Harry Potter and the Students of the School of the Sphinx

Harry Potter and the Students of the School of the Sphinx (13/?)

By Angelina Johnson

Chapter 13
Halloween

Harry quickly forgot about the disastrous Quidditch match, but it seemed that the team was really letting it get them down. On top of the team's low spirits, Malfoy was using it to torture all of the Gryffindor's, especially Harry. Every time they ran into each other in the hall's, Malfoy made mean comments and tried to embarrass Harry. Harry, however, remained unphase-he knew better by now than to rise to Malfoy's bait, especially if it were something as trivial as Quidditch.

The rest of the team didn't have as much self control as Harry. Ron, the Lunas, and Dean had all landed themselves in detention for fighting. Harry had not been with any of them at the time, but Dean had taken a swing at one of the Slytherin fifth years who was on the team, Ron had punched Malfoy and given him a black-eye, and the Luna twins had hexed Crabbe and Goyle. Harry decided that the twins were either very brave, or very stupid.

Later that week Harry was talking to Ali Burke about Quidditch. Ali had taken a break from Quidditch when Alicia had died (they were cousins, after all, and rather close), but she thought she was ready to come back to practice. After the first game, when Katherine had gotten hurt and Dean had needed to play, Ali had been afraid that something similar might happen, and one of the Chasers would be hurt.

"So I'll be at the next practice Monday, then?" Ali asked.

"Yeah, that's good," Harry replied. Ali was about to leave when Malfoy showed up.

"Hullo, Potter. And who is this?" he asked, sneering at Ali.

"Why do you care, Malfoy?" Harry asked him. He shrugged.

"Just wondering. I didn't know that you were desperate enough to go for second years. Knowing you she's probably some little Mudblood," Malfoy said. Ali turned red.

"I'm a pure-blood, Malfoy, not that it matters. I don't care what scum like you think of me, I've heard enough things about you from my parents, and especially my cousin," Ali said.

"Cousin? What did you say your name was, girl?" Draco asked.

"I didn't say my name," Ali replied, "But it's Ali."

"Ali what?" Malfoy asked her.

"Why should I tell you?" she replied coolly.

"I was just wondering," Malfoy said with another shrug.

"It's Burke," Ali replied. Malfoy looked at her.

"What do you want with Potter, then?" Malfoy asked her.

"What is this, twenty-one questions? Leave her alone, Malfoy," Harry said.

"Hang on, Potter, the girl wants to answer me," Malfoy said.

"Quidditch," Ali replied.

"Quidditch, was it? It's such a pity that they lost to Slytherin. Too bad you weren't on the team to help-I guess you just didn't get the Quidditch talent from your cousin. Although if I were you, I'd prefer being in your position-I'd rather be alive than be good at Quidditch," Malfoy said. He had gone too far, and he knew it. It was one thing for Harry to sit back and listen to Malfoy say mean things to him, but he couldn't just sit back while Malfoy tortured other people. Ali blinked, tears forming in her eyes.

WHAM! Harry's fist collided with Malfoy's jaw. Malfoy stepped back, shocked. Ali had fled from the scene.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Potter. Both of you, my office, now," Snape said, looking at Harry through furious eyes.

"I think I ought to come with you, then, Severus. After all, Malfoy deserves a punishment," Melissa said. Harry had not noticed either teacher when he had punched Malfoy.

"And what for? Malfoy did nothing wrong," Snape said as the four of them walked in the direction of Snape's office.

"Oh, of course, Harry just goes around punching people for no reason," Melissa said sarcastically.

"I'm not saying that. I am saying that perhaps Potter is jealous of Malfoy's superior Quidditch talent," Snape said, smirking.

"Superior Quidditch talent my foot! That game was luck, and the whole school knows it!" Melissa roared.

"You're just like your cousin!" Snape said furiously.

"Good!" Melissa shot back. Snape looked at her, in his eyes showing a mix of hatred and liking.

"Professor Snape, may I go to the hospital wing?" Malfoy asked. For once, he did not seem keen to hear the teacher's argue.

"Yes, go ahead, Malfoy," Snape said. Melissa shot a glance at him.

"May I leave, too, Professor?" Harry asked hopefully.

"No, Potter, we need to further discuss your punishment. I'd say detention," Snape said.

"And Malfoy gets no punishment at all, Severus? He was taunting Ali Burke about her cousin's death!" Melissa said.

"I don't see why that us worth punishment," Snape said.

"You are the most unfair, insufferable man I have ever met! You just let Malfoy say whatever he wants, no matter how much it hurts his fellow students!" Melissa said angrily.

"Now, Melissa, it is quite obvious that you favor Potter over other students, and I feel that this detail may be altering your judgement," Snape said.

"He's my godson! He's the child of my only cousin and my best friend! Even if I did favor him I would have a reason to! What reason have you for favoring Malfoy, though? And don't play dumb with me, Snivellus," she added. Harry had to hold back a laugh. Snape was looking at her with his deadly glare.

"You're just like Black and Potter. I was wrong to ever think that you were any better than the rest of them. When you first came to Hogwarts, you were a good person, even if you were in Gryffindor," he shuddered at the thought of someone good being in Gryffindor, "and then you let their little antics change you. Potter and Black-how I despised the pair-they tortured me for no reason, they tortured me because they were BORED. What does that say about the kind of people they were?" he asked her.

"They were the kind of people who learned from their mistakes. They were the kind of people who changed. You, I see, have not changed a bit since the day I met you," she spat. Harry had never seen his godmother so angry. As fascinating as this was, he wanted to leave very badly, but Snape had said for him to stay. The door was left cracked open, and he saw through the door Alex, Ron, and Ginny. Alex was holding up a pack of Dungbombs. Harry looked at her with pleading eyes. They dropped the whole bag of them, and an awful smell rose just outside of Snape's office. Harry grinned as they darted out of sight.

"What's going on?" Snape asked angrily. He rose from his chair and headed off in the direction of the Dungbombs. Melissa rose as well, but she did not make a mad dash after the culprits. Instead, she walked over to Harry.

"Forget about the detention. I'll talk him out of it-or I'll try. If that doesn't work, I'll talk to Minerva. She'll understand-I think she'd be proud of you for defending Ali. Or at least she wouldn't blame you. Anyway, you and I need to get out of here before Snape gets back," she said, and she led Harry out of the office. Harry was glad to be away from the dark office and all of it's odd jars full of things on the shelves.

Once they were out in the bright hallways, Harry felt much better. He was still furious at Malfoy for saying such mean things to Ali, and he wondered if she was okay.

"Now, where are Ron and Ginny? I have a feeling they had something to do with those Dungbombs," Melissa said. Harry looked up at her, but she didn't look mad at all. She looked like she thought it was all some great joke.

"Not sure-they ran off in the opposite direction as Snape, they went towards Gryffindor tower," Harry said.

"Well, I'll talk to you later, then. You shouldn't be wasting your day-go find your friends," Melissa said, and she disappeared. Harry walked down the hallways, and near the Charms room he was bombarded by Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Alex.

"What was that whole thing about?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, we heard Snape and Melissa yelling-it was crazy. I didn't hear anything that they said, though," Ron said.

"Well, Malfoy was being a real jerk, as usual, and I was talking to Ali Burke, right, and he comes up and starts taunting her about her cousin," Harry said.

"You mean Alicia? I'll kill him! What a ("Ron!" Hermione said), I can't believe it, you should've punched him, Harry," Ron said.

"I did, and Snape got mad and took points off of Gryffindor and he tried to give me detention, and Melissa got really mad at him and told him that he was unfair, and that he favored Malfoy and that he hadn't changed a bit since she met him. Then Snape said that Melissa favored me, and that she let my dad and Sirius change her, and that she was just like my dad. Oh, yeah, Melissa said something like I don't go around hitting people for no reason, and that Malfoy should be punished for saying what he did, and Snape said he though that the only reason I hit him was because I was jealous of Malfoy's superior Quidditch talents," Harry said.

"Superior Quidditch talents! What a laugh!" Ron said. Harry grinned.

"It's not important. Malfoy got what he deserved. Anyway, it's almost time for the Halloween feast, we ought to go ahead and head down to the Great Hall," Ginny said. The others nodded.

The Great Hall was not as elaborately decorated this year. Hagrid's normal overgrown pumpkins did not look as big as usual, which was probably due to the fact that Hagrid was gone and had not been able to pay as much attention to them. There were several skeletons dancing around the hall, and the ghosts kept popping in and out of the hall. There were still plenty of live bats and the hall was decorated in black and orange. The decorations were still wonderful, but Harry did not feel as happy this Halloween. With Voldemort on the rise, he thought about what had happened on this night fifteen years ago. This was the night that his parents had died. This was the night that Pettigrew had betrayed them. Had Sirius known, this night fifteen years ago, that he would be going to Azkaban for twelve years the next day? Had Melissa known that she was so close to losing everything that she cared about? For some reason, Halloween felt like an evil night to him. He vaguely remembered someone telling him that the barriers between good and evil were not as strong on this night. He remembered that someone had said that a wizards powers were stronger on Halloween. He just prayed that Voldemort was not out there right now, doing something terrible.

Harry looked at the teachers and he noticed that he was not the only one who looked worried. Melissa, Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall all looked uneasy. Harry ate in silence, not wanting to share in the festivities.

After the feast, Melissa asked Harry, Ginny, Alex, Ron and Hermione to come to her office. They all trudged in five minutes later. Melissa looked unhappy.

"I'm sorry, I always like company on Halloween. It's a hard night for me-so many memories," Melissa said. She tried to smile and failed.

"All I thought about throughout dinner was that this was the night that my parents died, and that right now Voldemort could be out there harming someone else," Harry said.

"So that's why you were so quiet," Ginny said. Harry nodded.

"Yes, well, I had the same feeling that you did. I just hope we're wrong about Voldemort," Melissa said. Alex shuddered at the name.

"He took away my dad," she said sadly.

"Your father was a good man. I knew him at Hogwarts," Melissa said. Alex nodded.

"Melissa, is it true that the bonds between good and evil are weak on Halloween?" Hermione asked.

"Where did you get that idea?" Melissa asked her.

"I read it somewhere," Hermione replied.

"Yes, it is true. That's why I'm so afraid," Melissa said. She shivered, even though she was sitting next to the hot fire. She looked at it expectantly.

"Well, there was a good reason for you to be scared," Sirius said. He had just fallen out of the fire.

"Yes, I had hoped that this would be a pleasant visit," Julie muttered.

"Damn him," Lupin added.

"Who are you?" Alex demanded.

"Sirius Black," Sirius said.

"Remus Lupin."

"Julie Montgomery."

"And you are?" Sirius asked her.

"Alex Evans. I go to-went to-the School of the Sphinx," she said.

"Kristin's niece?" Sirius asked.

"Yes," Melissa replied, "but what's going on, Sirius?" He frowned.

"Death Eaters all over the place, doing his dirty work for him. Twelve deaths just tonight," Sirius said.

"Twelve tonight?" Melissa asked.

"How could this happen?" Harry questioned.

"Who?" Ginny gasped.

"Dung's sister and her husband, that's two. I heard Lucius Malfoy got them," Lupin said.

"No," Melissa said.

"That's not the worst of it. They got the Macmillans," Sirius said.

"Ernie Macmillan's parents?" Harry asked.

"And his younger sister," Sirius said sadly.

"How could he! All these people," Melissa muttered.

"The last of the Prewetts-they're all gone now. They killed Allan's brother and his family," Julie said, tears in her eyes.

"How many of the Prewett's were there?" Melissa asked.

"Six. Four kids," Julie said.

"This has got to be the worst attack he's ever had," Melissa said.

"It is the worst one. He wants to prove to everyone that he's truly back, and that he's more terrible than ever," Sirius said.

"Is he really worse than ever? Or does he just want to make it look like he is?" Melissa asked.

"Well, he's about the same as he was before he lost his power right now, but he's gaining strength and followers by the day," Sirius said.

"What if he can't be stopped?" Alex asked. Sirius looked at her.

"We'll all die trying to stop him," Lupin said, and he looked at Alex very sadly.

"Yes, most definitely," Julie agreed. She, too, looked at Alex.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?" Alex demanded.

"Well, it's just..." Julie began.

"Voldemort had one more victim tonight," Sirius explained.

"Your mother," Sirius said. Alex stared at him.

"You're lying! I mean, you have to be lying! It can't be true, you must be wrong!" Alex said.

"I'm sorry, Alex," Julie said. Everyone else in the room was shocked.

"NO!" Alex screamed. She began to sob uncontrollably.

"She's all I have, she's all I have left, she can't be gone, she can't be, why would he kill her?" she said, crying into Ron's shoulder.

"We won't give up. Voldemort already had to pay-now he just has to even more," Ron said, trying to reassure her. Ginny was shaking uncontrollably, Hermione had buried her face in her hands, and Harry was hugging his knees. Twelve deaths in one night. How much worse were things going to get?