Harry Potter and The Tomb of Hogwarts

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

Chapter 25

The Ministry Massacre

"He's what?" Cho cried. Several students whipped around to look at her but her attention was solely on Harry.

"He's dead. Killed at the ministry. I need to go meet with Dumbledore and the rest of the staff upstairs in Dumbledore's office. He's counting on you and Mathew to keep the students calm and under control. I have a strong feeling he wasn't the only victim and there's going to be a lot a very scared students when the other mail comes in."

"But... Minister Fudge..."

"Snap out of it. We've got to get these kids up to their rooms, NOW!"

As though she'd been slapped, Cho suddenly realised he was right, turned around without another word, and ran to Snape who was already talking to Mathew. Harry ran over to Hermione and Ron.

Very quickly he ran down what had happened and their responses were as to be expected. Hermione was shocked, but she recovered much quicker than Cho. The moment Harry told her to get the rest of the students back to their dorms she nodded and ran over to join Cho to talk to Snape.

Harry ran as quickly as he could to his portrait hole and took the steps two at a time.

Soon he was out of the portrait hold and heading for the Griffin entrance to Dumbledore's office. Just as he reached it he heard Charley call out to him. A moment later he was standing by Harry's side, half out of breath and with a very concerned look on his face.

"Did you talk to your dad?" harry asked, though with the look on Charlie's face he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

"Yeah," Charlie answered. "No worries there. Dad's been home for over an hour, and Bill checked in just a few minutes ago."

"Well that's good news," he replied. Charlie's expression didn't change.

"That's the good news, yeah," Charlie replied sombrely, "but there's so much bad news."

"Why? What else has happened?"

"Let's go up. Dumbledore will tell you everything. I'm sure there's a lot more I don't even know yet. Tootsieroll."

The Griffin began turning and they both raced up the steps and found the door already open. All the Professors were there including David, all scrambling around like blind mice searching for cheese. The only calm ones seemed to be Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape, though how he got here before harry was a mystery.

When the door behind them finally shut, the entire room went deathly quiet. Then Dumbledore rose from his chair and spoke.

"I am sure many of you are wondering what we are going to do about the attack and I will get to that in a moment. However, before I get started I need to have a word with Mr. Potter."

Harry slumped down. He didn't dare imagine what could possibly require his private audience with the headmaster but he was sure it couldn't be good.

He stepped slowly up and around the headmasters desk and Dumbledore brought him a few feet back from the crowd.

"Harry," he asked in a soft tone, "how are you coming along with the search for those medallions?"

Harry's eyes went wide. He wanted to know about that now? Harry thought.

"It's going well," Harry replied. "We think we've located the second medallion, though I'm not sure how we can get it. It's all the way in America, somewhere in California."

Dumbledore sighed for a moment, then nodded to himself. "I'll see what I can do for you. Perhaps we can get you over there during the upcoming Holiday. And the other two?"

"Well, we only need the three. Slytherin's Medallion isn't needed. As for the forth, it's somewhere here, near the school. If it's not on the grounds it's probably in Hogsmeade. We're still looking for that one. But Hermione thinks if we find the first two they will lead us to the third. Why? What's this got to do with what happened at the ministry."

"I'll tell you later. For now all you need to know is that you must find those medallions. But come now, you'll understand when I'm finished recounting the events of the past four hours," he concluded, then nudged harry back into the crowd of Professors.

Harry nodded, though he was really more confused than anything else.

When he got back to Charlie's side, Dumbledore cleared his throat and addressed the group.

"Some of you are aware of different facts regarding the attack at the Ministry, but for continuity's sake I am going to quickly revisit the events leading up to and preceding the Minister's death."

All eyes and ears were locked on Dumbledore as he recounted the attack in quick but full detail.

"At five thirty tonight after much of the staff had already gone home for the night, Voldemort led a dozen Death Eaters and more than twenty Dementors into the Ministry. Anyone who crossed their paths were killed either by the Dementor's Kiss or by the Avada Kedavra Curse."

A few soft gasps escaped from some of the Professors but nobody interrupted as Dumbledore continued.

"It appears as though they were there on a mission because the attacks were very specific. They took out everybody in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, then skipped all other floors and went straight to the Minister's office. Unfortunately he was wrapping up a meeting with the heads of the Ministry Council, all who were taken by surprise and all of which were summarily executed. We know for a fact that the Minister was saved for last because there is a great deal of evidence that suggests that he was tortured for more than an hour before Voldemort himself struck the final blow, etching the dark mark on the wall just above the Minister's desk. It was hand drawn with Minister Fudge's own blood."

Several more gasps escaped and some of the women could be heard crying softly.

"There were a total of seventeen witches and wizards who lost their lives tonight, all of whom were Ministry officials and most of whom lost their lives without the aid of the Avada Kedavra."

Several looks from around the room confirmed to Harry what he feared Dumbledore meant by this. They weren't killed instantly, they were killed slowly. Harry wondered how long some of them had been tortured before they finally lost their lives. He didn't want to think about it.

"Nearly as disturbing as this is the fact that, as far as our investigation has found, nothing of any importance had been stolen from the Ministry. In fact, considering the time they put into the deaths of the Ministry Officials, the place was hardly touched or even searched. It appears that whatever they wanted, they got it from the Minister himself."

"Perhaps his death is all they wanted," Snape replied from the back.

"Indeed. At this point it would be very disruptive to the entire wizarding world to lose the Minister of Magic. The threatening chaos of losing the Minister could very well be his motive, but I believe there may have been other motives as well."

"Perhaps they knew exactly what they were looking for and had no reason to search for it," commented Professor Flitwick. "Or perhaps it was information that they were after and they dispatched the minister when they finally got it."

"I don't think so," Harry said before he could stop himself. All heads turned to him, some obviously surprised that he was there. Harry suddenly felt very stupid for opening his mouth, but Dumbledore prodded him on.

"Why is that, Harry?" he asked, though Harry was sure he knew the answer.

"Because Voldemort is an accomplished Occlumens and if he needed the information he'd have gotten it without having to torture the Minister. In fact he'd have thought himself a failure of Occlumency if he were unable to get the information without having to resort to torture, and it's not likely he'd allow himself to be reduced to that. From everything I've heard so far it sounds more like Professor Snape is right. Mister Fudge was tortured to prove a point. It declares to the entire wizarding world that if Voldemort can walk into the Ministry of Magic and dispose of the Minister himself, there is nothing that is going to stop him from doing whatever he wants. That's all it was; A sign."

"Indeed," Dumbledore said with a slight hint of a smile, not at the events of course, but at the fact that it was Harry who had made the point. "I believe this is the most likely scenario. There may, of course, have been other advantages which they took hold of but in all likelihood it was the simple message from Voldemort that he and his Death Eaters are back and they are going to do whatever they want whenever they want."

"If that was their purpose, they sure accomplished it," added Professor Vector.

The whole crowd seemed to pull behind this theory and now it seemed the same Professors who had looked at him as an intruding teenager just a few minutes ago were now looking at him as a man. Harry couldn't help but stand a bit taller as everyone began chattering about the repercussions. This was quickly dismissed when Dumbledore clapped his hands together loudly.

Instant silence resumed.

"The problems we have immediately are those with the students. We were lucky in the respect that only one of our students have been directly effected by this. Miss Orla Quirke's mother worked as an assistant to one of the Ministry Judges and was on her way to deliver some messages when she crossed their paths. Thankfully she did not suffer, but Miss Quirke will need to be informed. It is likely she will wish to return home, at least for the time being. Professor Sprout, I leave it to you to take on this unfortunate task."

"I shall not waist another minute, sir. If I may I shall speed to her side at this very moment."

"Very good. Please wish her all our best wishes and remind her that my door is always open to her and that Hogwarts will be waiting for her whenever she wishes to return."

"Thank you, Headmaster. I'm sure it will be comforting to know." And with that, Professor Sprout shot out the door with a speed Harry hadn't know her capable of, the echo of her footsteps already in the hallway before the door closed completely behind her.

Something occurred to Harry, and before he could think twice about it he turned and called out to Dumbledore, "Sir. Do you think Voldemort know about the T..."

"I do not know, Harry, but that is something we must not worry about now. We have much more important things of concern. Foremost is the assigning of a new Minister of Magic. I fear they will come for me all to quickly, but as you all know, my place is here. Unfortunately, however, the next likely and logical person for the job is someone we suspect to be an inactive Death Eater and if Voldemort gets his claws into him things could get much worse than anything that happened sixteen years ago."

"But surely if you nominate someone for the position we could get the right person for the job," Harry said assuredly. "In fact, what about Mr. Weasley? He'd be a good Minister."

"Arthur would not accept even if he were offered the position. He is where he is because that is where he wants to be and for no other reason. No, the best person we can expect for the position at this time is Amelia Bones. Her position as head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement makes her a good candidate and she has already gathered a good amount of support in her efforts to capture Death Eaters. Furthermore, She's not one to make rash decisions but has shown a willingness to make the hard decisions when it counts."

"However, my true concern lies not in who gets the job but in who does not. There are at least half a dozen known Death Eaters who would stand a chance of being elected and we must ensure that none of them is elected. Therefore we must find ourselves a champion, one whom we can trust, and in him we could..."

"Lochhart!" called Harry before he could stop himself.

"Excuse me?" Snape replied with a growl. "Mr. Potter, you can't expect us to actually attempt to place that bumbling idiot in the position of Minister of Magic. Even if he were capable of running, he'd be incompetent at best. But from what I hear he's a complete vegetable at St. Mungo's."

"Not at all," Harry replied quickly, too energised to recognise Snape's sarcasm. "He's almost completely back to normal, better even."

"Indeed," added Professor David. Harry had completely forgotten he was there. "From what I have been told, Gilderoy will be back in complete health before Christmas, possibly even by the end of next month."

"And what do you know of his condition," spat Snape.

"I know a great deal, see as how it was my prescriptions which have helped him on his way to recovery. You see..."

Professor David launched into a brief breakdown on his involvement in Lockhart's recovery and, as it turned out, he was doing even better than what Harry had last heard. It seemed that he had fallen rather hard for one of the nurses that had been helping him over the years and she had been having a healthy effect on him. He was becoming much less self-absorbed, more willing to help where he could, and seemed more happy to have regained most of his memory than he was of the fame he once held.

"So you see, young Mr. Potter here may very well be onto something here. You could even spin it as a true Italian Stallion story, so to speak."

This last comment was met with blank stares by all until Dumbledore finally broke the silence with a soft chuckle. "Gilderoy is not exactly in the same league as Sly, but you may be right. It could just work."

Seeming to be embarrassed by their lack of understanding, each of the Professors seemed to suddenly understand that applause was their only way back into the fold, and they wanted back in immediately.

"He's got the fame for it, that's for sure," yelled one Professor while another added, "and everyone loves a hero!"

Harry couldn't help himself. "I'd be willing to admit that he helped in the Chamber of Secrets," he called out.

"Very good," Dumbledore nodded at Harry. "Very well, it seems we have our nominee for the next Minister of Magic. That's one thing down, seventeen to go. Now, onto some of the lesser known losses at the Ministry."

They covered each and every person that was lost that night, some important member of the Ministry who needed to be replaced by very specific people, others who's loss was less cataclysmic but sorely missed all the same.

They talked all night and straight through until dawn, until finally around six Dumbledore broke them up, sending them off on different assignments, most of which were to secure the students in the idea that things would continue on and that the end of the world was not forthcoming.

Harry's two assignments were simple; find the other two medallions and lead by example when it came to student moral throughout the school. This prompted Harry to suggest the school wide duelling competition. Dumbledore gladly agreed stating that the sooner the better.

Harry mentioned that he planned for after the new year but could probably get it started by the last week of November with recurring challenges each week leading up to the competition's semi-finals on the Friday preceding the Christmas Holiday and the Grand Finale on the following Saturday. This would leave the students in high spirits before they head off to their respective families on Sunday.

Exhausted by the time he made it back to the Gryffindor tower, he wanted nothing more than to jump into bed and fall asleep for a week. But the competition had to come first so he called Hermione down and began updating their plan to incorporate the new time schedule. Harry would have asked Ron to help as well but he was nowhere to be found.

Four hours later they had a complete proposal for the competition. It would provide for three complete contests, two of which would be set for interhouse competition and the third and grandest being for the individual duellists.

For the Individual Contest there would be no divisions, no counting of points for their respective houses, and no limitations on whom a student might face. This meant that in any random duel a duellist could end up duelling a fellow house member.

Only fourth years and above would be allowed to enter, though Harry had initially wanted to allow the third years as well. Hermione had insisted on it being at least fourth years and wanted to restrict it to five, but when Harry reminded her of their abilities and ingenuity during their first three years. She retorted by asking if any third year should be allowed to go up against Draco, and so he relented to fourth years and above.

During the first five round the students would be sorted into groups of forth and fifth years in one group and sixth and seventh years in the other. Each duel would be to five points for the first three rounds under double disqualification rules for each round. This meant that you would have to lose against two separate opponents in a single round to be eliminated.

After the victors had been crowned a last chance for all the losers of both groups would be granted in the wildcard contest. This would be a preview of the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and Grand Finals as the duellists would be pitted against one another in single qualifying duels to seven points, but here the drawing would be a completely random which meant a fourth year could easily end up duelling with a seventh year.

This would be the only contest in which the first, second, and third years would not be allowed to participate. They would, however, be able to compete in the team contests would surely hold a great deal of excitement of its own.

The first of the two team contests, and the one that would take up the most time of the entire competition, would be the individual teams. Each house would compete with as many of their students as they wanted, though each year required at least two girls and two boys for each house.

In the very likely event that one house would have more competitors in a particular year than the other houses, the handicapped house would be given a random draw for some of their classmates to compete twice. After a student was drawn, he or she would be removed from any future drawings until all names in their house and year had been drawn.

The first round would be a double disqualification match from each house so that each student would duel in a minimum of six matches and a maximum of nine. The top half of the group would continue on to the second round where for another round of the same.

The semi-finals would be single disqualification per house with the finalists duelling an extended eighteen point final round. Ten bonus points would go to each of the winners, seven bonus points to the runner-ups, and with five, three, two, and one for each of the competitors as they fell in the finals. Added to each point they would win in the first round and the three they'd win in the second round, the winning team would have at least a hundred points. Harry and Hermione were sure that this would be a very fun competition to watch.

Finally was the tag-team contest. This would be simple. The first through forth years would be grouped together as Team A of their respective houses and the fifth through seventh years would make up their respective Team B. Each team would consist of two students of each year. The challenge, a simple game of capture the flag. Best two out of three victories would win. This one contest would be held during the third week of the competition and take up the whole of the day.

Harry and Hermione were just finishing up the details of the final round of the team contest when a ragged an beaten, though oddly glowing Ron stammered through the Portrait hole. He took two steps, Saw harry and Hermione, smiled broadly, and sauntered up to his room without another word.

Concerned, they piled up their papers and chased after him, both walking through the door just as he began changing. Hermione blushed and turned away just as Ron turned around and took notice of them, his hands ready to remove his trousers.

"What are you doing?" he cried to Hermione, re-securing his belt.

"I'm sorry!" she called back over her shoulder, her hands parting over her eyes. "I didn't know you were... oh hell." Her cheeks were flushed bright red.

Harry grinned broadly, taking notice of the fact that in all likelihood she had just seen more of Ron than ever before in their previous six years of knowing each other.

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking? Bloody hell!" Ron finished buttoning his shirt back on and turned back around to face them. "It's alright now. I'm dressed."

Hermione turned around slowly, saw he was dressed but clearly still quite dishevelled and launched into it with him.

"We were worried about you. I'm sorry if we didn't knock but you looked as though you had been in a fight."

Ron suddenly flushed as his eyes went wide, a smile brooding over his face. "Well, I sort'a was, if you catch my drift."

Harry stepped back away slowly, sure the roof would explode straight off the tower at Hermione's response. Surely she knew what he was talking about and she was bound to fly off the deep end. Oddly enough, she said and did nothing for several seconds, looked him up and down, then declared nonchalantly, "Well, I guess you don't look hurt, so I guess maybe I overreacted."

Harry's jaw hit the floor. Ron stood motionless seemingly to have finally caught on to what he'd just said.

"Well, if you're still going to change I guess I'll meet you and Harry after lunch," she replied in a completely nonchalant tone. "It looks like you could both use a little rest."

And with nothing more to say she simply smiled, turn, and walked gracefully out the portrait hole.

Whack!

The palm of Harry's hand stung, but it was well worth it.

"Bloody hell! What was that for?" Ron cried, still rubbing the back of his head.

"For being the worlds biggest git!" Harry charged.

"How's that. She didn't even notice what I was talking about."

"A flubberworm would have gotten what you were talking about. She just didn't want to show that it effected her. You know how she feels about you. That was right insensitive of you and you know it."

"Yeah, well, she's the one that's going out with that git Davie." He said Davie's name in the same tone he used to reserve for Draco Malfoy.

"And you're the one that let her get away. And now you've gone and done something stupid and then you throw it in her face."

"Hey now. I'll say one thing that's for sure. There was nothing stupid about last night."

"Right. You just go out on a date with a girl you've spent less than a week's worth of time with and bam, you snogg her."

"Like you've never thought about it with Amanda?"

"Of course I have. But that doesn't mean I'm going to do it. I've thought about a lot of things I haven't done, like right now I'm thinking of turning you into a blast-ended screwt."

"Not before I turn you into a Mandrake," he replied, drawing his wand.

Silence filled the room for the next ten seconds as they stared each other down, both armed and set to fire. Neither said another word until, finally, Ron broke into a small grin. A moment later they were laughing out loud, heading up to their dorm with their arms over each other's shoulders, the best of buds.

As they were getting ready for a quick nap Harry looked over to Ron and asked, "Do you think you and Hermione will ever get your acts together and hook up."

"I don't know," Ron replied honestly. "I'd like to think so, but no matter how I joke about it, I think I could get to like being with Parvati. She treats me nice and doesn't make me feel like I'm beneath her, even when she buys me stuff. Like the dress outfit we got when we were in Hogsmeade. Did you know she wouldn't let me pay for it. She refused, saying if I was going to be a proper gentleman then I'd have to let her get me things from time to time. You know, I don't think I ever felt as nice to be around a girl as I did just then."

"So you think you might be falling for her?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Whatever it is I feel for her, it's definitely growing. I mean, I'm still into Hermione, but when I'm with Parvati I don't find myself thinking about her as much. It's just about me and Parvati and nobody else."

"Well, if I were you I'd make sure you treat her right. She's good for you, she treats you nice, and from the few times I've talked to her it seems she really cares about you."

"Yeah," Ron sighed. "I like her too."

Harry let that hang for a few moments before he turned over and prepared himself to sleep. But before he closed his eyes he had to ask one last question.

"So, how was it?"

"How was what?" Ron replied dreamily.

"You know, it."

"Oh. I couldn't describe it if I had to. All I can say is that in this whole world I can't imagine anything better. It was like..."

But what it was like, Harry never heard. The grip of exhaustion had finally ensnared him.

Coming Soon

Chapter 26