"Great Rowena!" said Flitwick. "There have been very few reports of dark wizardry since, well, since I took this office."
"I know, that's what seemed so strange. The fact that it happened on my doorstep led me to wonder if a dark wizard was trying to steal something from me." He didn't need to say what he thought the wizard might be trying to steal; Flitwick was well aware that Flamel owned a Philosopher's Stone.
"What can Hogwarts do to help you?" asked Flitwick.
"What do you know of the whereabouts of Harry Potter?" asked Flamel.
"No more than anyone else," said the headmaster. "We sent out his Hogwarts letter last year, and when we received no response we sent someone to visit the home the letter was addressed to. But the residents denied ever having known Harry Potter."
Flamel was one of the few people who had been told the entire prophecy by Albus Dumbledore. The prophecy was seemingly fulfilled on that awful Hallowe'en night in 1981. But Flamel's dark magic detectors seemed to indicate that the Dark Lord was back, though possibly in a weakened form. If Voldemort was back, Flamel knew that light wizards would need to find Harry Potter.
"I have a proposal for you," said Flamel. "I would like to spend some time doing research in your library. In exchange, if you have a teaching position I could fill here for a year, I would be glad to do it." Flitwich could not believe his luck.
* *
* * *
Whilst the goblins almost exclusively ate meat, and thus greatly appreciated Harry's hunting skills, the centaurs were omnivores, and seemed to consider meat more of a side dish than the main course of any meal. A few of the centaurs did most of the hunting for the troop; Torino was not one of them, and he instead spent much of his time gathering edible plants as well as ingredients for various potions and elixirs that the centaurs made.
The troop consisted of about twenty individual families, each of which occupied one of the tall shelters that surrounded the "sacred ring" or common area. The largest and finest shelter was occupied by Castor and his family, which included his son Pollux. Whilst the troop lived together, individual families did not share with other families. Instead, they traded goods, such as meat and vegetables, with one another. The day he arrived, Harry watched Torino negotiate a trade with Castor of a basket of berries for a brace of rabbits. But today, just two weeks later, Torino was asking for twice as many rabbits for a similar basket of berries.
"Why did Castor agree to give you four rabbits for the same amount of berries as he paid just two rabbits for a couple of weeks ago?" asked Harry.
"Two weeks ago, berries and rabbits were both abundant," said Torino. "Today, the berries are almost gone but there are still plenty of rabbits. The scarcity of berries makes them worth more."
"What happens when the berries are all gone?" asked Harry.
"Then I must work harder to find things that Castor or one of the other hunters wants, or my family does without meat."
"When that time comes, I can hunt for your family," said Harry. "Remember, my name is 'Rabbitslayer.'"
* *
* * *
One August morning, Lucius Malfoy received the disturbing news over the floo that the office of Misuse of Muggle Artifacts had raided the homes of many of his friends and vassals, including Victor Crabbe and Gresham Goyle. The office, led by that bloodtraiter, Arthur Weasley, found nothing of consequence, and as a good friend of Minister Fudge, Malfoy's home should be immune from such raids. Still, Malfoy felt he needed to respond.
He unlocked a cabinet and pulled out a book that had been entrusted to him by the Dark Lord. He didn't know quite what it was, but he knew that if it were found on one of the Weasley children, it would help to discredit their father.
"Draco!" he called. "Let's pay a visit to Diagon Alley."
They flooed into the Leaky Cauldron and walked into Diagon Alley, where they were in luck: Lucius could see several red heads leaving Potage's Cauldron Shop. They followed them into Flourish & Blotts.
"I say, Draco, those look like some of your friends from Hogwarts. Why don't you go and say 'hello'?"
Draco gave his father a puzzled look, but figured he knew what he was asking. So he walked over to where the crowd of red heads was comparing shopping lists and books.
"You can use all of Ron's old books from last year, Ginny," said her mum, "except for Defense. Your list requires a book that Ron didn't have." She pulled the book out off the shelf, paid for it, and put it into Ginny's brand-new cauldron.
"Hello, Weasley," Draco said to Ron. "I see you have another Weasley coming to school this year. She's kind of cute, if you like redheads."
"Leave Ginny alone, Malfoy," said Ron.
"How many are in your family, anyway?" asked Draco. "Don't your parents know that small families help preserve pureblood wealth? Maybe they should have stopped before they had you, anyway."
"Now, now, Draco," said Lucius, "be nice. Is that the latest Defense text book?" he asked whilst pulling the book from Ginny's cauldron. "I hope the latest professor is better than the last one, who was pathetic."
"Professor Lockhart was a brilliant man," said Molly Weasley. "It isn't his fault that he lost his memory and can't teach this year."
Lucius rolled his eyes whilst he put the book back in Ginny's cauldron. "Come, Draco, we have some shopping to do elsewhere."
Draco wasn't sure what that was all about, but he knew his father was up to something. After they left the store, he asked, "How did I do?"
"You were just fine, Draco," answered Lucius with a smile. Whilst Draco was thrilled to receive praise from his father, the smile made him shudder.
When the Weasleys returned to the Burrow, Ginny was surprised to find an extra book in her cauldron. The pages of one of them were blank, and Ginny figured her mother must have given it to her to use as a journal or diary once she got to Hogwarts. She packed it into her trunk.
The day before she was supposed to go to Hogwarts for her first term at school, Ginny woke up in the morning to see a small creature standing by her bed. The creature had long ears, bulging eyes, and stood only about two feet tall.
"Hello," she said. "My name is Ginny. What's yours?"
"I is Dobby, the house elf."
"Nice to meet you Dobby. Would you like some tea?" Ginny had some tea left over from the night before.
"Ohhh!" cried Dobby. "No witch or wizard has ever invited Dobby for tea before. You are truly a great witch."
Ginny frowned as she poured the tea into cups that her mother had charmed to heat to the perfect temperature for hot beverages. It was a lucky thing she had an extra cup left over from the night before last. She had never met a house elf before, but Charlie had told her that house elves were enslaved and sometimes mistreated by magical families.
"Here is your tea, Dobby," she said. She pulled out a chair from her desk. It was a little large for Dobby, but it was a little small for her as her parents had purchased it a few years ago, when she was much smaller. "Take a seat," she said, and sat herself on the bed and sipped her tea. "What can I do for you?"
"Ohhh!" cried Dobby again, practically spilling his tea. "I have heard that the Weaseys were uncommonly generous, but never has a witch asked me what she can do for me."
Ginny rolled her eyes at the elf's theatrics. "I am sure lots of witches and wizards would be glad to share tea with you."
"Not all. . . ohhh!" Dobby began hitting his head on the back of her wooden chair.
"Stop! What are you doing, Dobby?"
"Must punish myself. I is almost saying something bad about my family."
Ginny put a pillow behind the house elf in the chair so he couldn't hurt himself more. "So, why are you here, Dobby?"
"I is tell Ginny Weasey: Ginny Weasey must not go to Hogwarts this year. It is much too dangerous for you there."
Ginny frowned again. "But my brothers have all gone to Hogwarts, and it wasn't too dangerous for them. Are you saying it is too dangerous for me because I am a girl?"
"No, no," said Dobby, looking around to make sure no one else was listening. "Horrible things is going to happen at Hogwarts if Ginny Weasey goes."
"Oh, so Hogwarts will be dangerous because of me, not to me."
"Hogwarts will be dangerous for Ginny Weasey if Ginny Weasey goes to Hogwarts."
"Why will it be too dangerous for me to go?"
"Because of the d-d-d. . . ohhh!" Dobby began hitting his head on her desk. Ginny knew that house elves could not say anything against their families, but she also knew that they were conditioned to obey orders from any witch or wizard as long as the order did not threaten their own family.
"Dobby, stop. I order you not to tell me anything that would lead you to punish yourself." Dobby looked confused for a moment as he tried to process what she said. Then a smile brightened his face.
"Thank you, Ginny Weasey. But I still can tell you that Ginny Weasey must not go to Hogwarts."
"Dobby, I am very strong. I can tell you are strong, too. Between you and me, we can stop whatever it is that will make Hogwarts dangerous--and do it without making you punish yourself."
Dobby looked relieved. "Ginny Weasey is very brave, like a Gryffindor. She is also very crafty, like a Slytherin."
"When I need your help, Dobby, I will call you."
"When you call me, I is coming if I can get away from my family duties."
"Thank you for warning me Dobby." The house elf popped away.
After dinner that night, Molly sent the boys upstairs to pack. Ginny had already packed, so she sat with her father in the Burrow's living room.
"Daddy?"
"Yes, dear."
"Fred keeps saying that I will be sorted into Slytherin. Do you think that's true?"
"I don't know, Ginny, but we'll be proud of you no matter what house you are sorted into."
"But Ron says that only bad witches and wizards are sorted into Slytherin."
Arthur put down the newspaper he was reading and looked into his daughter's eyes. "Ginevra," he said, "you are a Weasley. What is more, you are the seventh child of a seventh Weasley son. What is more, you are the first Weasley girl in seven generations. You are special. You will do credit to our family and to any house you are in."
Chapter 6: Chapter Six: The Chamber of Secrets
Author's Notes: Thanks to SIYE beta readers for checking and approving all the stories on this site.
The Weasleys went through their usual last-minute rush to Kings Cross and the Hogwarts Express. Ginny couldn't understand it; she had packed the day before and the boys were supposed to pack the night before. But they had to return to the Burrow several times to get things that Fred or George or Ron had forgotten.
When they got to the train, Percy went to the front of the train where the prefects car was located, whilst the twins disappeared with their friend Lee Jordan. Ron found some friends too: a bushy haired girl, a round-faced boy, and a blonde girl. When Ginny tried to join them in their compartment, Ron said, "Go away Ginny! No one wants you here. Go find some first years to ride with."
Ginny was so mad she almost used the bat-bogey hex on Ron, but instead she huffed away and wandered through the corridors until she found her friend Luna sitting by herself in a compartment. Soon they were joined by another first-year girl who introduced herself as Astoria Greengrass.
"You look like the Wrackspurts have infested your brain, Ginny," said Luna.
Astoria looked puzzled, but Ginny was used to her friend's eccentricities. "I am just mad at my git of a brother. He kicked me out of his compartment as if he is something special just because he is a second-year."
"He's a boy," said Astoria. "What do you expect?"
"I guess so," said Ginny. "But I only have brothers so I don't really know what sisters are like."
Astoria looked out into the hallway to make sure no one is listening. "I have a sister and no brothers, and I suspect it isn't much better."
"Maybe it's best to be an only child like Luna," said Ginny.
"You have to put up with brothers and sisters," said Luna, "but I have to put up with Moon Frogs and Dabberblimps."
"I can see where that would be a problem, Luna," said Ginny, whilst Astoria tried to suppress a laugh.
"So, what house do you think you will be sorted into?" asked Astoria.
"Both my parents were Ravenclaws, so I'll probably be one too," said Luna.
"Everyone in my family has been in Gryffindor, but after the way my brother treated me today, I don't want to be in the same house as him."
"Well, I'll probably be in Slytherin," said Astoria. "If you're in Slytherin, we could be roommates."
Sure enough, the Sorting Hat put Astoria in Slytherin and Luna in Ravenclaw. Ginny was the last to be sorted.
"Oh, another Weasley, hmm?" Ginny heard when the hat was put on her head. "You are certainly brave enough for Gryffindor, but you are also crafty enough for Slytherin, and smart enough for Ravenclaw. Based on what you are thinking about your brother, though, you wouldn't do well in Hufflepuff."
"Put me anywhere but in Gryffindor," Ginny urged. If she was in Ravenclaw, she could be Luna's roommate.
"Really?" said the hat. "Well, then it must be SLYTHERIN!" he shouted aloud.
"Slytherin?" yelled Ron. "I win," said Fred to George. "You owe me five Sickles."
Ginny walked over and sat down at the Slytherin table between Astoria and a blonde girl who might have been her older sister. Across the table, Draco Malfoy leered at her. She looked down to where the older Slytherins were seated, and most of the boys also had leers or sneers on their faces. Some of the girls had looks of disgust as if she had just crawled out from under a dead Kneazle.
"Merlin," she said aloud as Astoria reassuringly patted her on the back. "What have I gotten myself into?"
After dinner, Ginny followed the Slytherin prefects to the common room, which featured a large, stone fireplace over which hung a huge painting depicting a man wielding a gleaming sword encrusted with emeralds fighting a host of opponents. "This is Salazar Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts four, who defeated every enemy he ever fought," the male prefect said proudly.
Ginny learned that she would, indeed, share a room with Astoria. When she unpacked her trunk, she rediscovered the diary so she decided to write in it before going to sleep.
"Dear Diary, My brother is a git," she wrote. After a moment, the words disappeared. "That's pretty useless," she thought. But then, other words appeared.
"Hello, I am sorry your brother is a git. What did he do?"
"He refused to let me sit with him and his friends on the Hogwarts train," Ginny wrote. She wondered if this book was charmed like the mirrors at home to make fun of people or turn their questions back at them.
"Are you a student at Hogwarts? I once went to Hogwarts. What house are you in?"
No, she thought, this book must do more than just repeat people's questions. "I am in Slytherin, but all my brothers are in Gryffindor."
"Slytherin and Gryffindor are both good houses," said the diary. "My name is Tom. What is your name?"
"I'm Ginny Weasley," she wrote, yawning. "It is nice to meet you, Tom, but it's late and I have to go to sleep."
"Good night, Ginny Weasley." Ginny blew out the candle on her night table and went to sleep. The diary lay quiet, but inside, a piece of Voldemort's soul was elated that it would finally have a chance to escape.
Professor Snape gave Ginny her schedule at breakfast the next morning. She had potions and defense in the morning and charms in the afternoon.
As soon as she walked into the potions classroom, she could hear the Gryfiindor first years who would share the class with her housemates whisper about her being the first Weasley in history to be sorted into Slytherin. Some of them seemed even more suspicious of her than they were of people like Astoria, whose families had been Slytherin for generations. "I heard her brother Ron say that she was always a sneaky sort," one of them said, confirming her belief that Ron was a git.
When Professor Snape swept in, he asked if anyone in the class knew where a Bezoar came from. Ginny raised her hand; her mum always kept a Bezoar on hand in case anyone in her family was poisoned. But instead Snape called upon a timid-looking Gryffindor girl who didn't even have her hand raised. When she couldn't answer, Snape took five points from Gryffindor.
After that, the professor told the class to make a simple Pepperup Potion. The directions were on the board, but Ginny hardly needed them because she had watched her mum make the potion about once a week. When she handed in the potion at the end of class, Snape just stared at her as if he was trying to read her mind.
Her defense class, which took place with the Ravenclaws, was more frustrating. Ginny had heard a rumor that Professor Flamel was something like 650 years old, but he didn't look much older than her father. He gave a lecture about minor hexes that didn't even mention her favorite, the bat bogey hex, but he said that a simple shield spell, Protego, could defend against many of them. His goal this term, he said, was for every first-year student to be proficient at Protego.
He paired up the students and asked them to shoot Rictusempras at each other so they could practice Protego. Ginny could do the tickling hex, but she couldn't get a decent shield. Her partner, Luna, was able to defend against Rictusempra after a couple of tries, but Ginny ended up giggling throughout the class.
"Don't worry if you haven't been able to cast the shield today," said Flamel. "By the end of the term, you all should be able to shield against all but the most powerful curses." But Ginny, who was not used to failure, was worried anyway.
After lunch, the same thing happened in charms. Professor Perspicacity started the class on a few simple cleaning charms, which Luna and a few other students were easily able to cast. Ginny, however, could barely get a response from her wand.
That night, after dinner, she opened her diary and wrote, "Dear Tom, I had a hard time getting my wand to work in Charms and Defense today."
"I am sorry to hear that, Ginny. Did you buy the wand from Ollivander's?"
"No, it was my grandmother's wand."
"That's the problem. You need a wand that is just for you. Mr. Ollivander once told me that 'the wand selects the wizard,' or the witch in this case."
"But we can't afford a new wand for every member of the family, and even if we could, Ollivander's wand shop is too far away for me to go to get a new wand."
"I think I have a solution for you, Ginny. But I am going to have to show you rather than tell you. Is that alright with you?"
"Yes."
The pages of the diary suddenly flipped forward and she briefly saw the date, "November 15, 1943." Then the room she was in seemed to transform itself into a classroom. She was sitting in a seat next to a handsome boy with black hair. "Tom? Are you Tom?" But he ignored her. Then someone, apparently a professor she didn't recognize, spoke at the front of the room.
"Class, today we are going to learn a spell that will allow you to double the power of any other spell. This is a NEWT-level spell and you will probably be tested for it on your NEWTs. The incantation is 'Geminus,' and there is no particular wand movement. If you immediately follow this up with another spell, the next spell will be doubled in power. Mr. Riddle, would you step up and demonstrate?"
The boy sitting next to her stood up and walked over to the professor. "Now, cast a simple 'Lumos' spell." Riddle cast the spell and his wand lit up. "Now, cast a 'Geminus' followed by 'Lumos.'" Riddle said the two spells, and his wand lit up so intensely that Ginny, and most of the rest of the class, had to shield their eyes.
"'Geminus' is one of the easiest spells to cast silently, so after you have successfully done it once, I want each of you to practice doing it silently," said the professor. Ginny watched as Riddle and each of the other students practiced the spell. She noticed that Riddle was the first to succeed in doing it silently. "Five points to Slytherin, Tom," the professor said quietly. "Class is dismissed."
Suddenly, Ginny was back in the common room. Though the lesson she had just witnessed lasted close to an hour, none of her housemates had moved from where they were before Tom had taken her to his classroom. Apparently, she could learn an entire lesson in just a few moments.
The next day, she had no problem with any of her spells. At first, she whispered "Geminus" before incanting a spell, but soon she was able to do it silently. That night, she asked Tom to let her view all of the classes he took in his first year. She was able to view a week's worth of classes in just a few minutes. More than a week at a time felt overwhelming, but she thought she might be able to do two weeks a day on weekends. At this rate, she would finish all seven years of school before the end of her first year.
For his part, Tom was happy to show her his classes. He figured that the more time she spent with him, the easier it would be to possess her when he was ready to take control of her body and soul.
On Friday, at the end of her third day of classes, Ginny walked from the Great Hall to the Slytherin common room after dinner when someone grabbed her and pulled her into an empty classroom. Draco Malfoy sat in the teacher's chair in the room with his feet up on the desk. She looked behind her to see that Gregory Goyle had pulled her into the room and still had her robes in his fist. Vincent Crabbe also stood behind her to make sure she couldn't escape.
"Welcome to Slytherin, Weasley," said Malfoy with a sneer. Crabbe and Goyle both snickered. "We just want to make sure you know that Slytherin is a traditional house. That means that the boys get to do what they want, and the girls do what they're told." Goyle punctuated this statement by slapping her bum.
Ginny pulled herself out of Goyle's reach. "Then that's a tradition we're going to have to change," she said.
Draco jumped up, with his chair tipping over backwards, and marched over to stand nose-to-nose with Ginny. "You better watch yourself, Weasley," he said. "Some traditions never change."
She pulled out her wand and performed a bat-bogey hex on his conveniently placed nose. She had never done one with the help of Geminus before, and the results were spectacular: the bats coming out of Draco's nose were twice as big as when she cast the hex on Ron, and Draco fell on the floor screaming. Ginny then whipped around and pointed her wand at Goyle's nose. "Do you want to join him?" He and Crabbe backed away, shaking their heads in fear. "Then stay out of my way."
When she got back to the common room, she sat next to Astoria and quietly asked her about Slytherin traditions. Astoria confirmed that her sister had told her that Slytherin girls were vulnerable to the boys' demands.
"I have a little hex I'd like to teach you," Ginny whispered. "One of my brothers taught it to me, and I think we should teach it to all the other Slytherin first-year girls."
* *
* * *
Lucius Malfoy and several officials with the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures Apparated near the Burrow and walked up to the front door. Arthur Weasley opened the door in response to Lucius' knock.
"Lucius," said Arthur was a hint of disdain. "To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?"
"Business, I am afraid," said Lucius. "These officials are with the new Office for the Protection of Endangered Magical Species." The officials began tramping through Molly's garden. "I am saddened to say that they have received notice that someone here has been mistreating garden gnomes--removing them from their habitat and flinging them into another field. Such a shameful way to be treating an endangered species. I do hope that you have not been a part of this and that you support the Ministry's campaign to protect endangered magical species."
"Of course I support such protection. But these are just ordinary gnomes," said Arthur with a puzzled look. "I happen to know that you have similar gnomes on your property."
One of the other officials came over and whispered something in Lucius' ear. "Oh, these are anything but ordinary," said Malfoy. "The gnomes on my property are the common English garden gnome, found throughout much of Britain. But the gnomes on your property are the rare Devon subspecies of gnome, found only in a few valley bottoms in Devon County. The English gnome is light brown with dark brown stripes, whilst the Devon subspecies is, well, dark brown with light brown stripes. The difference is obvious, at least to experts, which these officials are." Arthur thought he heard one of the "experts" snigger.
"The stories we heard appear to be true," said the official who whispered in Malfoy's ear. "The gnomes in this garden show clear signs of abuse, as if someone had spun them over their heads and flung them as far as they could."
"We can't have them in our garden," said Arthur. "They would eat all our vegetables."
"Gardens are their natural habitat," said the somewhat puffed-up official. "The gnomes have evolved over hundreds and perhaps thousands of years to become dependent on human gardens."
"Tch tch," said Lucius. "I'm afraid the Office for the Protection of Endangered Magical Species will have to serve you a notice to cease and desist from all activities that could harm these rare gnomes."
"What does that mean? That we have to stop gardening?"
"Oh no, nothing like that. In fact, you will have to keep your garden in good shape to provide this subspecies with the habitat it needs. However, all other activities on the property will have to end, at least until we can be certain that the species has recovered."
"But we live here!"
"Not anymore you don't. Don't worry, the Ministry will provide you with alternative housing--at a reasonable rent, of course."
"You can't take our property!"
"Oh, the Ministry is not taking your property. You can still use it for whatever you want as long as it is compatible with the gnomes. I am sure that, with careful Ministry supervision, you will be able to visit here every Saturday so that you can tend the garden and maintain optimal gnome habitat."
"Under this cease-and-desist order," said the puffed-up official, "you have until 5:00 pm tomorrow to move your place of residence off the property. When you are ready to go, just Floo the Office of Relocation and someone there will take you to your new home."
Monday found Ginny entering the Great Hall for lunch when Ron bumped her shoulder as he hurried in. "Ron!" she yelled. "Why are you saying such bad things about me to your housemates?"
"Stay away from me, Ginny," he sneered. "I can't be seen with any dirty Slytherins."
Ginny got mad and shot him a double jelly-legs curse, causing him to fall over. "Ten points from Slytherin," said Percy, who she didn't notice was right behind her, "and you'll serve a detention tonight with Mr. Filch." That made her mad at Percy, too, but the detention was worth it to get revenge on Ron, who used to be her best friend, for mistreating her.
That night, Mr. Filch directed her to polish the trophies in the trophy room. She wasn't allowed to use magic, which she didn't mind because her mum never let her use magic to clean at home. The brass polish Mr. Filch made her use had a funny smell. As she worked her way through one of the trophy cases, she saw a few names she recognized: James Potter, for example, had been on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Then she found a plaque awarded to Tom Marvolo Riddle for special service to the school in 1943. She wrote the name down on a piece of parchment, thinking she would commend Tom for his service the next time she wrote in the diary.
When she returned to her common room, she overheard Marcus Flint, a seventh-year, talking about his Ancient Runes class. "Runes are often scrambled to make them hard to read," he told one of his classmates. "You can use the 'Anagramus' charm to unscramble them."
For a lark, Ginny touched her wand to the parchment with Tom's full name and whispered "Geminus Anagramus." The letters moved around to read, "I am Lord Voldemort." Ginny was so surprised that she dropped her wand and jumped out of her chair, knocking it over backwards.
"What's wrong, Ginny?" asked Astoria.
"Oh, nothing. I mean, I must have miscast a spell because it gave me a small sting." She sat down, crumpled up the parchment, and threw it in the fireplace.
So the Tom in her diary would become, or had become, the Dark Lord who had killed so many people, including her mother's beloved brothers and Harry Potter's parents. Ginny would have to think about that for a bit. In the meantime, she decided not to mention to Tom that she knew his full name, or even open the diary for one of her weeklong lessons tonight.
The next evening, she did open her diary for another week's worth of lessons. When Tom asked why she hadn't written in the diary the night before, she just said she was in detention and went right to bed afterwards. She wondered to herself if the Tom of her diary perhaps hadn't become evil yet, or if he was going to try to get her to do something that could harm others.
To answer this question, she left the Slytherin common room a short time before curfew and found an empty classroom. After making sure she was quite alone, she called for Dobby.
"Ginny Weasey calls Dobby!" he said popping in front of her. "My master doesn't need me right now so I is come right away."
"Thank you Dobby," said Ginny. "Do you remember my order to you not to say anything that would make you punish yourself?" Dobby solemnly nodded his head.
"Without violating that order, can you tell me if the horrible things that are going to happen to Hogwarts this year have anything to do with this diary?" she said, showing him Riddle's book. Dobby took a step back, eyes wide in fear, but nodded his head slowly.
"That's what I thought. With your help, nothing bad is going to happen."
"What does Ginny Weasey want Dobby to do?"
"Nothing more right now, but I may call you again soon."
"Dobby is ready, Ginny Weasey." He popped away.
* *
* * *
Devon was enjoying a St. Martin's summer as Harry carefully stirred the soupy mixture of herbs, animal parts, and minerals in a crude iron cauldron that was propped up over a fire by several sticks. "The goblins are unmatched in metalwork and have great magic as well," Torino had told him, "but no one makes potions as well as centaurs."
Making potions, Harry learned, was a lot more difficult than making soup in the Dursley's kitchen. First, he had to collect the ingredients, some of which were only available during certain times of the year or in certain parts of the country. He had spent many days accompanying Torino on collection trips and trading things that they had collected in abundance with other centaurs who had things that were not available in Devon. Some days they traveled many miles to the north, east, or west, but never went south. When Harry asked why, Torino just said it was too dangerous to go into the southern forests.
After collecting ingredients, he had to prepare them, often chopping them into tiny pieces or grinding them into powder. His goblin-made knife came in handy for chopping, and he ground ingredients using two rocks as a mortar and pestle like one he had seen his aunt use in her Little Whinging kitchen.
Storing the ingredients and the potions they made was a problem for the centaurs, who did not have the technology to make glass or metal containers. Some of the centaur families had a few containers that had been discarded by humans, likely non-magical humans if the remains of their labels were any indication. Until Harry arrived, these containers were treated as precious commodities.
Harry built a small forge and turned some scrap metal that had been left by someone, probably non-magical humans, into cauldrons for mixing potions and various sizes of containers for potions ingredients. The containers had tight-fitting lids so the ingredients would stay fresh for a long time. He gladly gave containers to any centaurs who asked for them. In return, they insisted on giving him potions ingredients that he and Torino did not already have, as well as other things such as arrows and a bow that one of the centaurs had made just for him. All of these trades had made Torino's family--which Harry belatedly realized was his family--one of the wealthiest in the troop.
The potions he was learning from Torino did many things. Some gave you energy when you were tired; others helped you sleep when you were nervous. Some helped heal burns, cuts, and other minor wounds. Others cured upset stomachs, headaches, and other pains. Harry soon learned that a potion that helped a centaur didn't always work for a human, and for those that did, the dosage Harry needed tended to be much smaller than would be taken by a full-grown centaur.
Other potions were more intriguing. The centaurs were very interested in predicting the future, and sometimes took special potions to put them in a trance to help them do so. Each centaur family had their own formula for divination potions, which they jealously guarded.
On clear nights, Torino tried to teach Harry how to read the stars. Torino and the other centaurs often commented on how bright the constellation Orion was, and Torino said that this indicated that Harry's destiny was to be a very strong leader. Harry was always puzzled when the centaurs referred to his "destiny." Whenever he asked Torino about it, the head of his family always said something vague about the stars and changed the subject. But Torino and some of the other centaurs frequently called Harry, "Harry Orion" or just Orion for short.
When the nights weren't clear, Harry joined in with the younger centaurs as some of the older ones told stories of the history of the magical world. Like the goblins, the centaurs viewed wizards as devious and oppressive, but the centaur history was better organized and less focused on their own people, as the goblins had been, looking more broadly at the magical world as a whole. For the first time, Harry learned about giants, magical snakes and spiders, and other creatures that he had either thought were mythical, such as unicorns and dragons, or had never heard of before, such as Hippogriffs and thestrals.
"Our homeland was once the home of many magical creatures," said Ixion. Harry realized that what he called Britain, and the goblins called Albion, the centaurs simply called "our homeland." "Before the coming of the wizards, nearly 2,000 years ago, large numbers of centaurs inhabited the hills that make up much of our island. We lived peacefully with the elves, who inhabited the forests, and the goblins, who lived in the mountains, and humans, who farmed the lowlands.
"When the wizards came, they tried to change the order of things. They could barely tolerate the non-magical humans, who they derisively call 'Muggles.' They enslaved the elves, made war on the goblins, and pushed the centaurs into the forests. The many wars have reduced our numbers and now we huddle in fear, hoping for a guide who will lead us back to freedom." At this point, she looked straight at Harry, and Nephele and many of the other younger centaurs did as well. Harry felt uncomfortable and just looked into the fire, wondering if he should feel guilty about what other wizards had done.
* *
* * *
After one of their lessons, Tom casually asked Ginny if she had ever killed any chickens. She told the story of her mother teaching her how to kill chickens and how it made her think it might be okay for magical people to kill Muggles too--without mentioning her mother's response or their visit to the orphanage.
Tom wrote, "I have a job for you, Ginny." Ginny smiled; now she would find out what Tom really wanted from her.
"Yes, Tom, what would you like me to do?"
"I need you to kill some roosters for me," he wrote. After giving her some additional instructions, he gave her a few advanced lessons so she would know how to Disillusion herself, speak Parseltongue, and protect herself from being killed by a Basilisk's eyes. "And when you are done, you will forget all about it," he said confidently. "Do you think you can do this for me on Hallowe'en?"
"Yes, Tom," she wrote.
* *
* * *
Fall was quickly turning into winter, and the edible plants, herbs, and potions ingredients that Torino and Harry had collected in the summer had gone by. Whilst Torino's family had a good store of many provisions in the cannisters that Harry had created, they could always use fresh meat. So, for the first time since he had met the centaurs, Harry went hunting.
Harry's family--Torino, Ixion, and Nephele--watched in puzzlement when Harry said he was going to hunt a rabbit for their evening meal. For centaurs such as Castor and Pollux, hunting meant leaping through the woods after game with bow and arrow. But Harry just sat down in the troop's common area and closed his eyes. Soon, a rabbit hopped out of the woods and stopped in front of Harry.
Harry began what the goblins had called his Druidic ritual of asking the rabbit if it could speak and vowing to feed it in the next life if it would feed Harry's family in this one. But before he could ask the second question, an arrow shot came out of nowhere and pinned the rabbit to the ground. Not yet dead, the rabbit screeched and kicked in pain for a few moments before succumbing to shock.
Harry looked up to see Pollux step up and pick up the arrow with the skewered rabbit. Nephele ran out in anger, yelling "That's Orion's rabbit, not yours."
"It was in the common area," Pollux smirked. "As long as it was alive, it could be anyone's rabbit."
Nephele looked like she was going to make a fuss, but Harry put his hand on her back. "Come, sister," he said. "I don't want that rabbit anyway." It was true: he didn't felt comfortable killing an animal that he had not personally vowed to feed in the next life.
* *
* * *
On Hallowe'en after sundown, but before dinner, Ginny made herself invisible using a charm she learned in one of Tom's classes--and walked out to Hagrid's chicken coops. After cancelling the Invisibility Charm, she called Dobby.
"Ginny Weasey needs Dobby's help?" the house elf eagerly asked.
"Yes, Dobby. Could you pop into the school broom locker and bring me a broom?"
Dobby popped away and almost immediately popped back.
"Thank you, Dobby. I am going to kill some chickens and keep their blood, but I don't plan to eat the chickens. Do you think you could find a use for them in your family's kitchen? I would hate to see them go to waste."
Dobby didn't flinch as Ginny grabbed the roosters, held them upside down, and used the Diffindo spell to cut off their heads. After draining most of their blood into a jar she had brought, she gave the carcasses to Dobby.
"Don't worry, Dobby. There is nothing in these chickens that will hurt your family if you serve them for dinner." Dobby took them, thanked her, and popped away. Ginny made herself invisible again and took the jar of blood and the broom to the second-floor girl's bathroom, where she knew no one except Moaning Myrtle would see them.
During the Hallowe'en feast, Ginny chatted about classes with Astoria and some of the other Slytherin first years. After dinner, she went back to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and spoke Parseltongue to open the passageway to the Chamber. She then grabbed the jar of blood and jumped on the broom and flew down into the passage. From there she opened the door to the Chamber itself and flew to the statue of Salazar Slytherin.
"Speak to me, Salazar Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four," she spoke in Parseltongue, rolling her eyes at the egotistical claim. The statue's mouth opened, and whilst she carefully stared at the floor she heard a voice in Parseltongue say, "Who dares disturb the Chamber of the great Salazar Slytherin?"
As Tom directed her, she responded saying, "I am the heir of Slytherin and I command you to stand down."
Ginny could hear the scales scrape the Chamber floor as the snake slowly slithered out. Finally, she sensed that it stopped directly in front of her. "Look me in the eye, child," the snake in Parseltongue. "I will not hurt you. . . yet." Ginny looked up and stared at the snake's yellow eyes.
"I've been fooled before by someone claiming to be the heir of Slytherin," said the snake. "There is a sword in my grotto. If you are the true heir, get the sword and bring it here."
Ginny got a little nervous. Tom hadn't written anything about a sword. But she had no choice, so she followed the length of the snake's body to the entryway and walked inside. A Geminus Lumos command revealed the room to be filled with small bones. But in the center was a sword standing, point down in the grotto floor. The visible part of the sword was almost as tall as she was, and its hilt glittered with emeralds.
Ginny grabbed the hilt and pulled, but as tall as it was she really didn't have much leverage, and it remained firmly in its place. She noticed some large, flat stones in the grotto, so she levitated them and stacked three of them beside the sword. Standing on top gave her greater leverage, and she pulled again. Nothing happened.
She could hear the snake slithering in behind her. "If you are the heir of Slytherin, you will call upon the power of Salazar Slytherin and pull out that sword," said the Basilisk. "If you are not the heir, you will die."
"I am the heir of Slytherin," Ginny shouted in English. "I call upon the power of Salazar Slytherin." After repeating the phrases in Parseltongue, she grasped the hilt again and pulled. It resisted at first, but then, like the lid of a jar of preserves when it is first opened, the sword slowly slid from the stone with a slight hiss. Despite its length, the sword was surprisingly light. Ginny decided it must be charmed to be easy to carry.
She held the sword upright in front of her and turned to face the Basilisk. "I am yours to command," hissed the snake.
"Do you have a name?" asked Ginny.
"Salazar called me Ambassadoress."
"My name is Ginevra Weasley, but my friends call me Ginny for short. May I call you Bassie?"
"If you wish."
"I understand you can petrify other creatures without killing them."
"Yes. I can choose to kill, petrify, or let other creatures live."
"Good. I do not want you to kill any sentient creature except in self defense."
"As you wish, Ginny."
"However," she said with a smile, "there are some that could use a good petrification."
* *
* * *
"Two of our students petrified!" said Snape. "I thought the Chamber of Secrets was a myth."
"No, it was actually opened after I was a student here but before I began teaching," said Headmaster Flitwick. "The headmaster at the time blamed Hagrid, but Dumbledore always thought he was innocent."
"I am reluctant to agree, but I doubt that oaf could have done something like this," said Snape.
"We need to keep this quiet, or the Ministry is likely to do something stupid like arrest Professor Kettleburn," said Flitwick. "Mr. Filch, can you remove those bloodstains from the wall?"
"I'll do my best," he said. "If only I could use the thumb screws, I'd show whoever did this the folly of their ways."
"Madam Pince, I believe there are several books in the library that discuss the Chamber of Secrets," said the diminutive headmaster. "Could you move those books to the restricted section? We don't want to frighten the students unnecessarily."
"Yes, headmaster. I'll do it first thing in the morning."
* *
* * *
"Dear Tom, The most horrible thing happened last night. A student was killed and another was petrified. Someone painted a sign on the second-floor corridor wall in blood that read, 'Enemies of the heir beware: The Chamber of Secrets has been opened.'"
"That's terrible, Ginny. Were any of your friends hurt?"
"No, the one who was killed was Muggleborn, whilst the one who was petrified was a half-blood." As she wrote this, it dawned on Ginny that all of her friends were, in fact, purebloods.
"That's good. I'm glad you and your friends are alright."
"What do you think it means? Who is the heir? What is the Chamber of Secrets?"
"There is a legend that the Chamber of Secrets was a room in the castle built by Salazar Slytherin. Only the heir of Slytherin could open it."
"Did Slytherin have any heirs?"
"No one knows. Would you like to have your next week's worth of lessons now?"
Ginny accepted the change of subject, and started auditing Tom's third year of Hogwarts classes.
* *
* * *
"I have an astronomy essay due next Monday, December 7, on the significance of the Orion constellation," Ginny wrote in the diary.
"I wrote an essay on the very same subject when I was a student at Hogwarts," Tom wrote back. "Would you like me to present you with my memories of the library research I did?"
"Yes, Tom, that would be great." After quickly absorbing these memories, Ginny then went through the usual week's worth of classes.
"The Reducio spell can shrink anything to a much smaller size," lectured Tom's Charm's professor. "However, neither it nor the Engorgio spell work on witches or wizards. You can use either on non-magical animals, but for magical animals, the Engorgio spell only works to restore them to their normal size after being Reducioed; you can't Engorgio them larger than their normal size."
"Who would want to make a dragon bigger than its normal size anyway?" asked one of the students. Almost everyone laughed, but Ginny noted that Tom did not.
After the lessons, Ginny was about to close the diary when Tom started writing again.
"Tomorrow night, I would like you to return to the Chamber. Release the monster and have it kill or petrify a few more Muggleborns. Then I want you to forget everything that happened."
"Yes, Tom," Ginny obediently wrote as the words faded into the diary.
Chapter 7: Chapter Seven: The Hunters
Ginny had planned to do her Astronomy essay tonight, but with Tom's help she had been able to write it the night before. Although she didn't use Tom's words, she did rely on his research. She doubted that there had been any new books or articles on the Orion constellation published since Tom had been a student at Hogwarts, so the books and papers he read should be sufficient.
So she was free after dinner to go to the second-floor girl's bathroom. Grabbing the broom that she had left under an Invisiblity Charm in the bathroom after her last visit, she opened the Chamber and swooped down the tube, listening to the Chamber entrance grind closed behind her. Once she arrived in the main Chamber, she called for Bassie, who slithered through the opening behind the statue of Salazar Slytherin.
"Bassie, don't you get hungry down here?" she asked in Parseltongue.
"I eat rats and mice," hissed Bassie. "It takes a lot to keep me full, but I won't die of hunger."
"How would you like something bigger?" suggested Ginny. "We can go to the Forbidden Forest; I bet you can find a nice deer or something that would fill you up for weeks."
"That would be wonderful," said Bassie. "I haven't left this Chamber in a long time."
"I'm going to use the Reducio spell to make you small enough for me to carry you. Then we'll fly out to the forest and I'll enlarge you again. Please don't eat any unicorns or sentient creatures such as centaurs. But we should be able to find you something else good to eat."
After Reducioing Bassie, the snake wound herself around Ginny's arm. Then Ginny jumped on the broom and flew up the tube, hissing the "open" command as she approached the entrance. Once in the bathroom, the made herself invisible and walked to the Hogwarts front entrance. Quietly going out the door, she jumped on the broom and flew to the edge of the forest, casting a warming spell to ward off the December chill.
She knew the forest was supposed to be a dangerous place, but with Bassie by her side, she felt perfectly safe. Once under the cover of trees, she enlarged Bassie and the snake slithered off with Ginny quietly following on her broom.
After an hour of exploring the forest, their efforts were rewarded when Bassie spotted a wild boar digging for roots and insects. Bassie crept up on it slowly, and before it knew she was there, she was able to strike suddenly with her fangs, killing it almost instantly. She then dislocated her jaws and swallowed it whole. Although she was much bigger than the boar, a small lump was visible in her body where the boar was passing through.
"That was excellent," she said. "Thank you for permitting me to hunt, Mistress Ginny."
"Please, just call me Ginny. I'd like to think we are friends." As she said it in Parseltongue, Ginny noticed that the word "friends" translated into something closer to "littermates."
"I've never had a friend before. What do friends do?"
"Well, for one thing, they hunt and eat together."
"Then I would like to be your friend."
Bassie moved a little slower now that she was carrying the extra weight of the boar, so Ginny descended and walked beside her.
"So, you've never met another Basalisk?"
"I had a mate once," said Bassie, "but he went away with Salazar Slytherin many years ago." Ginny noticed that the word Bassie used for "mate" sounded something like "littermates" but translated closer to "spouse."
Whether it was the noise from Ginny's walking or something else, their passage was somehow noticed and suddenly they were confronted by large creatures with bodies of horses and trunks of men--men who were holding bows and arrows aimed at Bassie. The snake hissed loudly and Ginnie immediately dashed in front to stand between the snake and at least some of the arrows.
"Hold your fire!" ordered Ginny.
"This forest is dangerous for younglings such as yourself," said one of the centaurs. "Do you not know what this dark creature is with you?"
"Bassie is not a dark creature; she is my friend. And I did not feel in any danger until you pointed an arrow at me!"
"This friend, as you call it, could petrify or kill you with a glance."
"My friend has taken a vow to never harm another sentient being except in self defense," promised Ginny. "She may hunt deer and boar in these woods from time to time, and if you leave her be she will do you no harm."
Some of the centaurs lowered their bows. "We will leave her be if she leaves us unharmed," said the centaur. "But be warned: not everything in these woods is as tolerant of others hunting in territories they regard as their own. Orion is very bright tonight."
"I think we can take care of ourselves," said Ginny, not knowing what to make of the last thing the centaur said. She curtseyed to the leader. "With your permission, we will take our leave of these woods."
The centaurs parted and they continued to the edge of the woods, where Ginny Reducioed Bassie (complete with the lump that used to be a wild boar). Once inside the castle, she headed for the second floor bathroom, but was intercepted by Flint and Nott.
"This is the firstie who has been teaching other Slytherin girls to resist tradition," said Nott.
"Then I think it's time to teach her the meaning of the rule," said Flint; "boys do what they want, girls do what they're told."
"I think it's time to teach you that traditions change," said Ginny. "Engorgio!"
* *
* * *
Although Harry could call animals to him whenever he was hungry, sometimes he enjoyed practicing with his bow and arrow. Part of the enjoyment was being able to run with Nephele, who unlike her father was much more interested in hunting than in gathering plants or brewing potions. Nephele was the first friend he ever had who was approximately his own age. Actually, she was much younger than him as centaurs matured much faster than humans, but both were regarded among the troop as teenagers.
Although Harry's skill as an archer was increasing, Harry himself never killed any animal that was running from him as he hadn't had the opportunity to offer what the goblins called the Druid's prayer. But he would rejoice with Nephele when she made a kill and help her to trim it out and carry it home.
* *
* * *
After most of the students boarded the Hogwarts Express to go home for Christmas, the teachers gathered together in the Headmaster's office for a faculty and staff meeting. Two more students had been petrified early in the month, bringing the total to four.
"Are we certain there is no other source of Mandrake root?" asked Flitwick.
"Yes, I've enquired with magical apothecaries and nurseries throughout Britain, and none of them have any mature roots," said Professor Sprout.
"We are fortunate that there have been no deaths, only petrifications," said Flitwick. "Otherwise, there would probably be calls to close the school."
"Isn't it peculiar," said Professor Snape, "that the only students petrified by the so-called heir of Slytherin are other Slytherins? What kind of a message is this person or monster trying to send?"
Flitwick looked at the list: Flint, Nott, Crabb, Goyle. "Not just Slytherins," he said. "If I am not mistaken, all of these students are also children of people who were accused of being Death Eaters in the last war."
Snape bristled. "That could be just a coincidence. We know there were Death Eaters in other houses too."
"Yes, but no children of Sirius Black are enrolled at the present time," said Flitwick with a slight smile. "I understand your desire to protect your house, but we must be open to all possibilities.
"Turning to other business," he continued when no one said anything, "who were some of the outstanding first years this term?"
"Miss Ginevra Weasley started out slow in my class," said Clarinda Perspicacity, the Charms professor, "but by the middle of October she was consistently the first one to learn every spell."
"I had the same experience," said Professor Flamel. "At first I thought she was practically a Squib, but by the end of the term she seemed equal to any second year and even some third years."
"Yes, Miss Weasley has also become an excellent essayist," said Snape. "In her first papers, it seemed she hardly knew how to write, but by December her work was easily the match of Miss Granger in her first year."
"There's a Weasley girl in Hogwarts?" asked Madam Pince. "Does she have red hair like the other Weasleys? That's strange, because I've never seen her in the library."
"Is it possible you might have missed her?"
"That Weasley hair is unmistakable," said Pince. "I assume this Weasley is in Gryffindor like all of the rest?"
"No," said Snape with a hint of pride, "she's in Slytherin."
"Never seen her," said Pince decisively.
"That's peculiar," observed Flamel. "Her essays have extraordinary detail. How could a first-year write such excellent essays without doing research in the library?"
"We'll have to watch for signs of cheating," said Flitwick. "But remember, Miss Weasley must be considered innocent until proven guilty."
At the beginning of the second week of the new term, Professor Perspicacity asked Ginny to stay after class.
"Yes, professor?" Ginny asked after everyone else had left.
"You wrote an excellent essay on the ten uses of the Scourgify charm," said Perspicacity.
"Thank you, professor."
"I notice that your essay refers to 27 unique books and other references."
"Yes, professor, I wanted to be complete."
"Where did you find these books?"
"Why, in the library, of course."
"The library is right down the hall. Will you show me where you found Buchanan's Scourgification through the Ages?"
"Of course, professor," said Ginny as they headed out the door, "but why?"
"Just show me."
Ginny blinked. She had been to the library many times in Riddle's memories, but never on her own. She hoped the books hadn't been moved around too much since Riddle had been at Hogwarts.
She was surprised to find Professor Snape and a pinch-faced woman with dark brown hair in the library staring at her as she and Professor Perspicacity walked in the door. She gave it little thought but headed for what she remembered was the household charms section. The Scourify books were on a different shelf than she remembered, but in the same aisle, and it took only a moment to find the book Professor Perspicacity had requested.
"Here you go, professor," she said, handing the book over.
"Thank you, Miss Weasley," said the professor, who then set the book on a reshelving table and turned and left the room.
Ginny walked over to her head of house. "What that was about?" she said aloud.
"Miss Weasley," said Snape, "have you met Madam Pince?"
"No, I haven't. It is nice to meet you."
"Miss Weasley, here is your latest essay for potions. Like your other work, it is excellent. But some people have wondered how you have done such detailed research without ever being seen in the library."
"I guess I just fly under the radar."
"What?"
"It's a Muggle term my father uses. I think it means keeping low so you won't be seen."
She reached for the essay, but Snape held it high as he dramatically pulled his wand from his robe. As he pointed the wand at her essay, she caught a glimpse of a tattoo on his arm. "Plagiarius revelio." Nothing happened. "If it had glowed red, you would have been expelled for plagiarism," he said, glaring at her.
"Then it is a good thing it didn't glow red," she said.
"I assigned this essay to you a week ago. You cite 41 unique sources, including three that were moved to the restricted section of the library in November. How did you find them if they were in the restricted section?"
Ginny's eyes flicked over to where she knew the restricted section was located. "Perhaps I read them before they were moved and kept good notes."
He stared at her as if he were trying to read her mind. "That's a very Slytherin answer," he said.
"Thank you, professor. May I go now?"
"Yes. But Madam Pince had better see you next time you do research for your essays."
"Yes, professor."
Later in January, Ginny was eating dinner with Astoria when she--and everyone else in the Great Hall--overheard a debate going on at the Gryfindor table. "They're slaves!" cried a shrill voice that she recognized as her brother's classmate, Hermione Granger's. "How can the wizard world live with itself by enslaving another race?"
"But Hermione," said Neville, "the elves like to work. They aren't really slaves; they love to serve their families."
"If they aren't slaves, how much do they get paid per hour?" asked Hermione.
"Nothing, but that's because they like to work."
"The worst punishment you can give a house elf is to free them," said a blonde girl whose name was Lavender something. "If they are free, they go insane."
"Those are the same kinds of excuses people have used to justify slavery throughout history," said Hermione. "How do you know this is true? Have you ever met a free elf?"
"No, because they don't want to be free, so they do their best to make their families happy," assured Neville.
That evening, Ginny was going to study in the library, but she found an empty classroom instead. "Dobby?" she called. Nothing happened, so she decided Dobby must be busy, and she worked on her Astronomy essay.
After a half hour or so, Dobby popped into the room. "I is sorry, Miss Ginny, but Dobby is busy serving dinner to his family."
"That's alright, Dobby," assured Ginny. "Your family comes first. We can talk later if you like."
"No, Dobby is free for now. What can I do for Ginny Weasey?"
"I just have some questions for you, Dobby. Is it true that house elves like to be slaves to wizard families?"
Dobby thought for awhile, wondering if he could answer this question without saying anything bad about his family. Deciding that he could, he said, "Like all intelligent creatures, house elves like to have a purpose in life. But we is not like being slaves."
"Is it true that house elves go insane if they are freed by their masters?"
Dobby furrowed his brow, and said, "No, that is a tale wizards tell to justify their enslavement of house elves."
"How did house elves become slaves, anyway?" asked Ginny.
That was a question no one had ever asked Dobby and one he longed to answer. "Many lifetimes of elves ago, you would call it about 600 years, elves were free and lived in the forests of Albion. Wizards made war on the elves, and evil wizards cast a spell enslaving the elves to their service. Now elves must follow their masters' orders unless they are freed."
"Is there any way to end this spell?"
Dobby looked around to make sure no one was listening. "All elves know how to end the spell," he confided in a low voice. "If ever wizard families free 500 elves, the enchantment will be broken and all elves will be free. We sometimes tell mean wizards that freeing us is punishment because we is hoping they free 500 of us. But," he added sorrowfully, "since that time, no more than a handful of elves have ever been free at the same time."
"Thank you for trusting me with this secret, Dobby," said Ginny. "I don't know what I can do, but I will try and help the house elves win their freedom."
"Miss Ginny Weasey is truly a great and merciful witch," said Dobby. He then stiffened slightly. "My family is calling now," he said.
"Okay, I will call you later," said Ginny as Dobby popped away.
By February, Ginny was so far ahead of her classmates in her studies that she had lots of free time. She accelerated her lessons with Tom slightly, sometimes sitting through ten to twelve weeks of his classes each week. After each week's worth of classes, she carefully conversed with Tom about his life and history.
"I don't remember either of my parents," he said. "I grew up in an orphanage, where I was bullied by some of the older children. Occasionally, bad things happened to some of the bullies, but it was not until Professor Dumbledore came to tell me I had a place in Hogwarts that I understood that these were caused by my accidental magic."
"I am sorry to hear you were bullied, Tom," Ginny wrote. "I grew up in a large family, so I can't imagine what it must have been like for you living in an orphanage. But I do know that sometimes my older brothers would do unkind things, especially to my youngest brother Ron. I often had to protect him from their bullying."
"I wish I had had a friend like you when I was in the orphanage," Tom said. Ginny privately wondered: if he had had such a friend, would he have still turned into an evil wizard?
* *
* * *
Spring was coming, and Harry's metalworking and hunting skills had made Torino's family the wealthiest in the troop. Whilst Harry happily hunted and gave the meat to any family that wanted it, his presence had upset the centaur economy. Most upset was Pollux, who seemed to regard Harry's method of hunting as an affront, not to mention a threat to his position as the troop's heir-apparent leader.
"This wizard casts a shadow on the noble art of hunting," said Pollux one evening when Harry had brought home a deer but Pollux came empty handed. "He would make us weak and unable to hunt for ourselves. What will we do when he leaves us? Wizards have pretended to be our friends before, but always ended up betraying the centaurs."
Harry looked ready to protest, but Torino motioned for him to remain quiet. Though relatively wealthy, as wizards might count, Torino knew that his family lacked high standing in the centaur troop. Fortunately, others who Harry had helped were willing to speak up.
"Harry has shared his meat and his tools with everyone in the troop, and asked for only tokens in exchange," said one. "This winter was particularly harsh; without him many of us might not survive another one like that."
Pollux bristled. "Do you doubt my ability to hunt?"
"Peace, Pollux," said Castor. "No one is questioning your skills."
At his sire's orders, Pollux was silent, but Harry didn't need to be a fortuneteller to see that Pollux wasn't entirely satisfied.
* *
* * *
By the end of April, Ginny had sat through all seven years of Tom's schooling at Hogwarts. She was particularly fascinated with History of Magic; apparently, Binns had been a much better teacher when he was still alive. In the last year of that class, he compared magical and Muggle governments over several centuries, showing how well monarchy, democracy, feudalism, and other forms of government worked for individuals and society as a whole.
Having run out of classes, Ginny then asked Tom to share with her the things he learned when he wasn't at Hogwarts. Confident that she was in his power, he showed her how, the summer before his seventh year, he found out about his mother's family and their connection to Slytherin. He went to Little Hangleton, where his mother's father was on his deathbed. As Ginny watched Tom's memory, Marvolo Gaunt, recognizing his grandson's magical power, gave him a ring that, he said, had once belonged to Salazar Slytherin.
Tom left the Gaunt's shack and climbed the stairs to the Riddle's grand manor house, where he knocked on the door and asked the person who answered for a meeting with Tom Riddle, Sr. On being led into his father's office, the man was initially cordial, but when Tom introduced himself as Tom Riddle, Jr., the older man flew into a rage.
"You are no son of mine," he yelled. "That woman tricked me. I never loved her; she was just after my money. If you think you are getting any of this estate, you are sorely mistaken. Now get out, before I throw you out!" When Tom tried to reason with him, Riddle Sr. pulled a gun and pointed it at him. "I am the lord of this estate. I can kill you and no one will ever question it."
In self-defense, Tom Jr. pulled out his wand, but that frightened Tom Sr. who began firing. Tom Jr. cast a powerful shield that threw his father into a wall, where he collapsed and died.
"That must have been terrible for you, Tom," wrote Ginny. "All you wanted was for him to at least acknowledge you as his son." Of course, Ginny knew that such acknowledgement would require that Riddle Sr. give part of his estate to Tom.
"My father never loved me or my mother," Tom wrote sadly. Ginny was so sympathetic that he then showed her how he used the death of his father to turn Slytherin's ring into a Horcrux. "I didn't intend to profit by my father's death," he said later, "but it helped me achieve immortality."
The next day, as the students were leaving Defense class, Professor Flamel said, "Miss Weasley, would you stay behind a moment please?"
As soon as everyone was gone and the door closed, Flamel pointed his wand at her and said, "Stupify!" Ginny immediately put up a Protego shield. Flamel then said, "Petrificus Totalicus!" Ginny dodged and yelled, "Expelliarmus!" Her spell hit the professor, and his wand flew into her hand.
"What is this all about, Professor?"
"Excellent work, Miss Weasley," he said. "You are not only capable of first-year spells, you have mastered second-year spells as well. How would you like to be put in the third-year defense class next year?"
"You mean this was just a test? I guess I would like that, very much."
"I'll recommend to the headmaster that you be allowed to do that," said Flamel, taking his wand from her. "You may go."
* *
* * *
"It's time for you to go on your vision quest, Harry," Torino announced one sunny morning. Nephele looked excited that her brother would undertake this rite of passage. "I have brewed for you our family visioning potion."
"But centaur potions don't always work on me," Harry protested. "What if this one doesn't work, or worse, poisons me?"
"It may or may not work, but it won't poison you," said Torino reassuringly. "I have measured a dosage appropriate for your size. Take it with you into a part of the forest that you call your own. Drink the potion and see what you see. You may see events that happened in the past, events that will happen in the future, or events that might have happened but won't because of some decision you made. Only you can interpret which is which."
Harry walked a couple of miles to a meadow that he particularly enjoyed, and where he had hunted without interference from Pollux or the other hunting centaurs, and found a comfortable place to sit down. Drinking the potion, he waited a few minutes, then began to get dizzy. Laying down, he seemed to fall asleep.
He had many visions. He saw himself fighting Quirrel, only it was inside a stone room that morphed into the moor where they had actually fought. He saw a red-haired girl, who looked like the one he had seen in the town on the Otter River, writing in a diary. He saw himself swimming in deep waters, fighting merpeople while he tried to rescue a blonde girl--who then morphed into a brown-haired boy who he was rescuing with the help of merpeople. He saw himself tied to a stone marker, whilst a man was cutting his arm with a sharp blade--which then morphed into another boy being cut by the blade, who he then untied from the marker. He saw himself holding a wand facing a snake-faced man, who then morphed into the red-haired girl while his wand morphed into a sword, and then the girl morphed back into the snake-faced man.
The sun was setting when he finally woke up, and he groggily got to his feet to stagger back to the centaur village. Nephele met him just outside the encampment. "Shh," she said. "They are talking about you."
"So you think this wizard is the Orion foretold to us in prophecy?" he heard Pollux ask as they quietly approached. Several centaurs made affirmative noises. "Then he must prove it. I challenge him to defeat the monsters that threaten our troop." This led to a new round of debate that left Harry puzzled.
"Orion must fulfill his destiny," said one. "It is not for us to question how he does it."
As the debate cooled down, Harry and the rest of Torino's family retreated to their shelter. "What was that all about?" asked Harry. "What is my destiny supposed to be?"
"There is a prophecy that foretells of a hunter who will lead the centaurs to freedom," said Torino, as Ixion and Nephele nervously looked on. "According to the prophecy, we will know this hunter when he defeats our enemy who lives in the forests to the south. Many of the centaurs in the troop believe you are the hunter of this prophecy. I have not told you before because you are so young and I did not want to frighten you."
"Do you think I should challenge this enemy?"
"I cannot ask you to do that," said Torino. "You are a part of my family and under my protection. You would be welcome to stay here as long as you like even if you could not hunt or make the other things you produce."
"What can you tell me of this enemy?"
"The monsters are larger and more powerful than any centaur," said Torino ominously. "They are armed with predatory claws, jaws, and poison. They hunt in small numbers, so as a troop, with bows and arrows, we can defend ourselves, but one-on-one they will always defeat us. That is why we never venture into the southern forest."
"Are they sentient?"
"I don't know," admitted Torino. "Even if they are, they prefer killing to talking."
* *
* * *
Tom continued to show Ginny his memories of learning many spells independently from Hogwarts. She recognized that the Ministry would consider some of them to be dark, as they could do nothing but harm to other people.
Tonight, he showed her how Myrtle had been unintentionally killed by the Basalisk she knew as Bassie. "I felt terrible that the snake under my command had killed this poor girl," he said.
Whilst he felt sorry about Myrtle's death, he took the opportunity created by it to make the Horcrux out of his diary. That was pretty much the end of his memories since the Tom Riddle of the diary knew nothing about what happened to the real Tom Riddle after the diary was created.
At the end of her session, he asked her to bring the diary with her to the Chamber of Secrets the next night. She promised she would.
That night, Ginny munched on a candy bar as she and Bassie headed to the Forbidden Forest for one of their regular hunting trips. Bassie asked what she was eating, and Ginny told her it was a candy bar that was "crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside." Later, Bassie found a nice, large Acromanula that she swallowed with relish. "I like these," she said. "They are crunchy on the outside, but soft on the inside." Ginny couldn't tell if the Basalisk was trying to be funny, but decided that snakes had a subtle sense of humor.
Ginny put an Invisibility charm on Bassie before entering Hogwarts. After going upstairs to the second-floor, she met Draco Malfoy.
"Weasley! It is nearly curfew. You should be going down to the Slytherin common room, not up here."
"I'll make it to the common room before curfew, Malfoy. Besides, you aren't headed in that direction either."
"Remember the Slytherin tradition," Draco said. "Boys do what they want, girls do what they're told."
"That was the wrong thing to say, Malfoy." Ginny waved her hand, making Bassie visible again. Before Draco could do more than squeal in fright, he was petrified. "You boys never learn, do you," said Ginny as she and the snake proceeded to the girl's bathroom.
* *
* * *
"Headmaster Flitwick, I've much enjoyed my year at Hogwarts," said Professor Flamel.
"It sounds like you don't plan to stay another year," said Flitwick sadly.
"No, I've searched through your library, but I haven't found any information that would help me track down who fought in the battle near my home in Devon. Being here has allowed me to make contact with wizards and witches throughout the realm, but no one else has reported any dark wizard activity. If I am to find the answers, they won't be here."
"Everyone thinks you have done an excellent job teaching, and I don't look forward to trying to replace you," said Flitwick. "But I am used to it; if there was a curse on the job, as rumor has it, it hasn't been lifted yet."
* *
* * *
The next day, after classes, when most people were in the Great Hall eating dinner, Ginny took the diary down to the Chamber. "What would you like me to do now, Tom?" she wrote in it.
At his direction, she pulled out her wand and touched it to the diary, saying, "Homenum Restorem." At once, a ghostly image of the eighteen-year-old Tom Riddle appeared.
"My, aren't you handsome, Tom," said Ginny with a smile. "The girls must have been all over you at Hogwarts. Funny, you never showed me any dates you went on. Were you afraid I would be jealous?"
"I lost interest in girls after creating my first Horcrux," Tom said.
"That's a shame, Tom," said Ginny. "Does that mean you won't want to go with me on the next Hogsmeade weekend?"
Tom looked at her with a disgust that could have been because she was six years younger than him. But she guessed it was something more: From the look on his face, Ginny realized that, in seeking to live forever through Horcruxes, Tom lost the interest in and capability of having children of his own.
"I am afraid there won't be any more Hogsmeade weekends for you," said Tom grimly. "I need your body and soul to restore my body."
"I don't think so, Tom," said Ginny casually. "You've been a very nice companion and teacher, but I'm not giving you my body."
"You don't really have a choice," said Tom, who then spoke in Parseltongue to Slytherin's statue. The statue moved and Bassie slithered out. "Petrify her," said Tom in Parseltongue. Instead, the snake moved by Ginny's side and faced Tom, hissing quietly.
"What, you thought she would be loyal to you?" asked Ginny. "You weren't even nice to her when you met her 50 years ago. I've been taking her hunting every month." Indeed, the lump formed by the Acromantula Bassie had eaten the night before was still visible on her body.
"What makes you think you have the power to defy me, little girl?" cried Tom. "Do you know who I am?"
"You mean your little acronym? 'I am Lord Voldemort'?" said Ginny with a roll of her eyes. "Yes, I know about that. So what? The real Voldemort was defeated by a toddler nearly twelve years ago. What makes you think I would have a hard time defeating a mere memory of him?"
"I am the most powerful wizard in the world," declared the spirit. "Even without a body or a wand, I can defeat you," he said and cast a wandless cutting curse that struck Ginny's arm. She jumped in pain, then looked at him in defiance.
"I could have killed you, but I need your body and soul," he said. "You will submit to me."
Ginny responded by casting a powerful shield. "Your forget, Tom: I know everything you know. In a duel I could easily defeat you."
"You've released me from the diary," said Tom firmly. "If I can't have your body, I'll have someone else's. I bet there are some nice half-bloods petrified in the hospital wing!" He turned as if to go.
"No, Tom," said Ginny. "It is time for you to return to the diary." She pointed at it meaningfully.
"Who do you think you are that you think you can force me back?" he challenged.
She pulled out the sword of Slytherin. "Unlike you, I am the true heir of Slytherin," said Ginny. "I wonder what would happen to the diary if I pierced it with this sword."
"Ha! I made that diary to be impervious to all metals, even goblin metal," said Tom triumphantly. "You can't hurt me."
"Yes, but--as I learned in one of your classes--even the most magical objects are vulnerable to Basalisk venom. Bassie, would you bite the diary for me?"
"No!" shouted Tom. "I --I'll get back in. But," he added pathetically, "will you keep writing to me?"
Ginny smiled. "Of course, Tom. I am sure we have many more memories we can share."
"The incantation to put me back in is 'Homenum Protectem,'" said Tom reluctantly.
When Ginny touched the diary with her wand and muttered the words, Tom's image vanished into the book. She hastily healed her bleeding arm, noting that the injury would leave a scar in the shape of a snake.
When Ginny entered the Great Hall for breakfast the next morning, her head of house approached her. "The headmaster asked me to escort you to his office," he said.
On entering the office, she noticed that Draco's father, who she recognized from their encounter in Flourish & Blotts, was in the office glaring at her. Several more people were there, evidently the parents of some of the other students who had been petrified.
"Miss Weasley," said Headmaster Flitwick. "We've managed to unpetrify the students who were petrified this year. They aren't sure how they were petrified, but the last thing they all seem to remember was talking to you."
"How would I manage to petrify so many students?" asked Ginny, "especially considering that several of them were years ahead of me in school."
"We're not saying you did it," said Flitwick, "we just want to know if you can help us find out what happened. If more students are petrified, we may have to close the school."
"I am afraid I can't help you," said Ginny. "I do remember talking to each of the students who were petrified. They were all very rude, telling me that, under Slytherin house tradition, I had to do things that I didn't want to do. If rudeness leads to petrification," she said glancing at Snape, "then you should teach your students some manners." The potions professor bristled, but did not say anything.
Flitwick watched the interaction between Snape and his student in puzzlement. Then, with a glance at Malfoy, he said, "Very well, Miss Weasley. You may go."
When Ginny emerged into the deserted corridor outside of the headmaster's office, she discovered someone had followed her down the stairs.
"Miss Weasley," drawled the man with long blond hair. "How did you get sorted into Slytherin, anyway? You don't seem to have the intelligence for it."
"You'd be surprised, Lucius," she said.
He did look surprised that she familiarly called him by his first name. But he leaned over and whispered, "I know it was you who petrified my son and the other students. When I get the proof, I'll have you thrown out of here."
"I know it was you who put this diary in my cauldron last August," said Ginny. "This diary was intended to kill me and bring back the Dark Lord. But I don't need proof: I think I'll just declare a blood feud against the Malfoy family right now."
"A blood feud between the Weasleys and the Malfoys?" Malfoy laughed. "There may be a lot of you Weasleys, but your power is pathetic; we would wipe you out in less than a day. Besides, little girl, only the head of a family may declare a blood feud."
"I meant a blood feud between the Slytherins and the Malfoys," she said, whipping out the sword and pointing it at his chest. "Are you ready to defend yourself against the true heir of Slytherin?" Malfoy made to pull his wand from his cane, but she merely lowered the sword and pressed its point against his crotch. Her voice deepened into a sibilant whisper.
"If you finish pulling that wand out, Lucius, then you and your son will truly be the last of the Malfoys." Her eyes flared red, freezing him in place as he remembered the last time he had heard a voice that sounded like that. "I will refrain from declaring a blood feud," she continued, "on one condition."
"What is your condition, my Lady," he said nervously.
"Dobby!" she cried. The little elf appeared.
"Ginny Weasey calls," started Dobby, but when he saw Malfoy he shrank in terror.
"I want you to free all your house elves," said Ginny. "Then offer to pay them to work for you. I don't know if they will stay with you, but if you want to continue receiving their services, you must pay them whatever they consider is fair. Dobby, however, stays with me."
"Free my house elves?" said Malfoy in a moment of rage. "They'll go insane! What makes you think I'll pay insane elves to work in my home?"
His rage disappeared when she pressed the sword against his robes, cutting them slightly. "If your elves go insane, then you can buy more, free them, and offer to pay them as well. But if I ever hear of you keeping house elves as slaves again, I will declare this blood feud. As powerful as the Malfoys and your allies are, I don't think you can stand up to the power of the Slytherins and my allies."
Malfoy wasn't sure who the allies of the Slytherins, who as far as he knew had died out as a family generations ago, might be. But until he knew, he decided caution was the better part of valor. Straightening up to his full height, he said, "It will be as you say, my Lady." He took his glove off and handed it to Dobby. "Dobby, you are free. I will go now to free my other house elves." She nodded and he strode off.
Dobby's eyes opened wide and he ran over and gave Ginny a hug. "I is free! Ginny Weasey is freed me!" he cried. Then he sobered up. "Do you want me to bond myself to your service?" he asked, trembling.
"No, Dobby. We need to free 500 elves so the whole elf race can be free. How many elves does Malfoy own?"
"Five," said Dobby. "Well, four now that he has freed me."
"Then that's five down and 495 to go," said Ginny. "Now we need to figure out a fair wage for Malfoy to pay his freed elves." They argued for a while, with Ginny starting at a Galleon a day and Dobby at a Galleon a month, but they finally settled on a Galleon a week. With that, Dobby popped away to make certain that Lucius freed his other elves and to tell them how much they should ask for when they were freed.
As Ginny headed to her common room, she was overtaken by Professor Snape, who had come downstairs from the headmaster's office too late to witness her confrontation with Malfoy.
"Miss Weasley," he said, "what did you mean when you talked about Slytherin house traditions?"
"Several Slytherin boys told me that, in Slytherin, the boys do what they want and the girls do what they're told. They seemed to think that this tradition entitled them to take advantage of any Slytherin girl they wanted."
Snape thought back to when he was a student at Hogwarts. He remembered this tradition, which he himself had rarely made use of, since he was in love with a girl from another house, but which he never personally questioned.
"It seems to me that this tradition is dying fast," he said, "thanks to a certain bat-bogey hex that most of the girls in Slytherin appear to have somehow learned."
"Yes, I think so too," said Ginny with a slight smile.
They walked together quietly for a few moments. As they approached the door to the common room, he said, "Please let the girls in Slytherin know that they may continue to use the bat bogey hex to change this tradition. However, I don't want to see any more students petrified. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, professor, absolutely clear," said Ginny.
Chapter 8: Chapter Eight: The Trip to Egypt
The next morning Harry arose early and, armed with his goblin knife, the sword he forged himself, and his centaur bow and arrows, he walked out of the common area and looked upon the southern forest. Pollux, who was up for an early hunt, saw him and trotted over.
"If you don't challenge our ancient enemy, your family will lose face," said the centaur with a gleam in his eye. "If you do challenge them, you will be killed, and your family will still lose face." Pollux laughed. "Either way, I will benefit."
"No one is trying to displace you, Pollux," said Harry. "But if my family and friends have an enemy to the south that only I can defeat, then I must do what I can to help." With that Harry grimly marched down the hillside towards the creek that seemed to mark the boundary between the centaurs and their enemies.
The centaur village quickly disappeared from view as Harry followed small game trails up the densely forested hillside. Though the goblins had taught him to steal quietly through a forest, he made no effort to hide his passage, even stopping to relieve himself knowing this would leave a scent trail for predators.
At midday, Harry knew he would soon have to turn back if he wanted to spend the night in the centaur village, and in the back of his mind he was glad not to have encountered any monsters. As if that very thought jinxed his journey, a distant roar sent a chill down his spine. He pulled out his sword and ran up the hill, hoping to find some high ground.
Before he reached the ridge top, however, he heard another roar coming from above and the sound of something running through the brush. Harry stopped in a clearing and suddenly a large animal appeared running toward him very fast. It had the body and mane of a lion, the head of a very large man, and a long tail with a sharp point. With a deafening roar, the animal landed a few feet away and would have leaped on top of Harry, but Harry waved his hand and petrified the animal in its place. The momentum of the animal's tail threw it forward and the sharp point was headed straight for Harry's face, but Harry swung his sword and cut off the end of the tail.
Harry then pressed the point of his blade to the creature's throat. "Speak, if you can," said Harry. With another wave of his hand, Harry released the beast's head, so he could talk, whilst keeping the rest of him petrified. "Who are you, and why do you attack before finding out who you 're trying to kill?"
"I am Mountbatten, king of the Devon Manticores," said the creature. "Who are you, wizardling, and what makes you dare to stop me from hunting in my forest?" said the creature.
"I am Harry Rabbitslayer Orion," saying his goblin name in Gobbledygook.
The Manticore gave an exaggerated sniff. "You stink of centaur. We do not trust wizards, who hunt us for sport, and we do not allow centaurs or goblins to invade our forest."
"I am a hunter, too," admitted Harry. "Though I have taken a vow never to kill a sentient creature, yet I once had to do so in self defense. Please do not make me break this vow again." He lowered his sword. "I will release you if you will make a similar vow to never kill another sentient being except in self-defense." He shook his long hair back, which happened to expose his forehead.
Mountbatten's eyes widened, then he lowered his head. "I vow on my life, Harry Orion, never to hunt or kill another sentient being, except in self-defense. I will also order the members of my pride to take the same vow."
Harry waved his hand and the Manticore stumbled slightly as he regained his footing. Before they had a chance to speak further, three more Manticores, two males and a female, leaped into the clearing. Harry noticed that the larger male had an open wound on one of his front legs and limped slightly because of it.
"Who is this wizardling, your highness," said the larger male deferentially but with a hint of rebelliousness, "and why have you allowed him to live?"
"This is Harry Orion Athailt," said the large Manticore with a look in his eye that made Harry think the others might place some significance on the last word. "He has persuaded me to take a vow to no longer hunt or kill other sentient beings except in self-defense, and I ask you to make the same vow."
The three Manticores' eyes widened in surprise, but after scrutinizing Harry for a moment, they knelt down on their forelegs and made the vow. Mountbatten then introduced Harry to his brother, Hal; his son, Alfred; and his queen, Ernestine.
"Come, King Mountbatten," said Harry. "I want to introduce you to the centaurs who have given me shelter for the last several months so that your pride may make peace with their troop."
Mountbatten looked at the sun, now well passed midday. "I will join you, but if we are to get there before sundown, you had best ride on my back. I don't think your stubby legs can move as fast as mine."
Harry laughed, then looked at the Manticore's truncated tail. "I'm sorry I had to cut off the end of your tail," he said.
"That's alright," said the king, "It'll grow back." Then he gave a sly look and said, "But the venom does give a nice taste to the meat."
Harry climbed on the Manticore's back, and with a roar the four Manticores bounded north towards the centaur encampment.
Two hours later, the centaurs could hear roaring sounds coming from the south. They gathered at the top of the hill overlooking the southern forest and could see the four Manticores, with Harry mounted on the largest one, leaping across the stream.
"That wizardling has betrayed us!" shouted Pollux. "Fire your arrows!"
Several of the centaurs--but not Castor or Torino--quickly let loose a volley of arrows. The Manticores continued to charge, but as the arrows approached Harry waved his hand and directed the arrows off to where they could do no harm. Then he leaped from Mountbatten's back and yelled, "Cease fire! We come in peace." Without waiting to see what the centaurs would do, he continued walking up the hill, with the four Manticores behind him.
"You were supposed to defeat the monsters in combat," yelled Pollux. "Instead, you have joined them, you traitor."
"At my demand," said Harry, "the king of the Manticores has vowed to never kill another centaur, or any other sentient being, except in self-defense. Please, Pollux, do not make him break that vow," Harry finished with a glare. Pollux and the other centaurs watched in stunned silence as Harry led the Manticores into the sacred ring. "Come," said Harry. "Let us talk."
Harry stood in the center of the common area, and the four Manticores sat on their haunches. They were so large that even just the four of them occupied easily a quarter of the ring. Castor followed and stood opposite the Manticores, with Pollux on his right, Torino on his left, the other male centaurs forming three-quarters of a ring around the sacred circle, and the females and young centaurs crowding behind them.
"King Mountbatten," said Harry, "the centaurs tell me that members of your pride attack and kill any centaurs who enter your forest. Why did you kill other sentient creatures without notice?"
"We are hunters," said the king proudly. "We do not invade the centaurs' territory, but we do not tolerate other hunters competing with us for game in our forest."
"Would you agree to have peaceful relations with the centaurs if they do not hunt in your forest?" asked Harry.
"We have always been peaceful with the centaurs as long as they do not enter our forest. Why would they enter our forest except to hunt?"
"The centaurs do more than hunt. They gather plants, collect minerals, and trade with other sentient beings. Would you be willing to let them enter and pass through your forest to do these things?"
The king scowled. "We have nothing to trade," he said, "and we do not want anything they have to trade with us."
Harry thought for a minute. "What if you were to trade security?" he asked. "What if the centaurs would agree that, if wizards or anyone else were to attack you, they would come to your aid, and if they were attacked, you would come to their aid?"
The king brightened and gave his brother a brief look as if to say, "I told you so." "Yes," he said aloud. "That would make a very fine trade. I vow that, so long as the centaurs do not hunt in our forest, our pride will allow them into and through our forest for mutual defense, to gather plants and minerals, and to meet and trade with other beings."
Castor stepped forward. "That is a very fine trade, your highness. On behalf of the Devon troop of centaurs, I agree that we will never hunt in your forest, but we will come to your aid in the event of any attack by anyone else." Mountbatten stood and Castor reached his hand out to shake hands with the Manticore's paw.
"Your highness," suggested Harry, "You said you needed nothing that the centaurs have for trade. But my family has made some potions that would help heal minor wounds, such as the one Prince Hal earned in his recent hunt."
For a moment, Prince Hal looked like he was too proud to accept help from the centaurs, but Mountbatten said, "Yes, I think my brother is brave enough to be the first of us to try a centaur potion." Harry gave Nephele a significant look, and she ran and got a canister of healing potion that she somewhat nervously applied to the large Manticore's leg. The prince looked surprised as his pain faded away and soon he was walking without a limp.
That evening, a deer that Harry had killed the day before was turning on a spit in the center of the sacred ring and Pollux and Prince Hal were laughing together as they boasted about hunting stories. As Nephele courteously handed the king the first serving of meat, Harry offered one of his spice bottles. "This isn't the same flavor as venom," he said, "but you might enjoy it."
The king took a tentative bite and his face lit up with joy. "That's delicious, Harry Athailt."
Prince Hal, who had just received his platter of meat, said, "Let me try," and he grabbed the bottle of Mad Dog 44 Magnum. "Uh, I'm not sure you want to try that one," warned Harry, but it was too late: Hal had dropped a big dollop of the sauce on his meat and handed it off to Pollux. Harry's heart leaped into his throat as he watched them both take large bites and wondered if this was going to ruin all of the peacemaking he had done this day.
"Y E E O O W W ! !" yelled Pollux as his face turned bright red and he ran to a water trough and dipped his entire head in. Amazingly, however, Hal was completely unaffected. "What's he so excited about?" asked the prince. "It's good, but not that good."
Harry cringed as Pollux trotted back to the center of the common area, but Pollux just laughed. "Harry Orion," he chortled, "you have got your revenge on me for doubting you earlier." Harry offered him a milder sauce, but Pollux decided the rest of his meal would remain sauce-free.
* *
* * *
"Bassie, I will be going home soon and won't be back until September. That means we won't be able to hunt together for more than two months."
"I will miss you, Ginny, but I have gone much longer than that without leaving the Chamber to hunt."
"I know, but I was wondering if you would like to come home with me this summer? You would have to remain shrunken most of the time, but I could restore you to full size to hunt at least once a month."
"That would be wonderful, Ginny. Except to visit the Forbidden Forest with you, I've never before left Hogwarts."
On boarding the Hogwarts Express, Ginny and Bassie, who was wrapped around her arm, sat at first with Daphne and Astoria Greengrass. But after an hour or so, Ginny decided to find her brothers, who she hadn't visited much during the school year.
As she passed through the train, she noticed that many of the students in other houses looked at her rather nervously. Apparently, they had heard the rumors that she was somehow involved in petrifying the students. When she found a compartment with two redheads, they cringed in mock terror.
"Protect us, Lee, from the Dark Lady!" said Fred. "Lee can't help; he's pureblood too. She'll petrify us all!" cried George.
"You pratts," said Ginny with a smile. "Does every student at Hogwarts think I am a dark lady in training?"
"That's the rumor," said Lee Jordan. "Rumor also has it that you only petrify boys who try to make you do things you don't want."
"Well, keep that in mind this summer," she said with a mock glare. "You can try to prank Ron, but better leave me in peace."
"Yes, oh great Dark Lady," said Fred. "We hear and obey," said George.
In the next car, Ginny found Ron, Neville, and Hermione in one compartment. As she opened the door, Bassie's head poked out of her sleeve.
"Ginny!" cried Ron. "What are you doing with that snake?"
"You have a rat," said Ginny. "Why can't I have a snake?"
"Only dark wizards and Slytherins keep snakes as familiars," said Ron, scowling.
"Then, since I am a Slytherin, I guess I qualify," said Ginny. "However, I don't think I have the equipment to be a dark wizard."
"Be nice to your sister, Ron," said Neville. "So, Ginny, how did you do on your tests this year? Rumor has it that you are going to beat Hermione's first-year scores." Hermione smiled, but looked a little nervous.
"I think I did okay," said Ginny modestly. Then, pride took hold, and she added, "Some of my professors were actually talking about putting me in with some of the third-year classes next year."
Hermione's eyes grew wide. "Can Hogwarts students skip a year?" she demanded. "Nobody ever told me I could skip a year."
"I've never heard of it happening," said Neville. "But then, Ginny is pretty special, right Ron?"
Ginny beamed as Ron shifted uncomfortably.
One morning a week after the students returned from Hogwarts, Arthur Weasley beamed proudly at his brood at the breakfast table in their Muggletown apartment. Fred and George were laughing, Percy was serious, Ron was scowling, and Ginny was quietly ignoring them all.
"Boys, Ginny, I have an announcement to make," he said. "I know you've had a stressful year, what with monsters petrifying students at Hogwarts."
"Yes, but they only petrified Slytherins," said Fred, "so it wasn't stressful for us!" said George.
"Of course, it might have been stressful for little Gin-Gin," said Fred, "except that the monster mysteriously only seemed to petrify Slytherin wizards, not witches," added George.
"Nevertheless," said Arthur, "since we can't be at the Burrow, we want you to have a good holiday. So when I learned yesterday that we won the Wizard's Lottery. . . ."
"We won the lottery!" cried George. "How much do we get?" said Fred.
"Quiet, quiet," warned Arthur. "Your mother and I have decided that we should all take a trip to Egypt to see your brother Bill."
The room broke out in excitement. Even Percy looked happy. Ginny, who always considered Bill her favorite brother, was eager to go.
So, on July 1st, they all took a portkey to Cairo, where Bill met them in front of the local branch of Gringotts, where Bill worked as a curse breaker. For the next two weeks, Bill showed them pyramids, ruins, tombs, and magical museums.
One day he took them to the tomb where he was currently working. "My team has been working hard to decipher all of the wards and other magic protecting this tomb," he said. "So far, we have been unable to open it."
Ginny looked in horror at the images of giant snakes and repeated statues of the same man, with European rather than Egyptian features, that adorned the outside of the tomb. That evening, she took Bill aside.
"I think I know how to open your tomb," she said. "I also think that if you open it without me, it will be very dangerous for you and your crew."
"Don't worry, Ginny," he tried to assure her. "We are used to dangerous places. Besides, what makes you think you can open it?"
"Take my word for it, Bill. Tell your men to not come to the tomb tomorrow morning, and I'll open it for you."
The next day, the two of them approached the entrance to the tomb. "Bill, you must do exactly as I say. I want you to turn around and close your eyes. Don't open them until I say it is safe to do so."
"Okay, I'll play along. But hurry--we only have 30 minutes before my crew comes back to work."
Ginny watched him to make sure he was following her instructions. Then she turned and faced the tomb and hissed in Parselmouth, "Open." When nothing happened, she hissed, "Speak to me, Salazar Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four." Slowly, the doors began to open, and she could hear her brother turn in surprise.
"Turn away and keep your eyes closed, Bill," she commanded. Just then, a large shadow emerged from the tomb.
"Who dares disturb the last resting place of Salazar Slytherin, the greatest of the Hogwarts Four?" hissed the Basilisk.
Ginny drew out her sword and cried, "Stand down. I am the heir of Slytherin, and I command you to stand down."
The snake hesitated, then said, "Anyone may hold a sword. Prove you are the heir of Slytherin or I will kill you where you stand."
Bassie emerged from Ginny's robe at her neck and nudged her cheek to get her attention. "Enlarge me, Ginny Weasley," she hissed.
Ginny set Bassie on the ground and Engorgioed her.
"I am Ambassadoress, guardian of the Chamber of Secrets. I confirm that Ginny Weasley is the true heir of Slytherin and tell you to stand down."
The other snake froze in recognition. "Ambassadoress, I am Aliskander, your mate from long ago." He turned to Ginny. "I will stand down. Thank you for returning my mate to me."
Hiding her sword, Ginny turned to Bill saying, "Okay, you can turn around now."
Bill turned, not sure what to expect, then froze at the sight of two gigantic Basilisks. "Ginny, run! If you look into their eyes, they'll kill you."
Ginny just rolled her eyes. "Why do you think I insisted you keep your eyes closed?" she said. "These are my friends. They won't hurt you, at least not unless I ask them to." Bill was dumbfounded with astonishment.
Ginny turned back to Aliskander, who was gently nuzzling Bassie's neck. "Aliskander, may we enter the tomb you are guarding?"
"You have brought my mate to me, and you are the true heir of Slytherin," he said. "Everything in the tomb belongs to you."
"How am I going to explain that to Bill?" Ginny wondered aloud in English.
"What?" said Bill, still too stunned to think.
"Aliskander, may I call you Alisk for short?" The snake nodded. "Alisk, Bassie, I am glad you found each other. I can give you a choice. You can stay here if you wish, or you can return to England with me and I can release you in a forest of your choice. Or you can stay with me in England, but if you do I'll have to keep you reduced in size much of the time."
The snakes agreed to go with Ginny for now; once they returned to England they would decide whether they wanted to live with Ginny or in a forest. Ginny reduced the snakes, who wrapped themselves around her right arm. Then she turned to Bill.
"Bill, I know you work for Gringotts. But what happens when you find out someone has a prior claim on a tomb?"
"That rarely happens, Ginny, as most of the tombs we excavate are for people whose families are long dead. But if such a case were to arise, then the contents of the tomb would be split equally between the heirs and the excavators."
"Then you need to know that someone does have a prior claim on this tomb, which is the final resting place of none other than Salazar Slytherin," said Ginny. "The heir of Slytherin should get half the contents of the tomb. Plus, the heir will demand first rights to choose any magical items found in the tomb."
"I know there was talk at Hogwarts about an heir of Slytherin, but I don't think Slytherin has any living heirs," said Bill.
"I can assure you that Slytherin has an heir, and the heir demands the rights to the spoils of this tomb. You can pass that along to Gringotts if you wish. If you don't, then I will do it personally."
Bill stared at her. "Okay, Ginny. I never expected you to open the tomb, but since you have, I guess you probably know what you're talking about. I'll talk with Gringotts about it."
Bill's crew arrived, looking almost as astonished as Bill at the open entrance to the tomb.
"Let's go see what's inside!" said Ginny with a smile.
"Wait, Ginny! There may be more traps and wards," said Bill.
Ginny hissed at Alisk, then said, "No, once the door was opened, the Basilisk was the only protection." Some of the crew who heard her looked terrified at the thought of a Basilisk. "Don't worry," she assured them. "The Basilisk won't hurt you now."
She headed into the tomb, holding up her wand and silently casting a Geminus Lumos spell. The snake motif continued inside, and the floor, like that of the Chamber, was littered with the bones of small rodents that had evidently sustained Alisk. Deep inside the tomb they found a crypt surrounded by articles that no doubt once belonged to Salazar Slytherin: a helmet, a bowl, a staff, a knife, and various other hardware. Most of the items were made of brass or some other metal (though none seemed to be gold), but the wooden staff somehow had survived nearly a thousand years.
"I claim the staff on behalf of the heir of Slytherin," said Ginny.
"I'll have to have the goblins appraise it," said Bill. "If this is Slytherin's staff, it must be incredibly valuable."
"Everything in here belonged to Slytherin," said Ginny. "I am sure several other things are at least as valuable as the staff."
"Okay, you're probably right," said Bill. "The goblins will appraise the collection and let you know what your half is worth. If they find any dark magic, they will remove it before giving you your half."
"No! They must not remove any magic from the staff," said Ginny. "If you can't promise me that, I'll take the staff now and they can have the rest of it."
Bill called over one of the goblins on his crew. "This is Doubleknot, our appraiser," he said. "Doubleknot, my sister Ginny claims there is a living heir of Slytherin who demands half the value of the items in this tomb. In particular, she wants the staff."
Doubleknot looked at the items recovered by the expedition so far. "If this is truly the tomb and staff of Salazar Slytherin, then I estimate the staff to be worth about 20 percent of all the items here. Does your claimant have evidence that he or she is truly the heir of Slytherin?"
"Do the goblins have any speakers of Parseltongue?" asked Ginny.
"Such speakers are very rare," Doubleknot averred. "I am not sure there are any alive today."
"I am such a speaker," said Ginny. "You see these snakes?" she added, laying them on the floor of the tomb. "They are Basilisks. Engorgio! Engorgio!" The snakes expanded to their full size and hissed at Doubleknot. "Salazar Slytherin left one guarding his Chamber of Secrets in Hogwarts, and the other one guarding his tomb here. They obey only the true heir of Slytherin."
As Doubleknot gaped in horror, Ginny pulled out the sword of Slytherin. "This is Slytherin's sword, and it recognized me as the true heir of Slytherin," she said. "Because I bear the sword, the snakes recognize my title and obey my commands. Do you wish a demonstration? At my command, they could kill or petrify someone as easily as look them in the eye."
"No, there will be no need for demonstrations here," said Doubleknot hastily. "You make a persuasive case. That is a goblin-made sword and it bears the marks of Slytherin. I must discuss this with my superiors, but if they support my judgment you may take the staff as soon as we've done a thorough appraisal. What do you wish done with the rest of your half of the spoils?"
"Does the Slytherin family still have a vault at Gringotts?"
"I doubt it, as the family supposedly died out long ago. I'll enquire and, if not, we'll open one."
"Good. You may sell all of the goods but the staff and put the value of my share of those goods in the Slytherin vault. If you agree not to tamper with the magic of the staff, you may take it now for your appraisal and I'll pick it up before my family returns to England."
"It shall be done, my Lady," said Doubleknot with a slight bow.
"It is a pleasure doing business with you, Doubleknot," said Ginny with a curtsey.
Bill escorted Ginny back to the family's hotel before going back to work. After walking in silence for a time, he asked, "Ginny, how could you be the heir of Slytherin?"
"Believe it or not, it's because I was able to pull this sword from a stone," said Ginny waving the sword before making it invisible and sheathing it. "Slytherin may be our distant ancestor," she continued, "but I think it has more to do with character than ancestry. I was sorted into Slytherin, so apparently I live up to his ideals, whatever those were.
"Please don't tell the family about it," she added. "I'd never hear the end of it from Fred and George, and Ron mistrusts me enough already."
"As the heir of Slytherin is now a client of Gringotts, I am required to keep the heir's affairs confidential," he assured her. "But I hope you know what you're doing."
The next afternoon, Bill and Ginny went to Gringotts to pick up the staff. They were met by a goblin who introduced herself as Butterfly Knot, saying she was Doubleknot's sister.
"Our appraisers estimate the value of the items found in Slytherin's tomb to be 200,000 Galleons," said Butterfly Knot. "The staff is worth 40,000 Galleons, and since you are claiming that, we have deposited the other 60,000 Galleons of your share in the Slytherin family vault." She handed Ginny a key. "You can access these Galleons at any time from any of our branches."
Ginny was outwardly calm as she thanked Butterfly Knot, but inside she was quivering with excitement. Sixty thousand Galleons! Except perhaps Bill, who worked for Gringotts, she suspected no one in her family had ever seen that much money at one time.
Butterfly handed the staff to Ginny. "I must warn you," she said, "our appraisers detected what appears to be some very dark magic in this staff. We did not attempt to remove it because you asked us not to tamper with it. If, however, you would like us to purify the staff, we can remove it for a fee."
"Thank you, Butterfly Knot. I will consult you if I need your services."
Bill also seemed to be amazed at Ginny's new-found wealth. "What are you going to do with all that money?" he asked in a low voice.
"I don't know. I do know one thing I want to do," she answered: "Free house elves."
"But Ginny, house elves go insane if they are free."
"That's just a myth, Bill. Can you find out how much it would cost for me to buy a house elf?"
"I'll check, but families rarely sell their elves."
Bill was excited about Ginny's money, but he couldn't tell the family about it without Ginny's permission, and she was keeping quiet because she didn't want to be teased about it until she knew what she was going to do with the money. Nevertheless, in quiet celebration, Bill hired a professional photographer to take a picture of the family in front of the pyramids. He sent the photo to the Daily Prophet to show what the winners of this year's Wizard's Lottery did with their money.
Three days later, a bored guard at Azkaban Prison stepped outside to read the paper with the photo of the Weasleys in Egypt. When he was called back to duty, he dropped the paper and a gust of wind carried it to the barred windows of one of the prison cells. Like a famished man attacking a bowl of freshly cooked rice, the occupant of that cell eagerly grabbed and read the paper. "He's going to be at Hogwarts," he muttered to himself. The next day, surprised Aurors reluctantly reported the first known escape from Azkaban Prison.
When the Weasley's returned to England, they spent one day at the Burrow, where they tended their garden, taking care not to harm the gnomes. Ginny took her snakes into the forest, where she Engorgioed them and allowed them to hunt. Aliskander captured a deer and Ambassadoress a wild boar, which would satisfy their appetites for at least a couple of weeks.
Back at Muggletown, Ginny waited until the excitement of their trip to Egypt was over before pulling the staff out of her luggage. The staff was even better than an ordinary walking stick, as the magic it contained protected it from harm. She also took Alisk and Bassie.
"Mum, I'm going to the park," she said.
"Okay, Ginny, be sure to be back before dinner time."
Lacking Floo access, the entire family had become familiar with at least the basics of the underground, and Arthur in particular was thrilled to take the trains to the Ministry for work. But Greenwich Park, which Ginny was visiting, was just a short walk away from Muggletown. The park had large fields and forests that, for Ginny's purposes, made it ideal for what she wanted to do.
What she did not want was for the Ministry to know she had Slytherin's staff. Though she persuaded the goblins that she was the legitimate heir of Slytherin, she didn't trust the Ministry to believe her or even care that a twelve-year-old girl might have a claim to a powerful magical artifact such as this one. Since her brothers Fred and George had hinted that the Ministry probably had some wards at Muggletown capable of detecting powerful magic, she decided she should only explore the capabilities of the staff away from Muggletown.
After making sure she was out of sight and putting up privacy charms, she put Alisk and Bassie on the ground and Engorgioed them. "I am sorry there is nothing to hunt around here, but I thought you would want to observe a ritual I am going to do," said Ginny, who knew the Basalisks were still digesting the catch from their last hunt. "If I'm right, you may meet someone you know."
Then she set the staff on the ground, touched her wand to it, and whispered, "Homenum Restorem." Slowly, a phantom emerged from the staff. He was much older than Tom had been, and his head was bald and his beard seemed to be white, though it was hard to tell for sure.
"Hwa beon unc and whence amiere se foldrest Salazar Slytherin?" asked the phantom.
Ginny could barely understand him, as the dialect of English he spoke was far different from what she was used to. So she decided to introduce herself in Parseltongue.
"My name is Genevra Weasley. I am told I am the heir of Salazar Slytherin. I have your sword and you may remember my companions, Aliskander and Ambassadoress."
The phantom looked around and saw the Basilisks. "They are much bigger than I remember. How many years have passed?"
"It has been about 900 years since you died. I found Ambassadoress in the Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts. I found Aliskander and your staff in your tomb in Egypt."
"And you can speak Parseltongue, which means you may well be a descendent of mine. I was the only wizard I knew who could talk with snakes. But how did you know you would find me in my staff?"
"About 50 years ago, another wizard made a Horcrux out of his diary. I have that diary and have conversed with him. When I found your staff, I could feel some of the same magic emanating from it."
"That is rather perceptive for one as young as you–what are you, thirteen years old?"
"I just turned twelve. I am small for my age, but I suppose witches were even smaller 900 years ago."
"Perhaps so. When I was at Hogwarts, anyone who was five feet, six inches tall was considered unusually tall."
"Today, that is considered short; many people grow to over six feet."
"So why did you awaken me? There is a ritual where you can give up your soul and body to restore mine, but I do not want you to do that."
"No, I don't, either. But I did learn many things from the diary Horcrux. I thought I might be able to learn even more from you."
"So once more I am called upon to be a teacher. The first thing I must teach you is that this staff is not precisely a Horcrux. A Horcrux is made when someone murders someone else and in doing so rips their soul in half and puts half in a container. This staff is a Morcrux, a place where I stored my soul when I myself died. I have no desire to murder anyone, even if it means immortality. But I also didn't have any desire to move beyond earth, especially as I am not even certain there is a life after earth."
"I am glad you are not a murderer. There are many rumors at Hogwarts that you and Godric Gryffindor fought over whether to teach Muggleborn wizards and witches."
"We had our share of disagreements," said the phantom, "but they never became violent."
"How do you feel about Muggleborns?"
"Do you mean magical people born from non-magical families? Everyone at Hogwarts was happy to teach all magical people. Our only disagreement was how much we should reveal to non-magical people. The non-magicals had committed many acts of violence against wizards and witches. So I sought to teach the students you call Muggleborns without informing their families about the existence of magic. Godric disagreed, and said we needed to inform them otherwise they might not be willing to send their children to school. Few people went to school in those days."
"Unfortunately, many Slytherins today believe that Muggleborns are inferior, and would happily enslave or even kill them. The wizard who made the Horcrux I own was very powerful and he killed many Muggleborns in an attempt to conquer magical Britain."
"That's terrible. It especially hurts that such things have been done in my name."
He turned to the snakes. "Aliskander, Ambassadoress, do you know this to be true?"
Bassie answered. "The wizard who made the diary Ginny Weasley spoke of was full of anger and violence. He claimed to be your heir, but I did not like him. He treated me like a slave and unhesitatingly used me to kill a magical student at Hogwarts. If he is any indication of what wizards are like today, I am glad I am serving Ginny Weasley, who I've observed to treat all magical creatures equally."
"You've convinced me, Miss Genevra Weasley," said the phantom. "I will teach you if you will help spread knowledge of my real goals and protect all witches and wizards from those who would do them harm."
"That is my goal," said Ginny. "I'll return you to the staff now, but I'll call on you for lessons soon." She them cast a "Homenum Protectem" spell. After shrinking Alisk and Bassie, she turned and headed for home, using the staff as a walking stick.
On arriving home, her mother gave her a letter that had arrived for her from Bill. The letter said that the going rate for house elves was about 5,000 Galleons. With the 60,000 Galleons she had in the bank, she would only be able to buy a dozen elves. She went to her room and called Dobby.
"Miss Weasey, you is calling Dobby?"
"Yes, Dobby, it is nice to see you again. What have you been doing this summer?"
"I is working with house elves at Hogwarts. "
"Dobby, I have enough money to buy about a dozen house elves. Do you think I should do that and free them?"
The little elf looked thoughtful for a minute as he puzzled over the question. Finally, he said, "There is nine other free house elves in Britain. So we is need 490 more free elves to break the spell. Freeing 12 elves won't be enough. Dobby thinks you should save your money until it can do more good."
"I think you are right, Dobby. But if you hear of any house elves that are being abused, let me know and I might be able to buy them."
"I will, Miss Weasey."
"In the meantime, would you like to work for me?"
The elf's face brightened. "Miss Weasey wants Dobby to work for her! I be happy to work for you. I won't even charge you a Galleon a week."
"No, Dobby. I'll pay you a Galleon a week. Don't worry: I'll still have money to buy some house elves if you find any that are being particularly abused."
"What work would Miss Weasey like Dobby to do? Do you want me to clean your room? Make dinners?"
"No, Dobby, I would like you to help me with research. If we are going to free house elves, we need to find some allies. Can you compile a list of all other sentient magical races, what their magical abilities are, and what it would take to get them to help us free house elves?"
Dobby's eyes widened. "Dobby has never been asked to do research before," he said. "But I will try to do as you ask."
Chapter 9: Chapter Nine: Manticores and Hippogriffs
"Torino, living with your family has been a wonderful experience for me," Harry said one fine August morning. "But Mountbatten has invited me to spend time with his family, and I would like to learn what he can teach me." Harry had placed in his pack several shrunken containers of potions ingredients, a cauldron and other utensils, some edible greens, bottles of spicy sauces, and his sleeping blanket. His sword and knife were in leather sheathes that he had made and hung on a leather belt.
"It is your destiny to learn about all the magical creatures of the world, Orion," said Torino. "We will miss you, but our lives have been enriched to have you here."
Nephele escorted him to the creek that formed the boundary of the centaur's hunting grounds. Impulsively, he gave her a hug. "I love you, Nephele," he said. Though she was far from full grown, she stood a head taller than him, and his head was pressed against her bare chest--which, fortunately for Harry's sense of propriety, was as flat as a male centaur's since centaurs kept their mammaries elsewhere.
"We love you too, Harry," she said. "But I am not the one you seek."
"What?" he said in puzzlement.
"I have also gone on a vision quest," she said, "and I have seen her as well. The one whose red hair lights up the night? Don't worry, Harry. You will find her, and then you will bring her here and we will make her, too, a part of our family." She kissed him on his cheek. "Good luck, my brother," she said.
Too choked up to say anything, Harry turned and crossed the creek, heading up the hill where he soon found Prince Hal. "Are you ready for a run, Harry Athailt?" laughed the prince. "Or would you prefer to ride on my back?"
"If it's all the same to you, I need to keep up my stamina," said Harry. "I probably can't run as fast as you, but I hope to be able to run as many hours as you."
"Good answer, Harry," said Hal. "You will need to be strong to live with the Manticores." Together they ran for several miles, slower than Hal would ordinarily have run but at a pace that Harry felt he could sustain for hours. At last they reached Mountbatten's camp, such as it was. Unlike goblins and centaurs, the Manticores had no technology, so the camp consisted of little more than a hilltop meadow where the grass in spots was flattened in clearly defined beds where the Manticores slept.
"Welcome, Harry Athailt," said Mountbatten, as Harry bent over, trying to catch his breath. "I see my brother has given you quite a workout. I'm glad you like to run, as soon we will go north to see my cousin, the king of the Somerset Manticores. But first, we hunt."
Harry soon learned that Manticores loved the thrill of the hunt even more than Nephele. Harry had become quite proficient with bow and arrow, though he personally still refused to kill an animal without the Druid's prayer. When he first called a deer to him and spoke the prayer, the Manticores were awed. But after he killed the deer, Prince Hal laughed a deep-throated roar and said, "Where's the fun in that?"
One deer might feed a camp of goblins for several days, but it would barely suffice the small court of Manticores for one meal. So Mountbatten and Hal still had plenty of opportunities to hunt. Harry was glad he had packed some greens to eat with the deer meat, as the Manticores were exclusive carnivores, with no interest in eating greens or vegetables--though Hal did enjoy the hot sauces. They also tended to eat their meat raw, but had no objection when Harry roasted deer over a fire, and treated the result like a delicacy.
One morning while they were still in Devon, Harry stood with his bow next to Mountbatten on the Manticore's hilltop looking at the sunrise. "What kind of magic do Manticores have?" Harry asked. "The goblins have warrior magic; the centaurs make potions and claim to be able to see the future. Do the Manticores have any magic like that?"
"We are hunters, Harry. Everything we are is based on our ability to hunt. For example, I can count the number of spots on that ladybird's back on the large oak tree down in the vale."
"I can't even see the oak tree," said a bemused Harry.
"You haven't yet learned to see," said Mountbatten.
"I can see green down in the vale," lamented Harry, "but I can barely distinguish individual trees, much less tell which ones are oaks."
To Harry's shock, Mountbatten whipped his tail forward and his stinger penetrated Harry's arm. Harry fell over, paralyzed.
"Do not panic, Harry," said Mountbatten. "The venom paralyzes; it does not kill. You will be free of the paralysis in a few minutes."
When Harry was able to stand up, he cried, "Ow! Why did you do that?"
Mountbatten said, "Take off your glasses, Harry."
"What? Without these glasses, I'm practically blind. Everything beyond ten feet looks fuzzy."
"Trust me, Harry. Take them off."
Harry removed his glasses. At first, things went fuzzy. Then, gradually, everything came into focus. What's more, he could easily zoom in to individual trees, branches, leaves, and yes even the spots on a ladybird's back.
As Harry looked around, he noticed something else. He could smell the rabbit that trembled under a bush a few feet away. He could hear the deer that crept along the creek in the vale below. His fingers could feel the individual rings of wood on his bow. His tongue could taste the individual grains of pollen that clung to the misty water droplets in the air.
"Wow! How did you do that? Will this last or will it fade away?"
"I did very little, Harry. The venom merely awakened the senses that you already had but weren't using."
Suddenly, hunts with the Manticores became very intense. Harry also decided to go easy on the hot sauces that night.
* *
* * *
On the Hogwarts Express, Ginny found an empty compartment and called Dobby. "Dobby, what have you found about other magical races?"
"Dobby knows about goblins, elves, and people. Dobby's research is finding that there are also Acromantula, centaurs, ghosts, hags, Manticores, merpeople, vampires, werewolfies, and trolls living in Britain. Outside of Britain are giants, Sphinx, Veela, and Yeti, though they sometimes visit Britain.
"Magical people have made war on goblins and elves. They have herded centaurs, giants, trolls, vampires, and werewolfies into small reservations. They are hostile to Acromantula, hags, Manticores, and Veela, so it is possible that all these races could become our allies. Wizards seem to be more willing to live with ghosts and merpeople."
"That's very interesting, Dobby. How do the magical abilities of these races differ?"
"Goblins have some magic, and they are especially good at making magically powerful metals and in fighting. Acromantula, centaurs, Manticores, and merpeople have few magical skills themselves other than the ability to shield themselves from Muggles. Vampires and werewolfies is very strong; Veela can make fireballs and transform into large birds. Beyond this, vampires and werewolfies are only magical if they were magical before being turned into a vampire or werewolf, and Veela are only magical if they have a human parent who is magical."
"Some merpeople live in the lake at Hogwarts," said Ginny. "Do you know how to talk with them?"
"Dobby has never tried to talk with merpeople, but I will try for Miss Weasey if you want."
Just then, Astoria knocked on the compartment door and came in. Ginny thanked Dobby for his work and said they would talk again later, but that he was welcome to stay.
"I didn't know you owned a house elf," said Astoria.
"I don't own him; he is my friend," said Ginny.
"You're friends with a house elf? What do his owners think of that?"
"Dobby has no owners," said the little being; "I is a free elf."
"You'd better be careful, then," Astoria whispered to Ginny. "Free elves go insane."
"That's only a myth, Astoria. Elves were enslaved by wizards centuries ago, and I would like to free them all."
"You're sure he won't go insane?"
"Well, Dobby is a little crazy," she said with a smile at Dobby, "but he no crazier than he was before he was freed." Dobby laughed shyly.
There was another knock on the door, and Luna Lovegood came in. "Speaking of crazy. . ." whispered Astoria.
"Hello, Ginny," said Luna. "Do you mind if I sit with you?"
"Not at all, Luna," said Ginny, giving Astoria a dirty look. "But don't you want to sit with your Ravenclaw friends?"
"I don't think I have any friends in Ravenclaw," said the blonde. "They always tease me and steal my shoes and other things."
"That's not a very nice thing for your housemates to do," said Astoria. "It's too bad you aren't in Hufflepuff. They are very loyal to one another."
"I think my housemates are jealous because they don't get to spend their summers searching for crumple-horned snorkacks," said Luna. Astoria rolled her eyes.
"They still shouldn't take your things," said Ginny, standing up. "Let's go find some of them. Will you join us, Dobby?" Astoria followed as well.
The walked through the corridors of the train until they found a compartment with several second-year Ravenclaws. Ginny swept open the door to the compartment without knocking.
"Loony Lovegood," said one of the girls in the compartment. "Are you hanging out with snakes now?"
Ginny pulled out the sword of Slytherin and pointed it at the girl's throat. "Allow me to introduce myself," she said. "My name is Ginevra Weasley and I am the head of the House of Slytherin. Luna is my friend and she is under my protection. I've heard that some people are playing pranks on her and taking her things. If any of you see that happen, I would appreciate you telling me so I can take my revenge on behalf of my vassal." For emphasis, she flicked the sword and cut off the girl's tie.
The faces on all of the Ravenclaws seated in the room had turned white. "Do you think you will be able to do that for me?" Ginny asked. A few of them nodded their heads.
"This is my friend Dobby," Ginny continued. "As a house elf, he can pop into your common room at any time. He can also make himself invisible at any time," she added, looking at Dobby who obligingly disappeared and reappeared again. "He'll be monitoring your housemates to make sure none of them are taking Luna's things. I hope you let them know that they probably don't want to make me angry. Will you do that for me?" This time, they all nodded silently.
"Okay, it was nice meeting you all," she said, and turned and led Luna and Dobby back to their compartment.
"What did you mean when you said you were the head of the House of Slytherin?" asked Astoria. "I don't remember anyone making you our head."
"I didn't mean the Hogwarts house," said Ginny. "I meant the Slytherin family. It appears I am the last surviving member of Salazar Slytherin's family."
"How can you be the last surviving member when you have six brothers?"
"I'm not sure, but they don't seem to be members of the family. Please don't tell anyone, but Gringotts has recognized me as the head of the House of Slytherin."
"That's amazing," said Astoria, "but then, it's hard to be surprised by anything that happens to you anymore."
Suddenly, the train screeched to a halt even though they were far short of Hogwarts. The rain on the outside of the windows froze and the compartment became chilled.
"There's something out in the aisle!" cried Astoria, and then she screamed in terror at the tall, dark shape that was opening the door of the compartment. Luna fainted, and Ginny briefly remembered her grandmother's funeral, which was one of the saddest days of her life. But her eyes burned red as she stood up and confronted the black-robed creature in the compartment entrance.
"You are not wanted here," she said in a low voice. "Get off this train, now!" The creature bowed and departed. Ginny stepped out into the aisle to watch it leave the train, then took a few steps to the next car. There she faced a man in a worn coat pointing a wand that was emitting a bright light at another of the creatures, which was backing up towards Ginny.
"Ginny, run!" yelled Ron, who was peering out into the aisle behind the man with the wand. But Ginny held her ground as the creature slowly turned towards her.
"Get off this train, and take all of your friends with you," she said. "We don't need you here." The creature nodded, and the exited through a door whilst Ginny turned to return to her car. Ron, the man with the wand, and some other students stared open-mouthed as Ginny and the creature went their separate ways.
"What was that?" said Astoria as the train started on its way again. "It made me feel like there was no hope left in the world."
"That was a Dementor," said Luna, who was just waking up. "They make you relive your worst memories."
"Why did you faint, Luna?" asked Astoria.
"Maybe my worst memory is worse than most," she said, looking down at the floor.
"What about you, Ginny? They didn't seem to affect you at all," continued Astoria.
"I don't know," said Ginny. "I don't really have any bad memories. We were pretty happy growing up at my house."
When the Express arrived at Hogsmeade, Professor Snape was standing on the platform. "Miss Weasley," he said as she got off the train, "would you come with me?"
"Certainly, professor. What can I do for you?"
"Some of the professors here think you are capable of taking third-year classes in their fields. Would you be interested in that?"
"Of course," said Ginny. "I'd love a challenge."
"You would also be able to take two electives. What electives do you want to take?"
"How about Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures?"
"If that is what you wish. I'll have your timetable for you tomorrow."
That night at dinner, Headmaster Flitwick announced that the Ministry had decided to protect the students from the escaped criminal, Sirius Black, by stationing Dementors around the perimeter of the castle grounds. "Do not leave the grounds without an adult," warned the little wizard, "or do anything to provoke them, for they will not distinguish between friend and foe." Many of the students shivered remembering the experience on the train, but Astoria just stared at Ginny in wonderment.
"I am also pleased to introduce you to the newest member of the Hogwarts staff," Headmaster Flitwick continued. "Professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank was the top student in her class when she was at Hogwarts," he said, "so I am happy that she agreed to teach our Care of Magical Creatures classes."
The students all applauded. But Hermione looked a little disappointed.
"What's wrong, Hermione?" asked Neville. "You don't seem thrilled by our new professor."
"It's just . . . I'm not saying there's anything wrong with teaching. But, if she was the top student in her class, why isn't she doing research in the Department of Mysteries? Or getting a mastery in potions or charms?"
"It's because she's a Muggleborn," said Ron disgustedly. "Even if you're the top student in your class, you can't get the plum jobs unless you are also a pureblood. Purebloods at the bottom of their classes get better jobs and get more promotions than half-bloods at the top of their classes, and Muggleborns don't get jobs in the Ministry at all."
"How do you know so much about it, Ron?" asked Hermione.
"My dad works at the Ministry," said Ron. "He's a pureblood, but he supports Muggleborn rights so many of the other purebloods consider him a 'blood traitor.' As a result, he doesn't get the good jobs either."
"Aren't there more and more Muggleborns every year?" asked Herminoe. "Why don't they just vote the purebloods out of office?
"The Wizengamot is stacked in favor of the purebloods," said Neville, "especially those who own landed estates. Muggleborns, half-bloods, and even purebloods who own very little land, such as the Weasleys, have little say in the magical world."
"What about democracy?" asked a distraught Hermione. "What about human rights? This all sounds so feudalistic."
"That's exactly what it is," said Percy, who was eating with his brothers. "The families who own the most land have the most power. They allow other families to use some of their land in exchange for the other families' loyalty to the landed families. The Longbottoms own land, but not as much as the Malfoys, Blacks, Notts, and some other magical families."
"So, even if I am at the top of my class, what hope do I have for a future in the magical world?" wondered Hermione.
"Your best chance is to marry a pureblood landed wizard," said Neville. "Draco Malfoy or Theodore Nott would be excellent choices."
"How about Neville Longbottom?" she said.
"He's a marginal choice, at best, but it could work out," he said with a smile.
"Don't marry a Weasley unless you want to be at the bottom of the pile," said Ron sadly.
"You just feel that way because you're the youngest boy in the family," said Fred.
"Yes, Fred and I plan to become wealthy capitalists," said George.
"I'm sure we'd have a place for a smart witch in our organization," said Fred.
"Especially if she were one of our spouses," said George with a waggle of his eyebrows.
"That's an attractive offer," said Hermione diplomatically, "but I would rather be successful by my own merits than by who I marry."
"Then perhaps someday you too will become a Care of Magical Creatures professor," warned Neville.
* *
* * *
"Minister Fudge," said Malfoy, "I wish to report that the Endangered Magical Species Act has proven extraordinarily successful. We have found and halted numerous instances of people harming the habitat of rare magical species."
"That's wonderful, Lucius," said the minister, who didn't ask--and probably didn't know to ask--whether the act had actually helped any species. "Is there anything else we need to do to help these poor endangered species?"
"Many of the instances of people harming species habitat involved people Apparating into habitat zones," said Malfoy. He didn't mention that, since most wizards and witches Apparated to their homes, if he declared their home to be in a habitat zone then by definition people would Apparating into those zones. "I propose that the Wizengamot pass this Efficient Transportation Act, which would allow the Ministry to regulate Apparitions. The Floo network should be good enough for most transportation to anywhere magical people need to go, plus we can monitor where people go to make sure they aren't doing anyone any harm. If someone Apparates without Ministry approval, they are probably doing things that they shouldn't be doing anyway."
"That's an excellent idea, Lucius," said Fudge. "I'll bring this before the Wizengamot right away."
Malfoy smiled.
* *
* * *
Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and Neville entered their first Defense class together, curious to learn about the professor who held off the Dementor on the train. He gave them the syllabus for the year, which focused mainly on dealing with dark creatures. When he asked for questions, Hermione, of course, raised her hand.
"Professor Lupin, what was the spell you used to control the Dementor on the train?"
"That was the Patronus spell, which you may learn in your seventh year," said the man in the worn robes.
Neville raised his hand. "Would you consider trying to teach the Patronus spell to us? With the Dementors surrounding Hogwarts, it would be very useful to know it."
"It is a very difficult spell, and many wizards and witches are never able to learn it," said Professor Lupin. "I myself can only partially cast it. But I'll see if I can work it into the syllabus."
Just before class ended, Professor Lupin asked, "Miss Weasley, would you stay behind for a few moments?"
As the other students left, Ginny fought her way, like a salmon going upstream, to the front of the classroom. "You wanted to see me, professor?"
"Yes, I wanted to ask you: On the train, you didn't seem to be afraid of the Dementors, and you even seemed to be able to control them without a Patronus. How were you able to stand that close to one without trembling in fear?"
"I don't know how I was better able to withstand them than others, professor. Some of my friends said that the Dementors forced them to relive their unhappiest memories. Maybe I just don't have that many unhappy memories. I just remembered my grandmother's funeral, which was sad. But she was a very old witch when she died and had lived a full life, so I was able to remember happy things about her life as well."
"It looked like you were talking to them," said Lupin. "What did you say to them?"
"I just told them to get off the train," said Ginny. "I don't know why they obeyed me."
"If I teach the Patronus spell to this class, will you try to learn it?"
"Of course, professor," said Ginny. "I am always eager to learn."
Ginny had never tried the spell herself, but she had seen Tom learn it in his seventh year. Since she had some free time before lunch, she went into an empty classroom.
Holding out her wand and thinking of her family, she said, "Expecto Patronum." A bright, silver horse emerged from the wand and trotted around, then walked up and nuzzled Ginny. The redhead smiled, and turned and left the room as the horse faded away.
On Saturday at dusk, Ginny took Alisk and Bassie to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, going in just far enough that she was out of sight of the castle. She Engorgioed the snakes and told them, "You are free to go wherever you want. All I ask is that you not kill any sentient beings except in self-defense. I've put some spells on you: one will keep Muggles from seeing you. Another will help me locate you if ever I need your help."
"Thank you, Lady Slytherin, for freeing us," said Alisk. "We are ever in your service if you need us."
Ginny kissed Alisk on the top of his great head and gave Bassie a hug. "Farewell my friends. I hope I see you again soon."
The next Monday, Ginny joined the Gryffindor and Slytherin third years on the the front steps of the castle. "Welcome to Care of Magical Creatures," said Professor Grubbly-Plank. "Today we will study a beautiful specimen of an unusual creature. Please open your books to page 64."
Ginny pulled out the book she had owl-ordered after learning she would be taking this elective. The book attempted to bite her hand, but she just hissed, "Quiet, you," in Parseltongue and the book settled down as if in fear.
Other students were not so lucky. "How do we open our books, professor?" asked Neville. "They try to bite us whenever we untie them."
"Oh, you merely have to stroke the binding," said the witch. "Didn't anyone at the bookstore tell you?"
"I think the bookstore saleswizards were even more afraid of the books than we are," answered Neville.
Ginny noticed that page 64 was about Hippogriffs. "Are you going to show us a Hippogriff, professor?" she asked.
"Correct," said the woman, leading them around the Whomping Willow to the edge of the forest where a large animal was in a sturdy corral. "This is Buckbeak, a proud Hippogriff." Some of the students' eyes bulged as they looked at the giant bird-like animal. "Hippogriffs are very proud animals and demand your respect. Who would like to be introduced to Buckbeak first?" she asked.
Neville looked around and, since no one else was stepping forward, raised his hand.
"Very good, Mr. Longbottom," said Professor Grubbly-Plank. "Now, just walk up to about ten feet away from the Hippogriff and bow. If he decides you are respectful enough, he will bow back. Otherwise, carefully back away."
Somewhat nervously, Neville walked up to Buckbeak and bowed. The creature stared at him for a moment, then bowed back.
"Excellent! Five points to Gryffindor," said the professor. "Now, walk up to him and climb on his back and he'll take you for a ride."
Neville's eyes widened; he hadn't counted on this. But he walked up to Buckbeak, who leaned over and allowed Neville to climb aboard. The Hippogriff took off and flew a wide loop over the lake, then landed again back at the group.
Draco Malfoy took his turn next, then Ginny, and then Dean. When it was Vincent Crabbe's turn, however, he swaggered up to the Hippogriff and refused to bow. When he tried to climb aboard the animal, Buckbeak swung his front leg out and clawed the boy in his face. Crabbe fell down shrieking in pain whilst Buckbeak haughtily turned his back and wandered off.
"Five points from Slytherin, Mr. Crabbe. Class, now you see why it is important to show respect to Hippogriffs." The professor levitated the young Slytherin with her wand. "You may all go now whilst I take Mr. Crabbe to Madam Pomfrey."
* *
* * *
In the last days of summer, just before the new moon, Harry joined King Mountbatten's family on a trek to Somerset. They expected to make the 26-mile journey in less than a day. Harry was a little nervous because he had never run that far at one time, but he thought it was doable as long as the Manticores were willing to run somewhat slower than their normal speed.
Halfway through the trip, they took a short break by a river, where the Manticores waded and drank the water. Harry could see cars driving on a distant highway and asked Hal why the Muggles didn't become alarmed by the sight of giant creatures roaming across the fields.
"Non-magical people can't see us, at least not unless someone magical points us out. The same is true for many other magical beings. We seem to have a built-in magic that keeps people from noticing us. I can give you this ability if you want," said Hal. Nervously, Harry nodded his head, and Hal stung Harry in his arm. He was paralyzed for just a few moments, then, just as Mountbatten had opened up Harry's senses, Harry felt an awakening ability to keep himself hidden when he wanted to be.
When they finally arrived, Harry was pleased that he wasn't doubled over in pain. But he was surprised to find that they weren't the only ones visiting the Somerset Manticores. A large field was filled with Manticores, who roared at each other in greetings, jests, and supplication.
"This is an annual meet of Manticore royalty in South Albion," said Hal. "You're lucky it's being held in Somerset this year. Some years we have to travel 200 miles to the meet."
"What happens at the meets?" asked Harry.
"The kings sort out their territories, assign vacant territories to new families, and that sort of thing. It's a way of keeping peace among the families." Just then, Hal saw someone he knew and, with a quick good-bye, bounded off.
With Mountbatten greeting the other kings, Ernestine paying homage to the host queen of Somerset, and Alfred playing with some male Manticores his own age, Harry began to feel very small and alone surrounded by a hundred or so huge carnivores. While he was able to subdue Mountbatten in battle, he didn't think he would be able to protect himself if a large number of them decided he was an easy meal. So he was relieved when a smaller Manticore bounded up to him and didn't try to eat him.
"Greetings, Harry Athailt," said the Manticore. "I am Princess Sophia, of the Gloucestershire Manticores."
"You know who I am?"
"Of course," she said. "All of the Manticores in Albion have heard of the wizardling who lives with King Mountbatten. I noticed you were deserted by Prince Hal, who is over there flirting with my sister, Princess Margaret Rose. I thought he was being a bit boorish, so I decided to keep you company."
"Thank you, I was feeling a bit alone for a moment. So, do you come to these meets every year?"
"Of course, Harry Athailt. All Manticores come to the meet every year."
"You mean, this is all the Manticores in South Albion?"
Sophia smiled. "As I'm sure you've noticed, Manticores have huge appetites, and it takes a lot of land to support the wildlife to feed one Manticore. I doubt that all of Albion has room for much more than about 250 Manticores."
"I just thought that, well, Mountbatten is a king, so there must be Manticores other than Hal, Alfred, and Ernestine who are his subjects."
Sophia laughed, which came out as a light roar. "No, Harry, I am a Manticore princess, and someday I may be a Manticore queen. But I will have no subjects other than my children and perhaps a brother or brother-in-law."
"No sisters?" asked Harry curiously.
"No, by the time Manticore princesses become queens, their sisters tend to move in with the families of their betrotheds. There are no Manticores in Albion except for kings, queens, princes, and princesses."
Sophia led him through the crowd, introducing him to some of her friends, many of whom were impressed to meet him, and offering choice bits of gossip. "The two Manticores you see standing over there looking like they both swallowed a deer whole are the prince of Norfolk and the prince of Suffolk. They are both courting the princess of Cambridgeshire, but I think she only has eyes for the prince of Kent," she said with glee.
"Who do you have eyes for?" asked Harry.
"Wouldn't you like to know," she said with a smile. "Actually, I'm still considered a little young to be thinking about such things."
* *
* * *
Between what she had learned from Tom the year before and spending time in the library, Ginny was finding it easy to do her homework and had completed her work for the week on Saturday. So on Sunday she brought Slytherin's staff to an unused classroom and called for Dobby.
"Miss Weasey calls Dobby?" said the little elf.
"Yes, I was wondering if you were able to find any of the merpeople."
"Yes, Miss Weasey. They sometimes come out of the water at the east end of the lake. They would like to meet you."
"Very good, Dobby. Can you arrange for me to meet them next Sunday?"
"Yes, Miss Weasey."
"What other magical beings might be willing to help us free house elves?"
"There are centaurs and Acromantula in the Forbidden Forest. I can see if they would be willing to help."
"Will you be safe in the forest?"
"Dobby knows how to be safe."
"Okay, go ahead and see if you can talk to any of their leaders. Tell them I will visit with them if they want to meet the heir of Slytherin."
"Yes, Miss Weasey."
Dobby popped out and Ginny called Salazar up from his staff.
"Greetings, Lady Slytherin," hissed Salazar in Parseltongue.
"Hello, Lord Slytherin. I was wondering if you could give me some advanced lessons in magic."
"I would be happy to do so. What particularly are you interested in?"
"What subject did you teach at Hogwarts?"
"When we started Hogwarts, there were only the four teachers, Godric, Rowena, Helga, and myself, so we all taught more than one subject. I taught classes in magical combat, charms, and Runes."
"I would love to learn advanced techniques in all of those subjects. Also, perhaps you could tell me about the history of magic as it was known at that time. In the 900 years since you lived, we seem to have forgotten much of our history."
"Very good. Since you seem to have as much trouble understanding my English as I do yours, I'll provide the instruction in Parseltongue."
"That will work," said Ginny. "Let's start with combat."
* *
* * *
The meet formally began the day after Harry and the Devon Manticores arrived. The king of Derbyshire, where the meet had been held the previous year, formally passed his crown, which Harry recognized as a circlet of goblin metal, to the king of Somerset, to much roaring from the crowd. "The king who hosts the meet each year gets to wear the crown," said Sophia, "but except for overseeing the meet, he really doesn't have any more power than any other king."
The meet continued for much of the day with various kings giving reports about the health of deer herds, interactions with dragons (who, apparently, were the only other magical creatures that Manticores truly respected), and acts of hostility by wizards. Then the king of Somerset introduced King Mountbatten, who he said would introduce a "special guest."
"Kings and queens, princes and princesses," he said. "I am pleased to present to you my good friend, Harry Athailt." The crowd roared.
Harry didn't know what to do. "Go on up, Harry," prodded Sophia. Wishing someone had let him know about this, Harry went to the front of the crowd.
"Just give them a little speech, Harry; tell them how you got here," Mountbatten said quietly.
"But how will they all hear me?"
"One of the magical senses I awakened in you is your voice. It will be just as loud as you need for everyone to hear."
"Your royal highnesses," Harry began nervously. "I first learned I was a wizard when a snake talked to me when I was eleven years old. I vowed that day to never kill anything that could talk or communicate with me. The only other wizard I've ever met tried to kill me, and I was forced to break that vow in self-defense. Since I've learned I was a wizard, I've lived with goblins, centaurs, and Manticores, and learned that wizards have oppressed other magical creatures for many centuries. Eventually, I will return to the wizarding world, where I will fight for equal rights for all magical creatures." The crowd roared again. "All I ask in return is that none of them kill or harm other sentient creatures except in self-defense."
Harry looked at Mountbatten, who was looking at Harry with pride. Turning to the audience, he said, "Harry Athailt has persuaded me to also vow never to harm another sentient creature except in self-defense. He negotiated a peace treaty and self-defense pact between my kingdom and a troop of centaurs who live in my territory." He looked at Harry again. "If need be, I will follow Harry Athailt to my death." The crowd roared more loudly than ever.
Harry staggered back to Sophia in confusion. "You are the hit of the meet," said Sophia excitedly. "Never before has a non-Manticore spoken to the meet, and you have given them much to think about."
"Yes, but, Mountbatten is a king. Why would he vow to follow me? I'm just a boy."
"You are Harry Athailt," she said, as if that were self-explanatory. "Come, let me introduce you to my family."
Her family consisted of King Henry, Queen Victoria, and her sister, Princess Margaret Rose. "Excellent speech, Harry Athailt," said the king. "It was quite stirring." The queen congratulated him on his speaking skills.
That evening, Harry became, if possible, even more popular when he roasted several deer for the royal highnesses to enjoy. The prince of Kent accidentally burned himself on Harry's fire. He said it was unimportant, but Prince Hal told him to let Harry apply some of his burn potion, which led it to rapidly heal. The prince was most impressed.
After dinner, many of the kings took the stage to announce marriages. "The King of Cambridgeshire is pleased to announce the marriage of his daughter, Princess Alice, to the Prince of Kent. They will be moving into a vacant territory in Chelmsford."
"I told you she had eyes only for Kent," said Sophia. "Although the kings make the announcements, the real decisions are made by the princes and princesses."
"I didn't see any wedding ceremonies," said Harry in confusion.
"The actual wedding takes place in private," said Sophia with a blush. "We don't have fancy ceremonies."
"The King of Gloucestershire is pleased to announce the marriage of his daughter, Princess Margaret Rose, to the Prince of Devon. They will be moving into a vacant territory in Lincolnshire."
"Ooo, Harry, that means you'll be my brother-in-law," said Sophia in what would have been a squeal if she were human. "But Lincolnshire is so far away, I'll hardly ever see them," she added in a disappointed tone.
* *
* * *
"My Lord, that animal permanently scarred my son. I wish retribution."
"It is my understanding that your son's injury resulted from his inability to follow his professor's instructions," said Malfoy.
"Are you saying that Mudblood has the right to call herself a 'professor'?"
"No, I am saying that your son got what he deserved for ignoring the lesson he was supposed to learn that day."
Crabbe knelt on one knee. "My Lord, as your vassal I have taken an oath to serve you in exchange for your promise to protect my family. I am calling on that promise and asking you to take vengeance on behalf of my son."
Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Alright, I will call for an investigation at the next Hogwarts governors' meeting. But tell your son to listen to his instructors in the future, whether they are purebloods, half-bloods, or even Mudbloods. If he can't listen, he shouldn't be in school."
"Yes, my Lord."
* *
* * *
The meet ended the next morning as the king of Somerset announced that next year's meet would take place in the kingdom of Northamptonshire. The crowd roared its approval and broke up with many farewells, often given in the form of gentle--for a Manticore--slaps of the paw.
"Harry Athailt, please feel welcome to attend any Manticore meet in the future," said the king of Somerset. "They are always held during the days of the last new moon before the fall equinox. Just ask any Manticore you see during the year to find out where the next one will take place."
"Thank you, your highness," said Harry with a bow.
"This is good-bye for now, Harry," said Prince Hal, now King Hal, with sad eyes. "My queen and I must take possession of our kingdom in Lincolnshire, which is a good two days away. But I am sure we will see each other again."
As Harry joined King Mountbatten, Queen Ernestine, and Prince Alfred to begin the run back to Devon, Harry was surprised to find they had company: Princess Sophia was joining them.
"I thought princesses only left their families to go with the family of their betrotheds," said Harry. "Are you betrothed to Alfred?"
"I didn't say 'only,' Harry," she said as they ran southwest. "Besides, I'm too young to be betrothed. My king has decided that I could serve his kingdom best by broadening my horizons." Harry might have asked what that meant, but he was too out of breath from running.
Chapter 10: Chapter Ten: Sirius Black
Before getting another lesson from Slytherin, Ginny and Dobby met by the lake one Sunday morning and walked to the east end, which was out of sight of the castle, where they found a merman and a mermaid sitting on a rock with their tails in the water.
"Ginny Weasey, this is Grouper and Tilapia, the prince and princess of the tribe of merpeople who live in the Hogwarts lake," said Dobby.
Ginny curtseyed as low as she could. "I am honored to meet you, your highnesses," she said.
"Dobby the elf says that you are the heir of Slytherin," said Tilapia. "Do you have proof of this claim?"
Ginny pulled out Slytherin's sword and presented it, point down. "This is the sword of Slytherin." Then she raised Slytherin's staff. "This is the staff of Slytherin. It is also his Morcrux." She touched her wand to the staff and whispered, "Homelum Restorem," and Slytherin's spectre grew out of the staff. "And here is Salazar Slytherin himself."
The merpeople looked impressed and immediately said a few words in their own language. When they paused, Slytherin replied in their language. Then he turned to her, hissing, "I told them that you are, indeed, my heir, and that they should treat you as they would treat me."
"Thank you, Lord Slytherin," Ginny replied. Turning to the merpeople, she said, "Wizards have not been very friendly to other magical beings. I aim to change this. I want to start by freeing house elves. Then I want to help other sentient beings as well. Will you help me?"
Grouper stared into her eyes for a moment, then said, "The people of the waters do not normally get involved in the affairs of the people of the land, nor do we normally engage in war. Hogwarts has been good to us, but you are correct that wizards and witches elsewhere have mistreated some of our cousins. If we or any of our cousins can help you in any way, please come and find us here."
Tilapia handed Ginny what appeared to be the bone of a fish that had been carved into a whistle or flute. "Play this instrument and we will hear and come speak with you."
"Thank you, your highnesses," Ginny said with another curtsy.
* *
* * *
"Did you hear the news?" Astoria asked as Ginny sat down to breakfast the morning after Hallowe'en. "Sirius Black broke into the castle last night. He tried to get into the Gryffindor common room."
Ginny looked over at the Gryffindor table, where Ron and his friends were calmly eating. "It doesn't look like anyone got hurt," she commented.
"No, the only casualty I heard about was the painting that protects the entrance to their common room."
"Who do you suppose Black was after?"
"The rumor I heard is that he was looking for Neville Longbottom. Longbottom's parents worked closely with Harry Potter's parents in the last war. Maybe, after betraying Potter's family to the Dark Lord, Black wants to go after the Longbottoms."
"Maybe," said Ginny. "With the war having ended twelve years ago, though, it doesn't explain why Black is choosing to restart it now."
"Maybe it just took him this long to figure out how to escape from Azkaban."
* *
* * *
Manticores were quite the intellects, Harry had learned. The goblins he had lived with loved their mead, their forges, and their war stories. The centaurs talked endlessly about the stars and what they meant for the future. But the Manticores focused on philosophy, geneology, and ecology. Mountbatten and Ernestine discussed these things in detail, partly for Harry's benefit, partly because they enjoyed it, and partly because their lives depended on it.
Whilst the goblins and centaurs were omnivores, the Manticores were obligate carnivores, so maintaining and improving the productivity of the deerherds was high on their list of priorities. Lacking hands, they were not, however, tool users. The main way they could control the deer herds was by hunting or not hunting. If a territory's herds declined, they might leave it. When the populations recovered, they would give the territory to a new king and queen.
Lack of tools also meant no shelter for cold winter nights. Where the goblins had bunkhouses, and the centaurs had shelters with at least three sides, the Manticores slept out in the open, warmed only by the earth. Harry's thin blanket wasn't much help. Fortunately, Princess Sophia was happy to curl up with him at night, protecting him from the wind and keeping him warm with her fur. Sophia was still small for a Manticore, but massive compared with Harry.
During the day, Harry enjoyed hunting with Sophia as he had previously hunted with Nephele. Though he always carried his bow, and regularly practiced his archery skills, and he still refrained from killing anything without his Druid's prayer, he happily roamed over King Mountbatten's territory. As the deer herds thinned and scattered in the winter, he and Sophia sometimes went almost as many miles in a day as they had gone to the Somerset meet.
Unless one was sick or injured, each Manticore ate what it killed and killed what it ate. Sophia was always awed when she watched Harry call in a rabbit or deer and offer his Druid's prayer. But she didn't think much of the greens he ate whenever he could find some and didn't try his hot sauces.
One day, Harry and Sophia were hunting when Sophia accidentally cut herself deeply on some scrap metal that some Muggle had carelessly left in the forest. Harry was able to partly heal the wound, but it was so deep that he feared it would become infected. His potion kit had run out of the ingredients to prevent this infection.
"Let's visit the centaurs," he suggested. "Torino should have the potion we need to keep you healthy." Sophia would normally have lived with the risk of an infection, but to please Harry she agreed to try the centaurs' potion.
The entry of even a small Manticore into the centaurs' territory was a cause for alarm, especially as the centaurs had never met Sophia before. But Harry's presence alleviated concern, and they were welcomed by Castor and the other centaurs. Torino was happy to provide the needed potion, which Harry paid for by giving Torino some newly made canisters for storing potion ingredients.
"So, Harry, you have a new girlfriend," said Nephele with a hint of playful jealousy in her voice.
Harry just laughed. "Sophia, this is my sister Nephele. Nephele, meet my sister-in-law, Princess Sophia." While Harry spent some time with Torino discussing the availability of various potions ingredients in the winter, Nephele and Sophia went off together to talk about things they had in common. While both loved to hunt, Harry had the uncomfortable feeling that one of the things they were talking about was him.
* *
* * *
"I call this meeting of the Governors of Hogwarts School to order this fourth day of December, 1993," said Griselda Marchbanks. "Is there any new business?"
"Yes, Madam Chairman."
"Very well, Lucius, what do you have for us."
"Madam Chairman, members of the board, I ask that an investigation be conducted regarding a dangerous Hippogriff that injured one of the students in September."
"Are you talking about Buckbeak and Vincent Crabbe?" asked Lady Longbottom.
"Yes, I am. That animal permanently scarred young Mr. Crabbe and could easily have killed him."
"I read the post-incident report," said Longbottom, "and the teacher and headmaster were both satisfied that the problem was the student's own fault; he disobeyed the teacher's instructions."
"Yes, but the accident might never have happened if Professor Grubbly-Plank had begun her lessons with a more docile animal. It was her fault that she chose this particular animal, who seems to have a proclivity for attacking people."
"I did not know that Lord Malfoy was an expert on the relative docility of Hippogriffs," said Lady Longbottom, barely making an effort to conceal the sarcasm in her voice.
"I may not be an expert, but I only ask that this case be turned over to outside experts for a thorough and objective investigation."
"Well, you can't argue with that, can you Lady Longbottom?" simpered the chair. "If there is no objection, I rule that the board approves Governor Malfoy's proposal."
* *
* * *
"What is freedom?" Mountbatten asked during one of the evening philosophical discussions. "When do you feel free?"
"I feel free when I'm running through the forest," said Prince Alfred.
"Yes, but with his stubby legs and small lungs, Harry here can't run as fast as you. Is he less free than you?"
"I feel free when I am creating something, such as knives and other utensils, with a forge," said Harry.
"Yes, and we Manticores have no hands, so we can't use those sorts of technologies. Does that make us less free than you?"
"I feel free when I am hunting," said Princess Sophia.
"Yes, but some creatures do not hunt. Are they less free?"
"So what you are saying," suggested Sophia, "is that freedom is not being able to do whatever we want, but having the opportunity to achieve to the best of our abilities. I may want to fly, but just because I don't have the ability doesn't mean I am not free. But I can hunt, and if someone denies me the right to hunt, then I am not free."
"I think that is right," said Mountbatten. "But even if no one denies you the right to hunt, is there any limit to your freedom to hunt?"
Every Manticore knew the answer to that question as the ecology of predetors and prey had been drummed in to them since they first learned to hunt. "If we hunt every deer in our territory," recited Alfred, "we may feel free at the moment, but our families will starve when there are no more deer."
"So freedom includes the responsibility to use that freedom wisely," offered Sophia.
"I think that is right," agreed Mountbatten again. "What other responsibilities come with our freedom?"
"We have to respect our neighbors' territories," said Ernestine. "If we invade their territories and poach their deer, they may retaliate by killing all of our deer and again we will starve."
"We have to respect the rights of other beings," added Alfred. "If we don't respect the centaurs, where will we be if the wizards try to take our freedom?"
"I agree," said Mountbatten. "And young Harry has taught me something else: cooperation and trade with other beings can have unexpected benefits. Who among the Manticores knew, for example, that the centaurs have so many potions that can heal our injuries and diseases?"
* *
* * *
"My Gram sent me word today that the Hogwarts Board of Governors voted at yesterday's February 5 meeting to have Buckbeak executed," Neville announced at dinner.
"I thought a panel of objective experts was supposed to review the case," said Hermione.
"It was," said Neville with a scowl. "But one of the 'experts' was Walden McNair, whose main expertise is severing heads. Now he'll get paid by the Ministry to cut off Buckbeak's head."
"That sounds like a conflict of interest to me," said Dean.
"A what?" said Ron.
"When you ask someone to make an objective decision, but they personally benefit from making the decision one way but not the other, their interest conflicts with the decision," said Hermione.
"How did the Board of Governors get talked into agreeing to the execution?" asked Dean.
"Gram says that Lucius Malfoy made a bunch of deals with board members" said Neville. "Apparently, the going rate for ordering the execution of a Hippogriff is nothing more than an invitation to one of the Malfoy's glittering balls."
"That's disgusting," fretted Hermione. "Is there anything we can do?"
"Gram says there's an appeal process, but she doesn't think it will do much more than delay the inevitable."
"Let's go talk to Professor Grubbly-Plank tomorrow and see if she needs help with the appeal," suggested Hermione.
* *
* * *
With the coming of spring and promise of summer, Harry once again felt restless. "I've learned a lot from your family," he told the Manticores, "just as I previously learned from the goblins and centaurs. But I really need to find the wizards, both to learn from them and to see what I can do to improve wizarding society."
"We have learned from you, too, Harry Athailt," said Mountbatten. "But where will you go?"
"I'm thinking I made a mistake looking for a wizard in Devon," he said. "I saw a few wizarding families, but they looked pretty isolated. The only wizard I actually met told me of a magical school called Hogwarts. He didn't say where it is, but there must be lots of wizards in London, and maybe the school is there. So I am going to go back to London."
"You will be welcome to stay with any Manticore families along your route," said Mountbatten, and he gave Harry directions to the homes of Manticore kings in Wiltshire, Hampshire, and other territories between Devon and London. "But how will you find magical people in London? I understand many people live there and most of them will not be magical."
"The goblins taught me how to detect magical screens," said Harry. "I figure if I come near a magical community, I'll sense their screens."
"I'll miss you, Harry," said Sophia.
"I'll miss you, too. But I suspect Prince Alfred will be glad to keep you company."
She looked toward Alfred shyly. "Yes, we will both be coming of age soon. It may be that we will be betrothed."
Harry set out the next day. The nearly fourteen-year-old boy who was heading for London was vastly more experienced, better equipped, and in better shape than the eleven-year-old who set out from Surrey in 1991. He figured that, even at a slow pace, he could reach London in less than ten days. For at least the first few days, the dried meat in his pack would save him the effort of butchering and cooking food every night. He shrank his sword and kept it in his pack so he wouldn't look too out of place when he wanted to be seen.
* *
* * *
"The Ministry rejected Professor Grubbly-Plank's appeal of Buckbeak's execution," Neville told his friends. "They plan to cut off his head at sunset on June 9."
"June 9! That's tomorrow," worried Hermione. "I feel terrible that I didn't do enough to help Professor Grubbly-Plank."
"Hermione, you did everything you could," Neville reassured her. "The Ministry rejection was inevitable. They don't like Muggleborns any more than they like Hippogriffs."
"We'll have to go see Professor Grubbly-Plank tomorrow before sunset and see if there is anything left for us to do."
The next afternoon, Ron, Neville, and Hermione headed to the pen behind the Whomping Willow where Buckbeak was chained. "Why do you carry that rat everywhere you go?" asked Neville.
"Because I'm afraid Hermione's cat is trying to kill him," said Ron, with a scowl.
"Ron, I keep close watch on Crookshanks. She wouldn't try to kill your rat," said Hermione. "She never bothers Trevor, does she Neville?"
"No, I've never seen her give a second glance to my toad."
"Well, I wouldn't want to eat toad either," said Ron.
"Does that mean you want to eat a rat?" asked Hermione.
They were saved from Ron's inevitable explosion by the appearance of Professor Grubbly-Plank, who was walking to the pen carrying treats for Buckbeak. "I want to give him some happiness before he has to go," she said to the trio. She gave them each a dead ferret to toss to Buckbeak's beak.
"Professor, isn't there anything else we can do?"
"I'm afraid not," said the witch. "You better go up to the castle soon. You don't want to be around when this happens."
After tossing a few more treats to the Hippogriff, the downhearted trio started back to the castle, giving the Whomping Willow a wide berth. As Professor Grubbly-Plank and Buckbeak disappeared behind the tree and they came within sight of the castle, a large black dog jumped out of the forest and grabbed Ron by his leg, pulling him toward the dangerous Willow.
"Gerroff me, gerroff!" shouted Ron. Neville grabbed Ron by his arm, but the dog was too strong for him and Ron slipped away. Somehow the dog managed to get under the tree without it attacking him, and the dog dragged Ron into a hole in the ground.
Up at the castle, Ginny was sitting by a window when she saw her brother and his friends walking back from the forest. She jumped up when the dog attacked her brother, and when the dog and her brother disappeared, she called to her friend Astoria, "Get Professor Snape! Someone has kidnapped my brother by the Whomping Willow." Then she ran outside.
By the time she got to the tree, no one was around except an orange cat that she thought belonged to one of Ron's friends. But she followed skid marks leading to a hole under the willow. The tree began to shake threateningly, but she dodged it and jumped into the hole, which turned out to be a tunnel. Lighting her way with a Lumos command, she was forced to duck low as she followed the tunnel until it reached a room where she could hear shouting.
Peering inside, she could see a tall man holding a wand over Ron, whilst Neville and Hermione were huddled to one side. She could tell by the man's profile that it was Sirius Black, the notorious escapee from Azkaban. She aimed her wand at the man and yelled, "Expelliarmas!"
The man's wand flew into her hand--she realized that it was really Ron's wand--and he was thrown backwards as Ginny climbed out of the tunnel. "Why are you trying to kill my brother?"
He laughed at her. "You are Peter Pettigrew's sister?"
"No, I'm Ron Weasley's sister. Who is Peter Pettigrew?"
"Peter Pettigrew is right over there," said the man, pointing at Ron. "Can't you see him?"
"All I see is a deranged man who is threatening my brother, Ron Weasley."
"I don't mean the boy, I mean the rat. That rat is Peter Pettigrew, who betrayed the Potters to the Dark Lord."
Ginny was ready to stun the man and turn him over to the Ministry, but the mention of the Potters caused her to pause. "I thought you betrayed the Potters."
"Me? Never. James Potter was my best friend. We thought Peter Pettigrew was our friend as well, so the Potters gave Pettigrew the secret of where they were hiding from You-Know-Who. When I found out he betrayed them, I went after him and he managed to frame me for his murder. He and I are both unregistered animaguses, and his form is a rat. So he cut off his finger, changed to his rat form, and triggered an explosion. The Ministry put me in Azkaban without a trial, so no one ever knew he was an animagus."
"If that's true, then I should be able to turn the rat into this Peter Pettigrove, or whatever his name is."
"Yes, but that's a seventh-year charm, and you don't look like you're much beyond your first year," smirked Sirius.
Ginny just picked up Neville's and Hermione's wands and handed them to them. "Watch Black whilst I see about Ron's rat," she said. She then turned to Ron and, giving him his wand, said, "Hold on to Scabbers, but be ready to let him go if he really is an animagus." She pointed her wand at the rat and said, "Animagum Revello."
Ron dropped the rat and hastily slid backwards as the rat grew into a fat little man with crooked teeth and unkempt hair. "Padfoot, my old friend," said the man.
"Don't Padfoot me, Pettigrew, you rat. I'll kill you," said Black, but was restrained by Neville's and Hermione's threatening wands.
"I'm sorry Sirius," said the cowering fat man. "I didn't want to betray James and Lily, but You-Know-Who was too strong for me. I had to do what he wanted, or he would torture and kill me."
"Then you should have let him kill you," yelled Sirius. "I would have died for you."
"If what you say is true," said Neville, "you don't want to kill him. We should turn him over to the Aurors and, when he confesses under Veritiserum, you'll be set free."
"You're probably right," said Black. "But he killed my best friend and his family, and left me to rot in prison for a dozen years. I can't help but want revenge."
Suddenly, all eyes turned to another figure emerging from the tunnel. "Black, we've caught you at last," said Severus Snape. "I'll see you get the Dementor's kiss."
"You have it all wrong, professor," said Ginny. "Black is innocent."
"Innocent? Bah, hardly. That man has been guilty ever since he entered Hogwarts." Snape punctuated his statement by stunning Black.
Ginny automatically responded by firing an Expelliarmus spell at Snape, but the professor shielded the spell and fired right back at Ginny, taking her wand. In the altercation, Pettigrew changed back into a rat and ran away. Ignoring the pleas of the students, Snape ordered Ginny to follow him as he levitated Black and headed back to the castle. On her way out the door, Ginny saw a wand that Pettigrew had dropped and picked it up, hiding it in her robes.
The little group arrived at the castle steps at the same time as Minister Fudge, Walden Macnair, Professor Grubbly-Plank, and a couple of Aurors were meeting Headmaster Flitwick. "Minister Fudge, I've captured Sirius Black," said Snape.
"But minister, headmaster, Black is innocent," shouted Neville.
"Silence!" yelled Snape, casting a silencing charm on the three students. "Black has been guilty for as long as I've known him, but he somehow bewitched the minds of these poor students."
"Congratulations, professor," said Fudge. "I'll see if I can get you an Order of Merlin for this. Aurors, take this piece of scum. We'll have him kissed as soon as we take care of the Hippogriff."
Turning to Flitwick, the minister continued. "Headmaster, as I was saying, Professor Grubbly-Plank has shown us the, er, prisoner, and we will proceed with the execution as soon as we can get your signature allowing us to do it on the grounds of Hogwarts. It will be executed either way, but we would rather not have to move such a dangerous beast whilst it is still alive." Professor Gubbly-Plank quietly "harrumphed" at the claim that Buckbeak was "such a dangerous beast," but the minister ignored her.
"Headmaster," said Snape, "I would also like to charge Miss Weasley with attacking a member of your faculty." Flitwick looked at Ginny in surprise.
"All right, minister, professor, let's go up to my office." On the way up, Flitwich recalled what he knew about Ginny Weasley. She came from a good family, but everyone was surprised when she was sorted into Slytherin. She had been accused of plagierism and implicated with the petrification of several students in her first year, but no one could prove anything. If she had really attacked a professor, then perhaps she was just too great a liability to keep her at Hogwarts.
In the office, Flitwick sat in his special chair behind the headmaster's desk. "Please give me the forms and I'll sign them, Minister Fudge." He did so and the minister and Macnair left the office.
"Miss Weasley, do you have your wand?" Flitwick asked.
"I have it, headmaster," said Snape, handing the wand to the little wizard. Flitwick did a Priori Incantato on it.
"Miss Weasley, your wand was most recently used to make an aggressive attack on someone," he observed. "Did you attack a professor?"
"Yes, but . . ."
"There are no buts," interrupted Flitwick. "There can be no legitimate reason for attacking a professor of this school. You are expelled," he said, breaking the wand over the corner of the desk. Ginny looked down and noticed that her tie and the other Slytherin decorations on her uniform and robes disappeared. "Wait here, and I will Floo your parents to pick you up."
"Don't bother," said Ginny. "I don't need to be here anymore, and I am not going back to Muggletown." She turned to leave.
"I did not give you leave to depart," said Flitwick, locking the door.
Ginny turned back, her eyes red. "I'm expelled. You have no authority over me." She waved her hand and the door opened and she ran downstairs.
Snape was stunned. Ginny Weasley was the best student in his house. He expected Flitwick to give her detention, not expel her. He would have handled her discipline himself, but as the aggrieved party he had felt it would be best to defer to the headmaster. He was shocked that Flitwick, who was usually inordinately fair to every student, would expel Ginny without getting the details of the situation. Instead of following her, he turned to Flitwick to find out why the man had taken such an extreme measure.
Downstairs, Ginny met Neville and Hermione. "Did they give you detention?" asked Neville.
"Never mind me. Where are Minister Fudge and the Aurors?"
"The Aurors are holding Black near the gate to the school. The minister and executioner are down at Buckbeak's pen.
"If I hurry, I might be able to save more than one innocent life today," said Ginny, running down the hall.
She got to Buckbeak's pen just as Macnair was raising his axe. Using her new wand, she quickly stunned the unsuspecting Macnair, minister, and Professor Grubbly-Plank. "Sorry, professor," she muttered as she collected their wands, "but I can't let anyone interfere."
She then carefully bowed to Buckbeak, who bowed back and let her climb on his back. Using the wand to detach the animal from its chains, she said, "Fly Buckbeak! Fly to the school gate."
At the gate, Sirius Black was awake and trembling on the ground, whilst the Aurors looked around uncomfortably as the Dementors crowded at the gate, eager to give Black the kiss. None of them were looking up as Buckbeak zoomed down and Ginny quickly stunned the Aurors and expelled her horse Patonus to push back the Dementors.
"Quick, Mr. Black!" she shouted as the Hippogriff landed. "Climb up on Buckbeak's back so we can get out of here." Black was smart enough to bow quickly to the Hippogriff, who squawked as if to say, "Never mind that, get on board." As Black climbed on, Ginny Accioed the Aurors' wands, and the 'griff quickly took off.
"Thank you for helping me," said Black. "I can find a place to hide, but shouldn't you stay at Hogwarts?"
"I'm no longer welcome at Hogwarts," said Ginny, "or many other places now that I've helped you. Where are we going to go and hide?" The wind in their ears made conversation difficult, but Sirius managed to convey their destination to Buckbeak.
Hours later, under cover of darkness, the three of them landed outside of a narrow terrace house in Muggle London. "This was the house I grew up in until my sweet mother cast me out for being sorted into Gryffindor," said Black. "But my parents are both dead now, so the house should let me in." Sure enough, the door opened when he put his hand on the door.
"We'll put the bird in the attic," said Black, ignoring Ginny's protest that a Hippogriff was not a bird. Ginny avoided touching the walls, which were dingy and, even at their best, did not look very attractive. But the "bird" brushed against a painting, waking up its occupant.
"You filthy blood traitor," shouted the woman. "I told you never to come back to this house."
Sirius quickly conjured a curtain, muffling the woman's cries, and she quieted down. "Now you've met my mother," he said with a grim smile. "James Potter became my best friend when his family took me in when she cast me out."
Suddenly, a house elf popped in front of them. "The blood traitor returns and disturbs my mistress," said the elf. "And who did you bring with you? Is this your spawn or some floozy you found?" Ginny was amused at being called a floozy.
"Kreacher, I should have killed you and mounted your head on the wall when I had a chance," said Black. "Oh well, no time like the present," he added. "Ginny, may I borrow your wand?"
"No, Mr. Black!" shouted Ginny. "If you are Kreacher's master, I want you to free him."
"Why should I free this vile beast? He'll probably just go and work for one of You-Know-Who's followers."
Ginny turned to the elf, who had a look of grim determination on his face. She pulled Slytherin's sword out of its invisible sheath and said, "Kreacher, do you know what this is?"
Kreacher took a close look at the sword and fell on his knees. "That is the sword of Salazar Slytherin, the greatest of the Hogwarts Four," he said reverently.
"Yes, and do you know why I have it?" He looked up into her eyes pitifully.
"You . . . you are the heir of Slytherin," he said, lowering his eyes. "You do the family a great honor to come into this house."
"You are correct. And, as the heir of Slytherin, I have a mission: to free all of the house elves."
The elf looked up in puzzlement. "You wish to free us, Lady Slytherin? Why do you care about ones so low?"
"Stand up, Kreacher," Ginny said. "You are not low. You are a proud elf who has been oppressed by generations of wizards misled by self-serving myths and legends. I can tell you that Salazar Slytherin would not have oppressed elves. If Master Black frees you, we will be one elf closer to freeing all elves."
"What will I do if I am freed? I have no place to go."
"You can still work in the Black household, but you will work for pay, not out of a magical obligation that was forced upon your ancestors centuries ago."
The elf looked down in thought, then looked again into her eyes. "If Master Black wishes it," he declared, "then I will be a free elf."
Ginny turned to Sirius, who stood with his mouth hanging open. "Free him, then we will pay him for as long as he wishes to serve the Black household."
"But . . . but as an escaped criminal, I can't get access to the Black vaults in Gringotts. How will I pay him?"
"I'll pay him for now," said Ginny. "Now free him, as I freed you from the Aurors."
Black gulped and realized he owed her a debt. He turned to Kreacher and said, "I give you your freedom, Kreacher. But you are welcome to work here for . . . Ginny, how much should we pay him?"
In response, Ginny called, "Dobby!"
"Miss Weasey calls Dobby!" He looked around. "What is Miss Weasey doing in this dark house?"
"Dobby, let me introduce you to Kreacher. Mr. Black here has just freed Kreacher, so we are one more elf closer to elf freedom. In the meantime, we wish to pay Kreacher to continue to work in the Black household. And you can work here too as long as I am here. We will pay Kreacher the same as we pay you, a Galleon a week. Is that satisfactory, Kreacher?" The old elf nervously nodded his head.
"Dobby, will you help Kreacher adjust to life as a free elf?"
"Dobby is glad to work with the noble Kreacher, elf of the Black household," said Dobby. He took Kreacher by the hand and as they walked off, Ginny heard Dobby say with relish, "There is much work to be done around here."
"We can't stay here for long, however," Sirius said as they walked through the house. "The Ministry knows I once lived here, and this will be one of the first places they look for me."
"That's all right," said Ginny, looking around at the dingy walls and archaic furniture. "I'll do a Fidelius charm. You can be the secret keeper."
"You can do a Fidelius charm?" asked Black skeptically.
"I've had some advance tutoring," Ginny said absently.
Sirius turned to Ginny, getting his first good look at his rescuer since they met in the room at the end of the tunnel under the Whomping Willow. "Who are you, anyway?" he asked. "You look a little like Molly Prewitt, who was a few years ahead of me at Hogwarts. Didn't she marry Arthur Weasley? But how would a member of the Weasley family become the heir of Slytherin?"
"You're right, Mr. Black. I'm Ginny Weasley, and how I got to be heir of Slytherin is a long story. Right now, I need to clean up and get some sleep."
"I'm sorry this place is such a mess. My parents had strange tastes, and no one has lived in it since they died several years ago. Kreacher should have kept it clean, but obviously he didn't."
"Maybe now that he is being paid, he'll have more of an incentive to do so," said Ginny.
"Anyway," said Black, "there should be some relatively clean bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs."
They climbed the stairs, and Sirius showed her a room with a connecting bath that appeared acceptable. Then he headed on up to what he said used to be his room. Ginny cleaned the room as well as she could in a few minutes, then called Dobby, who popped in by himself.
"Dobby, can you please find some clean bed linens and towels? I'd like to take a shower and go to bed." Dobby enthusiastically agreed and popped out, then popped in and gave her a towel. He promised to fix the bed up whilst she was showering.
"When you are done," Ginny asked, "could you go back to Hogwarts and get my trunk? Make sure it has Slytherin's staff, and bring it here." Dobby said he would.
When she got out of the shower, the bed looked fresh and clean, and her trunk was placed at the foot of the bed with the staff lying on top. Ginny thanked the elf and told him to find a comfortable place to spend the night, then collapsed into bed.
After Dobby was gone, after Sirius stopped making noises upstairs, but before falling asleep, she reflected on her day. Having lived through almost all of Tom's experiences at Hogwarts, she sometimes thought of herself as an eighteen-year-old mind in a twelve-year-old body. But the stress of getting expelled, of feeling she would be a disappointment to her parents, and of narrowly saving Buckbeak and Black from executions was, for the moment, too much and she quietly cried herself to sleep.
* *
* * *
Used to living with a handful of Manticores or a few dozen centaurs or goblins, Harry found even the outskirts of London, with its teeming millions of people, to be bewildering. Whilst he was able to find parks to sleep in at night, walking through the area on streets that were often designed more for autos than pedestrians and on routes that were not always direct was confusing. Unfortunately, he didn't have any maps, and the Muggle money that Deerslayer had given him long ago had long since been spent.
When he finally found some wizards, he didn't expect to be welcomed with open arms. But he was shocked to find that they were accompanied by some of the most nightmarish creatures he had ever seen. While Manticores may have looked scary, these things felt scary down to his very core. The entire world seemed to go black, and he heard screaming.
"Lily, he's here! Take Harry, and I'll try to hold him off," someone shouted. Then a red-haired woman yelled, "You can't have Harry. Kill me instead." Then he passed out.
When he woke up, he heard two wizards talking. He knew they were wizards, because they were talking about Muggles. "Should we obliviate the boy?" one of them said.
"Naw, he's a Muggle," said the other. "He didn't see anything; he'll think he just fainted." Harry didn't know what obliviate was, but it didn't sound good. If he was going to meet wizards, he wanted to approach them on his terms, not theirs, so he pretended to still be unconscious until they left. Then he got up and continued his search for magical screens that would indicate the presence of wizards who might not be accompanied by living nightmares.
* *
* * *
The morning after Ginny and Sirius arrived at Grimmauld Place, Ginny woke up hungry; she realized she hadn't had any dinner the night before. The face looking at her in the bathroom mirror appeared sleepless and tear-streaked. But years of living with six brothers had taught her never to show weakness in public. She took a shower, dressed in clean clothes she found in her trunk, and headed downstairs to find Black, Kreacher, and Dobby working in the kitchen.
"Good morning, everyone," she said cheerfully. "Dobby, are the accommodations here to your liking?"
"Yes, Miss Weasey. Kreacher and I is cleaned a room and put in beds for each of us. Before, he was living in a cupboard in the kitchen. I is told him that a cupboard is not an appropriate bedroom for a free elf."
"That's excellent, Dobby. When you get a chance, can you please go to Diagon Alley and get the Daily Prophet? We're going to need to keep up with the Ministry's propaganda."
"Sure, Miss Weasey," said Dobby, who popped out, then popped back with the paper.
"Hmm," said Ginny as she read the front page. "It seems the frightening murderer, Sirius Black, managed to escape the law again. It doesn't say anything about him having any accomplices. That means that, even if I'm no longer a Hogwarts student, at least I can show my face around town without fear of being arrested."
They sat down to eat the breakfast that Dobby and Kreacher had prepared. Kreacher was hesitant to sit at the kitchen table, but Dobby said, "Free elves sit with their friends," so he nervously joined them.
"Miss Weasley," Sirius said, "Kreacher and your elf are working very hard to fix this place up. I've apologized to Kreacher for mistreating and misunderstanding him in the past. It will take a lot of work to make this place beautiful, but it won't take long to at least make it livable."
"Please, Mr. Black, call me Ginny. I'm happy that Kreacher is working closely with you and Dobby, who is not my elf but my good friend."
"Well, Ginny," said Black, "call me Sirius. But I'm not sure what to do with you. I'm not sure it is even appropriate for a first-year witch to live with an adult wizard who she is not related to."
"Please, I'm in my second year, but I've been taking third-year courses," said Ginny. "I'm actually well beyond that; I had some private tutors who have taught me a lot of magic that I suspect you didn't know when you graduated from Hogwarts. As for what's appropriate, leave it to me to decide what is appropriate. I could care less what others think, but believe me, if you tried to do anything that I didn't want, you would find yourself in trouble pretty fast."
"What about your family? I've met your parents and even some of your brothers. Aren't the Weasley's all about family togetherness?"
"Having grown up in a house with six older brothers, I've had it up to here with family togetherness," Ginny said with furrowed brow. "Last night was the first time in my life that I've been able to take a shower without worrying that a brother or housemate would barge in on me. I don't want to take undue advantage of your hospitality, but it seems to me that we can work together. You're a wanted criminal and can't be seen leaving the house, at least not in magical areas. I may have been expelled from Hogwarts, but no one knows I helped you escape from those Aurors, so I can go to Gringotts, Diagon Alley, and other places without fear of being detained by the authorities."
"Where are you getting the money to pay these two noble house elves, much less for food and other things we are going to need to live in this dingy place?" Kreacher bristled a bit at that but kept quiet.
"The heir of Slytherin has her own vault at Gringotts that should keep us in tea and crumpets for some time. Since I'm financing this little venture, I'd also like your help in accomplishing my goal of freeing house elves."
"Tell me about this little crusade of yours. I always thought that free elves went insane."
Ginny frowned. "That's just a myth, and I'm tired of hearing it. The truth is that wizards enslaved elves about six centuries ago. But there is a loophole: if ever 500 elves are freed, the enslavement spell ends and all elves will go free." Dobby nodded his head in support.
"Is that true, Kreacher?" asked Sirius.
"House elves is always known this," said Kreacher. "But no more than a dozen elves is free at any one time, so we is had little hope of freedom."
"So how are you going to free another 490 or so elves?"
"I suspect most of the elves are owned by the big landowning families, and many of them are Slytherin. As the heir of Slytherin, I hope I can persuade many of them to follow my example."
"Well, if you will pardon me for saying so, you may have been taking third-year courses, but you still look like a first year. What makes you think that powerful Slytherin barons and earls will listen to you?"
As an answer, Ginny asked innocently, "Do you have a room in this house where we could practice our dueling?"
They were finished with breakfast, so they left the cleanup to the elves and went upstairs to an empty room. "My brother, Regulus, and I often practiced our spells in here. But do you really want to duel me? I was an active participant in the war. James and I personally faced You-Know-Who three times."
"We'll just practice," Ginny said with a smile. "Minor spells only; nothing too fatal. All right?"
"Wait a minute," said Sirius. "I don't have a wand."
Ginny pulled the wands she had collected the night before from her pocket. "See which one of these works best for you."
Sirius tried them all, and two worked pretty well but one felt almost as good as the wand he lost when he was thrown in Azkaban. "Where did you get this wand?"
"I am not sure. It might be Minister Fudge's wand, or possibly one of the Aurors' wands. It definitely isn't Macnair's which is this one," she said, holding a twisted wand of hawthorne, "or Professor Grubbly-Plank's wand, which is this one," she said, holding a slim wand of ash.
"I hope it is an Auror wand," said Sirius, "and not the wand belonging to that slimeball Fudge. He was always taunting me when he visited Azkaban."
After Sirius adjusted to his new wand, they took positions near the opposite ends of the room. Sirius was glad to see that behind them the walls were still covered with soft material to absorb the impact from flying bodies, so he didn't have to worry too much about hurting this little redheaded girl. It never occurred to him that he might have to worry about getting hurt himself.
They bowed slightly, and Sirius started casting a series of jinxes and stinging hexes. Out of necessity, he had learned in the war to cast quickly and not give his opponents a chance to relax. Ginny immediately threw up a shield, but Sirius knew from long experience that no wizard or witch could keep a shield up forever. It was just a matter of her tiring out before he did. Even though he was recently in prison, his long trek from Azkaban to Hogwarts had left him fit and he would sure he could outlast this little girl.
Ginny had immediately cast a Protego, preceding it, as was her habit, by a Geminus spell. She was surprised to see her shield take on a golden sheen. Sirius' spells just bounced off. This wand she had picked up from Pettigrew seemed much more attuned to her magic than her grandmother's wand. It seemed familiar, somehow, as if it had always belonged to her.
Whilst she puzzled over her wand, Sirius was creeping a little closer with each spell he cast. None of the spells were getting by her shield, but when he got close enough, she tossed her wand into her left hand and whipped out Slytherin's sword and swung it in his direction. He quickly danced back, but she found she could swing the sword outside the shield and hit Sirius' spells, giving her more control over where they went.
The girl hadn't cast a single offensive spell, yet Sirius started getting hit by his own spells that caromed off of her sword. She had hardly taken a step, yet he was already sweating and getting out of breath. He was tempted to cast stronger spells, but he didn't want the spells to bounce back and hit him.
Ginny was getting a little bored of watching Sirius bounce around like a bunny rabbit. So, without ending the shield spell, she whispered, "Geminus Expelliarmus." Sirius saw the spell coming and cast his own shield, but the spell came crashing through his shield and threw him violently against the wall.
"Sirius, Sirius! Are you all right?" Ginny went running over. "I didn't mean to cast that spell so hard." Maybe, she thought to herself, she should get out of the habit of using the Geminus spell unless she really meant to do some damage.
Sirius looked up to see Ginny with a wand in each hand. Behind her, the sword of Slytherin was lying on the floor.
"Godric Gryffindor, that was one powerful Expelliarmus," he said. "Where did you get that wand, anyway? I thought they broke the wands of students when they expelled them."
"They broke my grandmother's wand, which I've used the last couple of years but never really fit me," said Ginny. "Your former friend Peter dropped this wand, and it feels warm and friendly like it has always been my wand."
"That's funny. Peter's wand was much shorter. He must have acquired a new one whilst I was in prison."
"So, do you think some of the Slytherin families will respect me now?"
"Maybe so. But some of them, such as Lucius Malfoy, are fierce duelers who take no prisoners."
"Dobby!" said Ginny. The little elf popped in. "Tell Sirius about our last encounter with your former master."
"Miss Ginny pointed the sword of Slytherin at Mr. Malfoy and told him she would declare a blood feud on the House of Malfoy if he did not free me and his other elves. He agreed to free us, and now he pays the other elves a Galleon a week. I, however, work for Miss Ginny."
"Thank you, Dobby." Dobby popped away.
"That is amazing!" said a wide-eyed Sirius. "The only person I ever saw who could intimidate Malfoy was You-Know-Who himself."
"Why do you always call him You-Know-Who?" Ginny asked.
"In the war, he cast a spell over the entire country so that, if anyone used his name, Death Eaters could immediately apparate to them and attack. So people on our side started calling him You-Know-Who. What do people call him today?"
"I've heard many older people use that term, or the Dark Lord, or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. But many younger people call him Voldemort. I just call him Tom."
"Tom? Where did you get that?"
"That's his real name: Tom Marvolo Riddle. That's an anagram for 'I am Lord Voldemort.' He adopted the name Voldemort because of the anagram and because it sounded scary."
"How do you know so much about him?"
"Last year, he was my best friend."
"WHAT! I thought he was dead."
"Let me show you," she said. She went to her room and dug the diary out of her trunk and brought it and the staff back to the dueling room. She showed Sirius the engraved name on the diary and told him to write in it. He conjured up a quill and wrote, "Hello."
Sirius jumped as the diary wrote back, "I am not talking with you, Ginny."
"Have you ever heard of a Horcrux?" Ginny asked.
"No, what is it?"
"Murdering someone is such a foul act that it splits your soul. If you cast the right spell, part of your soul will attach itself to an object that then becomes a Horcrux. Tom made several Horcruxes to try to be immortal: if his body died, the pieces of soul in his Horcruxes would try to recreate and inhabit a new body."
"Only someone as evil as You-Know . . . er, Voldemort would do something like that."
"That's right. He gave one of his Horcruxes to Lucius Malfoy. I don't think he told Malfoy what it was, but Malfoy knew there was dark magic in it. He slipped it into my books when we were at Diagon Alley in my first year. I think he was trying to expose me as a dark witch to discredit my father, who has worked against Malfoy since the end of the war."
"That sounds about right. Malfoy was always pretty devious."
"I started writing in the diary, and Tom tried to trick me into giving up my soul and body so he could live again. Instead, I tricked him into teaching me everything he learned at Hogwarts, at least up until he created this Horcrux in his seventh year. He was the Head Boy and top student in his class, which is why I really don't need to finish my schooling there. Since he realized I tricked him, he has refused to write back to me."
"So how did you get to be the heir of Slytherin?"
"One of the things Tom taught me was to speak Parseltongue so I could open the Chamber of Secrets."
"The what?"
"When Hogwarts was built, Salazar Slytherin hid a large chamber under the castle where he placed a Basalisk and some of his other possessions. I think he meant to use it as a redoubt if ever Hogwarts was attacked by Muggles."
"More likely, as a place to escape to when he fought Godric Gryffindor."
"That's another myth. Anyway, I went into the chamber, and the Basalisk told me that, as a test, I had to pull this sword from a stone. When I succeeded in doing so, she declared I was the heir of Slytherin."
"Just because a big snake says so doesn't make it so."
"No, but if Salazar Slytherin says so, it is probably so. Last summer, my family and I went to Egypt, where my brother Bill works for the goblins as a curse breaker. With his help, I opened the tomb of Salazar Slytherin and found this: Slytherin's staff. The goblins accepted my claim as the heir of Slytherin and let me keep the staff and paid me 60,000 Galleons for the other items in the tomb."
"60,000 Galleons! No wonder you are able to pay Dobby and Kreacher one Galleon a week!" Sirius said with a smile.
"It's a fair wage, for an elf. At least, Dobby and the other elves think so."
"So now we have a big snake and the goblins agreeing that you are the heir of Slytherin, but where does Salazar Slytherin come in?"
In reply, Ginny touched her wand to the staff and Slytherin's spectre appeared. "Greetings Lady Slytherin," the ghost hissed.
"Hello, Lord Slytherin, allow me to introduce you to my friend, Lord Black. Sirius, this is Salazar Slytherin."
"Sum freawine Cwen Slytherin sy sum freawine Cynehlaford Slytherin," said the spectre, bowing graciously.
Sirius bowed back with a puzzled look on his face, then whispered to Ginny, "So, Slytherin must have murdered someone to make this staff a Horcrux."
"Down boy," she said with a laugh. "No, this is a Morcrux, a soul container that is created when a wizard dies who does not wish to have their soul leave the earth. It is similar to becoming a ghost, but the soul stays in the Morcrux unless released by someone else."
"But I bet Slytherin was pretty evil in some way."
"No, like you, his reputation was just the victim of bad publicity. He had nothing against Muggleborns or even Muggles. His difference with Gryffindor was mainly because Salazar was the first wizard to propose what became the Statute of Secrecy. Gryffindor didn't want magicals to separate from the non-magical world, and they debated that, but the debate never turned violent. Somehow, over the centuries, the pureblood myth has grown that Slytherin hated Muggles, but that is probably just a way that they justify their prejudices."
"Lord Slytherin, you have taught me well. Lord Black is a highly experienced dueler, but with the combat lessons you taught me, I easily defeated him. He will be a loyal ally in the future."
"Congratulations Lady Slytherin on forming this alliance. The House of Black should be a valuable addition to your crusade."
"If you wish, I'll return you to your Morcrux and call on you later for more lessons," said Ginny. The white-bearded ghost bowed and disappeared as Ginny touched her wand to the staff.
"Why do you speak with him in hisses?" asked Sirius.
"His English is so different from ours that we can barely understand each other. For some reason, snake talk hasn't changed much over the centuries."
"What did you tell him before he went back into the staff?"
"I told him that, having defeated you in single combat, you were now my faithful vassal and would be loyal to our cause," she said with a laugh. Sirius joined her in laughter, then wondered if maybe it was true.
"Come," she said. "We better do that Fidelius charm. Salazar was the one who taught me how to do it. Then we should look at modifying the roof so there is an easy way to get Buckbeak in and out of the attic. I suspect we will often need him for transportation."
Chapter 11: Chapter Eleven: The Red Hair That Lights the Night
One evening in early July, Ginny was returning home from shopping in Muggle London when the street became unseasonably cold. She knew what it was right away: Dementors. Muggles couldn't see Dementors, but they could feel the effects, and several groups of Muggles walked hastily passed her away from the cold.
She knew the Dementors were probably searching for Sirius, but walked into the cold to make sure no one was being harmed. She was shocked to find a Dementor bent over a boy about her own age, about to suck out his soul. Several more Dementors were hovering behind the boy.
"Get away from him!" Ginny yelled, her red hair flashing in the Dementor-enhanced darkness. The creature turned toward her for a minute, then turned back to the boy. "You can't hurt us, little one," she felt it say. "Go away, or I will kiss you next."
"Geminus Expecto Patronum!" she cried, and from her wand emerged not a horse but a huge, silvery Hippogriff. The corporeal Patronus grabbed the Dementor in its claws and Ginny heard, or felt, its shrieks of pain as the Hippogriff shredded the foul creature. All but one of the other Dementors fled. As the Hippogriff turned to warily watch the remaining demon, Ginny stepped up to the boy, her hair flaiming red in the reflected light of the Patronus. Before kneeling down to see if he was all right, she stood straight and focused red eyes on the remaining Dementor.
"Do you know who I am?" she asked.
"We know you, Lady Slytherin," answered the creature in her head. "I apologize for the failure of my late comrade to recognize you."
"Wizards call you Dementors. What do you call yourselves?"
"We call ourselves the People."
Ginny looked down to see that the boy was breathing steadily, as if asleep. "The People feed off of human emotion," she said. "Why do you also want to steal our souls?"
The creature thought for a minute, then she got an image in her mind that contrasted a glass of pumpkin juice with a Pepperup potion.
"But why attack this innocent boy?" she persisted.
"He is not as innocent as you might think," the creature responded. "We, too, have prophecies."
Ginny didn't know what that meant, but she didn't care at the moment. "I will not interfere with the People as long as they are protecting other sentient creatures from evil," she pronounced. "But if any of the People steals someone's soul without my permission, I will kill them and any who aid them."
"Your Ministry sometimes directs us to feed off of condemned criminals."
"Then I suggest you respectfully decline," she declared. "Unless I say otherwise, Pepperup potion is off the menu." The dark creature bowed and departed, allowing Ginny to give her full attention to the boy.
She cradled his head under her arm and was surprised when he opened his eyes and looked up at her flaming red hair, still lit by the bright Patronus. "Lily?" he said. "Are you Lily?" Then his head rolled and as he fell unconscious again his longish hair swept away from his forehead, revealing a lightning-shaped scar.
As her Patronus faded away, Ginny picked him up. With the help of a Wingardium Leviosa, she carried him back to Grimmauld Place and up the stairs into the parlor, laying him gently on the sofa. "Sirius, it's him!" she exclaimed. "It's Harry Potter."
Harry woke up to find himself in a dark room. He was lying on a soft mattress, and realized that this was his first time in a real bed since, well, ever. He looked around to see a red-haired girl sitting in a chair asleep. Having a pressing need to find a place to relieve himself, he tried to get up without disturbing her, but the creak of the boards when his feet touched the floor woke her up.
"Good morning," she said with a smile. "I'm glad you're awake."
"Good morning, I guess," he said. "Er, how did I get here? The last thing I remember was walking in London and running into those--things."
"They're called Dementors," she said, "but they call themselves 'the People.' By the way, my name is Ginny Weasley. I found you and brought you here."
"Where is here?"
"This is the home of Sirius Black, who, if my ears do not deceive me, is about to walk in that door." Sure enough, footsteps could be heard outside the room, and then the door opened and a tall man with dark hair entered.
"Good morning!" he said. "You're both awake. How are you feeling today?" he finished, looking straight at Harry.
"Okay, I guess. My name is Harry, by the way."
"Good to meet you," the man said with his hand extended. "I'm Sirius, except when I'm not," he finished with a smirk.
"Nice to meet you," said Harry, shaking the man's hand. "Are you--are you wizards?"
"I'm a wizard, she's a witch," said Sirius.
"Thank you for your help," said Harry. "I'd love to talk with you some more, but right now I need to find a bathroom."
"It's right down the hall on the right," said Ginny with a smile. "You should take a shower," she added, wrinkling her nose. "Take your time, and then come downstairs and we'll have some breakfast."
After Harry left the room, Sirius' smile left his face. "He doesn't know we know who he is," he said.
"I don't think he knows who he is," said Ginny. "When I found him on the street, he called me Lily, but he didn't seem to know who she was."
Sirius stared at her for a minute. "There is a resemblance," he said. "How much should we tell him?"
"Let's just take it slow," said Ginny. "He didn't seem to be bothered that he was in the home of the notorious criminal, Sirius Black. But maybe he was just doing a good job of covering up."
Sirius went down to the kitchen to help Dobby and Kreacher organize breakfast, whilst Ginny went to her room one floor below to change clothes and freshen up in the bathroom. When she came out, she found Harry slowly descending the stairs, looking at the elf heads hanging on the wall.
"Er, what are these?" he asked.
Ginny scowled. "Those are house-elf heads," she said. "House elves are servants to many magical families. The people who used to live here thought they were honoring them by mounting their heads on the wall when they died. I think it's disgusting, but we haven't had time to redecorate since we moved in just a few weeks ago."
"Is Sirius your uncle or something?" Harry asked.
"Actually," said Ginny, "judging from the fact that you both have messy dark hair, he might be more closely related to you than to me. Let's go talk to him and find out."
In the kitchen, Harry was delighted to see eggs, bacon, and toast--food he remembered from the Dursleys but that he hadn't gotten to eat since then. Sirius was setting the table, whilst two small creatures whose heads resembled the ones mounted on the staircase wall were cooking the food.
"Harry, I'd like you to meet my friends, Dobby and Kreacher," said Ginny. The little elves' eyes went wide.
"It is an honor to meet you, Harry," said the younger one.
The other one bowed low. "Kreacher is honored to meet Miss Ginny's and Master Sirius' friend," he said.
"It is very nice to meet you both," said Harry, holding out his hand. The elves shook his hand with obvious pleasure, then finished serving the food.
"Help yourself, Harry," said Sirius as they all sat down. "There's plenty to go around."
After they served themselves and started eating, Sirius asked, "So, Harry, you must be a wizard, too."
"I guess so. I mean, I've only met one wizard before now, and, well, the meeting didn't go well."
"So you haven't been to school?"
"I went to school, a non-magical school, for several years," said Harry. "But the people I was living with, they, well, didn't like me. So I ran away from home about three years ago. I've been living off the land since then and learning what I can from other, well, people."
There was silence for a minute as Ginny and Sirius tried to figure out what this meant. Before they could respond, Harry said with a laugh, "So, Mr. Black, Ginny seems to think you and I might be related since we both have messy hair."
Sirius got a serious look on his face and said, "Actually, Harry, I'm your godfather."
Harry dropped his fork. "You mean, you know who I am? How?"
"You look very much like your father did when he was your age," said Sirius. "He was my best friend when we were in school."
"You knew my father? I mean, all I know about him is that he was a drunk who killed himself and my mother in an auto accident."
"Who told you that?" asked Sirius in an insulted tone. "Your father was no drunk. He was the best man I ever knew. He and your mother were murdered by an evil wizard who was trying to take over the magical world."
Harry looked at Ginny, who nodded in confirmation. "So what happened to the evil wizard?"
"You happened to him, Harry," Ginny said quietly. "He tried to kill you, but somehow his spell bounced off of you and hit him."
"What? That doesn't make sense. He killed my father and mother, but couldn't kill a baby?"
"It's magic, Harry," said Sirius. "Magic doesn't always seem to make sense right away. James and Lily were powerful magicians. They may have used a spell that protected you from Voldemort." Ginny nodded in approval at Sirius' use of the Riddle's noms de guerre.
"Lily? Wait, I remember. When those Dementor things got close to me, I heard a woman scream and a man say, 'Lily, take Harry.' Then, she said she loved me, and . . . and . . . I don't remember what else."
"Your parents did love you, Harry," said Sirius. "I could see it in their eyes right after you were born and every time I saw you after that. After your mother and father, I was the first person to hold you when you were a baby."
"If you were my godfather, why did I have to live with the Dursleys for so many years?"
Sirius' face fell in sorrow. "Your parents were betrayed," said Ginny. "After they died, everyone thought that Sirius betrayed them to Tom. They imprisoned him without a trial for twelve years. He escaped prison last year, but he is still a wanted man."
"Then who did betray my parents?"
"We had another friend named Peter Pettigrew," said Sirius. "At least, we thought he was our friend. But he betrayed your parents and managed to disappear, making it look like I killed him."
"It's true, Harry," said Ginny. "I saw Peter less than a month ago. He confessed that he betrayed your parents, but he managed to escape before we could turn him over to the Aurors."
"Orers? What are orers?"
"They are magical police," said Ginny. "I tried to convince them that Sirius was innocent, but they were going to execute him anyway even though he never had a trial. I helped him escape and now he is hiding out here."
Harry processed this for a few moments. "This evil wizard--you called him Volde-something, and Ginny called him Tom," said Harry. "Why did he want to kill my parents anyway?"
"Aside from the fact that your parents were among the people fighting against Voldemort's efforts to control magical Britain," said Sirius, "there was some kind of prophecy about you, something about you were destined to kill him. I never heard the prophecy, but there should be a copy at the Ministry. Your parents went into hiding when they heard about it. Unfortunately, he found them anyway."
"Tom Riddle was raised in a Muggle--that is, non-magical--orphanage, where he was bullied by older children," said Ginny. "After he found out he was a wizard and graduated from a school of magic called Hogwarts, he decided to get revenge on non-magical people. Unfortunately, there is a lot of prejudice among wizards and witches against Muggles, as well as against other races such as goblins and centaurs. Riddle changed his name to Voldemort, partly because it sounds scary, and used those prejudices to build an army that killed anyone who didn't support their twisted view of the world. They might have won, too . . . if it weren't for you."
"You almost sound like you've met this wizard."
"I have," said Ginny, pulling out the diary. "He left a piece of himself in this book. It tried to possess me a year ago but was unsuccessful." Sirius looked nervous, but she touched her wand to the diary and whispered, "Homenum Restorem." A ghostly image of young Tom Riddle rose up from the book.
"Why have you called me, Ginny Weasley?" said the ghost. "I am not some plaything that you can taunt. I will escape this diary, and when I do you won't be able to stop me."
"Actually, Tom, I wanted to introduce you to Harry Potter, the wizard who defeated you when he was just a year old. If a toddler can beat you, I don't think I'll have any problem."
"You lie! No baby could defeat me, the most powerful wizard in the world."
"That's enough for now, Tom. Homenum Protectem." The spectre faded away.
"I've heard that voice before!" said Harry. "The wizard I met before, sometimes he would talk in a high-pitched voice, and other times he hissed like your Tom."
"Your wizard must have been possessed," said Sirius. "Did he have anything like a book that might have been possessing him?"
"He had a crown of some kind," said Harry. "We fought, and it fell off his head. He sounded relieved that it was no longer on him."
"Where is he?" asked Sirius. "Do you still have the crown?"
"I . . . I think he is dead. I didn't mean to kill him, but he was trying to choke me to death. When the crown fell off, he stopped attacking me, but he was pretty severely injured. Just before he passed out, he told me to take it but not wear it. I got scared and left, but I took the crown and have it in my pack." Harry ran upstairs to get the diadem.
Whilst he was gone, Sirius said, "I was afraid for a moment that he would want to turn me in to the Ministry."
"It doesn't sound to me like he has had good experiences with wizards," said Ginny. "When I said that many wizards and witches were prejudiced against goblins and centaurs, he didn't seem surprised and even nodded his head in agreement."
When Harry got back, he spread the diadem out on the table. "The wizard said to keep it safe, but I've hardly touched it since then."
"Who was this wizard, Harry?" asked Sirius.
"He said he was Quirinus Quirrel, a professor at Hogwarts."
"Quirrel, Quirrel," thought Sirius aloud. "I remember a Quirrel from when I went to Hogwarts. He was older than me, pretty quiet. What did he say he taught at Hogwarts?"
"Something like . . . Muggle studies?" said Harry.
"It doesn't sound like something that would lead him to be possessed by the Dark Lord," said Sirius. "I wonder how he found this crown."
Ginny touched her wand to the diadem and said, "Homenum Restorem." Another ghostly image emerged from the headdress, but it didn't look much like the Tom Riddle that came from the diary. Instead, its facial features were smooth, like that of a snake, and its skin was scaly.
"This crown will give you wisdom if you put it on," it said.
Ginny laughed. "I don't think so, Tom!" she said. "Tell us how you met Quirinus Quirrel."
"Why should I tell you anything?" challenged the image.
"If you cooperate with us, I'll let you out of your cage now and then. If you refuse to cooperate, I'll throw you into a Fiendfyre."
The images beady eyes looked around the room as if search for an exit. "Very well," it said. "Quirrel found me at Hogwarts, where I had hidden the diadem. We were looking for the Philosopher's Stone so he could restore my body."
"We might have more questions for you later, but for now I think you better go back into the crown." She touched her wand to the headdress and said, "Homenum Protectem." The image faded angrily away.
"This confirms that he made more than two of these things," said Sirius.
"What are they, anyway?" asked Harry.
"They're called Horcruxes," said Ginny. "If a wizard or witch murders someone, it splits their soul, and they can put part of it in any object."
"How many more do you suppose are out there?" asked Harry
"I'm not sure," said Ginny, "but the diary was the second one. Before that, he made a ring, but we haven't found it yet. There are probably several more. Tom killed a lot of people."
"It doesn't really matter, right?" said Harry. "I mean, Tom is dead, right?"
"Not necessarily," said Ginny. "The reason a wizard makes a Horcrux is to be immortal. As long as any of them exist, someone can use one to bring him back."
"Then shouldn't we destroy these now?" asked Harry.
"Tom made them practically indestructible," said Ginny. "As I said to Tom, we can destroy them with Fiendfyre, but that is very dangerous. I know another way to destroy them, but until we have them all, there isn't much point. In the meantime, we can learn from them. Yours was made after mine, so the fragment of Tom in it knows many things that the one in the book wasn't able to tell me."
"There are probably some books here in my family library that can help us understand these things," said Sirius.
"This is your family home?" asked Harry, looking around in wonder. "Are you a member of the Addams family?"
"No, the Black family," said Sirius, wondering who the Adams family was. "I grew up here. Most of my family was sympathetic to Voldemort's prejudices and, as you can see, they had, shall we say, questionable interior decorating tastes as well. I hated this place and I spent most of my summers during my Hogwarts years living with your father's family. But, as the last surviving Black son, the house allowed me to enter when Ginny and I escaped the Aurors a month ago."
They were finished eating now, and Dobby and Kreacher collected their dishes.
"Are house elves related to goblins?" Harry innocently asked.
"No, we is very different," said Dobby. "We has more magic, but less freedom."
"Wizards enslaved house elves centuries ago," said Ginny. "I persuaded Dobby's owner to free him, and now he works for me for pay. My goal is to free all of them from wizard enchantments."
"Kreacher was bound to the house when Ginny and I arrived here," said Sirius. "I freed him and now we pay him the same wage as Ginny pays Dobby."
"Kreacher is honored to be a free elf working for the House of Black," said the elf.
"So, you've met goblins?" said Sirius with a smile. "Did you learn about magic from them?"
"Yes, I lived for almost a year with some goblins in Devon. They taught me the ways and magic of goblin warriors. But I first learned about magic from a snake."
"A snake! You can talk to snakes?"
"Yes, they were very helpful when I was traveling around England."
Sirius looked worried. "Harry, being able to speak to snakes is a sign of a dark wizard."
"Don't be silly, Sirius," said Ginny with a pout. "I can talk to snakes, and you know I'm not dark." She hissed at Harry: "Sirius is expressing a common prejudice that is no more correct than prejudices against goblins and Muggles."
Sirius looked surprised. "You understood that, Harry? What did she say?"
"She said you need to shed your prejudices," said Harry.
"Well, Ginny, you're the Slytherin. They are usually much more prejudiced than Gryffindors like me."
"Yes, and your friend Peter was a Gryffindor, whilst Salazar Slytherin himself was not prejudiced against Muggles or goblins."
"Who was Salazar Slytherin?" asked Harry.
"He was one of the founders of the Hogwarts School 900 years ago," said Ginny.
"How do you know what someone believed who lived so long ago?" said Harry.
"The same way I know about Tom Riddle. I've talked to him. Accio Slytherin's staff," she said, and after a moment a long staff could be seen bumping its way down the stairs. "This is slightly different from a Horcrux," she told Harry. "It's a Morcrux, and Slytherin made it to hold his soul when he died. Homenum Restorem," she said quietly, and a ghostly image of the bearded old professor emerged.
"Greetings, Lady Slytherin," hissed Salazar in Parseltongue. "What can I do for you today?"
"Lord Slytherin," said Ginny, "I would like to introduce you to my friend, Lord Potter. Like us, he speaks snake tongue."
"I am happy to meet you, Lord Potter," said the spectre, bowing graciously.
"We wanted to ask you about your feelings towards Muggles and Muggleborn wizards and witches," said Ginny.
The ghost turned toward Harry and hissed. "Muggles were a serious threat to the wizarding world," he said. "Even though wizards were individually more powerful, the Muggles greatly outnumbered the magicals. I wanted to encourage Muggleborn wizards and witches to attend Hogwarts, but tried to discourage them from letting their friends and relatives know about the magical world as it was likely to get them in trouble. Lady Slytherin tells me that, today, my house at Hogwarts is known for its hostility to Muggles and Muggleborns. But I was never hostile; I just wanted to protect the magical world."
"That's very enlightening," said Sirius after Harry translated, "and very different from the stories told about Salazar Slytherin today."
"Harry," said Ginny, "I suspect that, since you haven't been to Hogwarts, there are some gaps in your education. Perhaps with the help of Professor Slytherin and, um, Professor Riddle, we can help fill those gaps."
"That would be great. In addition to learning about self-defense and metal work from the goblins, I learned potions and divination from the centaurs, and tracking from the Manticores."
Sirius' eyes grew wide again. "You lived with Manticores? You are a braver man than I, Harry Potter."
Ginny turned to Salazar. "Would you be willing to teach my friend?"
"I would be honored to do so," said the spectre.
"What about your education, Ginny?" said Harry. "You don't look any older than me."
"I'm a year younger than you," she said. "But I learned just about everything Hogwarts can teach me from Tom Riddle. We might need to use a little trickery or coercion, but I think I can persuade him to teach you, too."
"Is Tom Riddle the one who made the Horcrux diary you told me about?" asked Slytherin.
"Yes, he called himself the heir of Slytherin," said Ginny, "but as you know, I am the true heir."
"Bring out this Horcrux and call him out," said Salazar with a determined look on his face. "I have no power over the living world, but I can control a Horcrux."
"All right, but I must warn you," cautioned Ginny, "when Tom Riddle was alive he was one of the two or three most powerful wizards in the world."
"Yes, and when I was alive, I was one of the two most powerful wizards in the world as well. Bring him out; I feel the need for a challenge."
As Harry explained to Sirius what was happening, Ginny touched her wand to the diadem and said "Homenum Restorem." Tom Riddle's snake face emerged again.
"Tom, I would like you to let Harry here sit through all of the lessons you remember from Hogwarts," said Ginny.
The ghost looked around warily. "Absolutely not," he said. "Why should I help you when your goal is to bring about my downfall? Better that you throw me in Fiendfyre."
Ginny looked over at Salazar and raised her eyebrows. Slytherin drew himself up to his full height and more and shouted, "Tom Riddle! I am Salazar Slytherin, one of the four founders of Hogwarts. You claim to be my heir, but I fail to recognize anything of myself in your miserable soul." Slytherin cast a hex on Riddle, causing the ghostly image to cringe in pain. "You will do as Lady Slytherin, my true heir, commands."
Riddle's spectre hissed and rose up, casting spells at Salazar. Salazar shielded himself and cast spells back and the three living beings in the room were treated to a light show that had no effect on the room itself or its living occupants. Soon, Riddle's spectre was on the floor, apparently disarmed and panting in stress and pain. Salazar stood over him. "Will you obey my Lady's commands?"
"Yes," Riddle huffed, "yes, my Lord Slytherin."
"Very well. I will be watching you, young Tom." Ginny dismissed Riddle with a Homenum Protectum.
"That was very impressive, Lord Slytherin," said Harry.
"Not really," said the spectre modestly. "A Horcrux contains only a fraction of a wizard's soul, whilst my Morcrux contains all of my soul. It was very unlikely that he would be as powerful as me."
"Kreacher!" said Sirius. The elderly house elf popped into the room. "Kreacher, this spectre is the ghost of Salazar Slytherin." Kreacher's eyes widened and he bowed especially deeply.
"Kreacher is greatly honored to be in the presence of the great founder of Hogwarts," said the elf. Lord Slytherin bowed back.
"Kreacher, when you get a chance, can you prepare a room where Lord Slytherin can teach Harry magic."
"Yes, Master Sirius. There is a vacant room on the third floor that can be used for lessons."
The elf was about to leave when he glanced at the table. His eyes widened when he saw the diadem. "Master Sirius," he said, "there is an object with very dark magic on the table."
"Yes, we know," said Sirius. "It contains a part of Lord Voldemort's soul. We think the Dark Lord broke his soul into several pieces and stored them in objects like this one. We are trying to find them all so we can destroy them."
"Kreacher knows of another dark object like this one," said the elf.
"Really?" said Ginny. "Can you bring it to us?" The elf popped away, then almost immediately popped back. With hands that were trembling, perhaps out of fear of the Horcrux or perhaps only out of old age, he placed a silver locket on the table.
"Master Regulus asked me to keep this hidden and to try to destroy it," said the old elf. "I have kept it hidden, but I was unable to destroy it," he admitted with a shamed look on his face.
"That's fine, Kreacher," Ginny reassured him. "The only ways I know of to destroy these soul containers are Fiendfyre and Basalisk venom. If you will let us keep this locket for now, we will destroy it when we get a chance."
"You are welcome to have it, my Lady Slytherin."
Ginny touched her wand to the locket and whispered, "Homenum Restorem." A ghostly image grew out of the locket.
"You are a poor excuse for a witch," it said to Ginny. "You will never defeat me." Kreacher cowered in fear, but Ginny just rolled her eyes and said "Homenum Protectum," causing the spectre to retreat back into the locket.
"Thank you, Kreacher," said Ginny. "You have done a great service for Master Regulus and the entire Black family." Kreacher bowed and disappeared.
"So my brother Regulus wasn't so bad after all," said Sirius. "I heard stories that he had joined Voldemort, then that Voldemort had killed him. With his help, we now have three Horcruxes and we know of at least one more," said Sirius.
"Let's ask Tom if he can tell us of any others," suggested Ginny. She cast a Homenum Restorem on the diadem. "Tom," said Ginny, "we were wondering how many Horcruxes you created."
"Lady Slytherin," the spectre said with a respectful bow, "Before this diadem, I turned a ring, a diary, a cup, and this silver locket into Horcruxes." He looked around the room. "But I sense another Horcrux in this room that I must have made after the diadem."
The three living occupants of the room looked around. "What is it?" asked Ginny.
"The Horcrux is not an 'it,'" said Riddle, "but a 'who.'" He pointed at Harry's forehead, which made the teenager a bit nervous. "I can sense the Horcrux behind Mr. Potter's scar."
Sirius looked especially serious. "Voldemort must have created it when he killed your mother, or possibly when he tried to kill you," he said.
Harry felt the world falling from under him. He had finally found a home and family, or at least his godfather. But now it turned out he had part of the soul of an evil wizard inside him.
Ginny was alarmed as Harry looked like he was about to faint. "Don't worry, Harry," she said, putting her hand on his arm. "We'll figure out a way to remove the Horcrux from you."
Harry smiled at her gratefully. "It's just . . . it's all such a shock. I find out a wizard murdered my parents, that parts of him are still out there and want to murder me, and now that a part of him is inside me. I didn't even know my name was Potter until today!"
"What did you call yourself?" asked Sirius.
"It seems like everybody had a different name for me. The Dursley's called me Harry Dursley, of course. The goblins called me Harry Rabbitslayer. The centaurs called me Harry Orion. And the Manticores called me Harry Athailt."
"Athailt? What does that mean?" asked Ginny.
"It's an old English word for scar," answered Sirius. "They must have sensed that your scar has some dark magic behind it."
"Anyway," said Harry with a grim laugh, "this makes me a little less eager to see all the Horcruxes destroyed."
"Indeed," said Ginny, "Tom of the diadem is being so cooperative, we may want to keep him around for some time."
"I exist to serve my Lady and Lord Slytherin," said Riddle compliantly.
"So we have all of the known Horcruxes here except the ring and the cup," said Sirius. "Tom, do you know where we might be able to find those?"
"I left the ring buried under the ruins of the Gaunt house in Little Hangleton," said the spectre. "The cup I gave to my loyal follower, Rodolphus Lestrange. I told him to protect it by putting it in his Gringotts vault."
"The cup will be hard to get to, and I don't think we should try to get the ring until Harry has received more training," said Sirius.
"Mr. Potter, I don't know why I tried to kill you after making this diadem," said Riddle's spectre. "But I will help Lord Slytherin give you the training you need to succeed in the magical world."
"Thank you, Tom," said Ginny, casting the Homenum Protectum charm on the diadem. "Lord Slytherin, would you like to remain outside of your staff? I don't really trust Tom, but you might find it less boring out here than in the Morcrux."
"Actually, I do not feel the passage of time in the Morcrux," said Salazar. "Since your language has changed so much, I can barely understand what you are saying unless you speak Parseltongue. So I would rather return to the Morcrux until you need me to teach Mr. Potter." Ginny thanked the former professor and cast the Homenum Protectum spell on the staff.
"Before Harry can learn, he needs a wand," said Ginny. "I'll take him to Ollivander's tomorrow."
By now it was nearly noon, so Sirius went to the kitchen to help the elves prepare a lunch.
"So, Ginny, what's your story?" asked Harry. "How did you end up living in this gloomy house?"
"I grew up in a family with six older children, all boys. We weren't rich, but our parents loved us, and everyone in my family went to Hogwarts before me. Before my first year at Hogwarts, someone who is suspected of being one of the Dark Lord's followers slipped Tom Riddle's diary into my stack of schoolbooks. I think he was trying to harm my father's reputation since my parents both opposed Voldemort.
"I soon figured out that Tom Riddle and Voldemort were the same person. It was easy to fool the diary into thinking that it was possessing me, when in fact it was the other way around: I used the diary to teach me all seven years of schooling at Hogwarts in just one year.
"The next summer, I helped the goblins find Salazar Slytherin's tomb. They let me keep the staff and paid me some money for the other artifacts in the tomb. I went to Hogwarts my second year, but it was boring sitting through lessons that I had already learned through Tom. So I didn't even care when Hogwarts expelled me for defending Sirius.
"I wasn't ready to face my mother after being expelled, so Sirius brought me to this house. I agree with you it could use some redecorating, but Sirius can't be seen in the magical world and I'm not exactly welcome everywhere either. Plus we can't bring people to work on the house because, for our own protection, it is charmed to be invisible to Muggles and most magical people."
"Will it be safe for you to go shopping with me tomorrow?"
"Oh yes," said Ginny. "I'm not considered a criminal; no one knows I helped Sirius escape. It's just that some people aren't happy with my behavior at Hogwarts, and I certainly don't want to go anywhere where I might run in to my mother. Her temper is, well, let's just say you don't want to find out."
Harry looked alarmed. "Does she hit you?"
"No, no, nothing like that," assured Ginny. "She just yells a lot, and she knows enough about me and my brothers to make us feel very small and undeserving. I'll visit them soon, but I'm not ready for that yet."
Dobby and Kreacher joined them for lunch. Afterwards, Ginny gave Harry a tour of the house and they settled down in the library, browsing through some of the rare books in the Black collection.
Chapter 12: Chapter Twelve: Harry's Wand
The next morning, Harry got up and joined Ginny, Sirius, and the elves in the dining room for breakfast. After breakfast, Ginny and Sirius took Harry up to the library and sat him on a sofa.
"Now, Harry," said Ginny, "I am going to put some glamours on you so no one recognizes you in Diagon Alley."
"How would anyone recognize me?" asked Harry.
"You're famous for vanquishing the Dark Lord," said Ginny, putting her fingers on his head. "Everyone knows that the boy who saved with magical world from Voldemort has a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead."
"But I don't even remember that happening. I couldn't have done it; it must have been my mum's magic or something."
"It doesn't matter, Harry," said Sirius. "Your mother died to save you, but you are here and everyone will want to express their gratitude. If you appear in magical London with that scar, and James Potter's messy hair and face, you'll be mobbed. The Ministry will try to grab you and give you an award, if they don't throw you in jail for skipping out on three years of school."
"I don't want anything to do with the Ministry," said Harry vehemently. "Not after the way they've treated my friends, the goblins, centaurs, and Manticores." Sirius and Ginny looked a little surprised by this pronouncement, but since they didn't want to have anything to do with the Ministry either, that was fine with them.
"Good," said Ginny. "So I'll just put these glamours on you and no one will be able to see your scar and your hair will look different as well."
"Change his eye color, too," said Sirius. "They look just like Lily's eyes, and anyone who knew Lily well would recognize them."
Harry sat still whilst she cast a few spells over his head. "There," she said. "Now you can go out and no one but me will know who you are."
"Am I really that famous?" asked Harry.
"Yes," said Ginny. "All over England, little witches grew up dreaming of being rescued by Harry Potter, the great knight, and growing up to marry him."
"Oh ho," said Harry with a smirk. "I suppose you want to be Mrs. Harry Potter, too, is that it?"
"That's not the way it works in the magical world," said Ginny with a smile. "If we got married, you would be Mr. Harry Weasley."
"What?"
"She's right, Harry," said Sirius. "Wizards care most about what they call 'pureblood' ancestry. Your mother was Muggleborn, which makes you a half-blood. When a half-blood or Muggleborn marries a pureblood, they always take the name of the pureblood no matter which one is the boy or girl."
"Wouldn't we at least have a hyphenated name, like non-magical people?" said Harry. "Then you would be Ginny Potter-Weasley."
"That would be Ginny Weasley-Potter, I think," said Ginny, with her nose in the air.
"Potter-Weasley."
"Weasley-Potter."
"Potter-Weasley!"
"Weasley-Potter!"
Harry grabbed Ginny, threw her down on the sofa, and started tickling her. "Potter-Weasley!" Ginny shrieked with laughter. "Sirius," she yelled between bouts of giggles. "Get him off me!"
"Sorry, I'm staying out of it."
Finally, Ginny managed to squirm out from under Harry and got away. She put her nose in the air again. "It'll be Weasley-Potter or nothing!" she said, and they all laughed.
"Before you leave," said Sirius, "wizards dress a little differently than Muggles. They usually wear robes, which may seem strange to you but are actually very practical. They are warm in the winter but cool in summer, and there is plenty of room in them to hide your wand and other things. Here is a robe that my brother, Regulus, wore when he was about your size. Go ahead and put it on over your regular clothes."
Harry put it over his head. Although he expected the robe to weigh heavily on his shoulders, it was actually very light. "What do most wizards wear under their robes?" he asked.
"A few wear Muggle clothes, some wear nothing at all, but most wear some sort of underwear," said Sirius.
"If it's alright with you, I'll just stick with what I have on," said Harry. Turning to Ginny, Harry asked, "Is it a long walk to . . . wherever we're going?"
"It probably is," said Ginny. "But we are going to Floo part of the way." To Harry's surprise, she led him through a fireplace into a pub, and from there out a back alleyway and through a brick wall that opened up on her command into an amazing street of magical shops. Harry gazed in wonder at shops that sold brooms, owls, quills, and all sorts of other strange things. But when he saw an imposing marble building that housed a bank, he suddenly remembered: he didn't have very much money.
"Ginny," he whispered. "How am I going to pay for a wand? I only have a few shillings."
"Don't worry, Harry," she said, holding her hand on his arm so they wouldn't get separated. "I have lots of money."
"But I can't take your money," he said.
"Harry, if the shop owners on this street knew who you were, most of them would give you whatever you wanted. For now, I'll pay for your things, and you can pay me back later."
"All right, Ginny, but I will pay you back."
Having passed the bank, Ginny led Harry into Ollivander's. Harry looked around as Ginny walked up to the counter. The shop was dusty and one wall was covered with floor-to-ceiling shelves, each of which was filled with hundreds of small boxes.
"Miss Weasley, you know I can't sell you a wand," said an old man as he came into the room.
"That's all right, Mr. Ollivander," said Ginny, turning to Harry. "We came to buy a wand for him."
The old man looked at Harry in surprise. "Why, Harry Potter. I had about given up on ever seeing you come into my store."
"What . . . how . . . I thought . . ." stammered Harry.
"Don't worry, Harry," Ginny said calmly. "Mr. Ollivander somehow recognizes everyone who comes through his door. He is also very discreet," she added, looking sharply at the old man.
"Yes, of course, Miss Weasley. Now, let's find you a wand, Mr. Potter," as he pulled down several boxes from a shelf.
"How do I choose a wand?" asked Harry.
"The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter," said Ollivander, handing Harry a wand. "Take it and wave it in the air." Harry waved and a few sparks came out the end.
"No good," said Ollivander. He proceeded to hand Harry a series of wands and then, almost immediately, take them back as unsatisfactory. Finally, he muttered something about "I wonder . . ." and went to the back of the store, returning with a wand. "Holly, eleven inches, with a phoenix feather core," he said. When Harry waved the wand, a huge shower of sparks came out.
"I should have known," said Ollivander. "The phoenix who gave the feather for this wand gave a feather for just one other wand--the wand that gave you that scar."
After Ginny paid for the wand and they left the shop, Harry whispered to her, "Is it just me, or is Mr. Ollivander really creepy?"
Ginny laughed. "As far as I know, he's always been like that."
"What did he do when you bought your wand?"
She looked at him funny, then said, "I didn't buy my wand from Ollivander's. My only memory of Mr. Ollivander is one I gained from Tom."
The two of them went to a bookstore to buy a few books that Ginny said he would need for his studies. "The Black library has lots of advanced books, but none for beginners," she said. Then she treated him to some ice cream and bought a container of ice cream to take home. "For Padfoot," she said, whatever that meant.
Then they went back to the pub and out onto the street. "Now would be a good time to take off your robes, Harry," said Ginny. "We are entering Muggle London, and we'll be visible to non-magical people as soon as we take another few steps. It's a good thing you decided to keep your regular clothes on underneath," she added with a smirk.
Ginny was wearing a green sundress under her robes. Harry's deerskin clothes, however, still stood out. "Where are we going?" he asked.
"To a Muggle clothing store. Your leather clothes may be practical for living in the wild, but you need some new clothes for when you aren't in the magical world."
Harry protested against her spending any more money on him, but she insisted on buying him some jeans, shirts, socks, and trainers. He was a little embarrassed when she put some boxers on the pile, but she just rolled her eyes. "You know you need new ones of everything."
When they left the store loaded down with parcels, Ginny stuck out her wand and Harry was stunned by a loud "bang" that accompanied the arrival of a three-level, purple bus. Ginny casually pulled Harry aboard, paid the fare, and told the driver to take them to a shopping district a short distance from Grimmauld Place. There, she bought a few groceries before they walked to the house. "If we flooed home, anybody in the Leaky Cauldron would be able to hear our destination," she said.
That evening, after a dinner punctuated by a little more ice cream, Harry and Ginny settled in on a sofa in the library. "Ginny," said Harry, "when you rescued me from the Dementors the other night, did you know who I was?"
"No, Harry, I would have rescued anyone who was being attacked by a Dementor. I didn't realize it was you until I had driven them all away."
"How could you stand to be around them? Every time I run into them, I seem to faint."
"They make you relive your worst memories, Harry. My worst memory was going to my grandmother's funeral, and she had been very old when she died. We actually had a good time telling and listening to stories of her life. Your worst memory was quite a bit worse than that."
"How did you drive them away?"
"Something called the Patronus spell will hold them at bay. You need to think about your happiest memories, which is hard when they are around. It's part of the usual Hogwarts instruction you'll receive from Riddle."
Harry looked into her eyes, mesmerizing her with his bright green pupils. "Ginny," he said, "thank you."
"For what?"
"For being my friend. I've never had a friend before, at least not a human one."
"You didn't have friends when you were in Muggle school?"
"No, the Dursleys hated me. My cousin, Dudley Dursley, was my age but was twice as big as I was, and he beat me up every chance he got. He also bullied, or threatened to bully, anyone at school who tried to be my friend. So I never had a friend until I met the goblins, and they were all older than me. I also knew some young centaurs and Manticores, but they felt more like sisters and brothers than best friends. You are the first friend my own age I've ever had."
"Oh Harry!" said Ginny, giving him a hug. "No one knew where you were. The only people who saw you the night your parents died were killed the next day by some of Tom's followers. Before they died, one of them told friends about the cut on your forehead. We all grew up hearing stories of the brave Harry Potter and his lightning-bolt-shaped scar, and we imagined you were living like a prince somewhere. If we had only known the truth, we would have come on broomsticks, or in a flying car, or anything at all to rescue you from that family."
Harry got a little choked up. "It's okay, Harry," said Ginny. "Sirius really wants to be your godfather. If he hadn't been thrown in prison, he probably would have overturned every rock in England to find you."
"It's just . . . no one's ever hugged me before either." Ginny smiled and gave him another long hug.
The next day, Ginny showed Harry how to get lessons from the Horcrux and Morcrux. He didn't have to summon Tom's and Salazar's souls; he merely had to touch his wand to the diadem or staff, and they would communicate a week's worth of lessons in a few moments. The first time was somewhat dizzying to Harry, but he soon was able to take two sets of lessons a day. That was a bit faster than Ginny had learned in her first year, but Harry didn't have to go to many regular classes as Ginny had done. On the other hand, he soon realized that the classes that Salazar Slytherin taught were very different from those that Tom attended, so Harry's overall pace was a bit slower: one week of Tom's Hogwarts and one week of Salazar's Hogwarts each day.
Tom had been an excellent student, and Salazar an excellent teacher, so Harry quickly became proficient at wand work, levitating dishes and kitchenware with ease, transfiguring small items, and making complex potions. He was already familiar with potions techniques from his time with the centaurs, but wizard potions often used many ingredients unavailable to the centaur troops.
Ginny sat in with him on the lessons Salazar taught, which included self-defense, charms, and Runes. When available within his memories, Salazar also sometimes showed them lessons taught by some of the other founders. The magic taught in the first years of Hogwarts was sometimes cruder than in modern times, but also included many spells that had been forgotten or replaced over the years.
After a week of lessons, Sirius proposed that they do some practical work in the dueling room. "Don't worry, Harry, I'll go easy on you." Although Harry had taken several weeks worth of first-year defense classes, Sirius was surprised when, instead of his wand, Harry pulled out his short sword.
"Don't you think you'll need your wand to shield against me?" Sirius asked.
"Let's just see how goblin magic compares with wizard magic," Harry answered.
They started the duel 10 paces apart, which left Harry at a disadvantage: a sword was only good in close quarters. Sirius confidently cast some mild jinxes, but was surprised when Harry merely deflected them with the sword. With each spell, Harry took a step forward, and sometimes was able to catch Sirius with a reflected stinging or tickling hex.
Sirius started to sweat when Harry came almost within sword fighting range. At the same time, Harry had less time to anticipate Sirius' spells and one or two stingers managed to get by his sword. In response, Harry raised his left hand and petrified Sirius, leaving him helpless as Harry pressed the point of the sword against the taller man's neck.
"That was excellent, Harry," said Sirius after Harry released him. "Now I know why goblins were willing to start so many wars against wizards."
"I think goblins have different stories about who started many of those wars," Harry suggested mildly.
"That's entirely possible," admitted Sirius. "Considering the way it treated me, the Ministry probably isn't fair to other creatures or accurate in its accounts of whether those creatures deserved the treatment they got."
"My turn," said Ginny.
"Are you sure you want to take on the big, bad goblin warrior?" asked Harry, hefting his sword with a smile.
"I don't think I'll have any problem," said Ginny, and Harry's eyes got big as she pulled out Salazar Slytherin's sword, which was a good foot-and-a-half longer than Harry's. Moreover, as she hefted her sword in her right hand, she held her wand in her left.
The result was no contest. Harry didn't know if it was because she was a better dueler than Sirius or that she was showing less mercy, but she cast her spells far faster than Sirius had done. Harry was able to deflect a few of her spells, but any that he deflected in her direction she managed to deflect right back to him. Meanwhile, she was able to shield against his petrification spell, allowing her to approach within sword fighting range. Once they were that close, his short sword was no match for Slytherin's sword, nor could he both fend off her sword and deflect her spells at the same time. She had him petrified and trussed up in conjured ropes in far less time than it took for Harry to defeat Sirius.
"Don't feel bad, Harry," said Sirius. "I was a dueling champion at Hogwarts, but I've never been able to win against Ginny. I thought it was just because I was out of practice, but I see now that she is a real champion."
"Yes, but I've never fought anyone with such a long sword before," said Harry.
"We can get you a longer sword, Harry," said Ginny, "but you will still have to work on two things: your wand work and close-quarters deflection of spells with your sword. Let's start with deflection first. I'll use only my wand, and you deflect spells as you get closer and closer to me." She cast stinging hexes and they soon found that he was able to reliably deflect the hexes (with increasing precision, Sirius discovered to his pain) up to ten feet away. Between five and ten feet, he could deflect most of them, but a few still got through. At less than five feet, most of them landed on Harry.
"We'll practice a little every day," said Ginny as Harry rubbed some of the spots where her spells landed. "Your sword won't be much good if you can't reliably defend against wand magic at close quarters."
"How about if we do it the other way around?" suggested Harry, still stinging from his defeat. "I cast the spells, and you try to deflect them."
"Sure, Harry," she said with an evil grin. The result proved to be no better on Harry's part. He cast hexes as fast as he could, but she was able to accurately deflect many of them in his direction. After being stung by a few that he was unable to dodge, he remembered the Protego shield he had learned in one of Tom's classes. But he was unable to get a good rhythm of casting the hex followed by the Protego to protect him against her deflection of that hex. Ginny proved to be nearly as proficient at deflecting spells with her long sword at close quarters as Harry was from far away, and she deftly dodged the few she could not deflect. After several minutes, Harry withdrew in defeat.
"All right, Harry?" asked Sirius. When he nodded his head, he said, "Now let's try wand against wand. You've learned the Expelliarmis spell, haven't you?" When he said yes, he said, "Then we will just cast that spell against each other. This will be a test of speed and dodging."
That didn't give Harry much confidence, as Ginny had proven herself more proficient than he at both. But maybe against Sirius he would have a chance. Standing about ten paces apart, Ginny would drop a flag giving them the signal to start. At first, Harry lost his wand every time, but after several tries and a few hints from Ginny, he was able to disarm Sirius one time out of three.
"You'll get better," said Sirius. "But just so you don't get too confident, you better try against Ginny."
Harry nervously stood ten paces away from a smirking Ginny. When Sirius dropped the flag, they both cast the Expelliarmis spell. Instead of losing his wand, as he expected, Harry was surprised to see the spells from the two wands join in the middle producing a brilliant light show. A large ball of light showed where the two spells joined, and Harry soon realized that it had become a contest of wills, as Ginny, with a determined look on her face, forced the central ball in Harry's direction. Harry just as determinedly willed the ball back to the center and then to Ginny's side of the room. They continued to go back and forth like this for several minutes as Sirius looked on in stunned alarm.
Finally, Sirius yelled, "Break it off! Ginny, Harry, break it off!" The two duelers looked at each other and nodded in agreement, then, as one, lifted their wands and the lights of the spells faded away. Harry felt exhausted, and Ginny didn't look much better.
"What was that?" gasped Ginny.
"I don't know," Sirius answered. "I've never seen anything like it."
"Do you think there is something wrong with one of our wands? A witch has to be able to trust her wand will do what she wants it to do," observed Ginny.
"Maybe you should go to Ollivander's and have them checked out."
At dinner that night, Sirius asked to see Harry's sword and knife. "This sword is of goblin make," said Sirius, "but it doesn't have a maker's mark on it. It is very unusual for goblins to give out their blades without a maker's mark."
"It doesn't have a mark because, well, because I made it myself," said Harry.
"Really? This is amazing work, Harry, as good as the best goblin blade I've ever seen." Sirius then looked that knife. "See, the knife has the crest of the family of the goblin who made it." Sirius turned the knife over. "Incredible! That's the Potter family crest. Whoever made this knife for you must know their heraldry."
"That's funny," said Harry. "He told me he put my family crest on it, but when I asked him how he knew my crest, he said he made it up. I guess he didn't want to let me know that he knew I was a Potter."
"The Ministry is increasing its monitoring of Floo usage and the Knight's bus," said Sirius, reading from the Daily Prophet that Dobby had brought in the next morning. "You'll need to find other methods of travel when you go to Diagon Alley."
"That means the underground," said Ginny.
"The what?" said Harry in puzzlement.
"It's a Muggle form of travel," said Ginny. "It goes all over London."
After breakfast, Ginny put some glamours on Harry's scar and the two of them walked to an underground station. "I saw these signs when I first got to London," said Harry. But the Dursleys never brought me to London, so I didn't know what they meant."
Ginny bought tickets and they boarded a train. After a short ride and a change of trains, they emerged a block from the Leaky Cauldron. When they reached Ollivader's, they found Mr. Ollivander selling a wand to a prospective first-year Hogwarts student. After the student's mother paid for the wand and they left the store, Ollivander turned to Ginny and Harry.
"What can I do for you today, Miss Weasley and Mr. Potter?"
"Mr. Ollivander," said Ginny, "Harry and I were dueling yesterday when the strangest thing happened. The spells from our wands merged and it was as if we were fighting over wand domination rather than simply casting spells."
"May I see your wands, please?" the old wizard asked. Ginny and Harry handed them over. Ollivander looked at Harry's first, but did not seem to find anything wrong. When he picked up Ginny's, however, he turned pale.
"Miss Weasley, where did you get this wand? I know no one is allowed to sell you a wand since you were expelled from Hogwarts."
"No one sold me this wand; I captured it from Peter Pettigrew."
"Peter Pettigrew? I thought he was dead, murdered by the Potter's betrayer, Sirius Black."
"No, it turns out that Sirius did not betray the Potter's; Pettigrew did. He then framed Sirius for his own murder and managed to disappear. He is an unregistered rat Animagus; when I met him, he had been living as a rat for many years."
"I wonder how he came to possess this wand. I remember every wand I ever sold, Miss Weasley. I sold this one to a young Hogwarts student named Tom Riddle. Few people are aware that Tom Riddle later changed his name to Lord Voldemort."
Neither Ginny nor Harry seemed surprised by this announcement, so Ollivander continued. "These two wands have an unusual connection. Because they both share a feather from the same phoenix, they cannot easily be used against one another in dueling. Moreover, when the streams from the two wands are joined, you have a Priori Incantatum effect in which the previous spells cast by the wands become visible. Did you see any previous spells?"
"The only spells we had previously cast had been minor jinxes and stinging hexes," said Ginny, "so I am not sure what we would have seen."
"You would have seen the colors of those spells, but if you weren't paying close attention you might have missed them," said the wandmaker. "In any case, I hope that explains why your wand streams joined. There is nothing wrong with the wands themselves."
"Would it be possible for me to get another wand so I can practice dueling with Ginny?" Harry asked.
"Some adults carry second wands," said Ollivander, "but I am not allowed to sell two wands to minors. I am sorry."
They thanked him and left the shop. "I have a few extra wands we can try when we get home," Ginny told him. "They may not feel as good as your own wand, but they will be good for practice."
As it turned out, Ginny felt much more comfortable with any of the wands than Harry. "I learned during the war that, when you capture a wand from an enemy combatant, it becomes your wand," said Sirius. "Somehow, it owes its allegience to you; even if you give it back to the enemy, he can't defeat you with it. A captured wand may never feel quite as good as your original wand, but it will work better for you than it will for anyone else."
For the next several weeks, Harry spent his mornings learning from Riddle and Slytherin, whilst Sirius and Ginny talked about ways to free house elves, get the prophecy from the Ministry, and find Riddle's other Horcruxes. In the afternoons, they took turns dueling and practicing other spells. Ginny taught Harry a number of household spells. She claimed that the practical experience would help him in his other magical activities, whilst Harry thought she was just trying to get him to do some work around the house.
"Harry, I don't like surprises, so I want to tell you something," Sirius said one night after Ginny had gone to bed. "Ginny and the elves are planning a little surprise birthday party for you."
"How does she know when my birthday is?" asked Harry.
Sirius rolled his eyes. "You're Harry Potter," he said. "Everyone in the magical world knows your birthday."
"Well, that's okay, I guess," said Harry. "I mean, I wouldn't mind that kind of a surprise."
"Yes, but the real surprise is that Ginny's birthday is also July 31. So, while it's not really my business, since she is getting you a present, I suggest you think about getting her one."
The next day, Harry collected some used bricks he found in a nearby alley and made a forge at the opposite end of the attic from Buckbeak's quarters. Then he found some scrap metal in a bin and spent several nights forging some goblin metals.
Another evening, the five of them were eating dinner when Sirius said, "Harry, your father had an amazing cloak that made him absolutely invisible. We used it to play all sorts of pranks during our years at Hogwarts. Shortly before he was killed, he told me he lent it to Dumbledore. If we could get that cloak, it would make it a lot easier to get the prophecy from the Ministry."
"Who is Dumbledore and where would he have the cloak?"
"Dumbledore was the headmaster of Hogwarts," said Ginny. "He was murdered by Voldemort's followers the day after your parents died."
"The cloak is no doubt still at Hogwarts," added Sirius, "possibly in the headmaster's office."
So they resolved that their first mission would be for Ginny and Harry to enter Hogwarts and try to recover the cloak. Then they would go to the Ministry and get the prophecy, after which they would search for the ring in Little Hangleton.
"Harry, I hope to live a long time and maybe even have children of my own someday," said Sirius. "But, in case I don't, I have written a will that turns the Black estate over to you. I am proud to be your godfather, and since I've failed in my promise to your parents that I would take care of you up to now, I want to make it up to you by offering you this legacy."
"I can't take your money, Sirius," said Harry.
"I'm not asking you to take the money. You can give it away if you want, or spend it freeing house elves. But there are no other Blacks, and my closest living relatives were all followers of Voldemort. If I don't write a will, the estate would fall into their hands."
"All right, you can write your will. But Ginny and I will do our best to make sure it never needs to be carried out."
"I know, Harry. But if something does happen to me, just take the will to the goblins at Gringotts. They'll know what to do."
It seemed unlikely that Harry would ever need to do this, as Sirius remained confined to 12 Grimmauld Place, whilst Ginny and Harry were free to go shopping and do other things outside. One day, they felt the chill of Dementors. "They must still be looking for Sirius," said Ginny.
"Should we go the other way?" asked Harry.
"No, I want to talk to them."
"But I pass out every time I see them," worried Harry.
"Harry, you pass out because you remember your worst memory," said Ginny calmly. "But think of it this way: thanks to the Dementors, you can recall what your mother looked like and that she loved you. Try to keep that in mind."
As Muggles were running in the opposite direction, they could see the Dementors approach. Harry winced, but Ginny stood her ground.
"You will not find the one you seek in this direction," said Ginny.
"Do you know where Black is, Lady Slytherin?" the leader transmitted to Ginny's mind with a slight bow.
"I do, but I will not tell you where, nor will I allow you to give him a kiss," she asserted.
The Dementors looked like they were conferring with one another, then most of them turned and drifted away.
"I have a couple of questions I would like to ask," Ginny said to the leader. It nodded its assent. "What loyalty do you owe to the Ministry?"
"We serve the Ministry at our pleasure," it said in her mind.
"What loyalty do you owe to Voldemort?"
The creature hesitated for a moment. Then it said, "We serve the Dark Lord at our pleasure."
"What would it take for you to serve me rather than the Ministry or Voldemort?"
"We can see in your mind," it said. "You are fair and merciful. Voldemort is not. If we serve you, and Voldemort wins, he will kill us. If we serve Voldemort, and you win, you will let us live."
"That's very Slytherin of you," said Ginny. "But remember: if any of you give anyone the kiss without my permission, I will kill them and all who aid them."
"We understand," it said before it turned and went away.
Beside her, Harry managed to keep from passing out. "What did it say to you?" he asked when it had gone.
"They aren't going to work for us," she said. "But they won't work too hard for Voldemort either."
When they got back to Grimmauld Place, they told Sirius of their encounter. "Ginny helped keep me from passing out," said Harry. "And I now remember what my mother said before Voldemort killed her. She said, 'I would die that you may live; Mors Vivo.'"
"That means 'death, life,' in Latin," said Sirius. "It must either be an old spell or one that your mother invented. It sounds like it gives you protection if the spellcaster dies. I suspect it only works if the spellcaster is sincere and truly loves the one being protected."
* *
* * *
Although the birthday was supposed to be a surprise, Harry would have known something was up even if Sirius hadn't warned him, as the elves had gone all out on dinner. They served a roast lamb with mint sauce, Yorkshire pudding, roasted potatoes, and a variety of vegetables. After dinner, Dobby proudly brought in a large cake decorated with a lightning bolt, and the elves sang the happy birthday song. To broaden the party a bit, Ginny invited Professor Slytherin out of his Morcrux, though she realized it would be poor taste to include diadem-Riddle.
For his birthday, Ginny gave Harry a suit of dark green material. "It's made from Basalisk skin," she said. "It is very tough and can protect against ordinary blades and even some spells."
Sirius' eyes bugged out when he saw it. "Where did you get it, Ginny? Basalisks are very rare."
"Actually, I know of two large Basalisks who shed their skin once a year," she said. "Dobby collected the most recently shed skin for me, and he and Kreacher made the suit."
The elves gave Harry several pairs of brightly colored socks, and they gave Ginny a knitted cap. Harry was touched when Sirius presented him with a book containing photos of his parents, his father with his friends at Hogwarts, and Harry himself as a baby.
Harry then surprised Ginny with a present of a goblin knife that matched his own. "Sometimes a sword is just too big," he said. "The serrated side of the knive will cut through just about anything other than goblin metals. The other side will stay sharp forever."
"It has the Weasley family crest on it," Ginny noticed.
"Yes, I looked it up in a book of heraldry in Sirius' library."
She turned it over and saw the Potter crest on the other side. "So, are you trying to tell me something by putting both the Potter and Weasley crests on the knife?" she asked with a smirk.
"Um, no, it's just traditional for the knife maker to put his crest on the knife," said Harry. But he didn't think she truly believed him.
After the presents were opened, Salazar entertained them with stories about life at Hogwarts when it was first founded. Harry or Ginny translated for Sirius and the elves.
"I've been wanting to ask you a question, Professor Slytherin," said Ginny. "Students in the Slytherin house refer to you as the 'greatest of the Hogwarts four,' and I noticed you use that phrase as your password and even the Basalisks call you that. But you don't seem to be the kind of person immodest enough to go around calling himselve the 'greatest.'"
"Yes, that is a bit embarrassing," said the spectre. "It was actually an inside joke. We all called ourselves something like that. 'I'm Helga Huffingpuff, the most heroric of the Hogwarts four.' 'I'm Rowena Ravenclaw, the craftiest of the Hogwarts four.' 'I'm Godric Gryffindor, the hardest working of the Hogwarts four.' We all knew Godric was the most heroic, but he was a bit of a slacker, always trying to get others to take some of his share of the work. Helga was somewhat timid, but definitely a hard worker. I was the craftiest in spellcraft and potionscraft; many of the spells you use were ones I developed."
"That leaves Rowena Ravenclaw," observed Ginny. "Was she really the greatest of the Hogwarts four?"
"Oh yes, no doubt about it. She was the smartest witch or wizard I have ever known, though she worked more on theory than applied magic as I did." He had a far-off look in his eyes as he remembered the old days. "But where Godric and I agreed she was really the greatest was in be. . ." He looked around, realized who he was talking to, and said, "But you are really too young to hear about that." Ginny looked a little embarrassed, and Harry had stopped translating, leaving Sirius curious about what Slytherin's ghost was saying.
As the party wound down, Sirius and the elves cleaned up the dishes and Ginny recalled Slytherin's ghost back into his staff. "So, Harry, what did you think of what Professor Slytherin said?"
"About what?" he asked.
"About, you know, Godric and Salazar sharing beds with Rowena?"
"Oh, that. Well, I've been reading history books in Sirius' library, and having multiple wives or husbands was not uncommon among wizards and witches in the past."
"What do you think about it today?" Ginny probed.
Harry blinked. "Well, you know, I really don't think much of wizard traditions. The centaurs I lived with mate for life. That sounds like a good model to me."
As Ginny looked into his green eyes, she thought she would melt. Instead, she kissed him on his cheek and whispered, "Good answer, Harry," before going to bed and leaving Harry wondering what was so good about that answer.
Chapter 13: Chapter Thirteen: The Prophecy
Ever since Professor Snape outed Remus Lupin as a werewolf, which seemed to be some kind of revenge for Sirius Black's escape, Headmaster Flitwick had been racking his brain to find a Defense professor for the next year. So he didn't know whether to be happy or upset when Quirinus Quirrel walked in his office door applying for the job.
"I thought you must be dead," said Flitwick. "You promised to take the job two years ago, and then never showed up."
Quirrel looked a little surprised. "Yes, well, I was detained in Albania. I was attacked by vampires, and it has taken me some time to recover."
"If I offer you the job, are you going to let me down again?"
"No, headmaster," said Quirrel. "Absolutely not. I have every incentive to serve here the entire year."
Flitwick decided that, if he was worth hiring once, he was worth hiring again. He also decided to keep closer track of him, at least until school started.
* *
* * *
Harry and Ginny decided to go to search for his father's cloak at Hogwarts near the end of August, before the students arrived, as the school would have the least protection then. "Since the Ministry has effectively stopped Apparition and closely monitors the Floo, we'll have to fly there," said Ginny. They decided to take Buckbeak to the gates of Hogwarts.
They arrived a little after midnight. As Buckbeak swooped down from the sky, Harry got his first glimpse of Hogwarts in light of the rising moon. He thought it was one of the most beautiful buildings he had ever seen, and he wondered what his life would have been like if he had been able to go to school there.
When they landed, a few Dementors were still guarding the gate, but a red-eyed glare from Ginny sent them gliding away. Ginny put her hand on the gate and it slowly opened. "One of the perqs of being the heir of Slytherin, I guess," she said.
They quietly walked to the steps, where Harry paused. "I'm listening to hear if there is anyone in the hall." After a moment, he shook his head, and they entered the front doors.
Ginny led Harry to the headmaster's office and put her hand on the gargoyle guarding the entrance. Nothing happened. "I guess even the heir of Slytherin can't go everywhere in Hogwarts. Okay, Harry, you try it."
Harry said, in Gobbledygook, "Open." The gargoyle obediently moved aside revealing the spiral staircase. "He must figure no one here but him would bother to learn Gobbledygook," said Harry, "otherwise he would have used a more complicated password."
"I'll stay down here and watch for other professors and staff while you go up and search for the cloak," said Ginny. Harry went up the rotating staircase and passed through the heavy wooden doors into the office that was lit only by moonlight coming through the window.
Harry looked around the office to see where the cloak might be. He could see a display case on one wall, which housed, among other things, a gleaming sword whose hilt was encrusted with rubies. Below the case were a number of drawers.
Before he could search the drawers, a high-pitched voice came from the other end of the room. "Who's there? Is that you, Severus?" Harry could see a goblin-sized man with his wand out, so he cast a mild Expelliarmus and caught the wand.
Harry's attention turned back to the drawers. But Flitwick, a one-time dueling master, kept a second wand on his person at all times. "Stupify!" he shouted. Annoyed, Harry merely put up a hand and shielded the spell, then casually waved the same hand and captured the second wand, too.
Flitwick recognized that this boy was somehow capable of goblin magic. But he ignored this for the moment and indignantly asked, "Who are you and what gives you the right to break in and steal from the school?"
"I didn't break in, the gargoyle let me in; and I am not stealing, I am taking what is rightfully mine. Accio James Potter's cloak!" said Harry. A drawer beneath the display cabinet slid open and a piece of fabric flew over, which Harry grabbed. As he stuffed it in one of the pockets of his robe, he noted absently that there was something stiff inside. "As for who I am, my name is Harry Dursley Rabbitslayer Orion Athailt Black Weasley-Potter. You may have heard of me as Harry Potter."
Flitwick didn't know what to make of this; he had come to doubt that Harry Potter was still alive. Now, not only was this boy claiming to be Harry Potter, he was also claiming, by saying one of his names in Gobbledygook, to be a member of a goblin family. "What are you going to do now?" he said.
"I have no quarrel with you except that you were holding my cloak, which I've now recovered," said Harry. "However, before I leave, I want to ask you how many house elves work at Hogwarts."
"House elves? Why do you care about house elves?"
"How many?" Harry demanded.
"Why, I think about 100."
"That makes me wonder. You are partly descended from a race that has been oppressed by wizards. So why do you go along with the oppression of house elves?"
"Oppression? Our house elves are not oppressed."
"Oh, are all 100 of your elves free elves?"
"Free elves? No! House elves go insane if they are free."
"That's no more true than the claim that goblins are happy doing nothing but mining, metalwork, and banking. I am going to leave and go home, and I suggest you make no effort to stop me. But after I leave, I want you to think about what I've said. Talk to your elves about wizard oppression and enslavement of the elf race. Then free your elves, and pay them to work for you. The going rate, I am told, is a Galleon a week per elf."
"A Galleon a week! Why, that would be more than 5,000 Galleons a year. How would we pay for that?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "So you want to continue enslaving another race just to avoid raising another 5,000 Galleons a year to run this school? I am glad I was never a student here."
With a wave of his hand, he petrified the little wizard. "You are not my enemy, so I'll leave your wands on your desk. The petrification will wear off in about an hour, or in half that time if you are as powerful a wizard as I am." He then left the office, closing the door behind him, and joined Ginny downstairs. To Flitwick's chagrin, he could not shake the petrification until 45 minutes had passed.
"Mission accomplished," Harry whispered to Ginny. "Let's go." They hurried out to where Buckbeak was fending off the Dementors and climbed on his back for the long flight back to London.
When they reached Grimmauld Place, Ginny asked, "When we were at Hogwarts, how could you hear inside the building?"
"One of the things I gained living with the Manticores was Manticore senses," Harry said. "I have the sight of an eagle, the hearing of a bat, and the nose of a dog."
"You still look like Harry to me," she said with a laugh.
Harry slept late the next morning. When he woke, he put the cloak on over his normal clothes and quietly went downstairs, where he found Ginny and Sirius working in the kitchen next to the elves. He snuck up behind Ginny and poked her in the sides right below her ribs, causing her to shriek and jump a foot high. When she came down she had spun around and her wand was out. Harry whipped off the cloak and held his hands up and cried, "Don't shoot! It's only me."
Sirius laughed uproariously whilst Ginny fumed. "I guess that means the invisibility cloak still works," Sirius said.
"Yes, and it came with a new wand," said Harry, holding up the thing that had made the cloak seem stiff the night before. "This one feels better to me than any of the wands I've tried, even my own."
Sirius looked at the wand carefully. "That looks like . . . I think that was Dumbledore's wand."
"That makes sense since it was stored with the cloak, which the current headmaster must have thought belonged to Dumbledore."
They sat down to a delicious lunch of shepherd's pie, made by Dobby, and a fruit salad made by Kreacher. Over dessert, Dobby made an exciting announcement.
"The Hogwarts headmaster is freed all of the Hogwarts elves," he bubbled. "Now there are 114 free elves."
"That's wonderful, Dobby," said Ginny. "I wonder why he would pick today to free the elves."
"It might have something to do with the conversation I had with him last night."
"You talked with Flitwick?" said Sirius in wonder. "And he just let you walk out with the cloak and Dumbledore's wand?"
"Well, he didn't exactly let me," said Harry. "It turns out he is one of those wizards who carries two wands. I had to take both of them from him and petrify him before I left."
"You outdueled Flitwick?" said Sirius with even greater wonder. "He was a dueling champion in his younger days. When I was at Hogwarts, no one could touch him on the dueling floor--except perhaps Dumbledore, who never dueled."
"I may have just caught him by surprise," said Harry modestly. "He probably didn't think a boy my age would have a chance against him."
"Did you bring the wands you won from him?" asked Sirius.
"No, I didn't want to appear to be stealing something that wasn't mine. I didn't realize I had this wand until I woke up this morning."
"You might as well have taken them," mused Sirius. "Now that he has lost them in combat, they won't be loyal to him. He'll have to get new wands from Ollivander's. But I wonder why Dumbledore's old wand feels so good to you. You never had an opportunity to defeat Dumbledore in combat."
"The wand must have been loyal to Flitwick," said Ginny. "Flitwick was the person who captured Dumbledore's killers."
"That makes sense," said Sirius. "Do you remember who killed Dumbledore?"
"As I recall, there were two men and a woman named Bella something. They are all in Azkaban now."
"Bellatrix Lestrange? She's my first cousin. The two men might have been her husband, Rodolphus, and his brother, Rabastan. They often teamed together. I never knew my cousin was in Azkaban at the same time I was," Sirius said thoughfully.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Harry. "Your cousin killed the previous headmaster of Hogwarts?"
"Yes, she was an ardent pureblood advocate and one of the most violent of Voldemort's followers. She had a sister who was disowned by her family for marrying a Muggleborn, but otherwise everyone else in my family supported the pureblood view."
"We can try your new wand out in dueling practice now," said Ginny as they left the kitchen table.
Harry first faced off against Ginny. After more than two months of training, Harry and Ginny were nearly evenly matched; she could reach him with a few more hexes each session, but neither was able to easily defeat the other.
Today, however, was different. Nothing she could do could penetrate his shield. He soon realized that he didn't have to speak or even think the Protego command; if someone was shooting at him, his new wand would shield against it. Moreover, whilst he was always proficient at some silent spellcasting, especially the petrify and disarm spells, now all he had to do was think of a spell, from a stinging hex to a stunner, and the wand would cast it, usually so powerfully that it could blast through Ginny's shield.
Seeing that Ginny was having trouble, Sirius stepped in to join her, but the results were no different. Harry even turned his back to his two opponents, and his wand easily shielded him from their spells whilst, at a thought, he was able to disarm them both.
"What are you doing that is so different, Harry?" asked a disbelieving Sirius.
"I don't know. It's this wand; it just feels so right, like it will protect me from any adversary."
"No wonder Dumbledore was considered so powerful. I wonder how Bellatrix was able to defeat him with a wand like that."
"We know the wand works two-on-one. Maybe it can't handle three-on-one," suggested Ginny.
"Will the wand protect anyone other than the wand's owner?" asked Sirius.
"Why don't you stand next to Harry, and I'll cast some hexes at you," suggested Ginny.
They soon learned that the wand could protect other people just as effectively as its owner as long as Harry cast a Protego spell. However, they couldn't rely on the wand's passive defense to shield anyone but himself.
"I've never seen any other wand that is this powerful," said Sirius.
"No, but I've heard of such a wand," said Ginny: "the Elder Wand."
"What's that?" asked Harry.
"That's just an old children's story about the three Deathly Hallows," said Sirius. "Supposedly, three brothers persuade Death to give them each a gift. One gets an undefeatable wand; one gets a stone that can bring back the dead; and one gets . . ." Sirius looked thoughtful.
"The third one gets an invisibility cloak," finished Ginny. "Harry, go get your cloak."
"I have it right here," said Harry, pulling it out of his robe pocket.
"Is there any way we can tell if this is one of the Deathly Hallows?" asked Ginny.
"I don't know, but I've never heard of any invisibility cloak that works as well as this one. It must be special, which explains why Dumbledore borrowed it from James. If he knew he already had one of the Deathly Hallows, he would want to find the rest of them for sure."
"What happens if somebody finds all three of them?" asked Harry.
"Supposedly, they become the Master of Death, whatever that means," said Sirius. "But that's just a myth; even the children's story doesn't say anything about that."
"We'll just have to add that to the list," said Ginny.
"What?" said Harry. "What list?" said Sirius.
"The list of things we are looking for: a prophecy, Horcruxes, and now the third Deathly Hallow."
* *
* * *
Hermione climbed aboard the Hogwarts Express and quickly joined Ron, Lavender, and Neville in a compartment. "So Neville, are you going to go out for the Quidditch team this year?" Ron was asking. "Now that Wood is gone, I'd like to try out for Keeper."
"With your long arms, you'll probably make a great Keeper, Ron," said Neville. "Unfortunately, I think Quidditch is going to be cancelled this year."
"Cancelled? Why?"
"I've heard that Hogwarts is going to host a Triwizard Tournament this year, and they need the Quidditch pitch for some of the events."
"What's a Triwizard Tournament?" asked Lavendar.
"The Triwizard Tournament is a competition between champions picked from each of three magical schools," said Hermione as if she was reading from Hogwarts: A History, which she probably was in her memory. "But they haven't held such a tournament since 1792--because too many of the champions, and even some of the judges, were killed or injured."
"Wicked!" said Ron.
"Evidentally, the Ministry wants to boost its standing in the international magical community," said Neville, "so it proposed to resurrect the tournament. I only know about it because my da is handling security for the school grounds."
"So how do they decide who will be the Hogwarts champion?" asked Ron.
"Only students over the age of 17 will be allowed to enter," said Neville. "I am not sure how they pick each school's champion from those who enter. But once the champions are picked, they can't withdraw even if they decide the competition is too dangerous."
"What happens if someone withdraws anyway?" asked Lavender.
"It's a binding magical contract," said Neville grimly. "If you quit, you lose your magic." Lavender gasped and Ron turned pale.
"I guess I'm glad I'm under 17, then," the redhead said soberly.
* *
* * *
"So, what's our plan for getting the prophecy?" asked Harry one morning. "With at least two Horcruxes still out there, I don't fancy Riddle getting his body back before we know what the prophecy said."
"The prophecies are kept in a room in the Department of Mysteries," said Sirius. "You're probably going to need my help finding it."
"But Sirius, if the Ministry catches you, they'll kill you," warned Ginny.
"I know that. But I know the Ministry layout. You don't. I know how to get in. You don't. I know where the Hall of Prophecies is. You don't. I know how to get in the Hall. You don't. I know how to find a particular prophecy in the hall. You don't."
"You can tell us where the Hall of Prophecies is," protested Harry.
"Yes, but the Department of Mysteries is designed to be very difficult for anyone unfamiliar with it to find their way around. It is full of traps and misleading corridors."
"It's too bad we can't disguise Sirius to look like one of the Unspeakables who works at the Department of Mysteries," said Ginny.
"Maybe we can," said Harry. "There's a potion called Polyjuice that allows someone to look exactly like someone else. It takes at least a month to brew it, and we'll need some hair from the person we want to impersonate."
"That's great, Harry!" said Ginny. "You start brewing it and I'll ask Dobby if he can find one of the Unspeakables.
* *
* * *
Headmaster Flitwick thought it was a dramatic touch to have the Goblet of Fire reveal the Triwizard champions at the Hallowe'en feast. After the third champion's name came out of the Goblet, Flitwick was about to invite people to begin eating dinner when the Goblet flamed again and another name came out. Flitwick took the paper and, with trembling hands, called, "Neville Longbottom."
* *
* * *
"I is following an Unspeakable named Broderick Bode for several days using Harry's invisibility cloak," Dobby reported at dinner one evening. "He is go to work every morning at about 8:30 and is go home every night between 5:00 and 5:30. Once he came in late and stayed a few hours in the evening; I don't think he does that very often, but no one will be surprised to see him in the evening. Once when he was eating lunch in the Leaky Cauldron, I got close enough to him to get this," he said, holding up a tuft of hair.
"Great! Then we have everything we need as soon as the Polyjuice potion is done," said Sirius.
"Yes, but I'd like Dobby to follow him for a few more days," said Harry cautiously. "If we can find out for certain that he will be staying home one evening, then we can go with the plan."
* *
* * *
Neville was glad that Professor Grubbly-Plank had given him a heads up that the first task would involve dragons. From the confident behavior of the other champions, they seemed to know as well. Neville entered the arena to see the Ukrainian Ironbelly, thinking it was ironic that the youngest and smallest champion was facing by far the largest of the four dragons today. He looked at the pit in which the dragon and her eggs were located, and gauged which way the wind was blowing. Then he walked to a side of the pit that was upwind of the dragon.
"Look at that idiot," said Theodore Nott to the Slytherins sitting around him. "He doesn't realize how good a sense of smell dragons have. Even if he were to blind the dragon, from where he is standing the dragon could find him merely by sense of smell.
Instead of attacking the dragon, Neville confidentally pointed his wand behind him, toward the Hogwarts greenhouses. "Accio Nepeta X dracaena," he said, and after a moment a large bag came sailing into his hands. He opened the bag and tossed the contents, which appeared to be leaves of some kind, into the air. They leaves floated on the breeze to the dragon, which took a large sniff. Neville continued to throw leaves in the air, and the dragon started dancing and rolling around as if it were intoxicated.
After about five minutes, the huge dragon fell asleep, and Neville calmly walked over to its nest and picked up the golden egg. The audience held its breath until Neville had safely exited the pit, then gave a loud roar of applause.
As Neville left the arena, Hermione gave him a big hug and Ron, Seamus, and Dean all shook his hand. Rita Skeeter rushed up to him and asked, "What did you use to put that dragon to sleep?"
"Dragonnip," he said with a broad smile. "It's an herb I bred myself by crossing Nepeta cataria, or catnip, with Dracaena, sometimes known as the dragon tree."
* *
* * *
"I is hear Unspeakable Bode tell his friends that he will definitely not be working New Years Eve," said Dobby a few days before New Years.
"Good," said Harry. "We have the Polyjuice potion, so we should go to the Ministry to find the prophecy that night."
"But Harry, are you certain we are ready?" wondered Ginny.
"We're as ready as we'll ever be," asserted Harry. "We can practice forever, but we'll never be absolutely certain. We have to do this now, or else run the risk that Voldemort's followers resurrect him before we find out how to destroy him."
After Harry went to bed, Sirius took Ginny aside. "Ginny, I don't know exactly what this prophecy says, but it is clear that Harry is much more important to the fight against Voldemort than I am. If I am captured in the Ministry, I want you to make sure that Harry doesn't sacrifice himself to try to save me."
"But Sirius, we can't lose you!"
"Yes, you can. I've never really recovered from my years in that prison anyway. Being around you and Harry is a delight, but as soon as you leave, I feel as if I am surrounded by Dementors again."
"You're just depressed because you can't leave Grimmauld Place," said Ginny. "We'll get you out of there. We'll take you to places in Muggle England where no wizards or Dementors ever go."
"That's nice of you to say so. I don't want to get caught because I want to do all those things with you and Harry. But if we are caught, I'd rather sacrifice myself so that you and Harry can get away. You're the brains of this outfit. Harry is the brawn. I'm just a minion. You need my help to get into the Ministry, but you don't really need me to defeat Voldemort."
Ginny gave Sirius the strongest hug she could. "We'll do everything we can to make sure we all come out of the Ministry alive," she promised.
"I know," said Sirius.
* *
* * *
"One of the traditions of the Triwizard Tournament is the Yule Ball," announced Headmaster Flitwick at dinner in early December. "For this tournament, we will hold the ball on December 19. Anyone fourth year and above may go, and third years may also go as the partner of a fourth or higher year."
The announcement immediately led to a major buzz throughout the hall, especially among the young witches. Some wondered who might be asking whom to the ball; others talked about what they might wear to the ball. The sixth- and seventh-year boys took the announcement with aplomb. Percy Weasley, for example, immediately walked over to the Ravenclaw table to ask Penelope Clearwater to be his date. The younger boys looked nervous as many of them had never danced and had no idea how to ask a girl to attend the dance with them.
The next morning, Hermione sat down to breakfast with Lavendar and Parvati. "I heard that the Ministry had originally suggested that the ball be held on December 25," said Lavendar. "Can you imagine? Most of us haven't seen our families in nearly four months, and they propose to keep us from our families for another week?"
"It is good that sanity prevailed," said Parvati.
"Yes, but probably only because having the ball on December 25 would have inconvenienced someone at the Ministry," said Neville as he sat down at the table.
"Oh, Neville, you're so cynical," said Seamus.
"No matter how cynical you are, you can't keep up," he said.
"So, Neville, who are you inviting to the ball?" asked Hermione.
"Well, I was thinking of asking Cho Chang, but Cedric Diggory seems to have beat me to it," he said with a wink.
"If you like Chinese witches, there's always Su Li," suggested Lavendar.
"No, I think I'm going to ask the smartest, most beautiful witch of my class before someone beats me to it," he said.
Hermione's heart sank; he couldn't possibly mean her.
"So, Hermione, what do you think?" Neville asked.
"About what?" she said in a daze.
"About coming to the ball with me," said Neville. "I promise I'll try not to step on your feet too many times."
Her face lit up with a bright smile. "Only if you promise," she said.
The next morning, an owl dropped a box on Ron's breakfast plate. He opened it to find a frilly robe. "Yuck, what's this?" he gasped.
"Those are your dress robes for the ball, Ron," said Fred.
"Mum's been saving them. Your grandfather wore them in 1934," said George.
"Let me see those," said Lavendar. "Ugh, they look more like they were from 1894 than 1934. Well, I can remove those frills, take it in here, lengthen it there, and I'll have it updated for you in no time."
"Uh, thanks," stammered Ron. "But why would you want to do that for me?"
"You don't think I want to go to the ball on the arm of someone wearing antique dress robes, do you?" said Lavendar in a huff.
"Uh, but Lavendar, why would you want to go to the ball with me?"
"Ron, you're tall; you're good looking; I've seen you play Quidditch and you're probably going to be a star someday. Plus I know you are smart enough to do well in any classes that don't have bats for professors."
"Um, well, Lavendar, would you go to the ball with me?"
"Why yes, Ron, I'd be delighted to."
The evening of the ball, Neville and Ron escorted Hermione and Lavendar to the Great Hall to meet Viktor, who was accompanied by Daphne Greengrass; Cedric and Cho; and Fleur, who was escorted by Roger Davies. Percy met Penelope there as well, while Seamus and Dean appeared with Parvati and Padma on their arms. When the dancing began, they saw Theodore Nott with Pansy Parkinson; Draco with Tracy Davis; and Justin Finch-Fletchly with Hannah Abbott. Everyone had a lovely time and Neville proved to be an expert dancer who didn't step on Hermione's toes even once.
* *
* * *
On New Years Eve, Harry added the hair to the Polyjuice potion and bottled it in three different vials. "There's enough potion here for three doses of an hour each," he told Sirius. "Take one before we leave here, and then take more as needed."
They Flooed into the Ministry from the Leaky Cauldron at about 8 o'clock at night, which, according to Dobby, was a reasonable time for Bode to visit the department on the few nights he worked late. Followed by Harry and Ginny under the invisibility cloak, Sirius confidently had his wand checked by the security guard. Fortunately, they had a wand in their collection that was externally similar to the one that Dobby said he had observed on Bode, though it probably had a different core.
They then took a lift to the Department of Mysteries and went through a door that went to a circular room with a dozen different doors. Sirius unhesitatingly said he wanted to go into the Hall of Prophecies, and the right door opened.
Harry was impressed that, after all these years, Sirius remembered enough about the Department of Mysteries that he could still find his way around. However, Sirius had never been there under Polyjuice before, and didn't know that the department's security system both detected and cancelled Polyjuice enchantments. After they entered the Hall of Prophecies, Harry happened to notice that Sirius looked like himself again and suggested he take another dose of potion.
"It seemed like that potion expired in less than an hour," said Sirius. "I'll take another dose before we leave, as it seems unlikely that we'll meet anyone here."
While they were searching through the Hall for a prophecy relating to Harry Potter and Voldemort, in another part of the building a bored bureaucrat received a signal that an unauthorized person was in the Department of Mysteries. Dolores Umbridge hated night duty and was hoping for something that would bring her to the attention of the Minister. When she saw that there was an intruder, she thought this might be her chance; she called for several Aurors and headed down to the department.
Unfortunately, there were a lot of prophecies in the Hall of Prophecies, and it took them a long time to figure out how they were classified. They finally found the right one near the back of the room, and Harry put it in his pocket. Suddenly, they heard a voice coming from the exit door.
"Who's there? Give yourself up. The Aurors are here."
Sirius hastily drank another vial of Polyjuice, which changed him back to Bode, whilst Harry and Ginny carefully concealed themselves under the cloak. Sirius confidently strode to the exit, saying, "Is there a problem? I'm here doing research."
Umbridge was chagrined to find an Unspeakable in the room. "I'm sorry, sir, but we received a report of an unauthorized intruder into the Department. Maybe they went into one of the other rooms."
"Then I suggest you try the other rooms," he said. "I'm done here for now. Good evening."
Some of the Aurors were already opening a door to a different room. To avoid detection, Ginny and Harry stayed well behind as Umbridge and Sirius walked into the circular entrance chamber. As soon as they did, however, Sirius' disguise was once again flushed away.
"Aurors! It's Sirius Black!" shouted Umbridge. Sirius pulled out his wand, but since it wasn't really his wand he couldn't do a solid shield, particularly not one that could stand up to four different Expelliarmuses at once. The Aurors quickly subdued Sirius.
Umbridge realized this was her chance to gain the recognition she craved. "The Minister has given an order to have you kissed on sight," she said. "Too bad there aren't any Dementors around when you need them."
"I'm innocent," shouted Black. "Peter Pettigrew is the one who betrayed the Potters and killed those Muggles."
"A likely story," said Umbridge. "If you're so innocent, why were you sentenced to Azkaban?"
"I don't know," said Sirius. "I never had a trial."
Harry was trying to get to Sirius so he could rescue him from the Aurors, but Ginny was holding him back. "Don't worry, Harry," she whispered. "The Dementor's assured me that they won't kiss him. We can't take on all those Aurors at once, but if we stay calm, we might be able to rescue him."
Umbridge, however, got a look into the other room the Aurors had opened up. Inside was an arch whose opening seemed to be covered by a thin curtain or veil. "Just wait until the Minister finds out that Dolores Umbridge captured the notorious Sirius Black," she said. "How fortunate that we found this room just when we have you. If only the great Salazar Slytherin could see me now!"
"What room is that, Ginny?" whispered Harry.
"I don't know," she whispered back in a worried tone.
Before they could do anything, Umbridge said, "Aurors, you know what to do," and they dragged a protesting Sirius and tossed him through the curtain. Harry yelled for them to stop, but Ginny cast a Muffliato on him so no one heard.
Umbridge and the Aurors triumphantly left the room, giving Ginny an opportunity to make a quick search to insure that Sirius was no longer there. Harry, however, was in shock, and so she dragged him out of the Entrance Chamber and into the lift so they could exit the building.
When they were out on the street again, Ginny wrapped her arms around Harry. "I'm sorry, Harry," she pleaded. "I'm sorry I stopped you. I thought we would have a better chance to save him if we waited."
"It's not your fault," Harry said in a dead voice. "I must have messed up the Polyjuice potion."
"It's not your fault, either," said Ginny. "It was the Ministry that did it. We have to blame them. We HAVE to blame them," she repeated, as if trying to convince herself.
Harry was incapable of action, so she dragged him to the underground and guided him to Grimmauld Place. Outside Sirius' home, a few Muggles were staring at the front door.
"I coulda swore there was an 11 and a 13 but no 12," said one.
"The Fidelius charm must have fallen," said Ginny. "I'll have to recast it again and make you the secretkeeper." Harry was almost totally unresponsive. She dragged him in the house and redid the charm as quickly as possible.
That night, she stayed with him in his bedroom, sitting behind him in bed and holding him tight. Against her will, she finally fell asleep as he continued to sit up and stare at the wall.
The next morning, Dobby came in the room with the Daily Prophet in his hands and tears in his eyes. "The Prophet is say that Mister Black is dead," he said.
Ginny hugged Dobby. "Yes, the Ministry murdered him last night." Kreacher popped in and the four of them cried together. After they were able to compose themselves, Ginny went to her room to change into fresh clothes and they met downstairs over breakfast.
"Harry," Ginny said whilst reading the paper, "the Ministry says Sirius was identified because the entrance room to the Department of Mysteries has a spell that automatically removes any enchantments. So your Polyjuice potion wasn't a failure; we just didn't know about that spell."
"What else does the paper say?"
"They call the room where they threw Sirius the 'Death Chamber.' Apparently, the arch was an ancient way of executing criminals before they started giving them the Dementor's kiss. I'm so sorry I didn't know about that."
"It's not your fault, Ginny," said Harry grimly. "It's the Ministry's fault. And we'll make them pay for it."
"Oh! The paper says that the only living heirs to Sirius' estate are the Malfoys and the Lestranges. They were all Death Eaters. We can't let them have Sirius' money--or this house."
* *
* * *
Harry was a little nervous as he and Ginny walked into Gringotts. He had been here with Ginny before, but never on business of his own. They approached a teller whose nameplate said he was Griphook, and Harry quietly asked to see Wolfslayer.
The goblin looked at him with a sneer. "Account Manager Wolfslayer doesn't have time for you, wizardling," he said.
This made Harry a little mad. The Black family's business, he suspected, was important to Gringotts, and family members should be treated with respect. More important, Harry was a member of the slayer family, and also should be treated with respect. Harry drew out his goblin family knive and slammed it, point down, into the wooden counter between him and Griphook.
"Tell Wolfslayer that her brother, Rabbitslayer, is here to see her on family business. I will wait until she has time to see me, but she will see me," he said in Gobbledygook.
When Harry started speaking in Gobbledygook, Griphook didn't think he could be more surprised. Then he discovered he could when Harry claimed to be a member of a goblin family. He looked at the family crest on the knife in front of him and said, "The results will not be pleasant for you if you are lying, wizardling." Harry just stared at him, and after a moment, the goblin blinked and said, "I will let Wolfslayer know you are here." He disappeared through a door, taking the knife with him.
Harry and Ginny had waited only a few minutes when Griphook returned. "Wolfslayer will see you now," he said. "Please follow me."
They were led deep behind the public area of the bank to a modestly sized yet fancy office. An ornate desk, with leafy carvings on its sides and legs carved to look like small tree trunks, dominated the center of the office. The walls were hung with tapestries showing goblins in battle against wizards and other creatures. Behind the desk was a goblin woman with long, dark hair and a slightly pudgy face unlined by time.
"When my lazy brother told me he had inducted a young wizard into the family, I thought he was joking," she said, fingering the knife. Then she threw the knife at him, hard.
Harry deftly caught it by the hilt, then kneeled in front of the goblin woman. "It is an honour to meet you, Family Leader," he said in Gobbledygook. "Deerslayer always spoke highly of you."
"Deerslayer has taught you well," she said, putting her hand on his forehead and moving the hair the covered up his scar. "Welcome to the family, brother. Is this your mate?"
Harry looked over at Ginny, who seemed relaxed even though she couldn't follow the conversation. "No, merely a good friend," he said. "Wolfslayer," he continued in English, "allow me to introduce you to Ginny Weasley, also known as Lady Slytherin." Wolfslayer raised her furry eyebrows; she had heard that the Slytherin account had been opened again, but hadn't met the account holder.
"Please, sit down," Wolfslayer said in English, gesturing to the chairs in front of the desk as she returned to her own chair behind it. "I understand you are here for more business than to meet the head of your family."
"Yes," said Harry. "In the wizarding world a man named Sirius Black, who was my late father's best friend, formally adopted me into his family and named me his heir." Harry placed Sirius' will on the desk. "As you may know, Lord Black was murdered by the Ministry of Magic last night, and I am here to claim my inheritance."
Wolfslayer looked surprised. "I happen to be the account manager for the Black family. The Ministry says Sirius Black is a murderer, and in fact that he betrayed your parents. Under Ministry law, a will issued by a convicted felon is likely to be challenged by other claimants to the property."
"The Ministry is lying," said Harry angrily. "Lord Black was never convicted of any crime. They imprisoned him for twelve years without a trial. He managed to escape, and I've lived with him for most of the past year. Then they captured him again and executed him, also without a trial."
"Those are serious allegations, Rabbitslayer," said the goblin. "Do you have proof of Black's innocence?"
Harry looked at Ginny. "I met the real murderer, Peter Pettigrew, a year ago," she said. "He confessed his guilt and attempted to apologize to Lord Black. Unfortunately, he escaped before we could bring him to the Aurors."
"Does the Ministry not accept your testimony because you are minor, Lady Slytherin?"
"No, that's not the problem. I was expelled from Hogwarts and my wand broken for attempting to defend Lord Black. Although Gringotts accepts my claim as the heir of Slytherin, to the Ministry I am no better than a Muggle."
"Then it might be difficult to press Rabbitslayer's claim to be the heir of Lord Black," mused Wolfslayer. "Were you hoping for access to the Black vaults?"
"No," said Harry. "Our immediate concern is that we have been living in the Black family home here in London. If my claim is not recognized and the estate goes to someone else, we would have to vacate immediately. More important, all other claimants to the Black estate were followers of the Dark Lord Voldemort, and we would rather not see the estate fall into their hands."
"A valid concern," Wolfslayer agreed. "If you were able to capture Pettigrew and obtain an official confession, there would be no problem with carrying out Lord Black's will. Without that, the estate is likely to be in probate for a long time. During that time, I will magically close the Black home to any family members other than the current residents."
Harry stood up. "I appreciate your assistance, Family Leader," he said with a bow. "We will leave you to your important work."
Wolfslayer also stood. "You are welcome to Gringotts at any time, Family Member," she said. "I will make sure you are invited to the family's next gathering."
"Thank you. I look forward to meeting the entire family," said Harry. "Farewell, Family Leader."
"Farewell, Rabbitslayer." As Harry and Ginny left, Wolfslayer returned to her chair, wondering how such a huge burden could be placed on the shoulders of such a young man.
* *
* * *
Trying not to be distracted by Fleur's swimsuit or Viktor's transfiguration into a semi-shark, Neville munched on the gillyweed with a hard look in his eyes and plunged into the water. No matter what happened to the other champions, he was determined to rescue Hermione.
* *
* * *
After returning from Gringotts, Ginny said gently, "Harry, we should listen to the prophecy." Harry pulled the glass orb out of his pocket.
"How do we listen to it?" he asked.
"I think you have to break it." She gathered some parchment and a quill. "I'll write it down."
He smashed the orb on the table and they saw the tiny image of a witch, who said, "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies . . . and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not . . . and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives. The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies."
Harry looked like he was going to cry. "Sirius died for that? It doesn't tell us how to kill the Dark Lord. It doesn't say for certain that I will kill him. It doesn't even mention me by name."
"It says someone has the power to kill him and that person was both born at the end of July after the prophecy was given and was marked by Tom," said Ginny. "How many people born at the end of July were marked by Tom?"
Harry put his hand to his scar. "So, it if is me, what is my power that the Dark Lord knows not?"
"Harry, you have lots of powers that wizards don’t know about. You have learned things from goblins and centaurs and Manticores that few wizards ever learn. One of those things may be that power."
This made Harry more determined than ever to learn about and eventually change the wizarding world. He was rapidly completing all seven years' worth of Hogwarts lessons via both Professor Slytherin and "Professor" Riddle. He trained hard with Ginny. But mostly he spent time with his forge, making new swords, knives, armour, and other gear for battle.
Fortunately, metal was easily available; Muggles threw so much out. Buckbeak looked on in curiosity as Harry melted it down, poured it into crude molds, and banged out the shapes he wanted. He made a sword for himself as long as Slytherin's sword. He made several more swords and knives in case anyone else should join their crusade. He made shield's that were carefully designed to intercept multiple spells at once and deflect them exactly where a practiced shieldholder wanted them to go. He didn't know what they were going to do next--he left most of the planning for Ginny--but he wanted to be ready for it when they did.
Chapter 14: Chapter Fourteen: The Ring
Near the end of June, armed with diadem-Riddle's description of where he hid the ring, Ginny and Harry flew Buckbeak into Little Hangleton, landing on the outskirts of town. Prior to the search, they spent many hours in the Black library looking at ways to detect and break curses and other dark magic. "Riddle-of-the-diadem may be acting cooperative," said Ginny, "but I still don't trust him." Ginny also used a charm to turn her hair black so it wouldn't stand out in the night.
Trustworthy or not, Ginny and Harry found the Gaunt shack right where Riddle said it would be. "I have a strong desire to go back home," Harry said. Ginny just rolled her eyes; Riddle had told them he had left certain charms on the building to distract invaders.
Between the magic Harry had learned from the goblins and that which Ginny had learned from books in the Black library, they were able to detect and remove several such charms before entering the building. Inside, Harry lit up the room with a Lumos while using his wandless goblin spells to detect any magic.
"As Riddle told us, the strongest magic is coming from under the floor," he said, pointing to the source. Ginny Accioed the floorboards, several of which were loose enough to come flying in her direction. Batting them away, she knelt down, reached in the opening, and pulled out a golden box.
Inside the box, they found the ring, which Harry immediately started to put on one of his fingers. Ginny slapped his hand. "Harry, no! The ring may be cursed." Harry was about to protest that diadem-Riddle hadn't told them about any curse on the ring, then stopped in embarrassment that he would trust the soul of the wizard who killed his parents.
Ginny waved her wand over the ring. "I can read two hexes: one that tries to compel you to put on the ring and one that will poison you when you do," she said. "I am glad we didn't trust Riddle-of-the-diadem; he never told us about these." She muttered some incantations, then said, "That's one," followed by more muttering, then finally, "Okay, it's safe."
Instead of putting it on, however, she touched the ring with her wand and said, "Homenum Restorem." The spectre of a teenaged boy emerged from the ring. "There's the handsome boy I used to know," she said with a smile.
The wraith looked at her in puzzlement. "Why don't you put on the ring?" he said. "It will give you power."
"No thanks, Tom," she said. "I just wanted to be sure you were here." Then she touched her wand to the ring again and sent him back inside. Knowing that the curses were gone, she put the ring on for safekeeping.
Harry Noxed the light from his wand as they exited the house into the night. Though the moon had not yet risen, the reflections of distant streetlights on the overcast sky provided a little light to see. Before they reached Buckbeak, however, Ginny said, "Harry, I just saw a green flash over by that cemetery. I wonder if it was a spell of some kind."
"What kind of a spell is green?"
"The only one I know is the killing curse."
"I hear chanting," said Harry, reaching into his robe pocket. "Let's put on the invisibility cloak and go see."
When they reached the edge of the cemetery, they saw a boy tied to a gravestone. "That's Neville Longbottom," whispered Ginny. "He was in some of my classes at Hogwarts. What's he doing here? This is a long way from Hogwarts."
An overweight man used a knife to cut off his own finger--they could see that another one was already missing--and put it into the cauldron. Then he cut the boy's arm and allowed the blood to drip into a cauldron. "This looks like a dark ritual of some kind," Ginny said. "Could your Manticore ears understand what the man was chanting?"
"He said, 'Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son; flesh of the servant, willingly given, you will revive your master; blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe,'" said Harry.
Then the man brought a golden cup out of his robe and dropped it into the cauldron. "I don't think we need to worry about getting the cup out of Gringotts," whispered Harry. Steam rapidly rose out of the cauldron and then they could see the familiar snake-face of Tom Riddle rise up, while the other man held up a robe for Tom to wear.
"We have to rescue Neville," said Ginny. "You stay under the cloak; I'll distract Tom and the other wizard while you untie him."
"Distract him how?" said Harry. "Ginny, will you be safe?"
"I'll be safe. But go, now. They have no reason to let Neville live now that Tom is back."
Harry left Ginny crouching behind a headstone and rushed over to the boy. As he moved, he could hear Riddle talk to the other wizard. "Who are you?" he asked. "How did I get here?" When Harry reached the headstone, he saw a huge, crystal goblet on the ground lying next to another boy who appeared to be dead.
"There was a prophecy, my lord," said the other wizard. "It said that only a boy named Harry Potter could kill you. You went to kill him, but somehow your body died in the attack. I was able to use the cup to bring you back."
"Is that my mark on your arm?"
The fat wizard proudly rolled up his sleeve.
"Do you have my wand?"
"No, sire, your wand . . . disappeared. Please take mine," he concluded with a bow.
Riddle took the wand and pressed it to the other wizard's arm. One by one, several other men, most of them in black robes and silver masks, began Apparating into the cemetery. Each of them bowed reverently to Tom.
"Welcome, Death Eaters," Riddle started to say. But suddenly, their attention was diverted to the sight of a young girl standing about 30 feet behind them.
"Oh, my poor Tom!" she exclaimed. "Where's the handsome boy I once knew and loved?"
Riddle strode through the small crowd of Death Eaters to get a better look at her. "Do I know you, little girl?"
"Don't you recognize me?" Ginny said with a pout. "I'm hurt."
With everyone else's attention on Ginny, Harry quickly untied Neville. "How did you get here?" he whispered to the Gryffindor student.
"The cup," said Neville. "I think it must be a portkey. The other champion and I grabbed it at the same time, and it brought us here."
"If it's a portkey, maybe it will take you back. Go grab it; take the other boy with you."
"I will but . . . who are you?"
"I'm Harry Potter. Now go!"
"Tell me who you are so that I can know who I am killing," Riddle was saying.
"I am the seventh child of a seventh son and the first girl in my pureblood family in seven generations," she said, surprising Riddle again when he realized she was speaking in Parseltongue. "I know everything you know, Tom, and some things you don't," she continued in English. She unsheathed her sword and flashed it in front of her, causing Riddle to step back. "Behold! The sword of Salazar Slytherin. You see, unlike you, I am the true heir of Slytherin." This caused some of the Death Eaters to murmur among themselves.
"I know there was a prophecy that only Harry Potter can kill me," Riddle said as he aimed his wand at Ginny.
Harry whipped off his cloak and stood up straight. "Excuse me?" he said. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Harry Potter." Riddle spun around and aimed his wand at Harry, shouting, "Avadra Kedavra!" Harry deflected the spell with his sword, and it hit one of the masked Death Eaters, who promptly fell over. The other Death Eaters scattered away, while the fat wizard transfigured himself into a rat.
"I'm sorry, Tom, was that a friend of yours?" said Harry as he circled around to stand by Ginny. "You should be more careful with your spells."
"Kill them," ordered Riddle. The Death Eaters aimed their wands and fired a variety of spells, ranging from stunners to killing spells. Harry's Protego spell protected them from the milder spells while Ginny's sword deflected the more deadly ones back. When some of the reflected spells hit human targets, the Death Eaters quickly stopped firing.
"We will meet again, Tom," said Ginny. "I hope next time you will be a little more hospitable." As Riddle and the rest gathered their wits, Ginny whispered to Harry, "Close your eyes tight," then held up her wand and cast "Geminus Lumos." The resulting bright-as-a-sun light forced Riddle and all the remaining Death Eaters to cover their eyes and left them blinded for several long moments. Harry tossed his father's cloak over their heads and they ran together to Buckbeak.
Being suddenly brought back to life, challenged by a teenage girl, and then blinded by the brightest light he had ever seen left the Dark Lord speechless. "Come, my lord," offered one of the Death Eaters. "We can Apparate to my home."
On the flight back to London, Harry could feel Ginny quietly sobbing behind him. The rush of the wind was too loud for talk, so he just held her hands to comfort her as much as he could. When they landed and got inside Grimmauld Place, she was sobbing as much as ever.
"Ginny, what's wrong?" asked Harry. "Neville got away alive; I saw him disappear when he grabbed a portkey."
"The other boy . . . who was with him," Ginny said between sobs, "that was . . . my brother, Percy."
Harry hugged Ginny as tight as he could. That night, for the second time, they stayed in the same room together, with Harry holding her and Ginny quietly sniffling whenever she happened to wake up.
Once, when she woke up, she wished desperately that she could see Percy again, who she hadn't seen in over a year. While thinking about him, she absently twisted Tom's ring around her finger over and over.
Suddenly a spectre appeared in front of her. "Percy, is that you?"
The spectre nodded. "It is good to see you, Ginevra."
"I'm so sorry I couldn't save you!"
"Don't blame yourself, Ginevra. You didn't kill me."
"I love you, Percy."
"I love you too. But it would be better if you didn't call me again. It is not good to live in the past. You need to live in the present." The spectre faded away.
In the morning, she told Harry about her dream. "They seemed so real, but he can't have been real, can he?"
"What were you doing when he appeared?" he asked.
"I was just wishing I could see him and . . . and I was turning Tom's ring around my finger. Harry! This must be the third Deathly Hallow! According to the stories, you can use it to bring back the dead by turning it over three times whilst you think of them."
"You mean, it could bring back Sirius?"
"It only brought back a spectre of Percy," said Ginny sadly. "He didn't want to stay here."
"Could I use it to talk to Sirius? I'd at least like to say good bye," said Harry.
She handed him the ring. Harry thought of Sirius and turned it over three times. "I . . . It didn't work. I tried to bring Sirius back, but it didn't work."
"Maybe you didn't do it right. Try . . . try bringing back your parents."
Harry turned the ring over while thinking of his parents. Suddenly, two specters appeared in front of him. One was a man who looked like an older version of himself, with messy black hair and brown eyes. The other was a woman with red hair and green eyes.
"Mum? Dad? Is that you?"
The image of himself smiled. "Harry, we're so proud of you," the woman said.
"But . . . but I killed Sirius," he choked out.
"You didn't kill Sirius, Harry," said the man. "You are doing good work. I wish we could be there to help you, but don't blame yourself for what other people do."
"Mum . . . why do things like this happen?" he complained. "Sirius was innocent. What makes wizards and witches so evil?"
"They aren't all evil," said his mother. "Some of them are very good and they love you very much. Hold them close; they will support you when you need it and you can support them when they need it." She looked significantly at Ginny.
"Harry," said his father, "you are doing the right things. We love you. But don't call us again."
"All right. But . . . I love you, too." The specters both smiled, then faded away.
Ginny felt like she hadn't breathed the whole time his parents were there. She hugged him after they left, and said, "The ones we love will always be with us, Harry."
"But the ones I love seem to all leave."
"I'll never leave you," she said, and he hugged her tighter. He handed her the ring, but she said, "You keep it, Harry. You have the other two Deathly Hallows; it belongs to you."
As they went downstairs to the kitchen, she said, "We have our work cut out for us, Harry. Not only is Voldemort back, but the fact that all those Death Eaters were able to Apparate to the cemetery suggests that they all have ties to the Ministry. There is almost no one we can trust."
"We have one more thing that they don't have, though," Harry said.
"What's that?"
He reached for his robes, which he had tossed on the floor before they went to bed, and pulled out a small object, setting it on the floor. It was a petrified rat. "Wormtail, also known as Peter Pettigrew. When he changed to his rat form, I Accioed and petrified him. He'll stay like this until we can get him to Gringotts."
"Harry, that's wonderful!" Ginny said, giving him a hug.
They entered the kitchen and found three elves with sorrowful eyes in the kitchen.
"What's wrong Dobby?" asked Ginny.
"This is Winky," said Dobby with tears in his eyes, "a free elf from Hogwarts. She has news for you."
Winky curtseyed. "I is sorry to meet the great Lady Slytherin with such sad news," she said. "I is heard your brother, Percy, was murdered last night." She then winced as if afraid that Ginny would punish her for bringing her bad news.
Ginny knelt down and gave Winky a hug. "Thank you for bringing me this news," she said. "I already knew about it, but I really appreciate that you care enough to let me know."
"The Hogwarts house elves is know that you and Harry Potter is talked Headmaster Flitwick into freeing us," said Winky. "We owe you a great debt."
"No, Winky, you don't owe us anything. Freeing you was the right thing to do." Winky gratefully gave Ginny a hug back. "Would you like to join us for breakfast before going back to Hogwarts?"
Winky had a slightly disappointed look on her face. "Winky will help make breakfast for the great Ginny Weasey and Harry Potter," she said with a sigh.
"No, I don't mean help make the breakfast," said Ginny. "I mean would you like to eat breakfast with us? Harry and I will help Dobby and Kreacher make the breakfast."
Winky's eyes widened in surprise. "Yes, Ginny Weasey, but you must let me help, too."
Ginny laughed. "All right. Why don't you put some dishes and silver on the table. Harry, will you make some eggs? Dobby, will you fry some bacon? Kreacher, how about some porridge? I'll make tea."
The five of them got to work and breakfast was ready in a few minutes. As they sat down, Ginny said, "Winky, if ever you get tired of working at Hogwarts, you would be welcome to come and live with us. If you want to work for us, we would give you the same pay as Hogwarts."
"Thank you, Ginny Weasey. It would be an honour to live with you. First, I must talk with my clan leader at Hogwarts." Dobby looked excited at the thought of a new elf joining the household.
After they got up from their meal, Ginny turned to Harry. "I think we have to visit my family," she said. "We'll have to be there for . . . Percy's funeral," she sobbed. Harry put his arms around her and the three elves surrounded her, patting her reassuringly.
"We can go there any time you want," Harry said.
After a good night's sleep, Voldemort was beginning to get his feet on the ground. Although he had made the Horcruxes for just such an eventuality, it was still a shock to be reborn. The last thing he remembered was working for Borgin & Burkes and building an organization with a few followers. Now he was surrounded by people, most of whom hadn't even been born when the Horcrux was made, and all of whom called him master by virtue of the Dark Mark that he had apparently put on their arms after he had made Hepzibah Smith's cup into a Horcrux.
"Lucius, what can you tell me about Harry Potter?" he asked his host. While the girl who had faced off against him last night was a puzzle, his real concern was the prophecy that claimed that a boy would grow up to vanquish him.
"Very little, my lord," said the man with long, blond hair. "His parents were younger than me. One of his father's classmates in Hogwarts came to you saying he had overheard a prophecy indicating that the only one who could vanquish you would be born at the end of July. Harry Potter had been born on July 31 and so you went to preemptively take care of the problem. His parents died; so, many thought, did you. The boy hasn't been heard from since. Until last night, I would have said he was dead, too."
A feeling deep inside Malfoy was glad that the Dark Lord hadn't asked him about the girl. Because of his vow of loyalty to Voldemort, he wouldn't lie to him. But he also felt some loyalty to the heir of Slytherin, and he was relieved that he did not have to betray that loyalty.
"You say you have been my faithful servant," said Voldemort. "What have you done to support me while I've been gone?"
"My lord, I have been working in the Ministry to prepare for your return. Thanks to my work, the Ministry has controlled the population by restricting Apparition and Portkeys, with your servants being exempted. The Ministry also closely monitors Floo travel so subversives cannot easily travel. Muggleborns and their families have been directed to live in one community so they can't threaten your rule. We've also forced many blood traitors to live there, enabling us to monitor and control all potential opponents."
"Excellent, Lucius," said the Dark Lord. Voldemort wondered whether Malfoy had done anything at all to actually bring about his rebirth. He had no idea whether he had told this man about his Horcruxes or if he had known where any of them were. But he couldn't criticize him for what he had done, which left the magical world highly vulnerable to a takeover by someone like Voldemort.
* *
* * *
By quiet consensus, Harry and Ginny went to their rooms and put on their best robes, then met in the front hall. With charms activated to prevent Muggle curiosity at their garb, they took the underground to Muggletown a little before noon, taking the elevator to the Weasley's apartment where they found Ginny's parents and five brothers looking up from the kitchen table in surprise. Ginny immediately went to her mother and the two of them burst into tears, while Harry stood nervously as six pairs of eyes stared at him in wonder.
"Ginny, where have you been for the last year?" Molly Weasley asked as their sobs faded. "We've been so worried about you."
"I'm sorry, Mum. I just couldn't face you . . . anyone in the family . . . after being expelled from Hogwarts."
Molly looked at her daughter. "You know we love you, no matter what."
"I know. But I didn't want to see the disappointment in your eyes. Also, I had things to do."
"And who have you been doing them with?" Molly asked with a stern look at Harry.
"Harry, this is my mother and father, Molly and Arthur Weasley. And these are my brothers, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, and Ron. Mum, this is Harry--Harry Potter." The Weasley's jaws collectively dropped as Harry shook the hair out of his eyes, exposing his scar.
"So Neville wasn't lying!" yelled Ron. "He was rescued by Harry Potter. Uh, you did rescue him, right?"
Harry nodded once, then looked at Ginny to do the talking. "We happened to be in Little Hangleton on a . . . project we are working on, when we saw spell fire from a cemetery," she said. "We arrived in time to save Neville, but Percy was . . . already . . ." Her mother gave her another hug.
Ginny broke away to ask, "Did someone accuse Neville of lying? And why were he and Percy so far from Hogwarts anyway?"
"Percy and Neville were competing in a tournament," Ron said. "Whoever grabbed the cup first was supposed to be ported to the judge's box to be declared the winner. Neville showed up saying that You-Know-Who was back and had killed . . . killed Percy, and that Harry Potter had rescued Neville. The Ministry says Neville was so eager to win that he killed Percy himself and made up a story about You-Know-Who and Harry Potter."
"Neville's right. Although I think another Death Eater killed Percy, it's true that Voldemort is back." Molly and Arthur visibly jumped when she said Voldemort.
"You shouldn't say his name, dear," admonished Molly.
"Why not?" asked Harry, speaking for the first time. "It's just a name. A made-up name at that."
"In the last war before, well, before you defeated him, You-Know-Who cast a spell so that anyone who said his name would immediately be attacked by Death Eaters," said Arthur gently. "That's why anyone old enough to remember the war doesn't like to say the name."
"Oh," said Harry, slightly deflated. "I didn't know there was a valid reason for it."
"Never mind that now," said Ginny. "We came to pay our respects to Percy, and to see you all . . . again."
"We're happy you've returned home, Ginny," said Arthur. "We've scheduled the funeral for tomorrow at 3. You would be welcome to stay here."
"No, we are living in Harry's house here in London," said Ginny. Harry tensed as Molly raised her eyebrows. "In separate bedrooms," Ginny added firmly. "We are working on several important projects together."
"I don't like the idea of my thirteen-year-old daughter living with a boy," said Molly. "But we're so cramped here, we'd hardly have any room for you. Why don't you join us for lunch and tell us more about what you are doing?"
George and Fred brought two more chairs and Molly's wand set two more places at the table. The twins strategically sat on either side of Harry, leaving Ginny to sit between Bill and Charlie. "Harry Potter," said one of the twins--Harry couldn't tell which. "Where have you been all these years?" said the other. "Most people thought you were dead," said the first.
Harry sighed; he knew as soon as Ginny told him they would visit her family that he would have to tell this story. "I was raised with my aunt and uncle, who are non-magical. They didn't like me very well; I later realized it was because they didn't like magic. I ran away from home when I was eleven. I learned I was a wizard, spent a year living with goblin miners, another year living with a centaur troop, and another year living with Manticores." The Weasley's eyes grew wide as he told his story, especially when he mentioned the Manticores.
"Manticores! Blimey, from what I hear, they'd sooner eat than let you live with them," said Charlie.
"This, coming from a dragon handler," said Fred or George.
Ron was the first to broach the question that Ginny knew everyone was thinking. "Gin, the last time I saw you, Snape was taking you and Sirius Black away. Later that evening, Headmaster Flitwick said he expelled you for attacking a professor. What happened and where did you go?"
"Ron, you realize that Sirius Black was innocent, right?" asked Ginny. "And that Scabbers was Peter Pettigrew, the wizard who really betrayed Harry's parents?"
"That's what it sounded like at the Whomping Willow," said Ron. "But Snape didn't believe it. And later we heard the Ministry executed Black."
Harry looked agitated, but Ginny looked at him as if to say, "I've got this." "Sirius was innocent, and we have the proof," she declared. "The Ministry imprisoned him and later executed him without a trial. Professor Snape didn't want to believe Black was innocent because they were rivals when they were at Hogwarts together, sort of like Neville and Theodore Nott." She looked around the room to see how people were reacting, but no one said anything.
"After Flitwick expelled me, I rescued Sirius from the Aurors and we went to a safe house," she continued. "I found Harry being attacked by Dementors a few weeks later, and he joined us. It turns out that Sirius was Harry's godfather, and he willed the house to Harry, so that's where we're living today." That got more of a reaction.
"How did you get Black," said Fred, "away from the Aurors?" finished George.
"How did you save Harry from Dementors?" asked Charlie.
"Where is this house?" asked Molly. Only Bill seemed to take it all in stride; only he knew that she was the heir of Slytherin.
"One at a time," said Arthur, "one at a time." When everyone quieted down, Ginny's father took the lead. "You say you have proof that Black was innocent. What is this proof?" he asked.
"When we rescued Neville from Voldemort, we also captured the wizard who really betrayed Harry's parents and framed Sirius," said Ginny. "He's an animagus." Harry quietly removed the petrified rat from his robe pocket and carefully set it on a newspaper that was on the table.
"Scabbers!" recognized Charlie. " Is he dead?"
"No, he's petrified," said Ginny. "We plan to take him to the goblins to prove Sirius' innocence and claim Harry's inheritance as Lord Black's heir."
"You're not going to take him to the Ministry?" asked Arthur.
"You mean the Ministry that executed my godfather without a trial, or the Ministry that is accusing Neville Longbottom of a murder that was really committed by Death Eaters?" said Harry fiercely. Arthur sat back a little stunned and Harry regretted being so forceful as he belatedly remembered who had been murdered.
"Would you like me to go with you when you see the goblins?" asked Bill gently, as much to change the subject as anything else. "I understand them better than anyone in this family."
"You are welcome to come with us," said Ginny, "but it isn't necessary." She looked at Harry significantly, letting him decide whether to tell about his relationship to the goblins.
"When I lived with the goblins, one of them adopted me into his family," said Harry quietly. "They treat me as one of their own."
Bill jumped up, letting his chair fall over behind him. "They think you're the Chosen One!" he exclaimed.
"What?" said Harry.
"The goblins have a legend, or a prophecy, that a Chosen One will be born to a wizarding family and battle the evil wizards on behalf of the goblin race," said Bill. "I've overheard them talk about it when they feel especially aggrieved about some Ministry policy."
"I don't know about that," said Harry. "But the centaurs seem to have heard a similar prophecy."
"There was a rumor after the end of the last war that someone made a prophecy about you and You-Know-Who," said Arthur, "which was why You-Know-Who killed your parents and tried to kill you."
"That wasn't just a rumor," said Harry, looking down at the floor.
"The Dementors!" said Ginny, looking up at the ceiling.
"What Dementors?" said Charlie, looking out the window in panic.
"The Dementors I met when I found Harry. One of them told me that they 'have prophecies too.' I didn't know what it meant at the time."
"You can talk with Dementors?" said Fred (or George). "You're full of surprises, Ginny," said George (or Fred).
"Before we go," said Ginny, wanting to change the subject, "what do you think we can do to help Neville? Could Harry or I testify at his trial?"
"I'm afraid testimony from you would be given little credence, Ginny," said her father. "I don't know how the Wizengamot would react to Harry, but the fact that he has been gone for so long doesn't help. The Ministry would probably accuse him of being an imposter."
"Why doesn't the Ministry believe Neville?" asked Harry.
"I'm not sure," said Arthur. "Publicly, the Minister of Magic has said he doesn't want people to panic because of specious claims of You-Know-Who's return. But many people who were suspected of being Death Eaters in the last war are high up in the Ministry. It could very well be that they don't want people to know of You-Know-Who's return so he can operate in secret for that much longer."
"This makes the work Harry and I are doing that much more important," said Ginny.
"What work are you doing?" asked Charlie.
"Voldemort found a way to preserve pieces of his soul so he could be resurrected if someone destroyed his body," said Harry. "We've been looking for all of his bits of soul, so the next time he dies, he won't come back. That's why we were in Little Hangleton last night; Riddle's family was from there and he left one of his bits in a home near the cemetery where . . . where your son was murdered."
"Who's Riddle?" asked Ron.
"Tom Riddle," said Ginny. "That's Voldemort's real name. His father, Tom Riddle Sr., was a Muggle."
"Voldemort was a half blood?" asked Fred. "Now that's funny," said George, though no one was smiling.
By this time, everyone was finished with lunch. "We'd better go so we can turn Pettigrew over to the goblins this afternoon," said Ginny.
"You still haven't told us where you're living, alone, with a young boy," said her mother with a disapproving tone.
"For security purposes, we'd better keep that secret for a while longer," said Ginny, who privately shuddered at the thought of her mother showing up any time she wanted. "Besides, we aren't living alone. We share the house with two, no three house elves."
"You own three house elves?" said Ron in amazement. "You better not let Hermione find out about that."
"We don't own them, Ron, we pay them to work for us," said Ginny. "They are free elves. And no, free elves don't go insane; that's just a myth."
As Ginny and Harry headed toward the door, Ginny said to Bill, "Would you like to join us? I am sure you can help us during our visit with the goblins."
"Sure, Ginny."
"We'll take the underground to the Leaky Cauldron," she said. She gave her parents and other brothers each a quick hug and promised to return the next afternoon.
When they were aboard the noisy train, Ginny looked at Harry apologetically. "I hope you don't mind my inviting Bill. He's always helped me when I needed it."
"No, I don't mind," said Harry. The three of them walked to the Leaky Cauldron, and Ginny led the way to Gringotts. When she used her wand to tap the bricks to open the entrance to Diagon Alley, Bill said, "Er, Ginny, I thought Flitwick broke your wand."
"There are a lot of ways to get a new wand, Bill," she said with a twinkle in her eye.
As they walked to Gringotts, Ginny said, "I'm surprised Mum didn't put up more of a fuss about me living at Harry's house."
"I was too, Ginny," said Bill. "But being forced to move from the Burrow to Muggletown was a shock for her. Losing Percy made it that much more difficult. She has been very subdued since I arrived from Egypt."
When they got to Gringotts, Ginny deferred to Harry as he approached Griphook. He bowed slightly and said, "Greetings, Griphook. We would like to see Account Manager Wolfslayer when she has the time available."
Griphook bowed in return. "Of course, Rabbitslayer," he said with a glance towards Bill. "I will inform Wolfslayer you are here." Bill tried not to look impressed that a boy ten years younger than himself could speak Gobbledygook better than he could.
Griphook returned in a few moments and led them back to Wolfslayer's office. On the way there, Harry asked, "Griphook, are you any relation to a goblin named Treehook?"
"Yes, Rabbitslayer," he answered. "She is my niece. Have you met her?"
"Yes," said Harry. "She is a credit to your family."
When they arrived at Wolfslayer's office, the goblin woman stood to greet them. Harry knelt and said, "Greetings, Family Leader. Thank you for seeing us on such short notice."
"You are welcome here any time, Rabbitslayer," said the goblin woman, touching Harry's forehead. "I see you are joined by your mate and her brother, William," she said in English.
Harry blushed in embarrassment. "Yes, I guess you know Bill Weasley, as he works for Gringotts. He asked to join us as a representative of the Weasley family, who as you know have a grievance against Voldemort for murdering his brother, Percy."
"And how may we help you today, Rabbitslayer?"
"You said we should come in when we captured the wizard who betrayed my parents," said Harry. "Here he is," pulling the petrified rat out of his robes.
"That's right; you said he was a rat Animagus. Is he dead?"
"No, just petrified. He wouldn't be very useful dead, now would he? May I set him on the floor?"
"Yes, but before you release him, let me call some guards so he doesn't escape," suggested Wolfslayer.
Harry put the rat down while Wolfslayer left the room for a moment. When she returned with three fierce-looking goblins armed with spears and swords, Harry depetrified the rat and forced him to return to his human form. Pettigrew looked around in alarm at the spears in his face, and tried to return to his rat form. But Harry cast a spell that prevented him from doing so.
"Har . . . Harry, is that you?" said the Animagus. "You look just like James. I remember holding you in my arms when you were a baby."
"Voldemort isn't here to protect you now," said Harry. "You betrayed my parents, didn't you?"
"No, no, I would never do that," the fat wizard protested. But Harry stared at him hard until the little man groveled on the floor and said, "Yes, I told the Dark Lord how to find them. But he was so strong! I didn't have a choice."
"You had a choice yesterday," said Harry. "You didn't have to bring him back. You were the one who cast the killing curse on that boy, weren't you?"
Pettigrew looked around, seeing the other Weasleys in the room, and realized that they were relatives of the boy he killed, the boy whose pet he once was. "I was happy being a pet rat," he said. "But he forced me to help bring the Dark Lord back."
"Who?" asked Bill. "Who forced you? Was it Sirius Black?"
"No, Sirius was innocent. It was Rabastan Lestrange. He found me soon after I escaped when Sirius forced me to reveal myself at Hogwarts. He gave me the cup that held the Dark Lord's soul. He arranged for the portkey that brought Neville Longbottom to the cemetery. The ritual to bring back the Dark Lord required the blood of an enemy, and for some reason Rabastan thought the only enemies worthy of the Dark Lord were Dumbledore, Potter, and Longbottom. Of those, only Longbottom was available.
"Rabastan used hair from a Hogwarts professor to make polyjuice potion so he could impersonate that professor. He made sure Longbottom touched the portkey that brought him to the graveyard. Percy wasn't supposed to come, just Longbottom." He sobbed, "I lived with Percy for years; I didn't want to kill him." He looked up at Harry with a miserable look on his face. "You do believe me, don't you Harry?"
"I believe you are responsible for the death of my parents, my godfather, and Ginny's and Bill's brother," said Harry. "The question is, what do we do with you now?"
"We can't turn him over to the Ministry," said Bill. "They'd be more likely to release him than send him to Azkaban."
"I bet I could find a Dementor that would give him a kiss," suggested Ginny lightly.
"No!" shrieked Pettigrew. "Anything but that."
"We may need him alive to testify if ever we can weed the Death Eaters out of the Ministry," suggested Harry.
"We goblins have our own prisons that are sturdy and well guarded," said Wolfslayer.
"If you keep him imprisoned, I will pay the costs," suggested Harry.
"No, Rabbitslayer, that is neither necessary nor appropriate. We will put him on trial for crimes against a member of the goblin race, and if he is found guilty, we will keep him in our prison for the rest of his life if necessary."
Pettigrew looked up. "But I never committed any crimes against a goblin," he said.
Wolfslayer ignored him. "Guards, take this wizard to a jail cell. Feed him standard rations." Harry knew this meant the fat little wizard was not likely to remain fat for very long.
After Pettigrew had been escorted out, Wolfslayer said, "The rat's testimony should be sufficient to allow us to declare your godfather's will to be valid. I've taken the liberty of looking up the value of your inheritance. The estate is worth a little more than a million Galleons. Not all of that is liquid. The house you are living in, for example, is worth about a fifth of the estate. We can sell it for you if you wish to move."
"Ginny, what do you think? At 5,000 Galleons each, a million Galleons will buy about 200 house elves."
"That's not enough," said Ginny. "I think you should keep the house for now, Harry."
"Why do you wish to buy house elves, Rabbitslayer?"
"House elves were cursed into slavery by wizards long ago," Ginny answered. "But if 500 elves are freed, the curse is lifted and all elves are released from slavery. We've already freed more than 100."
"Yes, we goblins know of this curse," said Wolfslayer as she looked at Ginny thoughtfully. "You are a strange witch, Ginny Weasley, to care so much about house elves. In any case, even if you had enough Galleons to buy 400 more house elves, you would have a hard time doing it. Although the going rate for house elves is about 5,000 Galleons each, no more than one or two elves go on the market each month. At that rate, it would take at least 16 years to buy and free 400."
"Wolfslayer, please access the Black accounts to buy and free any house elves that are offered for sale," said Harry. "Once they are freed, you may tell them to come to Ginny or I if they would like to work for pay."
"I will do as you say, Rabbitslayer."
"Then we will go and let you return to your valuable work, Family Head," said Harry.
"Before you go, Rabbitslayer, you do know, do you not, that you have your own vault?" stated the account manager.
"I do? What vault is that?"
"The Potter vault. Your parents left you some money and valuables. Not as much as the Black estate, but enough for you to comfortably live for quite some time. When Deerslayer told me he made a wizardling a member of the family, he didn't tell me it was Harry Potter. But I recognized you when you were here last time, and looked up your account. Here is an accounting of the Potter estate and your key; Griphook will be glad to escort you to your vault any time you wish."
"Thank you, Wolfslayer," said Harry with a bow. "You do me great service."
"Farewell, Family Member. May your crusades be successful."
As they walked back to the bank's lobby, Bill asked, "So, Harry, what was that about Ginny being your mate?"
Harry turned red, but Ginny said, "Bill, she was teasing him."
"I've never heard a goblin tease a wizard before, especially a customer."
"Don't you get it, Bill? Harry isn't her customer; he's her brother. He was adopted into her family when he lived with goblins. She teases him just like I used to tease you."
"Ginny," said Harry, changing the subject, "would you like to come see my vault with me? Maybe I have enough money to pay you back for everything you've bought for me since I moved in."
"Harry, I probably owe you for rent since I'm living in your house. But yes, I'll come with you. Can Bill join us?"
"I don't see why not." Harry found Griphook and asked him to show them the Potter vault. After a wild roller coaster ride that was beyond anything Harry had expected, Harry used his key on the door that Griphook indicated.
Inside the vault, Harry and Ginny looked in wonder at the piles of coins, books, and other Potter possessions. "Harry, this is a lot more than the 60,000 Galleons I have in the Slytherin vault," said Ginny. Harry scooped up some gold coins and a few stacks of 50 pound notes.
"At least, I'll be able to pay for our food, clothes, and other things for the next year to make up for what you paid over the last year," he said to Ginny.
"Harry, there are some books here that you may want to take with you," said Bill. Harry and Ginny went over to the bookshelves.
"This is a book of handwritten notes," said Ginny. "It looks like it was written by, yes, it says Lily Evans. Another one says Lily Potter. These may be the notes for how she developed spells such as the one that saved your life." They decided to take these notes as well as one or two other books that they hadn't seen in the Black library, and to come back later for a more detailed look.
When they returned to the lobby, a goblin found them and whispered in Griphook's ear. "Rabbitslayer," said Griphook, "There seems to be a problem with the prisoner. You'd better come with me."
Harry motioned for Ginny and Bill to follow them back into the bank's offices. They eventually reached a jail cell in which Pettigrew was lying on the floor, writhing in pain.
"He grabbed his arm and started crying out in pain a few minutes after we brought him here," said one of the guards. "We don't know what to do for him."
Harry looked at the pitiful little man. "Peter, Peter!" he said. "What's wrong?"
"The Dark Lord . . . he calls," said Pettigrew between breaths. "The Dark Mark . . . the pain will get worse . . . if I don't go to him. Eventually it will kill me." He then rolled over and screamed in agony.
Ginny pointed her wand into the cell and stunned him, ending his shrieks. "This is only a temporary solution," she said. "He has to wake up to eat and drink sometime."
"Is there any way to remove the Dark Mark?" asked Harry.
"I don't know if anyone has ever tried," said Bill.
"We can search through the Black family library and see," said Ginny. "It would be more likely to tell us about the Dark Mark than books owned by the Potter family."
"Wake up the prisoner once or twice a day and give him food and water," said Harry to the guards. "We will try to find a solution to this problem in the next few days." They bowed in agreement, and Harry, Ginny, and Bill returned to the lobby with Griphook.
After respectfully saying goodbye to Griphook, they finally left the bank. "Bill, I hope you understand that we wish to keep the location of Harry's home a secret," said Ginny. "We will see you tomorrow at Muggletown." Bill nodded his understanding and took an underground train to Muggletown. After his train left, they took a different train to Grimmauld Place.
That night at dinner, Harry divided the Galleons he had collected from his vault in fifths and gave a share to Ginny and each of the elves, telling them to spend it on anything they wanted. "But this is too much," protested Dobby. "You is only supposed to pay us a Galleon a week."
"Yes, but consider this household money," said Harry. "You can spend it on food, cleaning and redecorating the house, buying furnishings for your rooms in the house, or anything else that will make the household work better." The elves understood that, and immediately started talking together about how they wanted to spend the money.
After dinner, Ginny went to the library to do research on the Dark Mark. "We've had an exhausting day," said Harry. "Don't you want to get some rest?"
"Every time I close my eyes, I see Percy's body at the graveyard," said Ginny. "Doing research will help me think about something else." Harry stayed with her until almost midnight, when they both were nearly dozing in their chairs, and then they finally went to bed.
The next morning at breakfast, Ginny announced, "I haven't found a way to remove the mark yet, but I think I know how Tom created it. It's called a Protean charm."
"Why don't we ask Tom himself?" suggested Harry.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Why didn't I think of that? I must have been too tired last night." She pulled out the diadem and touched her wand to it. "You were a naughty boy, Tom," she said when he appeared. "You didn't tell us about the last two curses on the ring."
"I may . . . have forgotten about those."
"Yes, well if we can't trust you, there's no sense in keeping you around. Harry, would you conjure up some Fiendfyre?"
"No!" said the spectre. "I'll endeavor to remember more accurately in the future."
But when they asked him about the Dark Mark, he wasn't helpful at all. Apparenly, at the time he had turned the diadem into a Horcrux, he had conceived of the idea of a Dark Mark but had not yet fully developed the magic behind it. Ginny sent him back into the crown.
"Do you think Salazar might be able to help?" suggested Harry.
"Possibly," said Ginny. "But we do have one Horcrux that should know everything Voldemort ever did before you vanquished him."
"You mean the one in my scar? What would happen to me if we try to speak with him?"
"I'm not sure, Harry. Let's talk with Bill before we try it."
Ginny spent the rest of the morning reading books in the library while Harry studied his mother's notes. At lunch with the elves, Dobby spoke up. "Miss Weasey, may we come to Percy Weasey's funeral? Winky and I both remember Percy Weasey at Hogwarts and wish to pay respects to the Weasey family."
"Of course, Dobby. How will you get to Muggletown?"
"We can pop over there. House elf popping is not restricted by Ministry's anti-Apparition policy."
"I am touched that you want to go to the funeral, and I am sure my family will welcome you as well," said Ginny. "We will see you there at 3 o'clock."
They dressed again in their best clothes, and took the underground to Muggletown. When they entered the building, signs directed them to a common room where they were greeted by a tearful Molly who gave them both big hugs. Then the house elves popped in, carrying bowls of food. Dobby and Kreacher were wearing black suits and Winky had a dark blue dress.
"Mum, this is Dobby, Winky, and Kreacher. They are members of our household. Dobby and Winky both knew Percy and wanted to pay their respects."
"We is bring salad and other food for you to serve to your guests," said Winky with a curtsy.
"Thank you for coming," said Molly. "I am sure Percy would appreciate everything you do."
Molly showed them where to put the food on a table in the common room. There was a crowd of people in the room, and Ginny whispered to Harry, "Minister Fudge is over there by that tree. I better put a glamour over your scar if you don't want to be recognized." He paused to let her do that. "Mum, please let other family members know to not let slip that Harry Potter is here," she said. "We don't want to have to deal with the Ministry today." Molly agreed and hastened over to Ron, Fred, and George, who were most likely to blurt out Harry's name.
The memorial service for Percy was tastefully arranged, with Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, and Percy's girlfriend Penelope each presenting a few memories of Percy's life and saying how proud they were that he had been Head Boy and a Triwizard Champion. A distasteful moment seemed to last forever when Minister Fudge announced that Percy had been posthumously declared the winner of the Triwizard Tournament. Ginny and Harry had to contain themselves when Fudge openly implied that Neville cheated to grab the cup at the same time as Percy, and Fudge handed an embarrassed Arthur a bag of 1,000 Galleons, the prize for winning the tournament. Fudge finally shut up and sat down.
After the service, people lined up by the food tables to get some of Molly's famous cooking as well as dishes contributed by other family and friends. Ginny overheard some people express surprise that the service had not only been attended by three strangely dressed house elves but by a goblin woman dressed in the finest Gringotts robes. She looked around and then nudged Harry to let him know where Wolfslayer was talking with Bill.
They walked over and Ginny curtsied to Wolfslayer, saying, "You do my family great honour by attending today."
Wolfslayer looked at Ginny appraisingly. "I could not do less," she said. "You are practically a member of my own family. I mourn for your brother as I would mourn for my own," glancing at Harry.
"How is our prisoner doing?" Harry said quietly.
"He is still in great pain whenever he is awakened, but is able to eat and drink a little," she answered. "Our guards take great pleasure in stunning him as soon as he is done."
"I think we can break the curse behind the Dark Mark," said Ginny. "But I can't do it alone and would like Bill's help if Gringotts can spare him for another day."
"I think we can extend compassionate leave for one more day," said Wolfslayer. "I will advise Bill's superior that he will be staying here a little longer."
"Thank you, Wolfslayer," said Ginny. "Thank you, Family Head," said Harry.
After Wolfslayer left, Ginny saw someone else she knew talking with her father and took Harry by the hand to introduce her. "Hermione, this is my friend Harry." A distraught-looking Hermione barely glanced at Harry, but gave Ginny a hug, saying, "I'm so sorry about your brother."
"I know. I'm sorry about Neville."
Hermione's eyes brightened for a moment. "They say the Ministry is going to ask that he be kissed," she whispered in tears. "What am I going to do?"
"He won't be kissed, I will guarantee you that, Hermione," said Ginny firmly.
"He said Voldemort is back and he was rescued by Harry Potter. Is that crazy or what?" asked Hermione desperately. "No one has seen Harry Potter in 14 years."
Ginny looked at Harry significantly, and Hermione looked back and forth between them for a moment. Then her eyes got big. "Is this Har . . ."
"Shhhh! Hermione," interrupted Ginny. "We are keeping it a secret for now."
"Then is it true? You did rescue Neville?" Harry nodded. "Then who killed Percy?"
"Peter Pettigrew did, Hermione," said Ginny. "You remember: the rat who used to be Ron's pet?"
"Then Neville is innocent! You can testify."
"No, Hermione. No one is going to believe a teenage girl who was expelled from Hogwarts and had her wand snapped. Besides, the outcome of Neville's trial has already been determined. The Ministry is dominated by Death Eaters, and they don't want anyone to know that Voldemort is back."
"I don't like the Ministry any more than you do, Ginny," said Hermione. "But what makes you so certain it is dominated by Death Eaters?"
"When Voldemort was resurrected, Harry and I saw many of his Death Eaters apparate in to the cemetery," said Ginny. "Only Ministry officials are allowed to apparate. Considering how many were killed and injured in our little firefight, it would be interesting to know how many people failed to show up at the Ministry for work."
"I did hear that a few people were absent yesterday," said Arthur. "But if they really were Death Eaters, anyone inquiring too closely is likely to run into trouble."
"So what are we going to do about Neville?" pressed Hermione. "Let him be kissed or sent to Azkaban?"
"Trust me, Hermione," said Ginny. "I'll take care of him."
"What can you do?" Hermione skeptically asked. "You don't even have a wand."
"Maybe not," whispered Ginny, "but I have Harry Potter."
Hermione turned to look closely at Harry, who pulled a vial out of his robe. "Please trust us," he said. "We will take care of Neville, I promise. Here, take this calming potion. I made it myself; it will help you think a little better." Hermione reluctantly drank the potion, and Ginny signaled Ron to come over and spend a little time with his friend.
"How are the two of us going to save Neville from the entire Ministry?" Harry asked Ginny after Hermione had left.
"I don't know, but after we remove Pettigrew's dark mark, that will be our top priority. Daddy, do you know when the Ministry is putting Neville on trial?"
"It's supposed to be on Monday, just three days from now."
As the crowd thinned out, Ginny noticed Headmaster Flitwick and Professor Sprout, but they both averted their eyes when they looked in her direction. She also saw and briefly spoke to a few of her friends from Hogwarts, including Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, and Luna Lovegood.
Finally, all the guests had left, leaving only Harry, the house elves, and the Weasleys. While the house elves pitched in with clean up under Molly's supervision, the rest took the elevator up to the Weasley's apartment, where Bill asked Ginny how she wanted him to help with the Dark Mark project.
"Remember that Voldemort left pieces of his soul in various objects?" Bill nodded. "Well, I've been able to talk with these soul pieces. Unfortunately, all but one of them were made before Voldemort fully developed the Dark Mark, so they haven't been able to tell me anything about it."
"So why don't you ask the one that was made later?"
"That's where I want your help. The last Horcrux Tom made turns out to be Harry's scar. I haven't talked with it because I don't want to hurt Harry. I am hoping you can protect Harry while I persuade the last piece of Tom's soul to talk."
"Why are they willing to talk with you anyway? It doesn't seem like a piece of You-Know-Who's soul would be willing to help bring about You-Know-Who's downfall."
"Fortunately," said Ginny bringing out Slytherin's staff, "I have a very persuasive wizard on my side."
As Arthur, Charlie, Fred, George, and Ron looked on from the kitchen, Harry lay down on the sofa in the Weasley's living room. Ginny drew Salazar Slytherin out from his staff and explained what she wanted him to do.
"Did you know our sister could speak Parseltongue?" said Fred.
"I didn't even know she had a magic staff with a ghost inside of it," said George.
As Bill watched Harry with his wand ready for he didn't know what, Ginny touched Harry's scar with her wand and said, "Homenum Restorem." A rather tiny, angry looking, snake-faced Voldemort emerged from the scar.
"What? What happened?" He looked around frantically. "Where am I? I was at the Potter house."
"You died at the Potter house, Tom," said Ginny. "But you created a Horcrux when you did, and now here you are."
"And you are going to restore my body?" he asked hopefully.
"No, I am just going to ask you some questions, and you are going to answer before I put you back in your Horcrux."
"Why should I answer your questions? I'll just kill you," threatened the spectre.
"You have no power, little ghost," Slytherin hissed. "I am your lord, Salazar Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four. You will show fealty to me."
Voldemort's spectre looked up at the relatively giant image of Slytherin. He tried to cast a spell and nothing happened. Slytherin laughed and did something that made Tom shrink in apparent pain. "Bow down before me, Tom Riddle," said Salazar. "I am your lord and commander." Looking around hastily and not seeing any alternative, Voldemort's spectre bowed. "Swear that you will be loyal to me, little ghost."
"I swear it," said Riddle's spectre.
"Very good. Now, answer Lady Slytherin's questions." Tom looked up in surprise to hear Ginny called Lady Slytherin.
"You have questions for me, my lady?" If he hoped that Ginny wouldn't understand Parseltongue, he was bound to be disappointed.
"I do," said Ginny. "I want you to tell me everything you know about the Dark Mark that you have tattooed on your follower's arms." The spectre hesitated a moment until Salazar did whatever it was that caused him pain, and then started talking.
An hour later, Ginny and Bill had each taken lots of notes and Ginny had a small smile on her face. "Thank you, Tom," she said, and with her wand on Harry's scar she put him back in the Horcrux. Then Ginny leaned over and kissed Harry's scar, leading Harry to briefly wonder if she was kissing him or Tom.
"Can you remove the mark?" Harry asked.
"Yes, this is a very interesting spell," said Ginny. "I was correct that the mark itself is a Protean charm. But the spell is also overlaid with a charm compelling loyalty. If I remove the Protean charm, the loyalty charm remains. However, that loyalty can be transferred. If Pettigrew or anyone else agrees to have me remove the mark, I can demand that they swear absolute loyalty to me and become my loyal vassal, at least as loyal as they were to Tom."
"It's probably too late in the day to go to Gringotts to deal with Pettigrew," said Bill.
"Actually, Wolfslayer says I am welcome any time," said Harry.
"Before you go anywhere," admonished Molly, "you need to have a little dinner. The elves and I have fixed enough food for all of us."
While they were eating, Ginny's brothers peppered her with questions. "Where did you get that staff?" said Fred. "And whose ghost did you draw out of it?" added George.
"Bill and I found the staff in Egypt," she said. "It once belonged to Salazar Slytherin, and when he died he put his soul in the staff because he wasn't certain it would be safe otherwise."
"Whoa!" said Ron. "You mean you really are the heir of Slytherin?"
"Don't be silly, Ron," said Molly. "How could your sister be the heir of Slytherin?"
"I don't know how, either, Mum, but according to Salazar, I really am his heir." Molly dropped her fork in surprise.
"What I want to know," said Charlie, "is where you got that wand. I don't mean to bring up sore points, but I thought your wand was snapped when you were expelled from Hogwarts."
"As it happens, I saw Peter Pettigrew drop this wand the day Sirius Black revealed him to be Scabbers. I picked it up before Snape took me to Flitwick's office. I was sorry that Flitwick snapped grandmother's wand, but this wand actually fits me much better."
"I'm surprised that a wand that belonged to that rat works for you so well," said Charlie.
"It wasn't his wand," said Ginny quietly. "He was just holding it for someone else."
"Who . . . ohhh," said Charlie as realized the truth.
"I don't get it," said Ron. "Whose wand was it?" Fred whispered in his ear. "What! Your wand belonged to . . ." But Fred clamped his hand over Ron's mouth.
After dinner, Harry, Ginny, and Bill took the underground to the Leaky Cauldron and then walked over to Gringotts. Although the bank had just a skeleton staff on Friday evening, they immediately recognized Harry and let him in, allowing him to lead Ginny and Bill back to the jail cell.
Pettigrew was lying on the floor unconscious. Ginny asked the guards to open the cell door, and the three of them went in, with Ginny gesturing for the guards to lock the doors after them. Ginny then Rennervated the fat wizard, who immediately grabbed his arm and began moaning.
"Peter, can you understand me?" The wizard feebly nodded his head. "I can remove the Dark Mark. Doing so will be painful, but no more pain than you are feeling now. However, when I am done, the pain will go away." Pettigrew nodded his head. "There is one catch. When I am done, you must pledge your loyalty to me, the same loyalty you once gave the Dark Lord. Are you willing to do that?" With a loud moan, Pettigrew nodded quickly.
"Harry, Bill, hold him down," Ginny commanded. She then took her wand and pressed it against the mark on his arm. Pettigrew cried in pain as she chanted for several minutes. Finally, the mark faded away, and Pettigrew relaxed. "You must pledge your loyalty to me now," said Ginny, "or the least that will happen is that you will lose your magic."
Pettigrew struggled up on his knees and bowed down in front of her. "I pledge to you, Ginny Weasley, my honour, loyalty, and obedience," he said. She touched his head, and said, "I accept your pledge. You are not absolved of any of the crimes you committed when in the Dark Lord's service. I command you to cooperate with the goblins, and if they are merciful, they may eventually release you. In the meantime, you will feel no pain from the Dark Mark or from anything I do."
Pettigrew's eyes were filled with tears of gratitude. "Thank you, my lady," he said.
Ginny looked at the goblin guards, who had been watching in wonder, and they quickly unlocked the cell door to let the three of them out. "Good bye, Peter," she said before they left. "I will see you again, and I am sure you will have an opportunity to serve me with dignity."
After they left Gringotts, Bill watched curiously as Ginny practically collapsed against Harry. "Tomorrow, we'll find a way to protect Neville," she vowed. "But tonight I need some sleep." After leaving the Leaky Cauldron, they took the underground together but parted ways when Bill needed to change trains to Muggletown. When Harry and Ginny reached Grimmauld Place, they fell into their beds and slept through the night.
Chapter 15: Chapter Fifteen: The Rescue
The next morning at breakfast, Ginny was eager to discuss ways to help Neville. "There are too many Aurors and other wizards at the Ministry for the two of us to handle," she said, "and Azkaban is too well guarded for us to break him out. So, if they decide to put him in prison, we will have to free him during the trip to Azkaban."
"Won't they just Apparate him straight into the prison?" asked Harry.
"No, the prison is surrounded by anti-Apparition spells that even Ministry personnel can't get around. My father has visited the prison before. He says it is on an island in the North Sea, and that the Aurors Apparate to the nearest point of land in Scotland, then take a ferry to the island."
"So we'll have to rescue him during the ferry ride. Can the two of us do it?"
"Maybe it won't have to be just the two of us," suggested Ginny. "Let's go to Hogwarts today."
After breakfast, they went to the Leaky Cauldron and Flooed to the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. They then walked to the Hogwarts gate, which Ginny was still able to open as an heir of Slytherin. A few students were wandering the grounds on the summery day, but no one paid any attention to them as, from a distance, they would be mistaken for students themselves.
Ginny led Harry to the east end of the lake and started playing a flute. After a few minutes, a merman and mermaid swam up out of the water and perched themselves on rocks. Ginny curtseyed.
"Grouper, Tilapia, I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Harry Potter." Harry bowed, and the merpeople nodded their heads.
"We need to save Neville Longbottom, an innocent boy who was a student here at Hogwarts, from being thrown into Azkaban," Ginny told the merpeople. "Do you have any cousins in the North Sea who could help us with this?"
"We know Neville Longbottom," said Tilapia. "He was very courteous to us when swimming in the lake during the tournament last winter."
"There is a colony of merpeople near Azkaban," said Grouper. "They are not very friendly to wizards. What would you want them to do?"
"The boy will be carried on a ferry from the mainland to Azkaban Island. We would need them to stop the ferry in the middle of strait so we could board it, stun the guards, and take Neville off the boat. The merpeople themselves would not need to be involved in the fighting, only in stopping the boat and, perhaps, escorting us to and from the boat."
"We will inquire with our cousins. When do you think this will happen?" asked Grouper.
"Neville is going on trial on Monday, so assuming he is found guilty he will likely be transferred Monday night or Tuesday," said Ginny.
"Come back here tomorrow afternoon and we will have an answer for you," said Tilapia. Ginny thanked them and she and Harry returned to Hogsmeade, Flooed to the Leaky, then took the underground home.
"How are we going to get to the ferry?" asked Harry when they were eating lunch with the elves. "Shall we fly in on Buckbeak?"
"No, I suspect there will be Aurors on broomsticks guarding the transfer," said Ginny. "Your wand can protect us, but it might not be able to protect Buckbeak. Also, he would have a problem carrying three people at once."
"So are we going to swim over? That water will be cold, even in June."
"We may have to," said Ginny. "There is a plant called Gillyweed that allows us to grow gills so we can swim underwater. It also helps insulate us from the cold. But if we have gills, we won't be able to breathe in the air, so we can't use it to get to the ferry, only on the way back."
"Dobby can help get Gillyweed," said Dobby. "How much do you need?"
"We would need enough for three people for up to two hours each," said Ginny.
"Dobby is have it for Miss Weasley by Monday morning," the elf promised.
"Kreacher, can you please set up a bedroom for Neville to sleep in?" asked Ginny. "I suspect he will be living with us for a while." Kreacher agreed.
"Perhaps the merpeople can help us get to the ferry," mused Ginny. "That doesn't help with the cold, however."
"Muggles wear special suits to keep them warm in cold water," suggested Harry. "Let's see if we can find some in Muggle London after lunch."
After helping the elves with clean up, Harry and Ginny left the house in Muggle clothing and went to a local store, where they borrowed a directory. "There is a diving store near Chiswick, about 10 miles from here," said Harry. "We can take the underground most of the way."
"Why do we want to dive?" said Ginny. "I thought we were looking for swim gear."
"Skindiving is what Muggles call swimming deep under the water with oxygen tanks," said Harry.
"My father would have wanted to come with us," said Ginny.
After a long underground ride and a short walk, they arrived at the diving store. "Can I help you?" said a salesman.
"Yes, we usually, er, dive in warm water, but we want to dive in the North Sea, so we were looking for gear to keep us warm."
"Of course," said the salesman. "For North Sea diving, I recommend a full dry suit. Let me show you what we have and you can try some on."
They spent the next hour learning the virtues of various models and brands and trying on several different suits. Harry realized that Ginny appeared quite fetching in the skin-tight drysuits. They also decided to buy swimsuits with small pockets so that, when they used the Gillyweed, they could take off the drysuits, shrink them, and carry them in the pockets--and Harry decided that Ginny looked especially fetching in her swimsuit. After making their selections, Harry paid for everything in cash. The salesman tried not to appear impressed as Harry counted out 1,500 pounds in 50-pound notes from a thick pile of bills.
Sunday morning, they learned to put their drysuits on and take them off as quickly as possible. The suits would interfere with the Gillyweed transformation, so they would have to take them off before taking the Gillyweed. The suits were also more constricting than wizarding robes, so they spent an hour or so practicing their dueling skills while wearing the suits.
After lunch, they took the underground to the Leaky Cauldron and Flooed to the Three Broomsticks, walking from there through the Hogwarts gate to the east end of the lake. Ginny played her flute and the merpeople soon appeared in the water.
"Our people will help you, Lady Slytherin," said Tilapia. "Go to the first spit to the east of the ferry landing and play your flute. Prince Murchadh and Princess Mordag will come to help you." Ginny thanked them, and they returned home.
That evening at dinner, Harry showed Ginny two large coins that had the face of the bearded wizard who came out of Ginny's staff. "Based on what you've taught me about the Protean charm," he said, "I've created this coin as a communication device. Put one in your pocket and go upstairs." After Ginny disappeared, he heated up the second coin. "Ow!" he heard from upstairs. "Whoops!" he said aloud. "Must have heated that a little too much." Then he wrote the words, "Come downstairs," on his. The letters faded away, but he heard Ginny's feet on the stairs.
"It got really hot, and I pulled it out of my pocket and noticed writing on it," Ginny said, "so I followed the instructions and here I am."
"Good," said Harry. "They work just like I had hoped. They should work as well halfway around the world as they do in the other room."
On Monday morning, Ginny and Harry dressed in hooded robes and went to witness Neville's trial. The trial was a farce. A nervous-looking Neville looked very small chained to a hard chair in the center of the courtroom. He appeared to have no legal representation. Several Dementors floated in the corner of the room nearest his chair. The Wizengamot looked down upon him, while Ginny and Harry, faces hooded to protect their identities, sat in the back row of the crowded gallery above.
"Neville Longbottom, you are charged with the murder of Percy Weasley in an attempt to cheat and win the Triwizard Tournament," said Minister Fudge. "How do you plead?"
"Not . . . not guilty, your honours," said Neville in a tremulous but loud voice.
"Not guilty?" said Fudge sarcastically. "How can you maintain your innocence when you appeared with the poor Weasley boy in your arms, him dead, in front of a crowd of hundreds of witnesses?"
"He . . . he's back . . . Voldemort . . ."
"Do NOT use that name in this courtroom," thundered Fudge.
"He-who-must-not-be-named, he's back. One of his Death Eaters killed Percy. Harry Potter rescued me."
"Harry Potter, the boy-who-hasn't-been-seen for nearly fourteen years?" said Fudge. Several members of the Wizengamot and gallery laughed. "What makes you think we would believe this incredible story?"
Neville sat up straight. "It's true. I swear it."
"That's enough of your lies. I'd also like to point out the mysterious disappearance of a beloved Hogwarts professor, Quirinus Quirrel, at almost exactly the same moment that the Weasley boy died. While we can't prove that you caused it, it is obviously related. What do you have to say to that?"
"I have no idea about that. The last time I saw Professor Quirrel was before I entered the maze."
"So you say," said Fudge in a disbelieving voice. "Does anyone else have any questions before we vote on his guilt?" After a brief moment, Fudge continued. "Very well, all those members of the Wizengamot who believe Neville Longbottom guilty say, 'Aye.'" A large number of "ayes" could be heard. "All those who believe he is innocent say, 'Nay.'" Only a few "nays" were heard, one of which was the clear voice of an older woman.
"Neville Longbottom, you have been found guilty of murder," said Fudge. "I sentence you to be kissed by a Dementor." Ginny heard Hermione's voice shriek "Nooo" somewhere in the gallery. Ginny saw a woman in the Wizengamot who might have been one of the nay votes put her hand to her mouth in rage. "Aurors, control the crowd," ordered Fudge. "Dementors, you may kiss the prisoner."
Neville looked terrified as the Dementors in the corner started to move. But they paused when Ginny threw off her hood and stared, red-eyed, at the People. After a moment, however, they started heading to Neville again. Ginny stood up and held her wand out, causing the Dementors to pause again. They looked at her, looked at Neville, looked at her, then returned to the corner. For a moment, the crowd was silent.
"I've never seen Dementors refuse to give someone the kiss," an older man said finally.
"Perhaps this Longbottom boy is so evil, even the Dementors don't want him," said another, leading a few people to laugh nervously.
"Dementors, apply the punishment!" commanded a perplexed Fudge. The Dementors looked at him and slowly shook their heads.
"Very well. Neville Longbottom, you are sentenced to life in Azkaban Prison. Aurors, transfer the prisoner to Azkaban tonight."
One of the Aurors released Neville from the chair, stood him up, and put manacles on his wrists. "You better hope I make it to Azkaban alive, sonny," he said with a vicious laugh, "because no one but me knows the spell to take these bracelets off."
Ginny and Harry hurried home, put on their drysuits, packed a little food and the Gillyweed that Dobby had procured for them, and took off from the roof of 12 Grimmauld Place on a Buckbeak charmed to be invisible. The sun was setting by the time they reached the spit east of the ferry landing, and they could see the ferry docked on the mainland side of the strait. Ginny played her flute, and two merpeople appeared.
"Prince Murchadh and Princess Mordag? I am Lady Slytherin," said Ginny with a curtsey. "Did Prince Grouper and Princess Tilapia tell you about our mission today?"
"They told us you wish to rescue an innocent boy who is to be taken to that evil prison tonight," said Mordag.
"We will fight for you, Lady Slytherin," said Murchadh, who looked fearsome with shells for armour and a long spear. "We will fight for you and Harry Potter."
"Thank you, but I hope that won't be necessary," she said gently. "We would like you to force the ferry to a halt when it has reached the middle of the strait. We will board the ferry and stun the guards and capture the prisoner. We will be able to swim to shore under our own power, but Harry and I will need your help getting to the ferry."
Murchadh looked a little disappointed, but said, "I will tell our people what to do." He came back after a few minutes, by which time Ginny could dimly see some shadows mingling on the ferry landing.
"That's them," said Harry. "I can see Neville and four other people boarding the ferry. There may be some people already on board."
"Keen are the eyes of Manticores," said Ginny with a smile.
"I will help you swim to the ferry, Lady Slytherin," said Murchadh, "and Mordag will help Harry Potter."
Ginny and Harry waded into the cold water, insulated and except for their faces kept completely dry by their suits. Floating on the surface of the water, their heads sticking out, icy splashes licked their faces as the merpeople propelled them across the dark strait. By the time they reached the middle of the strait, the ferry was already there, and they could hear people talking on board. However, the waves were so severe that the Aurors hadn't yet realized that the boat was stopped.
Murchadh and Mordag took them to a rope ladder that hung off of the deck on one side, and Harry led the way up the ladder. No one could be seen on the cold deck, but a lighted cabin was visible through windows. A stairway led to a pilothouse that was dark, but the shadows of someone could be seen inside. "You take the upstairs, I'll take the main cabin," said Harry.
As Ginny climbed the stairs, Harry stepped gingerly to the door of the cabin. He could hear voices inside, but they went silent when he pushed the door open and stepped in. "Where the devil did you come from?" someone said, but two other Aurors didn't wait for an answer and immediately began firing stunners and other curses at him. Harry's wand easily fended off the spells, and with a few deft spells of his own, four Aurors were lying on the floor, stunned.
"Hello, Neville," Harry said to the very surprised boy. "We meet again." Harry directed Neville to turn around, and he cast an Alohamora spell on the manacles.
"Uh, Harry, I think it will take a little more than . . . oh," finished Neville as the manacles fell to the floor.
Just then, Ginny came into the cabin. "Check their arms for Dark Marks, Harry," she said. "Hello, Neville, how's it going? There was only one person upstairs, and he is now sleeping comfortably."
Harry and Ginny each checked two of the Aurors, and found two Dark Marks out of the four. "Here's two-thirds of the Gillyweed, Harry," said Ginny. "Take Neville home and come back for me."
"But Ginny, it will take hours for Buckbeak to fly us home and back."
"That's all right," said Ginny. "It's more important that I remove these Dark Marks. Buckbeak can only carry two at a time anyway."
Harry got out of his dry suit and shrunk it so it would fit in a pocket of the swimsuit he was wearing underneath. "Eat this, Neville, and we'll swim to shore."
"Yes, I've had Gillyweed before," said Neville. Neville took off his prison robe, they each ate a few bites, and then jumped into the water as their gills began to form. Under the water, Harry could see the seaweed ropes the merpeople had used to halt the progress of the ferry. He found Murchadh and signaled for them to surface. Keeping his gills underwater, Harry told the merman that he and Neville were swimming to shore now, while Ginny--Lady Slytherin--would stay on board for a few minutes and swim to shore later. Murchadh indicated that his school of merpeople would keep the ferry in its place until Ginny left.
On board the boat, Ginny Rennervated one of the Aurors with a Dark Mark. She pulled out the sword of Slytherin and pointed it at his nose. "Do you know what this is?" The Auror nervously shook his head. "It's the sword of Slytherin. Do you know what that means?" The Auror repeated the gesture. "It means that I'm the heir of Slytherin, not that half-blood who calls himself Voldemort."
Ginny was short for her age, but her black, hooded, skintight suit, combined with a sword that--though the Auror couldn't tell--was nearly as long as she was tall, made her appear to the Auror to be seven feet tall. "How many times has the Dark Lord put you under the Cruciatus curse?" she asked.
"I . . . I can't remember . . . too many to count," he said.
"He probably never told you that his father was a Muggle, did he? All that talk about pureblood wizards is, for him, just a lie." The Auror's eyes opened a bit wider, then he collapsed with a sob.
"I'll give you a choice," said Ginny. "I'll remove your Dark Mark. The only catch is, when I am done, you must swear fealty to me. If you do, I promise I will never torture you in any way or punish you for things that were not your fault. Would you like to be free of the Dark Lord's control?" The Auror thought a moment, then nodded his head.
"All right. I am going to stun you so you won't have to feel the pain of the Dark Mark being removed. I'll wake you up when it is gone." She proceeded to do so. When the Auror was awake, she said, "You have about one minute to swear your loyalty and obedience to me, otherwise you will lose your magic."
The wizard knelt down and said, "I, Paul Brainerd, pledge to you, Lady Slytherin, my honour, loyalty, and obedience."
"Thank you, Paul," Ginny said with a smile. "So long as you remain loyal to me, I pledge never to harm you and to protect you and your family from those who would harm you without merit. Now, let's wake up your friend and see if he is willing to join you."
The other Auror was a little more difficult, demanding to know how Lady Slytherin was going to protect them from the Dark Lord's wrath. Paul jumped to her defense.
"Look around you, Alastair," he said. "Here we are, four Aurors guarding a prisoner in the middle of the North Sea. By herself, she stunned us all and now our prisoner is gone." Ginny realized that, in their dark drysuits, she and Harry looked somewhat alike and the Aurors didn't realize that Harry had been the one to stun them. "She has the sword of Slytherin. Don't you recognize it from the painting of Lord Slytherin in the common room?" The other Auror finally agreed to have his Dark Mark removed.
"Now, here are my orders for you," Ginny said when she was done and both Aurors were awake. "Tell no one about this encounter. When you get back to the Ministry, quit your jobs and go home and take care of your families. From now on, I want you to do no harm to any sentient being except in self defense. If you have any house elves, I want you to free them, and then offer to pay them a Galleon a week to work for you. If you have been kind to them, they will be happy to continue to work for you for that wage."
Ginny reached into a pocket of her dry suit. "Take these medallions, which each have an image of Salazar Slytherin. Keep them with you at all times. If you need a job, if you need help in any way, write your initials or your Floo address on the front of the medallion, and I will contact you. If the medallion heats up, it means I am calling you into my service. However, your families come first. Heed my call only if you can do so without putting your families in danger. Do you understand these commands?" The Aurors nodded agreement.
"Very good. I am going to stun you before I leave so no one will blame you any more than the other two Aurors for losing your prisoner. I wish you both well and remember, your families come first." Their faces both looked relieved as she stunned them into unconsciousness. Then she stripped off her drysuit, shrank it and stuffed it in a pocket of the swimsuit she wore underneath, and ate some Gillyweed before jumping into the cold water. Aurors on broomsticks, disturbed by the ferry's lack of progress, landed on the deck just moments after she sank beneath the waves.
Neville looked around in confusion when Buckbeak landed on the roof of 12 Grimmauld Place. "Where is this place, Harry?"
"This is 12 Grimmauld Place in London," said Harry. "Ginny put a Fidelius charm on the place, so you won't be able to tell anyone else where it is. But now that you know, you'll be able to find it again." They entered the building and were greeted by Kreacher. "Kreacher, this is Lord Longbottom. Please show him to his room; I have to go back to pick up Ginny." Turning back to Neville, he said with a wink, "You'll have your own bath and I imagine the bed will be at least a little more comfortable than the one you've had for the last few days."
"Very comfortable, Harry," said Kreacher. "I used some of the household money to buy him a new bed."
"Thank you, Kreacher, I am sure Lord Longbottom will be most appreciative." To Neville, he said, "Get some sleep, mate. Ginny and I will be sleeping in, but when she gets up I am sure she will want to start working on a lot of new projects." With that, he went back to the roof and took off on Buckbeak.
In the Auror quarters near the ferry landing on the mainland, Auror head Rufus Scrimgeour had personally arrived to interrogate the Aurors under whose watch the murderer Neville Longbottom had disappeared. They all told a similar story: the ferry was crossing the strait, as usual, when someone broke into the cabin and stunned them all. When they woke up, the prisoner was gone.
The only break in the case happened when one of the Aurors referred to the person who stunned them as a "she." "She was very tall, wearing black robes and a hood," said Auror Brainerd.
"She?" asked Scrimgeour. "How do you know the attacker was a witch?"
"Uh, uh," stammered the former Death Eater, realizing his mistake. "Her face, it was so smooth. And her voice was gentle." None of the other Aurors said anything about the attacker's voice; in fact, Harry had stunned them silently. "It must have been a woman; if it was a man, he would have to have been about 14 years old, and that's not possible, is it?"
Thus began the legend of the Dark Lady.
When Ginny reached shore, she waited a few minutes for the Gillyweed to wear off, then climbed out of the water and put the drysuit on to ward against the chill night air. In the distance, she could see the ferry was under way again, returning to the mainland, and in fact had almost reached the dock.
"Was your mission successful, Lady Slytherin?" said a voice.
"Yes, Prince Murchadh, thanks to your help," said Ginny. "Please extend my appreciation to your people."
"Is there anything else you need tonight?"
"No thank you. Harry will be back soon to pick me up."
"Very well. Please call on us again if we can do anything else. We are always happy to help Lady Slytherin and Harry Potter."
Ginny felt like sleeping but knew she had to remain alert in case Aurors searched in her direction. Finally, she saw Buckbeak land and heard Harry whisper, "Ginny, let's go." On the flight home, Ginny wrapped her arms around Harry and fell asleep, safe and comfortable in the summer night.
It was nearly dawn when Buckbeak landed on the roof of Grimmauld Place, and Harry and Ginny went sleepily to their beds and slept until almost noon. When they got up, they found Neville exploring the library.
"Good morning, Ginny," said Neville. "What is this place? From the heraldry, it looks like it belongs to the House of Black."
"Yes, this was Sirius Black's home. It now belongs to his godson, Harry."
Neville's smile fell away. "I was sorry to hear that the Ministry executed him," said Neville. "Ever since we found out Ron's rat was the real traitor, I've believed in Black's innocence."
"Yes, well, none of us have much love for the Ministry right now, do we?" said Harry.
"Say, Ginny," said Neville, holding up the morning Prophet, "did you know that you are the 'Dark Lady'?"
"What do you mean?"
"The Ministry is having a fit that I broke out of prison, and they are blaming it on a Dark Lady," reported Neville. "They don't even mention Harry."
"Nobody on the ferry saw that there were two of us, did they, Harry?" mused Ginny. "Our drysuits make us look a little alike. One of the Aurors whose Dark Marks I removed must have let slip that I am a girl."
"So what are we going to do? Just hide out here?" asked Neville.
"No, we have to fight Voldemort," said Ginny. "His body was destroyed when he attacked Harry's family, but he had stored pieces of his soul in a number of objects. One of them was used with your blood to bring him back. We think we have collected all the other pieces of his soul, so if we can kill his body, he won't be able to come back again."
"You make it sound so simple: just kill the most powerful Dark Lord ever, after going through hundreds of his Death Eaters first," worried Neville.
"No, it won't be simple," said Ginny. "First, we have to balance the scales by persuading some of his Death Eaters to transfer their loyalty from him to us. Then we have to draw him out so we can confront him without having to fight an army first."
"Another thing you can do is break the Muggleborns out of Muggletown," declared Neville.
"Break them out?" said Ginny in a puzzled tone.
"Yes, the Ministry has ordered all Muggleborns and their families to live in Muggletown. Hermione is convinced that the Ministry has cast spells preventing them from leaving without Ministry escorts."
"My family lives in Muggletown, but they can leave."
"But your family is pureblood, right? Hermione says that, as far as she can tell, her parents have never left Muggletown since they moved in. They won't say why, which she thinks is also part of the spell. The other Muggleborns at Hogwarts say the same thing about their families."
"I guess Harry and I will have to go visit my folks this afternoon," said Ginny. "I hope you don't mind staying here, Neville. We can't be seen consorting with wanted criminals," she added with a wink.
"You're welcome to stay here as long as you need, mate," added Harry. Neville felt a bit giddy: That was the second time Harry Potter had called him his mate! He had no idea that Harry was equally thrilled to have a male friend his own age.
"If we see Hermione, we'll invite her over here," said Ginny. "But we'll have to be discreet about it; if we let her know you are here before we get here, she'll probably blurt it out to someone."
"Just tell her about Harry's library," said Neville. "She'll beg you to come."
Rufus Scrimgeour returned to the Ministry with a mystery and a difficult duty. "Frank," he said to one of his top Aurors, "I know you think your son is innocent, so we kept you and Alice busy on other work while he was being transferred to Azkaban. That's how we know you had nothing to do with his escape. Minister Fudge has issued a shoot-to-kill order on him . . ." The Auror started to protest. "I know, I know," said Scrimgeour. "All I can say is, if you want your son alive, and you know or find out where he is, the best thing you can do is bring him in yourself. Dismissed."
As Frank Longbottom left Scrimgeour's office, another Auror stepped out of the shadows, aimed his wand at him, and whispered, "Imperio."
After a lunch at which Ginny explained that the elves did not belong to her or Harry and that they were their friends who got paid to help around the house, Ginny put some glamours on Harry and the two of them left to take the underground to Muggletown. When they climbed the underground's stairs to the street in front of Muggletown, Ginny noticed that the once-gleaming building was noticeably dingier than it had been when she first stayed there with her family the summer they went to Egypt.
Crossing the street, she whispered to Harry, "See those men standing around? Aurors. They must be there to make sure Muggleborns and their families don't leave without permission."
"I wonder how many of them have a Dark Mark," Harry said.
As they crossed the sidewalk onto the Muggletown plaza, Harry slowed and discretely waved his hand. "Wards," he whispered as they returned to a normal walking pace.
Going in the doors, they encountered a number of people in the lobby, one of them a girl with bushy hair and a tear-streaked face. "Hermione!" Ginny said.
The girl broke out in tears again and grabbed Ginny in a hug. "What am I going to do?" she wailed.
"We can't talk here," Ginny whispered. "Let's go up to my parent's apartment." She pulled a reluctant Hermione with her and Harry into the elevator.
Inside the apartment, Ginny greeted her mum, who was the only one home at the time, and took Hermione into the living room. After scanning the area, Harry whispered to Ginny and Hermione, "I don't detect anything, but I can't be sure is the Ministry has listening spells here. So we need to keep our conversation vague."
"I'm surprised you're not back at Hogwarts," Ginny said to a somewhat-more-composed Hermione.
"I know most of the students aren't going home until Saturday," the witch acknowledged, "but I came for Neville's trial and, since classes are over, I didn't see any point in going back."
"I understand your parents love Muggletown so much that they never leave," commented Ginny. Hermione blinked; this was far from her most important worry at the moment.
"Yes, as far as I know, they've never left since they moved in, and they won't tell me why."
"Mum, do you know the Grangers?"
"We've met them, Ginny; they came to Percy's memorial. But I don't know if they've ever left Muggletown."
"Do you know any Muggles who regularly leave Muggletown?"
"Now that I think about it, I think they all have jobs here. Of course, we don't know very many."
"Hermione, are your parents home?"
"My mum is; my dad is at his dental office, which is on a different floor here in Muggletown."
"Let's go see your mum."
The three of them took the elevator to the Granger's apartment, which was on a much higher floor than the Burrow II, and when Ginny walked in she noticed it had better views and nicer furnishings.
"Mum, I've brought some friends of mine. Can we talk with you for a few minutes?"
Emma walked in from the kitchen. "Mum, this is Ginny; she's Ron's brother. And this is her friend Harry."
"Nice to meet you both," said the woman who looked like an older version of Hermione, though one who had managed to tame her hair a little better. "I think I remember seeing you at your brother's memorial. I was very sorry to hear about his passing."
"Thank you," said Ginny as they sat down in the living room. "I wanted to ask you: When was the last time you left Muggletown?"
Emma looked around. "Why, I think it was . . . well, I can't remember. Why?"
Harry was waving his hands around. "I can detect a charm that seems to be limiting Emma's ability to say certain things," he whispered. "I'm going to remove it for a moment." He waved his hand again, and Emma flinched as if something had startled her.
"We don't know what's going on," she said in a rush. "The Ministry invited us here, and then we couldn't get out. When Dan tried to leave, he would go out one door and in another. It was like an Escher print. When we tried to tell Hermione about it, something prevented us from talking. We could talk about it with each other, but no one else. I think the other non-magical parents of magical children here have the same problem, but no one talks about it."
"Thank you, Mrs. Granger," said Ginny. She nodded to Harry, who waved his hand.
"The charm is back in place," he said. "I don't think anyone could have detected that I took it down for a few moments, but if I had left it down they would have eventually discovered it."
"Mrs. Granger, Harry and I will work on your problem. In the meantime, you will be safe here with your husband. Just go about your regular business. Hermione," she said to the girl with a smile, "would you like to visit us at Harry's house?"
"Thank you, Ginny, but I think I should wait here with my parents in case we get news of Neville."
"I think we will get any news about Neville faster than you will here," said Harry. "You really ought to come visit; I am sure you will find my house, and my family library, fascinating."
When Hermione still looked dubious, Ginny said firmly, "You really need to come with us, Hermione. It's just a short underground ride away." Reluctantly, Hermione agreed. "Hermione will have dinner with us, Mrs. Granger, but we'll have her back before too late."
"I'm surprised you use the underground, Ginny," said Hermione once they were standing in one of the noisy trains. "Most purebloods avoid it."
"With the Ministry restricting or monitoring every magical form of travel, the underground is the best way for us to move around London without bringing ourselves to the attention of the Aurors."
"Why are you trying to hide from the Aurors?" asked Hermione.
Ginny gave her a hard look. "You can ask that after yesterday's trial?"
Hermione burst into tears again. "Oh, Ginny, I'm so worried. I can't help but think that the Aurors simply killed Neville and then claimed he escaped."
Ginny hugged her for a few moments, then said, "This is our stop." Hermione composed herself again and they walked upstairs to the street.
"Where is your house, Harry?" asked Hermione.
"Right here. I live at 12 Grimmauld Place."
"But there isn't any 12; I just see an 11 and a 13--oh!" When the house fully appeared to the bushy-haired witch, the three walked in the door.
"Are you in the library, mate?" called Harry as they walked up the first flight of stairs. "There's someone here to see you." Neville was just standing up as they entered the room, and Harry was almost deafened as Hermione shrieked, "Neville" and ran to his arms.
"Looks like you found her," he said with a big smile on his face.
"Neville, what happened?" demanded Hermione. "How did you get here?"
"These two rescued me," he said. "Took me right off the ferry on its way to Azkaban."
Hermione turned toward Ginny and Harry with her jaw dropped. "I know you told me not to worry, but why couldn't you have told me what you were going to do?"
"Talk about helping a condemned prisoner to escape right in front of a bunch of Ministry employees?" Ginny smirked. "I thought you were the smartest witch of your class."
"How did you do it?"
"Let's just say we have access to some tools . . ." "and some friends," interjected Harry, ". . . and some friends that the Ministry doesn't know about."
Hermione gasped. "You're the Dark Lady the Prophet has been writing about!"
"I guess I am," admitted Ginny. "We'll tell you more later, but first we have to clear up some other issues." They all sat down and Ginny nodded to Harry.
"When we entered Muggletown, I detected some notice-me-not charms, confundus charms, and several more," he reported. "Strangely, most of them were oriented inward, aimed at the people who live there, rather than outward, to the Muggles on the street. One of them seemed to be aimed at keeping Hogwarts students from noticing their non-magical families never left. Hermione must be a particularly powerful witch to have noticed."
"Will it be difficult to bring down those wards?" asked Ginny.
"No, not at all," said Harry. "What do we do about the Aurors?"
"I'll need a little help, but I think I can take care of them," said Ginny. "I'm especially hoping that some of them have Dark Marks on their arms."
Hermione gasped. "You think there are Death Eaters working for the Ministry?"
"Of course, Hermione," admonished Ginny. "Why do you think the Ministry wants to suppress the news of Voldemort's return so badly that it would try to execute the 15-year-old boy who witnessed it?"
"I just thought . . . I thought they didn't believe him, that's all," she said.
"Hermione, we are going to do a lot more in the next few months than just rescue Neville," said Ginny firmly. "We could use the help of the smart Hermione; not the naļve Hermione, not the Hermione who has too much respect for authority, but the smart Hermione. Do you think you can be that Hermione for us?"
Hermione blinked at the metaphorical slap in the face. Then she looked around at the library. "Where do we start?"
"We starts with dinner," said Dobby, who caused Hermione to jump when he popped into the room. "We is serving it in the dining room."
"Wow! You rate the driving room, Hermione," said Ginny with a waggle of her eyebrows. "We usually eat in the kitchen."
"Ginny, you own house elves?" said Hermione in a horrified whisper as they walked downstairs to the dining room on the ground floor.
"No, we don't own them; they're our friends. We do pay them to help around the house. I'll introduce you to them at dinner."
If Hermione was shocked to think that Ginny or Harry owned house elves, she was even more surprised to see three elves seated at the table, at which seven places had been set. "Hermione, this is Dobby, Kreacher, and Winky," said Ginny. "They are our good friends and essential members of our little rebellion against Voldemort and the Ministry." The little elves sat up with pride as she said this.
"Dobby, how many house elves have been freed as of today?" Ginny asked.
"One hundred and eighteen," said Dobby proudly. "Four more were freed this afternoon."
"That's terrific, Dobby!" said Ginny. "The elves were enslaved by a wizarding spell several centuries ago," she told Hermione and Neville. "But the spell ends if ever 500 elves are free at one time. Only nine were free when we started our crusade."
"How have you freed the elves?" asked Hermione.
"We have our methods of . . . persuasion," said Ginny cryptically. "In fact, I suspect that we'll be able to free a few more when we bring down the wards at Muggletown."
"What do you want me to do?" asked Hermione.
"Go home to your parents," Ginny thought aloud. "Make a list of your Muggleborn friends who you can trust. We'll have to figure out a way to send a message to them in a form that the Ministry can't intercept. When we bring down the wards, we may only have a short time before the Ministry puts them back up, so your friends will have to move quickly."
"We'll also have to find places for them to move to," said Hermione. "We can't just have hundreds or thousands of Muggles wandering on the streets."
"Can't they move back into their original homes?" asked Harry.
"No, many of them had rented their homes, and the Ministry convinced all of the Muggle families who owned their homes to sell them," said Hermione. "I suspect there was some coercion involved there; in fact, the Ministry may have sold many of the homes themselves and used the proceeds to help pay for the construction of Muggletown."
"You should recruit your most trustworthy Muggleborn friends, who can still leave Muggletown, to help find new housing," said Ginny. "We can put Fidelius spells on the homes so the Ministry can't find them.
"How long do we have to get ready?" asked Neville.
"The sooner the better," said Harry. "The Ministry is going to be very upset about Neville's escape. They are likely to tighten security as much as they can."
"Good," said Ginny. "The more Aurors who are at Muggletown when we bring down the wards, the better--especially if they have Dark Marks."
"Ginny figured out how to remove Dark Marks," explained Harry. "The best part is that, once she removes them, the people who had them have to swear their loyalty and obedience to her."
"And then you order them to free their house elves!" Hermione realized.
"That's the smart Hermione I remember," said Ginny with a smile. "Hermione, I think you are going to get a summer job. That job will require that you come here every day to work. If you need a little persuasion to take that job, Neville will be here, too," she said with a wink. "I suggest you report to work promptly at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning."
"Of course, this is just a story, right?" probed Hermione. "I mean, you're not going to really pay me, are you?"
"Oh, I think we can pay you at least as much as we pay the house elves," said Harry with a smile. The elves all tittered while Hermione just looked confused, so she changed the subject.
"Neville, I was so terrified you were going to be kissed," said Hermione.
"You think I wasn't? The Dementors came toward me, and then for some reason they stopped. Why do you think they stopped?"
"Actually, that was Ginny's doing," said Harry. "We were in the back row, and she stood up and pointed a wand at them. I don't think anyone saw it but the Dementors and me."
"Why would the Dementors be afraid of your wand?" asked Hermione.
"Maybe it's because I killed one when I found it trying to kiss Harry."
"You killed it? I didn't know Dementors could be killed."
"My Patronus is a little stronger than most." She cast it and the Hippogriff stood proudly at one end of the dining room. Hermione stared at her wand. "Yes, Hermione, I have a wand," she said with a roll of her eyes. "In fact, it works much better than the one Flitwick snapped."
"What's your Patronus, Harry?" asked Neville.
"I don't know; I've never cast the spell."
"Try it, Harry," said Ginny. "Just think your happiest memory and say, 'Expecto Patronum.'"
Harry thought of the time Ginny kissed him and cast the spell. A Manticore leaped out of his wand, looked around, and sat down next to the Hippogriff.
"Whoa! A Manticore. I've never even seen one before," said Neville. "Where did you see one, Harry?"
"Er, I lived with a Manticore family for a year," said Harry.
"And that was your first time to cast that charm?" said Hermione. "Even Professor Lupin can only produce a white vapour."
"That must have been some happy thought, Harry," smirked Ginny.
"So how did the Dementors at the Ministry know you could kill them?" said Hermione.
"I told their leader to let all of his people know that, if any of them kissed anyone without my permission, I would kill them and any other Dementors who assisted them."
"And he listened to you?" said Neville incredulously.
"Dementors are really misunderstood," said Ginny. "They aren't dark by choice; they can't help the fact that they feed off of human emotion any more than a vampire can help that it feeds off blood. Just as vampires can choose not to kill humans to survive, Dementors can choose not to kiss humans. I just gave them an incentive to make the right choice."
As they finished pudding, Ginny said, "Thank you Dobby, Kreacher, and Winky for a delicious dinner. Harry, it's our turn to clean up. As a guest, you don't have to help, Hermione, and I promised your mother we'd have you home early. But if you would like Neville to give you a brief tour of the library before you go, I don't think your mother would mind," she said with another wink. Hermione flushed and she and Neville went upstairs while Ginny and Harry levitated all the dishes downstairs to the kitchen.
"Dobby," Ginny asked when they were done in the kitchen, "am I paying you enough?"
"Yes, Miss Weasley, we elves know that humans doing the work we do is paid a hundred times as much. We is also know you is paying free elves infinitely more than enslaved elves, and we is proud to earn that. We want you to save your money until all elves is freed. Then we will work for what we are truly worth." Kreacher and Winky nodded their agreement, and Ginny thanked them for their sacrifice.
The next morning, Hermione showed up promptly at 9, bringing a copy of the Daily Prophet. "Harry was right," she said. "The Ministry is using Neville's escape as an excuse for more laws and regulations. They want to put a trace on all broomsticks so no one can fly without the Ministry knowing where they are. Any flying broomsticks without a trace are liable to be shot down."
Neville looked at the paper. "They're also insinuating that the Dark Lady, or at least a woman with black hair and black robes, was responsible for the deaths of three supposedly innocent Ministry employees on the evening that Percy died," he conveyed.
"But your hair is red, Ginny," said Hermione.
Ginny waved her wand and her hair turned black. "When you are trying to be stealthy at night, you don't want to send up a red flag, or red hair," she said.
"Two employees who were injured in the altercation reported that the woman attacked them without provocation," Neville went on.
"Yes, a couple of dozen killing curses, Reductors, and Diffindos can hardly be considered a provocation," Harry laughed grimly. "We didn't kill anyone, but some of the spells they cast ended up killing and injuring their own people."
"Does the article give the names of the injured employees?" asked Ginny.
"Crispin Pucey and Barnaby Bletchley. It says they are still at St. Mungos."
"Relatives of some of my former Slytherin housemates," mused Ginny. "It would only be courteous for me to pay them a visit."
The notion of dozens of deadly curses aimed at Ginny and Harry was beginning to sink into Hermione's brain. "How did you survive that night?" she asked.
"We'll show you soon," said Harry. "In the meantime, I suspect the Ministry didn't allow Neville to keep his wand. Why don't you come upstairs and check out our wand collection to see which one works best for you while Ginny and Hermione get started on their project?"
As the boys went upstairs, Ginny said, "All right Hermione, have you made that list of Muggleborns you can trust?" Hermione shook her head. "Uh oh, Hermione didn't do her homework. Well, here is a quill and some parchment. Make the list now, because we have to go shopping."
"What are we shopping for?"
"We need to get you a camera so you can take pictures of the strange men who like to hang out in front of the entrance to Muggletown. Then you can accompany me on my visit to St. Mungos."
After buying a tiny camera that Hermione could use without attracting attention, they took the underground to St. Mungos. "Good morning," said Ginny to a receptionist. "I understand my dear friends Crispin Pucey and Barnaby Bletchley are patients here. I would like to visit them; can you tell me where they are?"
The receptionist looked them up and said, "They are in room 545 in the spell damage ward." Ginny thanked them and the two went upstairs.
Ginny thought she noticed someone who could have been an Auror in the fifth floor reception area, but no one was standing outside room 545. "Watch my back, Hermione," she said, and she turned her hair black and cast a Muffliato spell as she entered the room.
The two Death Eaters in beds in the shared room looked up as she entered. "It's her! The Dark Lady!" one of them said, reaching for his wand. Ginny quickly Accioed the wands to her. "Nurse! Aurors!" they shouted.
"Shh, shh, shh," Ginny said as she looked at their charts. "No one can hear you. I see that you are here for Cruciatus damage, among other things. Just how long did the Dark Lord Crucio you after Harry and I left?"
"He didn't Crucio us," said one of them--earning a dirty look from the other as the first inadvertently admitted that they were with the Dark Lord. "You did."
"Ah, ah, ah!" said Ginny. "Don't lie to me; I was there. Harry and I didn't cast a single spell. You and your friends cast them all; we just reflected a few back to you, but none of them was a Crucio. Now, let me ask you again: how long did the Dark Lord Crucio you?"
The first Death Eater was sweating. "A couple of minutes," he said. "Maybe three. Enough to put us here, wasn't it, but not enough to make us go insane." But the other one said, "Don't talk to her. She's a blood traitor for sure."
"Blood traitor, is it?" said Ginny. "Did you know that the Dark Lord is a half-blood?" When they tried to deny it, she interrupted, "Why do think he called you to a Muggle cemetery? Because he needed the bones of his Muggle father to restore his body. You know it's true. There has never been a pureblood family named Voldemort--or Riddle, which was his Muggle name."
While they thought that over, she said, "Now, I am going to make you a one-time offer. I'll remove the Dark Mark from your arms. When I do, you'll have to pledge the loyalty you gave that half-blood to me, a pureblood. In exchange, I promise never to torture you, and to do my best to keep you, and your families, from harm. Do you want to think it over for a minute?"
"I'll do it," said the first one immediately.
"Crispin, what are you saying?" said the other. "You know he'll kill us if we try to get rid of his mark."
"He talked a good line before we were marked, didn't he?" said Crispin. "But as soon as he marked us, it was Crucio this, obey me or I'll kill your family that. Admit it: we were all relieved when that Potter kid killed him. If the Dark Lady can save us, I'm taking it."
"Very good, Crispin," said Ginny. "Now, I am going to give you a choice. Removing the Dark Mark is painful, but I promise I'll never injure you again as long as you are loyal to me. I can stun you when I remove it, then wake you up, and you won't feel any pain. But if you would prefer, you can be awake so you can watch what I am doing."
The man preferred to be stunned, so Ginny stunned him. "Watch carefully, Barnaby," she said, "before you decide if you want to have yours removed too. If you decide not to, I'll have to obliviate you, and since I've never done that before, I can't guarantee you'll have much a memory left." She proceeded to remove Crispin's mark, then woke him up.
He looked at his arm in surprise. "What do you say, Crispin?" she said.
"Oh, yeah," he said. "I pledge my life, loyalty, and obedience to you."
"Thank you, Crispin. I promise never to harm you as long as you are loyal to me. My orders to you are to quit your job with the Ministry and go home and take care of your family." She continued with her orders, including for him to free his house elves and how to use the Slytherin coin. "If you need help, I can give you a job, put a Fidelius charm on your house, or do whatever else is needed to protect your family. Remember, your family comes first; your loyalty to me comes second; the Ministry and the Dark Lord come last."
Turning to the other man, whose eyes were wide at Ginny's instructions, she said, "Are you ready to have your mark removed, Barnaby?" The man nodded his head and she repeated the procedure. When she was done, she said, "Thank you, gentlewizards. Naturally, you will not be able to tell the Aurors anything about this as it would violate your oath to me. I wish you well."
As she and Hermione left, her hair turned red and she took down the wards. "Where did you learn all of that, Ginny?" Hermione asked when they were back on the underground. "From Harry's library?"
"No, I had two excellent tutors. I'll introduce you to them someday."
"I'm surprised no one interrupted us while you were removing their marks. That could have caused serious problems."
"I put some notice-me-not charms on the door along with the Muffliato charm," said Ginny as they arrived at their underground stop. "Now let's go home; I'm hungry and Dobby makes a great shepherd pie."
Having picked a wand that he felt worked about as well as his old wand, Neville joined Harry in the dueling room for some training. The Gryffindor quickly realized that he was far behind Harry in combat skills. While he had practiced formal dueling with his da, with Voldemort apparently gone his father had never trained him in fight-to-the-death conflicts.
"Let's try something a little different, mate," said Harry. "I'll put down my wand and you shoot some mild hexes at me." Harry pulled out his sword, and was able to deflect every single hex Neville flung at him. At least, Harry was kind enough not to aim any of them at Neville.
"Now you try it," said Harry. "Take this shield and try to deflect some hexes that I send your way." Initially, Neville missed about half of them (and suffered many little stings as a result), but by lunchtime he was able to deflect more than two out of three. "Great! We'll work on that every day." Considering the stings on his arms and thighs, Neville wasn't sure he was looking forward to that.
Harry and Neville helped the elves prepare lunch and had the kitchen table set by the time the girls got home. As they sat down to eat, Hermione asked about the coins Ginny had given to the two former Death Eaters.
"Harry made those for me," she said. "We have a master coin that can send messages to all of the other coins. Anyone with another coin can send a message to us." Hermione suggested that they make similar coins, but with representations of Godric Gryffindor and the other founders, for the Muggleborns.
"I've made a list of about forty Muggleborns who I trust," Hermione continued. "Most of them have expressed concern to me that their parents never leave Muggletown. We can give each of them coins and tell them to be ready to tell other families when it is time to leave. I plan to recruit six or eight of them to help search for places the families can go."
"Great! You can start on that tomorrow," said Ginny. "This afternoon, you and I are going to practice some combat training." The word "combat" seemed to make Hermione a little nervous.
"Nev, let's go up to the attic," said Harry. "I'll show you how to use my forge and we can get started on making those coins."
Chapter 16: Chapter Sixteen: The New School of Magic
Given the pleasant August evening, Lucius Malfoy would rather be anywhere else, but Muggletown was his creation and both the Minister and the Dark Lord wanted him to inspect security measures. The X-shaped building had four entrances, but most people who were allowed in and out used the entrance nearest the underground, so four Aurors unobtrusively monitored this side of the building while only two monitored each of the other three sides.
Malfoy noticed there was a larger-than-normal crowd of people inside the building lobby, and was asking Tarquin Barthelme, one of the Aurors at the main entrance, about it when suddenly the man fell over, stunned. Malfoy tried to turn around to see what happened when he realized he had been petrified and someone was taking his wand out of his hand while he heard someone say, "Three of them are marked."
A black-haired girl circled into his view. "Lucius, so nice to see you again," she said. "Trevor, Crookshanks, wake up the marked Aurors one-by-one and remove their marks. Harry, begin bringing down the wards, while Lord Malfoy and I have a little talk." The girl pulled up his sleeve to reveal the Dark Mark. She waved her wand.
"Tch tch, that must have hurt," she said. "I was going to say that the last time I saw you was at Hogwarts after your son was petrified, but maybe we've seen each other since then? Such as in a graveyard near Little Hangleton?" She waved her wand and he staggered a bit as he became unpetrified. She waved it again and the world went silent; she must have put up a sound barrier.
"Does he know that you gave me the diary?"
"I doubt it. He's forgotten so much."
"He hasn't 'forgotten' anything," said Ginny forcefully. "He remembers everything up to when he made the cup, and he made the diary before he made the cup." She tilted her head at the puzzled look on his face. "You don't know what the diary is, do you?" His lack of response was answer enough.
"As a part of his attempt at immortality, he put pieces of his soul in various containers. If his body died, any one of the containers could be used to resurrect him. How do you think he'll react when he discovers you gave a piece of his soul to his enemy?"
Malfoy looked green.
"You don't buy into his torture-and-murder agenda, do you? If your son is anything like you, you're more interested in wealth and power than in sadism and genocide. I'm going to give you a choice, Lucius," she continued. "If I remove your mark, you will no longer be subject to his will. But you will have to pledge your loyalty to me, Lady Slytherin, or you will lose your magic. Removing it will be a bit painful, but after you swear to follow me, I will vow never to harm you or your family as long as you remain loyal. Your choice is this: do you want to remain awake and feel the pain, or do you want me to stun you so you will feel nothing at all?"
Malfoy's mind was racing. "Narcissa, Draco, they're . . . He's at my house. If I betray him, he'll kill them."
"Are either of them marked?"
"No," he said.
"Then I think we can take care of that. Can you call one of your house elves here? Don't worry; we've set up enough notice-me-not charms that Muggles will just ignore anything we do."
Malfoy said, "Nibbles," at the same time as Ginny said, "Dobby!" Two elves popped in and looked at each other with recognition.
"Miss Weasey calls Dobby?"
"Yes, your former master has decided to join our side. But Draco and his mother are still at their house with Tom. Have Nibbles tell them to leave the house. Take Buckbeak and meet them there and bring them to Harry's house. Can you do that?"
"Yes, Dobby and Nibbles are good friends," said the elf.
"Wait!" said Lucius. He pulled a ring from his finger. "Nibbles, give this to Narcissa. It will prove to her that this is not a trick." The two elves bowed and popped away.
"Buckbeak is a fast flyer," Ginny said, "but this rescue will take a little longer thanks to the Ministry's restrictions on Apparition and Portkeys. You didn't have anything to do with those restrictions did you?"
Before he could answer, two red-haired boys walked up to Ginny. "We stunned the Aurors at the other entrances," one of them said. "Three of them were marked, and we brought them here," said the other.
"Very good," said Ginny. "Crookshanks will remove their marks. Help the families get on the buses safely," she added as a number of double-decker buses pulled up in front of the building.
"The wards are down," someone behind him yelled.
"Great! Crookshanks, send a signal to all your friends to move their families out as quick as they can." Almost immediately, a stream of people started leaving the tower, some headed for the underground station, many more boarding the double-decker buses. Malfoy stared in awe. How could a handful of students--strike that, at least two of them weren't even students--pull off such a well-coordinated operation?
"Have you made your decision, Lucius?"
"I prefer to remain awake," he said. He had endured plenty of pain as a result of the Dark Lord; he could stand a little more and he wanted to see what was going to happen.
"Harry, can you help remove the marks from the Aurors?" said Ginny. "Don't forget: their only choice is whether to pledge their loyalty to me or to become Squibs." She pressed her wand to his mark and he gasped in pain. When she was done, he noticed that people were still streaming from the tower.
"Lucius," she said gently. "You have to swear." Brought back to his situation, he knelt down and pledged his honor, loyalty, and obedience to Lady Slytherin. "Thank you, Lucius. I promise never to harm you or your family, and to protect them to the best of my ability."
She looked over at Harry, who had just started removing the mark from an Auror. "Wait here while I take care of these other gentlemen." Malfoy notice the Auror appeared to be yelling in pain as Harry had his wand on his arm, but he couldn't hear anything; the teenagers must have used a Muffliato spell.
One by one, Ginny had the Aurors pledge their loyalty to her. When they were done with all six, she gathered them together.
"Thank you, my friends. Here are my orders to you. You no longer work for the Ministry. Go home and take care of your families. If you have house elves, free them and offer to pay them. The going rate is a Galleon a week. Most important: Never harm another sentient being again except in self-defense."
She pulled something from her pocket. "Are you all Slytherins?" Four of them said yes; one each was a Hufflepuff and a Ravenclaw. "Take these medallians," she continued, handing out the right ones to each Auror. "If you need any help--a job, a Fidelius charm on your house, anything at all--write your initials on the medallian and I will meet you. Keep the medallian on you at all times; if it heats up, it means I am calling you into my service. But your families come first; don't answer my call unless you can keep them safe.
"Do you all understand?" They nodded agreement. "Good. I suggest you leave here now. The Ministry won't be happy when it finds out what happened tonight."
The crowd of people streaming out of the building was thinning. "What about the other Aurors?" Malfoy asked, gesturing to the one stunned on the ground and knowing that there were three more at the other entrances.
"I can't compel them to shift their loyalty to me if they don't have a Dark Mark for me to remove," Ginny said. "They'll just have to deal with the Ministry."
The last of the buses was loading and only a few more people were leaving the building. Ginny turned toward him with a bright smile. "Lucius, have you ever been on the underground?"
* *
* * *
Nibbles popped into Malfoy Manor and found Narcissa alone in her bedroom. "Mistress Malfoy," he said. "Master Malfoy is ask me to tell you to get Draco and leave the house." Narcissa looked at the free elf.
"Why does he want us to leave?" she said. As an answer, Nibbles gave her the ring.
"He said you would know what this meant." She stared at the Malfoy family ring, which she had never seen him remove before. She realized this must be important, so she found Draco in his bedroom and headed for the front door.
"Where are you going, Lady Malfoy?" asked one of the Death Eaters guarding the door.
"Draco and I must attend to the Manor grounds," she said haughtily. The men parted for them to pass.
Once outside, Nibbles popped up next to them and said, "Follow me." The elf led them just beyond the wards and out of sight of the house where they found a Hippogriff accompanied by another elf.
"Dobby?" said Draco. "What are you doing here?"
"Mistress Malfoy and young Malfoy is taking a ride on Buckbeak," said the elf. "Buckbeak knows where to go." To Draco's amazement, his mother properly bowed before the Hippogriff and climbed on his back. Draco could do nothing but follow.
* *
* * *
After a bewildering trip on a strange Muggle contraption that vaguely reminded him of the carts going down to the Gringotts vaults, Malfoy followed the four teenagers to a block of terrace homes. His mind fogged when he tried to look where they were going, but he saw Ginny gesture to the one who claimed to be Harry Potter.
"Oh, yes," said the boy. "Mr. Malfoy, my home is at 12 Grimmauld Place." The house suddenly appeared, and he recognized it as one that had once housed Narcissa's aunt and uncle. This must be Sirius Black's home, and he remembered that he had hoped Narcissa or Draco would inherit it when Black was executed, but for some reason--he never found out why--they were never invited to a reading of the will.
Going inside, he heard someone coming down stairs and looked up to see Draco, with Narcissa several steps behind. "Father," yelled his son. Then he stopped, shocked when he saw the other teens. "Weasley? The Dark Lady is Ginny Weasley?"
Winky served tea in the formal dining room while Dobby and Kreacher made up rooms for the Malfoys. Given that one of the house's eight bedrooms was used by the elves and another was set up for combat training, the house was now nearly full. Hermione commuted from her parents' safe house, but Neville and the Malfoys were effectively under house arrest, at least as far as the magical world was concerned.
"Lord Malfoy has formally sworn his loyalty to me," said Ginny to Narcissa and Draco. "Given that you are members of his family, that pledge should cover you as well. But I would like to hear your own promise before we discuss these matters in detail."
"Pledge loyalty to a Weasley?" said Draco incredulously. "She was expelled! She's a year younger than me!" To his dismay, his mother stood up, genuflected in front of Ginny, and pledged her loyalty and obedience. Ginny pulled out her sword, touched the blade to Narcissa's shoulder, and promised to protect her and her family.
"Draco," she said, displaying the sword, "I know this is hard to believe, but I am the heir of Slytherin. Look; this is Slytherin's sword. I have more proof if you need it, but your parents accept it. Swear your loyalty to me, and we'll tell you all about it. If you feel uncomfortable pledging to me, you may pledge to Harry."
"Harry? Harry who?"
"That would be me," said a boy with black hair who sat on Ginny's left on the other side of the table from the Malfoys. "I'm Harry Potter."
Stunned into silence, Draco still looked uncertain. Rolling her eyes, Ginny stretched out her hand and said, "Accio Slytherin's staff." An old walking stick in the corner of the room flew over and slapped into her palm. She touched her wand to it and whispered something, and a spectre of some kind grew out of the staff. It hissed something at Ginny and Ginny hissed back. It turned to the Malfoys.
"Wilcuma, bregu Malfoy," it said. "Ic agennama Salazar Slytherin." He moved over and placed his spectral hand on Ginny's shoulder. "Žes sy min dohtor Ginevra Weasley, ure sķžwķf Slytherin."
"What did he say?" said Draco.
"He said he is Salazar Slytherin and Ginny Weasley is his rightful heir," said his father, in an awed voice.
"He looks just like the painting over the fireplace in the Slytherin common room," said Narcissa.
Draco looked at his father and mother, both of whom nodded their heads. Sighing, he got down on his knee and pledged his loyalty to Ginny.
She put her hand on his head and said, "Thank you, Draco. I am sure you will be a loyal lieutenant, and some day you will be a great leader of wizards."
Turning to the spectre, Ginny added, "Thank you, Lord Slytherin. One of these days, we're going to have to teach you modern English." She touched her wand to the staff and he disappeared. "Hermione, what's your report?"
"We evacuated about two-thirds of the families from Muggletown. Most of ones left behind didn't get the message; a few didn't want to go. About a fifth of the familes who left took the underground or other transportation to homes or other locations. The fifty buses we chartered took the rest to safe houses we have set up. The safe houses are far from any magical families, so the people living there should be free to go in and out of their homes and restart their lives."
"Dobby," said Ginny. Dobby popped in. "What is the status of house elves?"
"One hundred and thirty-nine house elves is now free," he said. "Gringotts is bought and freed fifteen elves. Six more were freed tonight after you completed Project Muggletown."
"That's terrific, Dobby. Any other news?"
"Nibbles and the other Malfoy family elves is here. Shall we provide beds for them in kitchen cupboards?"
Harry winced. "No, nobody sleeps in a cupboard," he said firmly.
Ginny had forgotten about Malfoy's elves; the former Black home was now officially full. "Put them in the last spare bedroom," she said. Dobby smiled and popped away.
"Lady Slytherin, may I ask a question?" said the senior Malfoy.
"Certainly."
"Why are you freeing house elves?"
"Elves were cursed hundreds of years ago to be slaves of wizards. But if we can free 500, the curse will lift and they will all be free. Aside from the fact that I think elves and other beings should be free, they will be valuable allies in any fights we have with Tom or the Ministry."
"Who is Tom?" said Draco. His father gave him a dirty look.
"Tom is Tom Riddle. His father was a Muggle; his mother a witch who died soon after he was born. His father rejected him so he grew up in an orphanage where he was bullied. When he went to Hogwarts, he decided to take revenge against Muggles. He changed his name to Lord Voldemort, so now you know: the Dark Lord is a half blood."
Only Draco seemed surprised. "That can't be true!" he said.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Harry, give me your hand." Harry reached his right hand to her, and she picked it up with her left and touched her wand to his ring. The spectre of an older boy rose out of the ring.
"What do you want?" he said darkly.
"Tom, I'd like you to meet some of your former followers, Lord and Lady Malfoy and their son Draco."
"When I get my body back, I'll kill you all!" he growled, enlarging his image to be as threatening as possible.
"Just like you killed your Muggle father?" said Ginny lightly.
"My father deserved death for leaving my poor mother to die after she gave birth to me."
"All right, thank you, Tom," concluded Ginny, touching her wand to Harry's ring again. The spectre disappeared, leaving Draco looking as white as a sheet.
Ginny stood up. "Let's get some sleep," she said. "It's been a long day. We can talk more in the morning. Just call Dobby or Kreacher and they'll show you to your rooms."
The next morning, Ginny came downstairs to find seven house elves frantically trying to outdo each other in making breakfast for six humans. "The Daily Prophet is on the kitchen table, Miss Weasey."
"Thank you, Dobby." She noticed the front-page headlines reported the mysterious disappearance of six Aurors. Nothing in the paper hinted at the disappearance of 4,000 Muggleborns and Muggleborn-family members.
"Dobby, aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?"
The elf stopped what he was doing, which seemed to be mixing muffin dough. "Yes, Miss Weasey. Batty, Gimpy, and Frieda, this is the great Ginny Weasey. You is already met Nibbles."
Ginny squatted down to be at their level. "Welcome to our home. You are free to help out if you want, and we will pay you a Galleon a week. Or you can stay in the Malfoy's service. Or you can just live here without working." Some of the elves looked insulted at that.
"Either way, we have one firm rule." The elves looked at her with serious eyes. "Elves eat with us at the same table. Also, after this morning, Harry and I, and probably Neville, will help you make meals and clean up when we have a chance. It looks like you are making a great breakfast, but we are all equals in this house, and we want a chance to help too." The elves understood wanting to help, so they smiled and bowed or curtseyed slightly to Ginny and went back to work.
Eventually, everyone came down and ate breakfast. If the Malfoys were surprised to be eating side-by-side with their former servants, they didn't show it. Ginny wondered if Lucius had taken Draco aside to reprimand him about his outspoken behaviour or if Draco had become a believer after meeting Lord Slytherin.
"Many of the Muggleborn students want to help us," said Hermione after she came in the front door. "Would it be possible to give them combat training? It could come in handy if any of the safe houses are discovered by the Ministry."
"The big question is: where to train them?" said Neville. "Harry's training room is too small for more than four people at once."
"Some of the safe houses have empty quarters that could be turned into training rooms," said Hermione. "We could pick one that is centrally located. It would be a bit of an inconvenience for us, but it would also save us from telling any more people than necessary the location of Harry's house."
"That sounds good," said Ginny.
"If I may ask," said Lucius Malfoy, "where did you get these 'safe houses'? Where did all those omnibuses come from?"
Ginny looked to Harry. "We are renting the houses, many of which are blocks of flats, and chartered the buses out of the Black family vault," he said. "The buses didn't cost much, and the Muggleborn families should soon be able to either move into their own homes or pay us rent, so the safe houses won't be a burden either." Draco's eyes widened; he must have realized that the Black estate could have been his, but he didn't say anything.
"What's your next move?" asked Lord Malfoy.
"I hope that you can help us with that," said Ginny. "Our goal is to persuade as many Death Eaters as possible to shift their loyalty to the heir of Slytherin. This will both weaken the Dark Lord's forces and, to the extent that Death Eaters tend to own house elves, bring us closer to our goal of freeing the elves. You can help us find targets where we can find some, but not too many, Death Eaters at one time, and preferably Death Eaters who own lots of elves."
* *
* * *
Voldemort woke up to find that the house elves who normally prepared his breakfast were nowhere to be found. When he tried to talk to Malfoy to find out what happened, he discovered that his host was also missing. Further inquiry revealed that Malfoy's wife and son--what was his name, Drago? Dryclean?--had left the night before and not been seen since.
Several low-level Death Eaters learned what it was like to be under the Cruciatus curse for several minutes at a time. But when he was done with that, he still didn't have any breakfast.
* *
* * *
Draco followed Neville and Harry up to the attic where they planned to feed Buckbeak and make some more coins. The Malfoy heir was stunned to see all of the swords, knifes, axes, and other hardware hanging from one wall. "Did the goblins sell you all of these weapons?" he asked. "This is first-rate stuff. My father owns a goblin sword, and he said it is worth as much as a house."
Harry mumbled something. "What?" Draco asked.
"Harry made all of these," said Neville. "He spent a year living with goblins and learned their magic."
Draco's jaw dropped. "Do you know how to use these?" he asked.
"Sure," said Harry picking up a short sword. "Do you have your wand?"
"Of course," said Draco. "But it wouldn't be fair for me to fight you with my wand if you are armed only with a sword. A wand can shoot spells much further than a sword can reach."
"Let's try anyway," said Harry. He took a position on one side of the attic with Draco on the other while Neville and Buckbeak looked on. "Just fire minor hexes; nothing too damaging. You win if you hit me more than once."
Draco couldn't believe it, but he had been trained in dueling by his father, so he started in a traditional dueling stance. After briefly bowing, he started firing spells as fast as he could. Harry deflected them all with his blade, stepping closer each moment. Some of the deflections hit Draco, stinging his legs, arms, and other parts of his body. After a few moments, Harry was almost within striking distance and Draco didn't have any room to back up because of the wall. For a moment, he was elated to see one of his stinging hexes land on Harry, but suddenly he was petrified and Harry gently removed his wand from his stiff hand.
Harry calmly waved his hand, unpetrifying Draco, who said, "Whoa! Can you train me to fight like that?"
* *
* * *
"Neville, many of the Muggleborn students want to know if they should take the Hogwarts Express back to school," said Hermione as they were doing research in the library.
"I think that would be a very bad idea," he said. "If the Ministry could get its hands on those students, it could threaten to never let them see their families again unless they all move back to Muggletown."
"I agree, but what are they going to do? Just sit at home? Go to Muggle schools?"
"Let's go ask Ginny and Harry what they think."
They found the Dark Lady and the Chosen One in the kitchen helping the elves prepare lunch. "We need to start a school for the Muggleborns," said Hermione. "They can't go back to Hogwarts; it's too dangerous."
"The problem is, where are we going to get teachers?" said Neville.
Newly appointed Headmaster Snape was asking the same question. Just ten days before the start of school, the Hogwarts Board of Governors--heavily influenced by the Ministry--abruptly fired Headmaster Flitwick and Professors Grubbly-Plank, Trelawny, Binns, and Burbage. Now, in addition to the perennial problem of finding a Defense professor, he needed new teachers in potions, divination, history of magic, Muggle studies, and care of magical creatures.
The Carrows could fill a couple of those positions, but that left four for him to fill. At least one of those jobs would be filled by the woman he was being saddled with as Deputy Headmistress, but he didn't think the toad-like woman was qualified to teach any of them.
As he thought about possible candidates, he looked up at the display case on the wall of his office, now mysteriously empty. Absently, he wondered what Headmaster Flitwick, a Ravenclaw through and through, would want with Gryffindor's sword.
"I know one place where you should be able to get some teachers," said Draco, who was the only one to have read the Daily Prophet this morning.
"Where?" said Neville.
"Hogwarts."
* *
* * *
Getting off the underground, Ginny had her first good look at the safehouse where her parents and brothers were staying. Five stories tall and a decade or so old, the block of flats was, in many ways, a downgrade from the 70-story tower with its soaring views (at least from the upper stories) that was Muggletown. But the residents were happy that they had far more freedom of movement than they had at the Ministry-designed building.
She and Harry entered and climbed the stairs to the fourth floor, where they knocked on the door of apartment 4G. The door opened and her brothers, Fred and George, greeted them and they could see her parents and Ron in the background.
"Welcome, Dark Lady" said Fred (or maybe it was George), "and her mysterious consort!" said the other. "What exciting capers do you need our help on?" said the first. "Though it is hard to imagine what can beat rescuing 4,000 people from the Ministry."
They all sat at the dining table and Ginny gave her mother a coffee cake that she had made (with Dobby's help). "How do you like your new flat?" she asked.
"It's bigger than the one at Muggletown," said her mum, "but it will take some time for me to get used to these Muggle kitchen appliances." In view of their magical heritage, their Muggletown apartment had been outfitted with a magical stove and cold storage unit, but they hadn't had the time to fit any of the safehouses with non-Muggle furnishings.
"I'm sorry you had to give up your job at the Ministry, Daddy," Ginny said.
"That's quite all right," he said. "It is so much fun to find out how Muggles live. But I still think I could have worked as a spy."
"No, that's much too dangerous," she said. "But you can still help us."
"I'd love to. What can I do?"
"We don't dare let the Muggleborn and half-blood students go back to Hogwarts, but we don't want them to miss out on their educations. So we need to find some professors who can teach at a new school we will open. We've heard that several professors were fired from Hogwarts for not meeting Ministry standards of purity. Can you find them and see if they are willing to work for us?"
"Certainly! That shouldn't be too hard," he responded enthusiastically.
"If we can get them, we would like Professor Flitwick to teach charms and Grubbly-Plank to teach Care of Magical Creatures. Remus Lupin was a decent professor of Defense, so try to find him as well."
"Charity Burbage was also fired," noted Arthur.
"Yes, but we don't think we need to teach Muggle studies to Muggleborns."
"That makes sense, but did you know that she is also an astronomy master? She could teach that class."
"Brilliant!" said Ginny. "Who can we get to teach herbology?"
"Well, we aren't masters, but your mother and I have spent years growing a variety of magical plants in our garden. We could step in if you can't find someone else. Also, Charlie might be willing to return to England to teach flying. But you still need someone to teach potions, divination, Runes, arithmancy, transfiguration, and history of magic."
"I have some ideas for those positions," said Harry.
* *
* * *
Ginny and Harry circled Buckbeak over northeast Devon. Harry had been sure he would be able to easily find the centaur's village, but everything looked so different from the air. He was beginning to wonder if they should land so he could explore on foot, but then they saw the village's sacred circle surrounded by the family shelters, and Harry directed Buckbeak to land outside the village.
"Greetings, Harry Orion," said Torino, who came out of the village to meet them.
"Hello, Torino, my father," said Harry. "I am sorry it has been so long since I've seen you last."
"That's fine, Orion. We know you have been doing good work in the east."
"Torino, this is my friend, Ginny Weasley."
"Greetings. Ginny Orion will always be welcome in my home. Harry, before we go into the village, you need to know: Since you left, Castor, our chief, died of old age. His son, Pollux, carries on as our chief, but he remains as suspicious of outsiders as ever."
"I am sorry to hear about Castor. How are you getting along with the Manticores?" Harry asked.
"We have kept the treaty. They allow us onto their hunting grounds to gather plants, and once a year King Mountbatten joins us for a feast."
"That's good. Let's go see Pollux."
As they walked into the village, Ginny asked, "Harry, why did they call us both 'Orion'?"
"Orion is the hunter," said Harry. "I suppose they recognize that you are as much of a hunter as I am."
When they entered the sacred circle, Pollux and some of the other hunting centaurs were lined up on one side of the circle. "So, you have returned, Harry Orion," said Pollux, with little friendliness in his voice. "We have heard tales of dark lords and dark ladies since you left. And now, it appears that you yourself have become a servant of the Dark Lady. We should do our homeland a favor and strike you down where you stand."
"Pollux, I wish to offer my condolences on your father's death and my congratulations on your ascension as chief. I also want to introduce you to my friend, Ginny Weasley, also known as Lady Slytherin. Despite what you may hear, she is not a dark lady nor am I her servant. Instead, we are equals, just as you and I are equals."
Harry turned to speak more loudly to the group as a whole. "Once again, wizards threaten the freedom and independence of centaurs, goblins, elves, Manticores, and other beings throughout our homeland. My friend Ginny Weasley has a vision in which magical races and non-magical peoples are equal and free to live their lives without unwanted interference from one another.
"We've already freed the non-magical families of witches and wizards who the pureblood magicals confined to a single, prison-like building in London. We are working hard to free the elves who have been enslaved by wizards for 600 years. We will work equally hard for the freedom of centaurs, goblins, merpeople, and all of our other friends in the magical world.
"Someday soon, a battle will be fought, perhaps near here, and the future of our homeland will hang in the balance. We may need your help then. Today, all we wish is to renew our bonds of friendship." Harry stepped back from the center of the sacred circle.
"We will consider your words, Harry Orion," said Pollux. "Now it is time to eat."
The group of hunters broke up as the centaurs went about preparing their evening meal. But one came rushing over to Harry and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"So, Harry, do you have a girlfriend you forgot to tell me about?" Ginny asked innocently.
"What? Ginny, this is my sister, Nephele. Nephele, this is my best friend, Ginny."
"Ginny Orion, welcome to our family," said Nephele. "Don't worry about what Pollux said. He always does the right thing in the end."
"I knew you would find her," Nephele whispered to Harry, "the one whose red hair lights up the night."
"Yes, well, actually she found me."
"Yes, in my vision, she rescued you from the dark ones. Do not worry, Harry, you will have a chance to rescue her, too."
"Yes, but we need help," he said, glancing at Pollux.
"Don't worry about Pollux," Nephele said. "He is gruff on the outside, but he respects you."
"He has a funny way of showing it. What makes you think so?"
"You remember how he always resented that you were a better hunter than he?" Harry nodded. "After you left, he was surprised to find out that he was still only the second-best hunter in the troop."
"Who was best?" asked Ginny.
"Me," said Nephele with a smile. "He decided that the best hunters should be in one family and that I should become his mate. I reluctantly agreed for the good of the troop." Despite her words, Harry could see love in her eyes as she gazed fondly at the centaur in question. "No matter what his advisors say, I'll be able to persuade him to help you," she said, raising her eyebrows.
Ginny laughed. "A girl after my own heart!" she said. "Come, Nephele, let's talk about how to persuade males to see things our way."
Harry walked over to Torino's family shelter. "So, you came 'to renew the bonds of friendship,' Harry Orion?"
Harry laughed. "Actually, we came for one other thing. We're starting a magical school near London, and we need someone to teach potions and divination. I was hoping I could talk you and Ixion into helping us out."
Torino looked thoughtful. "We have never left the troop," he said. "But for you, I am willing to consider it. However, I must consult Pollux first."
"Nephele can probably help out," suggested Harry.
Early the next morning, Harry and Ginny flew a short distance to Mountbatten's royal hill. After dismounting Buckbeak, Harry was greeted by a very enthusiastic, and very large, ball of fur.
"Harry!" roared Sophia. "It has been so long. Is this your mate?" she added, eying Ginny.
"Sophia, this is my best friend, Ginny Weasley," said Harry. "Ginny, this is Princess Sophia, and behind her are Prince Alfred, Queen Ernestine, and King Mountbatten." Ginny did her best curtsy.
"Harry Athailt, what can do for you?" said Mountbatten.
"Ginny and I are starting a magical school in London, one that is free from the prejudices of many wizards. We need a history teacher, one who can look objectively at the history of Albion. The history that has been taught to magical students in the past has focused on heroic wizards crushing the rebellions of evil goblins and other dark creatures. It seems to me that you know the history of Albion as well as anyone else, and I was hoping to talk you into coming to London to teach. Queen Ernestine would be welcome as well."
"That is a most intriguing proposal, Harry," said Mountbatten. "I will think on it. But come. We must break our fast." Harry built a little fire to roast some meat for Ginny and himself, while the Manticores tore into deer carcasses they had caught the day before.
"What do you think, Alfred?" said Mountbatten. "You are young, but you would be king in my stead."
"I would need a queen to help me," said the prince, gazing at Sophia.
"If that is a proposal, I accept," she said.
"Excellent!" laughed Mountbatten. "Then it is settled. My queen and I must attend the Manticore meet in Shrewsbury on the full moon, but otherwise we are at your disposal."
Harry looked to Ginny. "The next full moon is September 9," she said. "You'll miss part of the second week of classes, but we can find someone to fill in that week."
Flying back to Grimmauld Place, a glamoured Harry and Ginny, whose bright, red hair made her look nothing like a black-haired dark lady, visited Gringotts to see Wolfslayer. On entering her office they found she already had two visitors.
"Deerslayer! Treeknot! I didn't know you were going to be here," exclaimed Harry, who shook Deerslayer's hand and was given a big hug by Treeknot.
"Our sister informed me that you were shaking the foundations of the wizarding world, and I just had to come to see for myself," said Deerslayer.
"That's brilliant," said Harry. "Our next project is we want to start a magical school for Muggleborns and others who are no longer welcome at Hogwarts. We need teachers in Runes and Arithmancy, and I know that goblins have some experts in these fields." He looked appealingly at his family head.
"Actually, for Runes," she said, "I would make available a Gringotts employee who you already know: William Weasley." Ginny's eyes lit up. "He is an expert in the field and I am sure he would be glad to teach for you. I'll send a message to our Egyptian office and have him transferred immediately.
"Arithmancy is a field in which our brother, slacker though he is in most other subjects, excelled in when we were in school. Deerslayer, would you be willing to give up the pleasures of the mine and the forge to help our brother Harry?"
"Of course," said Deerslayer. "I presume it will be all right if I bring along my mate, Treeknot?" Treeknot looked shyly at the floor.
"Certainly!" said Harry. "Congratulations," he added to Treeknot, who gave him another hug.
"Maybe I should call you Harry the Sailor," said Ginny as they left Gringotts.
"Why? What do you mean?"
"They say every good sailor has a girl in every port. From what I've seen, you left behind a girl in every village and magical society you've lived in."
"But Ginny, they're just friends . . . and sisters . . . and sisters-in-law," he sputtered.
Ginny laughed. "Now I know how to make you squirm, Harry Potter," she whispered in his ear as they descended into the underground station. The noise of the trains made it impossible for him to answer.
They found Hermione, Neville, and Dobby in the library at Grimmauld Place. "We've found several warehouses for lease in Uxbridge," said Hermione. "They're just a short walk from the undergound, and less than hour from nearly all of our safehouses. They border some fields and forests that we can also lease so we'll have a place to keep magical creatures."
"That's excellent, Hermione," said Ginny. "Let's do it."
"We've also heard that many of the families who were left behind in Muggletown want out," said Neville. "The Ministry has restricted their movements even more than before; even students who were once free to leave the building are now forced to remain, and many who were Ministry employees have been fired. Unfortunately, with the departure of two-thirds of the population, there are no longer enough people to provide a full range of services . . ."--"Such as dentistry," Hermione broke in--"so the people who are left face real hardships."
"We'll have to break them out as well. How did you get this information?" Ginny asked, knowing that Neville couldn't be seen in any magical areas.
"I is visit families in Muggletown," said Dobby. "Aurors ignore me. Most families sad that they didn't know about the evacuation. Even families that thought they wanted to stay have changed their minds."
"The Ministry must have increased security to keep the rest of them from breaking out," said Harry. "How many Aurors do they have there now?"
"No more than before," said Dobby. "But I is hear Aurors call Ministry every ten minutes. If ever they miss a call, Ministry sends many more Aurors to guard Muggletown."
"So, we have a ten-minute window," mused Ginny. "That's not enough time to evacuate 2,000 people."
"No, but it's enough time to put some Auror's hair into a Polyjuice potion," said Harry. "Dobby, you will need to listen to the Aurors to find out exactly what they say when they check in."
"I think it's time to recruit some more students for our new school, don't you agree?" said Ginny with a smile.
At a few minutes after 1 am on the morning of August 29th, four bored Aurors stood watching the street in front of the main Muggletown entrance. One of them pulled out a two-way mirror that someone in the Department of Mysteries had developed and said, "Muggletown main entrance 1:10 check A-OK," then put the mirror away. The person at the other end might well have been asleep as they never responded.
Suddenly, the four Aurors dropped in the tracks, and Harry Potter pulled off his invisibility cloak, leaned over and picked up the two-way mirror after clipping some hair from the head of the Auror who made the call. Almost immediately, double-decker buses started pulling up in front of the building and people started streaming out the front. At the same time, Neville and Ginny ran up to Harry, and Harry gave Neville the potion in which he had dropped the hairs.
As Neville uncomfortably changed his appearance, Ginny checked the arms of the stunned Aurors. "Two of them are marked, Harry." They each began removing the Dark Marks, then revived the Aurors to let them know they had a choice: declare their loyalty to the Dark Lady or become Squibs.
As families continued to stream out of the building, Fred, George, and Hermione appeared, each with one stunned and levitated Auror in tow. "Same as before, Gin," said Fred (or maybe George); "One marked Auror at each exit."
Neville had to make a call to the Ministry three times, but in just over a half hour, all of the remaining residents of Muggletown were evacuated except for a handful of magical families who, like the Weasleys, had been forced to move there and elected to remain loyal to the Ministry. Dobby had herded these families into the common area to make sure they didn't somehow alert the Ministry, but when the evacuation was complete, he let them know they were free to return to their flats and popped away. Outside, the Weasley twins and Hermione boarded the last bus while Harry, Ginny, and Neville entered the underground station to return to Grimmauld Place. For security's sake, Neville tossed the mirror into the street in the path of an oncoming car just before going underground.
The next night at dinner, Lucius Malfoy asked Ginny, "Other than freeing house elves, what do you expect to get out of all your efforts? Do you plan to try to reform the Ministry?"
"I don't want to reform it," said Ginny. "I just want to make it irrelevant."
"Can't we reform it by making it into a real democracy?" asked Hermione.
Ginny restrained herself from rolling her eyes. "Democracy can't make good things happen, Hermione," she said. "At best, all it can do is prevent bad things from happening, and then only if the voters understand that the government is not their friend."
When Hermione looked puzzled, the senior Malfoy tried to explain. "As soon as anyone has power, whether in a democracy or not, smooth-talking individuals will work to subvert that power to their own ends. They will use fine words that make their policy proposals sound wonderful for society. But those proposals will often cost almost everyone and benefit few." Everyone was aware that, until recently, Malfoy himself had been one of those smooth-talking individuals.
He turned again to Ginny. "So how do you plan to make the Ministry irrelevant?"
"We need to put so many checks and balances in place that it won't be able to harm anyone in spite of itself."
"I look forward to seeing how you do that," Malfoy said.
Ginny's eyes lit up. "How would you like a job, Lucius?"
Two days later, a small crowd of purebloods boarded the Hogwarts Express at platform 9-3/4. Ministry Aurors looked on, hoping some Muggleborns and half-bloods would arrive so they could interrogate them and find out where their families went. Unbeknownst to them, the Muggleborns and nearly all half-bloods had already taken the underground to Uxbridge.
From Uxbridge station, it was a one-kilometre walk to the warehouses that would serve as the New School of Magic. Hermione stationed several students along the way to make sure no one got lost.
Although nearly 6,000 people had been rescued from the Ministry's clutches, not all Muggleborn and half-blood families had Hogwarts-age students. The New School hosted about 300 students in all, including a few pureblood students whose families had been branded "blood traitors." Each student was given a number as they entered the main building, where they were delighted to find two goblins (counting Flitwick, who was part goblin), a house elf, a known werewolf, three witches, three wizards, and--most impressive of all--two centaurs, and a Manticore standing at the head of the hall. The room was set up classroom style with chairs facing a stage.
When they were all seated, Hermione--as the one who had been in contact with the most students when organizing the evacuation--stood up and cast a Sonorus spell on herself. "Good morning, students. Welcome to the New School of Magic." The students cheered. "We will run this school without prejudices against house, without prejudices against blood, and without prejudices against species. If you hold any of these prejudices, leave them at the door," she said firmly, with what may have been a coincidental look at Ron Weasley. "I am pleased to introduce you to our headmaster, Lucius Malfoy."
Cheering began sporadically, but--encouraged by Fred and George, who were well acquainted with Malfoy's new leaf--it built to a crescendo as Malfoy reached the podium dressed in a Muggle pinstripe suit.
"Thank you and welcome," he said. "Classes don't begin until tomorrow, but we want to spend today orienting you to your professors and campus. First, I want to introduce your professors, starting with my friend Dobby, who will teach transfiguration." The students cheered and Dobby proudly puffed himself up.
Malfoy quickly introduced each of the professors, then said, "Each of you has been given a number. Each of our professors is holding up a number. If you will go to the professor who is holding your number, he, she, or they will take you to their classroom so you can know how to find it, get to know your professor, and learn a little about what your professor will teach this year. When you are done with each professor, the professors will change numbers and you can go with the new professor who is holding your number. By the end of the day, you will have met all of the professors and seen the entire campus."
The room buzzed with talking as the students bustled about trying to find the professor carrying their number. After a few minutes, the room emptied out except for a few house elves, who snapped their fingers, causing the chairs to move out of the way and tables to pop in to ready the room for lunch. The students had time to visit six classrooms in the morning and six after lunch.
While they were eating lunch, Headmaster Malfoy stood to make an announcement. "In addition to our regular defense classes, this year we are offering a new class that is only open to fourth-year students and above. To tell you about this class, I am pleased to introduce the instructor, Harry Potter."
The room buzzed with surprise. Few of them had known about the return of Harry Potter, and almost all of them, except some of the younger Muggleborns who had never heard of him, craned their necks to get a view of the legendary hero.
"Thank you, headmaster," he said. A few noted that his voice filled the room even though he had not visibly cast a Sonorus on himself. "As you know, the magical world is at war with itself. The Ministry that dominates our world is hostile to Muggleborns, half-bloods, and other magical beings. The Dark Lord Voldemort, who himself is only a half-blood, takes advantage of this hostility to build his army, but he is only a symptom of the problem, which is deep within the Ministry itself. The Defense classes you will take here will teach you how to defend yourself against hostile actions, but sometimes defense is not enough. At some point, this war may break out into open combat. That combat will not be safe nor will it be pretty.
"This school was opened with a vision that all magical creatures and non-magical people should be free to develop themselves to their greatest abilities and not be consigned to drudgework or a limited set of occupations because of Ministry prejudice. For those who are willing to go to war to defend that vision, we will offer an intensive course in combat training.
"This course will not be easy. It will not be safe. There will be no examinations, essays, or grades . . ."--a few students cheered--"just hard work. I do not recommend or urge you to take this course. But if you wish to do so, it will be offered two evenings a week. If you wish to take the course, see me after your last classroom visit this afternoon." Harry sat down and the room buzzed again.
At 5 o'clock, most of the students left campus for the underground station that would take them to their safehouses. But about 50 students remained along with the entire faculty to see what Harry had to say about his course. Draco stood on the left side of the stage with Harry, while Ginny and Neville stood at the other end of the stage. Each of them were armed with short swords in their right hand (or, in the case of Draco, who was left handed, his left hand) and their wands in their other hand. They were wearing loose-fitting clothing and their arms were bare.
"Combat is not fun," said Harry. "We hope it won't ever be necessary. But in case is becomes necessary, those who are trained will be far more likely to survive than those who are not. In the next few minutes, we are going to give you a sample of what you will learn should you take this class."
Harry faced Ginny and Neville, and said, "Begin." Immediately, they began firing curses and Harry and Draco, while Harry and Draco dodged, deflected, and fired back. While Ginny was firing the most curses by far, Harry's were most accurate, with both his curses and his deflections scoring hits on both Ginny and, mainly, Neville.
While they fired, they closed positions and within a few minutes were within sword-striking distance. As if by pre-arrangement, they dropped their wands and started bruising swordfights, with Harry taking on Ginny and Draco facing off against Neville. The swords were evidentally not sharp as their arms were visibly bruised but no one was cut.
After several, sweaty minutes of combat, Harry waved his hand and the other three froze in place. He stepped away, waved his hand again, and they lowered their swords and stepped back.
"You have just seen several different kinds of combat: wizard spells, deflections of those spells with goblin blades, swordfighting, and wandless petrification. This class will make you proficient in these and other forms of combat. Once you are proficient, you will not only be able to defend your families against hostile wizards, you will be able to aggressively attack and defeat almost any opponent who has not received similar training.
"The one prerequisite for this course is that you must sign a magical agreement to never use the skills you learn in this course except to defend yourself, your family, or the rights of other magical creatures to be free. This agreement has been written and charmed by Hermione Granger, and I must warn you that if you sign and then violate the agreement you will receive magical punishments proportional to the severity of the violation."
Hermione put the document on a table at the front of the room, but before she could say anything, a voice on the side of the room called, "Hold on!" People looked over and saw Professor Flitwick with a long, thin wooden box waddling up to the stage.
"You say you are Harry Potter, but we don't know that this is true," said Flitwick. "I met you once before, when you disarmed me. But I was at a disadvantage because I had just been awakened by an intruder. Now, before this group, I challenge you to a duel--with swords, not wands."
Bill Weasley looked at his father and said, "I knew Flitwick was a champion dueler, but why doesn't he want to use wands?"
"He is an excellent dueler with wands, but his forte was always swords," whispered Arthur.
Harry handed his wand to Draco and nodded his assent to the duel. Flitwick opened the wooden box and pulled out a sword, one that was a good 20 inches longer than the short sword Harry carried. "Your reach is a little longer than mine, Mr. Rabbitslayer," Flitwick said. "This should even things out."
It also had a sharp point and appeared to have a sharp blade, while Harry's practice sword was rounded and dulled. Though a bit dismayed, Harry knew he couldn't back down, so he bowed slightly to Flitwick, and the two of them started exchanging blows. Though Flitwick's sword was at least a foot longer than Flitwick was tall, the little wizard swung it with ease, as if it was magically lighter than it looked. Yet when it hit Harry's sword, some of the blow it struck shook Harry to his core. Harry was able to parry every thrust, but he couldn't get the tip of his blade close to his opponent.
Eventually, Harry noticed a pattern. Flitwick would thrust his blade at Harry's midsection. Harry would parry it and Flitwick would immediately thrust a bit higher. This would be repeated three times before Flitwick would again thrust low. After seeing this happen several times, Harry waited until the pattern began again.
When Flitwick thrust his highest, Harry parried upward, pushing Flitwick's sword over his shoulder. Harry than ducked and thrust his sword down Flitwick's and past the hilt, catching Flitwick's hand with the tip of his blade. Flitwick withdrew his hand in pain, but Harry caught the hilt of the longer sword with his blade. He swung upwards, and the sword went spinning into the air, coming down hilt first and landing solidly in the palm of Harry's hand. Absently, he noted that the sword looked a lot like Ginny's, but with red rubies instead of green emeralds.
Flitwick's hand was bleeding, but he stepped back and clapped his hands together. "Congratulations, Harry," he said. "The sword you now hold in your hands is the sword of Godric Gryffindor, one of the founders of Hogwarts. Only the true heir of Gryffindor could capture that sword from a swordmaster such as myself. I believe you are truly Harry Potter and I have no doubt that you are truly the heir of Gryffindor."
The audience applauded wildly and about 50 students quickly lined up to sign the form. While they were doing so, Charity Burbage came up to Harry. "Is this course open to professors? There have been times that I've feared for my life because I'm a Muggleborn, and I would like to be able to defend myself." Harry readily agreed and she joined the line.
"Rabbitslayer, you do me honor with your fighting skills," said Professor Deerslayer. "I noticed in the first fight, that sometimes you weren't keeping your elbow down as I taught you, and your knees were sometimes locked in a dangerous position." Harry laughed. "But in the second fight, your form was perfect. I'm glad you aren't getting into any bad habits," the goblin admonished.
"Deerslayer," Harry wondered, "when you made my knife, you put the Potter family crest on it. But when I asked you about it, you said you made it up. Why?"
Deerslayer looked abashed. "I think we all knew who you were," he said. "But goblins are very private. If you didn't tell us your full name, you probably had a good reason to keep it to yourself. I had to put your family crest on the knife as a part of the adoption ritual, but I didn't want to invade your privacy."
"It's okay, Deerslayer. I still feel more at home in the goblin world than in the wizarding world."
After having his hand healed by a Muggleborn healer who Hermione had hired to take care of the school's health needs, Flitwick came up to Harry to congratulate him again. He handed him two wands. "Here are the wands you took from me at our last encounter," he said. "They'll probably work better for you than for me; I had to buy new ones." Harry thanked him and apologized for having to take his wands that night at Hogwarts.
Bill Weasley found Ginny after the duels. "Can I assume that you and Harry are responsible for my transfer to London?" he asked.
"That depends on whether you wanted to be transferred to London," she retorted with a sly smile.
"All I know is my boss told me to come to London, where Gringotts told me to be here this morning. I'm glad to be here with my family when they need me, and happy to teach Runes. But since I only got in late last night, I had no idea what was going on."
"I'm sorry for that, Bill. We've been so busy we've hardly had a chance to see the family. Wolfslayer recommended we hire you; I'm beginning to think she has a very dry sense of humour, which may be why she didn't tell you what's going on."
Chapter 17: Chapter Seventeen: Finding Allies
The evening after he dropped his daughter off at the Hogwarts Express, Northcote Parkinson watched the glow of the sunset from the portico of his fine manor home. Though he was officially glad that the Dark Lord had returned, he was secretly relieved that the powerful but touchy wizard was staying at the Malfoy manor rather than the Parkinson home. He had already been Crucioed once, for being one of several wizards who failed to capture or kill that girl with black hair, and he suspected whoever hosted the Dark Lord would experience even more of the reborn man's sadistic favours.
Suddenly, he felt the wards protecting his home fall and he was blinded by a bright light. He turned and groped for the door but was struck by a red stunning spell. When he awoke, he and his entire family--his wife Hyacinth, her bachelor brother Mordecai, their adult son Southcote and his son's wife Ainslee--were Incarceroused and propped up in chairs in their parlour. Facing him, after apparently Rennervating him, carrying a large staff, was the dark-haired girl who had made the Dark Lord so angry.
"What . . . who . . . how did you find our house?" he demanded. "We were under a Fidelius spell."
"I'm told it's very hard to find a Fideliused house if you don't know where it is," said the girl, who looked even younger than his daughter. "But if someone knows approximately where it is, then it is just a matter of finding the wards and bringing them down."
He looked around, but none of the strangers in the room--including the boy who claimed to be Harry Potter--had ever been here before, nor were any old enough that they would be able to break the wards surrounding his house.
"Who told you where we live?"
The girl ignored his question. "I see by your arms that all the men in this home are loyal followers of the half-blood, Tom Riddle," she said. "I can't imagine that's very pleasant for you. The Dark Lord regained his body only a few months ago, and your brother-in-law, here, already exhibits some of the symptoms of Cruciatus trauma." Parkinson never really liked his lazy brother-in-law much anyway, but he certainly didn't want to him to go insane from the Cruciatus.
"I'm here to give you an opportunity to leave the Dark Lord's service," said Ginny.
"We can't leave," said Mordecai. "If he finds out we've betrayed him, he'll kill us through the Dark Mark."
"That's where I come in," she said sweetly. "I can remove your marks. The only catch is, you then have to swear to me, Lady Slytherin, the same loyalty you once gave the Dark Lord. The good news is, I promise I will never torture you and that I will do my best to protect your families."
"Who made you Lady Slytherin?" asked Southcote in a challenging tone.
She pulled a sword. "You should recognize this. It's Slytherin's sword." Putting the sword away, she held up the staff. "This is Slytherin's staff." Then she touched her wand to the staff. "And this is Lord Slytherin." A ghost appeared who indeed matched the representations of Salazar Slytherin in paintings he had seen. The ghost spoke in a strange dialect, but he indeed seemed to anoint this girl as his heir.
Ainslee whispered something to Southcote, while Mordecai looked to Northcote to make the call. "What about my daughter?" he said. "She's at Hogwarts. When he finds out we are no longer loyal to him, she will pay the price."
The girl freed his hands and gave him a parchment and quill. "Write a note asking her to be on the path from Hogwarts' front steps to the gate right after breakfast tomorrow. We'll send it by your owl and she should get it in the morning. Tell her to wear a green robe." He wrote the note, called his owl, and sent it on its way.
"Very good. Now, I'll remove your marks. This will be painful, but I can stun you if you prefer not to feel anything." Northcote decided to remain awake, and--following his father's example--Southcote did as well. Predictably, Mordecai preferred to be stunned.
After they pledged their loyalty to Lady Slytherin--could this girl really be the heir of Slytherin?--she smiled and said, "I'm told you have at least a dozen elves. Could you call them all here please?" Northcote and Hyacinth did so. "Free them all," the girl directed. Reluctantly, but cognizant of his recent oath, he did so.
To his surprise, as soon as they were freed, the elves swarmed the black-haired girl with hugs. "We is told of your crusade to help house elves, and is happy to help in any way we can," Tobbles, their eldest elf, said.
"Are you willing to continue to work for the Parkinsons if they pay you each a Galleon a week?" the girl asked. "They will need your help during this transition." Some of the elves looked at Mordecai with distaste, but they solemnly nodded their heads.
"If any of you mistreat the elves, they will always be welcome to work for me," the girl told his family, with a particularly sharp eye on Mordecai. "Before I leave, I will redo your Fidelius spell, so no other Death Eater will be able to find you. If you feel unsafe here, send me an owl and we can find other quarters for you." She then handed each of the men a large coin with an image of Salazar Slytherin on it--except for Mordecai's, which had Helga Hufflepuff. "If you need me, write your initials on this coin and I'll help. If the coin gets warm, it means I am calling you into my service. Heed that call only if you can do so without leaving your families in peril. Your families come first."
"Finally, my friends and I have started a magical school that is equal if not superior to Hogwarts in every way. The school is open to purebloods, half-bloods, and Muggleborns. Would you like me to have your daughter brought here or delivered straight to our school?"
Northcote looked at Hyacinth. "She needs to finish her education," his wife said.
"All right, take her to the school," he agreed. "But we'd like to see that school for ourselves soon."
"We'll be happy to arrange for that. Please take care of yourselves," said the girl. "Farewell."
The Malfoys and their elves had moved to Uxbridge to be closer to the school, so dinners at Grimmauld Place usually consisted of Ginny, Harry, Hermione, Neville, and the elves. The next evening over dinner, Ginny was in tears as she laughingly told the others how Buckbeak had carried a hysterical Pansy Parkinson in his talons to the New School, dropping her off at lunchtime in front of Draco and some of his friends. She had immediately run to Draco, who gave her the shocking news that she and her family had been saved from the clutches of an evil half-blood wizard by the Dark Lady, who was none other than Ginny Weasley.
Hermione and Neville joined the laughter, but Harry, who had never met Pansy, was a bit worried. "Is that the way you are going to rescue all the children of reformed Death Eaters who are going to Hogwarts?" he asked.
"No, but I just couldn't help myself with Pansy," said Ginny between giggles. "She was a bully at Hogwarts, and I felt she needed to be brought to earth. And that's what Buckbeak did, both literally and figuratively." Harry still glared at her, so she promised she would never do it again.
After his rebirth, Voldemort slowly learned how to use the Dark Marks. While he had done some of the research for Dark Marks by the time he had created the cup that had stored his soul, he had never actually put one on another person. When he was first reborn, he had been able to use them to order all his followers to come and cause pain for the ones who did not. As time went on, he could individually feel each of his followers through his marks, directing any one of them to come to him and imposing pain on or even killing someone who refused to answer his call.
He could now also tell when someone's mark was removed. Initially, he would sometimes feel a remote sense of loss. Then he realized that he could no longer sense some of the people who he had once been able to individually detect. Though he was adding new followers as fast as he could, someone was somehow removing his marks from people almost as fast--and they seemed to focus on the wealthiest wizards who he was counting on to financially support his rise. When he tried to find them, their houses had disappeared.
This was intolerable. He would have to set a trap.
Harry Potter stared at the students who were arriving to attend his first class in combat. They seemed an eager bunch, particularly given the presence of Fred and George, Ginny's brothers who he still hadn't learned to tell apart. Ginny had given him one clue: when they did their back-and-forth chattering, the one who started was almost always Fred.
"Good evening," he said. "This class will meet every Tuesday and Thursday from 7 to 9 pm. This will give you plenty of time to have dinner, but it will eat in to your homework time, so you had best be very serious about adding this class to your timetables. The good news is I won't give you any homework other than to practice together out of class. On the rare occasions that I cannot be here, my brother, Deerslayer"--he gestured to indicate a goblin--"will take my place." The class murmured slightly at Harry's claim to have a goblin for a brother.
"On Sunday, my friends and I gave you a demonstration of what you will learn here. My goal is that, by the end of the year, you will be an accomplished swordfighter, be able to use your sword to accurately deflect spells back toward your enemy, be able to cast spells with your wand even as you fight with your sword, and wandlessly cast certain important combat spells including petrification, shields, and stunners. That's a lot to ask, and we will take each of these one at a time."
Harry stepped to the side of the room where a large number of swords were hanging. "The first thing we will learn is spell deflection. These swords have been dulled for your safety, but are able to reflect any spell, even the killing curse. Being able to deflect spells may save your life, but it requires acute hand-eye coordination and lots of practice." Harry directed them to work in pairs, one of whom would fire Rictusempra spells for the other one to intercept. Every five minutes, he had them trade places, giving them experience at both deflecting spells and firing spells rapidly.
Ron Weasley was delighted to be paired with Draco Malfoy. That little ponce had taunted him through four years of school, and here was his chance to get revenge. The fact that Malfoy's father had somehow been made headmaster wouldn't help him here. Deflecting a spell with a sword couldn't be any more difficult than deflecting a Quaffle from a hoop, and Weasley had always believed he as a better Quidditch player, especially at Keeper, than Malfoy.
When Malfoy started firing spells at him, Ron was abashed that more than two out of three landed. Moreover, instead of taunting him, Malfoy was encouraging him, giggling, "Good one," or "Nice shot" every time Ron managed to deflect a spell back at the blond boy. When it was Ron's turn to fire, Malfoy even offered good advice, such as, "fire one right then one left so your opponent doesn't have time to deflect both." By the end of class, Ron and Draco were laughing so hard together that it was hard to retain any animosity. In fact, Ron could see that everyone except Harry and Deerslayer was giggling uncontrollably.
After having a quick Saturday morning breakfast with the elves, Ginny and Harry went up to the formal dining room to plan their next action with Ginny's top advisors. "Dobby," Ginny said as they settled into chairs, "how many elves are now free?"
"Just over 200, Miss Weasey." Even though Ginny preferred that he call her by her first name, he did so only in private and insisted on using the honourific in meetings.
"Harry, do we have anyone else with your skills at wards?" she continued.
"Both Deerslayer and your brother Bill should be willing to help," he said.
"What do you have in mind?" asked Lucius.
"I think it's time we evicted some squatters from a house in Wiltshire."
The following Wednesday evening, the Dark Lord felt the Dark Mark being removed from one of his followers, Finlay Greengrass. He hastily assembled his most experienced Death Eaters to mass Apparate to the site of Greengrass' home. "Hurry," he urged, "before they put a new Fidelius on the home."
As soon as they all Apparated out, more than two dozen house elves popped in, one for each main room of the house. Before the low-level Death Eaters who were left behind could react, the house elves conjured a Fiendfyre in each room, sending several panicky Death Eaters out the exits. Fiendfyres on the lawns pushed some of them beyond the wards of the house. They watched as the house appeared to be entirely consumed by fire, although it was hard to tell as the smoke and flames covered the entire structure. Then the home suddenly disappeared before their eyes, leaving nothing but an empty field.
When Voldemort arrived at the Apparition point in front of the Greengrass home, he at first thought they were too late as no home was visible. Then someone seemed to whisper in his ear: "Finlay Greengrass lives at 3000 Oakley Wood Road, Oxfordshire." Suddenly the house appeared before his eyes, and standing on the portico was, as he suspected, the girl with black hair.
"Welcome, Tom," she said brightly as he strode over to confront her, "so nice to see you again."
"You won't think so when my men capture you and Harry Potter and any other friends who are working with you," he said. "We seem to have arrived before you managed to cast a Fidelius charm."
"Oh, we cast the charm," she said; "we just did it a little differently. Take a look around you."
The Dark Lord turned around and realized that all he could see other than the house was fog in all directions. "What have you done?"
"We cast two Fidelius charms," she said. "One to keep you and your minions from seeing the house. But then a friend of mine under an invisibility cloak whispered the secret to you. Since you obligingly walked inside the wards after he did that, now you are cut off from your Death Eaters because they can't see you. The other charm is a reverse Fidelius; it cuts you and your followers off from the rest of the world, so you're effectively trapped here."
"It won't take long for my ward breakers to find their way around those charms. By that time, you will be dead," he said, aiming his wand at her. She pulled out her own wand and, since they were fairly close together, he recognized it immediately.
"That's my wand!" he shouted. "Where did you get that?"
"Is it?" said Ginny innocently. "I found it after it was dropped by a little man you may know named Peter Pettigrew." He remembered Pettigrew was the one who brought him back to life then mysteriously vanished. The man must have been lying when he said the wand had disappeared.
"That's funny; it works very well for me," the girl said. "Maybe that's because I know you so well. Would you like it back?" She tossed it to him and he caught it.
He immediately aimed it at her and shouted, "Avada Kedavra!" But she had pulled out another wand and calmly cast, "Expelliarmus." The two wand streams met in the middle, forming a large ball of light. The ball started moving in his direction.
"What . . . magic . . . is . . . this?" he shouted in a strained voice. He discovered that, through the force of his will, he could push the ball back towards her. He had moved it back almost to the middle when he could dimly see the boy who called himself Harry Potter appear behind Ginny and put his hand on her back. Thus reinforced, the ball started moving back to him. When it reached his wand, he was thrown back on the ground and the wand sailed into her hand.
He opened his eyes to find she had a sword at his throat, the one she claimed was the sword of Salazar Slytherin. "I told you, Tom. I know everything you know, and some things you don't. There is no way you can beat me."
As he lay on the ground, he could feel Dark Marks being removed, one-by-one, from the Death Eaters he had brought with him. More disturbingly, some of the Death Eaters he had left at the Malfoy Manor were losing their Dark Marks. As he looked into the eyes of this dark lady, she contemptuously tossed his wand--his original wand, not the one he had brought with him--on the grass a few inches away from his hand.
"Before you go, Tom, I have a question," she said. "Do you feel remorse?" He didn't have time to think about what she was saying as he grabbed the wand and quickly Apparated away.
He arrived back at the site of Malfoy Manor to find three of his followers staring at an empty field. "They destroyed the house with Fiendfyre, my lord," said one of them.
"Are you certain?" he asked. "I don't see any ash and it doesn't look any different than it would if it had a Fidelius charm on it."
"Believe me," said the senior of the three Death Eaters, "it was Fiendfyre. They put it in every room and on the grounds. We were lucky to get out alive. Most of your other servants were not so lucky; we haven't sent them since."
Voldemort was so downhearted he forgot to Crucio the three Death Eaters who were left. He simply ordered the one with the largest home to invite him to stay there. None of the three knew how to break Fidelius wards anyway.
From the portico of the Malfoy mansion, Deerslayer, Dobby, and Lucius Malfoy watched the Dark Lord appear, consult his followers, then leave. "You elves can do a frighteningly excellent illusion of Fiendfyre," said Deerslayer. "Though I knew it was an illusion, I had a hard time persuading myself to run into the building."
Malfoy breathed a sigh of relief when Voldemort disappeared. While not an expert ward breaker, there was always the chance that the Dark Lord would have tried to break the Fidelius charm. But apparently, the story of Fiendfyre that they had allowed selected (unbeknownst to them) Death Eaters to pass on was persuasive.
Malfoy turned and faced the Incarcerated Death Eaters who were under the watchful eyes of several goblin warriors and said, "I hope none of you have done any damage to my home. If you have, I'll have to ask my Lady Slytherin to demand restitution."
At the Greengrass home, Hermione and Neville finished removing Dark Marks from the arms of the invading Death Eaters. With the help of Fred and George Weasley and a few goblin warriors, they had stunned all of the Death Eaters as they stumbled through the fog caused by the double Fidelius charm, which rendered anyone who was more than a few dozen yards away from them invisible. Harry then took down the charms, while Ginny recast the charm on the house so Riddle would no longer remember where it was. After reassuring Finlay that they would rescue the Greengrass daughters from Hogwarts the next day, the four fighters for elf freedom walked a couple of miles to a train station and caught a Muggle train back to London.
The next morning, Neville came down to breakfast, and Ginny told him that Dobby had taken Buckbeak to pick up the Greengrass sisters.
"I have a question, Ginny," said Neville. "Harry says you had your sword at Riddle's throat. Why didn't you just kill him?"
Ginny looked at Harry. "You know that Tom can't be truly killed as long as he has Horcruxes. I was afraid that, if his body died now, Harry's Horcrux would become active and try to possess Harry. Harry is very strong, but I didn't want to do anything that would risk hurting him."
"So the good of the one outweighs the good of the many?" said Neville.
"Let's just say it's a calculated risk. If Tom managed to possess Harry, he could probably do more damage than in the body he is in now. Even if he failed to possess Harry, I couldn't risk that he would hurt him. Besides, Riddle isn't the real problem. The Ministry is."
Neville shook his head. "I don't envy you making these sorts of decisions. I hope they work out."
When Harry arrived at the breakfast table, Ginny said, "We have to go to Diagon Alley to find Mr. Ollivander. Now that Tom knows that his wand won't work against your holly wand, he'll probably want to kidnap Ollivander to find out why."
"Let's go after breakfast."
With Ginny in her natural red hair and Harry's hair and face glamoured, they walked into Ollivander's shop. "Ginny Weasley; Harry Potter; what can I do for you today?" said the old man.
"Mr. Ollivander, do you have any family?" asked Ginny.
"No, I live alone."
"And I suspect your business is pretty slow now that school has begun," she said.
"Yes, I probably won't sell more than one or two wands a week until we get close to the Christmas season."
"We're here to warn you that Tom reacquired his wand yesterday and found it that it is useless against Harry's wand with the same core. But he doesn't know why, and I'm afraid he will have you kidnapped to find out why."
"That's very upsetting," said Ollivander. "How did he get his wand back?"
Ignoring his question, Ginny said, "Would you like to come with us? We could protect you and give you access to many customers who might want to buy wands but are not associated with Tom."
Ollivander stared out the window of his store, deep in thought. "What about my inventory?" he asked.
"Harry can shrink it. It should almost all fit in his pack."
"Where will I go?"
"Let's go. We'll tell you later," she said as Harry began Accioing and shrinking the boxes of wands. A few minutes after they left, two Aurors knocked on the locked door of the little store, wondering why they had received an order to arrest the wandmaker who had been old when they had entered Hogwarts.
When they arrived at Grimmauld Place and revealed the secret to the craftsman, Ginny asked Dobby to prepare the largest vacant bedroom for him. "If you'll tell Dobby where your home is, he can go pick up any clothes and other personal possessions that you can't do without and bring them here."
Ollivander did so, then Ginny said, "Harry, bring his wands. We're paying a visit to the New School."
When they arrived at the school after a lengthy underground trip, Ollivander looked wide-eyed at the many students wandering around. "I had wondered why my sales were so much lower than normal this year."
"Yes, and most of the first years here are making do with wands that don't fit them," Ginny said. "Muggleborns and many half-bloods didn't dare shop in Diagon Alley for fear that the Ministry would kidnap them and force their families to live in a virtual prison."
"Garrick, so good of you to come," Lucius Malfoy said after appearing suddenly from behind Ollivander. Knowing that Malfoy was a top Death Eater, the old wizard started trembling, but Ginny assured him that the Malfoys had changed their allegiances. "Our school is open to all without regard to bloodlines," she said, "and we are proud that Lucius has consented to be our headmaster."
They arrived shortly before lunchtime, so Ginny asked Headmaster Malfoy to invite first-year and other students whose wands were inadequate to try Ollivander's wands. Those who could afford them bought new wands; a few who could not were quietly given wands by Harry, who paid Ollivander out of the Black family trust. Mr. Ollivander was thrilled; the flush of sales more than made up for the few sales he would lose by closing his shop for the next few months.
When they had a chance to be alone, Lucius asked Ginny if she planned any new raids soon and needed the names of more elf-owning families who might switch allegiances. "No, I think we will hold off for a couple of months or so," she said. "We don't dare get into a pattern that could trip us up." The headmaster agreed that was a wise plan.
Ginny and Hermione continued to do research, while Neville helped Harry forge more weapons and assisted at his twice a week combat classes. "I've been reading Lily Potter's notebooks," Ginny told Hermione one day. "She and James took a lengthy honeymoon in Egypt, where she spent some time apprenticing to a Sphinx."
"Sphinx magic is supposed to focus on the relationship between life and death," said Hermione. "I didn't know that humans could learn magic from a Sphinx."
"Apparently, they can," noted Ginny. "Lily either learned the Mors Vivo charm from the Sphinx or developed the charm herself based on what she learned from the Sphinx."
"That's fascinating. We should do more interspecies training at the New School."
"One more thing: Harry was born three months after they returned from Egypt," said Ginny. "Apparently, he was conceived when they were there."
"You aren't implying that the Sphinx is Harry's father, are you?"
Ginny looked annoyed. "Of course not. But maybe Lily's cross-species training while she was pregnant gave Harry his ability to pick up other species' magic. You know he learned magic from goblins, centaurs, and Manticores in less than a year each that many other wizards or witches would have spent years trying to understand."
On November 1st, Dobby arrived at breakfast with the Daily Prophet and some news that wasn't in the Prophet: on the previous day, Voldemort had broken a large number of prisoners out of Azkaban. "The Prophet isn't reporting it, but I is heard it from other house elves," Dobby indicated. "We thinks the Dark Lord had help from inside the Ministry."
"Who was freed?" asked Neville.
"Many of his followers who is been imprisoned since the last war: Rodolphus and Bellatrix Lestrange, Bartimous Crouch Jr., Antonin Dolohov, Augustus Rookwood, many more," said Dobby with a tremble.
"Sounds like a real who's who of evil," said Neville. "My father helped capture Dolohov and Rookwood."
"It means he's desperate," said Ginny. "We've converted so many Death Eaters who weren't convicted criminals that he has had to turn to prison to find more followers."
"One difference is that many of the ones he broke out of prison are much more experienced than the ones we've been fighting," cautioned Neville.
Dobby had one more piece of news: "A little more than 350 house elves is now free," he reported. "Apparently, some Death Eater families is selling their house elves, and Gringotts has bought them."
"Another sign he is getting desperate," said Ginny. "We've converted the wealthiest of his followers, so the ones he has left are having to sell their assets to keep him happy."
"So in trying to fund his movement, he is effectively undermining it," said Harry thoughtfully. "He probably doesn't know Gringotts is freeing the elves it buys or about the 500-elf loophole in the enslavement charm."
"So now that Voldemort has gathered his most psychotic Death Eaters, are they going to start killing Muggles and other non-purebloods on a large scale?" asked Neville.
"They might," said Ginny. "But he is firmly in control of the Ministry now. Why would he jeopardize that by going on a killing spree? His long-term goal is to enslave Muggles the way wizards once enslaved elves. To achieve that goal, he needs to build more alliances. He also needs to get revenge on some of the people who have betrayed him to prevent any more of them from doing so."
Sure enough, several weeks later Professor Lupin confided to Hermione that his contacts in the werewolf world had told him that known Death Eaters had offered to pay them to fight for the Ministry. More seriously, in mid-January the Daily Prophet reported that the Ministry had caught three "traitors" who it planned to publicly execute, in the middle of Diagon Alley, at noon on Friday, three days away. The so-called traitors were Crispin Pucey, Paul Brainerd, and Tarquin Barthelme, three Aurors whose Dark Marks Ginny had removed.
"Pucey and Brainerd aided the escape of convicted murderer Neville Longbottom," said the Prophet. "All three have been associated with the mysterious disappearance of nearly 6,000 unfortunate wizards, witches, and their families who lived in housing generously provided by the Ministry." The fact that the paper had never before mentioned the disappearance of a mere 6,000 people did not seem important enough to discuss.
"They're attempting to draw us out," said Neville. "If we try to rescue them, they'll capture us for sure."
"We have to try," said Ginny. "I promised I would do my best to take care of them."
"You can't save everyone, Ginny," admonished Hermione.
"We have to find a way," insisted Ginny. "How can we get in, rescue them, and get out without Apparating or Portkeys? Everyone think about it and come back here tomorrow morning."
The next morning, Hermione showed up with Seamus Finnigan, one of the New School's students who Ginny vaguely remembered from Hogwarts. "Seamus has an idea," she said.
Ginny looked at Seamus. "I'm a half-blood," he said. "Me dad's a magician."
"You mean your mother is a Muggle?" asked Ginny.
"No, me mum's a witch. Me dad's a magician. He does magic tricks for the Muggles. His best trick is a disappearing act; he appears and disappears in a cloud of smoke."
"So you think we can use his trick to get the prisoners out of Diagon Alley?" asked Ginny skeptically.
"Exactly," said Seamus.
"Let's go see him."
At the safe house where Seamus' family lived, his father showed them some card tricks. Neville was ready to swear that he really was a wizard, but then he showed them how the tricks worked. "The key is to distract people's attention from what you are really doing," he said. "That's how my disappearing act works: I get people to look at the wrong thing. That's the secret."
On Friday morning, the Ministry built a small platform in the middle of Diagon Alley in front of Quality Quidditch Supplies and Ministry Unspeakables installed the Veil of Death on one end of the platform. A small podium had been placed at the other end.
At a quarter to twelve, Minister Fudge emerged from the Leaky Cauldron, surrounded by Aurors in their brown robes, followed by the condemned men in grey robes, each manacled and escorted by an Auror. The escorting Aurors, who were to be the executioners, were hooded for anonymity's sake, as were the condemned men. Minister Fudge stepped up to the podium while the executioners stood near the arch, ready to push their victims through on Fudge's command. A small crowd of people gathered in front of the platform.
"By order of the Minister of Magic," said Fudge, "these men are condemned to be pushed through the veil. While we do not take pleasure in their deaths, we cannot tolerate treason . . ."
Suddenly a small explosion was heard and the platform was covered in smoke, out of which emerged sparks and small flames. When the smoke cleared, a teenaged boy with black hair stood on the center of the platform holding a long sword encrusted with rubies.
"Gentlewizards and gentlewitches," he declared, "the Ministry has lied to you. My name is Harry Potter"--the audience murmured at this claim--"and I am here to attest that Voldemort"--some members of the audience looked around nervously--"has returned. I will also attest that one of his Death Eaters, not Neville Longbottom, killed Percy Weasley. I did rescue Neville Longbottom from the Dark Lord. And these men are innocent of the crimes claimed by the Ministry."
By this time, Fudge had recovered from his shock. "This boy is an imposter!" he yelled. "Aurors, arrest him for obstruction of justice." The three Aurors nearest Harry, who happened to be the ones escorting the prisoners, ran towards Harry wands first. Harry pointed his sword at the audience and jumped off the platform, the people parting to avoid being stabbed by the goblin-made blade. With the Aurors following closely on his heels, Harry disappeared into the Leaky Cauldron, his capture almost certain.
Fudge then ordered three of his bodyguards to proceed immediately with the execution. They approached the hooded men, who were desperately struggling to be free of their manacles, and unceremoniously pushed them through the arch.
Outside the Leaky Cauldron, Harry ran desperately into an alley off of Charing Cross Road, where he was met by Ginny and Dobby. "Dobby," he said between breaths, "you did great." The Aurors ran into the alley and doffed their hoods to reveal Pucey, Brainerd, and Barthelme.
"What happened?" asked Brainerd. "Everything went dark for a moment, and I heard someone whisper that I should follow you when you started running."
"That was Dobby," said Harry. "When the smoke obscured the stage, he transfigured your robes into Auror robes and removed your manacles, then transfigured the Auror's robes into prisoner robes and manacled them. If Fudge proceeded with the execution, the Ministry will have three fewer Aurors this afternoon."
"Nice to see you, gentlemen," said Ginny. "Let's get you to a safe house."
The next day, the Daily Prophet reported that someone claiming to be Harry Potter had lured three Aurors out of the Leaky Cauldron, and they hadn't been seen since. The Ministry issued a warrant for the arrest of the imposter calling himself Harry Potter for the probable murder of the three Aurors.
In mid-June, the day after the Hogwarts Express returned to London, Hermione showed up at Grimmauld Place with a pale look on her face. "A few of the students who attended Hogwarts this year contacted some of the New School students when they got home," she said. "They said Hogwarts has been turned into a school of dark arts. The Ministry added two Death Eaters to the faculty, a brother and sister named Amycus and Alecto Carrow, one of whom taught defense."
Hermione wiped her face as she fought for composure. "The few half-blood students who attended, despite our advice, were punished for the most trivial of offenses. As a part of their detentions, they were made test subjects for other students to practice Crucios and Imperios. Apparently, some of them will never completely recover."
"Harry," said Ginny, "we need to go to Hogwarts."
Ginny jumped off Buckbeak's back as soon as the Hippogriff landed in front of the Hogwarts gate. "Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" Harry asked.
"No, I'll be fine. You wait here with Buckbeak."
She put her hand on the gate and it obligingly opened. From there she walked, staff in hand, to the main entry hall and then to the Headmaster's office, where she told the gargoyle, "Please let Headmaster Snape know that Ginny Weasley is here to see him." After a tense moment, the gargoyle moved giving her access to the cylindrical staircase.
"Miss Weasley, what a surprise," said Snape. "However did you make it through the Hogwarts gate? It's supposed to open only for students and staff."
Ginny smiled. "I'm full of tricks, Professor."
He looked down when she used his old title. "You know that I did not expect Headmaster Flitwick to expel you."
"Forget it," she said. "I was bored here anyway. I'm especially glad I'm not a student here now. I've heard some disturbing reports that professors are training students by encouraging them to use the Cruciatus and Imperius on other students who have been given detentions."
"I . . . have not witnessed such incidents," Snape said carefully.
"That's a very Slytherin answer, Professor," Ginny said. "I'm here to do you a favour. In exchange, I want you to do me a favour."
"What . . . do you want me to do?" he asked.
"I'm aware that the Hogwarts elves mysteriously disappeared just before the beginning of this school year."
"You are reasonably well informed," he said.
"Where did you get elves to replace them?" she asked. "I can't see you and Alecto Carrow cooking meals for the students."
"Various parents donated them to the school."
"Good for them. So the elves are all owned by the school, and not by those parents?"
"Of course. They wouldn't have to follow my orders if the school didn't own them."
"Wonderful. The favor I want from you is to free all of your house elves. And before you say anything, no, house elves don't go insane if they are free. That's just a story wizards tell to justify slavery."
"So how would we get our meals served and rooms cleaned?" he asked.
"Oh, the elves will still work for you, if you are good to them. You would need to pay each elf a Galleon a week."
Snape remembered seeing a strange entry on the books from when Flitwick was headmaster: around 100 Galleons a week, marked as "elves." He had presumed it was some goblin way of amortizing the capital cost of elf ownership.
"Did the previous headmaster also free the elves?"
"Yes, and they remained loyal to him," said Ginny. "When he was fired, they left."
"Why do you want me to free the elves?"
"I just prefer my elves to be free."
"And what favor would you do for me in return?"
"I'll save you from the Dark Lord. I'll remove your Dark Mark, and you'll never have to answer to him again. I'll also protect you from him if he should ever try to come after you."
"You, protect me? You don't even have a wand."
"Sometimes, you don't need a wand," she said, pulling out Slytherin's sword and setting it on his desk. "This is the sword of Salazar Slytherin. I've found that does an excellent job of intimidating would-be dark lords. And this . . ."--waving the staff slightly--"is Slytherin's staff." She pulled out her wand--"Yes, I do have a wand"--and touched it to the staff. "And this is Slytherin's ghost."
When the bearded spectre came out of the staff, she said, "Lord Slytherin, may I introduce you to Severus Snape, the current headmaster of Hogwarts?"
"Hįlettan, Ealdorman Snape," the spectre said. He went on, but all Snape could understand was that he seemed to regard the Weasley girl as his daughter.
"So," the headmaster said, "you are the heir of Slytherin. And you did somehow petrify those boys."
"They deserved it," she said. "The question now is: Will you join Lady Slytherin or continue working for that half-blood Riddle?"
"What about my faculty and staff?"
"Those who are innocent of any action harming students can join us if they wish. I have no desire to see harm come to Madam Pomfrey, Professor Sprout, or the other professors who were here when I was here. I presume none of them have the Dark Mark."
"And the Carrows?"
Ginny scowled. "The Carrows can eat Manticore manure and die," she said. "If you want me to remove your Dark Mark, give me your arm and I'll do it now. When I'm done, you must pledge to me the loyalty you once pledged to Voldemort. Removing the mark is somewhat painful; if you like, I'll stun you first."
He held out his bare arm. "Just do it," he said. When she was done, he swore his obedience to the Lady Slytherin.
"Thank you, headmaster. After I leave, call your elves and free them. Then gather the staff members you trust and Floo to the Leaky Cauldron at 10 am tomorrow. I'll meet you there and take you to a safe place."
That evening back at Grimmauld Place, Dobby reported that 494 elves were free. "That means I need to write Tom a letter," said Ginny.
June 18, 1996
My dear Lord Voldemort:
This letter serves notice that I formally declare a blood feud between the House of Slytherin and the House of Voldemort. The cause of this feud is the murder by your vassal of my brother on June 24, 1995.
My title as the heir of Slytherin, one of the oldest magical families in Britain, has been formally recognized by Gringotts. Your title as Lord Voldemort has not been recognized by any official agency. As the superior house, I demand that you meet me for parley on July 15, 1996, in the neutral territory of the New Forest, Hampshire.
At parley, you may offer restitution for the death of my brother and other crimes you have committed against the House of Slytherin, including kidnapping of my vassals and unlawful imprisonment. Suggested restitution may include weregild and your formal oath of loyalty and obedience to the House of Slytherin.
By a copy of this letter to the Minister of Magic, I am also formally requesting that the Ministry provide neutral supervision of this parley under ancient wizarding law.
Yours truly,
Lady Slytherin
"Why the New Forest, Ginny?" asked Hermione as she read the letter.
"The New Forest is one of the least magical places in Britain," Ginny explained. "That means wards, magical creatures, and spells can easily be detected by Harry and others who are sensitive to such things. If we held the parley somewhere more magical, such as Wiltshire or Dartmoor, it would be harder to sort out new magic from the ambient magic. It is also neutral territory and we can easily reach it by train." After Harry and Neville had also read and approved the letter, Ginny went to Diagon Alley to owl post the letter to Riddle with a copy to the Minister.
The arrival of the copy caused some consternation at the Minister's office. The Minister called in his two top advisors, Senior Undersecretary Umbridge--newly appointed after her successful year as Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts--and Rufus Scrimgeour, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
"This letter must be a prank," said Umbridge. "I was in Slytherin house at Hogwarts, and the Slytherin family was well known to have died out centuries ago."
"Our Aurors checked with Gringotts, and the goblins confirm that they recognize the existence of the House of Slytherin headed by a Lady Slytherin. The goblins believe that the claims made by Lady Slytherin in this letter, including the murder of her brother, to be true."
"But if this letter is correct," protested Fudge, "then You-Know-Who really is back. I've been repeatedly assured by your staffs and others that he is not."
Scrimgeour and Umbridge looked at each other. Neither had personal knowledge of the Dark Lord's return, and while they may have shared suspicions about it, they definitely did not share an agreement about whether his return would be a good thing.
Finally, Fudge broke the deafening silence by saying, "Let's agree to referee the parley. If You-Know-Who fails to show up, we can prosecute this Lady Slytherin for fraud. If he does show up, we'll know he's back." He turned to his other business; Scrimgeour and Umbridge, realizing they were dismissed, left the office.
Two days after sending the owl posts, Ginny received two letters in return. One simply said,
Agreed.
V.
The other was from the Ministry, agreeing to supervise the parley and providing exact coordinates for the parley location.
"We have to go back to Hogwarts, Harry," said Ginny after she read the letters. They mounted Buckbeak and flew, not to the school but to the Forbidden Forest. After circling for a few minutes, Ginny pointed at a small clearing and said, "There; please direct Buckbeak to land there."
When they landed, they were quickly surrounded by several large snakes. Harry was a bit intimidated, but Ginny just stroked them and said, in Parseltongue, "Oh, how cute! What beautiful little Basilisks you are." Harry then looked up to see a giant snake, at least 50 feet long, emerge from the woods, followed by another.
"Alisk, Bassie, I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Harry Potter," said Ginny. "He speaks our tongue."
"We are pleased to see you, Lady Slytherin," said Alisk, "and I am pleased to meet our lady's mate." Harry noted that Parseltongue terms for "friend" and "mate" were based on the same root but not exactly the same word.
"I am glad to see you, too. Unfortunately, I am reluctantly calling you back into my service. The pretender has agreed to meet me in four weeks, but I suspect he plans to fight. I was hoping that both of you could aid me in this fight, but I hadn't counted on you having babies."
"We are not babies," one of the smaller six-foot-long snakes hissed.
"Hush, Greenie," said Bassie. "Show respect for our lady."
"Our offspring are fully capable of defending themselves," said Alisk. "We would all be willing to assist you in your fight."
"Thank you," said Ginny. "If you don't mind, I will shrink you all and bring you with us." Some of the smaller snakes hissed in pleasure at the thought of flying.
Chapter 18: Chapter Eighteen: Parley
As the sun was setting the evening before the parley, Ginny gathered her top advisors in a tent well behind the wall that marked the Dark Lady's front lines. "Dobby, can you report on the Dark Lord's forces?" asked Ginny. Harry and Neville stood next to her around a conjured table. Joining them were Winky, Pollux, Nephele, Alisk, Wolfslayer, Deerslayer, Mountbatten, and Lord Malfoy. At Ginny's words, Dobby popped in next to Winky.
"The Dark Lord is having nearly 400 Death Eaters, about 300 werewolfies, some 200 vampires, about 20 trolls, six giants, and too many Acromantula for Dobby to count, though only about 50 were bigger than a full-grown wizard," said the little elf. "They is also having at least 100 to 200 Dementors, but Dobby is not getting close enough to them to count. Plus I saw about 100 Ministry Aurors under the command of one of the Death Eaters."
"And what are our forces?" she asked.
"We are badly outnumbered, particularly among our magical forces," reported Neville. "About 50 former Death Eaters have heeded your call for help, plus we have 200 goblin warriors, a similar number of house elves, and not quite 50 Muggleborn or half-blood witches and wizards who have trained with Harry for a year. We also have about 100 centaurs, four Manticores, and eight Baslisks."
"I can hire more goblin warriors," said Wolfslayer, "but it will take time to get them here."
"I don't think that will be necessary, but thank you, Wolfslayer," said Ginny. "Our success on the field tomorrow will depend more on what happens at the parley than how many warriors we muster. I would like Harry, Winky, Wolfslayer, Bassie, Sophia, and Nephele to join me at the parley."
Pollux and Mountbatten grumbled at that. "You would risk our females in a meeting with the Dark Lord?" challenged Pollux.
"They will be in no more danger at the meeting than on the field of battle," said Ginny. "Besides, the Dark Lord does not think highly of women. He only has one in his inner circle. Bringing mainly females to the parley will give him one more reason to underestimate our power." Ginny turned to Dobby and Winky. "How many house elves are free today?"
"Four hundred and ninety-eight, Miss Weasey," answered Dobby.
"So we need at least two more. Harry, Alisk, and Winky, let's go to the Dark Lord's picket lines and see if we can find them. Neville, I'll leave you here with Pollux, Wolfslayer, Dobby, Malfoy, and Mountbatten in charge of arranging our defense for the morning."
The picket line consisted of pairs of Death Eaters spaced so that no one could get by without being seen but far enough apart that the pairs couldn't see each other. Creeping through the darkness under the invisibility cloak, Harry and Ginny stunned all of the pairs, and as they did so, Winky levitated them to a location midfield. There they woke them, one-by-one, and Ginny made her standard offer to remove their Dark Marks. Alisk petrified those who refused and Winky returned them to their stations.
Rather than offering to stun each of the remaining Death Eaters, Ginny decided to shake the resolve of some of the Dark Lord's forces by casting the Sonorus spell to enhance their cries of pain as she removed their Dark Marks. Two hours later, Ginny and Winky stood with a dozen former Death Eaters who were rubbing their arms to relieve the pain. "How many of you own house elves?" asked Ginny. Greg Goyle raised his hand, as did three others. "Please call your house elves to you now." They did so, and five elves popped in, eyes wide to see the Dark Lady and her free elf companion.
"Tomorrow morning, Winky will come with me to parley with the Dark Lord. During the parley, I want all of you gathered together well behind our front lines. At my command, Winky may come to you during the parley and give you a signal. At that moment, I want you all to free all of your house elves."
"Free them?" said one in an outraged voice.
"Shut up, Nott," said Goyle. "Your commands will be obeyed, my Lady," he said with a stern look at the other Death Eaters.
Ginny and Harry left the former Death Eaters and walked to their tent, where they hoped to get a few hours of sleep before the parley. Outside her tent, Harry turned to Ginny and looked into her eyes. "Ginny, I . . . I'm sorry I've never told you this, but I love you more than anything," he said nervously. Then he stared into her eyes. "I would die that you may live. Mors Vivo."
Ginny's heart melted. "Harry, ever since we met, I've loved you with all my heart," she replied. "I would die that you may live. Mors Vivo." Instead of going into separate rooms in the tent, as they had intended, they quietly crawled into Harry's bed together and held each other through the rest of the night.
The next morning, Winky awakened them and served them a little breakfast before they headed down to the Parley tent.
"Good morning, Tom," she said.
"Good morning, Ginevra," said the Dark Lord. "Let's parley. You asked for restitution, but my army is much bigger than yours, so I see no reason why I should give it. Do you wish to sue for peace? Throw yourself on my mercy?"
"No, Tom, something very different. The last time we met, I asked you whether you felt any remorse," said Ginny. "Have you given that question any thought?"
The Dark Lord blinked, as if he did not expect this. He glanced at his followers, then stared at Ginny. "Yes, yes I do feel remorse. I am sorry I've had to kill so many people, especially magical people. Magic is so rare, it is a shame to lose any. But what could I do? They stood in my way."
"In the way of what? Your quest for power? Or your quest for immortality?" asked Ginny. "Why do you need both?"
"I needed power because some people regarded my quest for immortality to be evil magic. But there is no good or evil; there is only power, and those too weak to use it."
"You didn't just kill people for power, though, did you?"
"What do you mean?"
"You killed your own father. He wasn't in your way. You killed a student named Myrtle when you were at Hogwarts. You killed a peasant in Albania; a tramp in London. They weren't in your way. Don't you feel any remorse for those murders?"
"Why are we talking about remorse?"
"I have some things that once belonged to you," said Ginny, taking the diary, locket, and diadem and setting them on the table. The Dark Lord stared in stunned silence, as his followers looked on in puzzlement.
"They aren't. . . ," the Dark Lord paused a moment, as if trying to decide whether he would be giving anything away. "They aren't all there."
"I am wearing the ring," said Harry, whose head appeared on Ginny's left when he threw back the hood of his invisibility cloak. "You know what happened to the cup."
"How do you know I haven't made more?"
"You mean your snake?" asked Ginny. "You keep her with you at all times; it is clear she is more than just your familiar," she pointed out. "One thing you taught me, Tom, is that a Reducio spell can shrink the size of magical creatures, but an Engorgio cannot make them bigger than they really are. For example," she said, waving her hand at the six-foot snake on her left, "here is Bassie's real size." Slowly, the Basilisk grew to her full length of more than sixty feet. "If necessary, I suspect my snake would win any fight with yours."
"Surrender to the true heir of Slytherin, pretender, or today you will meet your doom," the snake hissed, causing some of the Dark Lord's retinue and several of the Ministry Aurors to jump. Of course, only Ginny, Harry, and Tom could understand what she said.
"Plus, I have another one in my possession that you made accidentally and don't even know about," said Ginny, obliquely referring again to the Horcruxes. "Each time you make one, you split . . . it . . . in half," said Ginny, suspecting that the Dark Lord wanted to keep the secret of his soul splitting from his followers. "The cup had only an eighth, which is why you are no longer the handsome man I once knew and loved. Why, the diadem only has one-thirty-second; I imagine anything restored from that would be little more than a ghost.
"I know how to bring them back together. I know how to restore your youth, good looks, and vitality. But for the spell to work, you must be truly remorseful."
"Is there any other catch?" asked the Dark Lord warily.
"I understand the process is somewhat painful, but probably no more painful than the process of making these," she said waving at the Horcruxes. "Also, you would be mortal again and age normally. But wouldn't you like to be young and handsome again? Wouldn't you like to enjoy normal relations with witches? I am sure many beautiful witches would fall in love with you."
"Are you offering to be my consort?" said the Dark Lord in puzzlement, whilst Bellatrix frowned.
Ginny looked sorrowful. "I am sorry if I misled you, Tom. You were my first love, after all. But as I am the most powerful witch in the world"--Bellatrix practically growled at this claim--"you can see that I could only love the most powerful wizard in the world. We both know that isn't you," she said, glancing at Harry with affection.
"I suppose you think the most powerful wizard in the world is Harry Potter," said the Dark Lord.
"Why, do you know someone who is more powerful?" asked Ginny innocently.
Suddenly, Yaxley, who hadn't understood most of the conversation, realized he almost missed his cue. He lunged for his wand and yelled, "Avada Kedavra!"
Harry cried, "Ginny!" and, grabbing the wand Ginny had left on the table in front of him, he leaped over the table, intercepting the curse. He fell lifeless to the ground, his cloak draped over him, rendering him invisible.
In quick response, Nephele grabbed her bow and let fly an arrow, which swiftly pierced Yaxley's chest and he fell over. With a gleeful laugh, Bellatrix sent a Patronus to Dolohof.
The Dark Lord stumbled for a moment when Harry fell over, but then he arose and said, with a hint of a grim smile, "So much for the power of Harry Potter."
Ginny's heart leaped to her throat, but she knew she had to appear impassive. Instead of responding to Voldemort, she turned slightly to Winky and nodded, and the house elf popped away. Then she turned in the other direction to Nephele and said quietly, "That wasn't necessary, my friend."
"I know, my Lady," said the centaur in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "But honor demanded it. Besides, I have no magic to lose."
Outside the tent, voices were yelling and large creatures were tramping on the ground. "This parley is over," said the Dark Lord. "You can hear my forces beginning to overwhelm your own. Do wish to surrender now, or will we meet in battle?"
"I think the parley is still in effect, isn't it Mr. Scrimgeour?" said Ginny. "Nephele is right: We did not make a magical attack on you. I suspect your Death Eaters are going to find that their wands only have one offensive spell in them."
Voldemort glared briefly at Bellatrix for failing to perceive that no one on the Dark Lady's side had violated the rules of parley. But he turned back to Ginny and said, "Even without my Death Eaters, my forces outnumber yours. You still have a few moments to surrender before your followers are wiped out."
"Size is no indication of power, Tom. Now, do you want to continue our discussion of these items, or shall I"--she waved her hand and levitated the Horcruxes--"toss them through the veil?"
"No!" yelled the Dark Lord. "Rodolphus, kill her now!"
Rodolphus grabbed his wand and sent a green light speeding toward Ginny.
* *
* * *
Only partially shielded by the low stone wall, Neville looked nervously down the hill as the Dark Lord's army emerged from the forest at a run. Death Eaters were on his far right, red, purple, and green curses shooting from their wands. Several giants and trolls lumbered heavily to the right of the parley tent. To the left of the tent, he could see scores of Acromantula of all sizes scampering across the field. On his far left werewolves and vampires were growling and shouting.
"Centaurs to the far left!" he yelled. "Goblins to the right, wizards and witches in the center." Neville couldn't speak Parseltongue, but Alisk knew to lead his family down the hill toward the Acromantula.
Behind the lines, Winky popped in where Goyle stood with the other recently demarked Death Eaters and their five house elves. "The Dark Lady says it is time," she said. "You must is freeing your house elves." Greg and two of the other former Death Eaters each handed their house elves a hat, whilst the fourth gave each of his two elves a glove.
"That makes five hundred and three," said Winky just before she and all of the other house elves winced as if in pain.
Just then, Nott fell to a flash of green light. Goyle threw his elf down on the ground and jumped on top to protect her. He could see scores of wizards in Auror robes attacking from the rear, and he didn't even have his wand. From the front lines, he heard someone yell, "The Dementors are coming!" Then he felt something move underneath him, and the little elf he was protecting suddenly wasn't so little anymore.
* *
* * *
Just as Rodolphus fired the killing curse at Ginny, a beautiful woman, standing seven feet tall, with long, blonde hair appeared in the tent. She conjured a block of granite that intercepted the green light. Rodolphus aimed his wand again but nothing happened.
"Mr. Scrimgeour, I protest," said a wild-eyed Voldemort. "The rules of parley do not allow the Dark Lady to bring more people into the tent than the original six members of her court."
"But this is one of the original six members," said Ginny. "Don't you recognize her? This is Winky, the house elf, in her true form as a forest elf. The house elves have been freed from wizard oppression and they are all coming into their true forms and powers. And I don't think they are very happy with your Death Eaters, many of whom treated them badly."
"I am sorry, my lord," said Scrimgeour, "but this does appear to be Winky, one of the members of the Dark Lady's original parley party."
"Since the rules of parley are still in effect, no one under your command can magically attack me without losing their magic," said Ginny with a smirk. "However, tossing one of these objects into the veil might be considered offensive magic and the rules of parley would fall. Shall we see?" She gave a wave and the levitated objects started floating to the veil.
"Greyback!" Voldemort could not keep the panic out of his voice. "Stop her!"
With a snarl, Greyback leaped over the table and ran across the neutral zone. Before any of the Aurors could--or dared--do anything, the Manticore hopped over the table on Ginny's side and casually pinned him to the ground.
"That's a clear violation of the rules of parley," Ginny said to the Aurors. "Mr. Scrimgeour, would you like Sophia to throw him through the veil for you?" Nervously looking between the Dark Lord and the Dark Lady, Scrimgeour nodded his head. Picking Greyback up in her large jaws, the Manticore swung her head and tossed him into the veil. "Pity," she said as she hopped over the table back onto Ginny's side. "Manticores consider werewolf meat to be a delicacy."
Voldemort had now lost two of his followers, and a third had lost his magical abilities. His Horcruxes, save only Nagini, were hovering in front of the veil, and until one went through, he dared not attack the Dark Lady without risking his magic.
"This is your last chance, Tom," said Ginny. "There should still be enough on this side of the veil to reconstruct you." In fact, with Harry and the ring gone, Ginny knew that Voldemort had less than half his soul on this side of the veil, so he could never become a complete man again.
The Dark Lord glared at her and decided to use his ace in the hole. "You forget the prophecy, Genevra: Only Harry Potter can vanquish me."
"I don't recall the prophecy mentioning Harry by name," said Ginny.
"No, it said someone born as the seventh month dies and that I would mark him," said Voldemort. "Harry is the only one who fits that description."
Ginny pulled her arm out of her sleeve. "Do you know where I got this snake-shaped scar?" she asked. "Your diary gave it to me. Do you know what my birthday is? It's July 31st. The prophecy didn't say what year the child would be born."
The Dark Lord screamed incoherently and was about to hex Ginny when he remembered that doing so could cost him his magic.
* *
* * *
Opening his eyes and sitting up, Harry was surprised to be surrounded by a variety of animals, including rabbits, deer, various birds, and a few wild boar. Beyond the animals he could see an arch like the veil that had been in the parley tent, but beyond that all he could see was a parched, sandy desert. A rabbit rubbed against his ankle and a deer nuzzled his ear.
"I guess I am really dead," he said to the animals. "It must be time for me to keep my promise and feed you in exchange for when you fed me." He pulled up his sleeve and held out his arm, grimacing in anticipation of one taking a bite. Instead, one of the deer pushed at whatever it was he was sitting on. He looked down and saw that he was on a number of bags stuffed with something soft.
"Of course," he said, mentally slapping his palm to his forehead, "you don't eat meat." He tore into one of the bags and found alfalfa, which the deer and rabbits hungrily ate. He opened other bags and found roots and berries and other things that he passed out to the boars and birds.
"What do we have here?" said a voice. "You didn't come through the arch." Harry whipped out the Elder Wand and pointed at it a man with red skin, horns, and a long pointy tail.
"Is this Hell?" asked Harry, keeping his wand aimed at the man. "Are you the devil?"
The man rolled his eyes. "That's the first thing everybody asks," he said. "No, this isn't Hell and no you are not dead. However, my name is Lucifer, and your wand won't work here."
Harry cast a Lumos spell and the wand lit up. The man looked surprised. "That's funny, most wands don't work here." He looked more closely at Harry. "Is that an invisibility cloak? And your ring: You have the three Hallows; you are the Master of Death! I haven't seen those in a long time."
"Wait, you've seen them before?" asked Harry.
"Of course I've seen them before," he laughed. "I made them."
"They were supposed to have been made by Death for the Peveral brothers."
Lucifer laughed again. "That's just a story. Godric gave them to his grandchildren before he cast me through the arch. I guess they could have been named Peveral."
"Godric? Godric Gryfindor? You knew Godric Gryfindor?"
"Of course. I used to live on Earth just like you. There was a whole race of us Redhorns, but the wizards battled them and threw them through the arch. I made the wand, cloak, and stone in the hope that they would allow me to go through the arch in both directions. I wanted to rescue my friends, but Godric found me and confiscated them. He taunted me by giving them to his grandchildren before pushing me through the arch."
"So where is this place?" asked Harry.
"I'm not sure. It could be another world. Or it could be Earth long ago. It can't be Earth today, however. I've traveled far and haven't found any sign of civilization."
"Where did these animals come from?"
"I've never seen them before. I assumed you brought them."
"No, but I think I recognize them: they are all animals I killed for food when on Earth."
"You must have used the Druid's hunting prayer. That would cause the animals you kill to emerge on this side of the arch."
"Where are your friends? And what happened to other people who've been pushed through the veil?"
"Most of them have wandered away searching for food. There is a small settlement near here, but there isn't enough food to support everyone so most people have gone elsewhere."
"Do you remember a man named Sirius? He was pushed through the veil about two-and-a-half years ago. He had long dark hair."
"I recall such a man. There haven't been many coming through the veil in recent years. Shall we go down to the settlement to see if he is there?"
"Of course! Sirius was my godfather and he was unjustly thrown through the veil by Ministry aurors."
"That sounds familiar," said the red man, and he led the way through the sand. They soon came upon a wraith of a man who looked to be about 50 years old. He was moving very slowly and looked angry at his inability to control his movements.
"I saw him on my way to arch today," said Lucifer. "He doesn't look too happy."
"I think that's a tiny fraction of the soul of a dark wizard who tried to murder me when I was just a baby," said Harry. "He didn't succeed, but he accidentally left a portion of his soul in me."
"Would he be any relation to the young man who started causing trouble in the settlement? He showed up a little while ago, so I came up to the arch to see if any one else had come through."
"I don't think he came through the arch either," said Harry. "The dark wizard had tried to become immortal by splitting his soul and putting parts of it in various objects. The first time he split his soul, he put half of it in the ring that has the stone you made. When I appeared here, it seems that both parts of his soul were released."
"How did you get here?" asked Lucifer.
"One of the dark wizard's followers tried to kill me. Some of my friends are negotiating with him right now, but I suspect they will end up in a battle."
"As the Master of Death, you can rejoin them by going through the arch, plus if I made the Hallows correctly, you can take anyone with you when you go."
"Let's find Sirius, as I'd like to return with him. I'll take anyone else who isn't a follower of the dark wizard."
"Will you take me and my friends, too?"
"Why were the wizards fighting the Redhorns?" asked Harry.
"We were both magic users, and the wizards were threatened by us. Our magic is different from wizard magic: we can pop from place to place like forest elves and we live for hundreds of years and are very difficult to kill."
"Why did they throw Redhorns through the veil but not elves or goblins?"
"The wizards made war on all other magic users. They tried to enslave the elves, force the goblins to do work that wizards weren't interested in doing, and push centaurs, giants, and other magical and semi-magical creatures onto reservations. But they had no use for us and they couldn't confine us to reservations because of our ability to instantaneously move around. They outnumbered us, and so they caught us, one-by-one, and pushed us through the veil. I was the last of my kind on earth."
"I've never heard of Redhorns, but I've heard similar stories from goblins, centaurs, and elves. My friends are fighting the dark wizard, but if we win it is clear our battles will be far from over. I will take you and your friends through provided you make an unbreakable vow to never harm another sentient being except in self-defense. Do you have the ability to make magical vows?"
"Yes, we can, and we'll be glad to do so. Will you want us to help you in your fight against the dark wizard?"
"If you want to help, we would welcome it. But we do not desire to force anyone to fight and I won't make it a condition for bringing you through the veil."
Ahead, Harry could see a small lake surrounded by some large ferns and other vegetation. A small group of Redhorns and men stood on one side of the lake apparently engaged in an argument. A young man, not much older than Harry, was being held by two others.
"We don't care how powerful you were on the other side of the arch," said a man with his back to Harry. "On this side, you are the same as any of the rest of us, and if you can't get along, you can leave or we'll just take care of you here."
"Hello, Tom," said Harry to the young man. "Not so much fun trying to be a bully without any magic, is it?"
"Who are you?" asked Tom. The other man turned around and looked at Harry and his face turned white.
"Harry, what are you doing here? Don't tell me you were thrown through the veil too! Where's Ginny?"
Harry just gave Sirius a hug. "I'm glad to see you, too," he said. "But I wasn't thrown through the veil; I'm here to rescue you."
* *
* * *
Goyle rolled off of his elf, Doodles. "Thank you for protecting me, Master Goyle," said the elf. "Now it's my turn." The now-giant elf stood up and snapped his fingers, and a half-dozen Aurors who were running in their direction were thrown off their feet. Goyle looked around and saw that other seven-foot-tall elves had popped in and were halting the Auror force. The leader of the Aurors was still on his feet and shooting spells at Neville Longbottom.
With a skill that seemed uncanny to Goyle, Neville simply deflected the spells away with his sword. "Father, stop! What are you doing? Stop! It's me--Neville," the Longbottom boy shouted.
The Auror looked at Neville and said, "You're the criminal who killed that Weasley boy and them blamed it on Voldemort. There's a shoot-to-kill order out on you." He proceeded to aim his wand at Neville again.
"Father, no! This isn't you. You don't shoot to kill. You don't attack non-purebloods just because of their heritage. You've been Imperioused."
The Auror kept shooting spells, but when Neville used the word "Imperioused," he paused.
"Da, it's me: your son. I love you. Fight it, Da, you can overcome it."
The Auror staggered a moment, and then said, "Neville? What are we doing here?" He looked around. "Is some kind of fight going on?"
Neville hugged his father. "Voldemort is back," he said. "He's in that tent over there. He's sending his Death Eaters and other dark creatures to kill us. If you don't believe me, tell your Aurors to stand down until you can sort this out. If you believe me, join us and help save the world."
Frank Longbottom looked at the tall, stately elves who stood guard over his men. He looked across the field and saw giants, Acromantulas, and men dressed in black, some with silver masks, charging towards him. He turned to his force and said, "Aurors, defend against the attackers."
Neville said to the nearest elf, "Check to see if any of the Aurors have Dark Marks. If they do, keep them under guard. If not, ask them to vow to follow Frank Longbottom's orders. Return their wands only if they agree." The elf popped away to convey these orders to the other elves.
* *
* * *
Ginny could hear yells and screams outside the tent as Death Eaters and other followers of the Dark Lord charged into battle. She knew that the longer she could continue parley, the more Death Eaters would lose their magic.
"So, Tom, one last time: Do you want me to reconstruct your soul? Do you feel enough remorse for the spell to work?"
"My only regret is that I can't kill you right now. Madam Umbridge, Mr. Scrimgeour, I think this parley is over."
"If you wish to end the parley, you only need to leave the tent," said Scrimgeour. "Once all of your followers have left, you can cast any spell without fear of losing your magic. The only exception is that you cannot attack the Dark Lady or any of her followers until they, too, leave the tent."
"That's all right," said Voldemort grimly. "Once we wipe out all of her followers, she won't have any place to go." He turned to go, but suddenly the veil shimmered and Harry Potter emerged leading a chain of people and red creatures that Ginny had seen only in books.
"Hello, Harry, nice of you to join us again," she said with relief.
"I couldn't let you have all the fun, now, could I?" said Harry. "And look who I found?" he said, holding up Sirius' hand.
The Dark Lord, what remained of his parley group, and the Ministry officials looked at the group coming through the veil in stunned silence. Sirius saw Umbridge standing behind Voldemort.
"Hello, Dolores," he said. "I bet you never thought you'd see me again."
By this time, two men and five Redhorns had joined Harry, Sirius, and Lucifer. "Mr. Scrimgeour," said Voldemort, "do the rules of parley allow the Dark Lady to augment her forces in this way?"
"I . . . I don't know," said Scrimgeour. "The rules forbid anyone coming into the tent from outside, but no one ever thought someone could come through the veil."
Voldemort was frozen in thought. He didn't dare cast a spell on the Dark Lady's followers for fear of losing his magic. On the other hand, the newcomers might not have to abide by the rules as they never agreed to the rules of parley.
As if to underscore this thought, one of the red men pointed to the floating Horcruxes and said to Harry, "Are these the soul containers you were telling me about? Why don't we give your belligerent friend Tom some company?" He plucked the diary, locket, and diadem out of the air and, one-by-one, tossed them through the veil. As each one went through, the Dark Lord staggered as if hit.
Lucifer then looked at the man who had fallen to his knees. "Is this the dark wizard you've been fighting? Come on, boys, let's toss him through the arch too." The other Redhorns grabbed Voldemort by his arms and started dragging him to the veil. Bellatrix squawked, but Sirius grabbed her wand arm and the spell she fired blew a hole through the roof of the tent. She tried to fire another spell, but had apparently lost her magic. Rastufas the vampire quietly snuck out of the back door of the tent.
"Aurors, aurors, stop them!" yelled Voldemort. "This is a violation of parley!"
Umbridge yelled at Scrimgeour to protect the Dark Lord. "I hereby declare this parley to be over," declared Scrimgeour. Voldemort immediately aimed his wand at Ginny and yelled "Adava Kedavra." A green light hit her full on and she just giggled.
"Didn't I tell you?" she said as she plucked the wand from his hand. "When Harry sacrificed himself for me, he made me immune from your spells." Voldemort screamed in outrage as the Redhorns dragged him to the veil, but in a moment, they pushed him through and the Dark Lord was no more, at least on this side of the arch.
Bassie quickly slithered over to the Dark Lord's side of the tent and bit Nagini, then tossed her through the arch as well. Meanwhile, Sirius and the other men held a struggling Bellatrix and a resigned Rodolphus. "Shall we push these two through the veil, too?" Sirius asked.
"They both violated the rules of parley," said Scrimgeour, "so you have the right to do so."
"Come, friends," said Ginny, "let's see how the battle is going outside." Harry, Winky, Wolfslayer, Bassie, Sophia, and Nephele followed Ginny out of the tent, leaving Sirius and the other people and Redhorns who came through the veil to deal with Scrimgeour and the Aurors.
Stepping out of the tent, the first things they noticed were scores of Death Eaters lying on the ground, Incarceroused. A tall elf with dark hair stood guard over many of the Death Eaters, and more elves could be seen in the distance. "Lady Weasley, Lord Potter, we've taken more than 100 wizards and witches prisoner," said the elf.
"Dobby, is that you?" asked Ginny with wide eyes. "You are so handsome!" The elf looked down at his feet.
"Thank you, milady. It is wonderful to finally be a real elf."
"Dobby, I am so happy for you. And you must call me Ginny. After all, we are all equals, now, aren't we?"
"Yes, mi--yes Ginny."
"So how is the battle going?"
"The centaurs' wooden and silver-tipped arrows quickly routed the vampires and werewolves. After many were killed, the others turned tail and ran. The Acromantula proved helpless against the Basilisks, as they have no eyelids and can't resist being petrified. Most of the Death Eaters lost their magic after firing one shot, and we elves quickly subdued the rest of them. The elves also stopped the trolls and giants."
"Were there any casualties on our side?"
"Sadly, yes. Some Ministry Aurors attacked from our rear and killed two former Death Eaters who were now loyal to you. Frank Longbottom, their leader, was confronted by his son, Neville, which allowed him to break the Imperius spell that had been cast upon him. He quickly ordered the rest of the Aurors to stop fighting."
"We will have to help the families of those who died for your freedom," said Ginny.
"Yes, Ginny, some of the elves are working on it now."
"For now, will you bring all the surviving Death Eaters to me?"
Dobby slowly turned and looked across the field scattered with elves watching clusters of bound Death Eaters. The elves evidently had some sort of telepathic powers or other long-distance communications, because as soon as his eyes reached an elf, the elf looked at Dobby, then prodded his or her prisoners to get up and walk toward Dobby and Ginny.
When they were all gathered together, Ginny stepped forward and spoke. "Death Eaters! Your master has been defeated and has been cast out of our world. You have a choice you must make now. You can join him, or you can renounce him. If you renounce him, I will remove the Dark Mark from your arm. You must then swear loyalty to me."
"Prove that you have defeated him!" yelled one of the Death Eaters.
"Look around you," she replied. "I am here; he is gone. His forces are captured or fleeing. My forces are victorious. If you do not believe me, you are welcome to join him. But you must decide now."
"Where is the Dark Lord?" shouted one. "Who are you to demand our loyalty?" cried another. Other Death Eaters began to yell out more questions. As the shouting grew louder, Ginny felt a chill behind her, and smiles came to the faces of some of the Death Eaters, whilst others turned pale.
"Here come the Dementors," said one of the smiling ones. "They'll hunt you down and take your souls. Then we can slay your loved ones."
Some of wizards who fought with the Dark Lady's forces raised their wands as if to defend themselves against the Dementors, but Ginny gestured for them to stand down. Then she turned around and looked at the Dementors, who drifted to a halt behind her. Turning back, she said quietly yet firmly to the smiling Death Eaters, "I think you mistake whose side the People are on."
In a louder voice, she yelled to the crowd: "No more questions! I will approach you one by one. Any who wish to stay loyal to him will be taken to join him. Any who renounce him may stay."
Before approaching the first prisoner, she turned to her friends. "Sophia, please tell Auror Scrimgeour that we are exercising the right of conquest and may be sending prisoners through the veil." The Manticore nodded and strode off.
Ginny turned to the nearest prisoner, who was fuming in frustration. She said, "So, Antonin, will you renounce the Dark Lord and swear an oath of loyalty to me?"
"I will never join you!" he yelled. "The Dark Lord will torture and kill you all!"
"Very well," said Ginny. Turning to the Dementor directly behind her, she said, "You or one of the People you choose may give him a kiss."
Ginny noticed that the one she identified as the leader generously moved aside and let one of the others move forward. Dolohov turned pale as the Dementor approached, and he screamed as the Dementor began to suck out his soul. Then, as if someone Noxed a Lumos charm, the screaming stopped and he collapsed. The Death Eaters in the audience, and not a few of the Dark Lady's wizards and witches, turned pale and became very quiet.
"Winky," said Ginny, "please take what is left of this man to the tent and ask Sirius to make sure he joins his master. Then return in case we have more prisoners who wish to remain loyal to the defeated one." Winky levitated Dolohov's body and headed to the tent.
The second Death Eater Ginny approached was Gresham Goyle, who was standing next to Gregory. On the advice of his son, he readily agreed to have the Dark Mark removed. Ginny silenced him so that any cries of pain would not discourage the others, and then removed the mark. By the time she was done, he had fallen to his knees and was sweating profusely, but he quickly swore an oath of loyalty to her.
"Here are my commands to you, Gresham Goyle," Ginny said. "For the rest of your life, you shall do no intentional harm to any sentient being except in self defense. I may call you into service again, but until I do, take your son home and take care of your family. As of this day, magical Britain has changed forever. If you need any help finding your place in our new society, do not hesitate to come to me or Harry Potter."
After hearing her merciful words, most of the remaining Death Eaters agreed to renounce the Dark Lord and give an oath of loyalty to the Dark Lady. Harry and Hermione helped with the time-consuming process of removing dark marks, and most of those whose marks they removed swore their loyalty to Lady Slytherin.
A handful refused to believe that Ginny deserved their loyalty, so Ginny gave them to the People to be kissed--with a different Dementor enjoying each kiss--and asked Winky or one of the other elves to toss their bodies through the veil. One of them was Rabastan Lestrange, who had helped kill Dumbledore and restore the Dark Lord to life. An even smaller number refused to pledge loyalty to Ginny after having their marks removed; she hoped they enjoyed life as Squibs.
When she was done, she turned to the People. "You may go. We'll try to find work for you, so one of you should visit me in London every once in a while." The leader nodded and they floated away.
Ginny then walked through the battlefield, attended by Nephele and Wolfslayer, swinging her sword and meeting some of the other vanquished enemies who were still alive. She told the largest Acromantula who was left unpetrified, but surrounded by three young Basilisks, to take her brood back to the forests they came from and never to attack magical beings again. The giant spider agreed and left, though Ginny doubted that all of the Acromantulas would follow her instructions.
Several vampires were roped together on the field and guarded by elves. Dobby told her that two of them had magical abilities. "You can survive without killing other sentient beings," she told them. "If you take an unbreakable vow to do so, I will release you." One of them snarled that he would do what he wanted. Ginny nodded at Nephele, who unloosed a wooden arrow into his heart. The other vampire readily took the vow and she released him. "If you can vouch for your friends here, I'll release them too," she said. He agreed, and the vampires ran into the forest.
Other elves guarded some men who Dobby explained were werewolves. Most of them, he said, had magical abilities, but none of them had Dark Marks. She asked them all to take unbreakable vows to not attack sentient beings and to take Wolfsbane potion, which she would provide for them if they could not afford it, during the full moon. Having seen Nephele fingering a silver-tipped arrow, they readily agreed. The ones who weren't magical remained incarcerated unless one of the magical ones agreed to monitor their behavior.
The most difficult decisions dealt with the trolls and giants. The trolls lacked the intelligence to understand the idea of a vow, and she decided to let the Aurors deal with them. Perhaps they would be useful in a Care for Magical Creatures class. After much discussion, the giants agreed to return to their homes in the mountains and not to attack other intelligent beings. Although she wasn't sure they really understood what a "being" was, she let them lumber off.
Whilst all this was going on, Sirius and Lucifer found Harry on the battlefield. "Harry, sometime I would like to go back and find the other Redhorns so they can come home," said Lucifer. "There aren't very many of us, but they would be a lot happier here than in that desolate place."
Harry thought for a minute, then offered Lucifer his wand, cloak, and ring, saying, "Bring back anyone you want. All I ask is that you have them vow not to hurt any sentient beings except in self-defense."
The red man held his hands up in protest. "I can't take those from you now. How would you defend yourself without your wand? I was hoping we could go together sometime."
Harry shrugged. "I can get another wand, but I think I'm needed here more than the Deathly Hallows."
Lucifer thought for a moment, then said, "Harry, use your wand to cut off my horns at the base. Don't worry; it won't hurt me."
Harry carefully aimed the wand so it wouldn't hit Lucifer's skull, then said "Diffindo." In a moment, he had two red horns.
"Grind these up and use the powder in the core of new wands," said Lucifer. "The wood isn't important, but it would be best if it was the same wood as the wand of the person who will use one of these. The new wands won't have the offensive capabilities of your Elder Wand, but they will have its defensive abilities. There should be enough here for six new wands."
"That's brilliant," said Harry. "You can take my wand and the other Hallows. I don't think I'll need them right away. Look me up in London when you get back and you can return them when you are done with them." Lucifer went in the parley tent and noticed that Unspeakables were getting ready to move the arch back to the Ministry. He dashed through the veil while he still had a chance, leaving a couple of Unspeakables wondering why someone would voluntarily go through.
Harry took another wand out of his pocket--it always paid to have a few extra on hand--as Sirius slapped him on the back. "That was very generous of you, Harry. I think it was the right thing to do, too. Those Redhorn fellows were a lot more likable bunch than most of the wizards I encountered behind the veil."
"If what Lucifer told me is true, wizards exiled them through the veil simply because they were jealous that the Redhorns lived longer," said Harry. "I was bullied for years by my cousin and his friends at school, and my aunt and uncle encouraged it because they were jealous of my magical abilities. Maybe schoolyard bullying is inevitable, but official, legal bullying by a government must be stopped."
"Harry, I'm proud to be your godfather."
"I'm happy you're back, Sirius. But I'm afraid I spent most of your money financing this war."
Sirius laughed. "That's what I gave it to you for," he said. "I can learn to work for a living. Better you than that the Malfoys should get it."
"Uh, the Malfoys are on our side now," Harry said.
Sirius looked thunderstruck. "Really? That girlfriend of yours is more persuasive than I imagined. Where is she? I need to tease her about how well she took care of you whilst I was gone."
Chapter 19: Chapter Nineteen: Betrayal
"The Minister of Magic would like to see you, Ginny," said Winky. "He is in the parley tent."
She looked over to the tent, then looked to see who was nearby. "Lord Malfoy, King Mountbatten, Wolfslayer, Pollux, Winky, please join me."
Ginny walked through the tent opening, and she broke out in a big smile when she saw a familiar face. "Professor Flamel! How nice to see you."
"It is good to see you, too, Miss Weasley. And please, call me Nicolas. I am not your professor any more. In fact, if we are going to be proper, you should address me as Minister Flamel. Minister Fudge has resigned and the Wizengamot asked me to take his place."
"That is quite an honor for you," Ginny said politely. "And feel free to call me Ginny."
"The truth is, I find the Ministry boring. I've been Minister four times before, and only agreed because the government is in such chaos in the wake of the Dark Lord. But let me congratulate you on a well-fought battle. Your strategy of freeing the house elves so they could be last-minute reinforcements was brilliant and totally unexpected."
"Thank you, Minister Fla--I mean Nicolas."
"Fortunately, I know the ritual to enslave the elves."
Ginny's blood turned cold. "You . . . know the ritual? How?"
"My wife, Perenelle, and I were the ones who developed it and cast the spell 600 years ago. We'll be able to cast it again and then things can get back to normal."
"If you try to cast that spell again, I'll kill you," Ginny hissed. "Freeing the elves was the goal, not the means, of winning the battle."
"Ginny, you can't begin to imagine what life was like 600 years ago," said Flamel in a reasonable voice. "The 300 years since the founding of Hogwarts had been a magical dark age, with much magical knowledge lost that we are only now beginning to regain. The goblins held the mountains. The elves controlled the forests. Centaurs occupied the plains. Muggles squeezed their farms in what little available spaces they could find. The entire land was beset with magical monsters such as giants, trolls, and Manticores. There was virtually no room for wizards. The result was chaos.
"Enchanting the house elves freed the forests and allowed us to chase the centaurs there. We persuaded the goblins to confine themselves to mining districts and caverns. Wizards covertly took over Muggle society and made their farmers into vassals. Populations of magical monsters were dramatically reduced and the remnants put on reservations. The result was far more orderly and allowed for the tremendous growth we have seen since then.
"It was wizards, not goblins, who invented wands. It was wizards, not centaurs, who developed complicated potions like polyjuice and veratiserum. It was wizards, not elves, who figured out how to fly on broomsticks. Wizards brought us into the current age of wealth and prosperity. You would put us back into the Dark Ages."
"I am sorry you feel this way, Minister Flamel," said Ginny with an emphasis on his title and name, "but the magical world is not going back to the way it was before this battle. We will build a world in which all beings, magical or not, human or not, pureblood or not, will have the opportunity to grow and be free and productive to the best of their abilities."
"Miss Weasley, you are an idealist, and I appreciate that. But idealism isn't enough. We aren't some wannabe dark lord and his pitiful army of disgruntled social rejects. We are the Ministry of Magic. Try to oppose us, and I'll smear your names across the country based on the summary executions you carried out today. I am happy you took care of Voldemort, but you are already known as the Dark Lady, and wizarding society has no reason to be sympathetic for what you did today. If you try to resist, you'll forever be remembered as no better than Tom Riddle."
"I don't care what people think of me," Ginny said.
"Then care about this: The Ministry can easily conscript 3,000 wands to fight you--and those wands won't start firing blanks because of some trick with parley. If necessary, we can bring thousands more from the continent. Without the elves, what do you have? A rag-tag army consisting of a few dozen bows, a few score short swords wielded by stubby little creatures who have little magic of their own, and some purebloods who you bewitched into betraying their master. They are just as likely to betray you.
"Tell her, Lord Malfoy. You're obviously a highly regarded advisor. Tell her: There is no way she can win against the Ministry."
Malfoy looked uncertainly between Flamel and Ginny. "My advice . . ." he started, then looked at Flamel. "My advice would be that anyone who underestimates Lady Slytherin is going to be severely disappointed."
"Bah! She's bewitched you too. Go ahead; play your little games. In less than three months time, you will be on your knees begging the Ministry's forgiveness. And the Ministry does not easily forgive or forget." He stood and walked away.
Nephele, Mountbatten, and Wolfslayer all started talking at once. "Shh," hushed Ginny. "No talking while we are on Ministry grounds." She turned and walked out of the tent toward the headquarters tent they had met in the night before. Along the way, she saw Harry, Sirius, Neville, Hermione, and Dobby and gestured for them to follow.
When everyone had gathered around the table, Ginny said, "Dobby, is everything under control outside?"
"Yes, Miss Weasley. Aurors and other Ministry personal are dismantling the parley tent. The Dark Lord's forces have been neutralized and for the most part have been sent home. Our only casualties were a few former Death Eaters who died in the attack by Imperioused Aurors. Aurors and a few former Death Eaters are burying the dead who were not claimed by family members. Elves have turned the few remaining enemy prisoners over to the Aurors and are working with New School students to provide meals for your army."
"Does anyone have anything else to report?" asked Ginny.
"None of the Aurors who attacked us from the rear had Dark Marks," Neville said. "But that doesn't mean that the Ministry is free of Death Eaters. We should be careful dealing with them."
"There's no doubt of that," said Ginny grimly. "Here's the situation: Minister Fudge has resigned and Nicolas Flamel has taken his place. It turns out that Flamel and his wife originally developed and cast the spell that enslaved elves 600 years ago, and they fully intend to do it again. Flamel told me he could gather at least 3,000 wizards who would fight off any attempt to stop them. But they must be stopped, at all costs."
Several people started asking questions or offering advice, but Ginny just raised her hand and they stopped. "Dobby," she said, "do the elves know anything about how the spell was cast 600 years ago?"
"I don't know much," he said, "but the elves have long mourned the fall equinox as Enslavement Day. So it seems likely the spell was cast that day. I can find out if other elves know anything more."
"That explains what Flamel meant when he said it would all be over in less than three months. Knowing it will be the equinox gives us a little more than two months to prepare. We've had a long and stressful day, but we should all be very proud of what we've done. I want everyone here to make sure our friends and allies get home to their families and friends. Everyone is invited to a victory celebration at the New School tomorrow afternoon. We'll meet again at the New School at 9 am on Wednesday to plan our strategy."
The next morning, Harry was making breakfast with Dobby and Kreacher when the wandmaker wandered into the kitchen. "What would you like for breakfast, Mr. Ollivander?" Harry said, and then served him the eggs and bangers that he requested.
"Mr. Ollivander," Harry said over breakfast, "do you have your wandmaking equipment or did we leave it at your shop?"
"I always make my wands at home, Mr. Potter, and Dobby brought my wandmaking equipment here."
"Excellent. I would like you to make six wands for me and my friends. You should use a variety of woods, but make the core out of these." Harry pulled the Redhorn's red horns out of his pocket.
"What are those, Mr. Potter?"
"These are the horns from a very rare magical species called Redhorns. Redhorns are very difficult to kill, and when their horns are ground up and used as a wand core, the owner of that wand and anyone they touch gains a similar resistance to most spells."
"I have never heard of Redhorns, but I'll be delighted to make these wands. Are these the only horns you have?"
"For the moment, yes. I might be able to get more, but I'll need these six wands in the next eight weeks." Ollivander took the horns and went to his room to work.
Word quickly reached the Muggle and half-blood families who hadn't participated in the battle that the outcome was positive, and many people arrived at the New School in the morning for news and with offers to help with the celebration. Parents, students, and elves worked side-by-side in the school kitchens to prepare a small lunch and a great feast for the evening. By quiet consensus, those who had heard about Flamel's threat did not mention it for fear of dampening spirits at the celebration.
The Daily Prophet was under no such restriction, however, and the morning paper presented the dire news that the Dark Lady and her traitorous supporters had won a battle against Ministry Aurors and pureblood wizards. The paper stressed the fact that the Dark Lady's summary justice had ended the lines of at least two prominent families by having the last remaining members of those families kissed and tossed through the veil, though the paper discretely did not mention that wizards from both of those families had recently escaped from Azkaban prison.
For the first time, the paper also revealed to the wizarding public the identity of the Dark Lady: one Ginny Weasley. "Miss Weasley was the first Weasley in known history to be sorted into Slytherin house," indicated an article by staff reporter Rita Skeeter. "In her first year, she was accused of petrifying several pureblood wizards, some of whose educations were set back an entire year because of it. While these allegations were never proven, they were never disproven either. School records show that professors also suspected Miss Weasley of plagiarism.
"In her second year, Miss Weasley was expelled from Hogwarts for attacking a professor. Although her wand was properly broken, she seems to have illegally acquired another one, as she was implicated in assisting the escape of convicted murderer Neville Longbottom and the apparent kidnapping of several Aurors. At least three of those Aurors were later caught and executed for treason, which is likely an example of the Shrewsbury Syndrome at work." For the benefit of younger readers, Skeeter added that the "Shrewsbury Syndrome" was named after a case two decades ago in which a ruthless Muggleborn wizard had kidnapped a pureblood witch, and by the time her family had been able to rescue her, she had fallen in love with and married the wizard.
A separate article in the paper reported the news of the mysterious disappearance of the house elves, who had nobly helped pureblood wizards and witches in the years and days leading up to the battle. An unnamed official was quoted saying that the Ministry suspected that the Dark Lady had kidnapped the poor elves and was exploiting them for her own nefarious purposes.
Many of those who had participated in the battle and had met Ginny, even if they did not know her well, found these reports quite humourous. A group of recent New School graduates approached Harry seeking seed money to start a New Magical Wireless station that would broadcast on both wizarding and Muggle airwaves (with language on the Muggle wireless carefully presented to avoid violating the International Statute of Secrecy). Harry referred them to Sirius, who approved their business plan and told Wolfslayer to release some of the Black family's fast-dwindling funds to them.
When Ginny arrived at the New School at noon, she was greeted by a rousing ovation. An embarrassed Professor Flitwick (who Ginny had deliberately avoided since he started teaching at the New School) approached her to apologize for expelling her. "I've met with Sirius Black, and he assures me that you were telling the truth," said Flitwick. "I hope I can make it up to you."
"Just keep on doing your excellent job of teaching at the New School," said Ginny, "and all will be forgiven."
By mid-afternoon, a number of ex-Death Eaters had found their way to the celebration. "I used the coins to let them know they were invited to attend," Ginny told Hermione and Neville. After some nervous hesitation, the Muggleborns and half-bloods welcomed them to the party.
The late afternoon of the celebration was the scene for a major prank war between the Weasley twins and the remaining Mauraders, Black and Lupin. The war began when George slipped something into Sirius' beverage that turned him into a canary. "Don't worry," Fred said to Harry; "it only lasts 15 minutes." To almost everyone's surprise, the canary immediately changed into a large dog, which then changed back to Black. "Of course you know," he said, "this means war!"
By the middle of the evening, Remus had turned Fred's hair green; Sirius had turned George's feet to duckfeet; and the two of them were cowering in a corner afraid to consume any of the available food or drinks. Finally, Remus and Sirius agreed to call a truce and they all joined the party again.
After dinner, the audience demanded that Ginny give a speech. "Thank you, everyone," she said, "for all your hard work. I am glad to see so many of my friends here, and wish to offer my condolences to the families for the two people who fought with us and were killed in the last minutes of the battle yesterday.
"This is not a victory for me but for everyone who cares about freedom and equality. Those are trite words, but unlike some, I have no desire for power or wealth or prestige. I merely want to create a society in which everyone, regardless of blood or species or magical abilities, has the freedom and opportunity to achieve their full potential.
"Wizarding society is based on the belief that, by virtue of their power, some people are better than others and some species are better than others. In other words, might makes right. The man known as Voldemort, originally known as Tom Riddle, was only a slightly more extreme example of this view.
"I do not want to live in that kind of a society, which is why my friends and I created the New School, which will give everyone an opportunity to succeed. We still have half the length of the Quidditch pitch before we catch the Snitch, but thanks to you, we closing in fast." She sat down to a standing ovation.
Many people in the audience picked up on Ginny's implication that a lot of work remained to be done. Since this was a Tuesday evening, some of the students in Harry's combat class decided that now was as good a time as any to practice, and everyone else was treated to an exhibition of fighting skills that featured goblins, elves, and both magical and non-magical humans. The non-magicals included the parents of some of the younger students who were still fit from their army days, and they demonstrated Muggle self-defense techniques.
The next morning, Ginny, Harry, Neville, and Sirius took the underground from Grimmauld place to Uxbridge, where they turned a small classroom into a conference room by rearranging tables and chairs. The night before, Ginny and Harry had carefully picked and invited selected leaders of every race and group to their meeting: Dobby, Kreacher, and Winky for elves; Pollux and Torino for centaurs; Mountbatten for Manticores; Deerslayer and Wolfslayer for goblins; Remus for werewolves; Hermione for Muggleborn; Sirius and Lucius for purebloods. They also invited Bill and Charley Weasley for their special skills; and Severus Snape and Tarquin Barthelme, the highest-ranking Auror who Ginny had managed to convert in the last campaign, for their insights into the enemy. A meeting with twenty people could be unwieldy, but Ginny did her best to keep the group in line.
"Thank you all for coming. For the benefit of those who weren't a part of our meeting yesterday, Minister of Magic Flamel has promised to re-enslave the elves and return Britain to the time when pureblood wizards controlled everything and all other races, including Muggles and other magical creatures, are under their thumbs. We must prevent this at all costs. According to Dobby, the ritual to re-enslave the elves cannot take place until the autumn equinox, so we have about nine weeks to prepare. Dobby, do we know any more about the ritual yet?"
"No, Lady Slytherin. I am working with New School elves to contact all elves in Britain to see if any know more about the spell."
"Thank you, Dobby, please keep us informed. Minister Flamel says he can conscript 3,000 wands to prevent us from stopping the re-enslavement ritual. Can he do that?"
"I have no doubt that they can," said Malfoy. "In time of emergency, all wizards effectively become vassals to the Ministry, and he can conscript as many as he needs. Some are too young, too old, or are otherwise not suitable for fighting. But 3,000 is a conservative number that he is likely to be able to get."
"If I may say," said Barthelme, and Ginny nodded, "the Ministry may be able to get 3,000 wands, and even more if it hires mercenaries from the continent. However, few of them will be able to fight as well as our best-trained Aurors. And after watching the demonstrations last night, I would say that one of your trained and armoured fighters is easily worth two of our Aurors, three mercenaries, and four or five conscripts."
"Thank you, Tarquin," said Ginny. "Still, we have less than 50 people trained up to the standards you saw last night, and some of them are quite young and we would be rightly criticized if we ordered fourteen- and fifteen-year-olds to fight. However, we should start an intensive training program for more of our people immediately."
Harry nodded and began making notes. "Deerslayer, could you meet with me after the meeting to set up a training program?" The goblin agreed.
"Wolfslayer," said Ginny, "how many goblins can we persuade to help us?"
"The goblin nation stands firmly behind you, Lady Slytherin," said the Gringott's manager. "We should be able to get close to 1,000 fully-armed warriors. Our metalsmiths will also work their forges day and night to produce armour and blades for warriors of other races."
"Thank you, Wolfslayer. Pollux, will centaur troops in other parts of Britain send more bows to help us?"
"Centaur troops are very independent of one another. Torino and I will contact as many as we can."
"Thank you. Mountbatten, can we attract more Manticores to the battle?"
"I am confident that Harry and I can persuade between 150 and 200 Manticores to come to battle. However, the next Manticore meet is at the new moon before the equinox, which would give us a mere ten days to travel from the meet to the battlefield. We have to hope that the battle is close to the meet."
"Winky, how many elves will be able to help us?"
"Britain has more than 3,000 elves. However, not all will be able to fight. Some are too old, others too young. Ancient elf tradition frowns on female elves going to war, but we may be able to persuade some to break this tradition as few have any reliable stories of the last elf-wizard war anyway. I estimate we can offer around 500 combatants with at least 500 to 1,000 more providing non-combat support."
"That support will be very important, especially if we have little notice about where the ritual is to take place. Tarquin, how many of Tom Riddle's former supporters do you think will answer my call to service?"
"You told everyone to put their families first. But I see no greater threat to their families than a Ministry victory. We should be able to persuade all but a handful to answer your call. That would be about 100 wands. Many have had little training, so you should make that call right away to put people in Mr. Potter's training program."
"Thank you, I shall do that as soon as this meeting ends. Hermione, beyond the students who have already received Harry's combat training, will Muggleborns or Muggles be able to offer us anything?"
"Some of the self-defense exhibitions by former Army members were very impressive. I am not sure how well they will be able to fight against wands, however. I suspect they will mainly be able to provide a non-combat supporting role."
"Other than eight Basilisks, are there any other resources we can or should call upon in the next nine weeks?"
"The Ministry will undoubtedly try to control the air by putting dozens if not hundreds of fighters in the air on broomsticks," said Charlie. "We need to have some people trained in aerial combat to counter them. Whoever controls the air will have a great deal of control over the battlefield." Several wizards nodded their heads.
"There are many excellent Quidditch players among Muggleborns, half-bloods, and 'blood traitors,'" said Severus ruefully; his pureblood Slytherin teams had often lost to teams that were rich in non-pureblood players.
"During the Triwizard Championship, I made friends with the other Champions," offered Neville; "one was a Veela and the other was a world-class seeker. I may be able to renew those friendships and either attract support from their communities or, at least, neutralize Ministry efforts to get them on the Ministry's side."
"Neville, it sounds like you just won an all-expense paid trip to the continent," said Ginny. "Anybody else?"
"What about dragons, Charlie?" asked his brother. "Do you think either we or the Ministry might be able to bring in some dragons from the reserve in Romania?"
"Not likely," sald Charlie. "The sanctuary is under the firm control of the International Confederation; they won't want to take sides in what they will see as a local dispute."
"Hippogriffs," said Harry.
"What?" asked a few people.
"You're right!" said Charlie. "There must be more Hippogriffs we can muster, especially if we find them before the Ministry does. A single Hippogriff should be worth many brooms."
"I will ask Madam Grubbly-Plank to help us locate the Hippogriff herd that used to live at Hogwarts," said Snape.
"Charlie, I'll put you in charge of aerial combat, including arranging for both riders and mounts," said Ginny. "We probably should go to the Nimbus and other broom companies and buy out their fastest brooms right away."
"Wolfslayer, before we leave today I'll give you written authorization to give Charlie access to the Black family vault," said Sirius. "These guys put a pretty big dent in it while I was gone, but there should be enough left to buy a few broomsticks."
"Professor Snape," said Ginny, "except for the Carrows, neither you nor any Hogwarts faculty or staff put in an appearance at Monday's battle. That means the Ministry isn't aware of your 'defection' to us. Do you think you could use your titular position as Hogwarts' headmaster to do a little spying at the Ministry for us?"
"Of course," he said with a sinking feeling. Why did he always have to be the spy?
"Did anyone else see that Voldemort hit Ginny with an Avada Kedavra and it had no effect?" asked Sirius. Hermione gasped while Snape and Barthelme looked at Ginny with a newfound awe. "You must have used Lily Potter's Mors Vivo spell to gain immunity. It would have taken effect as soon as Harry died or went through the veil, and it remained in effect even though he managed to come back. If that spell can make people immune to unforgivables, we should encourage everyone to use it."
"The spell only works if one person truly and unconditionally loves another, and then only if they die protecting the other. But you are right: there may be some people who can benefit from it.
"All right, people, let's get to work," concluded Ginny. "We shall meet again here next week at the same time."
As they were leaving, Hermione said to Ginny, "If only we could bring back diadem-Tom. He seemed pretty reasonable, and he would be one of the most powerful wizards on the field. You did destroy all of the Horcruxes, right?"
"Yes, and even if I hadn't, he would have turned on us as soon as he regained his body. But . . . hmmm."
"What, Ginny?"
"Oh, nothing. I'll talk to you about it later."
While Harry stayed behind to work with Deerslayer, Hermione joined Ginny, Neville, and Sirius on the underground trip to Grimmauld Place. They arrived in time for a late lunch, which the elves has already prepared as they were able to pop from place to place despite the Ministry wards against Apparition. Over lunch, Sirius handed Neville a stack of Muggle bills. "You should pack and go to France today, mate," he said.
Neville goggled at the unfamiliar bills. "Is this a lot?"
"Wolfslayer gave it to me after the meeting," Sirius said, sorting the bills into different piles. "These are pounds; you use them in Britain, and these are called Euros; you use them on the continent."
"Neville, let me give you a letter of introduction before you go," said Ginny. "They may know you, but a letter from Percy Weasley's sister confirming your story will help alleviate any concerns they may have after the Ministry's propaganda campaign against you. I suggest you also go to my father and ask him to write a similar letter and magically seal it with the Weasley family seal."
By the time Ginny was done with the letter, Neville had packed and was ready to go, so he took the letter and gave Hermione a hug. "I hope you're not doing this just to go chasing after some Veela," said Hermione. Neville laughed, whispered, "I love you, Hermione," in her ear, and left.
While Neville was saying good-bye to Hermione, Ginny went up to the library. Instead of looking at the bookshelves, Ginny picked up Slytherin's staff and touched her wand to it. "Greetings, Lady Slytherin. How may I help you?" said the ghost
"Lord Slytherin, do you remember the forest elves?"
"Why yes, they were quite delightful creatures. They had their own magic that was quite powerful."
"About 300 years after your time, a wizard named Nicolas Flamel found a spell that enslaved them to wizards. They could only work for wizard's and witch's, had to follow orders, and had no independent thought. The spell reduced their size so they could not fight and their mental capabilities so they would not try."
"That's a truly sad story," said Slytherin. "Although I believed in defending wizarding society against ignorant Muggles who claimed we were tools of Lucifer, I never supported enslaving another race."
"Fortunately, I found a way to removed the enchantment, though it took several years and cost a great deal of money. The elves were freed two days ago, but the Minister of Magic plans to use the same spell to enslave them again, and says he will conscript thousands of wizards to defend against any attempts to stop him. Between elves and goblins and centaurs and wizards and witches who support us, we cannot match him in numbers, so must be crafty in our fight."
"Ah, so you would like my help."
"Yes, Lord Slytherin. How would you like your body back?"
The spectre paused. "I would not want anyone to give up their body and soul for me."
"And I wouldn't ask anyone to," said Ginny. "But there may be another way. I witnessed a ritual that brought back one of Tom Riddle's Horcruxes. This ritual involved the bones of the father, the blood of an enemy, and the flesh of a servant."
"That's very interesting, but where will you find the bones of my father? And who among you today is my enemy?"
"Let me worry about those things. If we can answer these questions, would you consent to be restored to life?"
"I would, and if you could bring me back, I would help you. For wizards, I wasn't a particularly old man when I died, but my body was wasted by a disease. If my restored body has that disease, you might have to find a cure for it."
"We'll work on that too. Let me go get some friends who can help."
Ginny went downstairs, where she found Hermione, glassy-eyed but with a big smile on her face in the entrance hall. "Hermione? Hermione! HERMIONE! Time to come back to earth," said Ginny. "Let's go to the library; we need to do some research." When they returned to the library, Ginny also called for Kreacher, who was now a six-foot-six-inch elf with distinguished grey hair and a beard that was quite similar to Slytherin's.
Kreacher bowed slightly and said, "Lady Slytherin, may I help you?" Then he saw Slytherin's spectre, and bowed even more deeply. "Lord Slytherin, it is a pleasure to see you."
"This morning, Hermione suggested that Tom Riddle of the diadem could have been a useful ally if we resurrected him. While I don't think we could have trusted him, there is someone we can trust: Lord Slytherin. We can restore his body using the same ritual that Peter Pettigrew used to restore Tom Riddle's body," said Ginny. "That ritual required the bones of the father, the blood of an enemy, and the flesh of a servant."
Kreacher's eyes widened when Ginny listed the last ingredient. "I would be delighted to serve Lord Slytherin by offering some of my flesh," he said.
"Excellent," said Ginny, "I thought you would. I suspect it only needs to be a small slice of skin. Don't go overboard by cutting off an entire hand or anything like that." Kreacher agreed.
"Where will we get the bones of his father?" said Hermione.
"I was hoping we could do some research on that in this library. We might be able to find the original ritual. I suspect that the reason why Riddle's resurrection used the bones of his father is that Riddle's own body was gone. We might be able to use Slytherin's own bones instead. I am pretty sure Gringotts has them."
"And the blood of an enemy?" asked Kreacher.
"Many people today are enemies of Slytherin's philosophies," said Ginny. "But we need to find the ritual and see if can help us decide who fits the ritual's requirements the best."
Ginny turned to Slytherin's spectre. "We are working on it, Lord Slytherin. Would you like me to return you to your Morcrux while we study?"
"I see some books in the library that are written in old English," he said. "If someone will consent to turn the pages for me, I might be able to help with the research."
Harry and Deerslayer developed an eight-week combat training program that included four-hour training sessions five times a week. To reach the greatest number of people, they agreed that the two sessions would be offered: one in the morning and one in the evenings. Harry asked Draco and some of the advanced students from his New School class to help teach the sessions, while Deerslayer found several expert goblin warriors to assist as well. The sessions would formally begin on Thursday, July 22.
When Harry returned to Grimmauld Place, he found Mr. Ollivander with Sirius. "I've made one wand with your Redhorn core, and we should test it out," Ollivander told them. So they went to the training room, where they soon determined that the wand could provide as strong a defensive shield as the Elder wand.
"Eureka!" Hermione yelled after several hours of research. "I found it. It was in a book of dark arts that someone charmed with a notice-me-not spell, so I missed it the first several times I looked through the shelves." She read the book for a few minutes. "You were right, Ginny. The spell works best with the bones of the person being restored; the father's bones are a substitute only if the person's bones are not available."
"Great!" said Ginny. "When you get a chance, Kreacher, could you pop over to Gringotts and ask Wolfslayer to find out what they did with the bones they found in Slytherin's tomb? Now, what about the enemy?"
"For best results, it says the blood must be forcibly taken from the person who has worked hardest to thwart the plans of the person to be resurrected."
"That could be any of several people," said Ginny. "We'll bring it up at the next meeting."
After finding Arthur and Molly at their safehouse and getting a letter of introduction from Arthur, Neville took the underground the St. Pancras station where he bought a ticket on the next Eurostar to France. Like many pureblood children, he had learned a little French before going to Hogwarts, and he hoped it would be enough to get around on the continent.
The Victorian architecture of the train station seemed very familiar to the young wizard, but the sleek new Eurostar was not. He was amazed to realize that the train he was on was going faster than any broomstick, and he had never before felt the funny sensation in his ears when the train entered the Channel tunnel.
Neville had no idea what he was going to do when the train arrived in Paris. He knew Beauxbatons was in southern France, but he didn't know exactly where, and school wasn’t in session anyway. So he left the Gare du Nord station in Paris and started walking at random. Fortunately, he soon saw a woman wearing what he imagined was a French version of witch's robes, so he followed her. She soon entered a neighborhood that seemed to be filled with wizards and witches, which he realized must be a Paris version of Diagon Alley. As he gazed in the store windows, he came upon a broomstick store and saw an ad for a professional Quidditch game.
Entering the store, he said to the clerk, "Peux j'avoir le dernier magasin du Quidditch?" He wasn't sure he said it right, but it must have been close because the clerk handed him a French Quidditch magazine. Neville didn't know if French magical shops preferred Galleons or euros, but the clerk seemed happy with the one-euro coin that Neville offered.
Perusing the magazine, Neville found that Viktor's team, the Vratsa Vultures, would be playing the Heidelberg Harriers on Saturday. Next, he entered a bookstore where he searched for books that might give him clues about Beauxbatons' location. He was amused to find and buy a book titled Beauxbatons: Une Histoire. Ordering a pumpkin juice and taking a seat at a café, he turned to the chapter about the Triwizard Tournament and learned that the Delacours had a home in Paris.
After taking a room at the Parisian version of the Leaky Cauldron, he spent a fruitless day wandering the streets of Paris looking for signs of the Delacour's home. He supposed he could have asked one of the wizards or witches he encountered, but he was still a wanted man in Britain, and the magical newspapers he had seen in Paris seemed to merely parrot the Daily Prophet, so he didn't want to attract too much attention to himself.
So, on Friday, he returned to the Gare du Nord and purchased tickets to Heidelberg, which required a combination of high-speed and conventional trains. He knew even less German than he did French, but he hoped he could muddle through since most Germans he had met knew at least a little English. Arriving in Heidelberg in late afternoon, he found a room in a conventional hotel and then wandered the streets looking for signs of a magical community. He finally found it, and learned that the Quidditch stadium was hidden from Muggles in a forest a mere two miles east of his hotel.
The next morning he walked to the stadium after breakfast even though the game wouldn't begin until 2 pm. When the box office opened, he bought a pricey ticket as close to the Bulgarian team's crew pit as he could get, entered the stadium and sat down. After an hour or so, the two teams flew out from their dressing rooms for some practice maneuvers. He could see Viktor, but he was too far away to call to him. Then he noticed that one of the few other early arrivals in the stands was a blonde woman who was sitting a row in front of him.
"Fleur!" he called, and was immediately surrounded by Aurors with wands pointed in his direction.
On Monday, the New Wizarding Wireless began broadcasting, thanks to financial support from the Black family trust. The broadcasts included an eclectic combination of Muggle and magical music, but it was also heavy on news and interviews that focused on the injustice of Ministry actions. Sirius Black was one of the first to be interviewed, and he told the story of how Peter Pettigrew had betrayed the Potters while Black was imprisoned for twelve years without a trial. Other interviewees included Bill Weasley, Gregory Goyle, Draco Malfoy, and others who provided first-hand accounts of the Battle of the New Forest, which the Ministry had been covering up.
The new wireless network also had paid advertising. One of the first ads appeared to be for a fitness center.
"Harry's Gymnasium offers a special introductory rate of just one Sickle per session for everyone who would like to lose the weight that is oppressively dominating our lives. This is your equal opportunity for the freedom of weight control! Those who wish to take advantage of this offer should go to the place where we celebrated Harry solving the Riddle that confounded us all. Don't miss this special offer which expires on Thursday, July 22!" While this ad might puzzle anyone at the Ministry who bothered to listen, its meaning was clear to most of those--including all former Ravenclaws--who attended the celebration after the Battle of the New Forest.
On Tuesday afternoon, Ginny and Hermione were reading in the Black library when Neville walked in the door with--Hermione was chagrinned to see--a Veela on one arm. On the Veela's other arm was Viktor Krum. "Look who I found!" said a smiling Neville.
Fleur and Viktor had both briefly met Hermione when they were at Hogwarts. Neither had met Ginny, though they knew her brother well. While Neville introduced her as Lady Slytherin, she just rolled her eyes and said, "Please, call me Ginny."
"We were zo zorry about your brozzer," said Fleur. "He was a very good man and a ztrong competitor."
"Ve never beliefed that Neville killed Percy," said Viktor. "But the stories comink from your Ministry haf been very confusink."
"How did you find them both so quickly?" Ginny asked Neville.
"I went to a Quidditch game where Viktor was playing," said Neville, "and there she was. It turns out they've been dating."
Viktor put his arm around Fleur, while Hermione gave an unnecessary sigh of relief.
"Of course, there was a little matter of convincing the German Aurors that I wasn't trying to assassinate her."
"What!?" said Ginny and Hermione simultaneously.
"Zomeone recognized Neville at ze stadium, and zey tried to arrest him when he approached me," said Fleur.
"The letters from you and your father really helped," said Neville.
Another reunion took place at the second meeting of the war council. Ginny--carrying her staff--Harry, Neville, and Sirius were among the first to arrive, but when Snape showed up he brought a guest with him.
"Da!" said Neville.
"I was leaving the Ministry when Auror Longbottom quietly approached to find out if I knew how to reach Neville," said Snape. "After assuring myself that he was sympathetic to our goals, I invited him to today's meeting."
"I've tried to get the Ministry to review your conviction, since everyone in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement now knows that you were speaking the truth about You-Know-Who," said Frank. "But Minister Flamel still wants you and Miss Weasley to be brought in to face unspecified criminal charges. Just what is going on? Headmaster Snape hasn't told me much about what is happening."
Neville briefly reviewed for him how Ginny freed the elves and how Flamel wants to re-enslave them. He also told how Minister Fudge had virtually imprisoned the families of Muggleborn and half-blood wizards and witches in Muggletown. His father was shaken by the news.
"I've known house elves all my life, but I never thought of them as being slaves," he said. "We were always told they liked the work."
Ginny began the meeting by asking Dobby and the other elves if they had any more information about where the re-enslavement ritual might take place. They were still in the dark, but Frank Longbottom asked to be recognized.
"There is a huge amount of Ministry activity going on in Somerset," he said. "Security details, Unspeakables, law enforcement patrols--the Minister seems to be obsessed with Somerset County. If he plans to do something soon, it seems likely that it will be somewhere in Somerset." Dobby realized this was valuable intelligence and agreed to concentrate his efforts on learning more about Somerset.
"Are there more people in the Ministry like you?" Ginny asked, "People who are willing to question Flamel's propaganda?"
"There is a young Auror named Tonks who would probably join us, as she is already treated with suspicion for being a half-blood. Beyond her and my wife Alice, I wouldn't count on anyone else," said Frank. "The Fudge regime purged just about everyone in the Ministry who was known to be sympathetic to Muggleborn rights." He looked ashamed for a moment. "The only reason Alice and I escaped was that someone decided we would be more valuable Imperioused than purged." Neville put his hand on his father's shoulder. "If there are more like us, they are keeping so low a profile we don't know them."
Charlie brought the news that he and Sirius had managed to corner the market on the fastest brooms produced by Cleansweep, Comet (including the company's famous Firebolt broom), and Nimbus. "The owners of both the Comet and Cleansweep companies are half-bloods who resented having members of their families locked up in Muggletown," said Charlie. "They not only gave us a good deal on the brooms, they promised to sell the Ministry only their slowest models."
"The owner of Nimbus is a pureblood," Sirius told the committee, "but his father was a former Death Eater who gave an oath of loyalty to Lady Slytherin. Since the son feels bound by his father's oath, he agreed to reserve his fastest brooms for us." Charlie and Sirius agreed that they would probably have more brooms than riders, but it was worth it to keep the Ministry from acquiring any more fast brooms. "The Ministry will probably still have far more riders than us."
Ginny asked Viktor if he knew of any European broom riders who would be willing to help.
"I know Qvidditch players, and they are not varriors," said Krum. "Most vizards and vitches trained in aerial combat verk for governments, and European governments are not likely to intervene in local fights here. Howefer, I vould be villing to help train your broom riders." Krum's season had ended with the game in Heidelberg, as his team did not make the play offs this year.
"What about Hippogriffs?"
"Professor Grubbly-Plank says the small herd of Hippogriffs near Hogwarts is the only one in Britain. She is there now seeing to the herd. If they are healthy, she will escort potential riders there later this week to find ones compatible with each animal."
"Charlie, can you and Sirius pick out some possible riders?" When they agreed, Ginny put her staff on the table and touched her wand to it.
"I would like to introduce you all to Salazar Slytherin," she said. Barthelme and Charlie Weasley, who had never seen Slytherin's spectre before, both gasped in surprise. "He can be a very powerful ally for us, if we can restore his body. The ritual to do so requires that we forcibly take the blood from his enemy, someone who has worked the hardest or been most effective at thwarting Slytherin's plans."
"I would have thought that Slytherin would be on the other side of this issue," said Charlie.
"No, he and the other Hogwarts founders were all very tolerant both of Muggleborns and other magical species," said Ginny. "His reputation has been twisted over the years to serve the pureblood agenda."
"Wouldn't Flamel be his biggest enemy?" asked Bill.
"No, Flamel is Ginny's biggest enemy," said Malfoy. "Slytherin's agenda is not the same as Ginny's. While she is primarily concerned with freeing elves, Slytherin was primarily concerned with giving magical students good educations."
"Umbridge," said Snape.
"Gesundheit," said Sirius.
Snape looked annoyed. "I meant Dolores Umbridge. She worked very hard last year to destroy the effectiveness of Hogwarts as an educational institution."
"That's perfect!" cried Hermione. "I mean, not perfect that she was destroying Hogwarts, but that she is Slytherin's perfect enemy."
"Will you need to forcibly take all of her blood?" asked Barthelme. "I mean, do you need to kill her?"
"You aren't getting cold feet, are you Tarquin?" said Sirius coldly.
"Down, boy," said Ginny. "I know you have a score to settle with Umbridge, but don't take it out on our friends." Sirius apologized.
"As far as we can tell, the ritual will only require a small amount of blood," said Hermione in answer to Barthelme's question. "We won't need to kill her. The blood does have to be reasonably fresh. We should resurrect Salazar within 24 hours of when we collect her blood."
"Very good," said Ginny. "Everything seems to be going as well as possible, given the circumstances. All we need to know is where the ritual will take place."
The next day, more than 100 people showed up for Harry's and Deerslayer's morning class, and more than 150 for the evening one. Most were recent Muggleborn graduates of Hogwarts who were incensed at being imprisoned in Muggletown for two years. A few Muggle relatives who had been in the army also came, hoping to help. Harry and Deerslayer asked them to help train the rest of their students in Muggle self-defense techniques.
Grubbly-Plank returned from Hogwarts on the back of a Hippogriff that landed at the New School just as Harry's and Deerslayer's first class was finishing up. "Headmaster," she said as she entered the training room, and both Malfoy and Snape, who were observing Harry's teaching methods, looked up. Ignoring Malfoy, she approached Snape.
"The herd has about twenty Hippogriffs," she said, "but several are too young to carry riders, and several more are needed to care for the young. In addition to Talon, who flew me here, there are just four other mature animals ready to go into combat." Harry, who overheard her report, said he would pass the word to Sirius and suggested that the professor be ready to return to Hogwarts the next day with three potential riders so they could fly the Hippogriffs to the school.
Stepping outside into what was once a parking lot, Harry noticed that Viktor was among the crowd admiring Talon from afar. "They're pretty impressive, aren't they?"
"If I could ride a mount like that, I vould gladly go to var vit you," the Bulgarian said.
"Let's try it out," said Harry. "First, you have to bow to the Hippogriff. If he accepts you, he'll bow back."
A bit nervously, Viktor stepped forward and bowed deeply. Talon regarded him sharply, then returned the bow. "All right, Viktor, you may now climb aboard." The seeker did that, and--as Harry hastily cast a notice-me-not to keep Muggles from seeing them--the chimera took to the air in a shot. Viktor yelled but soon got the hang of communicating with the animal by gentle pulls of certain feathers and squeezes of the knees. The two of them soared over the fields near the New School, then returned and dived to the car park and landed on a Sickle.
"Dat's better than a Firebolt," said Krum. "Not qvite as fast, but far more power. Broom riders von't stand a chance."
That evening at dinner, Ollivander presented Harry with the last of the six wands made with the Redhorn cores. Harry immediately handed them to his godfather.
"Don't you need one, Harry?" asked a surprised Sirius. "You gave the Elder wand to Lucifer." The wandmaker looked shocked that anyone would give the Elder wand, reputed to be the most powerful wand ever made, away.
"No, these wands should be used by the people riding the Hippogriffs," said Harry. "If you cast the Protego spell, the wands will protect both the riders and their mounts."
"But aren't you going to be riding Buckbeak?" asked an even more surprised Sirius.
"No, I'll be more valuable leading part of the ground forces, not providing aerial support. You ride Buckbeak, and I suggest you do some try-outs to find your other Hippogriff riders."
"Seekers vould be best," said Viktor.
The next morning, a slightly glamoured Sirius, Charlie, and Viktor met Grubbly-Plank at the Leaky Cauldron and Flooed to the Three Broomsticks. Grubbly-Plank led them to the herd, where they respectfully met their mounts and flew back to Uxbridge.
Harry had announced to both his Thursday evening and Friday morning classes that they would be holding try-outs for Hippogriff riders Friday afternoon. When the Hippogriffs arrived from Hogwarts at about noon, some twenty people were ready to try out. Viktor proved to be correct: the final Hippogriff squad included Charlie, Cedric Diggory, Cho Chang, Draco Malfoy, Sirius, and Viktor--all of whom but Sirius had been seekers.
On Saturday, Wolfslayer and a glamoured Harry went through Diagon Alley into Gringotts, where they descended deep into Gringott's underground caverns to see the goblins' progress in making armour. Harry was pleased to find his one-time training partner, Dirtdigger, working one of the forges.
"Try on this armour, Harry," said Dirtdigger. "I made it in your size." The armor consisted of a vest and pants that reached to just above the knees. Harry was surprised at how light it was.
"This armour will not stand up to a goblin blade," said Dirtdigger. "But it will deflect any curse from a wand. Unfortunately, it is not very flexible, so we don't provide armour for the arms or lower legs. At one time, we would use dragon or Basilisk skin to protect the arms and legs, but where are we going to get Basilisk skin today, eh?" Dirtdigger laughed grimly.
In answer, Harry opened his robe, revealing a Basilisk suit that covered everything from his neck to his wrists and ankles. "If you can use skin recently shed by a Basilisk," he told the amazed goblin, "I think we can find you quite a large supply."
On Sunday, Harry and Ginny took a few hours to relax at Grimmauld Place by playing with the shrunken Basilisks. Harry was stunned when he felt a sharp pain in his arm. "One of them bit me!" he said, panicking because he knew Basilisk venom was fatal.
"Do not worry, Harry Greeneyes," said Bassie. "The venom of our young ones will not kill you. But it will give you the powers of a Basilisk. Simply by looking into people's eyes, you will able to petrify or kill people from a distance."
"I can already petrify people," said Harry absently.
"Yes, but not from a distance. And your petrification leaves people conscious, is temporary, and is easily dispelled, while Basilisk petrification puts people in a state of suspended animation until they are treated with Mandrake root. They are really two different things."
"How do I do it?" Harry asked.
"The power will come to you when you need it," Bassie answered.
"I'm sorry I bit you, Uncle Greeneyes," said one of the tiny snakes.
"That's all right," said Harry. "It sounds like you gave me some of your magic."
Training, armour making, and recruiting continued anxiously for several weeks, but by early September the war council still had no idea where the enslavement ritual would take place. On the afternoon of September 3rd, however, a pale Dobby popped into Grimmauld Place with grim news.
"We found a very old elf in Somerset who remembers hearing stories from his great-grandmimi. He doesn't know where the ritual took place, but he was quite firm on one point: the ritual required the blood of the queen of the elves."
"But not all of the blood, right?" asked Hermione, hoping it would be so. "Like the ritual to restore Slytherin's body, it requires only a little blood, right?"
Dobby solemnly shook his head. "All of the blood."
Ginny looked downcast. "I'm sorry, Dobby, that I am not familiar with elf society, but I didn't know you had a king and queen."
"The elves are still trying to remember our traditions, but we have not recently had a king or queen in the way of Muggles. However, since the enslavement spell was broken, the elves have generally considered Winky and me to be their leaders."
There was silence as this sank in. "Kreacher," Ginny finally said, dreading the answer, "where is Winky?"
The very distinguished-looking elf said, with a slight sob, "Winky left this morning to get a Daily Prophet. She never returned."
Ginny's face turned grim. "That changes things, doesn't it?"
"Yes," said Dobby, "it does."
Chapter 20: Chapter Twenty: The Battle of Wookey Hole
Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, former High Inquisitor and Deputy Headmistress at Hogwarts, walking indignantly through Diagon Alley, closely followed by two Auror guards, carrying a receipt from Flourish and Blotts. The receipt, dated September 1, was for a book she had purchased the previous day, Half-Bloods and Where to Find Them. After taking the book home, she noticed she had been overcharged by 10 Sickles, and that simply did not happen to the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic.
As she approached the store, however, she was accosted by two seven-foot-tall creatures. She had never seen an elf since the slavery curse had been dispelled, so she didn't know what these were, but she knew they weren't human. "Get away from me, you vile beasts," she said as the Aurors stepped up to protect her.
One of the elves snapped his fingers and the two Aurors dropped in their tracks. The other elf said, "Cwene Umbridge, you are coming with us." Not knowing why he called her a queen, she didn't know how badly he had just insulted her, but she didn't really care at the moment. She began screaming and kicking as the elf dragged her to a waiting Hippogriff who occupied much of the right-of-way in Diagon Alley. One elf climbed aboard the Hippogriff while the other bound Umbridge's hands and tossed her, face down, over the Hippogriff's back. The Hippogriff took off, while the remaining elf looked around at the gathering crowd and said, "Never again!" and then popped away.
The invisible Hippogriff landed on the roof of Grimmauld Place and entered the attic. Dobby got off, picked up the struggling Senior Undersecretary, and stood her on her feet in front of Sirius and Nibbles, who had just popped in. Some pips and squeaks could be heard coming out of her mouth despite the fact that Dobby had silenced her.
"Hello, Dolores," said Sirius. "So nice to see you again. I hope you realize the honour we are doing you. We are going to grant you your fondest wish: We are going to introduce you to Salazar Slytherin."
He and the elves then dragged a shocked former High Inquisitor, who was convinced she was about to be murdered, to the other end of the attic, where Ginny had set up a large cauldron. "Did everything go all right?" she asked Dobby.
"Everything went as planned, Ginny."
"I still wish you could have done that in a less public place."
"We needed to send a message," said Dobby grimly. Nibbles nodded his head in agreement.
"Let's proceed," said Ginny. She dropped an ancient bone into the cauldron. "Bone of the body, unknowingly given, you will renew yourself," she chanted. Then she nodded at Kreacher, who sliced off the tip of his little finger. "Flesh of the servant, willingly given, you will revive your master." Finally, she looked to Sirius, who pulled out a goblin knife and sliced Umbridge's arm, holding it over the cauldron. "Blood from the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe." Then she threw the staff into the cauldron.
There was a flash of light and a middle-aged man stood up from the cauldron. The man was completely bald, and Sirius hastily provided him with a robe. The man ran his hand over his head, smiled at Ginny, and said, "I guess the ritual doesn't resurrect the hair."
Ginny smiled back and said, "Salazar Slytherin, allow me to introduce you to Dolores Umbridge, who was a member of Slytherin House at Hogwarts and who thinks she is carrying out your mission of oppressing Muggleborns and non-human magical beings."
Umbridge realized then that the silencing charm had been removed, or perhaps she didn't care, and started screaming, "You have no right to kidnap me. I will see you all kissed or thrown through the veil."
Slytherin summoned his staff, slammed it on the floor, causing a loud "boom" and a frightening fireworks display, after which he shouted, "Įstillian, Įglęcwķf." Then, remembering that he had decided to learn modern English before re-entering the world in a new body, he repeated, "Silence, crone. You bring dishonor to the house of Slytherin. My house was known as a place of peace, honour, tolerance, and intelligence. You've made it into a place of war, corruption, prejudice, and insanity."
He stepped forward and Ginny handed him his sword. "Do you not recognize this? This is my sword, one that can only be wielded by the Lord Slytherin and his heirs." He closed his eyes a moment, and hair grew on his head and face so that he closely matched the image in the painting above the fireplace in the Slytherin common room. "Do you not recognize me?" he continued quietly. "I am Salazar Slytherin, craftiest of the Hogwarts Four."
Umbridge gaped. She recognized the sword. The man did look like the painting. This could be a trick, but . . . what if it was not?
Slytherin placed a hand on her head. "My child, you must be humble to be great; you must understand fear to be brave; you must work hard to be loyal; and you must open your mind to be crafty." Memories of her childhood swirled through her head: of how people had bullied her; of how she had conformed to what she thought people wanted to get ahead; of how she had put aside her ideals to achieve her petty dreams. She fell to her knees crying.
"Lord Slytherin, what must I do to be saved?"
"Pledge your loyalty to the true heir of Slytherin. If my granddaughter here is not the true heir, then you have lost nothing. If she is, you will be reborn."
It dawned on Umbridge that this redhaired girl was the one who the Ministry had labeled the "Dark Lady." Yet she desperately took the girl's hand. "I pledge my life, my honour, my loyalty, and my obedience to the true heir of Slytherin."
"Thank you, Madam Umbridge," said Ginny. "In exchange for your pledge, I vow to protect you and your family from harm to the best of my ability and that of the House of Slytherin. You may go if you wish. If you stay, however, you can provide a great service to the House of Slytherin."
Dolores realized that they were offering this as a test for her benefit. If she left, it meant that the oath she had given, binding her to the heir of Slytherin, did not bind her to the one they called Ginny, which meant this girl was not the heir. But she didn't want to leave; she wanted to stay and help these people. In fact, the idea of turning these people in to the Ministry was abhorrent to her. This meant Ginny was truly the heir of Slytherin.
Dolores stood up straight and asked, "What can I do to help the House of Slytherin?"
"Tell us everything you know about Minister Flamel's plan to re-enslave house elves," said Ginny.
The next morning, Ginny marched into the war council room, with Harry, Neville, Sirius, Salazar, Dolores, and Dobby in train, and sat down without exchanging a single pleasantry. "Dobby?" she said.
The tall elf stood up. "The re-enslavement ritual will take place at Wookey Hole, a cavern in the south of Somerset." Dobby flicked a hand and an image of the cave entrance appeared in the air. "In retrospect, it should have been obvious. The cavern is filled with magic, and Muggles call a major rock formation in the cavern 'the witch.'" He flicked his hand again and the formation appeared. "In fact," he said sadly, "we think it is the last resting place of the last queen of the elves."
Dobby moved again and an aerial view of the location appeared. "Muggles call the stream that emerges from the south-facing opening to the cavern the Axe River. Wizards call it the Battle Axe River; elves call it the River of Tears. The river follows a small canyon, at the south end of which is a Muggle village that has strange statues of creatures unknown to me." As erudite as he had become, Dobby had never heard of or seen a picture of a dinosaur. "We think they may be Muggle fantasies of dragons."
Dobby pointed to the map. "Other than the village, the cavern entrance is surrounded by fields and dense forests. From the north, a near-vertical cliff nearly six rods high guards the opening to the cavern. The Ministry will undoubtedly station guards on this cliff to foil our efforts to stop the ritual. On the other hand, if we capture the cliff, we can easily defend our soldiers who invade the cavern. From the east and west, the slope to the canyon floor is gentler.
"I recommend we divide our ground forces into four units. One should invade from the north, capturing the cliff top. One should invade through the Muggle village from the south. The other two should move from the east and west. The equinox takes place at exactly 6 pm on September 22; we will have until that moment to displace the Ministry army."
"Why don't we just capture the cavern now and prevent the Ministry from starting the ritual?" suggested Deerslayer.
"The Ministry has already stationed large numbers of Aurors, hit wizards, and other fighters around the cavern," said Dobby. "If we captured the cavern now, we would face a battle of attrition that would last for weeks. Since Ministry fighters are likely to greatly outnumber our own, if we lose that battle at any time, we lose the war."
"There is another issue," said Ginny. "As a part of the ritual, the Ministry must completely drain the blood from the elf queen. Dobby and Winky have been the de facto leaders of the elves since they were emancipated, and Winky has been missing for several days. We don't know where she is, but she is still alive and heavily guarded. If we capture Wookey Hole now, the Ministry is likely to drain her blood and attempt the ritual some place else."
"Will the ritual work anywhere else?" asked Bill Weasley.
"We don't know," confessed Ginny. "Since we know they now plan to do it at Wookey Cave, our best bet is to stop it from happening there on the day of the ritual."
"The Ministry has been withdrawing large amounts of money from Gringotts," said Wolfslayer. "We think it is to pay mercenaries, who traditionally ask for half of their pay up front."
"Based on the money they have withdrawn, can we estimate how many mercenaries they've hired?" asked Snape.
"We guess it is in the neighborhood of 2,000," said Wolfslayer, "though some of the money may be going for other things."
The war council continued to plan. At the end of the meeting, Mountbatten approached Harry with a grave look on his face. "Harry Athailt, the Manticore meet this year is in Northumberland, which is more than 100 leagues from south Somerset. To arrive in Northumberland on time, we will have to run 14 leagues a day."
"Then we better run fast," said Harry.
"We must leave tomorrow to arrive at the meet on time," said Mountbatten.
"I'll arrange for Deerslayer and Neville to oversee the combat training sessions."
Early the next morning, Harry kissed Ginny good-bye and took the underground to Uxbridge, where he joined Mountbatten and Ernestine on their journey to Northumberland. Uxbridge was closer to Northumberland than south Somerset, but not by much, and they had one day less to get there, so they still had to run an average of 14 leagues, or 42 miles, a day. Harry knew he could fly Buckbeak or take a train, but to maintain the respect of the Manticores, he decided to run all the way. Fortunately, the previous months of combat training with his students had left him in good shape.
When the magical folk of Diagon Alley walked by Gringotts that morning, they could read a sign:
The sign listed several Muggle banks, including HSBC, the Royal Bank of Scotland, and Barclays. This didn't help wizarding families and institutions that had assets stored at Gringotts. The Ministry sent Aurors and Unspeakables who used every spell they knew to break into the bank, but they were unable to gain entry or even scratch the polished surfaces of the large doors and window shutters that remained firmly closed.
The Ministry would be hiring no more mercenaries who demanded up-front payment, and some mercenaries who had already received partial payment left on the assumption that the Ministry would not be able to pay the rest. Most, however, felt ethically obligated to complete the contract under which they were hired, if only because they feared no one would hire them in the future if they broke their contracts.
Underneath Gringotts, bankers turned to clankers as every adult goblin was pressed into service forging armour, imbuing their magic into blades, and helping elves sew suits of shedded Basilisk skin that had been gathered from the Forbidden Forest. In the fields west of Uxbridge, Viktor Krum and several of his friends from European Quidditch teams gave lessons to scores of aspiring flyers. Deerslayer and Neville continued to put both Muggleborns and former Death Eaters through their paces in ground combat training. Pollux and Torino roamed the countryside trying to enlist various centaur troops into service.
Ginny met almost daily with an inner circle of her war council, including Wolfslayer, Nephele, Hermione, Dobby, Slytherin, Lucius Malfoy, Snape, and Umbridge, who attended mainly to be with her idol, Salazar Slytherin. When not meeting with her war council, Ginny visited with her Basilisks, studied in the library, or worked in the kitchen--anything to avoid thinking about how much she missed Harry.
For Harry, the trip to Northumberland consisted of running and sleeping, running and sleeping, with brief breaks for food. During some of the food breaks, Mountbatten told him some of the legends told by Manticores. One was about the forest elves, who the Manticores remembered as bright spirits with whom they shared meals, mead, and song. When the elves disappeared, so did the mead as the Manticores couldn't make it themselves and wizards and other beings who could make mead were either hostile or uninterested in sharing camps with beasts that could rip them limb from limb in a second.
On September 11, Harry, Mountbatten, and Ernestine arrived at the Manticore meet, where Harry immediately collapsed and went to sleep. The next morning he was awakened by Queen Sophia, who he had not seen in more than a year. While she gently tried to bring him back to life, he could hear the kings announce the engagements of their sons and daughters.
"I thought the engagement announcements took place in the evening," remembered Harry.
"Usually, they do," said Sophia. "But this is a special meet, and they desire to get the important things out of the way before they discuss the really important things."
"What is really important this year?" he asked.
"Harry, that's what I love about you. You are always so modest."
Figuring he wasn't going to get any more answers on that subject, he asked after King Alfred, the state of the deer herds in Devon, and whether Alfred and Sophia were likely to have any princes or princesses soon.
The sun was high but still rising in the sky when Mountbatten came over and said, "Come, Harry Athailt, we have much to discuss." Mountbatten led Harry to the front of the meet, where the king of Northumberland was speaking about the future of the Manticores. The king then introduced King Mountbatten.
"Kings and queens, princes and princesses," began Mountbatten. "A year ago, I yielded my kingdom to King Alfred so that I could help Harry Athailt on his mission to save Albion. In that time, I worked side-by-side with centaurs and goblins, elves and hippogriffs, wizards and witches. I learned many things, but what I learned most was of the great heart of Harry Athailt. To be with us today, Harry joined Ernestine and I on a run of nearly 100 leagues in seven days, a feat that few if any wizards could ever match." The crowd roared; though 100 leagues in seven days might be routine for a Manticore, they were still impressed with Harry's run.
"Now I want to introduce you again to Harry Athailt, and I ask you to listen to what he says. The future of many beings, the future of Manticores, the future of Albion itself rests on his shoulders and the shoulders of his friends."
Mountbatten stepped back and Harry stepped up to take the king's place. "Your highnesses, my friends, my fellow beings," Harry said. "Since the last time I spoke with you, I have met many friends and done many things. One of the most important things we have done is to defeat a dark wizard whose goal was to subjugate all the beings of Albion under his thumb. He had imprisoned thousands of wizards and witches who disagreed with his policies, and we freed them.
"Even more important, we freed the forest elves." Many of the Manticores roared in approval. "Once more, after 600 years of slavery, tall elves may walk the forests free of bondage or servitude." The Manticores roared again. "Sadly, some wizards are not happy with this, and they plan to re-enslave the elves. The re-enslavement ritual will take place in south Somerset ten days from today. They have brought in 5,000 wizards to defend the ritual." Some in the crowd roared in anger at that.
"Tomorrow, I shall begin my run to south Somerset. With the help of goblins, centaurs, elves, hippogriffs, Basilisks, wizards, and witches, I intend to defeat these wizards who would oppress every other being in Albion. I hope you will run with me and join me in this war."
The entire field of Manticores roared, and roared and roared, and roared some more. Sophia came to the front and kissed him. "If you asked them, they would start the run with you right now," she said.
Harry didn't want to say so, but he desperately needed a day of rest. "Tonight, we eat," he said, knowing she and the other Manticores would understand.
That afternoon, he lit several fires and put many deer on spits so every Manticore could share more than a taste of roasted meat. Manticore princes and princesses surrounded Harry with questions about his battles and his other exploits. Manticore kings and queens surrounded Mountbatten to find out if Harry's tale of the elves was true and whether the mead they made was as good as the legends.
The next morning, amidst laughter and roars, the meet set out south. Never before, in hundreds of years of Manticore meets, had almost every Manticore in Albion traveled together for more than 100 leagues. The roaring could be heard for miles. Muggles dismissed it as thunder. Wizards and witches who heard it called their children indoors and huddled in the deepest rooms of their homes.
Ginny and the war council faced a huge logistical problem. The Battle of the New Forest took place relatively close to a train station; the number of combatants that had to be moved to the battle site was relatively small; and the nominal enemy was a renegade. In contrast, Wookey Hole was 20 miles from the nearest train station; there were several times as many combatants and support personnel; and the enemy was a government that very likely was in touch with the Muggle government that controlled the rail lines. Like Manticores, centaurs could run; Hippogriffs and broom riders could fly; elves could pop. But that still left roughly a thousand human and goblin combatants and nearly as many support personnel.
The only real choice was to hire private buses. Some 40 buses, made invisible for security purposes (but whose drivers wore Re-Visibility Spectacles for safety's sake), made the trip from Uxbridge to a gathering point in a large field about five miles north of Wookey Hole. There, in the waning hours of September 20, they met Harry, some 200 Manticores, and growing numbers of centaurs. The bus drivers, obliviated by Snape, Barthelme, and Frank and Alice Longbottom, departed as soon as their passengers and luggage were unloaded.
In the morning, Charlie and Sirius reported to Ginny and other members of the war council in a small tent. "We sent a few broom flyers up at dawn for reconnaissance," said Sirius. "As we expected, the Ministry has large numbers of wizards on brooms circling over Wookey Hole. They do have some fast brooms, but most of them seemed to be on brooms slower than ours."
"What we didn't expect was two dragons," said Charlie, looking abashed. "I guess the Ministry acquired them from somewhere other than a reserve under the International Confederation's supervision. The dragons kept our flyers from getting as good a look at the area as we would have liked, but they could see that the Ministry has built three circles of low, dirt walls around Wookey Hole. No doubt each wall will be defended by hundreds of wizards, and we'll have to breech each one to reach the cavern."
"How did the Hippogriffs fare against the dragons?" asked Hermione.
"We're keeping the Hippogriffs in reserve," said Sirius. "There's no point in letting them know we have them before we actually engage in battle."
"The Ministry seems to have developed an anti-popping spell, similar to its anti-Apparition spell but for elves," said Dobby. "We can pop here, but not into the battle zone. We don't know if we will be able to pop once we enter the zone."
"All right, folks," said Ginny. "We spend today resting, fitting combatants to their armour, doing last-minute combat training, and practicing field healing. After sunset, under cover of darkness, we'll move our troops into position."
After the meeting, Ginny and Wolfslayer stepped out of the tent. "Did you bring him with you?" asked Ginny.
In answer, Wolfslayer pulled a small cage out of a case. Inside was a rat. The cage was opened and the rat stepped out and changed into a fat little man. He immediately fell on his knees in front of Ginny.
"Mr. Pettigrew," she said. "This is your opportunity to serve me. We will go into battle tomorrow morning. I would like you, in your Animagus form, to go now and disrupt their battle lines in any way you can. You should be small enough to escape their attention, especially as there are no doubt many rodents in these fields already. Do you accept this mission?"
The little man fell all over himself to say yes. "Then you may go." He changed back to a rat and dashed off to the south.
The morning of September 22nd dawned at about 7 am with light cloud cover. Even the best Invisibility Charms could not keep the freedom fighters hidden from trained wizards, so the first goal was to eliminate the Ministry's dominance of the skies. First up in the air were two Firecracker brooms--prototype models from the maker of Firebolts--that had been personally modified by the Muggleborn owner of the Comet broomstick company to carry a rear-facing passenger. Fred and George each flew one of the brooms, with Ron and Neville as their passengers.
They quickly attracted the attention of the dragons, at which time Ron and Neville opened bags of Neville's dragonnip and tossed the leaves in the path of the dragons. The dragons were soon flying loop-de-loops and turning upside-down (and losing their riders in the process). After a few minutes, they settled down for naps, one of them crushing some of the earthenworks the Ministry had set up to defend the cavern. Scratch two dragons.
As soon as the dragons were down, more than a hundred freedom flyers soared into the air to engage in combat with more than two hundred Ministry brooms. The six riders on Hippogriffs were surprised to be joined by a seventh, silvery Hippogriff without a rider.
"It looks like someone's Patronus," yelled Charlie. "It might be a good decoy, but it won't help much in combat." But to his surprise, the silvery Hippogriff flew into the pack of Ministry broomriders and quickly grabbed one rider in each of its claws and one in its beak, after which it thrust out its chest and rammed another off of his broom. With a shake of his head, the Hippogriff threw the rider in his beak into another rider, then flew upwards and dropped the two riders in his claws onto other riders below. In just seconds, it had taken seven Ministry brooms out of commission. "Dat's some Patronus," yelled Viktor.
Green and red spells fired from Ministry wands hit the Hippogriff, but merely reflected off. When the reflected spells hit some Ministry riders, the other broomriders flew off in panic, not daring to fire any lethal spells at the silvery Hippogriff--or, as it turned out, any other Hippogriff.
The Hippogriff riders were struck dumb for a moment. Then Sirius yelled, "We can't let him have all the fun. Come on!" They all charged into the cloud of Ministry brooms, quickly followed by the hundred freedom flyers. It took more than two hours of aerial combat, but ultimately the skies were owned by the freedom flyers, who were able to then harass the Ministry troops from above.
Rather than immediately attack Ministry lines, however, the broomriders climbed high in the sky so centaur archers could let volley after volley of arrows fly into the Ministry lines. The Ministry troops tried to duck behind their earthen walls, but the arrows came down at such a steep angle that the walls provided no shelter. The arrows killed only a few wizards, but those who received the most minor of injuries soon behaved strangely, babbling incoherently or even attacking their fellow soldiers. Ministry healers ended up having to stun anyone who had been pierced or scratched by a centaur arrow.
Soon after 10 am, the centaurs had nearly run out of arrows, so it was time for the ground troops to move in. From the north, a calvary of 200 elves mounted on Manticores, who had been delighted to meet the elves of their legends, were supported by nearly 300 more elves on foot. The charge was led by Dobby, mounted on King Hal, with Nibbles, mounted on Queen Margaret Rose, at his side. Their target was to capture and hold the cliff above the cavern entrance so other ground troops could enter the cavern unimpeded by Ministry fighters. But it was a hard battle because the cliff was held by the elite of the Ministry Aurors and hit wizards.
From the east, an infantry of wizards and witches, made up of older New School students who had attended Harry's combat training class, other Muggleborns and half-bloods who had participated in Harry and Deerslayer's intensive combat class, former Death Eaters who defected to the Dark Lady in the previous war, and a few former Aurors including Frank Longbottom and a woman who would only identify herself as Tonks. The nearly four hundred infantry were led by Ginny, whose emerald-encrusted sword flashed as she deflected curses back to the Ministry lines. In her left hand, she held Tom's wand, and her "Geminus Reducto" curses blasted huge holes in the Ministry earthenworks.
From the west, Harry led an infantry of goblin warriors. Before going into battle, he divided his force into four groups.
"The first wave goes with me," he told them. "We'll breach the Ministry earthworks and attempt to reach the cavern. The second wave immediately follows and subdues all remaining Ministry forces between the first and second earthen walls. The third wave secures the area between the second and third walls. The fourth group secures the area inside the inner wall. Top members from each of the later waves should also step up to replace any casualties in the first wave. Use as much force as needed to subdue the wizards, but don't kill them if you don't have to. Take their wands; when facing goblin warriors, a wizard without a wand is as helpless as a baby."
Harry's holly wand blasted holes in the earthen walls, while his ruby-encrusted sword quickly put fear into the hearts of the mercenaries hired by the Ministry. The mercenaries had laughed when told they would be facing goblins and children. Now, in the thick of battle, they laughed no more as their spells had little impact on their targets even (or especially) when they hit them full square in the chests, but were more likely deflected back to them. When Harry ran out of enemies in reach of his sword, he pulled out his centaur bow and fired on targets further away.
Breaching the earthen walls was easy. Capturing the ground before the next wall was not. Not only were hundreds of wizards behind each circle of walls at each point of the compass, but the freedom fighters trying to subdue those wizards were vulnerable to the wizards guarding the next wall. The aerial broomfighters provided critical assistance here, forcing wizards behind the inner walls to concentrate their attention on the threats from above rather than the invading ground troops.
Though the freedom fighters were greatly outnumbered, their advantage was in their armour and their styles of fighting. The Ministry wizards relied almost entirely on their wands, which meant they could fire a curse or cast a Protego shield, but few could do both at once. The freedom fighters fought with swords, knifes, and hand-to-hand (and those on Ginny's side also had wands), and their blades and body armour reflected back the heaviest curses while the Basilisk armlets and leggings protected against all but the heaviest curses.
Still, it took an average of two hours for the three invading armies to gain control of the land inside the first wall, then two more to capture the land inside the second. Once they were inside the third, there were more Aurors, conscripts, and and mercenaries shielded by the trees in a dense forest above the small canyon through which flowed the River of Tears. At one point, Ginny was fighting someone in front of her when a fighter behind her shot a green spell in her direction. No one saw a rat jump up and take the spell meant for Ginny.
By the time Ginny's forces had penetrated the trees and were fighting down the hillside, it was after 5 pm. The elves had not yet gained control of the cliff top, but the Aurors there were so heavily occupied defending their position from the elves that neither elves nor Aurors could pay much attention to what was happening below.
Harry, meanwhile, was well ahead of his goblins, who were busy subduing the last of the mercenaries and securing the territory behind him. Harry was practically indomitable, deflecting spells with his sword, petrifying Ministry fighters who were foolish enough to get close to him, and knocking down others with the broad side of his sword.
Unlike Ginny, he fought with sword alone, pocketing his wand as soon as he breached the inner wall. As he ran down the canyon slope, a Ministry fighter hiding behind a tree aimed a spell at his back, but Deerslayer ruthlessly chopped off the man's hand with his sword, only to be hit himself by a Diffindo spell from another mercenary. The spell hit just below his armour, severing his arm.
As it happened, Harry and Ginny broke out of the forest and on the canyon floor at about the same time. They could see Flamel watching the fighting from the cavern entrance; to his right was the arch, which the Ministry apparently planned to use to summarily execute its opponents. Flamel's top Aurors stood outside the entrance acting as his bodyguard. When they saw Ginny and Harry, the Aurors charged them, firing curses as they ran.
Harry shot his last arrow into the leg of one of the Aurors, who fell in pain. Ginny deflected some of the curses, but there were too many to deflect them all. Harry shouted, "Stop!" and--using the same magic that he used to push his cousin Dudley and his friends away when Harry was 10 years old--the Aurors were flung to the ground. Ginny quickly stunned them and Accioed their wands.
The two leaders marched up to Flamel and planted their swords, side-by-side, in the ground a few feet in front of him.
"There will be no ritual today, Flamel," said Ginny, holding her wand on him.
"A valiant effort, Miss Weasley," said Flamel, "but not enough to win the snitch." He waved his hand and Harry flew towards the arch.
"Harry, no!" she shouted, and jumped between him and the arch. She was able to stop him, but his momentum pushed her through.
"So much for the Dark Lady," said Flamel. As Harry picked himself up, Flamel Rennervated two large Aurors who ran up behind Harry and gripped his arms.
Dolores Umbridge was no fighter, but her hero, Lord Slytherin, had taught her several healing spells that had been forgotten during the magical dark ages. The spells were especially useful for helping patients recover from curses such as the Cruciatus. Umbridge was so impressed that goblins, who she had once reviled as subhuman, were fighting for the freedom of another species that she elected to serve in the healer corps on Harry's side of the battlefield. She was right behind the first group of fighters, treating goblins who had been injured and directing other support personnel to carry those with serious injuries back to hospital tents.
As she crossed through the breach in the third wall, she heard someone groaning in the forest. Running forward, she found a goblin who she thought she recognized laying on the ground, his severed arm nearby. He had lost a lot of blood and his skin was pale. Another goblin knelt beside him, but he apparently had no healing skills. Tenderly, Umbridge picked up the arm and magically reattached it. But she could tell that wasn't enough; the goblin had lost too much blood and was fading away.
Unfortunately, Umbridge had used up the last of her blood-replenishing potions, and she doubted the goblin would survive long enough for the potion to work anyway. Out of desperation, she pointed her wand at her arm and extracted about a pint of blood, magically keeping it in the shape of a small sphere. Then she pointed her wand at the goblin's arm--the one that hadn't been severed--and banished the blood into one of the goblin's arteries.
Umbridge knew that healers frowned on blood transfusions because they were rarely successful; given the ready availability of blood replenishing potions, few healers had bothered to learn about the Muggle discovery of blood types. Fortunately, Dolores's blood was type O, the "universal donor," while Deerslayer's blood was type AB, the "universal recipient." Within moments, the goblin's color improved and he looked at Umbridge with gratitude.
When he tried to get up, Umbridge encouraged him to lie down for a little longer. "I've reattached your arm, but it will take at least a day for it to fully heal," she said, conjuring a sling. "In the meantime, you will have to keep it still; no more fighting for you, at least with your right arm."
Suddenly, a shadow appeared above her. She looked up to see a tall elf, one of the ones who had kidnapped her several weeks before. "Madam Umbridge, your services as a healer are required," said the elf.
"No wand, no sword, no powerful girlfriend to protect you," Flamel said, taunting Harry. "Whatever made you think you could beat me, anyway? I've lived nearly 700 years and know far more magic than you. Who are you, anyway? You claim to be Harry Potter, but the boy-who-disappeared was supposed to save the wizarding world, not try to destroy it."
"You know nothing about me," said Harry. "My name is Harry Dursley Rabbitslayer Orion Athailt Greeneyes Black Weasley-Potter." Flamel had lived long enough to know Gaelic, Gobbledygook, and Parseltongue, so he understood Harry's use of words in those languages.
"You don't know me, and you don't know magic," Harry continued. "You think you know magic, but all you know is wizard magic. You don't know goblin magic, or centaur magic, or Manticore magic. You don't know elf magic, or Redhorn magic, or Sphinx magic. You're a herbologist looking at a petal from a cherry blossom thinking you understand the entire tree. You're a Magizoologist looking at a tailhair of a unicorn thinking you understand the entire animal."
"Big talk from someone who is about to die," said Flamel. "Let's see your magic protect you against this." He pointed his wand at Harry's forehead, and said, "Avada Kedavra." A green spell hit Harry, who blinked and said nothing. Flamel looked surprised, then picked up the wand Ginny had dropped and tried it again. Again nothing.
"Voldemort couldn't kill me with that spell," said Harry. "What makes you think it would work any better for you?"
"But that . . . that was just a myth," said Flamel. "No magic can protect against the killing curse." Angrily, Flamel said, "I guess those who live by the sword should die by the sword," and he gripped Gryffindor's sword and tried to pull it from the ground--but it wouldn't yield.
"All right, push him through the arch," yelled a frustrated Flamel. Harry struggled and the Auror on Harry's right punched Harry hard in the stomach. Harry doubled over, but then the Basilisk magic welled up in him and his now-yellow eyes looked at the Auror in the eye and froze him. Harry glanced at the other Auror and petrified him as well. Harry shrugged himself from their stiffened fingers.
"Basilisk magic has frozen your Aurors," he said. "Sphinx magic protected me from your wands." He pointed to an Auror who lay, twitching and mumbling, on the ground, his leg pierced by Harry's arrow. "Centaur magic--the arrows were soaked in a centaur potion that forces people to see visions of their futures, and the futures that might have been if they had made different decisions."
Harry stepped forward and easily pulled his sword from the ground. "Goblin magic prevents anyone but the original owner of this sword or his heirs from using it," he said.
"You may have escaped for now, but I have more than a thousand reserves in the south who will be here at any moment," said Flamel. "How many of your soldiers do you have in the south?"
"Nine," said Harry. "And that's enough." Flamel laughed, but Harry cocked his head. "I can hear the clash of weapons and the cries of battle two leagues away," he said; "Manticore magic." He listened another moment. "Your side is losing, Minister. It's over. You've bankrupted the Ministry in your obsession over enslaving another race. Even if you managed to re-enslave the elves, we could easily break the spell by freeing 500 of them again before you could raise enough money to hire another army."
A "boom" from the south punctuated Harry's statement. "You see," said Flamel, "my men are about to arrive." But he looked puzzled because there wasn't any need for his soldiers to use explosive curses to reach the cavern.
"Boom!" came again from the south. "BOOM!" Harry could hear yells of people fighting and turned to see the backs of Aurors facing an opponent, then one more "BOOM!!" and all of the Aurors fell down. Those who didn't lie still were quickly petrified by the eight Basilisks slithering up the canyon floor. At their head was a bearded man carrying a staff.
"One more kind of magic you don't know," said Harry. "Ancient wizarding magic; magic that was apparently forgotten between Salazar Slytherin's time and yours."
"Hello, Harry," said Salazar. "Am I too late?"
"No, you're right on time, Salazar. Let's go find Winky." Harry turned toward Flamel. "You want to live forever? Here is your forever." He looked into his eyes and petrified him. Harry looked at his watch; it was 5:55 pm.
Inside the cavern, they found Winky tied to a tall stalagmite. Perenelle Flamel, holding a knife, cried, "No . . . the ritual . . . it must be done precisely at 6 o'clock." She charged them with the knife, but Harry petrified her, too.
Nibbles and two other elves popped in. "We have secured the clifftop," said Nibbles as the other two untied Winky and helped her out of the cavern. "Some Ministry forces are still fighting, but we've taken down the anti-popping charm."
"Are they dead?" asked Slytherin, pointing to the Flamels.
"No, just petrified," said Harry. "The petrified Aurors outside can recover with a Mandrake root potion. But I suggest we give the Flamels a more fitting ending. Take them to the deepest part of the cavern, rock them in, and cover them with a notice-me-not charm. That way, they can live forever without interfering with our new society."
The three of them walked out of the cavern just as the veil stirred and Lucifer stepped out of the arch. "Harry," he said with a smile, "look who I found." Following him, holding his hand, was Ginny. She was holding the hand of another Redhorn, and soon a string of several dozen Redhorns emerged from the veil.
Ginny ran to Harry and gave him a hug. "It's just about over, Ginny," he said. "We won."
Before they had a chance to savour their victory, Nibbles approached them and said, "Ginny, Harry, please come with me." Ginny pulled her sword out of the earth and followed the former Malfoy elf.
He led them up the side of the canyon through the forest into the fields, then north to where the elves and Manticores had been fighting the Ministry Aurors. There they found Dobby lying on a small cot, Winky kneeling by his side. Dolores Umbridge was treating him, with Deerslayer, his arm in a sling, looking on.
Dobby's legs were mangled, the lower half of his body was crushed, and he struggled to breathe. A few feet away, the body of King Hal lay unmoving. Queen Margaret Rose lay next to it, quietly sobbing.
Ginny ran to Dobby as Nibbles whispered to Harry, "Dobby and I led the way through the three earthen walls when an Auror on the third wall shot an Avada Kedavra at Queen Margaret Rose, who I was riding, from behind, where she wasn't armoured. Hal intercepted the spell, dying instantly and falling on Dobby, crushing him."
Dolores Umbridge stood up and looked sorrowfully at Harry. "There's too much internal damage," she said quietly. "There's nothing we can do to save him."
"Oh Dobby, my dear sweet Dobby," cried Ginny. Dobby looked up.
"Mi . . . miss . . . Ginny," he gasped.
"Dobby, you and the elves fought so bravely," said Ginny through tears. "Dobby, we've won. You've won. You are free; the elves are free, forever."
"Dobby . . . and Winky are . . . happy . . . to be free," said Dobby. Then the light in his eyes went out.
"When King Hal died, Queen Margaret Rose went wild," Nibbles told Harry. "Apparently, the two had shared the Mors Vivo charm, as she fearlessly attacked Aurors all around us. I could protect myself from spells with the goblin swords, but I saw several green spells land on her to no effect. Without that, we might not have made it to the cliffs in time to protect you from attacks from above." Deerslayer approached Harry and Nibbles, and put his free hand on their backs, one by one, to comfort them.
Winky stroked Dobby's hair as she gazed into his lifeless eyes. "Winky," said Ginny quietly. "I never asked: were you and Dobby mated?"
"Not mated; but we talked of having children when the war was over. Not mated yet, and yet, like you and Harry, we were for each other." Ginny gave Winky a tearful hug.
None of the other elves or nimble Manticores suffered serious injury, but Dobby and Hal were not the only casualties among the freedom fighters. Ministry fighters had killed scores of goblins in Harry's army and dozens of wizards, and not a few witches, in Ginny's army. Many more were injured. Peter Pettigrew was never seen again, and they presumed that he, too, had died.
While doctors and nurses from the families of Muggleborns assisted Madams Pomfrey and Umbridge in treating the injured and identifying the dead, Ginny gathered a few members of her war council: Charlie, Harry, Nibbles, Salazar, Sirius, and Deerslayer. They Rennervated and interrogated an Auror who had been stunned during the fighting, and he told them that the Ministry Command Center was in the Muggle town. So they headed in that direction, stepping over the unconscious and petrified bodies of Aurors and other fighters who fell to Slytherin's staff and the Basilisks' gaze.
The highest-ranking wizard they found at the command center was Rufus Scrimgeour. "Mr. Scrimgeour, I demand a signed statement of surrender," said Ginny. "You must command all of your troops to stop fighting, and you must agree that the Ministry will immediately and in good faith negotiate a peace treaty with the other magical beings of Albion." Appalled by the devastation around him, Scrimgeour immediately agreed, and the war for elf freedom was over.
Chapter 21: Chapter Twenty-One: Epilogue
Author's Notes: The obligatory epilogue so you can find out what happened to all your favorite characters (or, at least, the writer's favorite characters).
Pollux, Nephele, and two younger centaurs from the Devon centaur village clopped past the sign reading "Potter-Weasley New School of Magic." The last two words were only visible to magical creatures, and to the semi-magical centaur eyes, they seemed to fade in and out. Under the name of the school, smaller letters read:
Headmistress: Ginny Potter-Weasley
Assistant Headmaster: Harry Weasley-Potter
Pollux and his retinue entered the school to find Harry Potter hanging decorations for an upcoming holiday, something to do with pumpkins and witches on broomsticks. "Pollux, Nephele, so good to see you," said Harry, barely pausing from his work. "I'm glad you're considering sending your son, Lapithus, here to school next year."
Pollux immediately knelt on his forelegs, saying, "I am ever in your service, Harry Potter, and in the service of Lady Slytherin."
"Oh, get up, you old nag," said Harry carelessly. "You know I don't believe in that sort of thing."
Pollux scowled but remained on his knees. "The proprieties must be observed," he said.
"Oh, all right," said Harry, who produced a sword seemingly from nowhere. Touching the blade of the sword to Pollux's high shoulder, he said, "I accept your service, but as a friend and equal, not as a lord and vassal." The sword disappeared, and Harry mumbled, "Oat muncher."
Pollux growled, "Scar head."
"Manure spreader," said Harry more loudly.
"Mop top," retorted Pollux. The younger centaurs were fingering their bows, wondering if a fight was going to break out, when suddenly their leader and the black-haired man erupted into raucous laughter.
"Come on, Pollux, I'll show you around the school. Your associates may want to go outside and explore our fields and forests," Harry added, gesturing in the direction of the exit. Pollux gave a short nod and the two smaller centaurs trotted outside.
They walked down a hall and Harry opened an office door. "Ginny, Pollux and Nephele are here." A cold breeze wafted from the office.
"Great!" she said. "I'll be out as soon as I'm done talking with the leader." Harry closed the door.
"You keep a dark creature like that in your school?"
"Like what? Oh, you mean the Dementor. No, he works with Ginny on another of our projects. She promised them suitable work after the war. At first, we thought they could be natural air conditioners, but the side effects were unacceptable. Then we heard that the Queen's Muggle government wanted to privatize Muggle prisons. Ginny submitted the low bid. Now, prisons that once required hundreds of guards are kept safe with just a handful of former Death Eaters and some Dementors.
"Of course, Muggles can't see the Dementors, but the prisoners remain very compliant with low-level Dementor presence. The Muggle authorities couldn't figure out how we kept the prisoners so obedient with so few human guards, so they tested them to see if we were drugging them, which of course we weren't. The best part is that the rate of recidivism has dramatically dropped because no one wants to go back to one of our prisons. Here at school, we have a Dementor once or twice a year for the Care of Magical Creatures class, but otherwise they are never here except when the leader reports to Ginny."
As they walked down the hall, Nephele said, "Pollux dear, I am going to the meeting." Then she clopped off in the opposite direction.
Harry and Pollux stepped up to a classroom, and before opening the door, Harry said, "This is our first-year transfiguration class. As you will see, for the first couple of years, students of every magical species take our core courses." Then he opened the door and they quietly--at least as quietly as a 2,000-pound centaur could do--stepped in. Professor Tonks was overseeing a class that included young goblins, centaurs, Manticores, humans, a Redhorn, and even a Sphinx.
"Doesn't it discourage students who are incapable of wand magic to have to take courses in it along side those who can do it?" asked Pollux.
"We've found that, while it is true that different species differ in their capabilities, all species have the same foundation in magic. For example, while centaurs in general excel in divination, and wizards excel in wand magic, wizards and witches have some ability to see the future while centaurs, when given a wand, can perform many simple and some not-so-simple spells."
As if to prove it, a young centaur filly waved her wand and transfigured a rat into a goblet. "Excellent work, Miss Dancer," said the professor. "Five points for the centaurs."
"Our point system," Harry explained, "appears to pit species against species, but it is really designed to show that all species are equal. Competition is friendly but fierce, and at the end of the year the points are always very close. No species has ever won the most points twice in a row."
Pollux looked stunned as he watched the centaur filly adeptly transfigure objects into other, quite different objects. "I feel like I have been deprived my whole life," he said. "Is there . . . is there any chance someone as old as me could learn to use a wand?"
"Normally, I'd say 'yes,'" said Harry with a smirk, "but in your case, you old curmudgeon, I'll withhold judgment." Stepping out of the room together, Harry pulled several wands from his pocket and said, "Here, try these." Pollux grasped the handful of wands in his large hand and gave them a wave. To his amazement, two or three of them gave off a shower of sparks. Harry took them back, pulled one out and handed it over to Pollux. "Here you go, compliments of the New School of Magic."
Nephele rolled her eyes as she walked away from Harry and Pollux. Despite his respect for Harry and Nephele's close relationship with Ginny, Pollux had resisted learning anything about the New School until today. She knew he was in for an eye-opening experience. She then stepped into a large room paneled in fine woods, at the center of which was a large table. The floor of the room stepped down so that creatures of a variety of sizes could comfortably sit or stand, as they preferred, at the table and all view each other at eye level. At the far end of the table was a human-sized tank of water.
"Good morning, Nephele," said Sophia. "You and I are the first ones here. It seems strange that we live practically next to one another in Devon, yet we only see each other here at the New School."
Nephele gave the Manticore a hug. "That's why I love to serve on this board," she said. "It gives me so many opportunities to see my friends."
The door opened and Winky and Treehook came in, presenting a contrast in their heights and overall appearance. "I was shocked when Wolfslayer announced she was retiring and that she asked me to take her place on this board," Treehook was saying.
"Of course, you are a natural for the spot," assured Winky, "as you are such a good friend to Ginny and Harry."
The door opened again, and Hermione and Lucius Malfoy stepped in. "I'm just asking," Lucius was saying, "that, for a school that prides itself on diversity, why am I the only token male on the board?"
"As the Headmaster Emeritus, we have to let you be on the board," said Hermione with a smile. "Otherwise, we wouldn't have any males on the board at all. Males are too prone to settle disputes through violence. Neville says he's perfectly happy to watch young Augusta while I go to what he calls 'a bunch of boring meetings.'"
The door opened once more and a pale young woman with black hair entered with a brunette. "Lupin's research has so improved the Wolfsbane potion that it appears we werewolves will soon be able to function as humans even during the full moon," said the brunette. "Though I'll still want to let out the wolf and run in the moonlight once in a while."
"Now, if only magical researchers could find a way of making pig's blood taste better," said the pale woman.
"Try cinnamon," said the brunette. "A blond vampire I recently met told me he learned about that in the states."
The group chatted for a few minutes, then the door opened and Ginny stepped in levitating a woman with scales and fins instead of legs. Ginny waved her wand and the mermaid drifted over to the water tank and splashed in. "Thank you, Ginny," said Tilapia. "That feels so much better. Being out of the water is so harsh on my sensitive skin."
"Yes, well, try having skin that is likely to combust in full sunlight and see how you like it," laughed the pale woman.
Also accompanying Ginny was a spider about the size of a large dog. Ginny gestured for the spider to sit in a chair against the wall, and sat down herself at the head of the table nearest the door. "Sorry we're a bit late," she said. "My meeting with the leader of the People about expanding our private prison operations on the continent took a bit longer than I planned."
"Why do you always call him 'the leader of the People'?" asked Hermione. "Don't the People have names?"
"They do, but their names can't be translated into our language. I offered to suggest human names for them, but they are a proud race and declined the honour."
"From some points of view, human names might be more of a curse than an honour," agreed the mermaid.
"Anyway, I'd like to introduce Adamma, who is here visiting the school today," said Ginny, gesturing to the Acromantula. "I now call to order this autumn, 2020, meeting of the New School Board of Directors," said Ginny. Malfoy muttered something. "What was that, Lucius?" prodded Ginny.
"You might as well call it what it is: the central cabinet for Britain's magical government."
"Why, Lucius, you know we only make recommendations to the magical parliament," said Ginny, feigning horror at the suggestion. Turning to Adamma, she explained, "The upper house of our parliament consists of two members from each magical species selected by the governing body of that species, while the lower house consists of representatives of each species proportional to their populations and elected by the adult members of that species. They are the real governing bodies of magical Britain."
"Try telling that to Draco," said Malfoy. "After he was elected Minister of Magic last year, he soon learned that the magical parliament exists mainly to delay any action from being taken. Only last week, he came to me and said that he finally realized that, if he wants something done, he has to come to you."
"Since you're his father, I'd think you would have told him that before now," said Hermione.
"After 36 years, I've come to realize that he is the type of person that learns best by personal experience," said Malfoy.
"Getting back to the meeting," said Ginny sternly, "our first order of business is an application by the Acromantulas to send students to the school. Adamma is here to answer any questions."
"As long as they don't eat the other students," said Nephele, "is there any reason to object?"
"One question is whether they actually have any magical abilities or if they are just giant spiders who can talk," said the werewolf. "Werewolf students are only accepted into the school if they also have magical skills."
"Adamma, can you answer that question?" asked Ginny.
"As far as I know, we have never been tested for our magical abilities," said Adamma in a low growl.
"We've done few studies of the Acromantula because, if Adamma will pardon me for saying so, few people who've entered their lairs have managed to survive long enough to report," Hermione said. "However, if Adamma will consent to send a few candidate students here, we will be glad to test them."
"Excellent," said Ginny. "The next order of business is an application by Muggleborn and half-blood students to be recognized as separate from pureblood students."
"What does that mean?" asked Treehook.
"They want to collect points separately from the purebloods," said Hermione. "They feel that purebloods are too prone to misbehave, losing points for magical humans."
"Really, they're trying to set a precedent to have Muggleborns be a separate species in the magical parliament," sniffed Nephele. "That would give human magicals two more votes in the upper house."
Lucius had an I-told-you-so look on his face as the chair recognized him. "There's no reason for non-humans to be threatened by recognizing Muggleborns as separate," he said. "Despite Draco's best efforts at conciliation, the Wizengamot remains prejudiced against Muggleborns. Draco won election as Minister because Muggleborns have an equal vote in that race, but for all legislative decisions, the Wizengamot remains as pureblood as ever. Thus, Muggleborns in parliament are unlikely to vote with purebloods."
"Nevertheless," said Nephele, "species should be determined by genetics, not political beliefs. Many centaurs, including my own mate, remain suspicious of human magicals, and giving them additional votes will only feed those suspicions. The next thing you know, the half-bloods will want to separate from the Muggleborns, giving humans another two votes."
Tilapia called for a vote, and Ginny counted six votes against and two in favor of separating Muggleborns from purebloods, with Granger and Malfoy in the minority.
The meeting continued for several more items. Finally, Ginny asked, "Is there any new business?" Malfoy raised his hand.
"As you know, magical humans celebrate this day not only as Hallowe'en but as Potter Day, in commemoration of Harry Potter's original defeat of the Dark Lord and in memory of his parents," said Malfoy. "Should the school take any note of this celebration?"
"It's thoughtful of you to suggest this," said Ginny, "but you know as well as I do that Harry would never go along with it. He prefers to remember his parents in private and to remind everyone that many people were responsible for Tom's downfall."
"Either of you two would be a shoe-in for magical prime minister if ever you run," reminded Malfoy.
"Yes, but why go to all those boring meetings when I can run everything from here?" Ginny said with a smile and a wink. With that, she adjourned the meeting.
"The school leases nearly two thousand acres of grasslands and forests that we manage to optimize as deer and other game habitat," Harry told Pollux, as they watched Pollux's younger companions running through the fields with a number of older students. "Not every magical species can fly a broomstick. So, in addition to Quidditch, we've encouraged several other sports.
"Although our cafeteria feeds boarding students up to three meals a day of their favorite foods, as well as lunches for non-boarding students, game hunting has become our most popular sport, partly because nearly all species can compete, even those that don't eat a lot of meat. Instead of killing the deer, competitors attempt to mark them with spray paint. They are scored based on the accuracy of their hits and the time it takes to achieve a hit that would have killed the deer. You really should come see our competition one day."
"What other sports do you encourage?" asked Pollux.
"We've taken up a few Muggle sports as a part of our program to integrate magical species, where appropriate, into Muggle society. Centaurs are among the species that play basketball here at the New School. While centaurs obviously don't play with Muggles, some of the star players on the Cheshire Jets and Sheffield Sharks are elf graduates of the New School. And we aren't just about sports and charms. Professor Slytherin teaches a course in magical ethics; Professor Mountbatten teaches magical philosophy; and Professor Margaret Rose teaches Care of Magical Creatures with an emphasis on ecosystems and habitat."
As they went back inside, they met Ginny and Nephele returning from the board meeting. "Harry!" Ginny said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I had to fend off another proposal to observe 'Harry Potter day' at the school," she whispered in his ear. Aloud, she said, "So, Pollux, how do you feel about sending young Lapithus to our school next year?"
"Your school, Headmistress Potter-Weasley, is very impressive." Pollux pulled out his wand and generated a few sparks. "I almost wish I could attend myself, but my duties as chief prevent it."
"I'm sure Harry will be glad to give you some personal lessons in wand magic," said Ginny with a smile. "But don't make your decision about where to send your son to school too quickly. You might also consider the school up north." The New School's faculty, staff, and older students never called Hogwarts by its real name.
"I thought that school only accepted human students," said Pollux.
"The board of governors tried to follow that policy, but we attracted so many human students that they couldn't afford to keep a full teaching staff with the students they had. When Minister Malfoy persuaded the board to hire Salazar as headmaster, he convinced them to accept other species just to keep their classrooms full," said Harry. "You remember Bane?"
"Of course," said Pollux. "He is even more paranoid about wizards than I am."
"Two of his grandchildren are going to the school up North," said Harry. "I guess he thinks he can keep a closer eye on them there."
"I am satisfied to send Lapithus here," said Pollux. "After all, the wizard you know is better than the one you don't." They laughed.
"Let's go see if our son Dobby would like to join us for lunch," said Harry, "or if he would prefer not to have us 'old folks' embarrass him in front of his friends." The four of them walked, hand-in-hand, to the school cafeteria, looking forward to a good meal, new students, and a lifetime of peace and friendship.