Harry Potter and The Tomb of Hogwarts

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

Chapter 26

Fallout

Fallout from the Ministry was felt by the entire school. Many of the students were seen with their heads held bowed, each one looking depressed and downtrodden. Even the news of the upcoming Duelling Competition did not seem to lift their spirits, though it was announced that the duelling tournament itself would not happen until the third week of December due to the fact that Harry could not find a proper schedule open to all the students until after the upcoming Quidditch match and the Qualifying matches would have to take place the following week under Charley's supervision. He'd volunteered for the job, much to Harry's relief.

Harry noticed quickly that Ron seemed to have taken the attack at the Ministry harder of the Hogwarts students. Harry was able to put together from what little he'd gotten out of him that Ron had felt guilty since his father could very well have been at the Ministry during the attack fighting for his life, all the while his youngest son was off shagging Parvati.

Neither Harry or Hermione were able to cheer him up during the week following the attack while he slumped along from class to class, his eyes always fixed on his shoelaces. It wasn't until after DADA on Friday, after a rather extensive talk with his big brother, that he finally snapped out of it and began acting somewhat normal again. "Or as normal as Ron could be," Hermione later cited.

Harry, on the other hand, was much too caught up with the duelling class, especially with the increased number of students who wanted his help after class. It seemed the announcement of the Tournament had caught the attention of more students than Harry ever would have imagined. This led to a one-hour study hall class three days a week where he could help the students with any questions or extra one-on-one training they might need. Harry soon found himself once again nose deep in extra responsibilities, but at least he had a bit more time to spend with Amanda.

And so, by the week before the second Quidditch match of the year, Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff, which would take place the third Saturday of November, Harry found himself spending more than four hours a day, including his standard classes, preparing those students who wanted the extra help.

Luckily Dumbledore had taken a liking to Harry's competition and so, in order to aid Harry, he decided to add an extra Sunday each month of training exercises so that Harry would have a few extra tricks up his sleeves. Most of what Dumbledore would teach him during the alternate session dealt with how to handle several Death Eaters at one time.

"What you must do," Dumbledore instructed the week before the Quidditch Game, "is become openly aware of everything that is happening around you even when those things have nothing to do with the fight itself. A perfect example of this is what happened at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Now I want you to understand that you had handled yourself better than I could have hoped for, but with that being said, there were several factors which helped you that would not have been so effective had Voldemort been present. He surely would have felt your presence the moment you arrived whether he had seen you or not, and had he sent someone like Lucius Malfoy in his stead I doubt such reckless behaviour would have been allowed where wizards were so likely to show up and a more careful eye might have found you before you had ac chance to strike. And though those cars may have helped you both with protection as well as a means of disguise, but to be honest I was still a bit surprised that none of the Death Eaters had discovered you since you were one of the primary reasons for their presence."

"I was lucky," Harry agreed.

"No, Harry. You were smart, fast on your feet, and very effective with your surroundings. Now I would hardly call that being lucky

. But unfortunately, luck does only bring us so far and I fear there may be times where you will have to face more cunning opponents in a significantly less accommodating environment."

Dumbledore waved his wand and seven balloons appeared around the room, each with a small white ball floating below them.

"This is a simple exercise that goes back hundreds of years and will help you fine tune your duelling reflexes. The object is simple. Each of the larger balls will float around the room, and all you have to do is pop them before the smaller balls hit you."

"Sounds simple enough," replied Harry.

"Very well. When you're ready."

"Ready," Harry called. He was wrong.

The balloons started whirling around the room, bouncing up and down, to and fro, moving fast enough to make Harry dizzy with the movement.

He watched for a few seconds, trying to get a beat on the pattern, but there wasn't much time to find a pattern before he felt the sting on his back shoulder as one of the small balls bounced off.

By the time he had turned around the white ball had return to its respective balloon and all the other balls had come to a complete stop.

"It's not quite as easy as it looks, is it?" Dumbledore asked with a knowing grin. "Of course it's always easier when you see that it can be done."

Another wave of his wand and thirteen more balls appeared bringing the total up to twenty. A moment later, he waved his wand and they spun off in every direction, most moving too fast for Harry to keep up. But not for Dumbledore.

Like a well-orchestrated play, Dumbledore hit each of the targets with speed and precision unrivalled. None were able to avoid his aim and the few balls that tried to hit him were easily sidestepped. The whole thing lasted less than thirty seconds. Harry watched open mouthed as Dumbledore displayed an agility and finesse that the world's top athletes would have watched in awe. No man of Dumbledore's age was supposed to be that fast and graceful in the midst of battle.

"Ah, that was refreshing," Dumbledore said simply. "Now, I don't expect you to be able to do that any time soon, but I'm sure that with a little practice you would be able to take five of them by the end of the year."

"I'll be lucky if I can take more than three in that time," Harry replied begrudgingly.

"Don't underestimate yourself Harry. You are much more accomplished than you realize. I suspect that by the end of today you will be able to incapacitate three balloons without much effort. Remember, as I told you before, you needn't always end a conflict with a single strike. Often it is the third or forth strike that is most important and it is simply up to you to figure out how to stay safe until then. For instance..."

Dumbledore waved his wand again and all but two of the balloons had disappeared.

"This time I will have both balloons attack you strictly from the front. All you need to do is hit each of the larger balloons with any basic disarming spells. Of course, they will both be attacking at the same time, so what do you think will be your biggest problem?"

Harry pondered it for a few moments before answering.

"Well, if I try to disable either of them, the other is going to hit me before I can get off the second spell, so the first thing I need to do is make sure that I avoid their first attack. Then I can stop one before the other attacks, and then it's a simple one-on-one duel."

"Very good. Now, let's see how your words translate into action. Begin!" he announced quickly.

Harry was a bit taken aback with Dumbledore's quick restart, but he was still able to avoid both attacks. A quick casting of Windgardium Leviosa slowed one of the smaller balls, and after dodging a second attack from the other ball, Harry was able to disable both large balloons with little effort.

"Now that wasn't very hard, was it?" Dumbledore said proudly.

"No, it really wasn't," Harry replied, quite pleased with himself.

"Of course, it's not going to be often enough when both attackers will come at you simultaneously or both from the front, so this time let's see how you fare with them attacking randomly and without restricting their positions. Now try to clear your mind and pay attention only to where they are and how they attack. Even when doing so randomly you will find that there is a certain rhythm they will follow, as do all manner of creatures including witches and wizards."

Harry nodded, readied himself, and waited.

"Go!" Dumbledore called.

The two balloons split apart, each heading for opposite sides of Harry.

Harry dove forward as one of the balloons shot at him, hitting the ground just inches from his feet. Startled, Harry struck at the attacking balloon and completely lost track of the second one which had attacked just as Harry turned his wand towards the first balloon. He never saw it coming until the ball had struck him in the ribs.

"Oomph," Harry cried.

"You got distracted, Harry. That won't do. You have to keep your mind on the task at hand. Had you struck the other balloon, you would likely have had more than enough time to hit the other one without being hit. As it was you only hit one of your targets and it was a glancing blow at that." He helped Harry stand back up and waved his wand, readying the balloons for another attack.

"This time, try to keep your mind on the objective and try not to let emotion cloud your judgement."

Harry nodded, readied himself again, and waited.

"Go!"

Harry jumped back two steps, shooting a basic spell off to the left, not intending to hit anything but to lure each of the balloons into attacking. It worked. They both shot at him at practically the same time. Leaping forward and dodging both shots gave him an open shot at one of the balloons, which he shot down effortlessly.

The second regained its ball just as Harry turned to face it. They both struck at the same time, but instead of Harry's spell hitting the balloon it struck the small attack ball, which exploded, in the middle of the room. Assuming that was it, Harry put his wand down and was nearly struck by the other ball as it flew by his right shoulder and zoomed back up towards the balloon. Without even thinking about it, Harry struck, firing off a soft-spoken "Incendio" which struck dead centre and caused the balloon to pop loudly.

"Very good," Dumbledore said as he clapped. "Very nice recovery there, though you forgot a cardinal rule. Never forget that a wounded animal is always more dangerous than a healthy one because it has nothing left to lose. Now, have a cup of chocolate and we'll try again."

The next three hours sped by as though they were mere moments. Dumbledore was right, however, in the fact that Harry was able to take out three balloons on his own by the end of their training, though it was cut short by Professor McGonagall rushing in to the classroom, clearly out of breath.

"Sorry to interrupt, Headmaster, but we've just been alerted to another problem spawning from the attack at the Ministry and they've called an emergency meeting of the Wizengamot. They're waiting for you as we speak."

"Very well," Dumbledore said with a sigh, excusing himself with a quick nod before heading quickly through Harry's personal staircase.

Harry was immediately worried about what could be so urgent that the entire Wizengamot could be called so quickly. He frowned, turning back to find McGonagall still standing there, shaking her head before surprising him with a fairly thorough answer to his unspoken question.

"The Headmaster will handle everything, Mr. Potter, but as some of this pertains to you indirectly, I think there are a few things you need to know. Would you care to sit?" she asked, offering him his desk as she conjured her own chair on opposite his. When they were both seated, she continued.

"As I'm sure you remember, there are a large number of secret rooms in the Department of Mysteries that are extremely powerful and quite dangerous. Well, it seems that You-Know-Who deemed these too dangerous to leave untouched, so several of the Death Eaters and a full pack of werewolves were unleashed within the depths of the Department of Mysteries."

"Good Lord," Harry replied in shock. "Did anybody... Was anyone... Were there any..."

"We were able to find seven survivors amongst the damage, but yes, there were several losses. Nine Witches and Wizards in all lost their lives down there, and more than half the department was destroyed, including the Hall of Prophecies."

"What about the room with the veiled archway where Sirius, you know..."

"Safe. It's one of the few rooms that were. That and the locked room we weren't able to get into last June were left untouched, though nobody seems to know why."

"Dumbledore knows," Harry said simply.

"That may be, but whether he did or not, it seems that You-Know-Who wanted nothing to do with either of those rooms."

Harry nodded. "What else happened? That can't be the only thing to convene the entire Wizengamot."

"Quite right. There has been another incident, which, while less damaging, will have serious repercussions. There was an attack in Fernsend. It seems the Giants have been told that the Ministry has been hit and they have decided that this would be as good a time as any to attack."

"No doubt they got their information from a few Death Eaters."

"There can be little doubt. However, Dumbledore has made contact with the Giants over the past year and he feels confident that some may only follow their destructive patterns so long as they are driven that way. He hopes to free some of them from their Gurg, but he says it is not time yet."

"Not time yet? But every time they go through a city we chance losing more innocent lives, Muggles and Wizards and Witches alike. What about them?"

"Unfortunately Harry, we are at war. That means that there are sometimes when compromises have to be made. Of course we don't want to lose anyone, but history shows us that there is a very good chance that all of this is simply a prelude of what is to come."

"How much worse can it get? We've all but lost the Ministry, the Giants are attacking, and the Death Eaters and Dementors are back working for Voldemort in full force, what else can happen?"

"Quite a bit, some of which already has. You see, there are many things the Wizarding community have kept from other magical creatures throughout the world that may come back to haunt them. Your Godfather knows this all too well."

"Remus? What about him?"

"Werewolves are but a simple example of magical creatures which have been oppressed by the wizarding world. There are many others as well, and most of them are not as understanding or forgiving as Remus."

"So what does this mean?"

"It means that his meeting of the Wizengamot is going to decide a great many things in the days and years to come when it comes to many of our laws. We are at war, and many innocents are forsaken in the name of the greater good."

"Like what?" Harry asked, suddenly filled with a sense of dread.

"Like werewolf camps where they are held in small rooms as prisoners simply for being what they are."

"Do you mean to tell me that Lupin could be arrested just for being a werewolf even with him taking that potion?"

"That, or worse. In extreme cases, they may feel that he is too great a threat to be allowed to live. Remember what happened to Buckbeak?"

"But they couldn't..." Harry replied, his eyes tearing up.

"No, they can't. That is why Dumbledore is on his way there. It is not likely they will take things that far, especially with what has recently come to pass. However, there are other, smaller things they may very well do that he cannot stop. Unfortunately, until he returns, we can only sit and wait to find out."

"How long will he be gone?"

"Well, in this kind of case they will hold him over for a few hours to go over the basics before dismissing everyone to their families. They will then have two hours to set their affairs in order before they reconvene for the full congregation. That can last for days depending on how things progress."

"And what will come of Hogwarts in the process? I mean, if Voldemort knows the congress is convened, what better time to..."

"Good Lord," McGonagall replied, the shock on her face evident.

Harry stood there dumbstruck, standing in place for several minutes after McGonagall had left the office in a full run. It was only after the third call did Harry hear a familiar voice coming from the front door.

"Wha...?" He looked over at the door and saw Ron and Hermione poking their heads through the door.

"Harry," Hermione asked, "are you alright? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

"Dumbledore's gone to convene the Wizengamot."

"Oh no. What happened now?" Hermione cried, terror in her voice.

Harry laid the whole thing out for them. When he finished they all sat there, none saying a word for several minutes. Finally, Ron spoke up.

"This is it, isn't it?"

"That's about it." Harry replied.

"So what can we do?" Hermione asked.

"The only thing I can think of is to boost our work in the duelling class. Aside from that, we can't do anything until we find those other Medallions, but who knows when or if we'll ever do that."

"Oh, that reminds me. Davie said he thinks he has a way for us to get it, but with everything that we've just heard I don't know if we can pull it off."

"How's that?" Harry asked.

"Well, his friend got permission from his Mum and Dad to let us come over and look for it, but with all this I don't think Dumbledore's going to let us go."

"Why not? How much safer could he expect us to be spending our holiday halfway around the world. There'd be no way for Voldemort to find out where we were going, and even if he did, America's a lot bigger than Europe. There's no way he could track us down in only a week. Trust me, I'll talk to Dumbledore and take care of everything. Tell Davie thanks and that we accept."

They agreed to let Harry handle talking to Dumbledore even though neither of them really believed he could pull it off. They did, however, believe he could coax some more information from their Headmaster about what would happen with the Wizengamot, so they left him be for the time being.

The week following Harry's lesson with Dumbledore was more than a little hectic.

The most unsettling news the trio got came the following day after Dumbledore's convening of the Wizengamot. What would have been thought of as a long and tedious process which would likely last longer than any previous congregation, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were shocked to find Dumbledore present the very next morning following the emergency meeting of the Wizengamot. When Harry asked what happened, he was shocked by the Headmaster's response.

"Well, it went quite smoothly. It seems that the Wizengamot has decided that, after my many previously unbidden warnings they believe that my outlook on current events is likely to be best. Thus, most of what I had to suggest went completely unchallenged. Of course, not everything went smoothly, but enough so that any issues we may face in the near future will not be obstructed by the Wizengamot or by the Ministry itself."

"What about Remus. I heard the Wizengamot might try to outlaw werewolves, making prison camps and such."

"Indeed there was talk of that initially, but I suggested a more reasonable alternative and the Wizengamot settled quite quickly on the subject. You need not worry. As a formally registered werewolf, Remus will not have anything to worry about. Aside from having their general movements monitored from the Ministry, they are leaving werewolves as a whole alone at this time."

"So he's going to be okay?"

"Indeed. It seems the Ministry is much more worried about finding a new Minister of Magic than any other issue at this time."

"So what happens next?"

"Well, there will be a formal congregation three weeks from now when the entire Ministry will convene and appoint a new Minister. This will give the public time to cast their votes with their favourite Ministry officials in attempt to guide their decision. After that, the top three candidates will be put before the Wizengamot and they will appoint the new Minister. We are hoping to have one officially in office before Christmas."

"But what about the Giants and Voldemort. The attacks aren't going to stop."

"That is a greater problem, but one you needn't concern yourself with. Suffice it to say that both the Order and the Ministry are keeping a watchful eye out for anything unusual and will take the appropriate action should the need arise. Right now you need to concern yourself only with those classes of yours and of finding those medallions. And before you ask, I have spoken to Charlie and he will accompany you to the United States to find that second medallion."

Harry knew Dumbledore was the greatest wizard in the world and was always one step ahead of everyone else. But even with that knowledge, Harry was completely dumfounded by this declaration.

"But... How did you know about that?" Harry managed to ask.

"I do my best to keep well informed of the goings on within the bounds of this castle and I have a large number of helpers to keep me informed," Dumbledore replied, nodding to the wall.

Harry followed Dumbledore's nod and realized that all of the prior Headmasters were shuffling around in their portraits and his eyes widened in understanding. As he thought about it, there were few rooms he'd seen in the castle that did not have at least one or two portraits in it. Even the Prefects bathroom had a few inconspicuous pictures in it. Between those portraits and the Ghosts, Dumbledore would be better informed than the students would ever suspect.

Having nothing to say, Harry simply turned back to his headmaster and nodded, unable to suppress the small smile creeping across his lips.

"Well, I fear I have much left to do today," Dumbledore said announcing Harry's dismissal, "Until then, I need you to keep an eye on your cousin, keep looking for that third medallion, and keep up on your training."

Harry nodded and, having been dismissed, bade farewell to the headmaster and joined Ron and Hermione for breakfast.

Quidditch Game 2,

Ravenclaw Vs Hufflepuff

The second game of the year between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff was both short and perilous. Lasting less than an hour, it was hard to believe that only six of the original fourteen players played through to the end.

It all began when both Hufflepuff Beaters hit Ravenclaw Chaser Clive Chambers with both of their respective Bludgers ten minutes into the game. From Harry's vantage, it seemed like an accident as Justin Finch-Fletchley was much farther from Clive than Zacharias Smith, which meant that Fletchley had to have hit his Bludger a good two seconds before Smith, and he doubted either of them had the wits to coordinate a move like that.

Unfortunately for Fletchley and Smith, the Ravenclaw Beaters didn't feel the same. As soon as the Bludgers hit, Anthony Goldstein and Terry Boot swarmed on the Hufflepuff Beaters and within seconds, all four of them were grounded as Madam Hooch berated them for their conduct.

Four penalty shots later, the game was back under way, but the players on both sides were much more aggressive with their play. Soon the Chasers were spending more time elbowing and kicking each other than they were trying to score.

Unfortunately, an elbow in the ribs to Orla Quirke caused her grip to slip in mid-throw and she ended up hitting Cho Chang on the bristles of her broom, sending Cho spiralling into the stands and crashing between two benches and just missing a group of Hufflepuffs who'd narrowly escaped without injury. After that, things got much bloodier.

Soon the Beaters were hitting Chasers more with their bats than with the Bludgers and the Keepers were spending all their time handling the Quaffle throwing it at the opposing Beaters rather than to their own teammates. Finally, forty minutes into the game the teams started losing players to the medical tent.

The first casualties happened right in front of Harry's stand when Justin and Zacharias tried to double-team Chambers. Volleying one of the Bludgers as they approached Chambers from behind, Fletchley was in mid-swing when he was hit from behind by the other Bludger which was expertly hit by Terry Boot. Fletchley lost his club, which summarily flung over Chambers head and hit Smith dead between the eyes. Both of them fell off their brooms and fell forty feet to the ground.

They were quickly joined by Ackerley, Goldstein, and Summerby when they all collided at the Ravenclaw Goals when Goldstein knocked a Bludger off Ackerley's back which rebounded off one of the goalposts and caught him in the gut, sending him out of control into Summerby who fell back into Ackerley. With their brooms entangled, all three fell off their brooms. Dumbledore was able to catch one of them with a slow-falling spell and Madam Hooch caught a second, but Goldstein fell the full forty-five feet unimpeded into the sandy ground below.

The final clash happened when both Seekers began chasing the Snitch. Cho Chang was in the lead with a ten-foot head start, but when Smith tried to hit her with a Bludger it ricocheted off her back and hit Saxon Stebbins square in the face. Bleeding profusely from the nose, both Hufflepuff Chasers Cauldwell and Branstone ran to his rescue. Once again Boot found himself expertly positioned for his team and hit a Bludger into the crowd of them cracking Cauldwell's broom.

Instinctively, he grabbed hold of the closest thing, which unfortunately for his teammates just happened to be their brooms, and sure enough all three of them began spiralling down towards the ground. While they all remained clinging to their brooms, the lack of control sent them into a collective dive which send them crashing into the ground with a sickening crunch.

Before any of them could recover, Cho Chang captured the Snitch and secured a two hundred and thirty point victory over Hufflepuff's rather disheartening sixty.

Coming Soon

Chapter 27

Love and Hate